Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in soils along a rural-urban-rural transect: sources, concentration gradients, and profiles

This study reports concentrations of PBDEs in surface soil samples collected along a 140 km transect across Kuwait to assess the role of urban centers as sources of persistent organic pollutants to the surrounding environment. The ΣPBDE concentrations varied by a factor of ∼250 and ranged from 289 to 80,078 pg g⁻¹ d.w. The concentrations of PBDEs in Kuwait City were significantly higher (p < 0.01) than those collected from sites outside the city supporting the hypothesis that urban centers are sources of PBDEs. The congener profiles were dominated by BDE-209, accounting for 93% of the PBDEs in the soil samples. The concentrations of all congeners (except BDE-209) were highly correlated with percent organic carbon (%OC) (p > 0.05) when the data from Kuwait City was omitted from the analysis. These findings suggest that soil concentrations outside the urban centers were close to equilibrium with the atmosphere.     

Heavy metal contamination in water, soil, and vegetables of the industrial areas in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Cd, Fe, and Ni have been estimated in soils and vegetables grown in and around an industrial area of Bangladesh. The order of metal contents was found to be Fe > Cu > Zn > Cr > Pb > Ni > Cd in contaminated irrigation water, and a similar pattern Fe > Zn > Ni > Cr > Pb > Cu > Cd was also observed in arable soils. Metal levels observed in different sources were compared with WHO, SEPA, and established permissible levels reported by different authors. Mean concentration of Cu, Fe, and Cd in irrigation water and Cd content in soil were much above the recommended level. Accumulation of the heavy metals in vegetables studied was lower than the recommended maximum tolerable levels proposed by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (1999), with the exception of Cd which exhibited elevated content. Uptake and translocation pattern of metal from soil to edible parts of vegetables were quite distinguished for almost all the elements examined.     

The dynamics effect of green technology innovation on economic growth and CO2 emission in Singapore: new evidence from bootstrap ARDL approach

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - For an economy to excel in growth, there is usually a trade-off between financial development and environment deterioration. For a country like...     

Antibiofouling hollow-fiber membranes for dye rejection by embedding chitosan and silver-loaded chitosan nanoparticles

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The removal of toxic dyes from the wastewater and industrial effluents is a major environmental challenge. Various techniques have been employed for the removal of...     

Do financial development,trade openness,economic development,and energy consumption affect carbon emissions for an emerging country?

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - It is agreeable that the rapid progress of civilization throughout the years came at a great price for severe environmental damages. Currently, human...     

Synergy of adsorption and advanced oxidation processes in recalcitrant wastewater treatment

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The presence of recalcitrant organic pollutants in water is a major source of concern worldwide. These pollutants are not easily removed using conventional...     

Technological disaster factors

Major Hazard Installations (MHIs) deal with the hazardous substances which exceed the threshold quantity. Although MHIs are safe organizations, they cannot fail due to a single error. However, due to their high complexity, the designer and the operator make errors during the design, and operation of the plants. Consequently, the technical, operational and organizational errors may lead to a major accident. The world has seen many incidents due to the operation of the MHIs. Malaysia has experienced several technological disasters. Four investigation reports have been reviewed in detail. This paper reviews the causes of the technological disasters in general. This paper also summarizes the causes of the technological disasters in Malaysia. Finally the paper rearranges the technological disaster causes and errors.     

Ergonomics Intervention in an Iranian Tire Manufacturing Industry

The aim of an ergonomics intervention conducted in the tire manufacturing industry was to improve working conditions. Before the start, a senior manager supported the intervention. Participants were divided into teams and trained. After observing the overall performance of the teams, over 100 improvements were successfully implemented. After the improvements, there were statistically significant differences in annual and weekly prevalence of, and annual disability reported for, the upper back, the lower back, knees and wrists between before and after intervention. The annual prevalence of upper back, lower back, knee and wrist complaints decreased from, respectively, 60.3%, 50.2%, 28.9%, 25.8% before the intervention to 31.3%, 35.9%, 17.1%, 20.7% after the intervention. Significant factors were training and supportive environment based on full commitment of the top management.     

Decomposition of asbestos by a supernatant used for immobilization of heavy metals in fly ash

A supernatant solution, obtained after immobilization of heavy metals involved in fly ashes by a solution of sulfur and calcium hydroxide, was re-used for immobilization of heavy metals and decomposition of asbestos in construction materials. Asbestos was decomposed to more than 99.9 % by mixing it with the supernatant in a ball mill at room temperature. The decomposition of asbestos was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), a phase contrast microscope after staining the asbestos with solutions of different diffractive indexes and a scanning electron microscope. XRD indicated complete disappearance of specific main peaks of asbestos: chrysotile, crocidolite, amosite and tremolite. Heavy metals such as chromium(VI) and lead(II) in fly ashes were completely immobilized by the supernatant. It is the first time that a solution obtained after the treatment of wasted fly ash is recycled for decomposition of hazardous waste materials such as asbestos.