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Environmental Health Engineering and Management Journal - Volume:7 Issue: 3, Summer 2020

Environmental Health Engineering and Management Journal
Volume:7 Issue: 3, Summer 2020

  • تاریخ انتشار: 1399/04/11
  • تعداد عناوین: 9
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  • Nastaran Talepour, Mohammad Sadegh Hassanvand, Effat Abbasi-Montazeri, Seyed Mahmoud Latifi, Neamat Jaafarzadeh Haghighi Fard*, Bamshad Shenavar Pages 143-150
    Background

    Airborne fungi play an important role the quality of indoor and outdoor air. The aim of this study was to investigate the concentration of airborne fungi around different parts of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in the west of Ahvaz and its relationship with some important meteorological parameters.

    Methods

    This study was conducted on a WWTP in the west of Ahvaz during 4 months in both cold and warm seasons. Samples were collected from 2- and 10-m intervals of the grit chamber (GCh), primary sludge dewatering basin (PSDB), and aeration tank (AT), as well as 60 m upstream (US), downstream (DS), and administrative building (AB) of the WWTP. Bioaerosols were collected using passive sampling method. Temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and ultraviolet index (UV) were also measured at the time of sampling.

    Results

    The total concentration of fungi was 46.1 ± 43 CFU/plate/h. The highest concentration of fungi (92.2 ± 28.12 CFU/plate/h) was found 2 m away from the GCh in the cold season and the lowest one (24.6 ± 6.67 CFU/plate/h) was found at the 10-m distance of the AT in the warm season. The dominant fungal genus included Cladosporium, Alternaria, Yeast, and Aspergillus, respectively. Also, there was a significant relationship between the degree of fungal contamination in different units, the US and DS of the WWTP, and there was a negative relationship between the release of fungi and UV.

    Conclusion

    According to the results, grit chamber plays an important role in releasing airborne fungi. Also, airborne fungi were reduced with an increase in distance and UV.

    Keywords: Bioaerosols, Fungi, Meteorological parameters, Wastewater treatment plant
  • Mohsen Hesami Arani, Nematollah Jaafarzadeh, Peyman Khaleghi Dehabadi, Gholamreza Mostafaii, Moslem Tazik, Zahra Karimi, Ali Etesam, Mahdiyeh Mohammadzadeh* Pages 151-160
    Background

    Swimming pools are recreation and sport sites where the lack of safety and health can have severe adverse effect on public health. This study aimed to identify and assess health and safety risks using HAZID and ALARP techniques in the different parts of the swimming pools.

    Methods

    In this applied study, health risks were identified by field observations and environmental health questionnaire consisting swimming pool environmental health checklist, safety of equipment and so on. Then, the risks were categorized and corrective revisions were proposed. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 19.

    Results

    After data analysis, 41 types of safety hazard and 35 types of health risk (potential and existing) were identified. A total of 7 work units and 6 jobs in swimming pools were classified, and 52 types of health risk and 69 types of safety risk were identified, assessed, and classified. After providing corrective measures, according to the ALARP principle, unacceptable risks were eliminated and 64 risk were classified as acceptable.

    Conclusion

    According to the results, most of the health risks were related to the swimming pools area. So that health training course for swimmers and increasing health culture have an important role in controlling health risks. Changing the attitude of swimming pools managers and personnel towards health, safety and environment (HSE) issues also have an important role in controlling health and safety risks.

    Keywords: Environmental health, HAZID, Swimming pools, Risk assessment, Equipment safety
  • Asyraf Afthanorhan*, Nazim Aimran Pages 161-169
    Background

    Dengue fever has been a major health threat to Malaysia over one century since 1902. This situation is getting worse every year so that the government has taken an affirmative action to tackle this particular issue. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of government support, climate changes, public attitude, population growth, and environment on dengue infection. Also, this study considered the environment as a mediator construct as the past literature revealed its role in dengue infection model.

    Methods

    In order to identify the relationship between exogenous and endogenous constructs, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used. Also, in order to identify the factors affecting dengue infection, measurement and structural model evaluation were applied. Using stratified sampling method, 670 questionnaires were distributed among prospective respondents from eastern region, but in turn, only 505 cases could be used after data cleaning process.

    Results

    Considering environment factor as a mediator, the results show that public attitude and population growth have a significant impact on the environment, while government support, public attitude, and environment factors have a significant impact on dengue infection. Population growth was the most important factor affecting dengue fever.

    Conclusion

    According to the results, dengue fever that emanating from four exogenous and one mediator constructs are adequate to discuss on respondent perception of dengue fever in Malaysia.

    Keywords: Dengue infection, Population growth, Malaysia, Government, Surveys, questionnaires
  • Hajar Ziaei Hezarjaribi, Zabihollah Yousefi*, Bahman Rahimi Esboei Pages 171-181
    Background

    Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in urban areas, are potentially one of the causes of the spread and entry of parasitic pathogens into the environment and water resources. Numerous studies have been conducted on the presence of parasitic agents in the entry and effluent of WWTPs in different countries. This study was conducted to review the parasite prevalence in different WWTPs and assess their removal efficiency.

    Methods

    ScienceDirect, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed databases and other sites with the ability to receive a full-text related articles, were reviewed. Various keywords such as parasites, wastewater, effluent, treatment efficiency, protozoan cysts, parasitic eggs, and similar keywords were used to search articles published from 2005 to 2019. After screening the titles and abstracts of articles, 26 articles were reviewed in this study.

    Results

    Giardia spp, Cryptosporidium spp, Entamoeba spp, Blastocystis spp, Toxocara spp, Trichostrongylus spp, A. lumbricoides, and Hymenolepis are the most prevalent parasites. Studies show that parasitic egg hatching rates are up to 5%, in aerated lagoons, up to 99.9%, in activated sludge, and up to 5%, in ponds due to high retention time and downstream artificial reefs.

    Conclusion

    Studies show that due to the current state of treatment plants and adverse operating and maintenance conditions, it is not possible to completely remove parasitic pathogens from these systems, therefore, it should be considered by regulatory authorities and the systems need to be improved for better performance of treatment plants and optimizing them, and training of users should also be improved. This review indicated that the types of natural constructed wetland in Kermanshah (Iran) and activated sludge of wastewater treatment processes in Iran and Brazil are most effective in removal of intestinal parasites.

    Keywords: Waste water, Treatment, Parasites, Efficiency
  • Malek Hassanpour* Pages 183-192
    Background

    Plasmatron is a hydrocarbon reformer of fuels and heavy oil sludge with high efficiency in gasification operation. The gasification of acidic sludge (AS) was investigated to assess the technical and financial demands in a model. AS is a by-product of used motor oil (UMO) recycling industries with a large quantity that its reprocessing, refining, and re-refining operations are not performed in Iran.

    Methods

    In this empirical study, the inventory of requirements for generating value-added gaseous products was tabulated based on the recent studies. To develop a techno-economic model, the costs of reactor configuration, equipment, and installation outlay, materials and product costs, facilities, staff salary, land and landscaping budget, and energy demand expenses were taken into consideration.

    Results

    The initial requirements of the project in the screening step were identified and a framework of the economic model was provided to develop and identify the technical dimension of the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactor.

    Conclusion

    The findings expanded the technology and its technical demands for identification of screening step of project prior to competing for development and establishment.

    Keywords: Economic, Models, Costs, Gases, Recycling, Plasmatron
  • Oluwatosin Sarah Shokunbi*, Olubode Olumuyiwa Ajayi, Olutayo Sunday Shokunbi Pages 193-202
    Background

    Globally, natural and anthropogenic activities have led to soil pollution resulting in physiological and health challenges on environment, plants, animals, and humans. The present study was conducted to determine the total levels of heavy metals including cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), and nickel (Ni), in two major dumpsites in Ilisan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria.

    Methods

    Sixteen composite soil samples were collected from both dumpsites (Cargo and Ilisan) at depths of 0-15 cm. Samples were collected in the wet and dry seasons. After collecting samples, they were air-dried and sieved, and the concentrations of metals were evaluated using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The obtained data were used to determine the pollution indices including contamination factor (CF), geo-accumulation index (Igeo), and ecological risk index.

    Results

    The concentrations of heavy metals in Cargo dumpsite followed this order: Cr > Pb > Cu > Ni > Cd, during wet and dry seasons. Conversely, the concentrations of heavy metals in Ilisan dumpsite followed this order: Pb > Cr > Cu > Cd > Ni, over both seasons. The measured CF levels for both Cargo and Ilisan dumpsites were low to very high for Cd over both seasons. The Igeo revealed that both dumpsites were moderately to heavily polluted by Cd and Ilisan dumpsite was moderately polluted by Pb. A low to considerable ecological risk was observed for both dumpsites.

    Conclusion

    The pollution indices suggest that both dumpsites were heavily polluted by Cd due to anthropogenic activities. Appropriate measures should be implemented to manage these dumpsites.

    Keywords: Anthropogenic activities, Dumpsite soils, Heavy metals, Pollution index
  • Mohammad Tahsin Islam, Irin Hossain*, Ashekur Rahman Mullick, Enamul Haque Pages 203-208
    Background

    Buriganga is considered as one of the most important river in the country. But, its water quality has changed dramatically, which is responsible for creating unfavorable conditions for aquatic life. The main aim of this study was to investigate the removal capacity of pollutants mainly nitrogen present in the Buriganga river as the most polluted rivers in Bangladesh, by floating constructed wetland.

    Methods

    This study was conducted under constant and variable shock loadings in two phases, namely ‘Phase I’ and ‘Phase II’ during 11 and 10 weeks, respectively, in which about 180 L of raw water was dosed into the tank containing a floating mat, and pollutant concentrations in the river water influent from the system were tested over a period of 21 weeks.

    Results

    Floating treatment wetland (FTW) could sustain and remove about 31.25% and 19.23% of ammonia in the 9th and 10th weeks of Phase I, respectively, and 40.63% and 56.12% in the 17th and 18th weeks of Phase II, respectively. At first, ammonia was converted to ammonium, then, to nitrite, and finally, to nitrate. As the rhizosphere was denser and the biofilm was thicker in this study, so nitrogen removal efficiency during the application of shock loading in the 17th and 18th weeks of Phase II was considerable. The removal percentage of nitrite was 76.12 and 80%, respectively. In regular dosing of raw water in the 11th and 19th weeks in Phase I and Phase II, respectively, the total nitrate removal efficiencies from influent were 31.91 and 43.33%, respectively.

    Conclusion

    As water resources are limited, so improvement of water quality of the polluted Buriganga river would act as an important source of reusable water.

    Keywords: Nitrogen, Nitrites, Nitrates, Ammonium compounds, Water quality, Wetlands, Bangladesh
  • Maryam Meserghani, Mahnaz Nikaeen, Ahmad Jonidi Jafari, Mohammad Hadi Dehghani, Bijan Bina* Pages 209-216
    Background

    Discharging wastewaters containing antibiotic into the environment causes some adverse effects on the human health and other organisms. The present study investigated the efficiency of electropersulfate combined with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) process as a chemical oxidation in amoxicillin (AMX) degradation.

    Methods

    Optimization of the significant operational independent variables was explored for removal of AMX. Central composite design (CCD) was employed as a statistical tool for experimental design. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used for measuring AMX concentration. The most effective factors of the electro-persulfate and H2O2 on the removal efficiency of AMX such as initial concentration of AMX, initial pH, PS/H2O2 molar ratio, and the current density were measured.

    Results

    The optimum conditions for electro-persulfate removal efficiency of AMX to reach the degradation efficiency of higher than 95.28 ± 2.64% at reaction time of 60 minutes were obtained at pH = 4.23, AMX concentration = 31.9 mmol/L, current density = 39 mA/cm2, and PS/H2O2 molar ratio = 0.82. AMX degradation was satisfactorily predicted by the quadratic model with high possibility and confidence level of 95%. The quadratic model had high regression coefficients (R2 = 0.9964 and R2 adj = 0.9926), which was totally acceptable. The removal efficiency of AMX reduced from 87.3 ± 6.1 to 25.9 ± 9 as pH increased from 5.5 to 7.

    Conclusion

    According to the results, the electro-persulfate and H2O2 process can be suggested as the most effective, high efficient, and in-situ chemical oxidation for degradation of AMX.

    Keywords: Amoxicillin, Hydrogen peroxide, Oxidation-reduction, Antibiotic
  • Rahim Aali, Mohsen Mehdipour Rabori* Pages 217-218