Journal of Environmental Health and Sustainable Development
Volume:5 Issue: 4, Dec 2020

In hair salons, workers and customers are exposed to high concentrations of several chemical compounds used during the working environment. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), particulate matter (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and formaldehyde are the major chemicals that alter the indoor air quality. This study aimed to assess the indoor air quality in hair salons of Gimhae, South Korea.

To conduct the study, six hair salons were monitored for VOCs, formaldehyde, and PM10. The study was conducted from August to November 2017.

The findings showed higher concentrations of formaldehyde (> 0.50 ppm) and VOCs (> 0.08ppm) compared to EPA standard exposure limit; whereas PM10 was < 150㎍/㎥.

Based on the findings, the ventilation systems were insufficient in the selected salons. Adequate ventilation and control facilities should be advised in applying the chemical products to observe the safety of workers and customers of hair salon and to sustain better indoor air quality.

This study aimed to evaluate the most important public environmental issues and concerns, the public knowledge about these issues, as well as the quality of environmental issues in Rafsanjan, Iran.

In this descriptive-analytical study, 384 people were randomly selected from Rafsanjan City and their public environmental issues and concerns were evaluated. The data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire, with confirmed validity and reliability. The data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis statistical tests using SPSS-18 software.

The findings showed that the most important environmental concerns in Rafsanjan included water quality and quantity, pesticides in agriculture, and air pollution, respectively. However, the quality of drinking water and water resources were not appropriate from the public’s view point. The mean score of environmental knowledge and environmental issues’ quality level were 5.91 ± 2.53 and 36.07 ± 7.21, respectively.  Knowledge level and environmental quality level had a statistically significant relationship with education, occupation, and level of using public transportation (P <0.05).

It can be concluded that improving the quality of drinking water, promoting the farmer’s knowledge and behavior about application of pesticides, as well as monitoring and controlling air pollution were among the most important needs and demands of Rafsanjan citizens. So, authorities should consider these issues attentively.

Due to the advantages of sourdough, its film production for food packaging could be interesting. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of probiotic sourdough based edible film covered on set yogurt and subsequent changes during post fermentation storage.

The parameters examined included changes to the fermentation characteristics (pH, and viable counts of probiotic bacteria), synersies, and sensory evaluation during 21-d storage at 4°C. lactobacillus plantarum was supplemented with sourdough films and yogurt produced by commercial yogurt starters (Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus) then films placed on yogurt containers, and a panel of parameters reflecting product quality was subsequently monitored along with 21-d post-fermentation storage.

Results demonstrated that the pH value of yogurt decreased slowly during the storage and no significant difference was observed between the control and the samples with the films. Although the number of viable cells decreased during storage, it did not lower than the minimum requirement for probiotics (> 107 log CFU / g). The synersies of the film-treated samples were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) lower than the control samples. The yogurt with the film without bacteria had the least synersis. Film-treated yogurts had acceptable sensory properties in comparison with control.

Sourdough films can be an optimizing candidate to enter the food industry as a bioactive edible film and also could improve the delivery of probiotic bacteria.

About 50 to 70 percent of the waste management total cost is spent on collection operations, so any little progress in reducing collection costs could significantly reduce total costs. This study aimed to analyze the collection and transportation of municipal solid waste cost in Yazd in the next 15 years.

The study location (five areas) was different urban areas of Yazd city.  To analyze the collection and transportation of normal waste cost in Yazd, WAGS software was used. To obtain demographic information, the Statistical Center of Iran data, information about the location of the area, equipment, costs, and taxes related to waste were obtained in cooperation with Yazd Municipality, Recycling Organization, Labor, and Social Affairs Office and field surveys. Apart from WAGS, the ARIMA time series method (1, 1, 0) was also used with SPSS 24.

The highest costs of waste collection belonged to the human resources sector, and personnel costs were 75.24%, machinery supply capital was 13.85%, repair costs were 6.15%, fuel costs were 4.59%, and the costs of the other parts of the total cost of the waste collection were 0.14%.

The total collection and transfer of waste costs were estimated at 10414000 USD to collect and transfer municipal solid waste in Yazd in the next 15 years. Waste generation projection by time series method with the ARIMA model (1, 1, 0) showed more accurate results than waste generation projection with WAGS.

The rapid urbanization coupled with industrial development in Indian cities has led to air pollution that causes adverse effects on the health of human beings. So, it is crucial to track the quality of air in industrial areas of a city to insulate the public from harmful air pollutants.  The present study examined and predicted air quality index levels in industrial areas located in Hyderabad, India.

Markov chain model was developed to predict the air quality index levels in three industrial areas of Hyderabad city. The secondary data pertaining to the air quality index was analyzed from January, 2016 to December 2019 by developing Markov chain model. The state transition probabilities were used to find the predicted probability for the next 4 years. The study also analyzed the mean return time for specific states.

According to the findings, the highest frequency observed for transition in a month to the next month was 31 for the second industrial area in moderate state. The longest time required to repeat the state was 23.585 months and 23.259 months for the industrial area 3.

Air quality index varies in industrial areas depending on the nature of industries and type of emissions. The prediction of air quality index is useful for the local authorities to implement measures to minimize the impact of pollutants on human health.

The increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has changed the global temperature and had a negative impact on global climate conditions. Landfill gas is one of the major GHG contributors. With the knowledge of GHG inventory, it is possible to carry out disaster prevention measures.

In this study, tow Landfill Gas Emissions Modeling (LandGEM) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), were used to determine the GHG quantity of the Yazd county landfill sector using from 2000 to 2020.

During this period, by the IPCC model, the total level of methane emissions from the Yazd county landfill was 23.17 Giga gram/y (Gg/y), while based on the LandGEM model, the total value of methane emissions from the Yazd county landfill was 5.74 Gg/y. The total amount of CO2 in the Yazd county landfill of the years 2000–2020 is estimated to be 15.75 Gg/y in the LandGEM model. There is the potential to generate 11.88 MWh/year electricity for the Yazd county landfill in 2020.

The results of the present study can be employed to plan and implement a system for collecting methane gas and control the emission of GHG to landfills.

This study aimed to assess a good protocol for the contamination indexes, concentration, spatial analysis, and source identification of toxic metals in top soils.

In the first step, samples were taken from top soil (30 cm) and the metals were extracted and detected with ICP-AES. In the second step, Enrichment Factor, Geoaccumulation Index, and Contamination Factor of metals were calculated to determine soil contamination degree. Furthermore, the principal component analysis and correlation between metals were conducted for source identification.

Spatial analysis, as an important section of the present protocol, was performed using Arc GIS, kriging, and Moranchr('39')s I models. As results of Moranchr('39')s I model showed, distribution pattern for Fe, As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn were random (z-scores ranged from -1.17 to 1.09), indicatingthat these elements could be emitted from different potential sources. In Moranchr('39')s model, spatial autocorrelation of each pollutant could be measured based on its value and location.

The finding of this protocol can be used for extraction of contamination indexes, concentration, spatial analysis, and source identification of toxic metals in top soils.

Water quality is essential for industries because they play an important role in countries’ economic development. Groundwater is one of the most widely used resources, and when the ionic constituents were increasing higher than the allowable limit, it increases the cost of maintenance and production in the industries.

In order to evaluate groundwater corrosiveness and scaling potential in Zahedan City,  29 groundwater wells and GIS-based geostatistical mapping techniques were analyzed clemically. The physicochemical parameters were invetsiagted and the most popular corrosion and scaling indices were determined as Langelier Index (LI), Aggressive Index (AI), Ryznar Index (RI), Puckorius Index (PI), and Larson–Skold Index (LS). Using ArcGIS 10.6.1 software, the zoning maps were plotted for LI, AI, RI, PI, and LS indices.

The results showed that total dissolved solids (TDS) and electrical conductivity (EC) values in all of the samples exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water standard. AI values of 58.62% samples showing moderate corrosiveness, and the remaining 17 samples have a scaling nature with very less corrosivity. Based on the LI values, 55.2% of samples have a corrosive nature. Concerning RI values, 59% of the samples have a corrosive tendency. According to the PI values, the entire groundwater of this region has a significant corrosive tendency, and 96% of samples exceeded the LS > 1.2, showing a high rate of localized corrosion.

The zoning and spatial analysis of water quality showed that water quality was treated for industrial purposes in the entire studied region.