Assessment of daily intake of trace elements by Kakrapar adult population through ingestion pathway

Concentration of trace elements such as Fe, Cu, Ni, and Zn were measured in cereals, pulses, vegetables, fish, meat, milk, egg, and water samples collected around Kakrapar, Gujarat, India. A wide variation of the trace element concentration was observed among all the dietary matrices. The concentration of Fe is comparatively more in all the dietary matrices. The concentrations of these elements are translated into intake rates through ingestion pathways. Daily intake (milligrams/day) of Fe, Cu, Ni, and Zn by adult population of Kakrapar, Gujarat were 16.5 ± 6.2, 3.3 ± 1.2, 1.8 ± 1.0, and 3.6 ± 1.3, respectively. Dietary sources of Fe, Cu, and Ni by Kakrapar adult population are comparable with RDA. In case of Zn, the daily dietary intake is comparatively lower than that of RDA.     

The effects of meteorological parameters in ambient noise modelling studies in Delhi

The acoustic environment in urban areas has gained prominence in recent times due to rapid industrial and commercial development in metropolitan cities. Various attempts have been made to predict and model the trends in urban ambient noise levels using different statistical and dynamic models. The present study makes an attempt to examine the role of meteorological parameters affecting the ambient noise levels in Delhi. The results show significant improvement in overall noise scenario of Delhi since the introduction of compressed natural gas vehicles in public transport of Delhi. The noise level is significantly reduced by high vegetation cover as well as by low relative humidity over Delhi. The regression models developed for the present study clearly show the significant contribution of meteorological parameters in governing the ambient noise levels in Delhi.     

Modelling of lindane transport in groundwater of metropolitan city Vadodara,Gujarat, India

Migration pattern of organochloro pesticide lindane has been studied in groundwater of metropolitan city Vadodara. Groundwater flow was simulated using the groundwater flow model constructed up to a depth of 60 m considering a three-layer structure with grid size of 40?×?40?×?40 m³. The general groundwater flow direction is from northeast to south and southwest. The river Vishwamitri and river Jambua form natural hydrologic boundary. The constant head in the north and south end of the study area is taken as another boundary condition in the model. The hydraulic head distribution in the multilayer aquifer has been computed from the visual MODFLOW groundwater flow model. TDS has been computed though MT3D mass transport model starting with a background concentration of 500 mg/l and using a porosity value of 0.3. Simulated TDS values from the model matches well with the observed data. Model MT3D was run for lindane pesticide with a background concentration of 0.5?μg/l. The predictions of the mass transport model for next 50 years indicate that advancement of containment of plume size in the aquifer system both spatially and depth wise as a result of increasing level of pesticide in river Vishwamitri. The restoration of the aquifer system may take a very long time as seen from slow improvement in the groundwater quality from the predicted scenarios, thereby, indicating alarming situation of groundwater quality deterioration in different layers. It is recommended that all the industries operating in the region should install efficient effluent treatment plants to abate the pollution problem.     

Nitrate pollution of wells: pollution prevention policy options

Irrigated agriculture is a major sector of agricultural economy where high value crops are grown with substantial input of fertilizers and pesticides. High concentrations of nitrate and pesticides have been observed in ground water beneath irrigated areas in humid regions, where irrigation is practiced on sandy soils that have low water-holding capacity. Data from these areas indicate that irrigation wells are typically screened in the bottom part of the aquifer (which contain coarser deposits) whereas the domestic wells are screened just below the water table. Monitoring results from several irrigated areas have shown the stratification of dissolved inorganic and organic chemicals in the aquifer. Nitrate in such systems is typically highest near the surface. This has serious health implications for the rural population that relies upon shallow ground water for drinking. Current environmental policy towards pollution reduction focuses on improved management practices to reduce the loading of the chemicals to ground water. However, an engineering issue, dealing with the design of the irrigation and domestic wells has not been addressed. A design modification for the irrigation and domestic wells can reduce the risk of high nitrate ground water being pumped by domestic wells. A proposal to convert a deep vertical irrigation well to a series of small-capacity shallow vertical wells or a large-capacity horizontal well and slight deepening of the domestic wells was examined through simulations. This can reduce the nitrate concentration of ground water in domestic wells dramatically and use the high nitrate water for crop irrigation.     

Nitrate pollution of wells: pollution prevention policy options

Irrigated agriculture is a major sector of agricultural economy where high value crops are grown with substantial input of fertilizers and pesticides. High concentrations of nitrate and pesticides have been observed in ground water beneath irrigated areas in humid regions, where irrigation is practiced on sandy soils that have low water-holding capacity. Data from these areas indicate that irrigation wells are typically screened in the bottom part of the aquifer (which contain coarser deposits) whereas the domestic wells are screened just below the water table. Monitoring results from several irrigated areas have shown the stratification of dissolved inorganic and organic chemicals in the aquifer. Nitrate in such systems is typically highest near the surface. This has serious health implications for the rural population that relies upon shallow ground water for drinking. Current environmental policy towards pollution reduction focuses on improved management practices to reduce the loading of the chemicals to ground water. However, an engineering issue, dealing with the design of the irrigation and domestic wells has not been addressed. A design modification for the irrigation and domestic wells can reduce the risk of high nitrate ground water being pumped by domestic wells. A proposal to convert a deep vertical irrigation well to a series of small-capacity shallow vertical wells or a large-capacity horizontal well and slight deepening of the domestic wells was examined through simulations. This can reduce the nitrate concentration of ground water in domestic wells dramatically and use the high nitrate water for crop irrigation.     

An investigation into the acid content of aerosols in the ambient air at the Taj Mahal, Agra

A chemical analysis of suspended particulate matter (SPM) collected near the world famous Taj Mahal monument at Agra has been carried out. SPM samples collected on glass fibre filters were analysed for water-soluble sulphate, nitrate, chloride and ammonium ions. The data were derived from over 200 samples (each of 24 h), collected continuously during the winter periods (October through to March) of 1984-1985 and 1985-1986. The SO(4)(2-) and NO(3)(-) components are acidic in nature causing corrosion and effects on visibility, and so were studied in more detail. Mean values for SO(4)(2-) and NO(3)(-) derived from two-year data are 7.2 microg m(-3) and 8.2 microg m(-3), respectively. The SO(4)(2-)/SO(2) and NO(3)(-)/NO(2) ratiosobserved indicate faster conversion of SO(2) to SO(4)(2-) than NO(2) to NO(3)(-), the maximum levels being in January. Thus, both SO(4)(2-) and NO(3)(-) results appear to offer more promising indices of air quality than do SPM data alone.     

Heavy metal content in soil reclaimed from a municipal solid waste landfill

Residues reclaimed from a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill were characterized for the concentrations of a number of heavy metals. The residue fractions analyzed included a fine fraction (<0.425 mm), an intermediate fraction (>0.425 and <6.3 mm) and a fraction consisting of paper products that could ultimately degrade to a smaller size. The intermediate fraction appeared to be organic in nature, while the fine fraction was more soil-like. In general, the metal concentrations were greatest in the intermediate fraction and lowest in the fine fraction. The effect of sample age on the elemental content was also investigated. The concentrations of several elements were greater in older samples (sample approximately 8 years in age) when compared to newer samples (sample approximately 3 years in age). Limitations associated with the land application of residual soil (composed of the fine and intermediate fractions) were assessed by comparing measured concentrations to regulatory threshold values. In general, most metal concentrations were below regulatory thresholds for use in unrestricted settings. At the concentrations measured, however, several elements might limit reuse options, depending on which regulatory threshold serves as a benchmark. Elevated concentrations of arsenic presented the greatest limitation with respect to common US thresholds while elevated cadmium concentrations presented the greatest limitation when compared to UK thresholds. The source of the arsenic was determined to be the waste, not the cover soil.     

Mitigating nitrous oxide and methane emissions from soil in rice-wheat system of the Indo-Gangetic plain with nitrification and urease inhibitors

Mitigation of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from soil is important to reduce the global warming. Efficacy of five nitrification inhibitors, i.e. neem (Azadirachta melia) cake, thiosulphate, coated calcium carbide, neem oil coated urea and dicyandiamide (DCD) and one urease inhibitor, hydroquinone, in mitigating N2O and CH4 emissions from fertilized soil was tested in rice-wheat system in the Indo-Gangetic plains. The closed chamber technique was used for the collection of gas samples, which were analyzed using gas chromatography. Reduction in N2O emission on the application of nitrification/urease inhibitors along with urea ranged from 5% with hydroquinone to 31% with thiosulphate in rice and 7% with hydroquinone to 29% with DCD in wheat crop. The inhibitors also influenced the emission of CH4. While application of neem coated urea, coated calcium carbide, neem oil and DCD reduced the emission of CH4; hydroquinone and thiosulphate increased the emission when compared to urea alone. However, the global warming potential was lower with the inhibitors (except hydroquinone) as compared to urea alone, suggesting that these substances could be used for mitigating greenhouse gas emission from the rice-wheat systems.     

Methane and nitrous oxide emissions from an irrigated rice of North India

Upland rice was grown in the kharif season (June-September) under irrigated condition in New Delhi, India (28 degree 40'N and 77 degree 12'E) to monitor CH4 and N2O emission, as influenced by fertilizer urea, ammonium sulphate and potassium nitrate alone (at 120 kg ha-1) and mixed with dicyandiamide (DCD), added at 10% of applied N. The experimental soil was a typic ustochrept (Inceptisol), clay loam, in which rice (Oryza sativa L., var. Pusa-169, duration: 120-125 days) was grown and CH4 and N2O was monitored for 105 days by closed chamber method, starting from the 5 days and 1 day after transplanting, respectively. Methane fluxes had a considerable temporal variation (CV=52-77%) and ranged from 0.05 (ammonium sulphate) to 3.77 mg m-2 h-1 (urea). There was a significant increase in the CH4 emission on the application of fertilizers while addition of DCD with fertilizers reduced emissions. Total CH4 emission (105 days) ranged from 24.5 to 37.2 kg ha-1. Nitrous oxide fluxes were much lower than CH4 fluxes and had ranged from 0.18 to 100.5 g m-2 h-1 with very high temporal variation (CV=69-143%). Total seasonal N2O emission from different treatments ranged from 0.037 to 0.186 kg ha-1 which was a N loss of 0.10-0.12% of applied N. All the fertilizers significantly increased seasonal N2O emission while application of DCD reduced N2O emissions significantly in the range of 10-53%.