Iranian Journal of

Background and Objective: Supply of safe drinking water to each community is one of the most important challenges in improving the general community’s health. Considering the importance of the research on water quality, identification of water quality research gaps was performed by reviewing the relevant studies through a systematic review for Iran. 
Materials and Methods: In this study 638, 166, 300 and 1000 relevant articles were found on Scopus, SID, Magiran and Iranmedex databases, respectively. Out of 2104 articles, 1394 articles were excluded from the study. Finally, 710 articles were further reviewed.
Results: Monitoring of pollutants by a descriptive study was the main objective of the most studies   (36.62%). Around 13% of the studies were performed on a laboratory scale. Organic pollutants in Iran have been concerned only in 17 provinces, and other provinces have not participated in this regard. Nitrate is studied in around one fifth of the total studies. Heavy metals were also considered as a parameter of concern in the studies carried out on monitoring drinking water resource quality.
Conclusion: This study reflects the research gaps and provides a basis for prioritizing water quality research in Iran. More actions and sound planning should be taken to monitor organic and inorganic pollutants. Chemical and microbial risk assessment, tracing the fate of pollutants and assessment of their ecological effects, investigations on advanced water purification processes, the use of bioremediation methods, identification of biological contaminant using biomarkers and molecular identification techniques are the most important research priorities that require more investigations.
 
 

Background and Objective: Lead is a dangerous heavy metal for human health. This research was conducted to study the potential of a new Iranian corn (Maxima CV.) and white clover in monoculture and mixed culture for phytoremediation of Pb in a Pb polluted soil.
Materials and Methods: The experimental treatments consisted of corn and white clover in a mixed culture (with 10 and 20 plant density) and either corn or white clover in a monoculture system (with 10 and 20 plant density) in a Pb polluted soil (800 mg Pb (kg soil)^‌-1) at 60 and 90 days of  experiment. Plant and soil Pb concentration were measured using atomic absorption spectroscopy.
Results: Root and shoot Pb concentration of corn and white clover were significantly increased in a mixed culture system relative to mono culture system. In addition, the increase of white clover density from 10 to 20 in a mixed culture system caused a significant increased Pb concentration in root and shoot of corn and white clover. The highest Pb translocation factor (TF) and shoot Pb concentration were observed in white clover in a mixed culture of corn and white clover (with 20 plants density).
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the Pb concentration of corns shoot in a mixed culture system with corn and white clover (20 densities) was three times higher than that of the monoculture system.
 

Background and Objective: Wheat is one of the most important cereals due to the supply of much of the flour used in bread making in most countries, such as Iran. Wheat contamination with mycotoxins is subject to different production and maintenance conditions. As a carcinogen and mutagen, monitoring the amount of mycotoxins in imported wheat and prevention of the entry of low quality wheat to the food chain are essential. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the contamination of the wheat imported to Mazandaran province.
Materials and Methods: Samples of the wheat imported from Caspian Sea countries were evaluated for moisture content and mycotoxins contamination (ochratoxin A, zearalenone and deoxynivalenol). Mycotoxins contamination was determined by HPLC method via purifying with immunoaffinity column for ochratoxin A and zearalenone, and DONSPE column for deoxynivalenol.
Results: The results of this study showed that the average of ochratoxin A, zearalenone, and deoxynivalenol in the samples were 2.24, 133.50 and 181.66 ng/g, respectively.
Conclusion: All the samples were within the acceptable level for mycotoxin according to the permissible limits of Iran National Standard. Additionally, a direct relation between deoxynivalenol and moisture content of the samples (-0.092) was not observed and the correlation between moisture content and ochratoxin A and zearalenone was 0.104 and 0.168, respectively.

Background and Objective: Natural antimicrobial compounds have a valuable capacity to be used in a variety of foods to inhibit growth of foodborne pathogens and spoilage bacteria. The aims of this study were to produce active biodegradable films by incorporation of different percentage of oregano essential oil (OEO) and ethanolic extract of propolis (EEP) into poly-lactic acid (PLA) films, and to evaluate physical and antimicrobial properties of the resulting films. 
Materials and Methods: The active films were produced by solvent casting method, and their thickness and major color parameters were measured using a digital micrometer and a colorimeter instrument, respectively. Afterwards, antibacterial effects of the films were assessed against four common foodborne pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Listeria monocytogenes, by means of disk diffusion test.
Results: Physical examinations showed that thickness of resultant films significantly was increased (p<0.05) by addition of different concentrations of active agents. Additionally, the presence of them in the structure of films decreased the lightness and increased the redness and yellowness, simultaneously.  While none of the neat PLA film or films with just EEP had no antibacterial effect, all films containing higher percentages of OEO (5 and 10%) were effective against all four tested bacterial strains, and these effects were more significant in case of the gram-positive bacteria. The maximum inhibition zone was recorded for the film containing 10% of OEO and 2% of EEP, which the relevant values were 56.66, 45.46, 17.91 and 17.65 mm for Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Escherichia coli, respectively.
Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, the presence of just EEP in the initial formulation of poly-lactic acid films was not effective against the four tested foodborne pathogens, while the addition of this compound to the films containing OEO increased the effective antibacterial properties of the resulting films. As a result, the simultaneous use of these two compounds in the structure of hydrophobic films, such as poly-lactic acid film, can be used to produce active food packaging films.
 

Background and Objective: Today, landfill management of municipal waste and soil pollution with heavy metals are major environmental problems. This research was conducted to evaluate the effect of Shazand municipal waste compost and Saveh pomegranate peel biochar on decreasing Pb availability in soil and sorghum plant.
Materials and Methods: Treatments consisted of applying Shazand municipal waste compost (0, 10 and 20 ton/‌ha^‌) and Saveh pomegranate peel biochar (0 and 15 g/‌kg^‌) in a Pb polluted soil (0, 600, 800 and 1000 mg Pb/‌kg soil). After 8 weeks of sorghum planting (Kimya CV.), the soil physio-chemical properties and soil and plant Pb concentration were measured. 
Results: Applying 20 ton/ha‌ municipal waste compost with 15 g/‌kg^‌ biochar increased soil pH by 0.4 units and decreased soil Pb availability by 11%. The similar results were observed for the root and shoot Pb concentrations, when the same amount of  manure in a Pb polluted soil was applied (1000mg Pb/‌kg soil) that decreased the root and shoot Pb concentration by 1.8 and 2.2 times, respectively.
Conclusion: The result of this experiment showed that applying Shazand municipal waste compost and biochar can increase soil sorption properties and decrease soil or plant Pb concentration. However, the role of these organic amendments on supplying plant nutritional needs cannot be ignored.
 

Background and Objective: Water pollution due to heavy metals is a critical and increasing problem worldwide. In this study, removal of cadmium and lead heavy metals using a graphene oxide (GO) adsorbent was examined.
Materials and Methods: GO nanosheets were synthesized through Hummer’s method, and its characterizations were examined using FTIR, XRD, and SEM. The effect of independent variables pH, contact time and initial concentration of the solution on removal efficiency of Cd²⁺and Pb²⁺ using response surface methodology was evaluated according to Box-Behnken experimental design. Applying quadratic model, adsorption rate of Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺ achieved 99%. ANOVA was applied for statistical analysis of responses.
Results: According to SEM images, the average size of graphene oxide sheets was 1 to 3 µm. After optimization through RSM, the adsorption capacity for Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ was 136 mg/g and 68 mg/g, respectively. Examination of the isotherms suggested that Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺ adsorption follows Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm, respectively.
Conclusion: the results show that the graphene oxide performed well in removing both Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺ ions from aqueous solutions. The most influential parameters on the above-mentioned heavy metals adsorption were pH of the solution and the initial concentration.
 

Background and Objective: Ethylene oxide (EO) is a very toxic and dangerous substance with a high potential for explosion and fire. Ethylene oxide units are among the most hazardous units in petrochemical industries. This study was designed to analyze and model the consequences of ethylene oxide storage tanks explosion in one of Iran's petrochemical industries.
Materials and Methods: In this study, the consequences of the ethylene oxide storage tanks explosion in a petrochemical industry was identified and analyzed. This study was conducted in 2017 using PHAST software version 6.54. For this study, two climate conditions including the first climate conditions (spring and summer) and the second climate conditions (autumn and winter) were considered.
Results: The results of the modeling for the first and second climate conditions showed that there were possibility of severe damages due to the explosion consequences up to 204 and 256 meters, respectively. In addition, based on the criteria for assessing the consequences of accidents associated with damage levels, such as the explosion wave, the wind speed and direction due to the sudden release scenario and the numerical results related to the modeling, the consequence of this scenario in the second climate conditions (autumn and winter) was higher than the first climate conditions (spring and summer).
Conclusion: The findings of the study indicated that, in addition to the high risk of explosion of ethylene oxide storage tanks, the modeling scenarios in different climate conditions have different consequences. Thus, more attention should be paid to safety of these equipment as risk centers in the petrochemical industry and similar industries.
 

Background and Objective: Nowadays, the increasing use of antibiotics to control diseases and mismanagement and inappropriate disposal of medicinal wastes cause environmental problems and threatens human health. The present study was conducted to determine removal of antibiotic Metronidazole as one of the most used drugs during the process of composting.
Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, a mixture of livestock manure, fruit, straw and sludge were used for the preparation of compost. Duration of the process was 40 days. Metronidazole was added to the compost reactors at three concentrations of 20, 50 and 100 mg/kg. Totally, 42 Samples were taken weekly. HPLC was used to analyze the samples. The experiment was repeated twice. SPSS22 software was used to analyze the results.
Results: The rate of Metronidazole removal after day 21 and end of the thermophilic phase was 99.9, 96.73 and 93.48 % in the reactors contained 20, 50 and 100 mg/kg, respectively. Increasing concentrations in the reactors caused the removal rate to decrease, while increasing removal time caused to increase the removal rate. At the end of the process, the removal rate for all three reactors was 99.99 %. The physico-chemical properties of the final compost were within the national standard.
Conclusion: The use of an aerobic composting process to degrade antibiotic Metronidazole is an economical, effective and, environmentally friendly method. At the end of the process, 99.99 % of Metronidazole was degraded.
 

Background and Objective: Antibiotics are a group of emerging contaminants in the aquatic environment. Antibiotic residues threaten the human health and ecosystem in the low concentrations found in the environment. Hence, the present work has been conducted to investigate the occurrence and removal efficiency of most prescribed antibiotics including amoxicillin, penicillin, cefixime, cephalexin, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin and azithromycin detected in two urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Tehran.
Materials and Methods: The present work is an applied research based on USEPA method no. 1694, to investigate pharmaceuticals residues in water by HPLC/MS/MS in year 2016. The differences between target antibiotics residues were investigated statistically. After the calculation of the removal efficiencies, the normality of the data was assessed. Then, parametric and non-parametric tests were used to compare the removal efficiencies in both WWTPs.
Results: There was not a significant difference between the influent and effluent concentrations of cefixime and azithromycin (in Ekbatan WWTP) and cefixime (in southern Tehran WWTP). There is a significant difference between the removal efficiencies of cephalexin (p=0.005) and erythromycin (p=0.002) in two WWTPs. The Highest median removal efficiencies were observed for cephalexin 94.41 and 99.47 in Ekbatan WWTP and southern Tehran WWTP, respectively.
Conclusion: In addition to the type of treatment processes, it is physicochemical properties of the selected compound has a significant influence on removal efficiencies.
 

Background and Objective: Radon is a radioactive, odorless gas. Radon gas with the emission of alpha radiation and sticking to aerosols in the air can cause lung cancer. This study evaluated the concentration of radon in residential houses and public places in Firuzkuh city and compared the values with the recommended international guidelines.
Materials and Methods: Radon gas concentration was measured by passive measurements using CR-39 detectors. The detectors were placed in houses and schools of the city for three months. After this time, the detectors were located and placed in a 6.25% normal solution at 85 °C for 4 hours in a laboratory. After preparation, using an automatic scan and appropriate statistical method, the concentration of radon gas was determined.
Results: The results indicated that the average concentrations of radon gas in homes and public places were 137.74 and 110.17 Bq/m³, respectively. Comparing the results with the WHO guideline showed that 76.3% of the homes and 66.7% of the sites had a concentration above the guideline (100 Bq/m³).
Conclusion: The results of this study can be used to prepare the National Radon gas map in the country.
 

Background and Objective: Hydrocarbon processing industries are considered as potential sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) due to their specific nature. These compounds can directly or indirectly through producing secondary pollutants have adverse effects on the health of individuals. Therefore, identification of them is an important step in the formulation of control programs. This study aimed to identify the type and amount of the most important volatile organic compounds in the South Pars region.
Materials and Methods: In this study, industrial processes located in the region were investigated and information was gathered for estimation of VOCs emissions. The emission was estimated over a one-year period and was ranked according to three criteria including emission, health hazards and ozone production potential.
Results: The results showed that the greatest emission was due to equipment leakage and storage tanks (64%), cooling towers (21%) and flaring (11%). The 171 VOCs were determined in Plum of these processes and propylene had the greatest contribution (21%). The alkenes had the highest share in total mass (41%) and ozone production (78%). By weighting the list based on the three criteria mentioned above, formaldehyde is the most important emitted VOC and the main sources of it were olefins and aromatic units.
Conclusion: This method can be a useful tool for identifying effective organic compounds in such areas. Here, the optimum control strategy is mitigating of emission of formaldehyde from the aromatic and olefins processes. The next priority is to control propylene, ethylene and butylene emission sources.
 

Background and Objective: Traditional cheese has desirable organoleptic characteristics for Iranian consumers. Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella are some of the most important microbial agents in food poisoning and gastrointestinal infections, which can contaminate this product and endanger the health of consumers. The aim of this study was to survey the contamination rate and determination of antibiotic resistance of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella strains isolated from traditional cheeses distributed in Mahabad, Iran.
Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 100 samples of traditional cheese from the production and distribution centers in Mahabad city were randomly selected in 2016 to determine the bacterial contamination in accordance to national standard guidelines for the presence of Staphylococcus aureus, E.coli and Salmonella spp. Anti-biograms test was conducted using a standard disc diffusion method through the measurement of the inhibitory zone diameter on the Muller Hinton agar.
Results: Among the 100 samples, 54, 45 and 0 samples were positive for Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella, respectively. All E.coli (100%) were found to be resistant to Amoxicillin, while Staphylococcus aureus isolates (100%) were resistant to Amoxicillin-Clavulanic acid and Amoxicillin. However, 66.6% isolates of E.coli were susceptible to Ceftriaxone and 97.7% isolates of Staphylococcus aureus were susceptible to Trimethoprim – Sulfamethoxazole.
Conclusion: The microbial quality of traditional cheeses distributed in Mahabad city was not evaluated as appropriate and the values did not meet the national standards. Thus, further monitoring and control are needed.
 

Background and Objective: Environmental burden of disease (EBD) studies are one of the most important needs for determining the current situation, increasing the effectiveness of health policies and programs and prioritizing environmental health interventions. This review article was evaluated the status of the EBD in Iran based on the results of the latest Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study, other international studies and national estimates in the country.
Materials and Methods: In this study, the researches on the EBD in Iran were identified by searching in the international and national scientific databases and the search results were studied and analyzed.
Results: The review of the EBD studies showed that based on the results of the GBD study, the share of environmental risk factors in the total burden of diseases in the country in 2017 according to the disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and deaths were about 8 and 13%, respectively. According to the results of the GBD study, the contributions of environmental risk factors in the attributable DALYs in the country in 2017 (a total value of 1,648,329) were as follows: ambient air PM_2.5 for 45.0%, occupational risk factors for 25.1%, exposure to lead for 19.4%, unsafe water source for 5.0%, tropospheric ozone for 1.7%, lack of access to handwashing facility for 1.5%, unsafe sanitation for 1.4%, residential radon for 0.6%, and household air pollution from solid fuels for 0.3%. The total DALY rate and death rate attributable to solar ultraviolet radiation in Iran in 2000 were estimated to be 46.2 and 0.7, respectively. The DALY and the DALY rate attributable to elevated levels of fluoride in drinking water due to dental fluorosis in the country in 2017 were 3,443 and 4.14, respectively. The evaluation of the effect of water fluoridation as an environmental protective factor showed that the intervention by reducing the risk of dental caries could fall the DALY and DALY rates in the country by 14,971 and 18.73, respectively. In the period of 2005-2017, the DALY rate (per 100,000 people) attributable to ambient air PM_2.5, tropospheric ozone, residential radon, and occupational risk factors rose that the result increases the importance of the preventive measures and controls of these risk factors.
Conclusion: There was a considerable difference in the burden of disease attributed to each risk factor in various international studies as well as between national and international studies. The results of national studies on the burden of diseases attributable to environmental risk factors are considered to be more reliable and practical due to the application of more detailed data and conducting subnational evaluations; therefore, the strengthening and continuing these studies at the national and sub-national levels with regard to priorities, needs, and spatiotemporal trends using domestic reliable data and information are necessary and strictly recommended.
 

Background and Objective: Since mobile resources are the most important sources of air pollution in the metropolis of Rasht and due to the importance of air pollution in wet weather condition in Rasht, this research was carried out in a specific area to determine the pattern governing the change in the monthly emissions of pollutants on a small scale, using the results obtained from that area.
Materials and Methods: In this study, the amount of air pollutants was estimated on a small scale by continuous monitoring of traffic throughout the year (four days per month and six hours per day) and using MOVES software.
Results: The maximum annual average emissions of CO and NOx in the study area were 15.76 (between Gas and Razi squares) and 2 (between Imam Hossein Square and Nirou Daryaee square) g/(m.hr), respectively. In addition, the results showed that the average monthly emission of NO_X throughout the year in each of the sections was constant and the average monthly emission of CO in the first half and the second half of the year was constant, and its value in the first half was higher than that in the second half.
Conclusion: Hourly distribution of CO emission in different months was affected by events and, in general, the pattern of people's life styles. But the hourly distribution for NO_X was roughly constant throughout the year. Also, according to the results, with a single measurement (for CO) and twice measurement (for NO_X) of traffic instead of monthly measurements, the pollutant emission estimation in other parts of the city was possible with an acceptable accuracy. Because the generalization of the method used in this study to estimate the emission of pollutants in all roads of the city is not reasonable and cost-effective.
 

Background and Objective: Medical waste is among the environmental problems. Failure to manage these wastes leads to the prevalence of various diseases. This study aimed to rank the educational hospitals of SBUMS by assessing medical waste reduction.
Materials and Methods: First, a review of past national and international studies was performed and accordingly, 12 criteria and 30 sub-criteria for reduction of medical waste production were selected. After developing a questionnaire based on such criteria, data was collected from six SBUMS hospitals. Then, TOPSIS and VIKOR techniques in MATLAB were used as ranking methods of hospitals.
Results: The combined results of TOPSIS and VIKOR methods using weighted average indicated that Hospital (C), Hospitals (B) and (A) were respectively ranked first, second and third in terms of waste management. Moreover, the effective measures to reduce the amount of waste production and to improve the waste management system include human resource, management support, proper management of supplies, proper model of service delivery, quality of supplies and equipment, and waste sorting at source.
Conclusion: A combined method consisting of TOPSIS and VIKOR for evaluation of ranking of hospitals in terms of waste management can be a helpful tool in planning waste management, and can provide a basis for improving measures and promoting programs and activities.
 

Background and Objective: Surface water and underground water quality in countries that facing dehydration have increased the interest of the community to use Household Water Treatment devices. The aim of this study was the evaluation of the quality of drinking water of Household Water Treatment devices and general distribution network in Garmsar, which is under the control of the water safety plan.
Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study administered in 6 regions and 41 cities of Garmsar city in spring and summer seasons in 2018. Chemical tests performed according to the standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, general measurements were performed using the multi-tube fermentation method and counting of heterotrophic bacteria by pour plate method. The results analyzed by using Excel and SPSS software.
Results: The average values during two seasons were reported as: EC= 1507 (μS/cm), TDS= 786.8 (mg/L), F= 0.048 (mg/L), residual free chlorine= 0.67 (mg/L), pH=7.9, total coliform= 0.16 (MPN/100 mL), fecal coliform= 0.14 (MPN/100 mL) and HPC= 112 (CFU/mL). No significant difference found between the chemical and microbial parameters in the general distribution network and the output of the Household Water Treatment devices during the two seasons.
Conclusion: Household water treatment devices did not affect the microbial burden but caused a change in the amounts of some chemical parameters. Drinking water from the distribution network, with the proper application of the water safety plan, is of good quality.
 

Background and Objective: Despite the significant improve in air quality in Tehran in 2018 and reducing the average concentration of most pollutants, compared to previous years, air quality is still far from the WHO air quality guideline level and national air quality standards. The purpose of this study was to estimate the effects of air pollution on health in Tehran by considering the spatial distribution of particulate matter 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter (PM_2.5) and population in determining exposure levels.
Materials and Methods: In this study, while introducing the GEMM concentration–response function and BenMAP-CE software, the mortality attributed to PM_2.5 in Tehran and its distribution for 2017 and 2018 was calculated. Hourly PM_2.5 from monitoring stations used to estimate the mean PM_2.5 for 349 Tehran neighborhoods.
Results: The results showed that the average population weighted PM_2.5 concentrations in Tehran in 2017 and 2018 was estimated to be 31.8 and 26.2 µg/m³ respectively. Using the GEMM function, about 7,377 (95% CI: 6,126-8,581) total mortality attributed to PM_2.5 was estimated in adults in 2017 (> 25 years) and the figure for 2018 was estimated as 6,418 (95% CI: 5,918-6,753).
Conclusion: The spatial distribution of deaths attributable to PM_2.5 showed that the total mortality rate per 100000 in the districts 16 and 18 of the Tehran municipality were higher than other districts and the lowest rate observed in the district 1.