Pollution
Volume:7 Issue: 1, Winter 2021

This research aims at developing a new relation to estimate the urban runoffwater quality through urban land use. According to the first phase of this research, sixurban characteristics and land use indices have been defined concerning all parameterswith either direct or indirect impacts on urban water quality: Population, land use type,meteorological factors, local physiographical parameters, urban patterns etc. have beenconsidered when developing the new indices. Three study areas, including different urbanland uses, have been selected in Tehran Metropolitan and urban drains maps andstructures have gone under study to determine the sampling points. Multi-statisticalanalysis, discriminate analysis, and multi-linear regression analysis have been applied forall water quality results and urban indices in each site, with the results revealing verystrong relations between urban land use and water quality variation. Temporarypopulation especially in downtown site has proved to be an effective temporal factor onhow even public transport could not have any significant effects, in case populationdensity has no significant influence on water quality, as all sanitary waste water inselected sites is collected through urban wastewater systems separately. General slop is asignificant factor in hydrocarbons and heavy metals, once they are not alongside thestreets route. All told, this paper recommends reusing urban drained runoff locally beforejoining other regions’ collectors. Here in urban drainage system, collection andaggregation of water could not be an appropriate factor in water quality managementunlike river systems. The model could be employed in urban local water consumptionmanagement in irrigation and public recovery.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon profile of Kpite oil spill impacted site in Rivers state, Nigeria was evaluated to determine the level of contamination of the soil. Four composite oil impacted soil samples were collected at different depths; surface (0-15cm) and subsurface (15-30cm) after a field reconnaissance. Extraction of the oil was carried out on the soil samples and the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons were quantified using the Gas Chromatography- flame ionization detector. Results showed that Naphthalene was the most abundant in the range of 0.25 to 1.49 mg kg-1. Fluoranthene followed closely with concentrations in the range of 0.01 to 1.28 mg kg-1. PAHs like Benzo (k) fluoranthene, Benzo (e) pyrene, Dibenzo (a, h)anthracene, Indeno (1, 2, 3-cd) pyrene and Benzo (g, h, i) showed low concentrations of less than 0.01 indicating that strong weathering had occurred. The diagnostic ratios such as Phenanthrene/Anthracene (Phen/Anth), Benzo (a) anthracene Chrysene ((BaA)/Chry) and Fluoranthene/Pyrene (Flth/Py) and sum of chrysene/Phenanthrene ΣChry/ΣPhen were calculated and used to unravel the source of hydrocarbons. Results showed ratios of Flth/Py >1.0 and Phen/Anth ranges from 1.19 to 2.03 (< 10) which denote contamination sources, implying that the hydrocarbon sources are not just petrogenic but rather may due to contamination sources of combustion processes or the area was exposed to bush burning.

Air pollution is a significant concern for both managers and disaster decision-makers in megacities. Considering the importance of having access to correct and up to date spatial data, it goes without saying that designing and implementing an environmental alerting and monitoring system is quite necessary. A standard infrastructure is needed to utilize sensor observations so as to be ready in case of critical conditions. The use of sensor web is regarded a fundamental solution to control and manage air quality in megacities. The proposed system uses the SWE framework of OGC, the reference authority in spatial data, to integrate both sensors and their observations, while utilizing them in the spatial data infrastructure. The developed system provides the capability to collect, transfer, share, and process the sensor observations, calculate the air quality condition, and report real-time critical conditions. For this purpose, a four-tier architectural structure, including sensor, web service, logical, and presentation layer, has been designed. Using defined routines and subsystems, the system applies web sensor data to a set of web services to produce alerting information. The developed system, which is assessed through sensor observation, measures the concentration of carbon monoxide, ozone, and sulfur dioxide in 20 stations in Tehran. In this way, the real-time air quality index is calculated, and critical conditions are sent through email to those users, who have been registered in the system. In addition, interpolation maps of the observations along with time diagrams of sensors’ observations can be obtained through a series of processes, carried out by the process service.

In the present investigation, coagulation-flocculation and fenton process in conjunction with phytoremediation by water hyacinth (Eicchornia crassipes) were applied to treat the most frequently occurred contaminants in textile wastewater. The mean values of EC, TDS, turbidity, pH, DO, BOD, COD and TOC in the raw effluents were 2300 μSCm-1, 1260 mgL-1, 48.28 FTU, 10.5, 1.2 mgL-1, 265 mgL-1, 522 mgL-1 and 12.8 mgL-1, respectively whereas the average concentration of Cr, Pb, Mg, Cu, Ni and Zn was 0.86, 1.21, 10.97, 0.47, 2.85 and 0.52 mg/L, correspondingly which evidently indicated that the effluents were highly contaminated compared to Bangladeshi standard. The results demonstrated that the values of EC, TDS, turbidity, pH, BOD, COD and TOC reduced significantly compared to raw effluents by both coagulation-flocculation and fenton processes and meet the standards set by BDS-ECR except BOD and DO. After being treated the COD value reduced to 70 mg/L (86.56%) and 188 mg/L (63.985%) from its initial concentration by coagulation-flocculation and fenton process, respectively on the other hand TOC removal efficiency by coagulation- flocculation process was 97.8125%, significantly greater than fenton methods where removal efficiency was 63.9%. However, the BOD removal efficiency by both treatment processes was ~50% which was not satisfactory compared to local standard. Interestingly, the concentration of DO increased substantially by both coagulation-flocculation (1.2 to 4.4 mg/L) and fenton process (1.2 to 3.85 mg/L). In case of trace elements removal, the combination of coagulation-flocculation-water hyacinth and fenton-water hyacinth show promising results where the removal efficiency of coagulation-flocculation-water hyacinth and fenton-water hyacinth was 24%-76% and 17%-76.36%, respectively. Therefore, it can be concluded that coagulation-flocculation-water hyacinth combination is better than fenton-water hyacinth combination in terms of trace metals removal. Textile effluents treatment and management is considered as one of the most significant issues in Bangladesh herein based on the this study, combination of chemical and phytoremediation technologies could be a promising sustainable low cost alternative for Bangladesh’s textile industrial sector.

The advent of advanced features of soft computing can be used to solve complex problems which are more non-linear and messy. Many of the applications have been analysed and validated by the researchers through soft computing approach in the past.Neural Networks (NN) with appropriate selection of training parameters is implemented apart from conventional mathematical model. In this paper, analysis is made on the estimation of PM10 air quality in selected regions of Chennai district by wavelet approach with energy spectrograms. After analysing the results, NN of multilayer feed forward back propagation algorithm forecasts the air quality of selected regions. Discrepancies in selecting the training parameters of NN’s have been overcome by trial and error basis. This work will be helpful in proving the powerful tool of NN to forecast short term nonlinear parameters and the predicted results will give us the clear design of existing problem and thecontrol measures need to be implemented.

The present study simulates the frontal dust storm by means of WRF-Chem model and AFWA emission scheme between April 23 and 24, 2019. It then applies reanalysis data (ERA5) to analyze this case from a synoptic perspective. The simulation results show that the model have been accurately characterized first by the onset of dust from the south-east of the country in Kerman Province and then via its transmission to large areas of the east and south-east. The model output also fits well with satellite images. A quantitative comparison of PM10 concentration of the model with actual values shows that the PM10 model estimates are larger than actual values, though it predicts the trend of concentration changes well. Examining the synoptic maps, the isobars’ curve, wind direction change, and temperature advection in the area reveals the presence of atmospheric fronts within a strong dynamic low-pressure system. This causes high temperature and pressure gradients, in turn speeding up the wind within the region. Results from the synoptic analysis show that by passing the frontal system and behind the cold front, a dust mass is formed, which gradually spreads in eastern and the southeastern regions of Iran. In this case, extreme pressure gradient, cold front passage, low-level jet, wind gust on dry areas of dry Hamoon wetland, and cold air advection over flat area of the Lut Desert are important factors in storm formation and emission, east of the country.

The heavy metal pollution in soil caused by mining area development is a global problem. In order to screen the ecological restoration plants of copper silver tailings in arid and high saline alkali areas, and evaluate their economic value, nine kinds of plants naturally growing in the northwest copper silver tailings pond were selected, the enrichment and transfer characteristics of eight heavy metals by this plants was analyzed, and potential health risks for humans of plants were focused. The results showed that the heavy metals such as Cd, As, Cu, Hg and Ag are all from the open-air accumulation of tailings slag. Translocation factors of Cu, Ni and Cr by C. tragacanthoides are 2.1205, 53.1548 and 13.7622, bioconcentration factor of Cu, Ni and Cr by C. tragacanthoides are 1.8888, 7.1979, 7.4653, C. tragacanthoides is the hyperaccumulator for Cu, Ni and Cr. Hazard index in roots of S. collina, C. virgata and A. splendens to adults is more than 1, it has a potential non-cancer effects for more than half of adults, and for over 86.23% of children. Ag, Cr and As contribute the best to HI, and the cumulative contribution rate of the three elements can reach 85.59% to 96.39%. It is necessary to improve the treatment of tail slag to reduce environmental pollution, C. tragacanthoides can be considered as heavy metal remediation plants in arid and high saline copper tailing areas, but there is no medicinal value for these plants as ecological reconstruction in tailings area.

Because of the pinch of air pollution on human health and its environment, it has become necessary to monitor and map out the peaks and lows threat places of air pollution in different land use across a city. In this regard, air pollution exposure mapping of Kano metropolis based on land use classifications namely industrial, residential, commercial and institutional was carried out for interpretive and assessment of health hazard associated with the selected pollutants. The observations for ambient air quality parameters (CO, SO2, H2S, NO2, and PM10) monitored with portable digital air pollution detecting devices for creation of data. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technique was applied to create spatial distribution maps of urban air quality of the metropolitan area. The results of pollution index map of ArcGIS extrapolation indicated that neighbourhoods in the vicinity of Bompai and Sabon Gari industrial and commercial zones, respectively were found to be highly exposed and liable to ailments associated with air pollution, while places nearby Dorawa and School of Technology were air pollution-ease zones but could experience bioaccumulation over long exposure time. Therefore, the study reveals that variability of air quality was strongly related to predominant land use in particular areas within the metropolis and could help in estimate and valuation of likely health challenges associated with poor air quality due to air pollution. Besides, the observed spatial variation for air quality could serve as hot spot identifier and as an informant for rational decision on air quality control strategies for environmental management.

This study investigated the evolutionary history of the Late glacial in number of wetlands in south part of Lake Urmia. Twenty-six cores with a maximum depth of 12 m, average 8 m and total depth of about 190 m were collected from sediments under the southern and southwestern wetlands using a handi auger. Sedimentary facies were identified and separated based on sediments texture and structure, composition of evaporite minerals and organic materials, also color and other macroscopic elements. The results indicated the presence of eight distinct sedimentary facies belonging to the lacustrine, wetland and fluvial (river) sedimentary environments. In the last 20 cal ka BP, the two dominant dry periods, about 4 cal ka BP and 13 cal ka BP, have been associated with the transgression of dry (alluvial) facies towards the lake and the regression of Lake facies. The dry period 4 cal ka BP affected the southern part of Lake Urmia and marginal wetlands, while the dry period 13000 years ago was more intense and longer and lasted at least 3 cal ka BP.In the last 2cal ka BP, the two dominant dry periods, about 4 cal ka BP and 13 cal ka BP, have been associated with the transgression of dry (alluvial) facies towards the lake and the regression of Lake facies. The dry period 4 cal ka BP affected the southern part of Lake Urmia and marginal wetlands, while the dry period 13000 years ago was more intense and longer and lasted at least 3 cal ka BP.

Manufactured nanoparticles (NP) have caused extreme concern about their ecotoxicological effects on the marine systems. In this study, we investigated the biological effects (oxidative stress and genotoxic response) of TiO2-NP at predicted environmental relevant concentrations (0.2 mg/l and 1 mg/l) on marine mussel Mytilus trossulus a dominant member of the far eastern coastal community. The results of the experiment revealed that TiO2-NP when suspended in seawater, formed agglomerates ranging from 400 nm to several μm in diameter. However, TiO2-NP caused obviously oxidative damage on the mussel as evidenced by the significant elevated levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the gill and digestive gland. The genotoxic potential of TiO2-NP was assessed by comet assay, which detect primary DNA damage. The gill and digestive gland cells showed significantly enhanced DNA damage for both concentrations of TiO2-NP compared to the control group. These results propose that the TiO2-NP are entering the marine coastal waters can cause genotoxic effect on mollusks and comet assay can be successfully applied as an effective tool for risk assessment of NP on the marine invertebrates. The findings of this study demonstrate that the aggregation of TiO2-NP does not reduced of NP ecotoxicity, but only changes the biological responses.

Increase in advanced electronic technology leads to environmental issues related with its disposal. Electronic waste i.e., video card and random access memory were used for studying extraction of precious metals using Paenibacillus sp. Metal contaminated soil was used for the isolation of exopolysaccharide producing strains. The isolate was identified as Paenibacillus sp. based on morphological, biochemical tests and 16S rRNA sequencing. Metal content analysis of soil and e-waste was carried out using X-ray Fluorescence spectroscopy. The vanadium element was more in the soil sample which was 0.487 mg/g and in electronic waste sample copper content was more which was 250 mg/g. Paenibacillus sp. produced capsule which was observed under bright, dark field and phase contrast microscope. Scanning electron microscopy was done for the study of morphological changes of exopolysaccharide producing Paenibacillus sp. in chitin broth and on chitin agar medium with and without e-waste. The Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy analysis of exopolysaccharide produced by Paenibacillus sp. grown on chitin agar and chitin agar with e-waste showed presence of different functional groups. The one step and two step bioleaching experiments were carried out for testing efficacy of biomass on metal leaching. Paenibacillus sp. showed its potential for the extraction of precious metals viz., gold, silver and copper from electronic waste. Paenibacillus sp. recovered gold (0.001%), cadmium (45%), copper (50%), iron (46%), manganese (88%), palladium (56.9%) and zinc (87.12%) by two step fermentation. The study is useful for the bioleaching of precious metals from electronic waste.

Significant attention has been given to nanotechnology as an emerging approach in water/wastewater treatment for heavy metals removal. Numerous research works on synthesizing, fabrication and upgrading nanoparticles have reported as an efficient adsorbent in removal of wide range of heavy metals from wastewater. This review intends to provide researchers with understanding and knowledge regarding the efficient nanoadsorbents, their adsorption mechanism towards selected heavy metals and fundamental principles of nanoadsorbent materials synthesis. In addition, further attention on the modification of nanoadsorbent and development of nanocomposites are highlighted in this paper as value added products to increase the adsorption capacity and enhance the heavy metals removal. Possible challenges and direction on utilization of nanocomposites for heavy metal removal in real wastewater effluent are discussed in view of their removal capability and cost efficiency. Future research works on developing a cost-effective way of nanocomposite production and toxicity testing of nanomaterials in wastewater applications are recommended. Further studies on the efficiency of the nanoadsorbents in pilot or industrial scale are highly needed to test the practicality of the nanoadsorbents for selected heavy metals removal from real wastewater.

This paper explores long-run and causal effects of financial development, real growth, urbanization, gross capital formation and energy consumption on CO2 emissions in Thailand by utilizing recent econometric techniques. The study employs ARDL technique to examine the long and short run interconnection between CO2 emissions and the regressors. Furthermore, we employ the FMOLS, DOLS and CCR as a robustness check to the ARDL long-run estimator. The study use time-series data spanning from 1971 to 2016. The study also utilizes the wavelet coherence technique to collect information on the association and causal interrelationship among these economic variables at different frequencies and timeframes in Thailand. The study objectives are structured to answer the following questions: (a) does the selected macroeconomic indicators impact CO2 emissions in Thailand? (b) if so, why? Findings reveal; (i) Negative and insignificant link between CO2 emissions and urbanization. (ii) GDP growth affects CO2 emissions positively. (iii) The interconnection between CO2 emissions and energy usage is positive. (iv) Gross capital formation impact CO2 emissions positively. (v) Positive interconnection exists between financial development and CO2 emissions in Thailand. Additionally, the wavelet coherence result provides a supportive evidence for the ARDL long run result. Based on these findings, policy directions were suggested.

Tree rings have been used to reconstruct past climates as well as to assess the effects of recent climatic and environmental changes on tree growth. Industrial emission is one of the major sources of pollutants in the atmosphere. This study determined heavy metals pollution chronologies from industrial emissions in the atmosphere of the Tema industrial area of Ghana using tree-rings as bio-indicators. Swietenia mahagoni (Mahogany) tree was bored and the rings counted and age determined to be 50 years spanning from 1968 to 2018. Tree growth rates were calculated through ring width measurements and related to annual precipitation data spanning over the sampling period. It was observed that wet seasons correlate with high growth rates of trees while low precipitation seasons correspond to low or no growth rate of trees. Energy Dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) was used to investigate the presence and concentration of the four heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Fe and Pb). Concentration of Cu, Zn, Fe and Pb ranged from (1.92—6.70 mg/kg), (5.37 – 13.9 mg/kg), (0.10 – 0.36 mg/kg) and (12.13—90.13 mg/kg), respectively. Surprisingly, an increasing trend in concentration was observed for Zn and Cu with levels higher than the WHO guideline for heavy metals in the plant.

This study assesses heavy metal levels in water, soil, and vegetables (swiss chard, lettuce, cabbage, collard green, tomato, green pepper and carrot) irrigated with waste water in Gamo, Ethiopia. The samples of soils, water, and vegetables were randomly collected, processed, and analyzed for heavy metals using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results obtained show that the irrigational water is profoundly contaminated with heavy metals Cd, Cr and Ni and Pb, Zn and Cu had the lowest concentration in irrigation water. The levels of Cd in Kulfo river area and Chamo Lake area and Ni in most of the farm soils were also found to be higher than the guideline values. The study also revealed that the mean levels of Cd in most vegetables and Cr and Pb in some vegetables were higher than the maximum recommended limits set by WHO/FAO. In general the results show that the highest concentration of the heavy metals was obtained from Kulfo river area compared to the Arbaminch textile share company area, Abaya Lake area, and Chamo Lake area. Cabbage was maximally contaminated with potential toxic elements followed by Swiss-chard, carrot, tomato, collard green, green pepper and lettuce. Hence, from kulfo river area frequent consumption of cabbage and Swiss chard may cause serious health risks to consumers. The levels of many elements were found to vary with location, suggesting localized inputs of the various contaminants related to industrial and other activities that generate wastewater. This study recommends regular monitoring of heavy metals in soils, waters, and foodstuffs to prevent excessive accrual in food chain.

The emission and dispersion of pollutants from the tanks of coking and tar refining industries in the environment is always probable. This study aimed to evaluate the hazard radius of benzene release from the tank of one of the coking and tar refining industries. Areal Location of Hazardouse Atmosphere (ALOHA) model Version 5.4.7 was used to predict the hazard radius of leakage and dispersion of benzene from a tank in different seasons. The maps of the toxic and flammable vapor cloud of benzene, evaporation rate from puddle and the concentration of toxic and flammable vapor cloud inside and outside of the office building were prepared. The results indicated that the maximum average benzene released from the tank was 282 Kg/min and the total amount of benzene leakage was 11997 kg in 60 min in summer. The maximum diameter of the created evaporating puddle was 71 m in autumn. The maximum toxic and flammable concentrations of benzene inside an office building were 772 and 936 ppm, respectively whilethey were 3720 and 3540 ppm outside a building in autumn. Based on the Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGL) and Lower Explosive Limit (LEL) criterias, the maximum hazard radius was 1200 and 200 m in autumn. The toxic vapor cloud of benzene covered some parts of the adjacent coking plant. However, the boundaries of the flammable vapor cloud failed to reach the adjacent industries. The scenario of this study is safe for the adjacent residents and unsafe for the personnel. Thus, presenting a strategy to deal with this process incident is essential.

The aim of this paper is to assess the radon concentration of surface and ground waters around Bismuth mining site located in Edu, Kwara State, Nigeria, in order to ascertain its radiological risk. Seventeen (17) water samples were collected and analyzed for radon concentration using a calibrated Rad7-Active Electronic Detector Durridge. The Radon concentration for surface water ranged from 16.23±3.45 Bq/l to 24.71±4.51 Bq/l with a mean of 19.14±3.98 Bq/l while that of ground water ranged from 21.59±3.29 to 27.93±5.74 Bq/l with a mean of 24.16±4.21 Bq/l. The concentration results were used to estimate the annual effective doses. The mean total annual effective dose obtained by summing the dose due to inhalation and ingestion for surface water samples were 187.97 μSvy-1, 257.84 μSvy-1 and 292.77 μSvy-1 for adult, children and infants respectively. Also, the mean effective doses for ground water samples were of 237.25 μSvy-1, 325.44 μSvy-1 and 369.53 μSvy-1 for adult, children and infants respectively. Both the radon concentration and the effective dose due to its inhalation and ingestion were higher than the recommended limit of 11.1 Bq/l and 100 μSvy-1 respectively for all samples. Therefore, consumption of the water in this area poses serious health risk as the water is not safe for all age groups considered. Therefore, it is advised that the water from both sources be treated before consumption.

This study aims at assessing the health-related risk of As, Co, Cr, Ni, and Cu in the soil around Angouran Mineral Processing Complex (AMPC), due to environmentally sensitive nature of the area, having agricultural activities, habitats of animal and plant species, and industrial activities integrated with each other. Soil samples have been collected from 74 points (0-20 cm) of the area and concentrations of heavy metals have been measured, using ICP-OES. The Geoaccumulation Index (Igeo), Enrichment Factor (EF), and Integrated Pollution Index (IPI) have been used to examine the pollution level. Moreover, hazard indices (HI), hazard quotient (HQ) and cancer risk (CR) have been utilized to assess the non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks of heavy metals. The average concentration of heavy metals indicates that metals’ concentration in the soil have increased in the following order: Cr = Ni> As> Cu> Co. Results from Igeo, Ef, and IPI show that As and Ni are placed in the very high pollution category. The non-carcinogenic risk of dermal absorption (adults = 1.30 E + 00, children = 1.35 E + 00) of Cr and Co polluted particles turn out to be very high. In addition, the risk of cancer as a result of the ingestion of As- and Cr-contaminated soil particles is high in both of age groups, with children being 68% more likely to be at risk of cancer than adults. Therefore, actions such as soil remediation should be done to reduce the risk of exposure and protect the health of the residents, especially the farmers.