Indoor air pollution evaluation with emphasize on HDI and biological assessment of HDA in the polyurethane factories

Today, many raw materials used in factories may have a dangerous effect on the physiological system of workers. One of them which is widely used in the polyurethane factories is diisocyanates. These compounds are widely used in surface coatings, polyurethane foams, adhesives, resins, elastomers, binders, and sealants. Exposure to diisocyanates causes irritation to the skin, mucous membranes, eyes, and respiratory tract. Hexamethylene diamine (HDA) is metabolite of hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI). It is an excretory material by worker’s urine who is exposed to HDI. Around 100 air samples were collected from five defined factories by midget impinger which contained dimethyl sulfoxide absorbent as a solvent and tryptamine as reagent. Samples were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography with EC\UV detector using NIOSH 5522 method of sampling. Also, 50 urine samples collected from workers were also analyzed using William’s biological analysis method. The concentration of HDI into all air samples were more than 88 xxxμg/m³, and they have shown high concentration of pollutant in the workplaces in comparison with NIOSH standard, and all of the workers’ urine were contaminated by HDA. The correlation and regression test were used to obtain statistical model for HDI and HDA, which is useful for the prediction of diisocyanates pollution situation in the polyurethane factories.     

The potential of remote sensing for monitoring land cover changes and effects on physical geography in the area of Kayisdagi Mountain and its surroundings (Istanbul)

The effect of land cover change, from natural to anthropogenic, on physical geography conditions has been studied in Kayisdagi Mountain. Land degradation is the most important environmental issue involved in this study. Most forms of land degradation are natural processes accelerated by human activity. Land degradation is a human induced or natural process that negatively affects the ability of land to function effectively within an ecosystem. Environmental degradation from human pressure and land use has become a major problem in the study area because of high population growth, urbanization rate, and the associated rapid depletion of natural resources. When studying the cost of land degradation, it is not possible to ignore the role of urbanization. In particular, a major cause of deforestation is conversion to urban land. The paper reviews the principles of current remote sensing techniques considered particularly suitable for monitoring Kayisdagi Mountain and its surrounding land cover changes and their effects on physical geography conditions. In addition, this paper addresses the problem of how spatially explicit information about degradation processes in the study area rangelands can be derived from different time series of satellite data. The monitoring approach comprises the time period between 1990 and 2005. Satellite remote sensing techniques have proven to be cost effective in widespread land cover changes. Physical geography and particularly natural geomorphologic processes like erosion, mass movement, physical weathering, and chemical weathering features etc. have faced significant unnatural variation.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Chitosan-Grafted-Poly(2-Hydroxyaniline) Microstructures for Water Decontamination

Chitosan as a biopolymer, biodegradable, safe, non-toxic and widely abundant in nature was grafted with poly(2-hydroxyaniline) (P2-HA) through aqueous chemical oxidative copolymerization using ammonium persulphate in acetic acid medium. The grafting conditions were studied by varying grafting parameters. The effect of oxidant, 2-hydroxyaniline (2-HA) and acetic acid concentrations on the rate of copolymerization was studied. The synthesized graft characterized using UV–Vis, FTIR, TGA, XRD, and scanning electron microscope and compared with chitosan and P2-HA. The grafting enhances the thermal properties of chitosan. The effect of temperature on the rate of grafting copolymerization reaction was studied. The apparent activation energy (Ea) of the copolymerization reaction found to be 21.1116 kJ/mol. Also, ΔH^* and ΔS^*, were calculated and found to 22.8630 kJ/mol and ?109.4290 J/mol K respectively. The mechanism of the grafting copolymerization reaction discussed. Chitosan, P2-HA and chitosan-graft-P2-HA used for the removal of Cr, Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn divalent ions from a contaminated water samples. The adsorption isotherm parameters are given.     

Characterization of human manure-derived biochar and energy-balance analysis of slow pyrolysis process

Biochars have received increasing attention in recent years because of their soil improvement potential, contaminant immobilization properties, and ability to function as carbon sinks. This study adopted a pyrolytic process to prepare a series of biochars from dried human manure at varying temperatures. The thermal analysis of human manure and physicochemical properties of the resulting biochars illustrated that human manure can be a favorable feedstock for biochar production. In particular, the porous texture and nutrient-rich properties of biochars produced from human manure and may significantly enhance soil fertility when used as used soil additives. A temperature range of 500–600 °C was optimal for human manure biochar production. Significantly, when the moisture content of the feedstock is lower than 57%, the system could not only harvest manure-derived biochar but also have a net energy output, which can be provide heat source for nearby users.     

Tramadol abuse among workers in an industrial city in mid-Nile Delta region,Egypt

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Tramadol abuse is an increasingly alarming phenomenon among Egyptian Community especially among workers and drivers. Study profile and factors...     

A list of fish species that are potentially exposed to pesticides in edge-of-field water bodies in the European Union—a first step towards identifying vulnerable representatives for risk assessment

Surrogate species are used in standard toxicity tests for the environmental risk assessment of chemicals. Test results are then extrapolated to the situation in the field, which is often associated with a large degree of uncertainty. Since a vulnerable species in the field is not only characterised by its intrinsic sensitivity to a stressor but also by its potential for exposure and its population resilience, the identification of focal species based on these three components of vulnerability is needed for a more ecologically relevant risk assessment. This study listed European fish species that are susceptible to pesticide exposure in the field and thus achieved the first step towards identifying focal species for the risk assessment of pesticides for fish in Europe. A step-wise filtering approach was applied to list freshwater fish species that are native to Europe and widespread in the European Union, which inhabit streams, ditches or ponds in agricultural landscapes and therefore, are at an elevated risk of being exposed to pesticides. Out of the 579 fish species occurring in European freshwater, 27 species met the filtering criteria. The resulting list was verified based on monitoring studies that were conducted in agricultural landscapes over the past 20 years. Focal fish species that can be used for a more ecologically relevant environmental risk assessment of pesticides in Europe can be identified from the produced list of species by further assessing their ecological (life history and dispersal characteristics) and intrinsic sensitivities.     

Histopathological effects of artemether on selected organs in rat

Dose and treatment-duration neurotoxic effects are reported for artemisinin drugs of mostly the liposoluble derivatives; and yet artemether, the only parenteral formulation of the artemisinin series available in Nigeria is fat-soluble and also has a treatment-duration of 5–7 days (in an attempt to delay recrudescence). Since parenteral drugs are usually resorted to in severe/complicated or multidrug-resistant malaria against the oral artemisinin co-formulated therapies (ACT), this study is aimed to investigate the pathological changes on selected tissues (if any), in rats, of the normal 7-days artemether-injections when used both in the normal and higher doses. Artemether was administered i.p., at three dose levels, equivalent to therapeutic dose (1.5 mg kg^?1) as well as 5 and 10 times higher (7.5 and 15 mg kg^?1). A three percentage v/v Tween 80 vehicle was used for the control experiment. The pathological changes in the kidney, heart, liver, and lungs evaluated using percentage mean organ:body-weight ratio showed no changes in the organs. No histopathological effect was observed in the organs of rats treated with 1.5 mg kg^?1. However, rats treated with 7.5 and 15 mg kg^?1 revealed necrositic lesions with mononuclear cellular-infiltration in the liver and brain. The liver had focal area necrosis, while the brain had liquefactive necrosis, neuronal degeneration, congested blood vessels, hemorrhage, and vacuolations. The interstitial spaces of the glomerulus and renal tubules of one kidney from rats that received 15 mg kg^?1 had focal area fibrositic-necrosis.     

Study of aflatoxin B1 as a risk factor that impairs the reproductive performance in females – Egypt

Infertility among couples in Egypt is causing increasing concern. Investigations showed a relationship between ovulatory disorders and the incidence of female factor-mediated fertility difficulties in couples. However, the factors responsible for the sudden increase in ovulatory disorders are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to assess the presence of aflatoxin in sera of infertile women and to correlate this with ovarian functions and hormonal parameters. Blood samples were collected from 70 adult Egyptian females comprising 50 infertile and 20 fertile control individuals, and screened for the presence of aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁). Ovarian function was examined by measuring mean ovarian volume, and the umber and size of ovarian follicles. Blood hormonal levels were determined. All blood samples (patients and controls) showed negative results as regards AFB₁ analysis. However, there was a significant enlargement in the mean ovarian volume but a significant decrease in follicular size. In addition, there were significant higher levels of lutinizing hormone (LH) and significant lower levels of mid-luteal progesterone in infertile females. Although blood samples were negative with respect to AFB₁, the role of aflatoxin cannot be excluded as a contributing factor to female infertility, since the toxin was found to produce deleterious effects on the reproductive system in animals. More studies including aflatoxin analysis in ovarian biopsies are recommended to ascertain involvement of this toxin.     

Presenting a conceptual pattern of HSE performance of oil trucks

Accidents are among the main problems in the oil product supply chain. The most important effective factors in these events are the kind of trucks used and their health, safety, and environment (HSE) condition. The aim of this study was to present a conceptual pattern of the HSE performance of oil trucks in oil industries. In this study, 20 truck models (with fixed tanks), in use over different periods of time, were investigated. In this regard, the criteria and sub-criteria were first determined in two parts—carrier and tank—and weighted by fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP). The results showed that the most important sub-criteria regarding the HSE factors of the carrier were resistance and strength of the front and rear shields, the brake system, and the ventilation system. The most important sub-criteria regarding the HSE factors of the tank were tank shell thickness and a good tank design shape with respect to portable material. It should be noted that the weight of the criteria with each other and sub-criteria with each other are not equal. This issue is important for decision-making. The main reason for the use of trucks with the lowest score in developing countries is the lack of attention by managers to safety issues and international standards and agreements such as the ADR.     

Management of recycling in the Gulf Co-operation Council states

Although some of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) member states have placed recycling at the top of their waste management priorities, the low cost of landfill and the availability of land, usually old sand or gravel quarries, make recycling programs infeasible, uneconomical and unachievable. The only comprehensive form of recycling available within the GCC states is recycling of paper and cartons. The majority of the GCC states never set national or regional recycling targets. The cost of recycling in the GCC states region could be moderate to high depending on the collection system selected for the recycling program. Almost all of the cities within the GCC states use mechanised systems for daily collection of municipal solid waste (MSW). Therefore, the same daily collection system used for MSW might well be used for collection of recyclable materials, both on the same day and at the same time, or according to a different timetable. This paper provides strategies for developing an effective recycling marketing program and discusses regional co-ordination options.