Biomonitoring of bisphenol A, 4-nonylphenol,and 4-t-octylphenol in Turkish population: exposure and risk assessment

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Biomonitoring studies are important tools to understand the effects of endocrine-disrupting compounds on human health. Up to now, there have been no...     

Study of Bulk and Sub-Event Wet Deposition in Gebze,Turkey

This study presents the chemical composition of bulk deposition during the period of February 1996–May 1997 and the chemical composition of sub-event wet deposition on 13 August 1997 in Gebze. Samples were analyzed for SO₄ ^2-, NO₃ ^-, Cl^-,Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, K⁺, Na⁺, and NH₄ ⁺ in addition to pH. The source of some ionic components in the bulk deposition such as K⁺ and Ca²⁺ were found to be the terrestrial regions, as expected. The (non-sea Cl^-)/Cl^- ratio of 0.05 suggests that the very large portion of Cl^- in the bulkdeposition was of marine origin. The ratio of (non-sea SO₄ ^2-)/SO₄ ^2- varied between 0.86 and 0.99,indicating that the main source of sulfate was not the sea. It is found that the sulfate and calcium concentrations were highest in summer and lowest in fall. The analysis of bulk deposition also indicated that nearly 24% of the events were acidic (pH < 5.6). During sub-event wet deposition collectedon the same site pH decreased continually, and during the passageof cold front concentrations of Cl^-, SO₄ ^2- and NO₃ ^- increased.     

Disposal of solid waste in Istanbul and along the Black Sea coast of Turkey

The increasing amount of solid waste arising from municipalities and other sources and its consequent disposal has been one of the major environmental problems in Turkey. Istanbul is a metropolitan city with a current population of around 14 million, and produces about 9000 ton of solid waste every day. The waste composition for Istanbul has changed markedly from 1981 to 1996 with large decreases in waste density, much of which is related to decreased amounts of ash collected in winter. In recent years, the Istanbul region has implemented a new solid waste management system with transfer stations, sanitary landfills, and methane recovery, which has led to major improvements. In the Black Sea region of Turkey, most of the municipal and industrial solid wastes, mixed with hospital and hazardous wastes, are dumped on the nearest lowlands and river valleys or into the sea. The impact of riverside and seashore dumping of solid wastes adds significantly to problems arising from sewage and industry on the Black Sea coast. Appropriate integrated solid waste management systems are needed here as well; however, they have been more difficult to implement than in Istanbul because of more difficult topography, weaker administrative structures, and the lower incomes of the inhabitants.     

Determining distribution of heavy metal pollution in terms of ecological risk levels in soil of industrially intensive areas around Istanbul

The aims of the present study were to measure the concentrations of As, Cr, Co, Fe, and Zn in soils from two heavily industrialized areas and to assess the degree of heavy metal pollution by using the indices enrichment factor and the geo-accumulation index, as well as assessing the potential ecological risk. The concentrations of the selected elements in the environmental samples were determined by the neutron activation analysis. The pollutant concentrations in the studied areas showed that the soils were characterized by a high pollution from As and Cr due to the industrial facilities in the area. The concentrations in the Tuzla industrial area were 79–1215 mg/kg of Cr, 17–84 mg/kg of As, 22,000–54,000 mg/kg of Fe, 101–258 mg/kg of Zn, and 8–23 mg/kg of Co. The results for the Cerkezkoy industrial area were found to be 46–196 mg/kg of Cr, 6–24 mg/kg of As, 17,000–25,000 mg/kg of Fe, 67–136 mg/kg of Zn, and 7–10 mg/kg of Co. The contamination in the soils from heavy metals was assessed based on enrichment factor, geo-accumulation factors, and ecological risk indices. The results were compared with the data from other industrial areas in Turkey. It was found that the metals As and Cr showed higher concentrations in Tuzla than in other examined industrial areas. The results for Cerkezkoy industrial area indicate that the area is not as contaminated as the other industrial areas in Turkey.     

Attenuation of sodium arsenite-induced cardiotoxicity and neurotoxicity with the antioxidant,anti-inflammatory,and antiapoptotic effects of hesperidin

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In the scope of the study, the protective effect of hesperidin (HES), a flavanone glycoside, was investigated against sodium arsenite (NaAsO2, SA)...     

Gold recovery from chloride solutions using fallen leaves

Recovery of gold from various waste materials is mostly achieved through hydrometallurgical methods, which generate a large amount of secondary chemical waste. Therefore, there is a need to develop an environmentally friendly process for gold recovery. This paper summarizes research on the recovery of gold ions from chloride solutions using fallen tree leaves. First, leaves from trees of 16 different species were studied and ranked by the percent of gold that was recovered. Then, several factors—pH, contact time, shaking rate, and the quantity of ground leaf—affecting the recovery process were studied on leaves from four selected species. Two kinds of leaves were found to exhibit the efficacy of the most effective sorbents, such as activated carbon. After recovery, the gold-deposited leaves were heat-treated at 1,200°C to isolate the gold from the leaves. This method of gold recovery proved to be fast, cheap, and environmentally friendly.     

Environmentally conscious manufacturing and product recovery (ECMPRO): A review of the state of the art

Gungor and Gupta [1999, Issues in environmentally conscious manufacturing and product recovery: a survey. Computers and Industrial Engineering, 36(4), 811–853] presented an important review of the development of research in Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing and Product Recovery (ECMPRO) and provided a state of the art survey of published work. However, that survey covered most papers published through 1998. Since then, a lot of activity has taken place in EMCPRO and several areas have become richer. Many new areas also have emerged. In this paper we primarily discuss the evolution of ECMPRO that has taken place in the last decade and discuss the new areas that have come into focus during this time. After presenting some background information, the paper systematically investigates the literature by classifying over 540 published references into four major categories, viz., environmentally conscious product design, reverse and closed-loop supply chains, remanufacturing, and disassembly. Finally, we conclude by summarizing the evolution of ECMPRO over the past decade together with the avenues for future research.     

Heterogeneous impact of agricultural support policies: evidence from Turkey

Agricultural support policies, which increase production to excessive levels, have been heavily criticized for their distortional effects on farmers’ decisions. High input consumption, which harms the environment, and the distribution of supports, which causes income inequality among farmers, are also the other factors that economists criticize these support policies. However, in recent years, the use and dependence on production and land have been increasing globally due to fears of food insecurity in several countries. In this article, the impact of a support policy on cotton farmers’ land in Turkey is evaluated using a detailed farm-level micro dataset. We use the dynamic panel model to consider the production dynamics, unobservable individual heterogeneity, and the endogeneity of the support variable. Our results show that considering the support variable as endogenous significantly increased its impact on farmers’ land. A farmer’s past land allocation decisions also affected their current lands holdings. However, the results varied considerably between regions and between different land sizes. Therefore, the findings show the importance of heterogeneity in the impact of support policies. We conclude that due to the heterogeneous impact of support policies, it might not be possible to discuss the effect of support policies using an average estimate applicable for all farmers. Therefore, a different support policy considering regional characteristics or farm size is necessary to obtain the desired policy outcomes.