Journal of Chemical Health Risks
Volume:1 Issue: 1, Summer 2011

This study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of Ferronickel smelter in concentration of lead, cadmium, zinc, copper and nickel in tissue of femur, tibia, liver kidney and testes, levels of plasma alanin aminotransferase (ALT), aspartat aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (AP) blood δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALA-D), serum total proteins, hematocrit and hemoglobin in Feral pigeons. Pb was detectable only in tissues of femur and tibia; Cd and Cu in liver and kidney, Zn in all tissues while Ni only in tissues of pigeons of courtyard smelter. Zn concentration was significantly higher (P<0.05) in kidney of courtyard smelter in comparison with reference. Plasma AP was significantly higher (P<0.001) in pigeons of reference in comparison with pigeons of courtyard smelter, while ALT and AST were relatively unchanged. The ALA-D activity of pigeons from courtyard of smelter was significantly inhibited (P<0.001) and an inverse correlation between Pb concentration in femur and tibia and ALA-D activity (r = -877; P<0.001; r = -0.787; P<0.01) was established. The total serum proteins of pigeons of courtyard of smelter was significantly lower (P<0.001). Hematocrit and haemoglobin were unchanged. Suggestion: Feral pigeons as worth biomonitoring organisms for evaluation of environmental pollution based on Ferronickel industry.

Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is a hydroxylated metabolite of the carcinogen aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), and may be found in the milk of lactating animals that have ingested feedstuffs contaminated with AFB1 Between Jun 2010 and March 2011, 149 samples of pasteurized (n=90) and UHT (n=59) milk were collected from supermarkets in the cities of Shiraz, Khuzestan and Yazed, Iran. All samples were analyzed for AFM1 contamination by ELISA and 142 (95.3%) were positive with mean concentrations 41 ng.l-1. These concentrations are lower than the standads of Codex Alimentarius and FDA (500 ng.l-1), but 33 samples (22.1%) had higher concentrations than the maximum tolerance accepted by some European countries (50 ng.l-1). Mean concentrations of AFM1 in pasteurized and UHT milk were 39 and 46 ng.l-1, respectively. Mean concentrations of AFM1 in fall and winter samples were significantly higher (P<0.05) than those of summer but differences between AFM1 concentrations of fall and winter samples were not significantly different. No significant differences in Concentrations of AFM1 in milk samples between Shiraz, Khuzestan and Yazd. Considering the results, this survey revealed a high frequency of AFM1 contamination in milk samples from central part of Iran.

This paper concerns the removal of Zn2+ and Cr6+ ions from waste water using a naturally occurring zeolite from semnan region in Iran. A continuous fixed-column study was carried out by using zeolite as a low-cost adsorbent for the removal of Zn2+ and Cr6+ ions from aqueous solution under the effect of various process parameters such as, grain size and time. The efficiency of removal is higher for Zn than Cr ions. The Zn2+ and Cr6+ ions uptake by zeolite increased with initial ions concentration and column height, but decreased as the flow rate increased. The adsorption capacity reached a maximum at grain size of 0.71mm.

Use of microorganisms for removing mercury is an effective technology for the treatment of industrial wastewaters and can become an effective tool for the remediation of man-impacted coastal ecosystems with this metal. In this study, seven types of mercury resistant bacteria were separated from industrial waste and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), were determined for these bacteria. Results showed that two strains of bacteria, which isolated from waste water detergent plants, are more resistant to mercury and able to grow at the presence of 52 ppm of mercuric chloride. These bacteria could be used for biological treatment of mercury in contaminated wastewater.

The aim of this study was the evaluation of acute genotoxic effect of effluent water of thermo-power plant by means of Tradescantia root tips micronucleus test (MN), mitotic index and cell aberrations. Tradescantia, was experimentally treated (for 24 h), with effluent water of thermo-power plant in different dilution ratios (negative control – distilled water; primary untreated effluent water and 1:1; 1:2; 1:3; 1:4; 1:5; 1:6 and 1:7 respectively). Number of aberrant cells, and frequency of micronuclei (MN), in meristematic root tip cells of treated plants (Tradescantia), were significantly increased (P<0.001; P<0.001 respectively), while the mitotic index in all treated plants was progressively decreased in comparison to the negative control. The results of present study indicate that Tradescantia root-tip micronucleus assay with direct exposure of intact plants is an appropriate method which enables to detect genotoxic effects of effluent waters.

This study is the effects of inhalation toxic mixture of bleach and detergent was examined on the epithelial layer of trachea in the mice. In this study, 42 adult male mice NMRI race weighing 35-40 gr and from age 8 to 10 weeks were divided into 6 experimental groups and one control group. Experimental groups 1-2-3 with the using of chamber, as inhalation 20 minutes were exposure to spray the amount 1 cc of mixture of bleach and detergent by nebulizer. Experimental groups 4-5-6 were for 35 minutes to inhale the same amount of material. Mice killed at 24-48-72 hours after inhalation and the trachea was studied pathology. In microscopic sections of tissue taken from the trachea the experimental group compared with the control group was changed to include: stimulation and activation of the respiratory epithelium hungarian (Mocusa layer), reducing the length of ciliated columnar cells, reducing the number of goblet cells, loss of cilia, chaos and clutter on the order of tissue. In addition, statistically, the changes in length of ciliated columnar epithelium cells in experimental groups 3 and 6 seen significantly decreased than control group and the number of experimental groups 2 and 4 goblet cells significantly increased compared to control group, experimental group 6 was significantly decreased than the control group. As a result discussion, increasing the inhalation time of mixing bleach and detergent, also as time passed, cause to increase the tissue damage and changes.

Marine ecosystem pollution is one of the important problems of today environment. In this study the existence of heavy metal in the Namrood River, situated in Firoozkooh in Tehran province, Iran has been investigated. The Namrood River is located near Firoozkooh route, and is affected by pollutant from tourist centers, entertainment, gas stations, nearby villages’ sewage systems, farming effluent, and hatchery farms. In some areas, its water is heavily polluted possibly by heavy metals. After selecting two stations in upstream and downstream of the river, they were sampled three times in both cold and hot seasons of year (mid March, and June) for Chironomidae, and Gammarus plux sediments. The measured heavy metals were cadmium and lead. The results showed that the concentration of cadmium in measured samples varied from 0.010-0.2033 ppm. The concentration of lead in samples varied from 0.11-2.16 ppm. The results also indicated that sedimentsof samples taken from the upper station in the cold season had a higher proportion of cadmium and a higher concentration of lead than sediments in the lower station during the hot season.