Epidemiology of tornado destruction in rural northern Bangladesh: risk factors for death and injury

The epidemiology of tornado-related disasters in the developing world is poorly understood. An August 2005 post-tornado cohort study in rural Bangladesh identified elevated levels of death and injury among the elderly (≥ 60 years of age) (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 8.9 (95 per cent confidence interval (CI): 3.9-20.2) and AOR = 1.6 (95 per cent CI: 1.4-1.8), respectively), as compared to 15-24 year-olds, and among those outdoors versus indoors during the tornado (AOR = 10.4 (95 per cent CI: 5.5-19.9) and AOR = 6.6 (95 per cent CI: 5.8-7.5), respectively). Females were 1.24 times (95 per cent CI: 1.15-1.33) more likely to be injured than males. Elevated risk of injury was significantly associated with structural damage to the house and tin construction materials. Seeking treatment was protective against death among the injured, odds ratio = 0.08 (95 per cent CI: 0.03-0.21). Further research is needed to develop injury prevention strategies and to address disparities in risk between age groups and between men and women.     

Roadmap for carbon neutrality: the mediating role of clean energy development-related investments

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Recently, the Japanese government has announced the national objective of turning the economy of Japan carbon–neutral by 2050. This...     

Hydrogeochemical assessment of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks of potentially toxic elements in aquifers of the Hindukush ranges,Pakistan: insights from groundwater pollution indexing,GIS-based,and multivariate statistical approaches

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Globally, potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and bacterial contamination pose health hazards, persistency, and genotoxicity in the groundwater aquifer....     

Aqueous carbonation of peridotites for carbon utilisation: a critical review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Peridotite and serpentinites can be used to sequester CO2 emissions through mineral carbonation. Olivine dissolution rate is directly proportional...     

Assessment of major food crops production-based environmental efficiency in China,India, and Pakistan

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Global warming and food security have led to increasing concern about agricultural crop production efficiency, especially wheat and rice farming. The...     

Recovery of critical metals from leach solution of electronic waste using magnetite electrospun carbon nanofibres composite

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Scarcity in mining and geo-political direction diverts attention toward critical metal recycling. Gallium (Ga), indium (In) and germanium (Ge) are...     

Optimization of COVID-19 face mask waste fibers and silica fume as a balanced mechanical ameliorator of fat clay using response surface methodology

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The balanced amelioration of mechanical characteristics of fat clay with an additive refers to the attainment of high strength without compromising...     

Comparative analysis using EIA for developed and developing countries: case studies of hydroelectric power plants in Pakistan,Norway and Sweden

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an important legislative and scientific tool that may assist and improve the quality assistance for the decision-making process in sustainable development. Here, a comparison of EIAs from three cases of hydropower projects in Pakistan, Norway and Sweden is reported. A huge difference concerning the incorporation of environmental considerations into the decisionmaking process between developed and developing countries is observed. The EIA system of Pakistan appears to be less efficient in the application and review process. In addition, the appraisal of issues, the decision-making process and evaluation through post-monitoring is not as well performed in Pakistan as in cases of hydroelectric power plants in Sweden and Norway. The key reason for this shortcoming is misconceptions about the EIA process, which initially receives intense attention but becomes weakened by the time of implementation. This implies that there is a need to adopt simplified and flexible EIA techniques suitable for the infrastructure and resources of a specific country, taking into account institutional, technical and financial constraints. Improvements are required in public participation, awareness, as well as in environmental control and data system sectors in Pakistan, besides simply enacting legislation to achieve the goals of the EIA system.     

Vulnerability of the South African farming sector to climate change and variability: An indicator approach

This paper analyses the vulnerability of South African agriculture to climate change and variability by developing a vulnerability index and comparing vulnerability indicators across the nine provinces of the country. Nineteen environmental and socio‐economic indicators are identified to reflect the three components of vulnerability: exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. The results of the study show that the regions most exposed to climate change and variability do not always overlap with those experiencing high sensitivity or low adaptive capacity. Furthermore, vulnerability to climate change and variability is intrinsically linked with social and economic development. The Western Cape and Gauteng provinces, which have high levels of infrastructure development, high literacy rates, and low shares of agriculture in total GDP, are relatively low on the vulnerability index. In contrast, the highly vulnerable regions of Limpopo, Kwazulu‐Natal and the Eastern Cape are characterised by densely populated rural areas, large numbers of small‐scale farmers, high dependency on rain‐fed agriculture and high land degradation. These large differences in the extent of vulnerability among provinces suggest that policymakers should develop region‐specific policies and address climate change at the local level.     

Spatial and temporal variability of ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb in mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) at the Turkish coast of the Aegean Sea

In this study, the activity concentrations of ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb were determined in mussel samples (Mytilus galloprovincialis) collected from the Turkish coast of the Aegean Sea. The samples were collected seasonally for a period of two years (2004-2006) at six coastal stations (Çanakkale, Dikili, Foça, Çe?me, Didim, Bodrum). Mussels were separated into several groups according to their size (1-4, 4-6, >6 cm). The results showed that ²¹⁰Po concentrations in mussels varied between 53 ± 4 and 1960 ± 60 Bq kg⁻¹ dw. The highest activity ²¹⁰Po concentrations were determined in winter samples of mussels with a shell length of 4-6 cm from Didim. In general, it was observed that the ²¹⁰Pb concentration levels in mussels were lower than ²¹⁰Po concentrations. The ²¹⁰Po/²¹⁰Pb activity concentration ratios exceeded unity for all mussel samples and averaged 26.0. The inter-site differences seen in ²¹⁰Po concentrations can be due to both the natural background levels of sites and industrial activities.