Simplified method to characterize municipal solid waste properties under seismic conditions

The response of municipal solid waste landfills during earthquakes is gaining worldwide attention due to the devastating nature of earthquakes on landfills. Safety code provisions and regulations of various countries require the incorporation of safety measures against seismic hazards in the design of new landfills, as well as for extensions of existing landfills in seismic zones. Determination of dynamic properties is the first step for the analysis of municipal solid waste materials under seismic conditions. Landfill composition and properties, like unit weight, shear wave velocity, shear strength, normalized shear modulus, and material damping, are the most important dynamic properties that have direct impact on the seismic behaviour of landfills, and need to be evaluated carefully. In the present study, based on the extensive data provided by various researchers, the dynamic properties of landfill materials are analyzed using curve-fitting techniques, and simple mathematical equations are proposed. The resulting profiles are compared with laboratory and field data wherever possible. These properties are difficult to generalize and may vary from landfill to landfill. Hence, the proposed simple mathematical models for these landfill properties can be used to design municipal solid waste landfills in the absence of landfill-specific field data under seismic conditions.     

Entomotoxicity and biosafety assessment of PEGylated acephate nanoparticles: A biologically safe alternative to neurotoxic pesticides

This is a report of an experimental study on a nanoencapsulation of the organophosphate acephate. Acephate was encapsulated in polyethylene glycol, using a simple, easy-to-replicate method that required no special equipment or conditions. The nanoencapsulation (nanoacephate) was characterized and its bioefficacy as compared to the regular commercial acephate was tested. The biosafety of the new compound was also tested on a murine model. Our new nanoencapsulation scored over the regular variety on all counts. It was found to successfully incorporate the active pesticidal component, acephate and this compound retained greater functional integrity over time as a nanoencapsulation. It was significantly more efficacious than the regular variety. It was biosafe when tested on murine model. We have reason to believe that this nanoencapsulation would allow the use of an organophosphate in a more targeted manner, thereby making it a cost-effective and eco-friendly alternative to the regular variety in use now.     

Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in diesel emission particulates

A preliminary characterization of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in dichloromethane extracts of diesel exhaust particulates is described. Acid-base liquid-liquid partitioning followed by adsorption chromatography was used to isolate the PAH fraction. Compounds were identified primarily by the mass spectra of high-resolution gas chromatographic effluents. Three four-ring PAHs and their alkyl-substituted homologues were the predominant constituents. In addition, ultraviolet spectra of four high performance liquid chromatography-separated PAHs were superimposable with those of reference compounds leading to their unambiguous identification. These results show the advantage of using several complementary techniques for characterization rather than gas chromatrographapy-mass spectrometry alone.     

Phototransformation of chlorimuron-ethyl on leaf surface

Chlorimuron-ethyl, a post-emergent herbicide selectively used in soybean and maize, degrades mainly through chemical hydrolysis. Photolysis has also an important role in the degradation of this compound. Phototransformation of chlorimuron-ethyl takes place through the cleavage of the sulfonylurea bridge, dechlorination, de-esterification and cyclization. Enzymatic de-esterification usually takes place in plant system to liberate the free acid, chlorimuron, which, in fact, inhibits the acetolactate synthase enzyme. In the non-enzymatic environment, de-esterification generally does not occur at normal pH and in moisture-free medium. But on the leaf surface of maize crop de-esterification of chlorimuron-ethyl takes place. The moisture deposited on leaf surfaces by virtue of evapo-transpirational loss of water may cause the de-esterification of chlorimuron-ethyl to the free acid, chlorimuron.     

Is there a commercially viable market for crop insurance in rural Bangladesh?

The study aims to assess the commercial viability of a potential crop insurance market in Bangladesh. In a large scale household survey, agricultural farm households were asked for their preferences for a hypothetical crop insurance scheme using double bounded (DB) contingent valuation (CV) method. Both revenue and production cost based indemnity payment approaches were applied to assess the commercial viability of a crop insurance program assuming a partner-agent (PA) model of insurance supply. Crop insurance is found marginally commercially viable in riverine flood plain areas. The expected indemnity payable consistently exceeds the expected insurance premium receivable by the insurer for the households living in wetland basin and coastal floodplain. We conclude that a uniform structure of crop insurance market does not exist in Bangladesh. The nature of the disaster risks faced by the farm households and the socio-economic characteristics of the rural farm communities need to be taken into careful consideration while designing such an insurance scheme.

Environmental and occupational exposure of metals and female reproductive health

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Untainted environment promotes health, but the last few decades experienced steep upsurge in environmental contaminants posing detrimental...