Determination of mercury and arsenic levels in fish caught in the Beheshtabad River,Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province,Iran

Mercury and arsenic pollution has been recognized as a potential environmental and public health problem for over 40 years. The major source of exposure to mercury for humans is the ingestion of fish. This study was conducted with the aim of determining the levels of mercury and arsenic in the muscles of four fish species caught in the Beheshtabad River and comparing the results with the maximum tolerance levels for mercury and arsenic. The samples of 90 fish were used for the determination of both the metals by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The results showed that the concentrations ranged from 1.5 to 3.8 µg kg^?1 for mercury and from 35 to 70 µg kg^?1 for arsenic, with means of 2.7 ± 0.5 and 57 ± 12 µg kg^?1, respectively. Both mean levels were lower than the threshold limits acceptable by WHO standards.     

Reducing As availability in calcareous soils using nanoscale zero valent iron

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Different methods, including the use of nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI), have been used to treat arsenic (As)-contaminated environments, with much...     

Metal pollution status of Tajan River – Northern Iran

The monitoring of surface water quality of rivers is crucial to protect aquatic life and receiving water bodies of economic importance. The aim of the current study was to examine selected physicochemical parameters of River Tajan due to its ecological importance in Iran. Water samples from nine points covering the entire Tajan River and Caspian Sea estuary were collected and analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), carbonates, chlorides and selected heavy metals including zinc, cadmium, lead and chromium. The pH and levels of EC, TDS, chlorides, carbonates and all metals were within the USEPA reference guidelines for surface water quality standards. Although these water quality parameters are considered safe, continuous monitoring and assessment is recommended in order to protect the coastal receiving waters of Caspian Sea which serves as a tourist attraction in northern Iran.     

High-recycled-content hydraulic cements of alternative chemistry for concrete production

Sustainable hydraulic cements based on alkali aluminosilicate chemistry were developed with market-limited wastes acting as the primary aluminosilicate precursors. Two sets of formulations were developed with waste brick or impounded coal ash used at relatively large volume as aluminosilicate precursors. Supplementary materials were used to produce raw materials of viable chemistry. Blends of raw materials were transformed into hydraulic cements by input of mechanical energy without resorting to elevated temperatures. The resultant hydraulic cements exhibited viable strength development characteristics. FTIR, SEM, EDS and NMR analyses were conducted in order to gain insight into the structure of the hydraulic cements and their hydration products. The results pointed at the prevalence of calcium aluminosilicate hydrates among the products of hydration which thoroughly bound the non-hydrated cores of cement particles.     

CoFe2O4@Methylcelloluse as a New Magnetic Nano Biocomposite for Sonocatalytic Degradation of Reactive Blue 19

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Reactive Blue 19 (RB19) removal from synthetic textile wastewater was investigated by using a CoFe2O4@methylcellulose (MC) activated with peroxymonosulfate...     

Risk assessment and remediation suggestion of impacted soil by produced water associated with oil production

Produced water is water trapped in underground formations that is brought to the surface along with oil or gas production. Oilfield impacted soil is the most common environmental problem associated with oil production. The produced water associated with oil-production contaminates the soil and causes the outright death of plants, and the subsequent erosion of topsoil. Also, impacted soil serves to contaminate surface waters and shallow aquifers. This paper is intended to provide an approach for full characterization of contaminated soil by produced water, by means of analysis of both the produced water and the impacted soil using several recommended analytical techniques and then identify and assay the main constituents that cause contamination of the soil. Gialo-59 oilfield (29N, 21E), Libya, has been chosen as the case study of this work. The field has a long history of petroleum production since 1959, where about 300,000 bbl of produced water be discharged into open pit. Test samples of contaminated soil were collected from one of the disposal pits. Samples of produced water were collected from different points throughout the oil production process, and the analyses were carried out at the labs of Libyan Petroleum Institute, Tripoli, Libya. The results are compared with the local environmental limiting constituents in order to prepare for a plan of soil remediation. The results showed that the main constituents (pollutants) that impact the soil are salts and hydrocarbon compounds. Accordingly; an action of soil remediation has been proposed to remove the salts and degradation of hydrocarbons.     

Kinetic characterizing of soil trace metal availability using Soil/EDTA/Chelex mixture

The kinetic aspects are not usually tackled when mimicking the soil trace metal mobilization. In this work, a simple procedure is developed for measuring the kinetics of Pb, Cu and Cd transfer from the soil solid phase towards a resin sink. A ternary system of Soil/EDTA/Chelex was employed for mimicking the metal transfer from two agricultural soil samples into the Chelex. Two different kinetic regimes (P₁ and P₂) were observed. The kinetic profile of Pb was distinctly different from those of Cd and Cu. Basing on kinetic principles, two kinetic models were proposed for estimating the apparent rate constants of leaching and removal processes in, respectively, two binary mixtures of soil/EDTA and EDTA extracts/Chelex. Contrary to Pb, solid phase pools of Cd and Cu exchanged with the solution on short time scales. The kinetic rate of desorption occurred in following order: Pb < Cu ? Cd. Comparing the kinetics of binary systems, the desorption process was hypothesized to control the metal transfer. The parameters related to the desorption process were extended to the kinetic regimes of Soil/EDTA/Chelex and revealed that the soil to Chelex transfer of Pb is under kinetics control whereas the bulk concentration (affected by the size of particulate reservoir) is likely to control the Cd transfer. Cu presents an intermediate case.     

Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 in Indoor Air of Sina and Shahid Beheshti Hospitals and Patients' Houses

Food and Environmental Virology - Side by side air sampling was conducted using a PTFE filter membrane as dry sampler and an impinger containing a suitable culture medium as a wet sampler. Most of...     

A dynamic model for assessing the effects of management strategies on the reduction of construction and demolition waste

During the past few decades, construction and demolition (C&D) waste has received increasing attention from construction practitioners and researchers worldwide. A plethora of research regarding C&D waste management has been published in various academic journals. However, it has been determined that existing studies with respect to C&D waste reduction are mainly carried out from a static perspective, without considering the dynamic and interdependent nature of the whole waste reduction system. This might lead to misunderstanding about the actual effect of implementing any waste reduction strategies. Therefore, this research proposes a model that can serve as a decision support tool for projecting C&D waste reduction in line with the waste management situation of a given construction project, and more importantly, as a platform for simulating effects of various management strategies on C&D waste reduction. The research is conducted using system dynamics methodology, which is a systematic approach that deals with the complexity - interrelationships and dynamics - of any social, economic and managerial system. The dynamic model integrates major variables that affect C&D waste reduction. In this paper, seven causal loop diagrams that can deepen understanding about the feedback relationships underlying C&D waste reduction system are firstly presented. Then a stock-flow diagram is formulated by using software for system dynamics modeling. Finally, a case study is used to illustrate the validation and application of the proposed model. Results of the case study not only built confidence in the model so that it can be used for quantitative analysis, but also assessed and compared the effect of three designed policy scenarios on C&D waste reduction. One major contribution of this study is the development of a dynamic model for evaluating C&D waste reduction strategies under various scenarios, so that best management strategies could be identified before being implemented in practice.     

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Consequences of health risk assessment of wastewater irrigation in Pakistan

Statement of Retraction

We, the Editors and Publisher of Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry, have retracted the following article:

Maria Sabeen, Qaisar Mahmood, Abdol Ghaffar Ebadi, Zulfiqar Ahmad Bhatti, Faridullah, Muhammad Irshad, Allauddin Kakar, Muhammad Bilal, Hafiz Muhammad Arshad and Naeem Shahid, ‘Consequences of health risk assessment of wastewater irrigation in Pakistan Israel Affairs’, Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry, 2019, DOI: 10.1080/02772248.2019.1619335

The article is retracted due to the oversights that were made during peer review process that resulted in the article being published online in error. Further review from independent reviewers was sought. This confirmed that the central findings and methodology of the study in question are unreliable and therefore unsuitable for publication.

We have been informed in our decision-making by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retractions.

The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as “Retracted”.