Showing 44 results for Assessment
Abdulreza Mashroofeh, Alireza Riyahi Bakhtiari, Mohammad Pourkazemi,
Volume 6, Issue 3 (12-2013)
Abstract
Background and objective: Metal pollution has always been a major cause of contamination of environment and is considered as a major concern for food health. Worldwide, sturgeons are an important source of food and income. In this study, the human health risk due to consumption of caviar and muscle of Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) were evaluated by measuring the concentrations of cadmium, nickel, vanadium and zinc in caviar and muscle samples.
Material and Methods: A total number of 24 samples of Persian sturgeon were collected from two important sturgeon fishery zones in Guilan and Mazandaran Provinces and were stored at −20°C until chemical analysis. About one gram of each sample dried was added to 10 ml of concentrated (65%) supra-pure HNO3 (Merck, Darmstadt, Germany) in a Teflon PTFE tube and then it was incubated for 1 h at 40 °C in a hot block digester, followed by heating at 140 °C for 3 h. The samples digested were diluted to a measured volume using double deionized water. Samples were filtered through Whatman No. 1 filter paper, and the filtrate was stored until metal determination.
Results: Mean Cd, Ni, V and Zn concentrations in muscle tissues were 0.005 ± 0.002, 0.06 ± 0.03, 0.13 ± 0.04 and 7.49 ± 3.07 µg/g wet weight basis respectively. The mean Cd, Ni, V and Zn concentrations in caviar samples were 0.007 ± 0.006, 0.09 ± 0.07, 0.12 ± 0.15 and 21.23 ± 5.75 µg/g wet weight basis respectively.
Conculation: The mean concentrations of Zn, Cd and V in caviar and muscle samples were less than the permissible limits proposed by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF 2000) and World Health Organization (W.H.O.). The guidelines for Cd, V and Zn are 0.2, 0.5 and 50 µg/g wet weight respectively. Therefore, the measured concentrations for these particular metals are below the published guidelines, and the levels would appear not to constitute any threat to the human population that may consume sturgeon or caviar obtained from these study locations.
Sa Jozi, N Jafarzadeh Haghighi Fard, N Afzali Behbahani,
Volume 7, Issue 1 (7-2014)
Abstract
Background: FMEA is one of the best known system safety techniques widely used as an identification tool. The purpose of this study was to apply FMEA method to identify and assess the risks posed by power lines in a residential area is Hasyrabad, Ahwaz. Materials and Methods: First, we identified the power line process and the equipment involved. Later, we determined the failure modes of equipment, which leads to the risk in the area studied. In order to measure the magnetic field lines, we used 3D EMF TESTER. Risks identified were scored based on the FMEA and for each case we calculated RPN. Then, with the help of SPSS software, we calculated level of risk and the cases identified were prioritized and analyzed based on the risk level. Results: The highest RPN values were associated with health risks and all risks involved in this group are at emergency conditions. It was revealed that wires (loss of privacy) and power transmission line (non-compliance with privacy standards) had highest value (RPN 360) and disconnect switch had lowest value (RPN 60). Conclusion: Due to the high risk in most cases, control measures were proposed based on the expertise in the safety-related equipment, training operators, and regulatory measures in order to reduce the level of risk.
Shaho Karami, Gholamreza Nabibidhendi, Hamidreza Jafari, Hassan Hoveidi, Amir Hedayati,
Volume 7, Issue 2 (10-2014)
Abstract
Background & Objectives: Human environment is surrounded bychemicals that could directly or indirectly endanger human health. Some statistics of WHO is indicative of the fact that four million people are employed in the chemical industry throughout the world and one million people die or become disabled annually due to contact with chemicals. Moreover, 1-4 Millions chemical toxicity occur annually. The purpose of this study was to understand the risks involved in chemicals in the workplace, to assess the task risk, and to propose appropriate control measures in order to eliminate or reduce risk in the petrochemical industry. Materials & Methods: In this study, the chemicals were identified in Arak Petrochemical and features that are indicative of hazardous materials were identified and using TOPSIS, The hazard rate were determined. Then the job duties of employees and employee exposure rate with chemicals were calculated and finally, a risk rate for exposure to chemicals in job duties was determined. Results: It was found that chemicals do not have too high risk to employees however, but the high risky chemicals were five chemicals including naphtha, ammonia, acetic acid, chlorine, and methanol for operational staff and two chemicals, i.e. ammonia and chlorine for operation and maintenance staffs . Conclusion: It is better to have an alternative for the materials that their risk rang is high and very high, and their production is suggested to be avoided.
A Gholampour, R Nabizadeh, M. S. Hassanvand, H Taghipour, S Faridi, A.h. Mahvi,
Volume 7, Issue 4 (1-2015)
Abstract
Background & Objectives: Determining the impacts of air pollution in cities is facing two major challenges first, the limited data on the health effects of pollutants, and secondly, the lack of information on exposure to air pollutants and their concentration. This is an applied-observational carried out to determine the concentration, seasonal changes, and to estimate the health impacts attributed to the particulate matters in Tabriz during September 2012 to July 2013. Materials and Methods: The particulate matters were sampled using high volume sampler and were analyzed using portable HAZ-DUST EPAM-5000. The health impacts of particulate matterswere estimated using AirQ software developed by W.H.O. Results: The annual mean concentration of TSP, PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 in the urban sampling site were 139, 83, 38, and 27 µg/m3 respectively. In addition, these concentrations were 178, 110, 40, and 27µg/m3 in industrial area. The average of PM10/TSP, PM2.5/PM10, PM1/PM10, and PM1/PM2.5 ratio level was 0.6, 0.48, 0.33, and 0.7 in the urban areas and 0.61, 0.37, 0.28, and 0.77 in the industrial areas respectively. The total mortalities associated with the TSP, PM10, and PM2.5 concentrations were estimated as 327, 363, and 360 respectively. Nevertheless, the calculated cardiovascular mortality for TSP and PM10 were estimated to be 202 and 227 respectively. Conclusion: This research found that the concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 were 73 and 69% more than National Standard and 8 and 5% more than USEPA Standards respectively. In Tabriz, especially industrial area, the soils of surrounding ground and re-suspension of particles fromcontaminated soils have a significant contribution to particulate emissions.
M Zare Jeddi, N Rastkari, R Ahmadkhaniha, M Alimohammadi, M Yunesian,
Volume 8, Issue 1 (8-2015)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Bottles for packaging drinking water represent one of the most popular uses of plastic and polymer additives. Recently, public concerns related to possibility of exposure to chemicals through the consumption of polyethylene terephthalate bottled water has caused great concern to consumers. Phthalate esters, as a class of these compounds, are often classified as endocrine disruptors and one of them is a possible carcinogen for human. The aim of this study was to determine the concentrations of phthalates in bottled water and to calculate the health risk of phthalates intake via consumption of bottled waters. Materials and Method: After purchasing, samples were immediately stored according to the recommended conditions (25 ºC, dark place) given on the bottle label. Migration of phthalates was investigated in PET-bottled water at different time intervals using gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy. Therefore, a phthalate exposure assessment was performed to characterize their risk to the consumer’s health via a calculated hazard quotient (HQ). Results: It seems that the duration of storage affects phthalate migration. Total increases of DEHP (811.8%), DBP (2545.2%), and BBP (832%) were observed at 12 months over the initial level before storage (bottled water immediately after production) but the level of phthalates in bottled water was always very low (<EPA:6 μg/L). Non-carcinogenic risk assessment from exposure to phthalate via consumption of bottled water was negligible in all of the subject groups (HQ<1). Furthermore, a little excess cancer risk of 9.9×10-7 for bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) was observed.Conclusion: The research showed that the concentration of phthalates in PET-bottled water was extremely low. Consequently, based on the risk assessment results, bottled waters regarding existence of safe for consumers and they phthalates are not considered as public health issue for consumers as phthalates does not have any risk exposure for the consumers.
S Valizadeh, Z Shekari,
Volume 8, Issue 2 (8-2015)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Significant increase in population and as a result, the production of excessive waste has recently made attention to municipal solid waste management a necessary issue. The objective of this study was to use matrix-based EIA process in order to determine best waste management option in Birjand City and to suggest appropriate solutions to managers and planners of this city. Materials and Methods: Assessing the environmental impacts of waste management options was done using Iranian Leopold Matrix. Through this method, the environmental impacts of waste management options were determined in the Birjand City. The options were Open dumping, Recycling, Composting, and Sanitary damping. Results: The results indicated that Open dumping with a final score of -3.06 had the highest environmental impact and was introduced as the fourth preference. In addition, composting with final score of -2.34 has the lowest environmental impact compared with other options. Conclusion: About 76.95% of the composition of municipal solid waste of Birjand City is household waste therefore, putrescible organic materials are the predominant waste. Thus, according to the results of the Iranian Leopold matrix method, composting option was introduced as the first priority and the most logical option for waste management in the Birjand City.
M Zare Jeddi, M Yunesian, R Ahmadkhaniha, H Kashani, N Rastkari,
Volume 8, Issue 3 (12-2015)
Abstract
Background and Objective: One of the air pollutants is volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Benzene, as a part of petrol, is a VOC, known to be carcinogenic to human beings (Group 1) and it has widespread application in various industries and professions. Hence, the aim of the present study was semi-quantitative and quantitative health risk assessment of petrol bank workers exposure to benzene via inhalation in the Tehran, Iran.
Material and method: For these purpose, this descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in three stages. First stage consisted of measurement of benzene in two groups of participants: (1) petrol bank workers and (2) non-exposed people as control group. The second stage included the evaluation of worker's exposure to benzene and semi-quantitative risk assessment, and the third stage was estimating the lifetime cancer risk caused by exposure to benzene.
Results: Benzene mean concentration was near the threshold limit value (1600 µg/m3) and the mean benzene personal air level was 1527±246.4 µg/m3 in the petrol bank areas. With regard to semi-quantitative risk assessment method, benzene introduced as the most hazardous chemical with risk ratio of 4.5 has 5th rank in risk levels (Extremely dangerous). Lifetime cancer risk estimation showed that in petrol bank workers the excess lifetime cancer risk was 27.5 times higher than unexposed group and the chance of cancer was one in a 1000 petrol bank workers.
Conclusion: This study indicates that petrol bank workers in Tehran have a potentially high cancer risk through inhalation exposure. Thus, preventative actions regarding to this hazardous and carcinogenic chemical must be started as soon as possible.
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.
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.
Ar Mesdaghinia, S Nasseri, M Hadi,
Volume 9, Issue 3 (12-2016)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Exposure to chemicals such as heavy metals can be occurred through the route of drinking water consumption. Chromium is an important pollutant because of its role in the appearance of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health effects in humans. In this study, we studied the carcinogenic risk and non-carcinogenic hazard of chromium due to the consumption of bottled drinking water distributed throughout Iran.
Materials and Methods: The Hazard Quotient (HQ) and Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR) indices were calculated. Monte-Carlo simulation technique was adopted for simulating uncertainty in the estimation of HQ and ELCR based on the input variables namely the concentration of pollutant, per capita water consumption, body weight, reference dose, biological availability, and source contribution factors.
Results: The average concentration of chromium in bottled waters determined was 4.79 ± 2.32 µg/L. The amounts of HQ and ELCR for the age groups of lower than 2, 2 to 6, 6 to 16 and over 16 years old were 0.000354, 0.00292, 0.00236, 0.00147 and 4.04×10-11, 5.99×10-10, 8.61×10-10 and 2.34×10-9, respectively.
Conclusion: In regard to the concentration of chromium in bottled waters in Iran, the incidence probability and the possibility of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic effects by this pollutant due to the consumption of bottled water are considerably low and there is no health concern for any age groups.
Ar Khajeamiri, M Zare Jeddi, R Ahmadkhaniha, N Rastkari,
Volume 9, Issue 3 (12-2016)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Organochlorine pesticides are among the endocrine disrupting chemicals believed to produce a wide variety of adverse health outcomes such as cancers. Generally, fatty foods of animal origin are the major sources of human exposure to lipophilic contaminants such as DDTs and their metabolites. The objectives of the present study were to evaluate exposure of general population to DDTs via dietary milk consumption in Iran, and to assess the respective potential risks to health of people in terms of carcinogenic and none-carcinogenic effects.
Materials and Methods: The DDT residue levels were determined by GC/MS analysis in 60 milk samples of full fat pasteurized commercial types (3% fat). The assessment of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks was calculated through international standard methods.
Results: In all of the milk samples, DDT and its metabolites were detected in the range of 0.0015 to 0.28 µg/L with the mean of 0.05±0.03, 0.15±0.08, 0.09±0.05, 0.05±0.02 µg/L for o, p-DDE, p,p-DDE, p,p-DDT, p,p-DDD, respectively. The calculated estimated daily intake (0.00006-0.0002 mg/kg/day) for all categories and all compounds were lower than the Reference doses (RfDs). Consequently, the hazard quotients calculated in these groups for DDTs were less than 1. Hazard index obtained for all compounds in full fat pasteurized milk based on maximum DDT residue concentrations was higher than unity confirming health risk. From the carcinogenic point of view, there is no risk and it was within the acceptable threshold of EPA.
Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that the general population are exposing to DDT and its metabolites constantly. Therefore, it is recommended to biomonitoring and measuring these chemicals in all age groups especially in children.
N Pourang, F Esmaeili, M Ranjbarian,
Volume 10, Issue 1 (6-2017)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Identification of potential risks in laboratories and trying to create safe conditions for the staff is very important from different aspects. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the potential risks in the laboratories of three research centers affiliated to Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute.
Materials and Methods: In order to assess and classify risks associated with working in the laboratories (11 laboratories of the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea Ecological Research Center, 9 laboratories of National Shrimp Research Center and 2 laboratories of National Aquatic Organisms Processing Center), the method of "Failure Mode Effects Analysis" (FMEA) as well as statistical methods (concerning compare means) were used.
Results: The risk levels in all the laboratories of the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea Ecological Research Center, except for benthos laboratory, could be evaluated as moderate or high. Only in the case of the sample preparation laboratory, significant differences between the values of RPN before and after corrective action was observed. However, in this case the corrective actions have not been effective in decreasing the risk level. In most laboratories of National Shrimp Research Center, the corrective actions were effective in reducing the risk levels (with the exception of three laboratories). In both laboratories of National Aquatic Organisms Processing Center, after the corrective actions, the risk levels were sharply reduced.
Conclusion: Considering the high level of risk in many evaluated laboratories, appropriate corrective actions were proposed. But after the second-stage evaluation, it was realized that the proposed corrective measures in some laboratories (especially in the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea Ecological Research Center) were notperformed sufficiently and hence the risk still was remained at critical or semi-critical level
H Tahsini, M Ahmadpour, Mh Sinkakarimi,
Volume 11, Issue 2 (9-2018)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Heavy metals as a main group of aquatic pollutants cause poisoning and concern in fish consumption. The aim of the present study was to assess cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) concentration in liver and muscle of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Additionally, the relationship between the heavy metals concentration with weight and length and the consumption risk of the species were assessed.
Materials and Methods: Thirty specimens of rainbow trout were obtained from a fish farming ponds that is located in Sanandaj City. After acidic digestion of the specimens, concentration of Cd and Pb were determined by using atomic adsorption spectrophotometer.
Results: The average concentration of Cd and Pb were 0.62 and 26.31 μg/g wet weight (ww) in liver and 0.16 and 23.65 μg/g ww in muscle, respectively. The amount of Pb was higher than the maximum acceptable level that is permitted by most international organizations. There was a significant correlation between Cd and Pb with length and total weight of liver. Also, a significant relationship was found between Cd and length and total weight of muscle (p < 0.01). The amount of THQ, Daily and weekly intake of Cd and Pb were lower than the allowable proposed dose. The maximum allowable consumption rate of Cd and Pb were 0.16 and 0.09 kg/day for adults and 0.01 and 0.002 kg/day for children, respectively.
Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that the amount of Cd and Pb in the rainbow trout is safe to consume and does not threaten the health of consumer with current consumption rate.
N Dorostkar Ahmadi, M Shafie-Nikabadi, S Babaie Kafaki,
Volume 11, Issue 4 (3-2019)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Today pollutants related to refineries and base oil products have caused many concerns about environment. Among these, the share of lubricants as one of the oil products is undeniable for causing environmental problems, harmful pollutants for men and global warming. Recently LCA as a beneficial tool is provided for finding solution to the environmental problems. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare environmental impacts of lubricants and its ingredients (oil based and additives). Additionally, it was attempted to identify the pollutants caused by the lubricants in order to replace them by environmentally friendly components.
Materials and Methods: In this study, the system boundary was first identified and then the life cycle assessment steps were carried out for vehicle lubricants. Finally, the results were analyzed using SimaPro software based on the Eco Indicator 95.
Results: Results showed that although additives made up about 20 percent of the lubricants, more than 80 percent of the environmental pollutants were related to them. These materials have a significant impact on greenhouse gas emission and global warming as 91% of CO2 emission (7.81kg) of lubricants is related to the additives. Also, these materials emit 0.00913 kg C2H4 and 0.0368 kg SPM, which can make summer and winter smog. The car lubricants cause heavy metals (3.95×10-5 kg Pb) to be released into water and release of carcinogenic substances (4.2×10-6 kg B(a)P), which a very low percentage of it is allocated to base oil.
Conclusion: The most important environmental pollution of vehicle lubricants was caused by the additives. Since the percentage of each additive to lubricants includes antioxidant (40%), antiwear (23%), detergents (20%) and viscosity modifier (17%), thus, the company must seek to change these types of additives and replace them with the components with lower environmental impact in their production cycles.
F Bateni, A Mehdinia, M Seyed Hashtroudi ,
Volume 11, Issue 4 (3-2019)
Abstract
Background and Objective: This study conducted to assess ecological risk of an important group of pollutants called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in offshore sediment of the Persian Gulf deposits in Bushehr province. The aim of this study was to model the toxicity of PAHs for aquatic organisms in the study area.
Materials and Methods: In the first step of the applied risk assessment model in this study, the unit of toxicity for each PAH and solubility were calculated by Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships (QSAR) model. In the second step, the pore water concentration of all compounds in sediment was calculated as an available fraction. Finally, the proposed model was used to evaluate the offshore sediments of the Persian Gulf. Sediments in 19 stations and 7 transects were studied to assess the ecological risk of 21 PAHs. The extraction and clean up method was based on pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) with packed clean up cell. Compounds were analyzed by GC-MS.
Results: The toxicity and solubility of PAHs were modeled. The Pearson correlation for the predicted and measured data was more than 0.93. The amount of total toxicity was introduced as a risk index. The maximum and minimum total toxicity values for the sediments were found as 0.018 and 0.147, respectively. The results from this study indicated that although the concentration of PAHs in the sediments may not cause significant concern in the study area, they may affect benthic organism at the sub-lethal levels. According to the applied risk assessment model for 21 unsubstituted PAHs, the offshore sediments of Bushehr are in low-risk range.
Conclusion: The result of this study indicated a low risk of the sediments. The hazard index decreased as the distance from coastal and oil and gas industry increased, indicating the high impact of anthropogenic activities on the contamination of the study area.
E Hoshyari, N Hassanzadeh, A Charkhestani,
Volume 12, Issue 1 (5-2019)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Nowadays linear alkyl benzene sulfanate (LAS) is widely used in the production of various detergents. The purpose of this study was to assess the health and ecological hazards of this pollutant on target organisms such as fish and daphnia in the Doroodzan Dam water.
Materials and Methods: According to the research objective and given existing restrictions, 21 water samples were collected in September 2018 from 7 selected stations based on the source of contamination in Doroodzan dam. Water quality parameters including pH, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), potential Redox (ORP), Total dissolve solid (TDS) and Electrical conductivity (EC) was measured at the site. The amount of linear alkyl benzenesulfonate (LAS) was measured using an optimized methylene blue method after transferring samples to the lab. Then ecological and health risk assessment was performed by calculating the RQ index (risk index).
Results: The results showed that the mean of pH, EC, TDS, salinity and DO were 8.88, 732.19 µs/cm, 482.49, 366.16 and 6.87 mg/L, respectively. The highest and lowest concentrations of LAS were 0.039 and 0.055 mg/L, respectively. The results also showed that there is a significant relationship between LAS concentration and pH. The results of the risk assessment showed that the health risk index in all stations is less than 0.1, while the ecological risk index except at station 7, are in low risk level.
Conclusion: In general, the results show that the RQ index in the Droodzan Dam water is in appropriate range and in the low risk level. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct long-term studies in this field to ensure the persistence of optimal water conditions in the dam ecologically and health-wise.
S Khoshyomn, A Heidari, A R Heidari,
Volume 12, Issue 1 (5-2019)
Abstract
Background and Objective: The steel industry is the world's largest consumer of energy. A large amount of iron waste is produced annually, which its use in the steel industry can be economic. The purpose of this study was to investigate the environmental impacts of the steelmaking from iron scrap as a raw material using a life cycle assessment (LCA) method.
Materials and Methods: Simapro software and the ecoinvent database were used to conduct LCA. Data on the steel production process (raw materials, waste, and products) were collected by a questionnaire from a steel plant. Environmental burdens were quantified using ReCiPe, Cumulative Energy Demand (CED), IPCC) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and water footprints methods.
Results: The results of the ReCiPe method showed that the terrestrial ecotoxicity with a value of 14392 kg 1,4-Dichlorobenzene (1,4-DCB) eq/ton of steel and global warming with 5289 kg CO2 eq/ton of steel, had the greatest environmental impact, respectively. The lowest environmental impact of this process was obtained for freshwater ecotoxicity and human carcinogenic toxicity. The carbon footprint resulting from steelmaking is 5.24 ton CO2 eq/ton of steel. The most important sector of the greenhouse gas producer is the consumption of electricity with a rate of 2900 of kg CO2 eq/ton of steel. The cumulative energy demand of one ton of steel ingot was 73393 MJ, which is three times the global equivalent. The total water footprint for one t of steel was 19.5 m3 of water, which is almost near to the equivalent in Europe.
Conclusion: the use of iron scrap as raw material in the process of steelmaking instead of iron ore has reduced the amount of human toxicity potential and mineral resource consumption.
Kh Ghattavi, A Naji, S Kord,
Volume 12, Issue 1 (5-2019)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Marine pollution is growing due to human activities. Continuous increase in plastic production and poor management of plastic waste resulted in a significant increase of this contaminant in aquatic environments. This in turn led to the widespread presence of Microplastics (MPs) with a size of less than 5mm.
Materials and Methods: In this study, frequency, distribution, color and type of MPs in the gastrointestinal tract of fish in Oman Sea were investigated using random sampling, tissue digestion and flotation of MPs.
Results: The total number of the MPs found in the studied species was variable. The highest number of MPs were found in the species belonged to Rastrelliger kanagurta and Nemipterus japonicus (29%) and Saurida tumbil, Trichiurus lepturus and Paragaleus randalli (14%).
Conclusion: The forms mostly observed were belonged to microfibres (86%), fragment (11%) and pellet (3%). The most frequent colors that were detected were in a decreasing order blue, pink and black. The results demonstrated that the highest concentrations of MPs were observed in Ratrelliger kanagurta and Nemipterus japonicus species. The present study provides useful information for further research, and a background analysis to monitore the pollutants in the Oman Sea.
F Jaffari, N Hassanzadeh,
Volume 12, Issue 2 (9-2019)
Abstract
Background and Objective: Research has shown that assessing the toxicity and ecological risk of various types of pollutants, including heavy metals, using specific indicators, is indispensable in the ecological risk assessment of the ecosystem. Accordingly, the aim of this study was the assessment of the ecological effect of heavy metals presence (Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd and, As) in Anzali wetland using Heavy Metals Pollution Index (HPI).
Materials and Methods: 43 water samples were collected from the eastern, western and central parts of Anzali wetland. The samples were transferred to the laboratory, and the preparation steps were carried out using the ASTM method. Concentration of the elements was determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma -Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES). According to the concentration of heavy metals in the water samples, the index (HPI) was calculated. The results of the HPI index were classified into three classes: low risk (<15), moderate (15-30), and high risk (> 30).
Results: The numerical value of the HPI index was 3.59-23.3 with an average of 27.97, indicating the average level of heavy metals pollution in Anzali wetland. Indicator (HPI) in the eastern part of Anzali wetland and the Pirbazar area showed a severe contamination and ecological hazard of the heavy metals and in the Abkenar region showed an acceptable ecological status.
Conclusion: Although the average of HPI in the whole Anzali wetland was modest, but at some stations, especially in the east of the wetland, the HPI indicates the occurrence of ecological hazards in the wetland in the event of uncontrolled entry of pollutants in future. Therefore, monitoring the sources of these pollutants entering to the wetland and controlling the ecological risks is necessary.
K Naddafi, A Mesdaghinia, M Abtahi, Ms Hassanvand, R Saeedi,
Volume 12, Issue 2 (9-2019)
Abstract
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 PM2.5 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 PM2.5, 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.
