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In the field of nanoscale materials and electronics fabrication, the term “nanotechnology” refers to a broad range of techniques that may be used. Examples of nanotechnological processes include the production of nanowires, as well as techniques for fabricating semiconductors such as lithography, atomic layer deposition, molecular vapour deposition, focused ion beam machining, electron beam lithography, and molecular self-assembly. Concerns regarding the impact of nanotechnology on the environment, health, and society are a contested issue. It's too early to tell whether the growth of nanotechnology will be a boon or a bane.

Interest in growing cannabis for medical and recreational purposes is increasing worldwide. This study reviews the cultivation of cannabis, its medicinal significance, and its social impacts. It is believed that cannabis has many medicinal properties that could prove very useful for the managing different disease, and at the same time it has many harmful effects that expose it to many legal and social aspects. Cannabis contains a psychoactive compound called tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) that creates a psychogenic effect. It can be consumed through the respiratory tract and digestive tract through smoking and oral ingesting, respectively. In contrast, cannabidiol (CBD), another component derived from cannabis, is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid that has gained popularity for its medicinal values and as a supplement.

Cannabis sativa is a widely dispersed plant that may be found in a broad range of habitats, elevations, and climatic conditions all over the globe. It is a member of the Cannabis genus. Historically, it has been used by humans for more than 5000 years, making it one of the oldest plant sources of food and textile fibres. Originating in Western Asia and Egypt, the cultivation of Cannabis sativa for textile fibre later spread to Europe, and in 1606, the cultivation of hemp was brought to North America, where it has remained since. For the majority of the 18th and 19th centuries, hemp had an important economic role in Europe, primarily in the manufacturing of ropes and textiles. Cannabis sativa L. (marijuana; Cannabaceae) is a popular plant with extensive distribution that produces fibre and food, as well as a psychoactive drug. Hemp seed has traditionally been harvested for the oil that can be derived from it and used in a variety of applications, including culinary and the production of soaps, paints, lubricants, and cosmetics. Furthermore, hemp has long been used as a medical plant.

Cannabis sativa, popularly known as “marijuana,” poses a problem since it may have both beneficial and harmful effects. Cannabis has long been used for medicinal and recreational purposes, which demonstrates its value as a plant. Instead of this, enough evidence suggests that abusing this wonder herb can have negative effects on a number of organs and organ systems, such as the pulmonary system, the body's defense system, the cardiovascular system, etc. Additionally, it may affect both male and female potency and may also have clastogenic effects. Yet, it cannot be ruled out that there are some benefits to using marijuana responsibly, since it has been shown to be a miraculous treatment for atrophy, acute pain, a loss of muscular tone, motion sickness, and insomnia. This chapter will attempt to provide a thorough understanding of the various health effects of the herb and its extracted active bioactive ingredients.

Large amounts of pesticides are used annually, and in some cases, a part of the pesticide enters the water bodies by surface runoff to form long-term residues. In the recent past, the adverse effects of pesticides on the environment and human health received serious attention by the public and the competent authorities. Various conventional methods are used to remove these pesticides from water, but those methods are either costly or typical in operation. Therefore, adsorption is considered as an ecofriendly method. The adsorbent derived from biomaterial is considered an encouraging adsorbent due to its cost-effective and high adsorption capacity. In this chapter, detailed information on different types of pesticides, their metabolites, environmental concerns, and present status on degradation methods using adsorbents will be reviewed. This chapter presents a comprehensive overview on the recent advancement in the utilization of different adsorbents for the removal of pesticides. Overall, this study assists researchers to move forward in exploring a simple and economically viable technique to produce adsorbents with outstanding physiochemical properties and excellent adsorption capacity, so that the pesticides can be removed from aquatic ecosystem.

Wetlands are home to numerous species of fish, birds, and reptiles. The enormous roots of the mangrove trees act as shelter to small fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Pesticides and agro-chemical fertilizers have been playing a very pivotal role in the degradation of the land and the water bodies. The different herbicides that are present in wetlands are Dicamba, Endothall, MCPA, Triallate, Trifluralin, 2, 4-D, and insecticides Carbaryl, Carbofuran, Fenvalerate, Malathion, Parathion, and Terbufos. These pesticides have been provided with the aim of catering to the security of the crops which are highly vulnerable to the pests. However, harmful effects of pesticides on wetland species have been a concern for long time. Wetlands constitute one such habitat threatened by the pesticides. But there has been a lack of comprehensive research in this direction. The chapter will identify the gaps in the current research and will review the status of Indian wetlands with special reference to pesticides and their impact.

This article reviews the impact of biomedical waste on water, soil, air quality, the environment, and human health. Hospitals and nursing homes generate increasing amount of biomedical waste in an ...

Vegetables are vital to the human diet, and in particular provide the well-known nutrients to maintain normal physiological functions. The prolonged application of large amount of fertilizers and p...

The textile industry is one of the important industries that generates a large amount of industrial effluents. Color is the main attraction of any fabric. Manufacture and use of synthetic dyes for fabric dyeing has therefore become a massive industry. Synthetic dyes have provided a wide range of colorfast, bright hues. However, their toxic nature has become a cause of grave concern to environmentalists. Use of synthetic dyes has an adverse effect on all forms of life. Presence of sulphur, naphthol, vat dyes, nitrates, acetic acid, soaps, enzymes chromium compounds, and heavy metals like copper, arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury, nickel, and cobalt and certain auxiliary chemicals all collectively make the textile effluent highly toxic. These organic materials react with many disinfectants, especially chlorine, and form byproducts (DBPs) that are often carcinogenic and therefore undesirable. This effluent, if allowed to flow in the fields, clogs the pores of the soil resulting in loss of soil productivity. This chapter gives an overview on the health and environmental impact of dyes.

Plastics have become a vital asset for humanity. Plastics are known as synthetic materials produced from synthetic or semi-synthetic organic polymers derived from petro-based chemicals, able to displace traditional natural polymeric materials (wood, stone, ceramics, etc.). Plastics have malformed everyday life; usage is increasing, and annual production is likely to exceed 300 million tons by 2010. In this chapter, the authors blend current understanding of the benefits and concerns surrounding the use of plastics and look to future priorities, challenges, and opportunities. Plastics case serious environmental pollution such as soil pollution, water pollution, and air pollution. Application of proper rules and regulations for the production and use of plastics can reduce the toxic effects of plastics on human health and the environment.

Plastic pollution in the environment is currently receiving worldwide attention. Improper dumping of disused or abandoned plastic wastes leads to contamination of the environment. Contamination by bulk plastics and plastic debris is currently the one of the most serious problems in aquatic ecosystems. In particular, small-scale plastic debris such as microplastics and nanoplastics has become a leading contributor to the pollution of marine and freshwater ecosystems. Over 300 million tons of plastic is produced annually, and around 75% of all marine litter is plastic. Plastic litter is widespread in aquatic ecosystems and comes from a variety of sources. The abundance of plastics, combined with their small size and subsequent association with plankton in the water column, allows for direct ingestion by aquatic biota at different trophic levels.

Most of the heavy metals have deleterious impacts on the growth and productivity of the plants, and also alters the general physiological characteristics of plants. But, some plants cope with the pollution stress and accumulate more and more toxic and heavy metals in their modified tissues. These toxic substances not only affect the plant physiology, but have toxic impacts on soil health. The toxic metals, in context to many organic compounds are not decomposed by the microbiological activity. Toxic levels of Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd) and Mercury (Hg) affects plant processes at physiological and biochemical levels some of the heavy metals are accumulated in aquatic environment and most of them get absorbed in the aquatic plants. Theretofore, a miscellaneous positive correlation among selected aquatic plants and specific heavy metals was reported, however mechanism of a particular model species is still vague. The intrusion of heavy metals may also change the nutrient pool of the aquatic ecosystem that may affect the overall productivity of the system. The work will review some of the important heavy metals, the plants that are useful to reduce the concentration of these metals from different ecosystems.

Aim. The aim of the present study was to identify and evaluate predominant noise sources in the cricket bat industry of Kashmir, India. Methods. Sound levels were measured at operator’s ear level in the working zone of the workers of seven cricket bat factories. The impact assessment was made through personal interviews with each worker separately during their period of rest. Results. On average, 62.5% of the workers reported difficulty in hearing and 24.1% of the workers have become patients for hypertension. Only 58.1% of the workers complained of headache due to high noise level. Conclusions. The workers engaged in the cricket bat industry of Kashmir are exposed to high noise levels. It is suggested that personal protective equipment like ear plugs and ear muffs be used by these workers as a protection against this hazard.

Humans made use of pesticides to kill pests infesting crops. This was done to increase agricultural yields and improve public health. Pesticides however turn out to be damaging for the environment, causing many harmful impacts. Certain pesticides after being applied to the environment show long-term residual effects while others show acute fatal effects particularly to aquatic life. For example, organochlorine pesticides are persistent in the environment; as a result of this, these pesticides find their way to contaminate ground water, surface water, food products, air, soil, and may also affect human beings through direct contact. Pesticide exposure to humans has been found to be an important cause of some diseases such as cancer, respiratory diseases, skin diseases, endocrine disruption, and reproduction disorders. It is this aspect of pesticides in the environment that has raised concern among environmental scientists to study their behavior in the environment and then come out with a sound alternative so as to rescue the human population from their adverse effects. Fifty years (half a century) after Rachel Carson's warning to the world about the devastating effect pesticides have on birds and beneficial insects, pesticides continue to be in use. Continued usage of pesticides can be described as a massive chemical assault on our environment which threatens the survival of many birds, fish, insects, and small aquatic organisms that form the basis of the food web. More generally, pesticides reduce species diversity in the animal kingdom and contribute to population decline in animals and plants by destroying habitats, reducing food supplies, and impairing reproduction. Organisms in ecosystems exist in complex interdependent associations such that losses of one keystone species as a result of pesticides (or other causes) can have far reaching and unpredictable effects. A keystone species is a species that is disproportionately connected to more species in the food-web. The many connections that a keystone species holds mean that it maintains the organization and structure of entire communities. The loss of a keystone species results in a range of dramatic effects that alters trophic structure, other food-web connections, and can cause the extinction of other species in the community. A pesticide may eliminate a species essential to the functioning of the entire community, or it may promote the dominance of undesired species or it may simply decrease the number and variety of species present in the community. This may disrupt the dynamics of the food webs in the community by breaking the existing dietary linkages between species.

The use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides has not only caused damage to environment but has caused detrimental impacts on the health of people. In order to feed the ever growing population and prevent environmental contamination and decrease the impact on human health organic farming is being promoted all over the world. The use of Arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi to boost agricultural productivity is considered a better alternative as it has strong influence on plant interactions by aiding plants in resource acquisition, disease suppression, and tolerance to soil pollution and play a decisive role in plant development. It also enhance the supply of water and nutrients (phosphate and nitrogen), to the host plant. In return, up to 20% of plant-fixed carbon is transferred to the fungus; hence the nutritional exchange is bidirectional. AMF acts as a biocontrol agent for various crops and thus reduces the burden of pesticides in agro-ecosystems. Advance research is needed to develop farming systems that optimize the use of natural resources such as mycorrhizal fungi for sustainable agricultural production. The present chapter is an attempt to study the role of AMF in controlling different plant parasitic nematodes along with its important advantages for the crop production.