Showing 182 results for Ali
F Khalili, A.h Mahvi, S Nasseri, M Yunesian, B Djahed, M Yaseri,
Volume 9, Issue 1 (6-2016)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Chemical hair color are one of the most widely used cosmetics. The presence of heavy metals in these products can affect the health of consumers. Unlike other cosmetics, no study has been conducted on the heavy metal levels in the synthetic chemical hair colors. This study determined the concentration of heavy metals in these products and the risk assessment of non-carcinogenic effects by these elements were calculated.
Material and Method: 32 samples of chemical hair color from eight brands (3 local and 5 imported ones) and four most used colors were collected from the markets in Tehran. The concentration of cadmium, lead, and barium was determined using ICP-MS. The information required to assess exposure risk was gathered through a questionnaire distributed among citizens of Tehran. The assessment of exposure was conducted using Mont Carlo method and non-carcinogenic risk was determined using the index of Hazard Quotient. .
Results: Barium concentration measured was 0.86 mg/kg and concentrations of Cadmium and Lead were 0.45 and 185.34 µg/kg respectively. Among the elements, Pb with Hazard Quotient equals to 7.46×10-4 had the most risk and cadmium with Hazard Quotient equals to 3.57×10-5 had the lowest risk. Moreover, the Iranian brand and blond had the highest risk among the samples.
Conclusion: Based on the index of Hazard Quotient, heavy metals in the studied samples had no risk for consumers of these products.
M Sabouhi , F Nejadkoorki, H.r Azimzadeh, M.s Ali Taleshi,
Volume 9, Issue 1 (6-2016)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The presence of industrial workshops has increased urban pollution. This study aimed to investigate the heavy metal pollutants of Yazd battery repairing workshops and to identify the ecological and environmental effects resulted.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in Yazd. In this regard, the city was divided into three parts on the basis of geographical features. Then, 30 workshops were selected from each part through stratified random sampling method. Heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cr, Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn) in the floor were measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The impacts assessment of heavy metals was evaluated using environmental potential risk index (RI), cumulative pollution index (IPI), pollution coefficient factor (Cf), and the degree of modified contamination (mCd) and Pearson’s correlation statistical test.
Results: The trend of heavy metals concentrations in floor dust particles of workshops was as Fe>Cu>Pb>Zn>Mn>Cr>Cd. Therefore, the average concentrations of Fe and Cd in the samples were 27011.52 ±4721.05 and 78.25±21.07 mg/kg respectively. The results of the RI showed that heavy metal of floor dust had very high danger (2816.29). The mCd value was as 63.35 indicating these workshops were at severe contamination class. The value of Cf was as 304.17 revealing that these workshops were at very severe contamination class.
Conclusions: This research showed that the high concentration of heavy metals in battery repairing workshops is due to the interaction of heavy metals of industrial wastes components, including electrical wastes and battery with the dust having mankind origin.
S Nasrollahi-Sarvaghaji, R Alimardani, M Sharifi, Mr Taghizadeh Yazdi,
Volume 9, Issue 2 (9-2016)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The continuous increase in solid waste generation worldwide due to population growth and industrialization, calls for management strategies that integrate concerns for environmental sustainability. By quantifying environmental impacts of systems, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool which can contribute to answering that call. The aim of this study was to evaluate environmental pollutants resulting from various treatment options including anaerobic digestion, incineration, and landfill of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generated daily in Tehran.
Materials and Methods: First, the physical properties of the waste and consumption of inputs in the study area were determined from September to October, 2014- 2015. Then the different steps of LCA in relation to each of the subsystems were followed (with SimaPro software). Finally, the results based on the CML Baseline 2000 were presented and analyzed.
Results: It was found that when the higher rate of separation and processing in any subsystems increases, the emission of environmental pollutants decreases, so that the global warming potential, acidification, eutrophication, and abiotic depletion as the most important impact categories in the subsystems of anaerobic digestion were obtained as -125935 kg CO2/day, -449 kg SO2/day, -1690 kg PO43-/day and -0.43 kg Sb/day, respectively and in incineration were obtained as -264872 kg CO2/day, -974 kg SO2/day, -3471 kg PO43-/day and -0.76 kg Sb/day, respectively, while in the landfill subsystem, they were estimated to be 74478 kg CO2/day, 362 kg SO2/day, 118 kg PO43-/day, and 0.13 kg Sb/day, respectively.
Conclusion: According to the constituent processes of each of the subsystems and the results of the evaluation of exhaust emissions subsystems, it can be concluded that in an integrated system of waste management, the energy-generating systems such as anaerobic digestion and incineration should be as the first priority and the traditional subsystems such as landfill should be as the last priority.
M Halimi, Z Zarei Cheghabalehi, M Jafari Modrek,
Volume 9, Issue 3 (12-2016)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Malaria is a disease affecting 300–500 million people in tropical and subtropical regions and causes approximately 2.7 million deaths annually. Currently, no vaccine protects against malaria and resistance to anti-malaria drugs such as chloroquine is increasing and spreading geographically. Moreover, anti-malarial drugs are expensive and often unaffordable to low-income populations. A better understanding of the relationship between the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the climatic anomalies it engenders, and malaria epidemic could help mitigate the world-wide increase in incidence of this mosquito transmitted disease. There is evidence of a relationship between climate variability and the transmission of mosquito-transmitted diseases. Therefore, in this study we intended to analyze the relationship between ENSO events and annual malaria occurrence (AMO) in Iran to assess the possibility of using ENSO forecasts for improving malaria control.
Martials and Methods: Two types of data were used: The data of annual malaria incidence in Iran were collected from the national and international reports of malaria occurrence in Iran; the annual malaria occurrence data for 38 years (1974-2013) were collected from related sources. ENSO is a cyclic phenomenon, which its frequency is 2 to 7 years (i.e., irregular) and is the second strongest natural driver of climate variability, the first being normal seasonal variability. This oscillation has two different phases: a warm episode known as El Niño; and a cold episode called La Niña, where warm and cold refer to the direction of departure from average of the equatorial Pacific Sea surface temperature (SST), a fundamental indicator of the ENSO state. The Pearson correlation analysis at 0.95 confident level (P-value=0.05) on monthly timescale was used in order to understand the relationship between ENSO and annual malaria occurrence in Iran. The 2-tailed independent parametric T-test was used knowing that whether there is a significant difference between the La Nina years occurrence and El Nino years occurrence.
Results: The results indicated that a slight negative association could be detected between ENSO and annual Malaria occurrence in Iran. Our finding showed that the detected correlation between monthly ENSO and annual malaria occurrence is statistically significant only in months October and May while no significant relationship between ENSO and AMO at 0.95 confident level was found for other months.. The inverse relationship between ENSO and AMO means that the years having higher malaria occurrence coincides with the warm ENSO phases or EL Nino episode while the years having lower malaria occurrence coincides with the cool ENSO phases or La Nina episode. In El Niño episode, the annual occurrence of malaria is about 0.2 to 0.3 higher than La Niña episode years.
Conclusion: The positive association between El Niño and rainfall of Iran resulted in higher occurrence of malaria by proliferation of Anopheles mosquito especially in southern and southeastern region of Iran.
A Gholampour, Ms Hassanvand, R Nabizadeh, Z Alizadeh, Ah Mahvi,
Volume 9, Issue 3 (12-2016)
Abstract
Background and Objective: The present study was carried out to determine the amount and ionic characterization of TSP and PM10 aimed at identifying the potential emission sources of particulates in the ambient air of Tabriz.
Materials and Methods: TSP and PM10 samples were collected by two high volume samplers during September 2013 to August 2014. Water-soluble ions in particulate matter were extracted using ultrasonic method and were identified by ion chromatography. Using Stata12 software, linear regression analysis was performed between the ions to determination of the major ionic component of the particulates. In addition, in order to identify the potential emission sources of PM10, the rotation varimax model was used.
Results: Total measured water-soluble ions in TSP and PM10 of the urban sampling site were 20.33±20.77 and 16.04±14.08 µg/m3, respectively. Among all detected ions, sulfate (8.69±5.79 µg/m3) and nitrate (8.47±7.9 µg/m3) were the dominant constituents followed by calcium and sodium.
Conclusion: The modeling results revealed that the soils of surrounding ground together with secondary PM and also resuspension of PM from polluted soil account for 80 percent of PM10 mass.
M Jalili, M Mokhtari, Aa Ebrahimi, F Boghri,
Volume 9, Issue 3 (12-2016)
Abstract
Background and Objective: About 1.35×105 tons of pistachio waste are produced in annually Iran that can result in environmental problems if managed improperly. . The purpose of this study was to investigate in-vessel composting of pistachio residuals with addition of cow manure and dewatered sludge as a recycling alternative.
Materials and Methods: Pistachios wastes were combined with weight ratio of 5.5:10 (dewatered sludge: pistachio waste) and weight ratio of 1:10 (Cow manure: pistachio waste) to achieve the carbon to nitrogen ratio of 25:1. The parameters measured were pH, EC, percentage of moisture, total and volatile solids, ash, organic carbon, temperature, and phenol. The 20th edition of SPSS software was used for t-test statistical analysis and comparing the results with standards and Microsoft Excel 2007 was used for drawing the plots.
Results: During the 60-days process of in-vessel composting of pistachio residuals with addition of cow manure, the ratio of carbon to nitrogen reduced from 25:1 to 13:1, dewatered sludge from 25:1 to 14:1; phenol amount in cow maneuver decreased from 4980 to 254 ppm and in dewatered sewage sludge from 6100 to 254 ppm. The maximum temperature in cow manure and dewatered sewage sludge treatments in the composting process reached to 51.9 and 48.9 ˚C respectively.
Conclusion: Results showed that the produced compost with cow manure has a higher fertilizing value compared with the dewatered sewage sludge due to its better organic degradation.
Rs Hajimirmohammad Ali, H Karyab, Ha Jamali, Mm Emamjome, F Ansari Maleki, A Arezomand,
Volume 9, Issue 4 (3-2017)
Abstract
Improper and incorrect implementation of sewage collection networks can cause environmental and health problems. It also causes dissatisfaction in urban residents. The purpose of this study was to design a questionnaire for evaluating satisfaction level of urban residents from sewage collection network. Face validity index, content validity ratio and Cronbach-coefficient were used to evaluate validity and internal consistency. The evaluated indexes were assessed in acceptable levels. The designed tool that was included 25 variables can be used to assess satisfaction level by researchers and wastewater companies.
M Mokhtari, A Salehi Vaziri, T Zareyi, M Jalili,
Volume 9, Issue 4 (3-2017)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Dewatered sewage sludge is a by-product of wastewater treatment process which can cause health and environmental problems if not properly managed. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of composting of Yazd WWT dewatered sludge with windrow method using different treatments.
Materials and Methods: In this study, the dewatered sewage sludge was mixed with two treatments of agricultural wastes (straw) and green waste (leaves), respectively. The mixture was done based on weight ratio of 20:1 and 10:1 (agricultural waste: dewatered sludge, and green waste: dewatered sludge) to achieve a ratio of C/N:20. The windrows were built with a length of 2 m, width of 75 cm and height of 1.5 m. Composting process was controlled by measuring the temperature, humidity, volatile solids, ash, pH, EC, organic carbon and estimating the C/N ratio. The results were compared with those of the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran.
Results: After 100 days of composting, C/N ratio was 13.08±6.25 in the treatment with green waste and reached to 15.46±5.35 in the treatment with agricultural waste. The amount of volatile solids decreased to 19.8±14.01% and 20.71±16.06% in the treatments with green waste and agricultural waste, respectively. The amount of EC had an increasing trend in both treatments.
Conclusion: composting with both treatments was led to an improvement in indicators of organic fertilizers in dewatered sewage. However, the windrow containing green waste reached to the mature compost standards sooner than the windrow containing agricultural waste.
N Sistani, M Moeinaddini, N Khorasani, Ah Hamidian, Ms Ali-Taleshi, R Azimi Yancheshmeh,
Volume 10, Issue 1 (6-2017)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Urban and industrial development has increased concentration of heavy metals in the environment. The goal of this study was to assess the impact of Kerman steel complex on their surrounding soil by heavy metals.
Materials and Methods: This study was a snapshot and its type was descriptive-analytical research. Heavy metals contents from 60 soil samples (top soil, 0-15 cm) near two Steel Complexes were analyzed using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Source identification and pollution degree indices including enrichment factor (EF) and its percentage (EF%), geo-accumulation index (Igeo), contamination factor (Cf), degree of contamination (Cd) and modified degree of contamination (mCd) were calculated to assess the soil pollution level.
Results: The average concentration of Ni, Zn, Fe, Pb, Cr and Cd were 9.98, 54.38, 15063.33, 20.86, 3.54 and 0.038 mg/kg, respectively. The order of average EF for heavy metals was Pb > Zn> Cd> Fe> Ni> Cr. Cf index also showed that 90% of the samples were moderately to significantly polluted with lead element. The results of EF% indicated that Fe (68.18%) had higher enrichment than others. The average values of Cd and mCd indices were 2.90 and 0.48, respectively, that showed low degree of pollution.
Conclusion: In this study, Pb and Cd concentration were related with activities of the steel complexes and other metals had a combination of natural and anthropogenic emission sources. The steel complexes should plan to reduce pollutants emission to their environment.
M Heydari, R Nabizadeh Nodehi, M Ali Mohammadi, K Yaghmaeian,
Volume 10, Issue 1 (6-2017)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Bottled water consumption is rapidly increasing in recent years for various reasons.The main aim of this study was to survey the geological origin of Iranian bottled water and determine compliance or lack of compliance with the experimental data obtained through sampling 71 brands of drinking bottled water and mineral water.
Materials and Methods: In this study the coordinates of access points as a georef of the chosen points were launched on the "Iran geological map" and "Iran mineral and warm water map." The compliance of laboratory data and water types with the geological data were evaluated and compared with the important ionic ratios of the extracted water through using awh software.
Results: In examining 71 brands of the bottled water, 28% of the brands did not agree with the laboratory results, reflected by observing higher levels of bicarbonate in 50% of the bottled waters than those of the geological data.. Additionally, 70% of water types were calcic bicarbonate. In the bottled waters from North Alborz range with coastal Time deposits around the Caspian Sea, there was a source of brine or sea water that was about 55% of this amount.
Conclusion: Water pass through different geological structures and the dissolution phenomenon might be an important factor for the observed disagreement. Because chemical treatment and use of additives on mineral waters are not allowed it prompts further studies to determine the cause and origin of this issue through sampling from the factory and water source.
S Alidoust, N Bahramifar, A Esmaeli Sari,
Volume 10, Issue 1 (6-2017)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Mercury (Hg) is considered as a global pollutant that is widely dispersed in the environment. Monitoring of total mercury (THg) concentration in the sediments without determination of organic mercury (OHg) and selenium (Se) is an unreliable approach to evaluate the precise toxicological effects of Hg. In the present study, concentrations of THg, OHg and Se in the surface sediments of the eastern and western parts of Anzali wetland were investigated. In addition, the correlation of THg and OHg with Se and total organic carbon were analyzed.
Materials and Methods: Forty surface sediment samples were collected from the eastern and western parts of the wetland. Analysis of total and organic mercury in the sediment samples were done with Advanced Mercury Analyzer and the concentration of selenium was measured using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES).
Results: The average concentrations of THg in the East and West wetlands were 109.53 and 68.39 ng/g dw, respectively. The average concentration of THg in the sediments of the eastern part of Anzali Wetland was significantly higher than that of the western part (P<0.001). The mean concentrations of OHg in East and West wetland were about 34.91 and 28.84 ng/g dw, respectively. There was no significant relationship. The ratio of OHg to THg showed significant differences in the two studied areas. The average concentrations of Se in East and West wetlands were 156.25 and 163.75 ng/g dw, respectively. There was a significant negative correlation between the concentration of selenium and organic mercury in sediments of the western part of wetland (P<0.05).
Conclusion: The THg concentration in the sediments of Anzali wetland was lower in comparison to other studied regions of the world. However, the percentage of OHg in the Eastern and Western part of wetland was high. Therefore, bioavailability and toxicity of Hg would be high in the sediments and aquatic environment. In this study, in spite of high molar ratio of Se to THg, there was relatively high content of OHg. We recommend to measure the various Se-species that are effectively bound to inorganic Hg and to determine the amount of Se and Hg in aquatic organisms.
Z Nejatijahromi, Hr Nassery, M Nakhaei, F Alijani,
Volume 10, Issue 4 (3-2018)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Irrigation of agricultural lands with treated wastewater in the main part of the Varamin plain, the highly populated urban areas of the middle part of the plain, and the presence of industries have increased the actual risk of heavy metal contamination of groundwater. Therefore, the concentrations of heavy metals were investigated in this study in order to assess the risk of using groundwater of Varamin aquifer for drinking purposes.
Materials and Methods: A total of 78 groundwater samples were collected to measure the concentrations of Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Cd, Fe, Co, and Mn ions. The bivariate correlation analysis has been used to describe the correlation between hydrochemical parameters in the Varamin area. Heavy Metal Evaluation Index (HEI) and Heavy Metal Pollution Index (HPI) of the groundwater were determined to determine the feasibility of drinking supply in Varamin plain.
Results: The average concentrations of cadmium in dry and wet periods were 7.5 and 8 μg/L, respectively. In the wet period, the average concentration of lead in the groundwater of the Varamin plain was 12.5 μg/L. The concentrations of both heavy metals were more than the permissible amount for drinking. Pearson correlation analysis of qualitative data of the water samples of the Varamin plain showed a strong correlation between some heavy metals such as Pb and Co with Cd, Cu and Mn. This reflected a similar source of contamination of the groundwater, inter-correlations, and the same mobility behaviors in the aquifer media. The results obtained from HEI and HPI showed that the pollution of Varamin aquifer in most parts was not dangerous with respect to the heavy metals concentrations, but in some areas, significant variations in the concentrations of some metals can be observed.
Conclusion: It may be expected that the risk of groundwater contamination continues with respect to heavy metals due to the persistence of contamination sources in the Varamin plain. Hence, some measured should be taken with regards to the agricultural recycle water, dispose of domestic and industrial wastewater, and the quality of transferring treated effluent from Tehran to the plain.
E Solgi, S Mirmohammadvali, M Solgi,
Volume 11, Issue 1 (6-2018)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Measurment of metals concentrations in scalp hair is a well known method for monitoring exposure to heavy metals, assessment of heavy metal poisoning, evaluation of nutrient levels and diagnoses of diseases. The present research was conducted to evaluate the concentrations of heavy metals in the scalp hairs of the local fishermen from Shif Island (Bushehr) and assess the effect of various factors on heavy metals levels in hair.
Materials and Methods: Thirty hair sampls were collected from fishermen of Shif Island. After sample preparation and chemical digestion, the heavy metals were analyzed by Atomic Absorption Spectrometer. The information required to evaluate the exposure was obtained via a questionnaire that was distributed among the fishermen.
Results: The concentration of Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, and Ni were 72.79, 148.11, 8.6, 4.72, and 19.71 mg/kg, respectively. There were significant correlations among Zn, Mn, and Ni. In addition, the results showed that use of hair colour increased the metal concentrations.
Conclusion: Our findings recommend that the population of Shif area and neighbouring county may be exposed to some of these heavy metals, particularly Ni that is an industrial and oil pollutant. The most likely exposure pathways seemed to be fish consumption; however, more detailed studies should be performed.
M Fallah, Ar Pirali Zefrehei, Saa Hedayati,
Volume 11, Issue 2 (9-2018)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Due to the vulnerability of water resources, quality control of surface water is one of the key issues in environmental conservation programs. In recent years, Anzali wetland has been exposed to numerous threats, including environmental pollutants. TOPSIS is an efficient and reliable way to assess the quality of water resources.
Materials and Methods: In order to evaluate water quality condition, Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), temperature, pH, turbidity, Total Suspended Solid (TSS), phosphate (PO4-), nitrate (NO3-) and Fecal Coliforms (FC) were measured seasonally from 10 sites of Anzali International Wetland in 2014 and the water quality condition was estimated using TOPSIS method.
Results: The highest BOD5, phosphate, temperature and fecal coliform were measured at station 8. Comparison of TOPSIS values in different sampling stations showed the minimum (0.339) and maximum values (0.689) at the stations 5 and 8, respectively. According to the result, the station 5 (Sorkhankal) had the best water quality condition and station 8 (Pirbazar) had the lowest one. Also, seasonal results of TOPSIS values showed that the maximum value was at spring (0.742).
Conclusion: Discharge of effluents from land uses, agricultural and industrial activities located along the stream, could be considered as important reasons for decreasing water quality. Our results showed that TOPSIS method was clearly able to demonstrate the qualitative changes of water resources, indicating a moderate water quality for Anzali international wetland.
L Karam, M Alimohammadi, L Yadegarian,
Volume 11, Issue 2 (9-2018)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Climate change in recent years has led to a crisis of drought in many countries around the world, including Iran. In such a situation, the supply of safe drinking water is very important and knowing the climate impacts on the chemical quality of these resources can play a significant role in their proper exploitation.
Materials and Methods: Using GIS geomorphology models, the effect of climatic factors including minimum and maximum temperatures, mean precipitation, evaporation, transpiration and vegetation index on the quality of groundwater resources of Varamin Plain include pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solid, anions and cations concentrations and total hardness were studied and their maps were produced. Correlation between these factors was investigated using spatial correlation analysis tool at a confidence level of 0.95 (p = 0.05).
Results: The results showed that these parameters (except pH) along the plain are highly variable and the spatial distribution of data in this region is not normal around the mean, and the frequency of pixels with values less than the spatial mean of the region is higher. Spatial distribution of the factors showed that their amounts (except pH) are low in the central area of the plain and reach its peak in the western and northwest regions. The spatial distribution of pH was almost uniform in all the plain.
Conclusion: Correlation analysis showed that the quality of water resources is influenced by climatic factors and the maximum temperature has the highest impact.
R Mirzaei, M Yunesian, Ar Mesdaghinia, S Nasseri, M Gholami, E Jalilzadeh, Sh Shoeibi,
Volume 11, Issue 3 (12-2018)
Abstract
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.
N Shiralipour, Mr Mirzaee Nejad,
Volume 11, Issue 4 (3-2019)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Health expenditures and environmental pollution are indicators of development. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the effect of health per capita costs and the impact of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) as an indicator of environmental pollution on the growth of selected developed and developing countries.
Materials and Methods: The effect of health expenditures and air pollution on economic growth was studied based on the data of two groups of developed and developing countries (2000-2015) and the use of econometric methods.
Results: The fitting of the equations confirmed the significant effect of the health expenditure per capita and CO2 emission on the economic growth of both groups of countries. One percent change in these expenditures resulted in 0.029 percent economic growth in the developed countries and 0.054 percent in the developing. Also, the effect of CO2 release on the economic growth was -0.011 and -0.073.
Conclusion: Health has a direct impact on economic growth. Health has a positive effect on the economic growth by reducing health costs (and spending these resources in other areas) and by increasing labor productivity through increasing life expectancy and useful work time. Also, increasing air pollution has a negative effect on the economic growth of these countries.
Sh Mardani, Kh Alimohammadzade, A Maher, Sm Hoseini, K Yaghmaeian,
Volume 12, Issue 2 (9-2019)
Abstract
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.
S Abolli, M Alimohammadi, M Zamanzadeh, K Yaghmaeian, M Yunesian, M Hadi, Z Soliemani,
Volume 12, Issue 3 (12-2019)
Abstract
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.
Mr Samarghandi, Ar Rahmani, Z Darabi, J Mehralipour,
Volume 12, Issue 4 (2-2020)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Electroproxone process is a combination of ozonation process and electrolysis in which the production of hydroxyl radical and ultimately degradation of a pollutant occurs. The aim of this study was to estimate the E-Proxone process in removing ceftriaxone from a synthetic solution.
Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, a semi-continuous reactor equipped with four graphene electrodes having 2 × 10 cm dimension and 3 mm thickness was used. The effect of pH (3-11), concentration of ozone gas (1-5 mg/min), direct electric current (1-3 A), initial concentration of ceftriaxone (5-50 mg/L) and radical scavenger dose (tertbutanol = 20 mmol/L) was studied in a 0-60 minutes reaction time. The Ceftriaxone concentration was measured by HPLC, COD was measured with spectrophotometer (DR6000) and TOC with a TOC analyzer.
Results: The results of this study indicated that this process had sufficient performance in the degradation of the antibiotic and diminishing of COD and TOC. The excellent condition was pH = 3, the electric current of 3 A, the ozone concentration of 5 mg/min, and the sodium sulfate as an electrolyte was 50 mmole/L. The ceftriaxone concentration was 5 mg/L in the duration of the 30 minutes experiment. 99.39% of the Ceftriaxone was destroyed. The process efficiency in COD and TOC removal was highest at 90 minutes. The presence of tertbutanol reduced the process efficiency to 83%.
Conclusion: The E-Proxone process, as one of the advanced oxidation processes, has the ability to reduce the pollution load of pharmaceutical industry, especially the ceftriaxone in this wastewater. This process is considered an environmentally friendly process.
