Groundwater Remediation and Aquifer Clean-Up: A Case Study

Groundwater was being remediated with pump and treat technology at a facility where the groundwater was contaminated with commonly used degreaser solvents. Hydraulic conductivity of the heterogeneous residuum was beneficiated by applying pneumatic fracturing technology. The remedial system was controlled and monitored by a sophisticated remote telemetry system. A case history follows.     

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,...     

Myco- and phyco-remediation of polychlorinated biphenyls in the environment: a review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are toxic organic compounds and pose serious threats to environment and public health. PCBs still exist in different...     

Development of geomorphologic instantaneous unit hydrograph for a large watershed

Hill torrents cause a lot of environmental and property damage in Pakistan every year. Proper assessment of direct runoff in the form of hill torrents is essential for protection of environment, property, and human life. In this paper, direct surface runoff hydrograph (DSRH) was derived for a large catchment using the geomorphologic instantaneous unit hydrograph concept. The catchment with hill torrent flows in semi-arid region of Pakistan was selected for this study. It was divided into series of linear cascades and hydrologic parameters required for Nash's conceptual model, and were estimated using geomorphology of the basin. Geomorphologic parameters were derived from satellite images of the basin and ERDAS and ArcGIS were used for data processing. Computer program was developed to systematically estimate the dynamic velocity, its related parameters by optimization and thereby to simulate the DSRH. The data regarding rainfall-runoff and satellite images were collected from Punjab Irrigation and Power Department, Pakistan. Model calibration and validation was made for 15 rainfall-runoff events. Ten events were used for calibration and five for validation. Model efficiency was found to be more than 90% and root mean square error to be about 5%. Impact of variation in model parameters (shape parameter and storage coefficient) on DSRH was investigated. For shape parameter, the number of linear cascades varied from 1 to 3 and it was found that the shaper parameter value of 3 produced the best DSRH. Various values of storage coefficient were used and it was observed that the value determined from geomorphology and the dynamic velocity produced the best results.     

Monitoring of cotton dust and health risk assessment in small-scale weaving industry

The present study describes the estimation of particulate matter (cotton dust) with different sizes, i.e., PM(1.0), PM(2.5), PM(4.0), and PM(10.0 μm) in small-scale weaving industry (power looms) situated in district Hafizabad, Punjab, Pakistan, and the assessment of health problems of workers associated with these pollutants. A significant difference was found in PM(1.0), PM(2.5), PM(4.0), and PM(10.0) with reference to nine different sampling stations with p values <0.05. Multiple comparisons of particulate matter with respect to size, i.e. PM(1.0), PM(2.5), PM(4.0), and PM(10.0), depict that PM(1.0) differs significantly from PM(2.5), PM(4.0), and PM(10.0), with p values <0.05 and that PM(2.5) differs significantly from PM(1.0) and PM(10.0), with p values <0.05, whereas PM(2.5) differs non-significantly from PM(4.0), with a p value >0.05 in defined sampling stations on an average basis. Majority of the workers were facing several diseases due to interaction with particulate matter (cotton dust) during working hours. Flue, cough, eye, and skin infections were the most common diseases among workers caused by particulate matter (cotton dust).     

Geochemical and geostatistical investigations of chromium pollution in groundwater.

Geochemical and geostatistical study of the chromium concentration in groundwater occurring at variable depths of 12 to 33.5 m (40 to 110 ft) in the Karachi urban area of Pakistan have been made. Samples were collected at variable distances, with a maximum of 1 km interval, on the bases of population, industries, types, and density. The chromium concentration has also been worked out to deduce the threshold value of the area under study and the estimation of probability impact modeling, in terms of concentration variation, by using the disjunctive kriging technique. The outcome of the present work appears to be a good tool to decipher pollution variation in the groundwater of highly urbanized areas, with respect to the population and industries. The patterns of distribution of chromium concentration in groundwater and pollution hotspots in particular localities appear to be more related to the types of industries than to the effect of population types.     

A multi-criteria decision analysis of solid waste treatment options in Pakistan: Lahore City—a case in point

Population of the world is increasing day by day, resulting in enormous amount of waste production. In the modern age of great technological advancements, there needs to be a systematic method to keep the environment clean. The waste management activities, i.e., collection, transport and disposal, pose a great challenge to the waste managers as they have to factor in various eclectic factors such as land availability, facilities available, budget, time required and the impact it would have on the environment, while tackling this problem. Lahore, despite being the most developed city of Pakistan, does not have a suitable solid waste management system. An increasing population leads to more waste generation, and in Lahore the situation is no different. Several waste management companies are working in the city, but as of yet they have not been able to make significant inroads to completely eradicate the problem. The aim of this paper is to suggest a suitable way for dealing with the waste. To accomplish this aim, a hierarchy-based model is used, considering six criteria and five alternatives. We used multi-criteria decision analysis to decide among different waste management alternatives. Forecasting has been used to find the population and waste produced over the years. Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) are used to rank the feasible alternative. The results show that the population and waste were increasing drastically. Aerobic digestion was ranked as the best alternative for waste management according to AHP and TOPSIS, but there is great variation among the rank of other alternatives.     

Quantification of polychlorinated biphenyl contamination using human placenta as biomarker from Punjab Province,Pakistan

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The present study biomonitored the placental polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations in women from Punjab Province, Pakistan, that provides the...     

Screening of textile finishing agents available on the Chinese market: An important source of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances to the environment

Kendrick mass defect was used for PFASs screening in textile finishing agents (TFAs). Total oxidizable precursor assay provides insight into unknown precursors. Perfluorooctane sulfonate was found as impurity in short ECF technology based TFAs. Perfluorooctanoate was also detected in C6 telomerization based TFAs. Long chain precursors were also observed in both types of TFAs. Organofluorinated surfactants are widely employed in textile finishing agents (TFAs) to achieve oil, water, and stain repellency. This has been regarded as an important emission source of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) to the environment. China is the biggest manufacturer of clothes, and thus TFA production is also a relevant industrial activity. Nevertheless, to date, no survey has been conducted on PFAS contents in commercially available TFAs. In the present study, TFA products were investigated by the Kendrick mass defect method. The quantification results demonstrated a significant presence of perfluorooctane sulfonate (0.37 mg/L) in TFAs manufactured by electrochemical fluorination technology. The products obtained by short-chain PFAS-based telomerization were dominated by perfluorooctanoic acid (mean concentration: 0.29 mg/L), whose values exceeded the limits stated in the European Chemical Agency guidelines (0.025 mg/L). Moreover, the total oxidizable precursor assay indicated high levels of indirectly quantified precursors with long alkyl chains (C7–C9). Together, these results suggest that there is currently a certain of environmental and health risks in China that originates from the utilization of TFAs, and a better manufacturing processes are required to reduce such risks.