Bioremediation perspectives and progress in petroleum pollution in the marine environment: a review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The marine environment is often affected by petroleum hydrocarbon pollution due to industrial activities and petroleum accidents. This pollution has...     

Interlink between pollution and COVID-19 in India: compelling view and key attributes

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Pollution and pollution-related consequences have a historic reputation, being even considered as chief causative agents behind several tragedies...     

Design of a hybrid ANN multi-objective whale algorithm for suspended sediment load prediction

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - There is a need to develop an accurate and reliable model for predicting suspended sediment load (SSL) because of its complexity and difficulty in...     

A convolutional neural network approach for detection of E. coli bacteria in water

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The detection of Escherichia coli bacteria is essential to prevent health diseases. According to the laboratory-based methods, 12–48 h is...     

Global trends and status in waste foundry sand management research during the years 1971-2020: a systematic analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Waste foundry sand (WFS) is the by-product of the foundry industry, which is produced about 0.6 tons per 1 ton of foundry industry production. While...     

Geotechnical characterization of a Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Ash from a Michigan monofill

A field and laboratory geotechnical characterization study of a Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Ash disposed of at the Carleton Farms monofill in Michigan was performed. Field characterization consisted of field observations, collection of four bulk samples and performance of shear wave velocity measurements at two locations. Laboratory characterization consisted of basic geotechnical characterization, i.e., grain size distribution, Atterberg limits, specific gravity tests, compaction tests as well as moisture and organic content assessment followed by direct shear and triaxial shear testing. The test results of this investigation are compared to results in the literature. The grain size distribution of the samples was found to be very similar and consistent with the grain size distribution data available in the literature, but the compaction characteristics were found to vary significantly. Specific gravities were also lower than specific gravities of silicic soils. Shear strengths were higher than typically reported for sandy soils, even for MSWI ash specimens at a loose state. Strain rate was not found to impact the shear resistance. Significant differences in triaxial shear were observed between a dry and a saturated specimen not only in terms of peak shear resistance, but also in terms of stress–strain response. In situ shear wave velocities ranged from 500 to 800 m/s at a depth of about 8 m, to 1100–1200 m/s at a depth of 50 m. These high shear wave velocities are consistent with field observations indicating the formation of cemented blocks of ash with time, but this “ageing” process in MSWI ash is still not well understood and additional research is needed. An improved understanding of the long-term behavior of MSWI ash, including the effects of moisture and ash chemical composition on the ageing process, as well as the leaching characteristics of the material, may promote unbound utilization of the ash in civil infrastructure.     

Internalisation of Enteric Viruses by Acanthamoeba castellanii, via Ingestion of Virus-Infected Mammalian Cells

The protozoan Acanthamoeba castellanii can inhabit various environments, including aquatic environments. After co-culture with mammalian cells which had been infected with coxsackievirus and rotavirus, virus was observed to have been internalised within the Acanthamoeba cells. No internalisation of freely-suspended virus was observed. The potential implications of virus internalisation of protozoa via infected mammalian cells, such as protection from disinfection, are discussed.     

Sea-water seasonal changes at a heavy tourism investment site on the Jordanian northern coast of the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea

The Gulf of Aqaba exhibits a strong seasonality due to convective mixing during winter and stratification during summer. The present study provides a detailed appraisal of summer and winter sea-water characteristics at the northern coast of the Gulf of Aqaba, that is witnessing rapid development and increasing changes in its geomorphological characteristics. Sea-water temperature, salinity, nutrients, and chlorophyll a concentrations were measured biweekly at five coastal and four cross-sectional stations during the periods February to April and July to September 2004. Meteorological conditions were continuously recorded at the Marine Science Station. The coastal study sites included four open coastal stations and a marina with one-way exchange with the open water. The effect of convective mixing was clearly apparent on the sea-water characteristics. Natural seasonal characteristics of higher nutrients and chlorophyll a concentrations were recorded during winter at most of the open coastal stations. In the cross-sectional stations, the concentrations of nutrients and chlorophyll a were not different between the surface and the bottom during winter, but the bottom waters had generally higher concentrations during summer. Some deviations from the natural seasonal cycle were recorded at the marina and other coastal stations. Here, higher nutrient and chlorophyll a concentrations were recorded in summer than in winter. These deviations that are most likely due to anthropogenic effects are discussed.     

Appraisal of work hazards and safety in the industrial estate of Jeddah

An environmental study for the appraisal of work hazards and safety in Jeddah Industrial Estate (JIE), Saudi Arabia has been conducted. The study is based upon a representative (stratified random) sample of 44 enterprises, including 52 plants and employing 5830 workers. Nearly 2/3 of the workers have heat exposure, orginating from climatic heat and heat dissipated from industrial operations, while exposure to noise is slightly less, and is attributed to noisy operations and machinery and to lack of meticulous maintenance; both exposures are mild in most of the plants and moderate in some. Mild exposures to nonionizing radiations (UV and IR) and to deficient illumination occur in 25% and 19.2% of the plants studied. Respiratory exposure to chemical agents (organic and inorganic dusts, metal fumes, gases and vapours — including asphyxiants, irritants, liver and nervous system offenders and acid and alkali mists) occurs in 75% of the plants, particularly in the medium-size enterprises plants; however, is mainly mild with a few moderate and severe exposures. Skin absorption contributes to absorption of chemical agents in 29% of the plants, and direct skin contact to chemicals (particularly to lubricating oils) occurs in 81% of the plants. Meanwhile, only eight plants, out of the 32 plants where controls for physical hazards are required (51.2%), apply engineering controls, and even in a few of these plants the efficiency of the control measures has been rated ‘bad’. A few of them provide personal protective equipment, and even no maintenance to this equipment is provided. The level of safety is better in the large plants than in the small and medium-size plants; the safety score is the best in the recently established plants, while is the worst in the plastic industry, which is relatively old. The appraisal of fire protection is better than that of the safety, due to efficient supervision of the General Directorate of Civil Defense (GDCD). However, most of the safety problems are managerial and are preventable. First aid is present in all enterprises, as required by the Saudi Labor Laws; however, an in-plant medical service is present in 75% of the large enterprises, in 31.6% of the medium-size and in only 17.6% of the small enterprises. Also, satisfactory medical, accidents and absenteeism records exist in only 15.9% of the enterprises; safety supervision exists in 27.3, and safety education exists in 91% of them, while no environmental monitoring is carried out in any enterprise. Sanitation facilities exist in satisfactory numbers in most of the enterprises; however, their maintenance is poor in most of them, due to lack of hygienic supervision. All enterprises dispose of their liquid wastes into the JIE sewerage system without any treatment, while the solid wastes are collected by the city authorities in 56.8% of them; both wastes are anticipated to cause environmental pollution problems.