Presence of heavy metals in drinking water resources of Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Water quality is one of the most important indices for public health especially for drinking water consumptions. This study was conducted to survey...     

Effect of TiC Nanoparticles Reinforcement in Coir Fiber Based Bio/Synthetic Epoxy Hybrid Composites: Mechanical and Thermal Characteristics

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - The present investigation was performed to study the effect of titanium carbide (TiC) nanoparticles and coir fiber as hybrid reinforcements on the...     

Seasonal changes of CO(2), CH(4) and N(2)O fluxes in relation to land-use change in tropical peatlands located in coastal area of South Kalimantan

Tropical peatland could be a source of greenhouse gases emission because it contains large amounts of soil carbon and nitrogen. However these emissions are strongly influenced by soil moisture conditions. Tropical climate is characterized typically by wet and dry seasons. Seasonal changes in the emission of carbon dioxide (CO(2)), methane (CH(4)) and nitrous oxide (N(2)O) were investigated over a year at three sites (secondary forest, paddy field and upland field) in the tropical peatland in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. The amount of these gases emitted from the fields varied widely according to the seasonal pattern of precipitation, especially methane emission rates were positively correlated with precipitation. Converting from secondary forest peatland to paddy field tended to increase annual emissions of CO(2) and CH(4) to the atmosphere (from 1.2 to 1.5 kg CO(2)-C m(-2)y(-1) and from 1.2 to 1.9 g CH(4)-C m(-2)y(-1)), while changing land-use from secondary forest to upland tended to decrease these gases emissions (from 1.2 to 1.0 kg CO(2)-C m(-2)y(-1) and from 1.2 to 0.6 g CH(4)-C m(-2)y(-1)), but no clear trend was observed for N(2)O which kept negative value as annual rates at three sites.     

Participatory assessment of the sustainability of livelihoods in the agroecosystem of Abesard,Iran

In order to improve the livelihoods of communities and make them more sustainable, study of the vulnerability of livelihoods seems necessary. In this paper, participatory vulnerability analysis was used within a sustainable rural livelihoods framework to assess the sustainability of livelihoods in the agroecosystem of Abesard, Iran. In addition, this paper explored vulnerability contexts that affect livelihood assets. Findings revealed that land use change, climate variability, market fluctuations and higher mechanisation were the main reasons of vulnerability. To overcome these problems and to adapt to changes, households have followed livelihood strategies such as agricultural intensification, livelihood diversification, and agricultural biodiversity. The government has also provided some services such as extension programmes, fertilizers, and subsidies to compensate for asset limitations. Overall, implementation of the following development policies are recommended: (1) support of agricultural production by government institutions; (2) moving towards the development of sustainable agricultural practises that integrate a variety of methods in a sustainable manner; (3) development of agricultural intensification in a sustainable way that compensates for any inadequacy of assets; and (4) providing adult vocational training programmes for both men and women related to on-farm and off-farm activities. In the end, results highlighted the need for more emphasis on overcoming the challenges of sustainable agriculture using a participatory approach in assessment of the vulnerability of community livelihoods.     

Removal of hinosan from underground water using NH4Cl-modified activated carbon from rice husk

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In the present study, NH4Cl-modified activated carbon was synthesized from rice husk and used as an adsorbent for removal of hinosan from underground...     

Association of environmental exposure with hematological and oxidative stress alteration in gasoline station attendants

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Gasoline station attendants spend a great deal of their time in the direct exposure to noxious substances such as benzene and byproducts of gasoline...     

Manual Material Handling Assessment Among Workers of Iranian Casting Workshops

Manual material handling (MMH) tasks can be found in most workplaces and they may constitute a risk factor for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of WMSDs and to compare MMH loads with the acceptable weight and force limits among Iranian casting workers. Data were collected from 50 workers of casting workshops who performed MMH tasks. The Nordic musculoskeletal disorders questionnaire and the Snook tables were used as tools for data collection. Hand/ wrist symptoms were the most prevalent problems among the workers (84%). The results of the Snook tables showed that the loads in lifting (84%), lowering (86%), carrying (66%), pushing with initial (43%) and sustained force (59%), and pulling tasks with initial (48%) and sustained force (93%) exceeded recommended limits. WMSDs occurred in high rates among the workers and, thus, ergonomics interventions should focus on decreasing WMSDs and redesigning MMH tasks.     

Quantification of human adenovirus in irrigation water-soil-crop continuum: are consumers of wastewater-irrigated vegetables at risk?

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Because of health concerns regarding the presence of enteric viruses in wastewater effluents, this study was designed to investigate the occurrence of...     

Economic complexity,ICT, biomass energy consumption,and environmental degradation: evidence from Iran

Economic complexity, biomass energy consumption, and information communication technology (ICT) have diverse impacts on energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. Nevertheless, analysis of these variable effects is not addressed in the previous literature; the antiqueness of this article is stuffing this gap. This study assessed the relationship between gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, biomass consumption, economic complexity index (ECI), ICT, and CO₂ emissions in Iran in 1994–2018. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model and the quantile regression (QR) econometric technique were used to investigate the factors affecting CO₂ emissions in the tails of the conditional distribution. The share of each influential factor was predicted through the variance decomposition analysis (VD) for the next 10 years. The empirical results showed a long-run relationship between the variables. So, the variables of biomass consumption, ECI, and ICT improve the quality of the environment in Iran by reducing CO₂ emissions, and the per capita GDP variable increases CO₂ emissions. Results suggest no evidence indicating the presence of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC); however, QR demonstrated the existence of EKCs in the lower quantiles of the conditional distribution. The ECI will have the most share to change the CO₂ emissions in the future. The income threshold should be determined at the turning point of the EKC to increase economic development. Moreover, investing in increasing biomass consumption is vital. Policymakers also need to consider strict added value for the export of products.