Iranian Journal of

Background and Objective: Petroleum compounds are major contributors to aquatic environmental pollution. In recent years, biological treatments as environmental-friendly and cost-effective techniques have been used alongside the various physico-chemical methods. Microbial cell immobilization in hydrogel carriers has been the focus of researchers due to various advantages such as ease of microbial species control, non-direct exposure of pollutants to the cells, increasing cell resistance during different types of stresses and reusability. The main goals of this study were introduction to electrospraying technique in order to size reduction of alginate beads and comparison of heavy crude oil biodegradation using an isolated strain of Bacillus licheniformis in free and immobilized cells.
Materials and Methods: The oil-degrading strain was isolated from oil-polluted site on Kharg Island. Microbial cells were examined in both free and immobilized systems under different conditions (pH=5,7) and initial crude oil concentration (1500,3500 ppm). Electrospraying technique was used for alginate beads production. Residual crude oil content was analyzed by gas chromatograph and gravimetrically method.
Results: The maximum oil removal (61%) was obtained for the immobilized cells at a concentration of 3500 ppm in neutral medium. Overall, according to the results, after the 14^th day, the biodegradation through the immobilized cells was significantly (p<0.05) higher than the free cells. Moreover, the cell immobilization caused the microorganisms to be more resistant to the harsh environments.
Conclusion: This study showed that the immobilized microbial cell system has a great potential for oil wastewater treatment. The electrospraying technique can be used to overcome to the mass transfer limitations.

Background and Objective: Rangeland forage is the main source of feed for sheep and goats in many countries and the concentration of heavy metals in these plants is very important. Bushehr province is also affected by environmental pollution due to its proximity to the Persian Gulf, the occurrence of different wars and the existence of different oil and gas resources. The environment and rangelands, which feed on various livestock, are also exposed to these contaminants. Therefore, knowing the composition of the compounds and health of grassland forages will greatly help experts to better understand the health of meat and milk of animals that graze on these pastures.
Materials and Methods: Based on the rangeland area and the number of livestock in the coastal strip, two rangelands of Bashi and Rostami were selected and their grassland forage was randomly sampled. Plants were sampled at three grazing stages (first, middle and end of grazing season). Samples were dried in shade, then mixed and milled and sent to the laboratory.
Results: The results showed that the average of lead, cobalt, cadmium and chromium were 0.30, 0.15, 0.017 and 3.73 mg/kg dry matter in total rangeland, respectively. Significant differences were observed in the amount of cobalt element in the two study areas and the amount of other elements was not significantly different. The amount of cadmium was significantly different in the various stages of grazing, with the highest concentration in the first stage of grazing.
Conclusion: In general, the concentrations of these elements in the fodder of coastal rangelands of Tangestan area of Bushehr province were at permissible level for grazing animals. No risk of shortage or poisoning for the animals was observed and hence no danger to human health.

Background and Objective: Regular use of household cleaning products and cosmetics can result in adverse consequences for human health. Therefore, the knowledge of consumption pattern of these products can help to evaluate the effects and finally control the consequences of their inappropriate application. As there is not an appropriate tool for evaluating public use-pattern for these products in Iran, we studied the reliability and validity of a questionnaire designed for the use-patterns of these products.
Materials and Methods: In the present study, a questionnaire, which was previously applied in similar studies for this purpose, was first translated to Persian. Then, some changes were made in the questionnaire according to the studied population. In the next step, the assessment of both content validity and face validity of the instrument was performed. Finally, the questionnaire reliability was studied in two test-retest steps at a 14-day interval with 40 subjects older than 14 years old being resident in Tehran city.
Results: Total Content Validity Index (CVI) of this questionnaire ranged 0.66-1 for all question items. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.814. The correlation assessment of each question item based on the total correlation score showed that all questionnaire items had a direct and strong correlation with the total instrument score.
Conclusion: Given the acceptable validity and reliability obtained for the questionnaire in Persian in this study, it can be used in those investigations that evaluate use patterns or asses the exposure risks to chemical pollutants from cosmetic products or detergents.

Background and Objective:  Arsenic has long been considered as a heavy metal and toxic pollutant due to its potential to harm the human health and the environment. Adsorption is one of the mechanisms for arsenic removal from wastewater. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to investigate the feasibility of synthesized chitosan-zirconium magnetic nano fiber on arsenic adsorption from wastewater and to evaluate its kinetic and isotherm models.
Materials and Methods: Synthesis of nanofibers was performed by electrospinning method and the optimal formulation was determined following the experimental design. Then, kinetics and isotherms of arsenic adsorption on the as synthesized nanofibers were investigated. The prepared nanofiber was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopes (FESEM), Infrared Fourier Transform (FT-IR) and Vibrational Sampler Magnetic Meter (VSM).
Results: The optimal formulation was obtained: 2.84% chitosan, 0.97% nano-zirconium and 0.94% nano-iron. The adsorption of arsenic on synthetic fibers was found to follow quasi-first-order kinetics and the Freundlich isotherm. Furthermore, the effect of initial concentrations of arsenic, contact time, temperature and pH on arsenic adsorption were surveyed. The optimal condition for nitrate arsenic adsorption was obtained at initial concentration of 70 mg/L, 45 min contact time and at pH 3.
Conclusion: According to the results, the synthesized nanofiber displayed a regular network structure with the distribution of the Zr-nanoparticles in its shape. Also, according to the form of magnetometric analysis, it was found that chitosan-nanosirconium magnetic nanofibers are well magnetized and are free magnetic.  Finally, it can be concluded that the synthesized nanosorbent has a high potential for arsenic removal from industrial effluents.

Background and Objective: In the present study, EC and TDS quality parameters of Karun River were modeled using data-mining algorithms including LSSVM, ANFIS, and ANN, at Mollasani, Ahvaz and Farsiat hydrometric stations.
Material and Methods: Eight different inputs including the combination of Cl^-1, Ca⁺², Na⁺¹, Mg⁺², K⁺¹, CO₃^2-, HCO₃, and SO₄^2- with discharge flow (Q) were selected as non-random and random calibration inputs for these algorithms. Then, in order to guarantee the accuracy of the results, the simulation was performed by random calibration and the results of the two methods were compared. In the next step, the EC and TDS parameters were modeled based on the four parameters of Na⁺¹, Cl^-1, Ca⁺², and Q and a lag time of zero to three months.
Results: Modeling results indicated that Na⁺¹, Cl^-1, and Ca⁺² have the highest influence on modeling of EC and TDS parameters. The LSSVM algorithm was the most accurate in modeling EC and TDS parameters. Among the studied stations, the highest precision for EC and TDS modeling belongs to Ahvaz and Mollasani station, which has 16% and 36% higher coefficient of determination. LSSVM has highest accuracy in modeling the oscillation and peak EC and TDS parameters in during times.
Conclusion: The methods and models applied in the present study especially the LSSVM algorithm, can be a useful decision-making tool for predicting and qualitative management of rivers, including rivers in the Karun catchment area. The results of modeling the quality parameters of the rivers were reliable and usable by using both non-random and random calibration methods. However, the accuracy of the random calibration method was slightly higher.

Background and Objective: Increased use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers in agriculture in order to increase the productivity of fertile lands has led to pollution of water resources with a variety of pollutants, including herbicides. In this study, a new polymer magnetic nanoadsorbent named PV/S-g-3D-GO/N was synthesized and used to remove 2,4-D and MCPA herbicides from aquatic environment.
Materials and Methods: To investigate the synthesized nanoadsorbent structure FTIR, FESEM, TEM, XRD, VSM and TGA techniques were used and the effect of parameters affecting the optimal removal of herbicides by the adsorbent, including pH, temperature, contact time, adsorption dose and initial herbicide concentration was investigated. The kinetic, isotherm and thermodynamic studies of adsorption were also investigated.
Results: The results showed that in the optimal adsorption conditions including pH 3 for both herbicides, contact time of 180 min for 2.4-D herbicide and 300 min for MCPA herbicide, absorption dose 5 g/L and temperature 50°C for both herbicides, the maximum absorption capacity (q_max) was 5.62 mg/g for 2.4-D and 4.94 mg/g for MCPA. The synthesized nanoparticles that were used to remove 2,4-D and MCPA herbicides from real samples were totally successful (100% removal efficiency). For both herbicides studied, the isothermal data followed the Longmuir model (2,4-D: R² = 0.995; MCPA: R² = 0.998), and the kinetics of the adsorption process was a pseudo-second-order model (2,4-D: R² = 0.991; MCPA: R² = 0.999).
Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate that the synthesized nano-adsorbent can be used to remove phenoxic herbicides from agricultural runoff as well as water sources contaminated with the studied herbicides.

Background and Objective: Since people spend a lot of time indoors, assessment of Sick Building Syndrome (SBS)is the first step to improve working and living conditions in closed environments. This study wasconducted to evaluate the SBS symptoms among staff in Razi Hospital of Chalous, to identify the affecting environmental parameters on these symptoms and to provide solutions to reduce the symptoms of SBS.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conductedrandomly among 72 out of 240 hospital’s staff. Questionnaire MM040EA was used to collect demographic data, SBS symptoms and affecting environmental factors. Statistical analysis was carried out using Pearson’s Chi-squared test and Fisher's exact test in Excel software.
Results: 60% of people showed moderate to severe SBS symptoms. Fatigue, headache, and sneezing were the most common symptoms among staff, with 85%, 75%, and 63%, respectively. Significant correlation was observed between SBS symptoms and room temperature fluctuations (p <0.001), low ambient temperature (p = 0.037), unpleasant odor (p = 0.043) and gender (p = 0.011) with significance level of α=0.05.
Conclusion: Investigating the influence of work environmental related factors on the general symptoms of SBS as well as on fatigue, headache and sneezing symptoms showed room temperature fluctuation and unpleasant odor as the most important driving factors. These symptoms were mainly due to the improper air conditioning system operation at the hospital to control the temperature. Therefore, it is expected that the prevalence of SBS among staff can be reduced significantly by improving the ventilation system performance, especially in winter.

Background and Objective: In this study, we aimed to assess Iran’s position and trends for environmental health status among the countries of “Iran’s perspective document in 1404” according to the indicators used in Environmental Performance Index (EPI) report in 2018.
Materials and Methods: The score of indicators in environmental health area; air quality (including household solid fuels, exposure to PM_2.5, and PM_2.5 exceedance), water and sanitation (including drinking water and sanitation) and heavy metals (including lead) were extracted for all studied countries as well as for the last and baseline (generally ten years prior to last report) years from EPI 2018 database. According to EPI scores, the performance of the studied countries in each indicator was ranked. The percent change in the score of each indicator from baseline to current year was calculated and compared with the mean percent change for all studied countries.
Results: Iran ranked 7^th regarding air quality in 2016. Also, it ranked 6^th, 8^th, and 9^th in terms of household solid fuels, exposure to PM_2.5, and PM_2.5 exceedance, respectively. The EPI score for Iran regarding water and sanitation was 54.4 in 2005 and 58.74 in 2016 (percent change=7.98%). Iran ranked 21^st in 2005 regarding lead exposure index. Although this index showed a growth of 100% in 2016, which is very desirable compared to the average growth of all countries (34.47%), but only leads to one step up in the ranking of Iran and was ranked 20^th in comparison with other countries.
Conclusion: Totally, according to EPI 2018, Iran ranked 6^th in the field of environmental health issues among 23 countries of “Iran’s perspective document in 1404”. However, there is uncertainty in the accuracy of the EPI raw data used for calculating index scores. Hence, caution should be exercised in their interpretation.

Background and Objective: Hexavalent chromium is reported to be highly toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic; hence treatment of water and wastewater contaminated with this element by low-cost and environmentally friendly methods is of great importance. Therefore the aim of present study was to evaluate the efficiency of Fe(II) modified bentonite for hexavalent chromium removal from a simulated wastewater.

Materials and Methods: In this study, Fe(II) modified bentonite was synthesized. Structure and morphology of bentonite were investigated by XRD and SEM techniques. Experiments were carried out as central composite design with three input parameters namely initial hexavalent chromium, pH and adsorbent dosage at 5 levels. Finally, the results were assessed by adsorption isotherm models.
Results: The findings revealed that complete removal efficiency of Cr (VI) achieved at pH of 2, initial hexavalent chromium concentration of 20 mg/L and adsorbent dose of 5 g/L. The adsorption isotherm model found to fit well with Langmuir isotherm model and revealed that the monolayer adsorption of hexavalent chromium at adsorbent surface was happened. The equilibrium data better fitted the Langmuir isotherm model suggested a monolayer adsorption nature of the modified bentonite.
Conclusion:  The findings in this study showed the promise of use of Fe(II) modified bentonite for Cr (VI) removal. Moreover, response surface methodology can be used as an effective method to optimize hexavalent chromium removal from wastewaters. 

Background and Objective: Cadmium is a potential environmental contaminant that causes adverse effects on the environment and the health of living organisms. Therefore, designing a simple and economic technique for its determination is very important. In this respect, a potentiometric sensor based on nefazodone as the ionophore and [BMIM]PF₆ as the ionic additive were developed for the determination of ultra-trace amounts of cadmium (II),.
Materials and Methods: In this study, a new membrane ion selective electrode was constructed with a composition entailed of 10% nefazodone, 2% [BMIM]PF6, 30% PVC and 58% dioctyl phthalate (DOP).The created potential discrepancy between the membrane and reference electrodes was used as a signal which demonstrates a direct relationship with the logarithmic concentration of cadmium (II) for  its determination.
Results: The constructed sensor showed an appropriate Nernstian slope (30.5 mV. Decade-1) in a wide concentration range (1×10^-9 - 8×10^-2 M) with the detection limit of 6×10^-9 M. The electrode potential was pH-independent in the range of 3.5-8.0. The response time and lifetime of the electrode obtained 5 s and 15 weeks, respectively.
Conclusion: The constructed sensor independent of sample preparation was employed successively for the measurement of low concentrations of cadmium (II) in the environmental samples .Moreover,  the obtained findings were in a good agreement with the results of flame atomic absorption spectroscopy. Therefore, the designed electrode established pinpoint accuracy and it can be used for the determination of cadmium (II) in aqueous samples.

Background and Objective: Air pollution is one of the most important environmental risk factors that exposure to it can cause many acute and chronic effects on human health. Some regions of Iran, especially the western, southern and southeastern provinces of the country, have been affected with dust storm for years. Studies on the frequencies of dusty days in the country show that central pits of Iran and the cities of Zabol and Zahedan have the highest incidence of dusty days. The purpose of this study was to determine the concentration of suspended particles with aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM_2.5) in various seasons and months during 2019 in Zahedan.
Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study samples were typically collected once every 6 days during a 24-hour period as well as on dusty days using an air sampler (PQ200 / BGI) from July 2018 to July 2019.
Results: The results show that the mean concentration of PM_2.5 in Zahedan during this study was 36.86 µg/m³. The maximum and minimum PM_2.5 daily concentrations in the sampling days were also measured as 130.8 and 4.75 µg/m³, respectively.
Conclusion: In conclusion, 88% of samples contained PM_2.5 concentration above the WHO 24-hr air quality guideline level (25 µg/m³), which could be due to the high incidence of summer dust storms. This indicates that particulate matters are a serious health threat to people living in those areas and calls for the implementing measures to tackle the problem.

Background and Objective: Pollutants emitted from industries can endanger human health if they enter the food chain, so environmental monitoring is essential. The aim of this study was to investigate the bioaccumulation of heavy metals including lead, copper and nickel and the level of air pollution tolerance index in Prosopis juliflora and Conocarpus erectus tree species during one-year period (1399-1400) in Mahshahr city.
Materials and Methods: In order to investigate the bioaccumulation of heavy metals by two species of Prosopis juliflora and Conocarpus erectus, 15 stations were selected separately. After recording the coordinates of each tree (station), 4 leaveas were taken from each tree that accounted for total 60 samples. The samples were then transferred to the laboratory and digested then analyzed using atomic absorption spectrometer. For statistical analysis, K.S test was used to normalize data and independent t-tests were applied to determine the level of significance. The correlation between variables were tested by Pearson correlation. Spatial distribution of heavy metals was performed using Ver.10.4 Arc GIS software.
Results: Conocarpus erectus established the highest adsorption value for metals such as lead (0.1223±0.35 mg/kg), copper (0.2101±0.053 mg/kg) and nickel (0.2023±0.094 mg/kg). No significant correlation was observed between heavy metals. Evaluation of air pollution tolerance showed that Conocarpus erectus (6.53±0.026 mg/kg) was more tolerant than Prosopis juliflora (4.77±0.029 mg/kg). Spatial distribution revealed that heavy metals accumulation in the leaves of trees were more obvious in the southest area of the city.
Conclusion: Conocarpus erectus is more tolerant of air pollution than Prosopis juliflora. Therefore, it can be used in areas with the high levels of pollution. Moreover, the spatial distribution of heavy metals’ bioaccumulation illustrated that the south and southeast parts of the city (due to industry concentration) are more affected by the heavy metals pollution which call for more palnting trees.

Background and Objective: The bibliometric analysis is the most effective way to study the scientific output and trend of research. The purpose of this study is to analyze the scientific output of the Institute of Environmental Research (IER) at Tehran University of Medical Sciences using bibliometric technique.
Materials and Methods: All related IER articles that have been indexed in Scopus and WoK were retrieved from the beginning of 2009 till November 23, 2019. The bibliometric data were extracted and analyzed using R software.
Results: The document production follows an increasing exponential trend with a rate of 10% per year. 807 documents were retrieved with an average citations of 19.26 per each document. The documents per author and authors per document were obtained 0.196 and 5.1, respectively. The highest citations to documents was in 2017 (35.5 citations). The most frequent keywords were found “Adsorption”, “Drinking water”, “Air pollution”, “Particulate matter”, “Risk assessment” and “Response surface methodology”. Thus, engineering-based studies are more prominent in the published studies. Health-based studies, including risk assessment studies, accounted for the most area of research. The largest numbers of international research collaboration were recorded with the United States, Switzerland, Canada and India. While, in the national scale, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences’ collaboration was prominent.
Conclusion: It is still necessary to promote the level of the IER’s international collaborations to raise its regional status. In addition, more attention should be paid to health-based topics like risk assessment studies. These studies need to be given higher priority in the action plan of the IER’s centers and research groups.

Background and Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of seasonal variation on the diversity of fungal airborne species in the composting process.
Materials and Methods: Samples were taken based on the 0800 NIOSH method at a height of 1.5 m above the ground during the waste separation, turning of windrow and stabilization of compost. Air samples were collected in two various seasons; summer (108 samples) and winter (108 samples) at the composting plant in Shiraz. The culture media consisted of Sabouraud Dextrose Agar with chloramphenicol for the selective isolation of fungi, which was further incubated at 37 and 45°C. The results were analyzed by a t-test method using MATLAB 2018.
Results: The highest mesophilic fungi density was related to the segregation process of composting. The variation of fungi observed was higher during summer throughout separation and stabilization process (p < 0.05). The predominant species were found to be Aspergillus flavus (4449.8 CFU/m³) (p < 0.05) and Paecilomyces (1850.9 CFU/m³) (p < 0.05), respectively. Furthermore, the highest varieties of fungal species in the turning of windrow mass were observed during winter (p < 0.05) and the predominant species was yeast (420.6 CFU/m³). At all stages of composting, the varieties of thermophilic fungal species were higher during summer with the large number of Aspergillus fumigatus, Mucoral, and Paecilomyces.
Conclusion: The density and diversity of mesophilic fungi during summer was higher than winter. The concentration of Aspergillus, was beyond the guidelines set by the EPA, ACGIH, NIOSH and EU. Thus, the use of self-protection is essential.

Background and Objective: Due to the increasing trend of municipal solid waste (MSW) production, if a suitable management system is not applied, it will lead to environmental pollution and endanger human health. The aim of this study was to compare different scenarios of waste management in Chalous city with life cycle assessment (LCA) approach and to select the most efficient method in terms of environmental adaptation.
Materials and Methods: After investigation of the quantitative and qualitative characterization of the produced wastes and the current waste disposal method in Chalous city, the obtained results were used to evaluate the life cycle of six different waste management scenarios; including the combination of four methods of composting, recycling, incineration along with energy extraction and sanitary landfilling. Emissions from various scenarios were assessed using IWM-2 model.
Results: The current system of municipal waste management in Chalus (scenario 1) with ecological index of 1.73+06 poses the highest pollution load into the environment. The inclusion of compost disposal methods in the organic waste sector and recycling of biodegradable materials significantly reduces the emissions of environmental pollutants by increasing the amount of materials for recycling and reuse, as well as preventing emissions from raw material production. The fifth scenario (60% compost, 30% recycling and 10% sanitary landfill) with ecological index of -2.00+05 was known as the lowest contamination scenario.
Conclusion: Considering that a high percentage of Chalous municipal solid waste composition is perishable materials (organic waste), simultaneous application of composting and recycling methods can be a suitable option for optimal management of wastes in Chalous city and play an important role in reducing the environmental pollution load.

Background and Objective: Limited water resources in arid and semi-arid regions are one of the major limiting factors in agricultural production. Thus, unconventional water resources, such as urban treated wastewater, may be used for irrigation. Application of wastewater to the soil may cause accumulation of heavy metals (HMs). Soil pollution causes uptake of these metals by plants and their entrance to the food chain. In the present greenhouse research, concentration variations of HMs (lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd)( in soil and sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) plant were investigated.
Materials and Methods: The experiment was conducted as a completely randomized design with three replications and irrigation with different wastewater treated (well water, wastewater treatment and diluted wastewater). To evaluate the effects of different irrigation treatments on soil, parameters of acidity (pH), electrical conductivity (EC), the concentration of heavy metals Pb and Cd in soil were studied.  Additionally, for the effects of irrigation treatments on sweet pepper plant, parameters of biomass weight, fresh and dry weight and Pb and Cd concentrations (in branches, fruits and roots) were measured. The amount of Pb and Cd in the pepper were measured by ICP-OES. The obtained average concentrations were compared using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and the Duncan test was used to determine the differences between groups (p <0.05). The independent t-test was also used to investigate the difference in concentrations of Pb and Cd in soil and water (p <0.05).
Results: The results of chemical analysis of soil and pepper showed that irrigation with wastewater did not cause a significant increase in the concentration of Pb and Cd in the soil and in the branches, fruits and roots of the pepper. The concentration of Pb and Cd in the soil and in the branches, fruits and roots of the pepper was within the allowable and standard concentration range. The difference in lead and cadmium concentrations in the soil before planting was not significant; however, at the end of the study period, the Pb concentration in pepper was higher than the Cd concentration. The use of wastewater increased the fresh and dry weight of branches, fruits and roots of the pepper.
Conclusion: The results showed that Pb and Cd concentration in roots and aerial parts of pepper plant was not increased significantly as a result of wastewater irrigation (p <0.05). The results of this study are limited to one growing season and by the continued use of municipal wastewater, the concentration of Pb and Cd in the soil and then in the plant may exceed the standard. Especially in the case of Pb, which seems to have shown a slight tendency to increase relative to the primary soil and the pepper. Therefore, the continuation of this study is recommended to evaluate the long-term effects of Bushehr municipal treated wastewater on the concentration of heavy elements in soil and plants, and soil properties. Overall, it should be acknowledged that based on technical recommendations, the use of treated wastewater are not recommended.

Background and Objective: Today, soil and water pollution with heavy metals is one of the major challenges around the world. The aim of this study is to investigate the contamination of soils around a lead and zinc mine.
Materials and Methods: In the summer of 2019, 100 soil samples were taken from the mine vicinity and the characteristics of texture, acidity, salinity, calcium carbonate, organic matter and heavy metals chromium, cobalt, zinc, lead and cadmium were measured. Pollution indices including pollution factor (PI), enrichment coefficient (EF), geoaccumulation (Igeo), toxicity probability (MERMQ), contamination load (PLI), background enrichment (PIN), pollution security (CSI) and Nemerow index (PINemerow) ) Were calculated. Correlation between soil variables and determination of metal origin were determined using Pearson correlation and principal component analysis (PCA) analysis.
Results: The average concentrations of chromium, cobalt, zinc, lead and cadmium were obtained as 92, 21.33, 453.98, 351.24 and 4.28 mg/kg, respectively. The metals pollution evaluated based on PI, EF and Igeo indices were moderate for chromium and cobalt, considerable for zinc and significant for lead and cadmium. The results of MERMQ, PLI, PIN, CSI and PINemerow indices showed high soil contamination with heavy metals. According to the PCA test, the elements lead, zinc and cadmium are in a group with high correlation with each other that are of anthropogenic origin. Chromium and cobalt with a correlation of 88% also showed the same geological origin.
Conclusion: mining activities should be done with more caution and measures should be taken to reduce pollution.

Background and Objective: Hydrolysis of fat, oil and grease by ultrasonic waves is a pre-treatment method before anaerobic digestion which can change their physical, chemical and biological properties. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the efficiency of ultrasonic waves to improve the hydrolysis process and its use as an auxiliary substrate to increase the efficiency of anaerobic digestion process along with municipal sewage sludge.
Materials and Methods: Sampling of fat and oil of the degreasing unit and physical preparation by conducting ultrasonic waves with frequencies of 20 kHz and current density of 0.012-0.14 W/mL within 0-12 min were performed. The efficiency of pretreatment process were performed through tests such as soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD), and lipase enzyme activity. In addition, the anaerobic digestion process were evaluated by measuring the TS, VS, VA (volatile acidity), alkalinity, biogas production and biogas methane content.
Results: The results showed that the highest increase in the activity of lipase enzyme under ultrasonic effect with a power of 0.1 w/mL was obtained after 8 minutes. Organic loading with 10%, 20% and 40% FOG/MSS ratios: resulted in 55%, 66% and 64% increase in methane production compared to the control samples, respectively. Organic loading over the 40% FOG/MSS caused a limitation in the simultaneous digestion process.
Conclusion: The results show that ultrasonic wave pretreatment with optimal power and time can improve the hydrolysis of TFOG while increasing the activity of lipase enzyme and also its use as an auxiliary substrate can enhance digestion performance and make digestion more stable.

Background and Objective: N-methylpyrrolidine is a highly potent solvent with toxic and adverse ecological properties that has historically been widely used in the chemical and petrochemical industries. Due to the health and safety، toxicity and environmental effects of effluents containing NMP، these effluents should be pre-treated before biological treatment methods. The aim of this study was to remove N-methylpyrrolidone by photo- Fenton process.
Materials and Methods: For testing, solutions such as sulfuric acid, iron sulfate 7, oxygenated water, sodium hydroxide and distilled water were added to N-methypyrrolidine compounds in the reactor. Then, the removal process was investigated in two stages: complete mixing and adding solutions.
Results: The results revealed that the Fenton process cannot be used successfully to treat the hypothetical refinery effluent containing NMP. However، the photo-phanton process mineralized and degraded the NMP composition. Increase in 30% H₂O₂ concentration to the optimal dose of 1 mL led to the highest degradation (94%) and decrease in COD level of solution (42.1%).
Conclusion: It can be concluded that advanced oxidation by photo-phanton reaction can be a promising advanced oxidation technology for decomposition and pre-treatment of NMP-containing wastewaters for further biological treatment.