Elevated exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may trigger cancers in Pakistan: an environmental,occupational, and genetic perspective

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are carcinogenic compounds which are emitted through incomplete combustion of organic materials, fossil fuels,...     

Frequency of PPAR-γ, FTO and ABCC8 genetic variation in Pakistani cardiovascular smokers

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Smoking is considered as one of the major reasons behind genetic variations in cardiometabolic disorders. However, effect of nicotine via smoking on...     

Comparative efficacy of mitigation techniques for the detoxification of Prunus persica (L.) from selected pesticide residues

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Fruits are the valuable and important components of human diet. Among them, Prunus persica is a rich source of different minerals and dietary fibers....     

Environmental concerns and switching toward electric vehicles: geographic and institutional perspectives

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Smog pollution deteriorates environmental quality and has severe health risks. This affects the daily lives of people in China, particularly in urban...     

Degradation of polyacrylamide (PAM) and methane production by mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestion: Effect of temperature and concentration

• PAM degradation in thermophilic AD in comparison with mesophilic AD. • PAM degradation and its impact on thermophilic and mesophilic AD. • Enhanced methane yield in presence of PAM during thermophilic and mesophilic AD. • PAM degradation and microbial community analysis in thermophilic and mesophilic AD. Polyacrylamide (PAM) is generally employed in wastewater treatment processes such as sludge dewatering and therefore exists in the sludge. Furthermore, it degrades slowly and can deteriorate methane yield during anaerobic digestion (AD). The impact or fate of PAM in AD under thermophilic conditions is still unclear. This study mainly focuses on PAM degradation and enhanced methane production from PAM-added sludge during 15 days of thermophilic (55°C) AD compared to mesophilic (35°C) AD. Sludge and PAM dose from 10 to 50 g/kg TSS were used. The results showed that PAM degraded by 76% to 78% with acrylamide (AM) content of 0.2 to 3.3 mg/L in thermophilic AD. However, it degraded only 27% to 30% with AM content of 0.5 to 7.2 mg/L in mesophilic AD. The methane yield was almost 230 to 238.4 mL/g VSS on the 8th day in thermophilic AD but was 115.2 to 128.6 mL/g VSS in mesophilic AD. Mechanism investigation revealed that thermophilic AD with continuous stirring not only enhanced PAM degradation but also boosted the organics release from the sludge with added PAM and gave higher methane yield than mesophilic AD.     

Bacterial-mediated synthesis of silver nanoparticles and their significant effect against pathogens

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Silver nanoparticles are potent antimicrobials and could be used as a promising alternative of conventional antibiotics. The aim of this study was to...     

Application of life cycle assessment for hospital solid waste management: A case study

This study was meant to determine environmental aspects of hospital waste management scenarios using a life cycle analysis approach. The survey for this study was conducted at the largest hospital in a major city of Pakistan. The hospital was thoroughly analyzed from November 2014 to January 2015 to quantify its wastes by category. The functional unit of the study was selected as 1 tonne of disposable solid hospital waste. System boundaries included transportation of hospital solid waste and its treatment and disposal by landfilling, incineration, composting, and material recycling methods. These methods were evaluated based on their greenhouse gas emissions. Landfilling and incineration turned out to be the worst final disposal alternatives, whereas composting and material recovery displayed savings in emissions. An integrated system (composting, incineration, and material recycling) was found as the best solution among the evaluated scenarios. This study can be used by policymakers for the formulation of an integrated hospital waste management plan.

Implications: This study deals with environmental aspects of hospital waste management scenarios. It is an increasing area of concern in many developing and resource-constrained countries of the world. The life cycle analysis (LCA) approach is a useful tool for estimation of greenhouse gas emissions from different waste management activities. There is a shortage of information in existing literature regarding LCA of hospital wastes. To the best knowledge of the authors this work is the first attempt at quantifying the environmental footprint of hospital waste in Pakistan.     

Influence of sub-lethal crude oil concentration on growth,water relations and photosynthetic capacity of maize (Zea mays L.) plants

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Maize tolerance potential to oil pollution was assessed by growing Zea mays in soil contaminated with varying levels of crude oil (0, 2.5 and...