N Okati, A Esmaili Sari, M Ghasempouri,
Volume 3, Issue 3 (4 2010)
Abstract
Backgrounds and Objectives: Mercury is a heavy metal that is widespread in the environment and has many toxic effects. At present, MeHg exposure on women remain an important issues for researching, especially those of continuous uptake in high-fish consumption.MeHg can be transferred to infant through breast milk. The objective of this study was to characterize the risk of Hg exposure in mothers in south of the Caspian Sea.
Materials and Methods: In this study mercury in hair of 70 breast-feeding women (17-36 years old) and influencing factor on it, were assessed. Mothers lives in nur, nowshahr and chamestan cities and villages of Nur and Nowshahr. In order to researching on influencing factors, mothers fill questionnaires. Hair samples (about 1 gr) were obtained from mothers. The mercury was measured by LECOAMA254AdvancedMercuryAnalyzer (USA) according toASTM, standard NO.D-6722.
Results: Total mean mercury concentration in mothers hair obtained 0.19±0.09 ( &mug gr-1). Tukey test show that the influence of the variables place of live (p=0.02), fish and sea food consumption of mother (P=0.00) were significantly affected on hair mercury concentration of mothers. The other factors (age and number of dental amalgam filling ) had no significant effect on mercury levels in hair of mothers.
Conclusion: Total mean mercury concentration in mothers hair were lesser than normal dose recommended byWHO (2&mug g-1) and EPA reference (5 &mug g-1). Analysis of questionnaires showed that three kinds of fish including carp, golden mulle and kutum. Although were often used in this study, mercury concentration in fish was not determined, but in according to significate relation between fish consumption and mercury concentration in mother#s hair, pollution with mercury in the fish can be the main factor of mercury exposure in this study.
N Okati, A Esmaili-Sari,
Volume 10, Issue 2 (9-2017)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Information about the history of exposed individuals to mercury and monitoring mercury levels in body can be obtained by analyzing the longitudinal section of hair. The aim of this study was to analyze changes of mercury concentrations in hair length and daily mercury intake in women living in Bandar Abbas, Bushehr and Mahshahr cities.
Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional and questionnaire study, 43 hair samples were randomly collected from women in fisher and non-fishermen families. Mercury concentrations were determined by LECO AMA 254, Advanced Mercury Analyzer (USA) according to ASTM standard NO.D-6722.
Results: The mean mercury concentration in hair was 2.31 μg/g. ANOVA test showed that there is no significant difference among the mercury concentrations in the various parts of hairs. The mean daily mercury intake was 0.24 μg/kg/day. Age, fish consumption, city of residence, fishermen and non-fishermen family had a statistically significant effect on the daily mercury intake in the women but the number of dental amalgam filling variable had no significant effect on the daily mercury intake.
Conclusion: During the 6 month period that the study was conducted, the methyl mercury uptake in the women was steady. The daily intake of mercury in 23% of the women was exceeded JECFA guidelines. Also, according to possible risks for mercury exposure, it is necessary to study on mercury risk assessment, considering all possible routes for mercury exposure in these cities.
Mohadeseh Narouei, Narjes Okati, Fatemeh Einollahi Peer ,
Volume 18, Issue 1 (5-2025)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Assessing the life cycle and evaluating the carbon footprint in thermal power plants is crucial due to their reliance on fossil fuels. This study was conducted to evaluate the environmental impacts and carbon footprint of the Iranshahr steam power plant.
Materials and Methods: Primary data were collected and analyzed using SimaPro software and the ReCiPe 2016 method (Hierarchist perspective). The carbon footprint was assessed through data modeling based on the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) method. The functional unit was defined as one kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity generated, and the system boundary was set as gate-to-gate.
Results: The study revealed that the most significant environmental impacts of the power plant were related to human carcinogenic toxicity, accounting for 42% at the midpoint level, and damage to human health, contributing 86% at the endpoint level. Sensitivity analysis identified natural gas as the most influential factor affecting the results. According to the IPCC method, fossil fuel consumption contributed 94% to the global warming potential. The highest amount of CO2 emitted was 0.946 kg per kWh of electricity produced.
Conclusion: The CO2 emissions per kWh of electricity produced (0.946 kg/kWh) exceeded the average CO2 emission factor for fossil fuel power plants in Iran (0.64 kg/kWh). Based on these findings, it is recommended to prioritize the use of renewable and clean energy sources, such as wind and solar power, as alternatives for electricity generation in the region.
