Potential protective effects of Spirulina platensis on liver,kidney, and brain acrylamide toxicity in rats

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Acrylamide (AA) is a hazardous chemical that is widely used in industrial practices. Spirulina platensis (SP) is a blue green alga that is rich in...     

Radon Exhalation Rate of Some Building Materials Used in Egypt

Indoor radon has been recognized as one of the health hazards for mankind. Common building materials used for construction of houses, which are considered as one of the major sources of this gas in indoor environment, have been studied for exhalation rate of radon. Non-nuclear industries, such as coal fired power plants or fertilizer production facilities, generate large amounts of waste gypsum as by-products. Compared to other building materials waste gypsum from fertilizer production facilities (phosphogypsum) shows increased rates of radon exhalation. In the present, investigation solid state alpha track detectors, CR-39 plastic detectors, were used to measure the indoor radon concentration and the radon exhalation rates from some building materials used in Egypt. The indoor radon concentration and the radon exhalation rate ranges were found to be 24–55 Bq m⁻³ and 11–223 mBq m⁻² h⁻¹, respectively. The effective dose equivalent range for the indoor was found 0.6–1.4 mSv y⁻¹. The equilibrium factor between radon and its daughters increased with the increase of relative humidity.     

Modeling of flow and contaminant transport in coupled stream-aquifer systems

This paper describes an integrated approach for modeling flow and contaminant transport in hydraulically connected stream-aquifer systems. The code, FTSTREAM, extended the capabilities of the ground-water model, FTWORK, to incorporate chemical fate and transport in streams. Flow in the stream network is modeled as an unsteady, spatially varying flow, while transport modeling is based on a one-dimensional advection-dispersion equation. In addition to sorption and decay during transport in ground water, the model incorporates volatilization, settling and decay during transport in surface water. The interaction between surface water and ground water is accommodated by a leakage term and is implemented in the model using an iterative Picard-type procedure to ensure mass conservation across the interface between the two systems. The modeling approach is used to simulate contaminant transport in the Mad River, Ohio, which is hydraulically connected to a buried valley aquifer of sand and gravel outwash. The river is a receiving stream in the upstream part of the modeled area. Downstream, heavy pumping from a municipal well field causes the river to become a loosing stream. Induced infiltration from the river is responsible for a considerable portion of the well yield. The flow and transport model, developed for this study, simulates coupling between flow in the aquifer and the river. Hypothetical sources of contamination are introduced at selected locations in the upstream portion of the aquifer. The model is then used to simulate the expected transport in both the aquifer and the stream. A series of simulations elucidates the role of the river in facilitating the transport of the hypothetical contaminants in ground water and surface water. Effect of sorption, retardation and volatilization on contaminant transport is also examined for the case of the volatile organic compounds.     

Examining municipal response to a provincial climate action planning mandate in British Columbia,Canada

The engagement of UK local authorities is vital if national government is to meet its climate change commitments. However, with no mandatory targets at local government level, other drivers must explain engagement. Using a Geographic Information System, this study compares the spatial distribution of action on climate change based on past actions and stated intentions to a suite of relevant independent variables. The Action Index created is among the first to quantify climate change engagement beyond a simple binary measure and provides a useful comparative study to recent work in the USA. The Index enables investigation of both mitigation and adaptation, which show different trends in relation to some variables. The study shows that action is strongest where the voting habits of the local population suggest environmental concern and where neighbouring local authorities are also engaging in action on climate change. Physical vulnerability to the effects of climate change is a motivator for action only where the dangers are obvious. Action is less likely where other resource-intensive issues such as crime and housing exist within a local authority area.     

A GIS-based approach for the screening assessment of noise and vibration impacts from transit projects

Urban transportation projects are essential in increasing the efficiency of moving people and goods within a city, and between cities. Environmental impacts from such projects must be evaluated and mitigated, as applicable. Spatial modeling is a valuable tool for quantifying the potential level of environmental consequences within the context of an environmental impact assessment (EIA) study. This paper presents a GIS-based tool for the assessment of airborne-noise and ground-borne vibration from public transit systems, and its application to an actual project. The tool is based on the US Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) approach, and incorporates spatial information, satellite imaging, geostatistical modeling, and software programming. The tool is applied on a case study of initial environmental evaluation of a light rail transit project in an urban city in the Middle East, to evaluate alternative layouts. The tool readily allowed the alternative evaluation and the results were used as input to a multi-criteria analytic framework.     

Uncertainty Analysis In Dissolved Oxygen Modeling in Streams

Uncertainty analysis in surface water quality modeling is an important issue. This paper presents a method based on the first-order reliability method (FORM) to assess the exceedance probability of a target dissolved oxygen concentration in a stream, using a Streeter–Phelps prototype model. Basic uncertainty in the input parameters is considered by representing them as random variables with prescribed probability distributions. Results obtained from FORM analysis compared well with those of the Monte Carlo simulation method. The analysis also presents the stochastic sensitivity of the probabilistic outcome in the form of uncertainty importance factors, and shows how they change with changing simulation time. Furthermore, a parametric sensitivity analysis was conducted to show the effect of selection of different probability distribution functions for the three most important parameters on the design point, exceedance probability, and importance factors. Note: This version was published online in June 2005 with the cover date of August 2004.     

Estimating the radon concentration in water and indoor air

The paper presents the results of radon concentration measurements in the vicinity of water, indoor air and in contact to building walls. The investigations were carried out using CR-39 track detectors. Samples of ground water flowing out of many springs mostly in Arabian Gulf area except one from Germany have been studied. The results are compared with international recommendations and the values are found to be lower than the recommended value. Measuring the mean indoor radon concentrations in air and in contact to building walls in the dwellings of Kuwait University Campus were found 24.2 +/- 7.7, and 462 +/- 422 Bq m(-3) respectively. These values lead to average effective dose equivalent rates of 1.3 +/- 0.4 and 23 +/- 21 mSv year(-1), respectively.     

Development and verification of a screening model for surface spreading of petroleum

Overflows and leakage from aboveground storage tanks and pipelines carrying crude oil and petroleum products occur frequently. The spilled hydrocarbons pose environmental threats by contaminating the surrounding soil and the underlying ground water. Predicting the fate and transport of these chemicals is required for environmental risk assessment and for remedial measure design. The present paper discusses the formulation and application of the Oil Surface Flow Screening Model (OILSFSM) for predicting the surface flow of oil by taking into account infiltration and evaporation. Surface flow is simulated using a semi-analytical model based on the lubrication theory approximation of viscous flow. Infiltration is simulated using a version of the Green and Ampt infiltration model, which is modified to account for oil properties. Evaporation of volatile compounds is simulated using a compositional model that accounts for the changes in the fraction of each compound in the spilled oil. The coupling between surface flow, infiltration and evaporation is achieved by incorporating the infiltration and evaporation fluxes into the global continuity equation of the spilled oil. The model was verified against numerical models for infiltration and analytical models for surface flow. The verification study demonstrates the applicability of the model.     

Radarsat observations and forecasting of oil slick trajectory movements

RADARSAT data have a potential role for coastal pollution monitoring. This study presents a new approach to detect and forecast oil slick trajectory movements. The oil slick trajectory movements is based on the tidal current effects and Fay‘s algorithm for oil slick spreading mechanisms. The oil spill trajectory model contains the integration between Doppler frequency shift model and Lagrangian model. Doppler frequency shift model implemented to simulate tidal current pattem from RADARSAT data while the Lagrangian model used to predict oil spill spreading pattern. The classical Fay‘s algorithm was implemented with the two models to simulate the oil spill trajectory movements. The study shows that the slick lengths are effected by tidal current V component with maximum velocity of 1.4 m/s. This indicates that oil slick trajectory path is moved towards the north direction. The oil slick parcels are accumulated along the coastline after 48 h. The analysis indicated that tidal current V components were the dominant forcing for oil slick spreading.     

Screening level modeling of long-term impact of petroleum hydrocarbon contamination on fresh groundwater lenses in the Arabian Gulf region

The Gulf War in 1991 created an environmental catastrophe, one of the major consequences of which was setting several oil wells on fire in the Arabian Gulf area. The total oil spilled as a result of the damaged wells was about 3.5 × 10⁶ m³. Out of these, 3.3 × 10⁶ m³ of oil was recovered and exported. The rest was left behind as it was not economical to collect. The oil left behind was subject to severe weathering over the past ten years. Soil and subsurface contamination pose a serious risk to the quality of the already scarce fresh groundwater resources in the area which was subject to oil spill in the study region. This paper presents the computer modeling activities carried out towards simulating the transport of the hydrocarbon contamination of the fresh groundwater resources at a study area in the Arabian Gulf region, and predicting the contamination levels at the fresh groundwater lenses in the area in the future, should current contamination levels persist in the soil and groundwater. The modeling activities relied on both semi-analytical and numerical flow and transport models.