Search

In this study, the ambient air quality had monitored in views of particulate matter levels and their heavy metals content in a high-altitude region, Shahr-e Kord for the first time. The levels of Total Suspended Particles (TSP), PM10, PM2.5, PM1, TSP-bound Heavy metals, and the related health risks had evaluated from December 2018 to March 2019. The average concentrations of TSP, PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 were 61.85, 51.57, 19.28, and 3.03 µg/m3in December, 54.15, 19.68, 7.37, and 4.89 µg/m3in February, 24.05, 11.32, 4.42, and 2.88 µg/m3in January, 68.22, 33.72, 14.21, and 3.73 µg/m3in March respectively. The concentrations of HMs in TSP ranked in the following decreasing order: Hg>As>Mn> Ni> Cr> Cu>Pb (ng/m3). The health risk assessment showed that the inhabitants in Shahr-e Kord were within the safe range of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks attributed to the exposure with heavy metals present in ambient air. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental exposure to heavy metals is a well-known risk factor for cancers. In this study, the content of toxic and essential elements (Pb, Ni, As, Cu, Zn, Fe, and Se) in drinking water, blood, hair, and intestinal tissues of ulcerative colitis (UC) patients was examined. The results demonstrated that the mean concentration of the elements in clinical samples was in the order of intestinal tissue > hair > blood. Health risk assessment showed that As and Pb in drinking water of UC patients may pose non-carcinogenic risk. Also, there is possible cancer risk to drinking water consumers for As. The potential high health risks and the significant correlation between the elements contents of drinking water and clinical samples imply that such environmental pollution should not be overlooked in Chaharmahal-Va-Bakhtiari province, Iran. Special attention should be paid on As pollution of drinking water due to its high canrcinogenic risk (CR), probably on UC tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have adverse effects on the organisms, plants, and soil structure. Therefore, they should be removed by an appropriate and effective method. In this study, simultaneous removal of 500 mg/kgsoil of phenanthrene and pyrene was investigated for the individual and combined application of Tween 80, Triton X-100, and sodium persulfate from the alluvial soil. The results revealed that the maximum removal efficiencies of phenanthrene (94.06 ± 0.30%) and pyrene (90.07 ± 0.19%) were observed in the presence of Triton X-100 + sodium persulfate (0.5 M) within 1 hour, respectively. Also, individual application of surfactants and sodium persulfate had efficiencies of less than 80%. It should be noted that the removal of phenanthrene and pyrene followed the first-order kinetic model. Economic evaluations of combined treatment demonstrated that the application of more proportion of Triton X-100 (10000 mg/L) + less proportion of sodium persulfate (0.3 M) is more cost-effective for the remediation of soil in the field study. Based on the results, the combined application of the washing process by Triton X-100 and persulfate oxidant can significantly improve the removal efficiencies and is a promising technique in the remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons contaminated soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]