Journal of Research in Environmental Health
Year:2018 | Volume:4 | Issue:2 |Papers Count:7

Background and aim: With the development of coastal industries and cities, aquatic ecosystems and organisms are exposed to contaminants, especially heavy metals. Heavy metals accumulate in aquatic tissues and eventually enter the food chain and human body. The aim of this study was to investigate the concentrations of lead, cadmium and zinc in muscle of two fish species (Cicharhinuslimbatus) and (Epinepheluscoioides) from the Persian Gulf. Materials and Methods: For this purpose, 15 samples of muscle were takenfrom each fish, and by wet digestion method, the concentration of Lead, Cadmium and Zinc were measured by atomic absorption device. Statistical analysis of the obtained results was carried out by SPSS software (v. 20) using Shapiro-Wilk, One Sample T-Test and Binomial Test. Results: According to the results, the mean concentrations of lead, zinc and cadmium were 5. 55, 8. 40, 0. 22 mg/kg and 9. 14, 13. 54, 0. 27 mg/kg, in Cicharhinuslimbatus and Epinepheluscoioides respectively. The mean concentration of lead in both fisheswashigher than the WHO standard. The HI index for Cicharhinuslimbatus and Epinepheluscoioides is less than 1. Conclusion: With respect to the obtained results, the absorption of these metals does not threaten consumers. However, the proportions of condition factor for Cicharhinuslimbatus and Epinepheluscoioides are not within the standard range and indicate the inappropriate conditions of this habitat for aquatic health and environmental stresses.

Background and Aim: In recent decades, industrial, agricultural and urban activities have led to pollution and accumulation of heavy metals in soils and plants which directly or indirectly affects humans and animals lives. Nowadays, pollutant accumulation in most agricultural products is much higher than the permissible limit due to the excessive use of fertilizers. The main objective of the present study was to investigate the accumulated proportions of heavy metals such as copper, lead and cadmium in different tissues of laboratory rat. Materials and Methods: In this study, the accumulation and distribution of heavy metals were investigated in different organs of rats under various nutritional conditions. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with greenhouse strawberry treatments in three groups. Different groups of rats (27 rats) were fed strawberries infected with heavy metals by oral gavage within a three-month period. Regarding the average weight of rats, 0. 5 gram of fresh strawberry was considered for each rat. In addition, heavy metals solution including cadmium (15. 773 mg / l), lead (41. 560 mg / l) and copper (9. 445 mg / l) were exerted to the plant. In the next stage of procedure, heavy metals (cadmium, copper and lead) accumulated in different organs of the rats (kidney, liver, pancreas, Testicle, spleen, and brain) were measured. Results: Results showed that the concentrations of studied heavy metals in the strawberries were 7. 7, 26 and 3. 2 mg/kg for cadmium, lead and copper respectively, which were higher than Iranian standard level. The statistical results showed that there was a significant difference between the different organs in the intake of the heavy metals, so that in the infected treatment, the most and lowest amounts of cadmium were in the kidney (0. 41 g / day) and the brain (0. 24 g / day), respectively. Heavy metals caused reduction in the rate of weight gain of rats. The accumulation of these elements was higher in the kidney, liver and pancreas than other organs. The least accumulation of heavy metals was related to the rat’ s brain, while highest proportion of the heavy metals accumulation was in the kidney. Conclusion: The results demonstrated that if strawberry quality is not evaluated properly and distributed throughout community in the contaminated form, it can pose many harmful effects on the community’ s health. Therefore, the quality control should be carried out with high precision.

Abstract Background and aims: Drinking water pollution is a serious threat for public water supply. Water disinfection has a very important role in the reduction of pathogenic microorganism. Water electrodisinfection is an efficient and cost-effective method in water disinfection. The aim of this study was the survey of inactivation in two types bacteria (as index and resistant) by electrochemical process in the presence of supporting electrolytes. Materials and methods: Inactivation of E. Coli and Bacillus subtilis spore was studied at current intensity of 500mA, with each of the supporting electrolytes including CuI, NaBr and KCl. The type of electrodes was steel and the distance between electrodes was 2cm. Furthermore, the tests carried out in monopolar mode Fe-Fe, neutral pH and experimental temperature (21o c). The number of bacteria, amount of supporting electrolyte, voltage, and electrochemical action time were investigated. Results: Adding the supporting electrolytes to the electrochemical disinfection process decreased bacterial resistance. Copper iodide (CuI) on 2 mg/l concentration showed more efficiency in bacterial inactivation. Conclusion: Supporting electrolyte CuI with concentration of 2 mg/l both enhances the electrochemical process performance due to an increase in ionic transmission rate and voltage current. Also, this decreases electrochemical inactivation time and increases bactericidal effect.

Background & objective: The lack of suitable landfill for storage and disposal of solid wastes in different parts of Guilan has been not only led to deforestation and agricultural lands destruction, but also jeopardized public health. The Langroud County as a tourist destination of Guilan province is also affected by solid wastes. Therefore, the present study aims to locate the new appropriate area for municipal sanitary landfill, taking into account environmental standards in Langroud County. Materials & Methods: In this research, 20 criteria were used in accordance with the standards of the Iranian Environmental Protection Agency, the Alberta State Environmental Authority of Canada, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the British Columbia Environmental Ministry as criteria for locating. TOPSIS method was used in combining the criteria maps in ArcGIS software environment. Results: After passing TOPSIS and combining the layers obtained in the ArcGIS software environment, the final map of urban landfill location within the study area was classified into five classes (very weak, weak, moderate, good and excellent). Conclusion: Based on the results, five prestigious areas in the south and southwest of the city with the highest degree of fit and excellent grade were proposed as new areas of urban solid waste disposal for the city of Langroud.

Background and Objectives: Over the last several decades, huge amounts of different kinds of wastes have been produced by human activities and alterations in man’ s lifestyle and consumption patterns. Medical sciences are among the world’ s top advanced professional sections. However, it seems that a portion of the produced wastes in medical units called "special wastes" or "clinical wastes", have not been seriously taken into consideration especially in developing countries, This study examined the Waste Management assessment in educational hospitals of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 12 educational hospitals of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in autumn 2013. First, a questionnaire was designed and its validity was approved. Then, the required data including (production, segregation, storage, collection, treating, transportation, and Disposal) was gathered during visits to participating hospitals. Finally, the collected data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS version 16. . Results: Findings showed that the daily production of infectious and sharps wastes in the studied hospitals generally equaled 3387 kg. All hospitals were equipped with non-incineration systems; however, only 83. 3% of them were active. Therefore, some infectious wastes were disposed of along with urban wastes without being sterilized. Conclusion: Overall, waste management in hospitals was relatively appropriate, but due to the importance of the issue, it needs to pay more attention in some cases.

Background and Purpose: Qualitative parameters of drinking water such as concentration of nitrate, nitrite, sulfate, total soluble solids, sodium, magnesium, fluoride, total hardness and electrical conductivity can play an important role in groundwater resources and are mainly related to agriculture, waste disposal areas and sewage. The aim of this study was to determine these parameters in drinking groundwater resource of Saveh city using Geographic Information System during the year of 2018 and investigation of contaminant’ s in the region’ s aquifer. Materials and Methods: This research is a descriptive-analytic study. 120 samples of water from 12 drinking water wells were prepared in spring and two times in the morning and afternoon in different parts of the city of Saveh. The quality parameters of drinking water, including concentration of nitrate, nitrite, sulfate, total soluble solids, sodium, magnesium, fluoride, total hardness and electrical conductivity were entered into the GIS software and stored in a database and then processed by the information system software, color mapping was prepared and geographical maps (GIS) were mapped to qualitative status. Also, reverse interpolation was used to estimate the conditions of the whole region. Findings: The average concentration of chlorine, sulfate, electrical conductivity, total soluble solids, total hardness and sodium exceeds the permissible limits, and the non-qualitative water conditions are quite evident. Also, the amount of two magnesium and sulfate ions was above the standard 1053. It should be kept in mind that the high levels of these two ions can interfere with the digestive system. Fluoride and nitrate levels were also acceptable range in all areas. Conclusion: The highest deviation level from 1053 standard was for total soluble solids, sodium, magnesium, and sulfate. It is better to consider a comprehensive program to solve the problem, including use of nanotechnology, filtering or ion exchange.

Background: Fluoride is one of the 14 essential elements for organisms’ lives. Since the body's greatest need for fluoride should be supplied through drinking water, determination of the amount of fluoride in drinking water has great importance. The aim of this study was to measure the concentrations of fluoride in sources of drinking water in urban and rural areas of Neyshabur in 2017 and compare it with existing standards. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional was conducted on urban and rural drinking water sources in Neyshabur in 2017. A total of 100 water samples were randomly collected from different sources in Neyshabur. The collected samples were then transferred to the Neyshabur Water and Wastewater Laboratory and the proportion of fluoride ion was measuredusing a spectrophotometer DR 2000 at 580 nm. Results: The average concentration of fluoride in rural resources was obtained0. 567± 0. 12 mg/lin wells and 0. 69 ± 0. 13 mg/lin springs. The average concentration of fluoride in plain areas (0. 662 ± 0. 14 mg/l) was higher than mountainous areas (0. 505 ± 0. 2 mg / l). The average concentrations of fluoride in urban wells, in urban reservoirs and in the water distribution networkwere (0. 602 ± 0. 034 mg / l), (0. 597 ± 0. 030 mg / L) and (0. 595± 0. 039 mg /l) respectively. Conclusion: The average concentration of fluoride in some water sources was lower than the standard level. Therefore, more study is needed to evaluate the daily fluoride intake in a variety of methods, and if the fluoride intake is less than standard level, adjustment of fluoride in water sources will benecessary for dental health.