Multi-level screening of a proposed hazardous waste treatment and disposal facility site--a case study

A comprehensive environmental assessment (EA) is a pre-requisite before the site for developing a hazardous waste treatment and disposal facility (HWTDF) is selected. However, the resource limitations, especially for developing countries, often dictatethat the detailed EA be restricted to those sites, which are constraint free and have low hazard potentials. Thus, a preliminary screening exercise for assessing the suitability ofsite for developing the HWTDF needs to be carried out to avoid huge costs involved in detailed EA. While screening a HWTDF site,various factors such as present land use, ecologically sensitiveareas, geology and hydrogeology of the area, the quality and quantity of wastes, engineered safeguards, and the operationalprocedures that need to be adopted, are required to be addressed. In this paper, a multi-level screening criteria employing RemoteSensing, Constraint Mapping, Groundwater Pollution Potential Index (DRASTIC Index), and the Site Ranking was used to assess the suitability of a proposed site for the development of HWTDF.The study helped to identify various constraints at the proposedsite and their significance on the development of the HWTDF.     

Emissions of gaseous and particulate pollutants in a port and harbour region in India

Ports can generate large quantity of pollutants in the atmosphere due to various activities like loading and unloading,transportation, and construction operations. Determination of the character and quantity of emissions from individual sources is an essential step in any project to control and minimize the emissions.In this study a detailed emission inventory of total suspendedparticulate matter (TSP), particulate matter less than 10 m(PM₁₀), sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x) for a port and harbour project near Mumbai is compiled. Results show that the total annual average contributions of TSP and PM₁₀ from all the port activitieswere 872 and 221 t yr^-1, respectively. Annual average emissions of gaseous pollutants SO₂ and NO_xwere 56 and 397 t yr^-1, respectively, calculatedby using emission factors for different port activities. The maximum TSP emission (419 t yr ^-1) was from paved roads, while the least (0.4 t yr^-1) was from bulk handling activity. The maximum PM₁₀ emission (123 t yr^-1) was from unpaved roads and minimum (0.2 t yr^-1) from bulk handling operations. Similarly the ratio of TSP and PM₁₀ emission was highest (5.18) from paved roads and least (2.17) from bulk handling operations. Regression relation was derivedfrom existing emission data of TSP and PM₁₀ from variousport activities. Good correlation was observed between TSP andPM₁₀ having regression coefficient >0.8.     

Emissions of VOCs at Urban Petrol Retail Distribution Centres in India (Delhi and Mumbai)

Air pollution has assumed gigantic proportion killing almost half a million Asians every year. Urban pollution mainly comprises of emissions from buses, trucks, motorcycle other forms of motorized transport and its supporting activities. As Asia's cities continue to expand the number of vehicles have risen resulting in greater pollution. Fugitive emissions from retail distribution center in urban area constitute a major source. Petrol vapours escape during refueling adding pollutants like benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene to ambient air. This paper discusses a study on fugitive emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) at some refueling station in two metropolitan cities of India, i.e., Mumbai and Delhi. Concentration of VOCs in ambient air at petrol retail distribution center is estimated by using TO-17 method. Concentration of benzene in ambient air in Delhi clearly shows the effect of intervention in use of petroleum and diesel fuel and shift to CNG. Chemical Mass Balance (CMB) model is used to estimate source contributions. At Delhi besides diesel combustion engines, refueling emissions are also major sources. At Mumbai evaporative emissions are found to contribute maximum to Total VOC (TVOC) concentration in ambient air.     

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles by microorganism using organic pollutant: its antimicrobial and catalytic application

A novel approach for the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from aqueous solution of AgNO₃ using culture supernatant of phenol degraded broth is reported in this work. The synthesis was observed within 10 h, and AgNPs showed characteristic surface plasmon resonance around 410 nm. Spherical nanoparticles of size less than 30 nm were observed in transmission electron microscopy. X-ray diffraction pattern corresponding to 111, 200, 220, and 311 revealed the crystalline nature of the as-formed nanoparticles. It was found that the colloidal solution of AgNP suspensions exhibited excellent stability over a wide range of ionic strength, pH, and temperature. The effect of pH and ionic strength indicated that stabilization is due to electrostatic repulsion arising from the negative charge of the conjugate proteins. The AgNPs showed highly potent antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive, Gram-negative, and fungal microorganisms. The as-prepared AgNPs showed excellent catalytic activity in reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol by NaBH₄. By manufacturing magnetic alginate beads, the reusability of the AgNPs for the catalytic reaction has been demonstrated.     

Multivariate statistical study of seasonal variation of BTEX in the surface water of Savitri River

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) analysis was carried out for the surface water of the Savitri river during the period of June 2005 to June 2007. BTEX compounds (Benzene, Toluene, Xylene & Ethyl benzene) were analyzed by using micro extraction technique (Purge & Trap). Concentrations of these BTEX compounds were ranging from 0.1 to 1.5 ppm during sampling period. Higher concentrations of BTEX were found at sampling location VI. Concentration of ethyl benzene was very low as compare to other compounds. However, the concentration of benzene was very high. Seasonal variations in conc. of BTEX compounds were observed and higher concentration was detected during the summer season. Salting-out effect had given higher quantification values. In PCA and PFA, the component loading for all the variables are positively correlated. Death of fishes was observed in the river that is indication of severe pollution problem.     

Environmental prevalence,fate, impacts,and mitigation of microplastics—a critical review on present understanding and future research scope

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Microplastics are considered to be ubiquitous and widespread emerging contaminants. They are persistent in the nature and pose considerable harm to...     

Infrastructure development through PPPs in India: criteria for sustainability assessment

Public private partnerships (PPPs) allow the Indian Government to leverage private capital for meeting the widening demand-supply gap in the provision of infrastructure services. The private sector, however, prefers to limit the participation to financially attractive projects only, thereby resulting in patterns of infrastructure creation impeding the progress towards sustainable development. In order to promote sustainable development, the PPP procurement process should focus on incentivising the private sector for sustainable infrastructure development rather than concentrating on ensuring financial sustainability only. This paper discusses the principles-based PPP-specific framework that has been developed to facilitate assessment of PPP projects' progress towards sustainable development. The framework development was based on a holistic approach to sustainability assessment and subsequently validated through questionnaire survey with key stakeholders in the Indian PPP programme. This framework will provide the decision makers with appropriate decision aid for integration of sustainable development principles in the PPP procurement process.     

Emission-based static traffic assignment models

Tailpipe emissions in the road transportation system are a major source of air pollution and greenhouse gases. One of the possible approaches is to influence drivers’ routing decisions such that the emissions and fuel consumption is minimized. In order to evaluate such condition, we develop environmental traffic assignment (E-TA) models based on user equilibrium (UE) and system optimal (SO) behavioral principles. Extending the traditional travel time-based UE and SO principles to E-TA is not straightforward because, unlike travel time, the rate of emissions increases with the increase in vehicle speed beyond a certain point. The results of various TA models show a network-wide traffic control strategy in which vehicles are routed according to SO-based E-TA, can reduce system-wide emissions. However, a system in which drivers make routing decisions to minimize their own emissions (E-UE system) results in a paradoxical situation of increased individual as well as system-wide emissions.     

Assessment of drinking water quality using ICP-MS and microbiological methods in the Bholakpur area,Hyderabad, India

A total of 16 people died and over 500 people were hospitalized due to diarrhoeal illness in the Bholakpur area of Hyderabad, India on 6th May 2009. A study was conducted with immediate effect to evaluate the quality of municipal tap water of the Bholakpur locality. The study consists of the determination of physico-chemical properties, trace metals, heavy metals, rare earth elements and microbiological quality of drinking water. The data showed the variation of the investigated parameters in samples as follows: pH 7.14 to 8.72, EC 455 to 769 μS/cm, TDS 303.51 to 515.23 ppm and DO 1.01 to 6.83 mg/L which are within WHO guidelines for drinking water quality. The water samples were analyzed for 27 elements (Li, Be, B, Na, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Co, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Mo, Ag, Cd, Sb, Ba and Pb) using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The concentrations of Fe (0.12 to 1.13 mg/L), Pb (0.01 to 0.07 mg/L), Cu (0.01 to 0.19 mg/L), Ni (0.01 to 0.15 mg/L), Al (0.16 to 0.49 mg/L), and Na (38.36 to 68.69 mg/L) were obtained, which exceed the permissible limits of the World Health Organization (WHO) for drinking water quality guidelines. The remaining elements were within the permissible limits. The microbiological quality of water was tested using standard plate count, membrane filtration technique, thermotolerant coliform (TTC), and most probable number (MPN) methods. The total heterotrophic bacteria ranged from 1.0 × 10⁵ to 18 × 10⁷ cfu/ml. Total viable bacteria in all the water samples were found to be too numerable to count and total number of coliform bacteria in all water samples were found to be of order of 1,100 to >2,400 MPN index/100 ml. TTC tested positive for coliform bacteria at 44.2°C. All the water samples of the study area exceeded the permissible counts of WHO and that (zero and minimal counts) of the control site (National Geophysical Research Institute) water samples. Excessively high colony numbers indicate that the water is highly contaminated with microorganisms and is hazardous for drinking purposes. Bacteriological pollution of drinking water supplies caused diarrhoeal illness in Bholakpur, which is due to the infiltration of contaminated water (sewage) through cross connection, leakage points, and back siphoning.     

Green synthesis of symmetrical N, N′-disubstituted thiourea derivatives in water using solar energy

Thioureas are of importance in medicinal chemistry due to their biological activities such as antituberculosis, anti-HIV, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiarrhythmic, fungicide, herbicides, rodenticides and as phenoloxidase enzymatic inhibitors. Treatment of primary and secondary amines with thiophosgene is the common method of making symmetrical disubstituted thioureas. However, this method is hazardous due to the toxic properties of thiophosgene. Here, we report a green, operationally simple approach for the synthesis of 1, 3-disubstituted thiourea derivatives in moderate to excellent yields of 57–99 %. We use primary amines and CS₂ in water without any catalyst and solar thermal energy. This method is more environmentally benign and energy-saving compared with previously reported methods.