Monitoring bacterial contamination of piped water supply in rural coastal Bangladesh

Safe drinking water is scarce in southwest coastal Bangladesh because of unavailability of fresh water. Given the high salinity of both groundwater and surface water in this area, harvested rainwater and rain-fed pond water became the main sources of drinking water. Both the government and non-government organizations have recently introduced pipe water supply in the rural coastal areas to ensure safe drinking water. We assessed the bacteriological quality of water at different points along the piped water distribution system (i.e., the source, treatment plant, household taps, street hydrants, and household storage containers) of Mongla municipality under Mongla Upazila in Bagerhat district. Water samples were collected at 2-month interval from May 2014 to March 2015. Median E. coli and total coliform counts at source, treatment plant, household taps, street hydrants, and household storage containers were respectively 225, 4, 7, 7, and 15 cfu/100 ml and 42,000, 545, 5000, 6150, and 18,800 cfu/100 ml. Concentrations of both of the indicator bacteria reduced after treatment, although it did not satisfy the WHO drinking water standards. However, re-contamination in distribution systems and household storage containers indicate improper maintenance of distribution system and lack of personal hygiene.     

Influence of Hygrothermal Ageing on the Physico-Mechanical Properties of Alkali Treated Industrial Hemp Fibre Reinforced Polylactic Acid Composites

30 wt% aligned untreated long hemp fibre/polylactic acid (AUL) and aligned alkali treated long hemp fibre/polylactic acid (AAL) composites were produced by film stacking and subjected to hygrothermal ageing environment along with neat polylactic acid (PLA). Hygrothermal ageing was carried out by immersing samples in distilled water at 25 and 50 °C over a period of 3 months. It was found that both neat PLA and composites followed Fickian diffusion. Higher temperature generally increased the Diffusion coefficient, D of neat PLA and composites, as well as shortening the saturation time. Neat PLA had the lowest D value followed by AAL composites and then AUL composites. After hygrothermal ageing, tensile and flexural strength, Young’s and flexural modulus and K _Ic were found to decrease and impact strength was found to increase for both AUL and AAL composites. AUL composites had greater overall reduction in mechanical properties than that for AAL composites after hygrothermal ageing. Crystallinity contents of the hygrothermal aged composites support the results of the deterioration of mechanical properties upon exposure to hygrothermal ageing environment.     

Preparation and Characterization of Gamma Irradiated Sugar Containing Starch/Poly (Vinyl Alcohol)-Based Blend Films

Blends based on different ratios of starch (35–20%) and plasticizer (sugar; 0–15%) keeping the amount of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) constant, were prepared in the form of thin films by casting solutions. The effects of gamma-irradiation on thermal, mechanical, and morphological properties were investigated. The studies of mechanical properties showed improved tensile strength (TS) (9.61 MPa) and elongation at break (EB) (409%) of the starch-PVA-sugar blend film containing 10% sugar. The mechanical testing of the irradiated film (irradiated at 200 Krad radiation dose) showed higher TS but lower EB than that of the non-radiated film. FTIR spectroscopy studies supported the molecular interactions among starch, PVA, and sugar in the blend films, that was improved by irradiation. Thermal properties of the film were also improved due to irradiation and confirmed by thermo-mechanical analysis (TMA), differential thermo-gravimetric analysis (DTG), differential thermal analysis (DTA), and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). Surface of the films were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM) image that supported the evidence of crosslinking obtained after gamma irradiation on the film. The water up-take and degradation test in soil of the film were also evaluated. In this study, sugar acted as a good plasticizing agent in starch/PVA blend films, which was significantly improved by gamma radiation and the prepared starch-PVA-sugar blend film could be used as biodegradable packaging materials.     

Determination of volatile organic compounds in river water by solid phase extraction and gas chromatography

A simple, rapid, and reproducible method is described employing solid-phase extraction (SPE) using dichloromethane followed by gas chromatography (GC) with flame ionization detection (FID) for determination of volatile organic compound(VOC) from the Buriganga River water of Bangladesh. The method was applied to detect the benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene and cumene(BTEXC) in the sample collected from the surface or 15cm depth of water. Two-hundred ml of n-hexane-pretreated and filtered water samples were applied directly to a C18 SPE column. BTEXC were extracted with dichloromethane and average concentrations were obtained as 0. 104 to 0.372 μg/ml. The highest concentration of benzene was found as 0.372 μg/ml with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 6.2%, and cumene was not detected. Factors influencing SPE e.g., adsorbent types, sample load volume, eluting solvent, headspace and temperatures, were investigated. A cartridge containing a C18 adsorbent and using dichloromethane gave better performance for extraction of BTEXC from water. Average recoveries exceedina 90% could be achieved for cumene at 4℃ with a 2.7% RSD.     

Effect of arsenic on photosynthesis, growth and yield of five widely cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties in Bangladesh

A glass house experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of soil arsenic on photosynthetic pigments, chlorophyll-a and -b, and their correlations with rice yield and growth. The experiment was designed with three replications of six arsenic treatments viz. control, 10, 20, 30, 60, 90 mg of As kg(-1) soil. Arsenic concentration in initial soil, to which the above mentioned concentrations of arsenic were added, was 6.44+/-0.24 mg kg(-1). Both chlorophyll-a and -b contents in rice leaf decreased significantly (p<0.05) with the increase of soil arsenic concentrations. No rice plant survived up to maturity stage in soil treated with 60 and 90 mg of As kg(-1). The highest chlorophyll-a and -b contents were observed in control treatment (2.62+/-0.24 and 2.07+/-0.14 mg g(-1) were the average values of chlorophyll-a and -b, respectively of the five rice varieties) while 1.50+/-0.20 and 1.04+/-0.08 mg g(-1) (average of five rice varieties) of chlorophyll-a and -b, respectively were the lowest. The content of photosynthetic pigments in these five rice varieties did not differ significantly (p>0.05) from each other in control treatment though they differed significantly (p<0.05) from each other in 30 mg of As kg(-1) soil treatment. Among the five rice varieties, chlorophyll content in BRRI dhan 35 was found to be mostly affected with the increase of soil arsenic concentration while BRRI hybrid dhan 1 was least affected. Well correlations were observed between chlorophyll content and rice growth and yield suggesting that arsenic toxicity affects the photosynthesis which ultimately results in the reduction of rice growth and yield.     

The asian development bank's role in promoting cleaner production in the people's republic of china

The People's Republic of China (PRC) has the fastest growing economy in the world and is the third largest producer and consumer of energy. At the same time, the PRC's industrial sector contributes heavily to air and water pollution. Because of the linkages between the production and use of energy and environmental degradation, the PRC, with the active support of bilateral and multilateral aid agencies, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), is adopting measures that link economic growth to improvements in the environment. The PRC is pursuing a two-pronged strategy that involves implementing priority investment programs and promoting economic reforms. The ADB's experience shows that the concept of cleaner production (CP) has been widely accepted, but the widespread adoption of CP requires a new way of thinking and new management capacities. In this regard, the PRC is at an early stage of promoting CP, and inadequacies in coordination among relevant agencies remain a key obstacle. To support CP activities, the ADB is participating in a cluster of activities within China that include policy development, capacity building, and financing environmental investments. This article describes the ADB's current efforts to promote CP in PRC and analyzes the effectiveness of those efforts.     

The efficiency of Amberlite XAD-4 resin loaded with 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol in preconcentration and separation of some toxic metal ions by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

A selective method has been developed for the determination of trace amount of metal ions after preconcentration on 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol loaded Amberlite XAD-4 resin. The chelating resin was characterized on the basis of infra red spectra, thermal and chemical stability, and hydrogen ion capacity. High preconcentration factor of 160?C400 up to a low preconcentration limit of 10 ??g L^???1 has been achieved for almost all the metals. The chelating resin was highly selective even in the presence of large concentrations of alkali and alkaline earth metals and various matrix components. Chromatographic separation of metal ions in binary mixtures has been accomplished. The analytical utility of the resin for metal ions was explored by analyzing natural water and standard reference materials.     

A mobile monitoring system to understand the processes controlling episodic events in Corpus Christi Bay

Corpus Christi Bay (TX, USA) is a shallow wind-driven bay and thereby, can be characterized as a highly pulsed system. It cycles through various episodic events such as hypoxia, water column stratification, sediment resuspension, flooding, etc. Understanding of the processes that control these events requires an efficient observation system that can measure various hydrodynamic and water quality parameters at the multitude of spatial and temporal scales of interest. As part of our effort to implement an efficient observation system for Corpus Christi Bay, a mobile monitoring system was developed that can acquire and visualize data measured by various submersible sensors on an undulating tow-body deployed behind a research vessel. Along with this system, we have installed a downward-looking Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler to measure the vertical profile of water currents. Real-time display of each measured parameter intensity (measured value relative to a pre-set peak value) guides in selecting the transect route to capture the event of interest. In addition, large synchronized datasets measured by this system provide an opportunity to understand the processes that control various episodic events in the bay. To illustrate the capability of this system, datasets from two research cruises are presented in this paper that help to clarify processes inducing an inverse estuary condition at the mouth of the ship channel and hypoxia at the bottom of the bay. These measured datasets can also be used to drive numerical models to understand various environmental phenomena that control the water quality of the bay.     

Degradation of different pesticides in water by microplasma: the roles of individual radicals and degradation pathways

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Pesticides are emergent toxins often identified in aquatic environments. In the present study, microplasma was employed to reduce the pesticide...