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Heavy metals are among the major contaminants of vegetables. A study was conducted at Wonji Gefersa farms where paper wastewater is used for cultivation of vegetable crops. Four vegetable samples, namely Swiss chard, carrot, tomato, green pepper, as well as paper wastewater were examined for heavy metal [Lead (Pb), Zinc (Zn), Cadmium (Cd), Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu), Chromium (Cr) and Cobalt (Co)] contamination using atomic absorption spectroscopy. The levels of Pb, Cd and Cr in paper wastewater were all above the safe limit for FAO standards for wastewater quality for irrigation. The concentration of Pb in Swiss chard and Green peeper was exceeded the permissible limits. The study reveals that Pb metal contamination in the study area which poses health risk with time unless an urgent step is taken by relevant agencies to address this issue.

International audience; The authors explored the risks and benefits of repeated irrigation of Populus alba saplings with aqueous paper sludge (APS). Saplings were cultivated in pots of forest soil (3 L) in a greenhouse for 7 weeks and watered twice a week with differing concentrations of APS (0, 10, 20, 30, 50, 75,and 100 % v/v with deionized water). Plant growth and ecophysiological variables along with zinc and aluminum transfer were monitored. A stimulation of plant growth was observed with sludge treatments of 30 or 50 %, significantly correlated to APS input (r = 0.81). This may be explained by the easily available nitrogen as is shown with the positive correlation of CO2 assimilation and leaf nitrogen (r = 0.70). However, a significant reduction in plant growth was observed when treatments of 75 and 100 % of APS were administered, despite a high nutritional level (nitrogen and phosphorus). The study suggests that APS concentrations from 30 to 50 % may positively affect the growth of poplar saplings; however, the higher concentrations indicated a risk for plant growth and the environment.

The genetic and functional diversity of Bacillus and Bacillus-derived genera was analyzed in soil samples collected from three different fields near Century Paper Mill, Lal Kuan, Uttarakhand, India. Two had been subjected to concentrated and diluted effluent irrigation for the past 25 years and were designated as a concentrated effluent irrigated field (CEIF) and a dilute effluent irrigated field (DEIF), respectively. The field irrigated with fresh water was designated as a water irrigated field (WIF). Increase in pH, Na and Zn content and decrease in Fe content was observed due to effluent irrigation. The population count of Bacillus and Bacillus-derived was maximum in DEIF followed by WIF and CEIF. Variations in plant growth-promoting traits and extracellular enzymes were observed among the isolates from the three different field soils. Based on the amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) with three restriction enzymes, all the selected 104 isolates were clustered into 14 groups. The sequencing of the representative isolates revealed that the majority belonged to the genus Bacillus, while three isolates belonged to Paenibacillus, Lysinibacillus and Orthinibacillus. There were a few species like Orthinibacillus contaminans, B. oleronius, B. safensis, B. methylotrophicus, B. stratosphericus, B. aryabhattai, B. asahii and B. bataviensis that were prevalent only in DEIF and CEIF but not in WIF field soil. The diversity index parameters like the Shannon Index, indices of species richness and species evenness based on biochemical profiling and ARDRA profiling revealed that Bacillaceae members in the fresh water irrigated field were diverse.

The use of treated pulp mill effluent on eucalyptus plantation appears to be an attractive option for plant nutrition and water supply. It also constitutes a supplementary treatment process and a final disposal option for the mill effluent. This study aimed at the investigation and evaluation of the effects of bleached kraft pulp mill treated effluent on three typical Brazilian soils used for eucalyptus plantation. The effluent was characterized and five different application rates, defined according to the load of sodium, were tested in controlled environment experiments (greenhouse). After effluent application over a six month period an increase in the salinity of the studied soils was observed, although no soil dispersion was detected. The low content of some nutrients in the treated effluent indicated the need for fertilizer complementation. In general, the best biomass productivity and plant growth results were obtained in fine textured soil at a loading rate of 6.49 t Na ha−1. The good response of the soil-plant system under different effluent application rates showed the feasibility for the eucalyptus irrigation if adequate management practices and monitoring are carried out.

This paper analyzes the socioeconomic, fiscal, and governance impact of gold mining in Mali. The analysis finds that, at the national level, mining plays an important role by contributing to export earnings and overall government fiscal revenue. In 2013, the mining sector represented 7 percent of gross domestic product, contributed 1.5 percent to growth in total gross domestic product, and accounted for 65 percent of total export earnings and 25 percent of total government budget revenues. At the local level, despite higher population growth, there is some evidence that outcomes (poverty and infrastructure services) are marginally better in mining communes compared with non-mining communes. Local governments receive fiscal windfalls that are spent significantly on education capital expenditures and current expenditures (salaries and non-salaries). Non-salary current expenditures are 10 times higher in mining areas. Analysis of the political economy of public service provision at the local level suggests that technical or absorptive capacities may be the bottleneck to increasing the local benefit of mining instead of corruption or accountability.

This synthesis report details the process, outputs and intermediate outcomes of the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) Technical Assistance (TA) to Support Government of India for implementation of the National Urban Sanitation Policy (P131963). The objective of this TA was to (i) strengthen urban sanitation services and target the urban poor by development of strategies for regulation, funds allocation, improved accountability mechanisms and implementation of inclusive sanitation policies at national level and in at least five states, with two of these low-income states (LIS). This was to be supplemented with (ii) enabling design and use of improved performance monitoring systems by Government of India, 3 states and 300 urban local bodies by 2015, and (iii) strengthen capacity of local urban government institutions to provide improved – inclusive and sustainable – sanitation services for all. This TA provides the building blocks for sustainable sanitation improvements which are being adopted and implemented as part of another TA (P131967) in Madhya Pradesh and Tripura to pilot and operationalize City Sanitation Plans (CSPs) towards outcome oriented sector improvements. The areas addressed in this TA include the following specific goals of the NUSP: open defecation free cities, and integrated city-wide sanitation. The TA provided assistance to central government and the states in putting in place various elements identified as necessary for sector improvement, including planning, provisioning and monitoring processes. The TA also identified the need for the cities to see opportunities for financial recovery of investments through reuse and recycle strategies, to strengthen the incentive for investment in sanitation improvements.

Use of organic by-products as soil amendments in agricultural production exemplifies a strategy for converting wastes to resources. The overall objective of this research was to evaluate the short- and intermediate-term effects of repeatedly amending sandy soil with paper mill residuals (PMR) and composted PMR in a vegetable rotation in Wisconsin's Central Sands. Specifically, we investigated the effects of PMR and composted PMR on total soil C and related these to changes in water-holding capacity and plant-available water (PAW). Amendment effects on irrigation requirements were estimated with a simple soil water balance model. The experimental design was replicated five times as a randomized complete block with four organic amendments: raw PMR, PMR composted alone (PMRC), PMR composted with bark (PMRB), and peat applied at two rates and a non-amended control. All amended treatments significantly increased total soil C relative to the nonamended control following applications in 1998 and 1999. One year following the second serial amendment, all PMR treatments increased PAW by 5 to 45% relative to the control. There was a significant positive linear relationship between total soil C and PAW. All amended treatments reduced the average amount of irrigation water required for potato production by 4 to 30% and the number of irrigation events by 10 to 90%. There was a clear trend of greater reduction in irrigation requirements with more carbon added. The cumulative effects of repeated additions of PMRB suggest that certain composts might sustain elevated PAW and reduce irrigation requirements beyond one year.

The ferti-irrigational effect of an agro-based paper mill effluent on Abelmoschus esculentus (var. IHR-31) was investigated. Different doses of paper mill effluent viz. 5, 10, 25, 50, 75 and 100% were used for fertigation ofA. esculentus along with bore well water (control). The study revealed that paper mill effluent had significant (p0.05) effect on EC, pH, OC, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Fe2+, TKN, PO4(3-), SO4(2-), Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn and Zn of the soil in both seasons. Insignificant (p0.05) changes in WHC and bulk density of the soil were observed after irrigation with paper mill effluent. The agronomical performance of A. esculentus was increased from 5 to 25% and decreased from 50 to 100% concentration of paper mill effluent as compared to control in both seasons. The heavy metals concentration was increased in A. esculentus from 5 to 100% concentrations of paper mill effluent in both seasons. Biochemical components like crude proteins, crude fiber and crude carbohydrates were found maximum with 25% paper mill effluent in both seasons. The order of Contamination Factor (Cf) of various heavy metals was CrCdMnZnCu for soil and ZnMnCuCrCd for A. esculentus plants after fertigation with paper mill effluent. Therefore, paper mill effluent can be used as a biofertigant after appropriate dilution to improve yield of A. esculentus.

Paper and pulp industries produce large quantities of wastewater which can have adverse effects on the receiving water systems. In the present study lysimeters were used and filled with different soils replicating natural soil horizons and provided with a leachate collection system. The physico-chemical characteristics of the soil in each lysimeter and the quality of wastewater before leaching were assessed. Treated wastewater was evaluated for crop irrigation, and was categorized according to the irrigation water class 'Increasing Problem to Severe Problem' with respect to salinity and specific ion toxicity. Sandy loam soils showed 96% chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal while clay loam soils removed 99% of COD, and the colour removal in both the cases was found to be 100%. Application of wastewater resulted in an increase of pH value, ranging from 6.2-7.6; the electrical conductivity (ECe) of saturated extracts was found to be 0.6-1.7 dS m(-1), and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) ranged from 7.8-11.1% in soils. Similarly, an increase in the organic carbon, available nitrogen, phosphorus and potash content of soils was observed when irrigated with wastewater. Wastewater irrigation showed increased grain and straw yield of jowar, wheat and moong. These results permit successful utilization of pulp and paper mill wastewater for crop production without damaging the soils.

Current study presents the effect of irrigation with different compositions (0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100%) of PBM effluent on growth and antioxidant potential of Brassica rapa var. rapa L. plants. Seeds were exposed to different PBM effluent compositions, which resulted in significant decrease in their germination potential with elevated delay index. Significant changes in growth parameters (plant height, number of leaves and leaf area) were recorded for turnip plants at regular intervals (25, 50 and 75 d) as function of PBM effluent proportion. Response of biochemical and antioxidant constituents in different parts of turnip, against stress induced by PBM effluent, was assessed by estimating the contents of chlorophyll (a + b), carotenoids, protein, phenolics, flavonoids, ascorbic acid and malondialdehyde. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by measuring DPPH radical scavenging potential. The results of this study suggest that the impact of PBM effluent irrigation is dependent on concentration of effluent in irrigation mixture and is very clear on plant growth and antioxidant attributes. Maximum benefits were secured at 40% PBM effluent to irrigate turnip plants till maturity while higher concentrations were found useful for shorter period (25–50 d).

The present study on heavy metal contamination in soil and their accumulation in edible part (leaves) and roots of Spinacia oleracea (Spinach) on irrigation with paper mill effluent (PME)/sewage revealed that there was significant increase in the nickel (Ni, +227.17 %) content of the soil irrigated with PME, whereas in the soil irrigated with sewage chromium (Cr, +274.84 %), iron (Fe, +149.56 %), and cadmium (Cd, +133.39 %), contents were increased appreciably. The value of enrichment factor (EF) for Ni (3.27) indicated moderate enrichment in PME-irrigated soil. The EF of Fe, zinc (Zn), Cd, and Cr were

Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) launched by Government of India has been the cornerstone of a decentralized, incentive based approach to achieve rural sanitation objectives. The scheme has developed strategic components to ensure coverage of sanitation facilities through financial and programmatic support for households, and for institutional and community sanitation. Construction of toilets needs to be complemented with mechanisms of waste handling to ensure a safe and hygienic environment in the rural areas. Safe disposal of solid and liquid waste is a major step on the sanitation ladder where communities have begun to successfully tackle. Government at present has specific provision for solid and liquid waste management (SLWM) as an important component under TSC. The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has been continuously updating technical notes on rural sanitation to reinforce the quality of interventions. The Hand Book on scaling up solid and liquid waste management in rural areas gives a very useful insight on the planning, construction, operation and maintenance of SLWM units in a sustainable way. The effort has been to make a comprehensive document that is user friendly for planning and executing agencies.

Pulp and paper mills are one of the major effluent generating industries in the world. In most cases, mill effluent (treated or raw) is discharged back into a river, creek, stream or other water body; resulting in negative environmental impacts, as well as social concerns, among the downstream users. Pulp and paper mill effluent management, which could result in zero discharge into downstream water bodies, would present the best management option to address socio-environmental concerns. This paper presents such an effort aimed at closing the water cycle by using treated effluent from the mill to irrigate forage and fodder crops for producing animals feed. The treated effluent is delivered from the mill through gravity into a winter storage dam of 490 ML capacity. For irrigation applications on 110 ha of farmland, which is 42% of the total farmland, the water is pumped from the winter storage dam to five individual paddocks with Centre Pivot (CP) irrigators and one rectangular paddock with a Soft Hose Travelling (SHT) irrigator. From October 2001 to June 2006, a total of 2,651 mm of wastewater was applied at the farm. The impact assessment results, obtained from field monitoring, investigations and analysis, indicated that the closed water cycle effluent management strategy described had resulted in a lessening of the impact on water resources usually associated with paper mills. However, social attitudes to the use of crops that have been irrigated with recycled waters and the resulting impact on market value of the produce may still be a major consideration.

Letter concerning a position in horticulture and botany at Utah Agricultural College, copies given to J. C. Blair, J. L. Snyder, and L. H. Bailey.