Iranian Journal of Environmental Health Science & Engineering

Quality and efficiency are important issues in management systems. To increase quality, to reach best results, to move towards the continuous improvement of system and also to make the internal and external customers satisfied, it is necessary to consider the system performance measurement. In this study the Health, Safety and Environment Excellence Instrument was represented as a performance measurement tool for a wide range of health, safety and environment management systems. In this article the development of the instrument overall structure, its parts, and its test results in three organizations are presented...

The majority of anthraquinone dye released to the environment come from antrapogenic sources. Several techniques are available for dyes' removal. In this study removal of reactive blue 29 (RB29) by an advanced oxidation process sequenced with single wall carbon nanotubes was investigated. Advanced oxidation process was optimized over a period of 60 minutes by changing the ratio of acetic acid to hydrogen peroxide, the compounds which form peroxy acid. Reduction of 20.2% -56.4% of reactive blue 29 was observed when the ratio of hydrogen peroxide/acetic acid/dye changed from 344/344/1 to 344/344/0...

The detection and quantification of different pesticides in the goat milk samples collected from different localities of Faisalabad, Pakistan was performed by HPLC using solid phase microextraction. The analysis showed that about 50% milk samples were contaminated with pesticides. The mean±SEM levels (ppm) of cyhalothrin, endosulfan, chlorpyrifos and cypermethrin were 0.34±0.007, 0.063±0.002, 0.034±0.002 and 0.092±0.002, respectively; whereas, methyl parathion was not detected in any of the analyzed samples...

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of initial moisture content on the in-vessel composting under air pressure of organic fraction of municipal solid waste in Morocco in terms of internal temperature, produced gases quantity, organic matter conversion rate, and the quality of the final composts.For this purpose, in-vessel bioreactor was designed and used to evaluate both appropriate initial air pressure and appropriate initial moisture content for the composting process. Moreover, 5 experiments were carried out within initial moisture content of 55%, 65%, 70%, 75% and 85%...

Mazut as a source content of various hydrocarbons is hard to be degraded and its cracking could turn mazut into useful materials. Nevertheless degradation of mazut by routine methods is too expensive but application of indigenous microorganisms as biocatalysts could be effective and important to lower the costs and expand its consumption. Mazut biodegradation can be improved using various strategies; Therefore in this study newly isolated strain Enterobacter cloacae BBRC 10061 was used in a method of gradual addition of mazut into medium and its results were compared with simple addition method...

In this study a composite of activated carbon and carbon nanofiber (AC/CNF) was prepared to improve the performance of activated carbon (AC) for adsorption of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and its utilization for respirator cartridges. Activated carbon was impregnated with a nickel nitrate catalyst precursor and carbon nanofibers (CNF) were deposited directly on the AC surface using catalytic chemical vapor deposition. Deposited CNFs on catalyst particles in AC micropores, were activated by CO2 to recover the surface area and micropores...

Molybdenum (VI) biosorption process was investigated by marine algae Cystoseria indica pretreated with 0.1 M CaCl2 solution in a packed bed column. The biosorbent was characterized by FTIR, BET and SEM analyses. The results showed that Mo (VI) ions should be chelated with the hydroxyl, carboxyl and amine groups of the biomass. The effects of inlet metal concentration and flow rate on biosorption process were investigated and the experimental breakthrough curves were obtained. Results showed that the maximum biosorption capacity of Ca-pretreated C...

In the present study, solar photocatalytic oxidation has been investigated through laboratory experiments as an alternative to conventional secondary treatment for the organic content reduction of high COD wastewater. Experiments have been performed on synthetic high COD wastewater for solar photocatalytic oxidation using a parabolic trough reactor. Parameters affecting the oxidation of organics have been investigated.The experimental design followed the sequence of dark adsorption studies of organics, followed by photolytic studies (in absence of catalyst) and finally photocatalytic studies in presence and absence of additional oxidant (H2O2)...

In the present investigation the fungi, Aspergillus niger and Nigrospora sp. were employed for decolorization of Synozol red HF-6BN. Decolorization study showed that Aspergillus niger and Nigrospora sp. were able to decolorize 88% and 96% Synozol red 6BN, respectively, in 24 days. It was also studied that 86% and 90% Synozol red containing of dye effluent was decolorized by Aspergillus niger and Nigrospora sp. after 28 days of incubation at room temperature. A fungal-based protein with relative molecular mass of 70 kDa was partially purified and examined for enzymatic characteristics...

Many studies have suggested that cardiovascular and respiratory disease mortality may change with fluctuations in temperature. In this study the relation between temperature and mortality has been studied in a city with desert climate. Four years data on daily temperature, cardiovascular, respiratory mortality and air pollution was acquired for Kerman, Iran. Time series, regression and correlation analyses were performed. Results showed an inverse relationship between mortality and temperature in Kerman, in which decreases in temperature were associated with increases in mortality...

The present study examined the biodegradation rate of benzene vapors in a two phase stirred tank bioreactor by a bacterial consortium obtained from wastewater of an oil industry refinery house. Initially, the ability of the microbial consortium for degrading benzene was evaluated before running the bioreactor. The gaseous samples from inlet and outlet of bioreactor were directly injected into a gas chromatograph to determine benzene concentrations. Carbone oxide concentration at the inlet and outlet of bioreactor were also measured with a CO2 meter to determine the mineralization rate of benzene...

Wet air oxidation is regarded as appropriate options for wastewater treatment with average organic compounds. The general purpose of this research is to determine the efficiency of three wet air oxidation methods, wet oxidation with hydrogen peroxide and absorption with activated carbon in removing organic matter and nitrogenous compounds from Isfahan's urban leachate. A leachate sample with the volume of 1.5 liters entered into a steel reactor with the volume of three liters and was put under a 10-bar pressure, at temperatures of 100, 200, and 300° as well as three retention times of 30, 60, and 90 minutes...

Decolorization of six synthetic dyes using three sources of fungal laccase with the origin of Aspergillus oryzae, Trametes versicolor, and Paraconiothyrium variabile was investigated. Among them, the enzyme from P. variabile was the most efficient which decolorized bromophenol blue (100%), commassie brilliant blue (91%), panseu-S (56%), Rimazol brilliant blue R (RBBR; 47%), Congo red (18.5%), and methylene blue (21.3%) after 3 h incubation in presence of hydroxybenzotriazole (HBT; 5 mM) as the laccase mediator...

UNLABELLED: BACKGROUND: Petroleum pollution is a global disaster and there are several soil cleaning methods including bioremediation. METHODS: In a field study, fugal strains were isolated from oil-contaminated sites of Arak refinery (Iran) and their growth ability was checked in potato dextrose agar (PDA) media containing 0-10% v/v crude oil, the activity of three enzymes (Catalase, Peroxidase and Phenol Oxidase) was evaluated in the fungal colonies and bioremediation ability of the fungi was checked in the experimental pots containing 3 kg sterilized soil and different concentrations of petroleum (0-10% w/w)...

The vermicompost using earthworms (Eisenia Fetida) was produced from food waste and chemical parameters (EC, pH, carbon to nitrogen contents (C/N)) and germination bioassay was examined in order to assess the stability and maturity indicators during the vermicomposting process. The seed used in the germination bioassay was cress. The ranges of EC, pH, C/N and germination index were 7.5-4.9 mS/cm, 5.6-7.53, 30.13-14.32% and 12.8-58.4%, respectively. The germination index (GI) value revealed that vermicompost rendered as moderate phytotoxic to cress seed...

The rapid rise of Caspian Sea water level (about 2.25 meters since 1978) has caused much concern to all five surrounding countries, primarily because flooding has destroyed or damaged buildings and other engineering structures, roads, beaches and farm lands in the coastal zone. Given that climate, and more specifically climate change, is a primary factor influencing oscillations in Caspian Sea water levels, the effect of different climate change scenarios on future Caspian Sea levels was simulated. Variations in environmental parameters such as temperature, precipitation, evaporation, atmospheric carbon dioxide and water level oscillations of the Caspian sea and surrounding regions, are considered for both past (1951-2006) and future (2025-2100) time frames...

Colored effluents are one of the important environment pollution sources since they contain unused dye compounds which are toxic and less-biodegradable. In this work removal of Acid Red 14 and Acid Red 18 azo dyes was investigated by acidic treated pumice stone as an efficient adsorbent at various experimental conditions. Removal of dye increased with increase in contact time and initial dye concentration, while decreased for increment in solution temperature and pH. Results of the equilibrium study showed that the removal of AR14 and AR18 followed Freundlich (r2>0...

This paper utilizes a statistical approach, the response surface optimization methodology, to determine the optimum conditions for the Acid Black 172 dye removal efficiency from aqueous solution by electrocoagulation. The experimental parameters investigated were initial pH: 4-10; initial dye concentration: 0-600 mg/L; applied current: 0.5-3.5 A and reaction time: 3-15 min. These parameters were changed at five levels according to the central composite design to evaluate their effects on decolorization through analysis of variance...

This study was designed to investigate whether there is an association between Obstructive Airways Disease (OAD) and indoor exposure to baking home-made bread smoke (BHBS) in ground oven at home. In this hospital-based case-control study, 83 patients with OAD (cases) were compared with 72 patients without any known pulmonary diseases from the surgical ward (controls) who were frequently matched with cases on age. The interview was performed using the modified questionnaire recommended by the "American Thoracic Society"...

Road traffic noise affects a large number of people, especially in urban areas and is generally a major source of complaints. This paper refers to a study of the problem of traffic noise on roads which have been transformed into streets in the city of Erzurum. Noise levels are measured and the impacts suffered by the community are documented. Manual noise measurements were made along 12 streets exploring sources of maximum noise levels. Noise from different types of vehicles driven in a realistic way in inner city traffic was measured...