Biomonitoring of Lead in Atmospheric Environment of An Urban Center of the Ganga Plain, India

Monitoring of atmospheric lead from the Dalbergia sissoo treewas undertaken at Lucknow urban centre of the Ganga Plain, India.Atotal of 26 leaf samples were collected in spring, monsoon and winter seasons from 16 sampling sites and was analysed by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry method. Lead concentrations were low in spring season, increased in monsoon to winter seasons and range from 2.1 to 28.2 μg/g (dry wt.). This accumulative response of lead in the tree leaves is directly linked with the exposure time of automobile emission that is considered to be the predominant source for it. Highway localities show higher lead concentrations by a factor of 2 as compared to urban localities. Highest concentration was recorded at Sitapur Road (National Highway No. 24) in winter season. A linear quantitative relationship between urban air-lead levels and lead-in-the Dalbergia sissoo leaves is used to infer the qualitative assessment of present day atmospheric lead pollution. Reported results suggest a drastic reduction in mean lead concentration in Lucknow urban air from 1.32μg/m3 in 1994 to 0.19μg/m3 in 2002. Similarly, mean lead concentration in the tree leaves during winter season also dropped from 17.9 μg/g in 1994 to 8.1 μg/g in 2004. Despite of increasing urban population, urban area, vehicle population and traffic density, the introduction of unleaded-petrol (vehicular fuel) keeps lead level in the urban environment of Lucknow much lower than the past. Like Lucknow, other urban centres of the Ganga Plain are also on way to the exponential increase in pressure of urbanization. An appropriate urban public transport planning is required to provide healthy atmospheric environment for millions of people especially future young generation.     

Evaluation of biogas upgrading technologies and future perspectives: a review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Biogas is acknowledged as one of the foremost bioenergy to address the current environmental and energy challenges being faced by the world. Commonly,...     

Using biomass residues from oil palm industry as a raw material for pulp and paper industry: potential benefits and threat to the environment

Oil palm industries produce an enormous quantity of lignocellulosic biomass; in the form of large leaves of palm tree, pruned fronds (OPF) and oil palm trunks (OPT) at the plantations site. Besides this, the processing of fresh fruit bunches in the oil mills generates empty fruit bunches (EFB), shells, kernel cake and mesocarp fibers. The proper management of this burgeoning waste and its disposal is an ardent task and creates environmental hazards. In order to deal with the biomass residues, the urgent need is that it should be transformed into resources with industrial utility. As the economic development has resulted in the significant increased demand for paper, the industry is looking for eccentric sources to fulfill the requirement. The pulp and paper industry preferred use of coniferous and deciduous trees for papermaking because their cellulose fibers in the pulp make durable paper. With improvements in pulp processing technology, fibers of almost any non-wood of plants species like bamboo, cereal straw, sugarcane, flax, hemp and jute can be used for paper pulp. Substituting this lignocellulosic material can reduce the burden on forest while supporting the natural biodiversity. The present review deals with the possibilities of using oil palm biomass as a raw material for pulp and papermaking, as this would ameliorate its waste management problem. The potential of oil palm biomass and the challenges regarding its use in papermaking are discussed. The use of oil palm biomass will apparently prove that the oil palm industry is ecofriendly in every aspect of its activities and aid in sustainability of forest ecosystem.     

An update on pathophysiology and treatment of sports-mediated brain injury

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a neurological disorder which represents a major health issue worldwide. It causes mortality and disability among all...     

Pollution due to hazardous glass waste

Pollution resulting from hazardous glass (HG) is widespread across the globe, both in terms of quantity and associated health risks. In waste cathode ray tube (CRT) and fluorescent lamp glass, mercury and lead are present as the major pollutants. The current review discusses the issues related to quantity and associated risk from the pollutant present in HG and proposes the chemical, biological, thermal, hybrid, and nanotechniques for its management. The hybrid is one of the upcoming research models involving the compatible combination of two or more techniques for better and efficient remediation. Thermal mercury desorption starts at 100 °C but for efficient removal, the temperature should be >460 °C. Involvement of solar energy for this purpose makes the research more viable and ecofriendly. Nanoparticles such as Fe, Se, Cu, Ni, Zn, Ag, and WS₂ alone or with its formulation can immobilize heavy metals present in HG by involving a redox mechanism. Straight-line equation from year-wise sale can provide future sale data in comparison with lifespan which gives future pollutant approximation. Waste compact fluorescent lamps units projected for the year 2015 is 9,300,000,000 units and can emit nearly 9,300 kg of mercury. On the other hand, CRT monitors have been continuously replaced by more improved versions like liquid crystal display and plasma display panel resulting in the production of more waste. Worldwide CRT production was 83,300,000 units in 2002 and can approximately release 83,000 metric tons of lead.     

Mammalian cell line-based bioassays for toxicological evaluation of landfill leachate treated by Pseudomonas sp. ISTDF1

Landfill leachate has become a serious environmental concern because of the presence of many hazardous compounds which even at trace levels are a threat to human health and environment. Therefore, it is important to assess the toxicity of leachate generated and discharge it conforming to the safety standards. The present work examined the efficiency of an earlier reported Pseudomonas sp. strain ISTDF1 for detoxification of leachate collected from Okhla landfill site (New Delhi, India). GC-MS analysis performed after treatment showed the removal of compounds like alpha-limonene diepoxide, brominated dioxin-2-one, Bisphenol A, nitromusk, phthalate derivative, and nitrobenzene originally found in untreated leachate. ICP-AES analysis for heavy metals also showed reduction in concentrations of Zn, Cd, Cr, Fe, Ni, and Pb bringing them within the limit of safety discharge. Methyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay for cytotoxicity, alkaline comet assay for genotoxicity, and 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) assay for dioxin-like behavior were carried out in human hepato-carcinoma cell line HepG2 to evaluate the toxic potential of treated and untreated leachates. The bacterium reduced toxicity as shown by 2.5-fold reduction of MTT EC₅₀ value, 7-fold reduction in Olive Tail Moment, and 2.8-fold reduction in EROD induction after 240 h of bacterial treatment.     

Physiological,biochemical and growth responses of Azolla pinnata to chlorpyrifos and cypermethrin pesticides exposure: a comparative study

Cypermethrin and chlorpyrifos pesticide- (5, 15 and 30 ppm) induced effects on growth, metabolic and antioxidative behaviour of Azolla pinnata were analysed after 96 h of treatment. Growth of A. pinnata was increased by 72–76% over the initial mass under control condition. Further, the growth was decreased by 26 and 30% following treatment with 5 ppm of cypermethrin and chlorpyrifos, respectively, compared to control. Whereas, 30 ppm of pesticide treatment caused substantial decrease in biomass accumulation, even less than the initial mass. The Chlorophyll a content was declined at higher concentrations of chlorpyrifos, while carotenoids content increased significantly in the presence of both the pesticides. Photosynthetic rate showed declining trend with rising concentration of pesticides, while an increasing trend was noticed in the case of respiratory O₂ consumption. The oxidative biomarkers malondialdehyde, superoxide radicals and hydrogen peroxide increased with increasing concentration of both the pesticides. The activity of enzymatic antioxidants enzyme superoxide dismutase, glutathione-S-transferase and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) was enhanced with increasing concentrations of both the pesticides; however, a declining trend was noticed in the case of APX at 30 ppm chlorpyrifos treatment. The study concludes that chlorpyrifos appeared to be more toxic than cypermethrin; however, both the pesticides significantly reduced the growth performance.     

Physicochemical and thermal characterization of nonedible oilseed residual waste as sustainable solid biofuel

The present study aims to investigate the potential of nonedible oilseed Jatropha (Jatropha curcas) and Karanja (Pongamia pinnata) defatted residual biomasses (whole seed, kernel, and hull), as solid biofuel. These biomasses showed good carbon contents (39.8–44.5%), whereas, fewer amounts were observed for sulfur (0.15–0.90%), chlorine (0.64–1.76%), nitrogen (0.9–7.2%) and ash contents (4.0–8.7%). Their volatile matter (60.23–81.6%) and calorific values (17.68–19.98 MJ/kg) were found to be comparable to coal. FT-IR and chemical analyses supported the presence of good amount of cellulose, hemicellulose and lower lignin. The pellets prepared without any additional binder, showed better compaction ratio, bulk density and compressive strength. XRF analysis carried out for determination of slagging–fouling indices, suggested their ash deposition tendencies in boilers, which can be overcome significantly with the optimization of the blower operations and control of ash depositions. Thus, overall various chemical, physical properties, thermal decomposition, surface morphological studies and their high biofuel reactivity indicated that residual biomasses of Jatropha and Karanja seeds have high potential to be utilized as a solid biofuel.     

Metallic and bimetallic phosphides-based nanomaterials for photocatalytic hydrogen production and water detoxification: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Providing sustainable energy and cleaning water pollution are actually major societal issues requiring new catalysts. In particular, transition...     

A reasoned approach towards administering COVID-19 vaccines to pregnant women

There are over 50 SARS-CoV-2 candidate vaccines undergoing Phase II and III clinical trials. Several vaccines have been approved by regulatory authorities and rolled out for use in different countries. Due to concerns of potential teratogenicity or adverse effect on maternal physiology, pregnancy has been a specific exclusion criterion for most vaccine trials with only two trials not excluding pregnant women. Thus, other than limited animal studies, gradually emerging development and reproductive toxicity data, and observational data from vaccine registries, there is a paucity of reliable information to guide recommendations for the safe vaccination of pregnant women. Pregnancy is a risk factor for severe COVID-19, especially in women with comorbidities, resulting in increased rates of preterm birth and maternal morbidity. We discuss the major SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, their mechanisms of action, efficacy, safety profile and possible benefits to the maternal-fetal dyad to create a rational approach towards maternal vaccination while anticipating and mitigating vaccine-related complications. Pregnant women with high exposure risks or co-morbidities predisposing to severe COVID-19 infection should be prioritised for vaccination. Those with risk factors for adverse effects should be counselled accordingly. It is essential to support patient autonomy by shared decision-making involving a risk-benefit discussion with the pregnant woman.