Study of heavy metals in some environmental samples

Fuels like coal and rubber are frequently used for brick burning. However, both coal and rubber contain heavy metals. These heavy metals may elutriate in the wake of fly ash or may adsorb or absorb in the product. The present work deals with the analysis of heavy metals in some samples collected from brick burning industries located in the vicinity of a metropolitan city, Peshawar, Pakistan. Samples from raw clay, product, chimney scale and fossil fuel & rubber were collected and leached with acid mixture. The leachates were concentrated and analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer for the determination of chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and antimony (Sb). It was observed that heavy metals are present in clay, brick and chimney scale. However, significant amount of these metals was observed in chimney scale. It is inferred that such emanations laden with heavy metals are accompanying the stack gases which are being dumped in to the environment. In order to avoid environmental problems, strict environmental regulations shall be enforced and a constant check on these emanations to the environment must be made to ensure clean air act.     

Extraction of shrimp waste pigments by enzymatic and alkaline treatment: evaluation by inhibition of lipid peroxidation

In recent years, interest has grown in the potential to utilize more natural materials in the food industry. Shrimp waste is an important natural resource with functional properties and no known side effects. The major components of shrimp waste are protein, chitin, minerals and carotenoids. In the present study, the extraction of carotenoids was performed with two methods, the use of proteolytic enzymes and extraction by alkaline and enzyme treatment, and the total amount of carotenoids present in the waste was determined. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the method was evaluated through the inhibition of lipid peroxidation. Inhibition of lipid peroxidation was effectively done with carotenoid extracted by trypsin and alkaline treatment.     

Mutagenicity of chloroaniline/lignin metabolites in the salmonella/microsome assay

Abstract

Chloroanilines are constituents of many agrochemicals and have been found to be metabolized to succinic acid conjugates, e.g., succinamides and succinimides. The mutagenic potential of five chloroanilines and their succinamides and succinimide derivatives have been tested with two strains of Salmonella typhimurium (TA98 and TA100) with and without rat hepatic micro‐somal fraction. None of the compounds produced a dose response effect with a two‐fold increase in revertants indicating that these compounds are not mutagens or promutagens in these assays.     

The urban poor in Dhaka City: their struggles and coping strategies during the floods of 1998

Bangladesh experienced one of the worst floods in recorded history in 1998. This paper focuses on the needs and coping strategies of the urban poor in Dhaka City, which had been very badly affected. The city's roads were completely under water, and most areas were water-logged with drainage and sewage systems blocked. Rising water levels compelled many slum dwellers to move to temporary shelters and relief camps. Women and children were the worst affected. The lack of sanitation facilities and privacy forced women and children to defecate in their own homes. There was an acute scarcity of safe drinking-water, and food prices rose dramatically. Diarrhoea, fever and colds were the most common illnesses affecting the poor. The floods left many of them unemployed, and in some families, the result was increased tension and incidents of domestic violence. In some areas, members felt pressured to repay micro-credit loans. Most NGOs, however, suspended loan repayments. During this period, a committee was set up to co-ordinate and work towards addressing some of the main post-flood problems.     

Assessing of Environmental Quality in Six Areas in India,Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

Environmental quality for environmental health has been examined visually by describing general conditions and drinking water supply, sanitation and solid waste treatment conditions and practices in six South-East Asian villages with a dense population. The environmental review was supplemented by discussions with local people and political and administrative decision makers. Some drinking water analyses were done in order to show the water quality to the local people. The quality of the general conditions and the conditions and practices of drinking water supply, excreta disposal and solid waste treatment practices have been graded with the grading system presented below. The grading could be done in 1 or 2 days in each area by two persons, of which one was an environmental scientist and the other a social scientist, who also knew the local culture and worked as a translator.     

Mutagenicity of chloroaniline/lignin metabolites in the Salmonella/microsome assay

Chloroanilines are constituents of many agrochemicals and have been found to be metabolized to succinic acid conjugates, e.g., succinamides and succinimides. The mutagenic potential of five chloroanilines and their succinamides and succinimide derivatives have been tested with two strains of Salmonella typhimurium (TA98 and TA100) with and without rat hepatic microsomal fraction. None of the compounds produced a dose response effect with a two-fold increase in revertants indicating that these compounds are not mutagens or promutagens in these assays.     

Residues and mutagenicity of captan applied to apple trees and potential human exposure

The fungicide captan (cis-N-((trichloromethyl)thio) 4-cyclo-hexene-1,2-dicarboximide) was applied at the rate of 2.4 g/l to apple trees (c.v. Golden Delicious) individually or as part of a standard treatment program where it was applied eight times during the growing season together with several pesticides. Leaf samples (100 discs of 2.2 cm diameter) were collected from treated and control trees before treatment and at 0, 1, 3, 7, 14, 28, 56, 90 and 112 days after treatment. Fruit samples were taken at mid-season (56 days) and at harvest (112 days). The objective of this study was to determine the captan residue and mutagenicity of leaf and fruit extracts to ascertain the potential health hazard to agricultural workers in these orchards. Surface residues were extracted from leaves and fruits with methylene chloride. These extracts were subsequently analyzed for captan by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) utilizing an electron-capture detector, and for mutagenicity with two strains (TA98 and TA100) of Salmonella typhimurium, with and without microsomal enzyme activation. Positive mutagenic effects were observed with strain TA100 at 0-14 days post spray, even with extracts from one leaf disc's surface (3.8 cm2) of the single treatment. Captan residues in these samples indicated a decline from 9.3 micrograms/cm2 at 0 days to 0.80 micrograms/cm2 at 14 days and a trace after 112 days. With the standard treatment, in which captan was incorporated eight times in the program starting at the 7-day interval, leaf extracts showed mutagenic activity at 7, 14, 28 and 90 days. Captan residues at these intervals were 11.4, 5.0, 4.1 and 3.4 micrograms/cm2, respectively. Fruit sample extracts of the standard spray were mutagenic to the tester strains TA100 and TA98 both at mid-season and at harvest. Residues of captan on fruits declined from 10.4 micrograms/cm2 at mid-season to 1.1 micrograms/cm2 at harvest. No mutagenic activity was detected with extracts from fruit samples from the single captan application.     

Environmental life cycle assessment of different types of the municipal wastewater pipeline network

With the onset of social life, humans have considered waste disposal as essential, and they have been able to repel it through brick and clay channels. Checking sewage pipes for energy consumption and a longer lifetime than other sewage system components is important. Climate change and exploitation of industrial resources have made environmental impacts, which are important factors in decision making. The purpose of this study was to introduce the most suitable type of sewage pipe considering environmental protection. Therefore, we applied the environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) method, using Sima Pro 8.2.3 software for the one-kilometer length of concrete pipes (300 mm in diameter), Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polyethylene (PE) (315 mm in diameter). Also, the BEES method and sensitivity analysis were used to validate the results. The comparison between three types of municipal wastewater pipes indicated that PE pipes are a more environmentally friendly option than PVC, and concrete pipes in pipe recycling, reducing extraction from untapped resources, and inefficient extraction of resources. Electricity, diesel fuel, and sulfate resistance cement consumption for concrete production are the most pollution elements in the LCA of concrete pipes. Usage of PVC granular, sanitary landfill of PVC pipes, and using hydraulic drill in LCA of PVC pipes are the most elements of generating pollution. The usage of PE granules, PE pipes landfilling, hydraulic excavator, and electricity consumption in the LCA of the PE pipes are the greatest polluting parameters.