Status of electronic waste recycling techniques: a review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The increasing use of electrical and electronic equipment leads to a huge generation of electronic waste (e-waste). It is the fastest growing waste...     

Protective effect of aged garlic extracts against hepatotoxicity induced by ethephon in Wistar albino rat

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The current study was designed to demonstrate the hepatoprotective effect of aged garlic extract (AGE) against ethephon-induced liver toxicity in...     

Hesperidin protects against aluminum-induced renal injury in rats via modulating MMP-9 and apoptosis: biochemical,histological, and ultrastructural study

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Aluminum, one of the most abundant metallic elements, is known to be toxic to multiple organs including the kidneys. This study aimed to investigate...     

Sanitary conditions in three creeks in Dubai,Sharjah and Ajman Emirates on the Arabian gulf (UAE)

A one-year monitoring program was carried out to assess the degree of pollution in three creeks on the northern coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), through measuring for chemical nutrients such as phosphate, ammonium, nitrate, nitrite and dissolved oxygen, in addition to enumerating selected microbial communities such as the heterotrophic bacteria, salt tolerant heterotrophic bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, total coliform and faecal coliform bacteria. The results indicated that Dubai and Sharjah creeks have occasional unusually high nutrients levels with sharp fluctuations and wide spatial and temporal variations, suggesting the presence of an anthropogenic sources of pollution, creating these conditions, near the sampling sites. These sources includes several wastewater outlets and recreational facilities. Ajman creek had much less nutrients levels. The microbial counts in the three creeks had a distinct pattern where numbers peaked in mid spring (May) and autumn (October) and were relatively low during the summer and winter months. Total and faecal coliform fluctuated depending on several factors including the presence of nearby recreation and commercial areas, but were at no time consistently high. It was concluded that there is no major pollution problem in these creeks and recommendation were made to prevent it in the future.     

Age- and sex-based comparative distribution of selected metals in the scalp hair of an urban population from two cities in Pakistan

Concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb and Ni in the scalp hair of male and female donors, with an age range of 6-60 years, were determined by ICP atomic emission spectroscopy. The donors were drawn from the densely populated city of Lahore and the relatively less-populated capital city of Islamabad for comparative evaluation of the metal levels in relation to age, sex and location. Linear regression analyses and correlation between paired metals indicated a positive correlation between Cu and Zn for both sexes ( [Formula: see text] ) and between Pb and Ni ( [Formula: see text] ) for males and females of Lahore. Metal concentrations varied between the two cities and the two sexes. The highest mean concentration was found for Zn at 180.5 microg g(-1) for males and 202.4 microg g(-1) for females from Lahore, while for counterparts from Islamabad the values were 105.2 microg g(-1) and 206.6 microg g(-1). Copper showed an identical mean concentration (20.8 microg g(-1)) in the hair of both males and females from Lahore; however, relatively lower mean concentrations (7.7 and 10.8 microg g(-1)) were observed for donors from Islamabad. Mean Pb concentrations in hair of male donors from Lahore and Islamabad were 9.4 and 7.0 microg g(-1), respectively; in female groups the concentrations were 14.3 and 5.7 microg g(-1), respectively. Ni showed the lowest concentration range (4.3-4.5 microg g(-1)) of all the four metals for subjects from Lahore, and this was higher than the corresponding range (2.0-3.2 microg g(-1)) for subjects from Islamabad. The findings are discussed in relation to the available data from the literature.     

Speciation of arsenic and chromium metal ions by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography

The speciation of arsenic [As(III) and As(V)] and chromium [Cr(III) and Cr(VI)] was carried out by high performance liquid chromatography. The column used was Econosil C18 (250 x 4.6 mm i.d., particle size 10 microm). The mobile phases consisted of water-acetonitrile (80:20, v/v) for arsenic and 10 mM ammonium acetate buffer (6.0 pH)-acetonitrile (10:90, v/v) for chromium speciation separately and respectively. The detection was carried out by UV-Vis at 410 nm and atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) respectively and separately. The values of alpha and Rs of As(III) and As(V) species were 1.4 and 1.5 respectively while the values of alpha and Rs for Cr(III) and Cr(VI) were 1.35 and 0.2 respectively. The effect of the acetonitrile percentages was also carried out on the speciation of arsenic only. The relative standard deviation and limit of detection were in the range of 0.01-0.02 and 0.4-1.0 microg/ml respectively.     

Study of environmental isotope distribution in the Aswan High Dam Lake (Egypt) for estimation of evaporation of lake water and its recharge to adjacent groundwater

Oxygen-18 (¹⁸0) and deuterium isotopes were used to estimate the evaporation from the Aswan High Dam Lake and to investigate the inter-relation between the lake water and adjacent groundwater.According to stable isotopic analysis of samples taken in 1988 and 1989, the lake can be divided into two sections. In the first section extending between Abu Simbel and a point between EI-Alaki and Krosko, a remarkable vertical gradient of ¹⁸0 and deuterium isotopic composition was observed. The second northern sector extending to the High Dam is characterised by a lower vertical isotopic gradient. In this sector in general, higher values of ¹⁸O and deuterium contents were found at the top and lower values at the bottom. Also a strong horizontal increase of the heavy isotope content was observed. Thus, in the northern section evaporation is of dominating influence on the isotopic composition of the lake water.With the help of an evaporation pan experiment it was possible to calibrate the evaporative isotope enrichment in the lake and to facilitate a preliminary estimate of evaporative losses of lake water. The evaporation from the lake was estimated to be about 19% of the input water flow rate.The groundwater around the lake was investigated and samples from production wells and piezometers were subjected to isotopic analysis. The results indicate that recent recharge to the groundwater aquifer is limited to wells near to the lake and up to a maximum distance of about 10 km. The contribution of recent Nile water to the groundwater in these wells was estimated to range between 23 and 70%. Beyond this distance, palaeowater was observed with highly depleted deuterium and ¹⁸0 contents, which was also confirmed by 14c dating. The age of palaeo groundwater in this area can reach values of more than 26,000 years.Recommendations are given for efficient water management of the lake water.     

Use of environmental isotopes and hydrochemistry as indicators for the origin of groundwater resources in El Dabaa area,northwestern coastal zone of Egypt

The EI-Dabaa area is located on the northwestern coastal zone of Egypt and is considered to be one of the most important regions for land reclamation and agriculture. In addition, it has been selected as a potential site for constructing Egypt's first nuclear power plant.In April 1989, 14 groundwater samples were collected from the area as well as collecting samples from the Mediterranean sea and from local rainwater. These samples were subjected to chemical and environmental isotope analyses. The results of the analyses for stable isotopes (oxygen-18 and deuterium) indicate that the main recharge source of the groundwater in El-Dabaa is the local precipitation during the rainy season. Variation of the environmental tritium content as well as in the chemical composition of both major cations (Na,K,Ca,Mg) and major anions (Cl,SO₄,HCO₃) between different groundwaters in the studied area reflect the high degree of inhomogeneity of the aquifer and different recharging conditions due to permeability of the water bearing formation.The chemical water type of the El-Dabaa groundwater is sodium sulphate (Na₂SO₄) and the SAR values illustrate the suitability of these groundwaters for agricultural purposes.     

Elemental analysis of some Egyptian ores and industrial iron samples by neutron activation analysis

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