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Due to negligent use and disposal of lead containing sources including acid and alkali batteries with lead conductor, vehicle accumulators in last years, environment has been polluted greatly and it becomes the cause of animal poisoning. Heavy metals are dangerous because of their persistence and toxicity. Soil behaves as a sink of heavy metals by aerial deposition of particles emitted by human activities. The aims of this work were to identify the levels of lead in accumulator processing plant and city areas and animals. A total of 60 blood samples were collected in the vicinity of Ulaanbaatar and measured lead concentrations using equipment LeadCare II. Detection limit of LeadCare II for blood lead concentration ranges between 3.3 and 65 μg/dl. Measurements were made in three replicates using the samples, which were diluted by 10 to 100 fold and about 180 units of analysis was carried out. According to our study lead concentration in blood from livestock populations in the vicinity of Khonkhor lake, Nalaikh district is greater up to 52.9 ppm and the concentration in the soil around the factories is 30 fold higher. High lead content were found in soil and livestock animal blood samples of accumulator processing plant, which have correlated positively between them. But lead concentration in the blood sample from animals, which in areas might be free from lead pollution, was higher than acceptable level. In further studies on contamination resources are required.

Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite distributed worldwide. It is excreted in the feces of infected humans or animals and is the causative agent of cryptosporidiosis, whose symptoms include watery diarrhea, vomiting, and fever. While Cryptosporidium parvum and C. hominis are the primary species known to infect humans, recent studies suggest that C. cervine , C. felis , and C. meleagridis may also cause diarrhea in humans (Carey et al. 2004). The oocysts of Cryptosporidium spp. are shed in the feces and may then enter sewage treatment facilities via wastewater or persist in the environment. A previous study has demonstrated that some sewage treatments are not efficient enough to eliminate all the oocysts prior to water discharge (Bonadonna et al. 2002), which can lead to outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis. The largest outbreak of watery diarrhea was recorded in Milwaukee, WI, USA, in 1993 and was caused by Cryptosporidium oocysts that were not removed by the filtration system of one of the city's water treatment plants. Over 400,000 residents in the Milwaukee area presented watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever, and vomiting symptoms (Mac Kenzie et al. 1994). Cryptosporidium oocysts present a robust wall resistant to several environmental factors as well as to many of the processes and substances normally used for water disinfection. The robust nature of the oocyst wall requires more stringent treatments for disruption (Carey et al. 2004). Thus, early detection of oocysts in untreated water sources is essential to ensure efficient quality control for drinking water. Cryptosporidium oocysts in water and fecal samples have been generally purified with antibody magnetic beads or sucrose density-gradient centrifugation for Cryptosporidium testing (Simmons et al. 2001; Wohlsen et al. 2004). Then, the purified oocysts are identified by microscopy with fluorescent staining or genetic testing. Recently, the performance of real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) …

Rapid urbanization combined with increases in per capita income have led to the world's motorization. Car manufacturers have been increasing their outputs in response to demands for fuel-efficient cars. New-generation vehicles (NGVs) like hybrid and electronic vehicles have emerged with significantly reduced weights and robust computerized systems. Likewise, the use of efficient batteries like nickel–hydrogen or lithium-ion batteries has been integrated into NGVs. Expectedly, a large volume of these cars will be classified as end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) in the near future. The European Union, Japan and Korea have developed ELV recycling systems based on the extended producer responsibility principle, designed to recover used car parts, scrap metal, batteries, etc. However, countries like Mongolia and the Philippines are inundated with imported used cars, including used NGVs, which damage the environment due to their poor emissions and hazardous waste components. Air pollution and lead soil contamination are some of the environmental problems associated with the proliferation of ELVs. This paper tackles the opportunities and challenges of ELV recycling as espoused by the European Union, Japan and Korea and its potential application in developing countries. It also discusses emerging trends in the effective utilization of waste batteries from NGVs.

It has been widely predicted that Southeast Asia is among the regions facing the most severe climate change impacts. Despite this forecast, little research has been published on the potential impacts of climate change on soil erosion in this region. This study focused on the impact of climate change on spatial and temporal patterns of soil erosion in the Laos–Vietnam transnational Upper Ca River Watershed. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) coupled with downscaled global climate models (GCMs) was employed for simulation. Soil erosion in the watershed was mostly found as “hill-slope erosion”, which occurred seriously in the upstream area where topography is dominated by numerous steep hills with sparse vegetation cover. However, under the impact of climate change, it is very likely that soil erosion rate in the downstream area will increase at a higher rate than in its upstream area due to a greater increase in precipitation. Seasonally, soil erosion is predicted to increase significantly in the warmer and wetter climate of the wet season, when higher erosive power of an increased amount and intensity of rainfall is accompanied by higher sediment transport capacity. The results of this study provide useful information for decision makers to plan where and when soil conservation practice should be focused.

The present study investigates the hypothesis that arsenic concentrations correlate with tubewell depth, and examines the effectiveness of spline interpolation, specifically completely regularized spline (CRS) and spline with tension (SWT) in estimating the magnitude of arsenic contamination in groundwater in Thanh Tri, a densely populated district located in the southern part of Hanoi City, Vietnam. Groundwater sampling conducted in 72 tubewells drilled into shallow aquifers yielded an average arsenic concentration of 82 μg/L with a maximum of 395 μg/L, far higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline value of 10 μg/L. The average concentration in the lower Pleistocene aquifer was 86 μg/L, slightly higher compared with the average of 78 μg/L in the upper Holocene aquifer. Interestingly, regression analysis revealed that in the Holocene aquifer, depth of wells influenced arsenic concentrations significantly. Such an influence, however, was insignificant in the lower Pleistocene aquifer. Both the CRS and SWT spatial interpolation models resulted in plausible predictions for the arsenic concentration data. The problem of arsenic contamination in the study area should be considered seriously, as 99% of the area was estimated to be affected by arsenic levels exceeding the WHO guideline value.

Currently, most developing countries have not set up municipal solid waste management systems with a view of recovering energy from waste or reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In this article, we have studied the possible effects of introducing three energy recovery processes either as a single or combination approach, refuse derived fuel production, incineration and waste power generation, and methane gas recovery from landfill and power generation in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, as a case study. We concluded that incineration process is the most suitable as first introduction of energy recovery. To operate it efficiently, 3Rs strategies need to be promoted. And then, RDF production which is made of waste papers and plastics in high level of sorting may be considered as the second step of energy recovery. However, safety control and marketability of RDF will be required at that moment.

1, 10, Environment and Natural Resources Journal

Using government records, data from hazardous waste treatment companies, and on-site surveys, we evaluated the effectiveness of the current industrial solid waste management system in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), which was established according to the revised Law on Environmental Protection of 2005 and related regulations. In addition, we examined the relationship between the management system and environmental compliance by companies. Attention was paid to the classification of industrial solid waste, its amount finally disposed, and the cost of its disposal in HCMC. The results showed: one, the incoherence of the revised law and regulations in solid waste management caused serious pressure on landfills, and two, the implementation of the regulations has been neglected at all aspects of the current management system due to low levels of companies’ registration and reporting, as well as low levels of compliance among companies in industrial zones. A solution for dealing with the current problems is proposed.