ARSENIC POISONING IN BANGLADESH: A GEOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS1

ABSTRACT: Drinking of arsenic‐contaminated tubewell water has become a serious health threat in Bangladesh. Arsenic contaminated tubewells are believed to be responsible for poisoning nearly two‐thirds of this country's population. If proper actions are not taken immediately, many people in Bangladesh will die from arsenic poisoning in just a few years. Causes and consequences of arsenic poisoning, the extent of area affected by it, and local knowledge and beliefs about the arsenic problem — including solutions and international responses to the problem — are analyzed. Although no one knows precisely how the arsenic is released into the ground water, several contradictory theories exist to account for its release. Initial symptoms of the poisoning consist of a dryness and throat constriction, difficulty in swallowing, and acute epigastric pain. Long‐term exposure leads to skin, lung, or bladder cancer. Both government and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Bangladesh, foreign governments, and international agencies are now involved in mitigating the effects of the arsenic poisoning, as well as developing cost‐effective remedial measures that are affordable by the rural people.     

Evidential role of municipal solid waste and liquid effluent on environment and public health

Cities in Bangladesh produce large amounts of solid waste (SW) through various human activities which severely pollutes our native environment. As a result, SW pollutes the three basic environmental elements (air, water, and soil) by increasing pathogenic microbial load, which might be hazardous to public health directly or indirectly. In this study, we conducted 30 samples (i.e., soil, water, and air) collected from areas where municipal solid wastes are dumped (Tangail Sadar Upazila, Bangladesh). All the samples were analyzed to assess bacteriological quality for presumptive viable and coliform count using different agar media. We performed serial dilution 10⁻³–10⁻¹⁰ times for soil and water samples, and the diluted samples were spread on Mac-Conkey agar and nutrient agar plates. For the air sample, the sterile media containing petri-dish was placed adjacent to the dumpsite of the municipal waste and kept for an hour. Then all the samples were incubated at 37°C overnight for total viable count (TVC) and total coliform count (TCC). Biochemical tests and PCR were performed for the identification of these microorganisms. The antibiogram study was performed to reveal their (identified bacteria) susceptibility against clinically used antibiotics according to the standard disk diffusion technique. The highest bacterial loads were found in the air: TVC 3.273 × 10³ and TCC 1.059 × 10³ CFU/plate; tube-well water: TVC 8.609 × 10³, and TCC 8.317 × 10³ CFU/mL; in surface water: TVC 6.24 × 10¹³ CFU/mL and TCC 2.2 × 10¹² CFU/mL; in soil: TVC 2.88 × 10¹¹ and TCC 1.02 × 10¹¹ CFU/g, respectively. Microbes from SW can be transmitted through air, dust particles, or flies, and here we found an average of 1120 microbes spread over 63.61 cm² area per hour. Eight bacterial isolates (Pseudomonas spp., Klebsiella spp., E. coli, Proteus spp., V. cholera, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., and Vibrio spp.) were identified by the biochemical test. Among them, E. coli and Shigella spp. were further ensured by PCR targeting bfpA and ipaH genes. Antibiotic susceptibility test results showed that E. coli isolates were highly resistant to erythromycin (80%); Shigella spp. were resistant to nalidixic acid (90%), whereas Salmonella spp. was found resistant to kanamycin (90%). Vibrio spp. were also resistant to azithromycin (80%) and erythromycin (80%), which should be a great concern for us. A semi-structured survey revealed that 63% of respondents suffered from different clinical conditions (intestinal diseases) due to SW pollution. So, steps should be taken to improve the proper management and disposal of solid waste and liquid effluent to save our environment and public health.     

乳化液膜法处理化工废水的进展

扼要介绍了液膜分离的机理及其在废水处理方面所具有的特点，并举例说明了我国在液膜法处理化工废水方面的研究进展。     

间羟基苯甲醛生产废水的处理

研究了萃取法处理间羟基苯甲醛生产废水的工艺条件，并在此基础上进行了废水的生化处理试验。结果表明：萃余液稀释１５倍后用活性污泥法处理，出水ＣＯＤ能达到排放标准。     

用钢渣处理含砷废水

对用钢渣处理含硫废水进行了试验，用配水探讨了钢渣投加量，水样，ＰＨ，混合时间等因素对除砷效果的影响，结果表明，钢渣具有较好的除砷效果。     

从炭黑废水中提取导电炭黑

从炭黑废水中提取的炭黑，经干燥，其质量可符合导电炭黑的要求。重点介绍了提取导电炭黑过程中物料的传递及干燥工艺，并对试车中出现的问题进行了分析。     

重力分离－NMC工艺处理对二氯苯生产废水

采用重力分离－ＮＭＣ（中和、混凝、吹脱）工艺处理对二氯苯生产废水，对工艺条件进行了选择试验，选定的最佳工艺条件为：废水静置分层时间５０—６０ｍｉｎ，中和至ｐＨ７，ＰＡＭ投加量５０—７５ｍｇ／Ｌ，空气流量１０Ｌ／ｍｉｎ，反应温度５０—５５℃；反应时间６０ｍｉｎ。废水经处理后，苯和氯苯浓度可分别降至１．００ｍｇ／和１．１０ｍｇ／Ｌ，且可回收９０％以上的苯和氯苯。     

Antimicrobial activities of flavonoids against bamboo-destroying fungi and molds

It is well-known that Poria vaporaria (Pers.:Fr.) Cooke, Paecilomyces variotii Bainier and Aspergillus niger are fungi and molds which destroy bamboo. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of antibacterial activity of 16 flavonoids in preventing the actions of these three bamboo-destroying fungi and molds (Poria vaporaria (Pers.:Fr.) Cooke, Paecilomyces variotii Bainier and Aspergillus niger). The results showed that baicalein(1) exerted the highest inhibitory effect on Poria vaporaria (Pers.:Fr.) Cooke and Paecilomyces variotii Bainier indicating that baicalein(1) may be considered as a potential agent to develop as natural bactericide to preserve natural bamboo.     

Enzymatic Degradation of Poly(l-Lactic Acid): Effects of UV Irradiation

Amorphous and crystallized poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA-A and PLLA-C, respectively) films were prepared, and the proteinase K-catalyzed enzymatic degradation of UV-irradiated and non-irradiated PLLA-A and PLLA-C films was investigated for periods up to 10 h (PLLA-A) and 60 h (PLLA-C). The molecular weights of both the PLLA-A and PLLA-C films can be manipulated by altering the UV irradiation time. The enzymatic weight loss values of the UV-irradiated PLLA films were higher than or similar to those of the non-irradiated PLLA film, when compared with the specimens of same crystallinities. UV irradiation is expected to cause the PLLA films to undergo chain cleavage (a decrease in molecular weight) and the formation of C=C double bonds. It seems that the acceleration effects from decreased molecular weight on enzymatic degradation were higher than or balanced with the disturbance effects caused by the formation of C=C double bonds. After enzymatic degradation, a fibrous structure appeared on the spherulites of the UV-irradiated PLLA-C film. This structure may have arisen from chains containing or neighboring on the C=C double bonds, which were enzymatically undegraded and assembled on the film surface during enzymatic degradation. The results of this study strongly suggest that UV irradiation will significantly affect the biodegradation behavior of PLLA materials in the environment.     

深圳市社会经济发展与近岸水体富营养化关系研究(Ⅰ)

通过对深圳市近年来近海海域水体水质数据分析,研究和评价该海域水质演变趋势,并对这种趋势进行环境经济原因分析。得出以下结论:1.西部海域水体富营养化程度比较严重;2.深圳东、西部海域近年N:P值都远远超过16,属于严重的P缺乏型海域;3.深圳海域的大部分水质指标在1998年以后都有大幅上升的趋势,反映了深圳市近年向近海水体排放污染物量有加剧趋势;4.深圳市社会经济的发展加剧了近海水体的污染;5.深圳市人民生活水平近年有较大的提高,排放的生活污染造成环境危害远远大于工业污染。