Anthropogenic Pollution Journal
Volume:7 Issue: 1, Winter-Spring 2023

In the present study, the potential adverse effects of heavy metals in the soil of Ahvaz oil field were evaluated. 9 soil samples were collected and chemical digestion was performed. Global standard methods was used to collect samples and measure metals. Heavy metals Ni, Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu were measured. and geochemical indicators were evaluated. Average concentrations of heavy metals in soil samples were Cd 0.16, Pb 16.63, Zn 22.03, Cu 10.39, Ni 62.97 ppm. The igeo index findings demonstrated that the values for the metals Ni, Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cu were at an uncontaminated level. TRI index values of metals were Moderate. EF of Cd and Ni wer moderate. CF index of Pb is considerable and cf of Cd and Ni and Zn were moderate. The results of CD, MCD, PLI indicators showed that heavy metals in the studied soils are at the level of contamination. The amount of this contamination was moderate to considerable. The ecological risk of these metals was considerable.

Soil properties such as particle size distribution, plasticity, compressibility, or strength of the soil always affect the geotechnical design in construction. The knowledge of contaminants and their extraction on natural adsorbents (clay soils) with various treatments, and extractants is essential for geo-environmental engineering applications. To address these challenges, sepiolite as a widely used environmental natural resource (which is a native and non-expansive clay soil with high cation exchange capacity), was subjected to a study of the effect of arsenic (As) contamination and extraction using the different solutions on its characteristics in two incubations period (7 and 28 days curing). After incubation, various physical and mechanical tests were performed on As contaminated and extracted clay soil to investigate the effect of anionic contaminant on the clay soil properties and to evaluate how the properties of the contaminated soil change after extraction, as well. The optimal extractant for arsenic extraction from sepiolite was determined by hydrochloric acid and nitric acid, respectively. The results revealed improvements in some soil characteristics. Arsenic extraction by acid after contamination caused changes in the properties of clay soil specimens, including a decrease in pH, plastic index, and fine particles content which reduced the permeability coefficient in the soil. The overall results showed that the environmental and engineering properties of clay mineral are suitable for use as clay liners in pounds containing anionic leachates with improving workability.

 Heavy metals cause many problems in living organisms. Using living organism as a bio indicator is a useful way to show environment conditions. In these paper bioaccumulation of heavy metals in house sparrow feather were studied. The house sparrow is distributed in many parts of the world. The house sparrow lives in urban and rural areas. Due to living in residential areas, it is affected by man-made pollutants. The main source of air pollution in Tehran is fuel combustion in car engines. It seems that air pollution somehow accumulates in the body of urban birds. The house sparrow has been selected as a biological indicator in Tehran. Sample point were chosen in north, south, west and east of Tehran. In each area 10 samples were chosen. Amount of heavy metals in feathers measured by ICP. Zoning was done by using GIS According to result amount of nickel is higher than cadmium and lead. The accumulation of heavy metals in the feather tissue depends on the where the bird lives. The highest amount of lead, nickel and cadmium was 2.89, 451 and 25.9 ppb. The lowest amount of lead, nickel and cadmium was 0.88, 11.59 and 0.54 ppb. Result indicates that house sparrow could be used as a bio indicator of heavy metals in urban areas. The curve fitting application in MATLAB is used and shows the relation between heavy metal concentration in soil and concentration in feathers to predict amount of muscle concentration.

Organic wastes constitute a large part of urban solid wastes, which are the main source of environmental problems in waste management, including leachate. A suitable method for organic waste management is to use anaerobic digesters to produce biogas. However, in many cases, the low efficiency of biogas production prevents the use of this method. In this study, three pretreatment methods were used to improve biogas production in an anaerobic digester. The difference of each pretreatment method in terms of biogas production was investigated in four scenarios. Also, the cost-benefit of each scenario was calculated in a financial model based on life cycle cost analysis. The results showed that the yield of methane production without pretreatment was 229 ml/gVS, which increased to 358 ml/gVS using pretreatment methods. The capital costs of the scenario with the highest biogas production were 76% higher than the scenario without pretreatment. In this situation, the income increased up to 61.6%, but the most important impact on the life cycle cost was due to the operating costs, which increased by 140% and 155% in two scenarios of using ozone as part of the pre-treatment. Considering the low effect of using ozone as pretreatment in increasing biogas production compared to other pretreatment, as well as the negative effect of this method on the cost-benefit of the project, thermal and NaOH pretreatment recommended as the best pretreatment for anaerobic digester.

The present descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted by altering the type of blowers in the wastewater treatment system of Abuzar hospital in Ahvaz during the first and second quarters (6 months). In every month, inlet raw wastewater, aeration tank one, and effluent were sampled in one week (Saturday-Friday), which resulted in harvesting a total of 42 samples. Then, they were assessed based on the techniques provided in the book entitled "standard methods for evaluating water and wastewater", and data were evaluated through employing statistical analyses. The average removal efficiency of total and organic phosphorus, phosphate, and ammonia in the effluent was respectively determined 46.47, 34.45, 18.14, and 68.49 before starting up a new aeration system, which reached 69.36, 76.21, 65.09, and 96.53 during the second period, respectively. In addition, the average concentration of nitrate varied from 21.79 to 44.11 mg/l, while that of nitrite changed from 0.04 to 0.03 mg/l. Further, an increase (39.19 to 67.19%) was observed in the average nitrogen removal efficiency in effluent. Based on the results, EAAS process was efficient in eliminating nitrogen and phosphorus by using the helicoidal pumps of aeration blowers and regulating aeration rate. Thus, aeration plays an effective role in activated sludge systems despite the microorganism diversity in aeration tank sludge. The produced effluent was consistent with Iran national standards in terms of the parameters under study, especially phosphorus and nitrogen, and can be discharged into the environment.

This study provides a practical solution to manage non-hazardous waste and aid the environment. The largest group of non-hazardous waste is called municipal solid waste (MSW) which can be effectively used as an alternative material in civil projects. In this research, as an alternative to traditional modification methods of soil which causes global warming, the soft clay (Clay) was chemically modified by four different percentages of MSW in soil dimensions (15%, 25%, 35%, 45%) in 28 and 120 days. The optimum percentage of MSW addition (15%) to the Clay at the curing age of 28 days increased the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and California bearing ratio (CBR) by 1.28 and 3.34 times, respectively. Given that higher percentages of MSW reduce the UCS and CBR in the specimens, four percentages of Nano-MgO, i.e., 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1% were used for stabilization. The specimens containing optimum percentages of MSW (15%, 25%) and stabilized with 1% Nano-MgO could improve UCS and CBR 2.34 and 5.59 times, respectively that results had better durability over 120-days which can be attributed to the CBR testing condition. The cause of the increase in UCS and CBR was investigated using microstructural analysis for 120 days of curing. The specimen with high durability approved the cement bond formation with Anorthite & Dolomite minerals. In conclusion, using optimum MSW and Nano-MgO effectively solved the Clay problems in suitable conditions and allowed higher percentages of MSW to be removed from the environment.

Developing a positive health and safety culture is important if high standards of health and safety are to be achieved and maintained. There is a limit to the health and safety performance an organization can achieve without addressing the contribution which human factors have to play in eliminating occupational accidents . The objective of this research is to evaluate the role of the safety management system in the safety culture of Iran Carbon Company using Geller model. This research is descriptive based on the data collection method. In addition, this is also correlational research as it investigates the relationship between the variables. Furthermore, the objective of this research is applied. The statistical population of this research is all employees of Carbon Company and 120 of them were selected as the sample volume. Data was analyzed in two parts of descriptive and inferential statistics. Moreover, Pearson correlation and linear regression tests were used by SPSS software to measure the relationship between the variables. The findings showed that the research hypotheses were confirmed (P<0.05).

The purpose of this research is to analyze the risk of ammonia release in the cold storage of one of the large food companies in Mashhad. This is an applied research that was done using FTA technique and fuzzy logic. Fuzzy logic was used to weight experts' opinions (Delphi panel). In this study, to model the consequences and calculate the collective risk using the DNV PHAST 7.2 software, the most critical conditions that have the greatest possible contribution to the release of ammonia were, respectively: lack of proper and planned maintenance; Pressure increase and failure and defects in gaskets. Also, the results showed that the rate of death, toxicity and explosion is directly related to the distance. On the other hand, the maximum amount of possible losses in the event of an explosion will be in the winter season and at a distance of 14.26 meters, and finally, 95% of the losses due to the blast wave will occur at a distance of 13.54 meters and 99% of deaths of people up to a radius of 38.89 meters, also 50% of the deaths of people from the radius of 38.89 meters to the radius of 124.93 meters, and 10% of the deaths of people from the radius of 124.93 meters to the radius of 178.53 meters, also 1 percent of deaths from the radius of 178.53 meters to the radius of 234.05 meters.

The Zayandeh-Rood River (Isfahan Province, Iran) is of vital importance as a water source for various purposes, but it is facing adverse effects from human activities. This study focused on the surface sediment of 21 stations along the river to assess the concentration of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and their environmental risk using the Geoaccumulation Index (Igeo), Enrichment Factor (EF), Pollution Load Index (PLI), and Potential Ecological Risk Index (RI). The mean concentration of the PTEs (mg/kg) was ranked as follows: Cd (0.34)< As (9.73)< Pb (10.95)< Co (11.91)< Cu (31.14)< Ni (31.90)< Zn (61.33)< Cr (96.95)< V (125.09)< Mn (707.76). Positive correlation coefficients were found among all the PTEs, while their relationships with the sediment physicochemical characteristics varied considerably, indicating that various interacting factors might influence the deposition and mobility of PTEs in the river. The river was classified as having moderate to low contamination (Igeo index) and minimal-to-moderate enrichment (EF index) except for Cd and As which exhibited extremely high enrichment and strong pollution in the upstream zone, where agricultural activities dominate. Therefore, managing agricultural practices and reducing the excessive use of PTE-containing pesticides and insecticides should be a primary focus to protect the Zayandeh-Rood River from further contamination.

The ever-increasing growth of the population and their concentration in cities has destructive and often catastrophic effects on natural habitats and human life and exposes cities to painful crises, including environmental and human destruction, which has caused humans to turn to technologies emerging to reduce environmental risks. Blockchain is a new and revolutionary technology in the world's management systems. The blockchain network allows individuals, governments, and organizations to implement any transaction securely on this network. With the Internet of Things expansion and the emergence of the Internet of Vehicles, green smart cities, and integration of these technologies with the blockchain network, human life quality has increased. However, new technical and environmental challenges have emerged by combining IoV applications with the blockchain network in expanding green smart cities. This article examines the concepts and advantages of the blockchain network, and then the applications of IoV in green smart cities are analyzed. Then the technical and environmental challenges of IoV are discussed, and finally, solutions for the environmental and technical challenges are presented.

Oxidative coupling of thiols to the corresponding symmetrical disulfides were performed in the presence of silica gel supported tributylammonium fluorochromate(VI), (TriBAFC), and tributylammonium chlorochromate(VI), (TriBACC). Silica gel supported TriBAFC and TriBACC are versatile reagents for the effective and selective oxidation of organic substrates, in particular of thiol, under mild conditions. Disulfides are also key intermediates in a wide variety of organic synthetic routes .Considerable improvements are observed in the presence of the absorbent and making the work-up much more convenient. The nature of the solvent does not appear to be particularly critical. Hydrocarbons, benzene, ethers and chlorinated hydrocarbons are equally effective, the practical choice being oriented by the solubility of the products and the desired reaction temperature. The IR spectra of TriBAFC and TriBACC are similar to that of other fluoro and chlorochromates, TriBAFC and TriBACC are soluble in water, dimethylformamide, acetonitrile, acetone and dichloromethane; they are only sparingly soluble in benzene, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform and hexane.

The use of mathematical methods for risk assessment is an important instrument to control health risks. This research is performed to discuss the status of health risks of Larestan city. For this reason, the fuzzy Topsis method was used and firstly, four health risks insights including (safety insight, safety performance, comprehend risk, and evaluation risk) were discussed. According to results due to workers’ insight into health risk status which was obtained by experts, four scales are offered which were used to optimize factory risk for effective factors. The results showed that, the threshold value for risk evaluation was estimated as 0.86, 0.726. The most suitable transmission variable is determined as risk evaluation, on the other side; it was a suitable pattern for risk transmission evaluation (t) for mild regression with LFUZZY TOPSIS. The findings help managers of occupations to reduce health potential risks and provide new insights to solve uncertainties in management and control potential risks.

Increasing population growth and civilization have caused great impacts on water quality. Among these, changes and excessive exploitation of land use have led to changes in the surface water quality to provide human needs. Therefore, the present study investigated the effects of land use on water quality using a spatial-statistical approach. To this end, the water quality data of 22 water quality-sampling stations were applied in the Qarasu watershed in Ardabil in 2013, Iran. Then, spatial analysis was conducted, including land use classification maps, watershed mapping and overlaying maps using GIS. Finally, correlation and multiple linear regression analysis were used to determine the relationship between water quality and land use variables. Pearson's correlation coefficient showed proper percentages of vegetation cover, agricultural lands, woodlands, residential users, barren land and forest as well as weak pastureland have significant correlation with water quality variables. Multiple linear regression analysis with stepwise approach also indicated that of dependent parameters as water quality variables, the parameters of pH, Cl, Ca, Mg, Na and SAR are associated with land use as independent parameters including irrigated agriculture, first-grade pasture, third-grade pasture, woodlands, moorland, forest and residential users. Furthermore, validation of the model based on two models of the survey of predicted and actual values as well as root-mean-square error (RMSE) demonstrated good accuracy of the resulting model.