Showing 22 results for Ehrampoush
Zahra Derakhshan, Mehdi Mokhtari, Fatemeh Babaei, Roya Malek Ahmadi, Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush, Mohammad Faramarzian,
Volume 1, Issue 1 (June 2016)
Abstract
Introduction: Antibiotics as a type of pharmaceutical compounds are widely used in modern medicine and veterinary industries. They enter the environment in different ways, including agricultural runoff, direct discharge of urban wastewater treatment or human waste, direct disposal of medical, veterinary industrial waste and to name but a few. Antibiotics have been able to influence the microbial population. Their continuous presence in the environment can lead to bacterial resistance and in recent years, the issue has caused serious concerns in the scientific community.
Materials and Methods: Unfortunately, in spite of the extensive investigations, there is still a considerable lack of integrated and classified information to assess the environmental risks of antibiotics. Therefore, in the current study, the removal of these compounds from aqueous solutions was studied. This study was carried out on the basis of surveys accomplished in recent decades and also the ones published in databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, Elsevier, Scopus, Springer, Magiran and SID using anti-bacterial agents, antibiotic, wastewater and removal methods as the keywords.
Results: Advanced treatment processes such as ozonation, advanced oxidation, activated carbon, Nano filtration and reverse osmosis can remove higher levels of antibiotics.
Conclusion: Generally, the biological and chemical processes alone are not effective for antibiotics' removal from aquatic environments while combination of advanced oxidation and biological treatment processes can effectively reduce the amount of antibiotic.
Lida Rafati, Maryam Rahmani Boldaji, Maryam Khodadadi, Zahra Atafar, Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush, Seyed Mojtaba Momtaz, Rahimeh Alizadeh, Mehdi Mokhtari,
Volume 1, Issue 3 (December 2016)
Abstract
Introduction: Countries around the world are looking for an appropriate, stable, and affordable replacement for the natural energies. Therefore, the waste is considered as an available resource to produce energy, which by controlling, its effects on the environment could be minimized.
Materials and Methods: To conduct this review article, the scientific data related to the topic were gathered from scientific databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, Elsevier, Scopus, Springer, Magiran, and SID using waste to energy, Biogas, Incinerator, Landfill, and Pyrolysis as the keywords. In addition, 53 articles were used for this research (from 1993 until 2016).
Results: The results indicated that from a technical point of view, according to Iran’s current environment and the properties of the produced waste, most methods mentioned in the study are applicable. However, the important issue is to choose the best technologies with the best functionality in Iran, based on the composition of the municipal solid waste, proved technologies, and the municipal solid waste management strategies.
Conclusion: This study recommends construction of incineration plants with an appropriate location for processing municipal, household, and industrial hazardous wastes, as well as energy recovery. In addition, promoting application of household biogas reservoirs in villages and use of pyrolysis for some industries to converse industrial waste into fuel, are further suggested.
Zahra Derakhshan, Mohammad Faramarzian, Mohammad Taghi Ghaneian, Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush,
Volume 1, Issue 3 (December 2016)
Abstract
Introduction: The modeling aims to simulate or optimize a process in physical, chemical or biological environments and the derived model will provide a considerable assistance to generate data and predict unknown condition, in case of sufficient suitability. Unsuitable disposal and elimination of waste tires have polluted the environment and human life areas, it also have caused removal of a huge amount of recyclable materials and energy. Besides, attached growth biological processes of wastewater treatment are faced with very high costs of the beds used in such methods. Thus, this study targeted at the following topics: reuse of waste tires, reduction of the costs associated with preparation of biological wastewater treatment system beds, and increased productivity of refineries.
Materials and Methods: The current experimental study was conducted in pilot scale, in which ability of Fixed Bed Sequence Batch Reactor (FBSBR) and Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) was evaluated by synthetic wastewater in diverse loadings. Ultimately, the derived data were analyzed using the statistical software packages SPSS and MS Excel.
Results: The maximum removal efficiencies of dissolved chemical oxygen demand for FBSBR and SBR reactors were 98.3 % and 97.9 %, respectively. In addition, Stover-Kincannon model provided a very suitable fitness (R2 > 0.99) for loading the bioreactor FBSBR.
Conclusion: According to the results, not only waste tires can be reused, but also these wastes can be employed as a proper biological bed in wastewater refineries to improve their efficiency.
Mohammad Taghi Ghaneian , Raziye Montazerolfaraj , Hakime Selsele Vaziri , Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush , Alireza Arsalan , Tahere Zarabie ,
Volume 2, Issue 1 (March 2017)
Abstract
Introduction: Cleaner productions in textile industry is achieved by reducing water and chemicals’ consumption, saving energy, reducing production of air pollution and solid wastes, reducing toxicity and noise pollution through many solutions. The purpose of the present research was to apply Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) and Quality Systems Planning Matrix (QSPM) techniques in identifying and prioritizing production in raw materials’ warehouse of Yazdbaf Textile Factory.
Materials and Methods: In this research, effective internal and external factors in cleaner production were identified by providing the required information through field visit and interview with industry managers and supervisors of raw materials’ warehouse. Finally, To form matrix of internal and external factors 17 important internal factors and 7 important external factors were identified and selected respectively.Then, QSPM matrix was formed to determine the attractiveness and priority of the selected strategies by using results of internal and external factors and SWOT matrixes.
Results: According to the results, the total score of raw materials’ warehouse in Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) matrix is equal to 2.90 which shows the good situation of warehouse than the internal factors. However, the total score in External Factor Evaluation (EFE) matrix is 2.14 and indicates the relative weak situation of warehouse than the external factors.
Conclusion: Based on the obtained results, continuity, monitor, and improvement of the general plan of qualitative control (QC) of raw materials and laboratory as well as more emphasis on quality indexes according to its importance in the production processes were selected as the most important strategies.
Elham Ehsani , Abolghasem Mirhosseini Dehabadi , Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush ,
Volume 2, Issue 1 (March 2017)
Abstract
Introduction: Soil has an important role in nutrient cycle and an important function in storage, refinement, and movement of nutrients for the living and non-living parts. Soil pollution of heavy metals and elements is one of the common pollution impacts of human activities, especially industry. Realization of distribution pattern of these elements and their anthropogenic sources is a major part of environmental protection plans. In the present study, concentration of two major heavy metals were investigated and mapped using geostatistical methods throughout western part of Karoon river in Ahwaz city. Four land areas including urban areas, agricultural, industrial, and bare soils were applied.
Materials and Methods: In this research, at first, 40 sample plots were determined randomly from the study area and soil samples were taken from surface layer with the depth of 20 centimeters. Afterwards, the data were entered into SAS 9.3 and Arc GIS 10.2 applications for data analysis and mapping.
Results: Results showed that Pb and Cd concentrations had the lowest standard rate in western parts of city while their highest rate was in river shores, south-west, and northern parts. Hence, the soil is over polluted in these areas comparing to WHO standards.
Conclusion: A significant correlation was observed between Pb and Cd elements. Regarding results achieved by the semi-variance model, it is concluded that pollutions have anthropogenic sources in this area. According to the results, most important factors of pollution in this area were smelting and steel factories as well as agricultural pesticides.
Arash Dalvand , Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush, Mohammad Taghi Ghaneian , Mehdi Mokhtari , Ali Asghar Ebrahimi, Roya Malek Ahmadi, Amir Hossein Mahvi ,
Volume 2, Issue 3 (September 2017)
Abstract
Introduction: Since some dyes and their metabolites have toxicity and carcinogenicity potential, and are dangerous to the health of different living creatures, discharge of untreated wastewaters containing large concentrations of dye compounds into water resources is one of the important environmental problems. Therefore, in this research, the efficiency of chemical coagulation process was investigated using ferric chloride coagulant to remove Direct Red 23 dye from colored wastewater.
Materials and Methods: In the experiments, a Jartest device was used and the effect of different parameters including the dose of the coagulant (20-200 mg/L), pH (3-10), and initial concentration of the dye (25-200 mg/L) on the efficiency of chemical coagulation process for removal of the dye was examined. Further, the final pH of the wastewater was investigated and the optimal conditions were determined.
Results: The results indicated that the optimal dose of ferric chloride coagulant for Direct Red 23 dye removal of 97.7% is 40 mg/L at the optimal pH of 7. With increase in the dose of the coagulant, the dye removal efficiency increased, while the final pH of the wastewater decreased. Under constant conditions, with increase in the dye concentration, the dye removal efficiency diminished.
Conclusion: Chemical coagulation by ferric chloride is a very effective and fast method for removal of direct dye from colored wastewater.
Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush, Sara Jamshidi , Mohammad Javad Zare Sakhvidi , Mohammad Miri ,
Volume 2, Issue 4 (December 2017)
Abstract
Introduction: The present study aimed to compare the performance of two widely-used models for spatial assessment of particulate matter less than 10 microns (PM10) in ambient air of Yazd city. Finally, effective factors on concentrations of pollutants and corresponding standards were investigated.
Materials and Methods: A number of 13 sampling stations were employed in different areas of Yazd to sample PM10 within two seasons of winter and spring of 2012 and 2013. PM10 was measured by HAZ-DUST EPAM-5000 particulate air monitor. In order to assess the efficiency of Kriging and Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) models for PM10 zoning, the statistical Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and %RMSE methods were used in the Arc GIS software version 10.1.
Results: The highest (297 µg/m3) and lowest concentrations (35.8 µg/m3) of PM10 in spring were found in high-traffic historical regions and low-traffic suburban areas, respectively. High-traffic and historical regions had higher levels of PM10 compared to other regions. Given the values of RMSE and %RMSE indicators, Kriging interpolation method was better for zoning of the pollutant PM10 in both winter and spring.
Conclusion: According to higher concentration of PM10 compared to WHO standard values particularly in spring, necessary actions and solutions should be taken for the pollution reduction. This study indicated that Kriging model has a better efficiency for spatial analysis of suspended particles, compared to IDW method.
Mohsen Tarzanan , Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush , Mehdi Mokhtari , Hossein Fallahzadeh , Ali Asghar Ebrahimi ,
Volume 3, Issue 1 (March 2018)
Abstract
Introduction: In order to achieve sustainable development in mining, waste management is an essential requirement. The current study aimed to examine industrial solid waste produced in Golgohar Mining and Industrial Company, which is a well-known iron ore extraction and processing complex.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in two phases from March, 2016 through March, 2017. In the first phase, the data related to the production process and quantity/quality of produced wastes were collected through conducting field observations, interviewing production, environmental experts in Golgohar Mining and Industrial Company, and examining the gleaned evidence. In the second phase, the XRF was used to examine the composition of processing tailings following the ISO 9516-1: 2003.
Results: In total, 16, 19, and 17 types of industrial wastes were respectively identified in the extraction sector, the magnetite processing plant, and the polycom processing plant of Golgohar Mining and Industrial Company and 12, 14, and 12 types of which (in the same order) were recyclable. The ingredients of iron ore processing tailings encompassed quartz, manganese oxide, iron oxides, aluminum oxide, calcium carbonate, sulfur, potassium oxide, sodium oxide, titanium oxide, phosphorus, chromium oxide, and barium oxide. The largest proportion (32.9%) was recorded for quartz in dry tailings.
Conclusion: It is essential to pay more attention to recycling in such industries. Improving production processes for retrieve more iron and the use of mineral wastes as raw materials for other industries can reduce the problems associated with such wastes (eg low storage space and environmental problems).
Tahereh Zarei Mahmoudabadi , Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush , Hoseein Yousofi , Parvaneh Talebi ,
Volume 3, Issue 2 (June 2018)
Abstract
Introduction: Paper and paperboard industry wastewater has potentially damaging effects on the ecosystem of the receiving environments due to the presence of toxic compounds. As a result, the treatment of such wastewater is necessary prior to discharge into the environment. In this study, the potential of Plantago major L. seed extract as a natural coagulant in treating paper and paperboard industry wastewater was investigated.
Materials and Methods: In this experimental study that was carried out in vitro, the effects of the pH (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11) of the solution and different doses (0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2 and 0.25 g/L) of coagulant were studied. At each step of optimization turbidity, TSS and COD were measured according to the methods presented in the books on water and wastewater testing standards.
Results: Optimal pH for removal of turbidity, TSS and COD using Plantago major L. seed extract was determined 10, with the removal efficiency of 60%, 76% and 36%, respectively. The optimal dose of coagulant was obtained 0.1 g/L, with the maximum efficiency of 80%, 87% and 37.7% for turbidity, TSS and COD, respectively.
Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, Plantago major L. seed extract can be used as a natural coagulant without causing environmental risks.
Hajar Salehi, Mohammad Hasan Ehrampoush, Mohammad Hossein Salmani, Hossein Fallahzadeh, Ali Asghar Ebrahimi ,
Volume 3, Issue 3 (September 2018)
Abstract
Introduction: The use of arsenic contaminated water can cause a variety of adverse health effects in humans. Therefore, it is essential to seek out a method to remove arsenic more efficiently. This study examined the amount of arsenic oxidation by response surface methodology (RSM) based on Box-Bencken design.
Materials and Methods: In this study, oxidizing arsenite to arsenate was performed by activation of persulfate with UV and the optimal conditions determined using the RSM based on Box-Bencken design to evaluate the effects of independent variables on the response (arsenite oxidation efficiency) performance and to predict the best response rate. In this study, the effects of different parameters such as pH (3-11), concentration of persulfate (4-14 mM), and initial concentration of arsenic (0.1-0.9 mg/l) on process efficiency were investigated. The number of tests in this study was 45, and the oxidation rate was measured using the UV visible spectrophotometer (DR 6000) and the molybdate colorimetric method.
Results: Increasing the concentration of arsenic increased oxidation. However, with increasing pH, the oxidation rate decreased and the highest oxidation rate at all concentrations was observed at pH 3. The value higher than R2 (0.934) indicated that the oxidation of arsenic (v) could be determined by this model.
Conclusion: Arsenite is a highly toxic metal that is difficult to remove by conventional treatment methods, but a pre-treatment phase can convert arsenite into arsenate and facilitate the removal process. In this study, the use of UV-activated persulfate increased the efficiency of arsenic oxidation to 96%.
Rahimeh Alizadeh, Lida Rafati, Ali Asghar Ebrahimi, Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush, Samaneh Sedighi Khavidak,
Volume 3, Issue 3 (September 2018)
Abstract
Introduction: Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphorus pesticide that is commonly used in agriculture. This toxin is harmful to a wide range of organisms, including living organisms, useful arthropods, fish, birds, humans, animals, and plants. There are many physical, chemical, and biological methods for the removal of organophosphorus pesticides from ecosystems, among which biodegradation is preferable because of environmental compatibility and cost-effectiveness. Identifying the effective genes and enzymes in the specific functional groups of pesticides and understanding the kinetics of biodegradation is essential for successful biorefining.
Materials and Methods: This study was a narrative review article. For this purpose, relevant studies indexed in a variety of databases such as Google Scholar, Elsevier, Scopus, Science Direct, Magiran, and SID which published between 2004 and 2018 were retrieved using the key words Bioremediation, chlorpyrifos, Dursban, and microorganism. Finally, a total of 51 articles were studied.
Results: The major processes of chlorpyrifos destruction are evaporation, photolysis, chemical hydrolysis, and microbial degradation. Biodegradation is an environmentally friendly and highly efficient process that can be used as an alternative to chemical and physical methods. In this process, the microbial population is used to convert complex toxic compounds into less toxic ones.
Conclusion: Chlorpyrifos, which was previously thought to be resistant to advanced biodegradability, has currently shown to undergo advanced biodegradation by bacterial and fungal species. In the future, studies of genes that are highly capable of biodegradation will lead to a complete degradation method that is involved in the microbial destruction of this toxin.
Mohsen Ansari , Amir Hosein Mahvi , Mohammad Hossein Salmani , Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush , Mohammad Taghi Ghaneiyan , Mahboubeh Shiraniyan , Parvaneh Tallebi ,
Volume 3, Issue 3 (September 2018)
Abstract
Introduction: There are different methods for removal of cadmium from aqueous solutions. Adsorption based methods are among the bests. One of the most important aspects for adsorption techniques is the availability of an accessible and economical adsorbent. This study aims to investigate cadmium removal from aqueous solutions by walnuts shell waste.
Materials and Methods: Walnut Shell (WS) was used as a carbon and was activated by a chemical agent. The surface characteristics of the synthesized Activated Carbon (AC), kinetic and isothermic variation were investigated under laboratory conditions.
Results: The results showed that adsorption could be affected by the amount of adsorbent and pH. The adsorption of cadmium was in the maximum level when pH was 6. Between two investigated adsorption isotherms, Langmuir (R2=0.98) and Freundlich (R2 = 0.97) isotherms well described the cadmium adsorption on walnut shell produced activated carbon.
Conclusion: Walnut shell as an agricultural waste can be synthesized into a suitable absorbent to absorb the toxic metal cadmium from aquatic solutions.
Mahrokh Jalili , Ali Asghar Ebrahimi , Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush , Fariba Abbasi, Hadi Eslami , Reza Ali Fallahzadeh , Mehrnosh Shirdeli, Fereshteh Molavi,
Volume 3, Issue 4 (December 2018)
Abstract
Introduction: Iodine deficiency and associated disorders, which lead to a wide range of clinical manifestations, have been raised as one of the health and nutritional problems in Iran. Therefore, this study was aimed to investigate the amount of iodine in distributed salts in Abarkouh city in 2017-2018.
Materials and Methods: Random sampling was done by census on all 30 distributed brands in Abarkouh city in the different stores across the city. Sixty samples (30 samples after one month from the production date and 30 samples after 6 months from the production date) were collected and transferred to the laboratory. The measurement of iodine was done according to the British Pharmacopoeia recommended method. T-test was used to analyze the data.
Results: The Mean iodine concentration in the salts supplied in the Abarkouh was 29.83 ± 19.9 ppm, which was 50% less than the Iran's standard, with a statistically significant difference (P ≤ 0.001). 66.6% of the studied brands did not contain adequate iodine. Six months after production date, the average iodine amount in salts was reduced to 24.26 ± 16.94 ppm, but the reduction was not statistically significant (P = 0.224).
Conclusion: Average iodine amount in most of the salts supplied across the Abarkouh city was not acceptable and some salts lacked iodine. Therefore, careful and continuous supervision and monitoring the process of iodized salts production in factories is recommended.
Najme Mashayekhi Mazar , Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush , Ali Asghar Ebrahimi , Mohammad Taghi Ghaneian , Maryam Dolatabadi , Roohollah Askari ,
Volume 4, Issue 1 (March 2019)
Abstract
Introduction: The International Standard Organization created a set of specified standards titled ISO 14000 in 1996 which includes numerous advisory documents related to the environment management, environment supervision, environmental performance evaluation, ecologic labeling, life cycle evaluation and environmental aspects.
Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive-analytical cross sectional study. The population being studied includes the managers and the staff of Jiroft hospitals. The required data are collected using standard questionnaires of environmental management system from 118 managers and staff in various sections of Jiroft hospitals.
Results: The results of the study show that the laboratory, laundry and kitchen condition, water management, contaminants management and spreading to the air, as well as environmental strategies in attaining green hospital standards in Jiroft hospitals, in accordance with ISO 14000, are suitable and at the optimum level.
Conclusion: Hospital and health systems can improve their economic and moral situations in the society by helping to attain the goals of the millennium development in the field of health and stability as well as green economic.
Mohsen Pakdaman, Samaneh Khademi , Mohammad Taghi Ghaneian , Hosien Zareian , Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush , Mohamadali Morovati Shrifabadi ,
Volume 4, Issue 2 (June 2019)
Abstract
Introduction: Nowadays, the appropriate selection of environmental instruments is considered a political priority in most countries. Given that one of the most important environmental tools in recent years to counteract industrial pollution has been levying green tax on polluting industries, the present study aims to identify interactive factors affecting the enforcement of green taxes between executive agencies [Department of Environment and Administration of Economic and Finance] and industries to reduce pollution.
Materials and Methods: In this qualitative study, 13 participants from the DOE, MEFA and Deputy of Industries’ Affairs of Yazd were selected by purposive and snowball sampling. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and then analyzed in the MAXQDA10 software by content analysis method.
Results: From our data analysis, two main categories executive organizations and industries were drawn, which included 8 sub-categories tax justice, tax culture development, tax determination and tax collection, weak tax systems, tax laws, tax penalties, tax incentives and adoption of an environmental framework by the industry.
Conclusion: Reforming the environmental laws, approaches and policies, emphasizing education to develop the culture of tax payment, avoiding unilateralism in enforcing environmental policies and enhancing incentive policies seem essential.
Mohsen Pakdaman, Mohammad Taghi Ghaneian, Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush, Vahid Jafari Nodoshan, Ebrahim Gholami Zarchi, Mohamad Hasan Lotfi,
Volume 4, Issue 2 (June 2019)
Abstract
Introduction: Health monitoring and control of food preparation, supply and distribution centers are the responsibility of environmental health officers. Therefore, the present study was conducted to explain the interaction between environmental health officers and providers of food preparation based on the game theory model.
Materials and Methods: This research is a descriptive-analytical study in which after the determination of effective factors on the interaction between officers and directors, the so-called 22 games were designed and for each game four behavioral strategies determined and strategies identified as a two-choice I agree, I disagree questionnaire provided to environmental health officers and directors of food preparation, centers to select their desired strategy.. In the quantitative phase, SPSS 22 was used to analyze the data collected by questionnaires in order to determine the percentage of response frequency to each question. Gambit software was used to analyze for determination Nash equilibrium of any Games.
Results: In the present study, the factors affecting the interaction between environmental health officers and directors were categorized to 24 subcategories assigned to six categories, and in the quantitative phase, finally, 22 dominant behavior strategies were identified and the final benefit percentage of each actor was determined.
Conclusion: Investigating selected strategies by directors suggests that there is a good fit between the rules and health behaviors among the directors. The emphasis on health inspection based on education and counseling and lack of acceptance of the activities of health self-reported companies by the directors and officers are the most important outcomes of this study.
Mahrokh Jalili , Marzieh Sadat Hosseini , Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush , Mehdi Sarlak , Fariba Abbasi , Reza Ali Fallahzadeh ,
Volume 4, Issue 3 (September 2019)
Abstract
Introduction: Due to water scarcity and increased water consumption during the past years, the importance of water in terms of transmission of diseases, as well as Iran's climate, groundwater aquifers are known as the most important resources of drinking water supply. Using the Water Quality Index (WQI) is considered as strong managerial tool for decision making in water resource management. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of groundwater in Ardakan for drinking purpose using WQI. Spatial analysis was conducted with the geographic information system (GIS).
Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study to investigate the quality of groundwater in Ardakan for drinking purpose. Information on total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), bicarbonate (HCO3-), chlorine (CL-), sulfate (SO42-), nitrate (NO3-), calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) of 24 wells was obtained from Ardakan Health Center. The characteristics of the stations were determined using the Global Positioning System (GPS) and transmitted to the map prepared in the GIS environment. The calculated values of the WQI were zoned in the GIS environment by Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) method.
Results: Based on the WQI, well no.5 has the best quality water (17.61), which has the lowest WQI, and the highest value of WQI was obtained for well no. 20 (156.86).
Conclusion: The results of the study showed that none of wells have drinkable water, 13 wells had good quality water, and 11 wells had poor quality and should be treated for drinking.
Ali Asghar Ebrahimi, Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush, Arezo Rezaie, Shahriar Forghani , Hossein Karimi, Mohammad Rezvani, Zahra Soltanian Zadeh, Mahrokh Jalili ,
Volume 7, Issue 4 (December 2022)
Abstract
Introduction: Wastewater contains a large number of pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms that can become bioaerosols during the treatment processes in different units of the treatment plant, and pose a risk to workers and nearby residents. In this study, the release of bioaerosols from a wastewater treatment plant of Morche Khort Industrial Town was investigated.
Materials and Methods: Sampling was actively performed according to EPA standard, in two seasons of spring and summer in 2018-2019, by an environmental sampling pump with a flow rate of 15 l/min and a single-stage impactor. The data were analyzed by SPSS software version 2020.
Results: The study results showed that the mean number of bacteria in the aeration tank was significantly higher than other points. The mean number of fungi in the aeration pond with 144 CFU/m3 had the highest concentration, and no fungal bioaerosol was observed 500 m downstream. Regarding the emission of H2S, CH4, and VOC gases, the anaerobic tank had the highest emission of these gases.
Conclusion: Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) with activated sludge treatment technology and an aeration system can lead to an increase in the concentration of bacterial and fungal aerosols around the units and in surrounding areas.
Seyedeh Mahtab Pormazar, Mohadese I Dehghan Banadak, Sara Jambarsang , Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush, Amir Hoshang Mehrparvour, Fahimeh Nakhostin , Fahimeh Teimouri ,
Volume 8, Issue 3 (September 2023)
Abstract
Introduction: The present study examines the association between ambient air pollution and harmful consequences at birth in Yazd, Iran during 2017-2020.
Materials and Methods: This time series study by the autoregressive (AR) and moving average (MA) or ARMA model was conducted in Yazd, Iran. Birth information including fetal sex, birth weight, birth height, and head circumference as well as preterm birth (PTB) and abortion was collected from mother and birth cohort databases. Data on air pollutants concentrations in the corresponding gestational period were obtained from fixed air monitors of Yazd Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center. The time series model statistical test was performed to find the relation between ambient air pollution and harmful consequences at birth.
Results: 2131 singleton live births were monitored for 3 years. In ARMA models, the ratio of girl births to total births (Coef: 7.943, 95% CI: 2.797, 13.089), preterm delivery (Coef: 2.915, 95% CI: 0.224, 5.606), and spontaneous abortion (Coef: 44.751, 95% CI: 26.872, 62.629) was associated with NO2 exposure. Distributed mismatch models also suggested associations between the Air Quality Index (AQI) in pregnant women with a sex-premature birth relationship (Coef: 0.001, 95% CI: 0.000, 0.001).
Conclusion: Exposure to air pollution, even at low levels, may increase the risk of sex ratio in singletons, premature birth, and spontaneous abortion. However, the results of the present study could not definitively show the relationship between air quality and other birth problems. More research studies are required to investigate the present findings.
Zohreh Rahaei, Mohammad Taghi Ghaneian, Fatemeh Hasanzadeh Mohammadi, Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush, Sara Jambarsang, Seyyed Vahid Ghelmani,
Volume 8, Issue 4 (December 2023)
Abstract
Introduction: Droughts and precipitation imbalances in various parts of the world have underscored the significance of alternative water resources. In recent years, recycled water has emerged as a viable alternative, with wastewater being treated to a safe level for diverse purposes. However, the public acceptance of water reuse plays a pivotal role in determining the success of recycling initiatives. This study aims to identify the barriers and facilitators influencing public acceptance of water reuse in Yazd, Iran, during 2020.
Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 384 individuals in Yazd city during 2020 was conducted. Participants were selected using the stratified sampling method. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Pearson correlation test in SPSS software version 23.
Results: The most crucial facilitator for acceptance was the concept of segregating drinking water and recycled water networks. The primary barrier to acceptance was the perceived risk of recycled water contamination and potential health hazards. Water reuse was most widely accepted for construction purposes, followed by toilet flush tanks and irrigation of green spaces in parks and sports fields. A positive correlation (r = 0.416) existed between facilitators and acceptance of water reuse, indicating that enhancing facilitators positively affected acceptance.
Conclusion: To successfully implement water reuse projects, it is essential to consider key facilitators such as segregated water systems for different household uses, raising public awareness about the benefits of water reuse, and building public trust in recycled water safety.
