Search results for: accidental pollution

Authors: Felix Schumann, Giorgia Carratta, Tobias Dauth, Liv Jaeckel

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In the last few decades, the rapid growth of the use and disposal of plastic items has led to their overaccumulation in the environment. As a result, plastic pollution has become a subject of global concern. Today plastics are used as raw materials in almost every industry. While the recognition of the ecological, social, and economic impact of plastics in academic research is on the rise, the potential role of the ‘plastic industry’ in dealing with such issues is still largely underestimated. Therefore, the literature on sustainable plastic management is still nascent and fragmented. Working towards sustainability requires a fundamental shift in the way companies employ plastics in their day-to-day business. For that reason, the applicability of the business model concept has recently gained momentum in environmental research. Business model innovation is increasingly recognized as an important driver to re-conceptualize the purpose of the firm and to readily integrate sustainability in their business. It can serve as a starting point to investigate whether and how sustainability can be realized under industry- and firm-specific circumstances. Yet, there is no comprehensive view in the plastic industry on how firms start refining their business models to embed sustainability in their operations. Our study addresses this gap, looking primarily at the industrial sectors responsible for the production of the largest amount of plastic waste today: plastic packaging, consumer goods, construction, textile, and transport. Relying on the archetypes of sustainable business models and applying them to the aforementioned sectors, we try to identify companies’ current strategies to make their business models more sustainable. Based on the thematic clustering, we can develop an integrative framework for the plastic industry. The findings are underpinned and illustrated by a variety of relevant plastic management solutions that the authors have identified through a systematic literature review and analysis of existing, empirically grounded research in this field. Using the archetypes, we can promote options for business model innovations for the most important sectors in which plastics are used. Moreover, by linking the proposed business model archetypes to the plastic industry, our research approach guides firms in exploring sustainable business opportunities. Likewise, researchers and policymakers can utilize our classification to identify best practices. The authors believe that the study advances the current knowledge on sustainable plastic management through its broad empirical industry analyses. Hence, the application of business model archetypes in the plastic industry will be useful for shaping companies’ transformation to create and deliver more sustainability and provides avenues for future research endeavors.

Keywords: business models, environmental economics, plastic management, plastic pollution, sustainability

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Authors: Maphuti Georgina Kwata

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Coal mining in Mpumalanga Province is known of contributing to the atmospheric pollution from various activities. Gold mining in North-West Province is known of also contributing to the atmospheric pollution especially with the production of radon gas. In this research directional dust deposition gauge was used to measure source of direction and meteorological data was used to determine the wind rose blowing and the influence of the seasonal changes. Fourteen months of dust collection was undertaken in Witbank Area and Carletonville Area. The results shows that the sources of direction for Ericson Dam its East in February 2010 and Tip Area shows that the source of direction its West in October 2010. In the East direction there were mining operations, power stations which contributed to the East to be the sources of direction. In the West direction there were smelters, power stations and agricultural activities which contributed for the source of direction to be the West direction for Driefontein Mine: East Recreational Village Club. The East of Leslie Williams hospital is the source of direction which also indicated that there dust generating activities such as mining operation, agricultural activities. The meteorological results for Emalahleni Area in summer and winter the wind rose blow with wind speed of 5-10 ms-1 from the East sector. Annual average for the wind rose blow its East South eastern sector with 20 ms-1 and day time the wind rose from northwestern sector with excess of 20 ms-1. The night time wind direction East-eastern direction with a maximum wind speed of 20 ms-1. The meteorogical results for Driefontein Mine show that North-western sector and north-eastern sector wind rose is blowing with 5-10 ms-1 win speed. Day time wind blows from the West sector and night time wind blows from the north sector. In summer the wind blows North-east sector with 5-10 ms-1 and winter wind blows from North-west and it’s also predominant. In spring wind blows from north-east. The conclusion is that not only mining operation where the directional dust deposit gauge were installed contributed to the source of direction also the power stations, smelters, and other activities nearby the mining operation contributed. The recommendations are the dust suppressant for unpaved roads should be used on a regular basis and there should be monitoring of the weather conditions (the wind speed and direction prior to blasting to ensure minimal emissions).

Keywords: directional dust deposition gauge, BS part 5 1747 dust deposit gauge, wind rose, wind blowing

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Authors: R. L. P. de Lima, F. C. B. Boogaard, D. Setyo Rini, P. Arisandi, R. E. de Graaf-Van Dinther

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Water quality in many Asian countries is very poor due to inefficient solid waste management, high population growth and the lack of sewage and purification systems for households and industry. A consortium of Indonesian and Dutch organizations has begun a large-scale international research project to evaluate and propose solutions to face the surface water pollution challenges in Brantas Basin, Indonesia (East Java: Malang / Surabaya). The first phase of the project consisted in a baseline study to assess the current status of surface water bodies and to determine the ambitions and strategies among local stakeholders. This study was conducted with high participatory / collaborative and knowledge sharing objectives. Several methods such as using mobile sensors (attached to boats or underwater drones), test strips and mobile apps, bio-monitoring (sediments), ecology scans using underwater cameras, or continuous / static measurements, were applied in different locations in the regions of the basin, at multiple locations within the water systems (e.g. spring, upstream / downstream of industry and urban areas, mouth of the Surabaya River, groundwater). Results gave an indication of (reference) values of basic water quality parameters such as turbidity, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen or nutrients (ammonium / nitrate). An important outcome was that collecting random samples may not be representative of a body of water, given that water quality parameters can vary widely in space (x, y, and depth) and time (day / night and seasonal). Innovative / dynamic monitoring methods (e.g. underwater drones, sensors on boats) can contribute to better understand the quality of the living environment (water, ecology, sediment) and factors that affect it. The field work activities, in particular, underwater drones, revealed potential as awareness actions as they attracted interest from locals and local press. This baseline study involved the cooperation with local managing organizations with Dutch partners, and their willingness to work together is important to ensure participatory actions and social awareness regarding the process of adaptation and strengthening of regulations, or for the construction of facilities such as sewage.

Keywords: water quality monitoring, pollution, underwater drones, social awareness

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Authors: Abbas Hani, Maryam Jassasizadeh

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The concentrations of Cd, Pb, and Ni were determined from 40 soil samples collected in surface soils of Khark Island. Geostatistic methods and GIS were used to identify heavy metal sources and their spatial pattern. Principal component analysis coupled with correlation between heavy metals showed that level of mentioned heavy metal was lower than the standard level. Then the data obtained from the soil analyzing were studied for the purposes of normal distribution. The best way of interior finding for cadmium and nickel was ordinary kriging and the best way of interpolation of lead was inverse distance weighted. The result of this study help us to understand heavy metals distribution and make decision for remediation of soil pollution.

Keywords: geostatistics, ordinary kriging, heavy metals, GIS, Khark

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Authors: Catalina Iticescu, Lucian P. Georgescu, Mihaela Timofti, Gabriel Murariu

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Since the accumulation of large quantities of sewage sludge is producing serious environmental problems, numerous environmental specialists are looking for solutions to solve this problem. The sewage sludge obtained by treatment of municipal wastewater may be used as fertiliser on agricultural soils because such sludge contains large amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matter. In many countries, sewage sludge is used instead of chemical fertilizers in agriculture, this being the most feasible method to reduce the increasingly larger quantities of sludge. The use of sewage sludge on agricultural soils is allowed only with a strict monitoring of their physical and chemical parameters, because heavy metals exist in varying amounts in sewage sludge. Exceeding maximum permitted quantities of harmful substances may lead to pollution of agricultural soil and may cause their removal aside because the plants may take up the heavy metals existing in soil and these metals will most probably be found in humans and animals through food. The sewage sludge analyzed for the present paper was extracted from the Wastewater Treatment Station (WWTP) Galati, Romania. The physico-chemical parameters determined were: pH (upH), total organic carbon (TOC) (mg L⁻¹), N-total (mg L⁻¹), P-total (mg L⁻¹), N-NH₄ (mg L⁻¹), N-NO₂ (mg L⁻¹), N-NO₃ (mg L⁻¹), Fe-total (mg L⁻¹), Cr-total (mg L⁻¹), Cu (mg L⁻¹), Zn (mg L⁻¹), Cd (mg L⁻¹), Pb (mg L⁻¹), Ni (mg L⁻¹). The determination methods were electrometrical (pH, C, TSD) - with a portable HI 9828 HANNA electrodes committed multiparameter and spectrophotometric - with a Spectroquant NOVA 60 - Merck spectrophotometer and with specific Merck parameter kits. The tests made pointed out the fact that the sludge analysed is low heavy metal falling within the legal limits, the quantities of metals measured being much lower than the maximum allowed. The results of the tests made to determine the content of nutrients in the sewage sludge have shown that the existing nutrients may be used to increase the fertility of agricultural soils. Other tests were carried out on lands where sewage sludge was applied in order to establish the maximum quantity of sludge that may be used so as not to constitute a source of pollution. The tests were made on three plots: a first batch with no mud and no chemical fertilizers applied, a second batch on which only sewage sludge was applied, and a third batch on which small amounts of chemical fertilizers were applied in addition to sewage sludge. The results showed that the production increases when the soil is treated with sludge and small amounts of chemical fertilizers. Based on the results of the present research, a fertilization plan has been suggested. This plan should be reconsidered each year based on the crops planned, the yields proposed, the agrochemical indications, the sludge analysis, etc.

Keywords: agricultural use, crops, physico–chemical parameters, sewage sludge

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Authors: Saman Javadi, Mehdi Hashemy, Mohahammad Mahmoodi

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Vulnerability maps are employed as an important solution in order to handle entrance of pollution into the aquifers. The common way to provide vulnerability map is DRASTIC. Meanwhile, application of the method is not easy to apply for any aquifer due to choosing appropriate constant values of weights and ranks. In this study, a new approach using k-means clustering is applied to make vulnerability maps. Four features of depth to groundwater, hydraulic conductivity, recharge value and vadose zone were considered at the same time as features of clustering. Five regions are recognized out of the case study represent zones with different level of vulnerability. The finding results show that clustering provides a realistic vulnerability map so that, Pearson’s correlation coefficients between nitrate concentrations and clustering vulnerability is obtained 61%.

Keywords: clustering, data mining, groundwater, vulnerability assessment

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Authors: Lele Dominic Dummene

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Environmental issues are predominant in rural areas where indigenous people reside. These environmental issues cover environmental, health, social, economic, and political issues that emanate from poor environmental management and unfair distribution of environmental resources. These issues have greatly affected the lives of the indigenous people and their daily activities. As these environmental issues grow in communities, environmental experts, scientists, and theorists have proposed and developed methods, policies, and strategies to address these environmental-related issues in indigenous communities. Thus, this paper explores how the Ogoni indigenous knowledge and cultural practices could be used to address environmental issues such as oil pollution and other environmental-related issues that have destroyed the Ogoni environment.

Keywords: Ogoniland, indigenous knowledge, environment, environmental education

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Authors: Hanan Anwar

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All systems recycle. The construction industry has not only become a major consumer of natural materials along with a source of pollution. Environmental integrated production, reusing and recycling is of great importance in Egypt nowadays. Governments should ensure that the technical, environmental and economic feasibility of alternative systems is considered and is taken into account before construction starts. Hereby this paper focuses on the recycle of building materials as a way for environment protection and sustainable development. Environmental management integrates the requirements of sustainable development. There are many methods used to reduce waste and increase profits through salvage, reuse, and the recycling of construction waste. Sustainable development as a tool to continual improvement cycle processes innovations to save money.

Keywords: environment, management, reuse, recycling, sustainable development

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Authors: Madhat Abu Al-Naeem, Ismail Yusoff, Ng Tham Fatt, Yatimah Alias

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Groundwater in Gaza strip is increasingly being exposed to anthropic and natural factors that seriously impacted the groundwater quality. Physiochemical data of groundwater can offer important information on changes in groundwater quality that can be useful in improving water management tactics. An integrative hydrochemical and statistical techniques (Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and factor analysis (FA)) have been applied on the existence ten physiochemical data of 84 samples collected in (2000/2001) using STATA, AquaChem, and Surfer softwares to: 1) Provide valuable insight into the salinization sources and the hydrochemical processes controlling the chemistry of groundwater. 2) Differentiate the influence of natural processes and man-made activities. The recorded large diversity in water facies with dominance Na-Cl type that reveals a highly saline aquifer impacted by multiple complex hydrochemical processes. Based on WHO standards, only (15.5%) of the wells were suitable for drinking. HCA yielded three clusters. Cluster 1 is the highest in salinity, mainly due to the impact of Eocene saline water invasion mixed with human inputs. Cluster 2 is the lowest in salinity also due to Eocene saline water invasion but mixed with recent rainfall recharge and limited carbonate dissolution and nitrate pollution. Cluster 3 is similar in salinity to Cluster 2, but with a high diversity of facies due to the impact of many sources of salinity as sea water invasion, carbonate dissolution and human inputs. Factor analysis yielded two factors accounting for 88% of the total variance. Factor 1 (59%) is a salinization factor demonstrating the mixing contribution of natural saline water with human inputs. Factor 2 measure the hardness and pollution which explained 29% of the total variance. The negative relationship between the NO3- and pH may reveal a denitrification process in a heavy polluted aquifer recharged by a limited oxygenated rainfall. Multivariate statistical analysis combined with hydrochemical analysis indicate that the main factors controlling groundwater chemistry were Eocene saline invasion, seawater invasion, sewage invasion and rainfall recharge and the main hydrochemical processes were base ion and reverse ion exchange processes with clay minerals (water rock interactions), nitrification, carbonate dissolution and a limited denitrification process.

Keywords: dendrogram and cluster analysis, water facies, Eocene saline invasion and sea water invasion, nitrification and denitrification

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Authors: Souhila Bendenia, Chahrazed Bendenia, Hanaa Merad-Dib, Sarra Merabet, Samia Moulebhar, Sid Ahmed Khantar

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Today, environmental pollution is a major concernworldwide, threateninghumanhealth. Various techniques have been used, includingdegradation, filtration, advancedoxidationprocesses, ion exchange, membrane processes, and adsorption. The latter is one of the mostsuitablemethods, usinghighly efficient materials. In this study, NaX zeolite was modified with Cu or Ni at various rates. Following ion exchange, the samples were characterized by XRD, BET and SEM/EDX. After characterization, the exchanged zeolites were used for adsorption of various pollutants as CO2. Different thermodynamic parameters were studied such as Qst. XRD results show that the most intense peaks characteristic of 13X persist after the exchange reaction for all samples. The SEM images of our samples have uniform and regular crystal shapes. The results show that ion exhange with Cu or Ni affect the textural properties of X zeolites and prove that the exchange zeolites can be used as an adsorbent for depollution.

Keywords: X zeolites (NaX), ion exchange, characterization, adsorption

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Authors: Vladimir A. Rozov

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Comparative studies of religion and ritual could contribute better understanding of human culture universalities. Belief in supernatural beings seems to be a common feature of the religion. A significant part of the Islamic concepts that concern supernatural beings is based on a tradition based on the Hadiths. They reflect, among other things, his ideas about a proper way to interact with supernatural beings. These ideas to a large extent follow from the pre-Islamic religious experience of the Arabs and had been reflected in a number of ritual actions. Some of those beliefs concern a particular function of clothing. For example, it is known that Muhammad was wrapped in clothes during the revelation of the Quran. The same thing was performed by pre-Islamic soothsayers (kāhin) and by rival opponents of Muhammad during their trances. Muhammad also turned the clothes inside out during religious rituals (prayer for rain). Besides these specific ways of clothing which prove the external similarity of Muhammad with the soothsayers and other people who claimed the connection with supernatural forces, the pre-Islamic soothsayers had another characteristic feature which is physical flaws. In this regard, it is worth to note Muhammad's so-called "Seal the Prophecy" (h̠ ātam an- nubūwwa) -protrusion or outgrowth on his back. Another interesting feature of Muhammad's behavior was his attitude to eating onion and garlic. In particular, the Prophet didn`t eat them and forbade people who had tasted these vegetables to enter mosques, until the smell ceases to be felt. The reason for this ban on eating onion and garlic is caused by a belief that the smell of these products prevents communication with otherworldly forces. The materials of the Hadith also suggest that Muhammad shared faith in the apotropical properties of water. Both of these ideas have parallels in other cultures of the world. Muhammad's actions supposed to provide an interaction with the supernatural beings are not accidental. They have parallels in the culture of pre-Islamic Arabia as well as in many past and present world cultures. The latter fact can be explained by the similarity of the universal human beliefs in supernatural beings and how they should be interacted with. Later a number of similar ideas shared by the Prophet Muhammad was legitimized by the Islamic tradition and formed the basis of popular Islamic rituals. Thus, these parallels emphasize the commonality of human notions of supernatural beings and also demonstrate the significance of the pre-Islamic cultural context in analyzing the genesis of Islamic religious beliefs.

Keywords: hadith, Prophet Muhammad, ritual, supernatural beings

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Authors: Katalin Bodor, Zsolt Bodor, Robert Szep

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The particulate matter (PM) smaller than 2.5 μm are less studied due to the limited availability of PM₂.₅, and less information is available on the health effects attributable to PM₁₀ in Central-Eastern Europe. The objective of the current study was to assess the human health risk and characterize the spatial and temporal variation of PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀ in eight Romanian regions between the 2009-2018 and. The PM concentrations showed high variability over time and spatial distribution. The highest concentration was detected in the Bucharest region in the winter period, and the lowest was detected in West. The relative risk caused by the PM₁₀ for all-cause mortality varied between 1.017 (B) and 1.025 (W), with an average 1.020. The results demonstrate a positive relative risk of cardiopulmonary and lung cancer disease due to exposure to PM₂.₅ on the national average 1.26 ( ± 0.023) and 1.42 ( ± 0.037), respectively.

Keywords: PM₂.₅, PM₁₀, relative risk, health effect

Procedia PDF Downloads 161

Authors: S. K. Appiah, E. N. Aidoo, D. Asamoah Owusu, M. W. Nuonabuor

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Urbanization remains one of the unique predominant factors which is linked to the destruction of urban environment and its associated cases of soil contamination by heavy metals through the natural and anthropogenic activities. These activities are important sources of toxic heavy metals such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and lead (Pb), nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn). Often, these heavy metals lead to increased levels in some areas due to the impact of atmospheric deposition caused by their proximity to industrial plants or the indiscriminately burning of substances. Information gathered on potentially hazardous levels of these heavy metals in soils leads to establish serious health and urban agriculture implications. However, characterization of spatial variations of soil contamination by heavy metals in Ghana is limited. Kumasi is a Metropolitan city in Ghana, West Africa and is challenged with the recent spate of deteriorating soil quality due to rapid economic development and other human activities such as “Galamsey”, illegal mining operations within the metropolis. The paper seeks to use both univariate and multivariate geostatistical techniques to assess the spatial distribution of heavy metals in soils and the potential risk associated with ingestion of sources of soil contamination in the Metropolis. Geostatistical tools have the ability to detect changes in correlation structure and how a good knowledge of the study area can help to explain the different scales of variation detected. To achieve this task, point referenced data on heavy metals measured from topsoil samples in a previous study, were collected at various locations. Linear models of regionalisation and coregionalisation were fitted to all experimental semivariograms to describe the spatial dependence between the topsoil heavy metals at different spatial scales, which led to ordinary kriging and cokriging at unsampled locations and production of risk maps of soil contamination by these heavy metals. Results obtained from both the univariate and multivariate semivariogram models showed strong spatial dependence with range of autocorrelations ranging from 100 to 300 meters. The risk maps produced show strong spatial heterogeneity for almost all the soil heavy metals with extremely risk of contamination found close to areas with commercial and industrial activities. Hence, ongoing pollution interventions should be geared towards these highly risk areas for efficient management of soil contamination to avert further pollution in the metropolis.

Keywords: coregionalization, heavy metals, multivariate geostatistical analysis, soil contamination, spatial distribution

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Authors: Seyedeh Belin Tavakoly Sany, Rosli Hashim, Majid Rezayi, Aishah Salleh, Omid Safari

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The purpose of this paper is to describe the main characteristics of macroinvertebrate species in response to environmental forcing factors. Overall, 23 species of Mollusca, 4 species of Arthropods, 3 species of Echinodermata and 3 species of Annelida were identified at the 9 sampling stations during four sampling periods. Individual species of Mollusca constituted 36.4% of the total abundance, followed by Arthropods (27.01%), Annelida (34.3%) and Echinodermata (2.4%). The results of Kruskal-Wallis test indicated that a significant difference (p <0.05) in the abundance, richness and diversity of the macro-benthic community in different stations. The correlation analysis revealed that anthropogenic pollution and natural variability caused by these variations in spatial scales.

Keywords: benthic invertebrates, diversity, abundance, West Port

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Authors: Hamid Mohammadi, S. H. Eftekhar Afzali

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The irregular usage of chemical fertilizer cause different types of water and soil pollution and problems in health of human in past decades and organic fertilizer has been considered more and more. Mycorrhizal fungi have symbiosis with plant families and significantly effect on plant growth. Proper management of these symbiosis causes to reduce the usage of chemical fertilizers and absorb nutrition especially phosphor. Pistacia vera is endemic in Iran and is one of the most important products for this country. Considering special circumstances of pistachio orchards according to increasing salinity of water and soil and mismanagement of fertilizer reveals the necessity of the usage of Mycorrhizal fungi in these orchards.

Keywords: pistachio, mycorhiza, nutrition, salinity

Procedia PDF Downloads 501

Authors: Tshegofatso Galekgathege

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Poor water quality is of great concern to human health as it can cause disease outbreaks. A standard practice today, in developed countries, is that people should be provided with safe-reliable drinking water, as safe drinking water is recognized as a basic human right and a cost effective measure of reducing diseases. Over 1.1 billion people worldwide lack access to a safe water supply and as a result, the majority are forced to use polluted surface or groundwater. It is widely accepted that our water supply systems are susceptible to the intentional or accidental contamination .Water quality degradation may occur anywhere in the path that water takes from the water source to the consumer. Chlorine is believed to be an effective tool in disinfecting water, but its concentration may decrease with time due to consumption by chemical reactions. This shows that we are at the risk of being infected by waterborne diseases if chlorine in water falls below the required level of 0.2-1mg/liter which should be maintained in water and some contaminants enter into the water distribution system. It is believed that the lack of adequate sanitation also contributes to the contamination of water globally. This study therefore, assesses drinking water contamination from the source to the consumer by identifying the point vulnerable to contamination from the source to the consumer in the study area .To identify the point vulnerable to contamination, water was sampled monthly from boreholes, water treatment plant, water distribution system (WDS), service reservoirs and consumer taps from all the twenty (20) villages of Palapye region. Sampled water was then taken to the laboratory for testing and analysis of microbiological and chemical parameters. Water quality analysis were then compared with Botswana drinking water quality standards (BOS32:2009) to see if they comply. Major sources of water contamination identified during site visits were the livestock which were found drinking stagnant water from leaking pipes in 90 percent of the villages. Soils structure around the area was negatively affected because of livestock movement even vegetation in the area. In conclusion microbiological parameters of water in the study area do not comply with drinking water standards, some microbiological parameters in water indicated that livestock do not only affect land degradation but also the quality of water. Chlorine has been applied to water over some years but it is not effective enough thus preventative measures have to be developed, to prevent contaminants from reaching water. Remember: Prevention is better than cure.

Keywords: land degradation, leaking systems, livestock, water contamination

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Authors: A. Omeiri, A. Djellad, P. O. Logerais, O. Riou, J. F. Durastanti

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With the growing of electrical energy demand, wind power capacity has experienced tremendous growth in the past decade, thanks to wind power’s environmental benefits. Direct driven permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) with a full size back-to-back converter set is one of the promising technologies employed with wind power generation. Wind grid integration brings the problems of voltage fluctuation and harmonic pollution. In the present study, the filter is placed between the wind system and the network to reduce the total harmonic distortion (THD) and enhance power quality during disturbances. The models of wind turbine, PMSG, power electronic converters and the filter are implemented in MATLAB/SIMULINK environment.

Keywords: wind energy conversion system, PMSG, PWM, THD, power quality, passive filter

Procedia PDF Downloads 648

Authors: Fatimah M. Alshehrei

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For many years, synthetic pesticides have been used to kill pests; due to their toxicity and pollution, they are now a risk to human and environmental health. Lately, biopesticides have emerged as possible substitutes for petrochemical pesticides. The sources of biopesticides are widely accessible, easily biodegradable, have a variety of modes of action, are less expensive, and have little toxicity toward humans and other creatures that aren't the intended targets. Plants, bacteria, and insects are used to create biopesticides, they used in controlling diseases in crops. Microbial pesticides are produced from different microorganisms such as Trichoderma, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, and Beauveria. Also, botanical pesticides have already been commercialized; they are extracted from neem, pyrethrum, azadirachtin, etc. This paper describes biopesticide categories, their sources, mode of action, advantages and disadvantages, and their role in sustainable agriculture.

Keywords: biopesticides categories, formulation, mode of action, pest control

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Authors: Freja Rydahl Rasmussen, Naja Villadsen, Stig Koust

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Air purifiers have become widely implemented in a wide range of settings, including households, schools, institutions, and hospitals, as they tackle the pressing issue of indoor air pollution. With their ability to enhance indoor air quality and create healthier environments, air purifiers are particularly vital when ventilation options are limited. These devices incorporate a diverse array of technologies, including HEPA filters, active carbon filters, UV-C light, photocatalytic oxidation, and ionizers, each designed to combat specific pollutants and improve air quality within enclosed spaces. However, the safety of air purifiers has not been investigated thoroughly, and many questions still arise when applying them. Certain air purification technologies, such as UV-C light or ionization, can unintentionally generate undesirable byproducts that can negatively affect indoor air quality and health. It is well-established that these technologies can inadvertently generate nanoparticles or convert common gaseous compounds into harmful ones, thus exacerbating air pollution. However, the formation of byproducts can vary across products, necessitating further investigation. There is a particular concern about the formation of the carcinogenic substance formaldehyde from common gases like acetone. Many air purifiers use mechanical filtration to remove particles, dust, and pollen from the air. Filters need to be replaced periodically for optimal efficiency, resulting in an additional cost for end-users. Currently, there are no guidelines for filter lifespan, and replacement recommendations solely rely on manufacturers. A market screening revealed that manufacturers' recommended lifespans vary greatly (from 1 month to 10 years), and there is a need for general recommendations to guide consumers. Activated carbon filters are used to adsorb various types of chemicals that can pose health risks or cause unwanted odors. These filters have a certain capacity before becoming saturated. If not replaced in a timely manner, the adsorbed substances are likely to be released from the filter through off-gassing or losing adsorption efficiency. The goal of this study is to investigate the lifespan of filters as well as investigate the potentially harmful effects of air purifiers. Understanding the lifespan of filters used in air purifiers and the potential formation of harmful byproducts is essential for ensuring their optimal performance, guiding consumers in their purchasing decisions, and establishing industry standards for safer and more effective air purification solutions. At this time, a selection of air purifiers has been chosen, and test methods have been established. In the following 3 months, the tests will be conducted, and the results will be ready for presentation later.

Keywords: air purifiers, activated carbon filters, byproducts, clean air, indoor air quality

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Authors: Perizat Aitmaganbet, Kerbez Kimatova, Gulmira Umarova

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As a result of medical check-up conducted in the framework of this research study an evaluation of the health status of the population living in the oil-producing regions, namely Sarkul and Kenkiyak villages in Aktobe was examined. With the help of the Spearman correlation, the connection between the level of hazard chemical elements in the atmosphere and the health of population living in the regions of oil and gas industry was estimated. Background & Objective. The oil and gas resource-extraction industries play an important role in improving the economic conditions of the Republic of Kazakhstan, especially for the oil-producing administrative regions. However, environmental problems may adversely affect the health of people living in that area. Thus, the aim of the study is to evaluate the exposure to negative environmental factors of the adult population living in Sarkul and Kenkiyak villages, the oil and gas producing areas in the Aktobe region. Methods. After conducting medical check-up among the population of Sarkul and Kenkiyak villages. A single cross-sectional study was conducted. The population consisted of randomly sampled 372 adults (181 males and 191 females). Also, atmospheric air probes were taken to measure the level of hazardous chemical elements in the air. The nonparametric method of the Spearman correlation analysis was performed between the mean concentration of substances exceeding the Maximum Permissible Concentration and the classes of newly diagnosed diseases. Selection and analysis of air samples were carried out according to the developed research protocol; the qualitative-quantitative analysis was carried out on the Gas analyzer HANK-4 apparatus. Findings. The medical examination of the population identified the following diseases: the first two dominant were diseases of the circulatory and digestive systems, in the 3rd place - diseases of the genitourinary system, and the nervous system and diseases of the ear and mastoid process were on the fourth and fifth places. Moreover, significant pollution of atmospheric air by carbon monoxide (MPC-5,0 mg/m3), benzapyrene (MPC-1mg/m3), dust (MPC-0,5 mg/m3) and phenol (МРС-0,035mg/m3) were identified in places. Correlation dependencies between these pollutants of air and the diseases of the population were established, as a result of diseases of the circulatory system (r = 0,7), ear and mastoid process (r = 0,7), nervous system (r = 0,6) and digestive organs(r = 0,6 ); between the concentration of carbon monoxide and diseases of the circulatory system (r = 0.6), the digestive system(r = 0.6), the genitourinary system (r = 0.6) and the musculoskeletal system; between nitric oxide and diseases of the digestive system (r = 0,7) and the circulatory system (r = 0,6); between benzopyrene and diseases of the digestive system (r = 0,6), the genitourinary system (r = 0,6) and the nervous system (r = 0,4). Conclusion. The positive correlation was found between air pollution and the health of the population living in Sarkul and Kenkiyak villages. To enhance the reliability of the results we are going to continue this study further.

Keywords: atmospheric air, chemical substances, oil and gas, public health

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Authors: Olusegun Oguntoke, Aramide Y. Tijani, Olayide R. Adetunji

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Environmental noise has become a major threat to the quality of human life, and it is generally more severe in cities. This study assessed the level of environmental noise, mapped the spatial pattern at different times of the day and examined the association with morbidity of auditory ailments in Abeokuta metropolis. The entire metropolis was divided into 80 cells (areas) of 1000 m by 1000 m; out of which 33 were randomly selected for noise levels assessment. Portable noise meter (AR824) was used to measure noise level, and Global Positioning System (Garmin GPS-72H) was employed to take the coordinates of the sample sites for mapping. Risk map of the noise levels was produced using Kriging interpolation techniques based on the spatial spread of measured noise values across the study area. Data on cases of hearing impairments were collected from four major hospitals in the city. Data collected from field measurements and medical records were subjected to descriptive (frequency and percentage) and inferential (mean, ANOVA and correlation) statistics using SPSS (version 20.0). ArcMap 10.1 was employed for spatial analysis and mapping. Results showed mean noise levels range at morning (42.4 ± 4.14 – 88.2 ± 15.1 dBA), afternoon (45.0 ± 6.72– 86.4 ± 12.5 dBA) and evening (51.0 ± 6.55–84.4 ± 5.19 dBA) across the study area. The interpolated maps identified Kuto, Okelowo, Isale-Igbein, and Sapon as high noise risk areas. These are the central business district and nucleus of Abeokuta metropolis where commercial activities, high traffic volume, and clustered buildings exist. The monitored noise levels varied significantly among the sampled areas in the morning, afternoon and evening (p < 0.05). A significant correlation was found between diagnosed cases of auditory ailments and noise levels measured in the morning (r=0.39 at p < 0.05). Common auditory ailments found across the metropolis included impaired hearing (25.8%), tinnitus (16.4%) and otitis (15.0%). The most affected age groups were between 11-30 years while the male gender had more cases of hearing impairments (51.2%) than the females. The study revealed that environmental noise levels exceeded the recommended standards in the morning, afternoon and evening in 60.6%, 61% and 72.7% of the sampled areas respectively. Summarily, environmental noise in the study area is high and contributes to the morbidity of auditory ailments. Areas identified as hot spots of noise pollution should be avoided in the location of noise sensitive activities while environmental noise monitoring should be included as part of the mandate of the regulatory agencies in Nigeria.

Keywords: noise pollution, associative analysis, auditory impairment, urban, human exposure

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Authors: Kamyar Kabirifar, Majid Azarniush, Behbood Maashkar

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A proper house is a suitable residential area which provides comfort, proper accessibility, security, stability and permanence of structure, enough lighting, Proper initial infrastructures and ventilation for its inhabitants and the most important of all, it should be proportional to the family’s financial power. Saving energy and making optimal usage of it and also taking advantage of stable energies are the bases of green buildings. Making green building will help the health of a person living in it and in its surrounding. It will support the people and provoke their satisfaction. Not only it will bring about the raise of level of the quality of life for building inhabitants, but also it will cause the promotion of quality level of life of the people living in the surrounding area and the society.

Keywords: quality of life, green building, environment pollution, sick building

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Authors: Shabnam Najafi, Metin Turkay

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Network design problem (NDP) is used to determine the set of optimal values for certain pre-specified decision variables such as capacity expansion of nodes and links by optimizing various system performance measures including safety, congestion, and accessibility. The designed transportation network should improve objective functions defined for the system by considering the route choice behaviors of network users at the same time. The NDP studies mostly investigated the random demand and route selection constraints separately due to computational challenges. In this work, we consider both random demand and route selection constraints simultaneously. This work presents a nonlinear stochastic model for land use and road network design problem to address the development of different functional zones in urban areas by considering both cost function and air pollution. This model minimizes cost function and air pollution simultaneously with random demand and stochastic route selection constraint that aims to optimize network performance via road capacity expansion. The Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) link impedance function is used to determine the travel time function in each link. We consider a city with origin and destination nodes which can be residential or employment or both. There are set of existing paths between origin-destination (O-D) pairs. Case of increasing employed population is analyzed to determine amount of roads and origin zones simultaneously. Minimizing travel and expansion cost of routes and origin zones in one side and minimizing CO emission in the other side is considered in this analysis at the same time. In this work demand between O-D pairs is random and also the network flow pattern is subject to stochastic user equilibrium, specifically logit route choice model. Considering both demand and route choice, random is more applicable to design urban network programs. Epsilon-constraint is one of the methods to solve both linear and nonlinear multi-objective problems. In this work epsilon-constraint method is used to solve the problem. The problem was solved by keeping first objective (cost function) as the objective function of the problem and second objective as a constraint that should be less than an epsilon, where epsilon is an upper bound of the emission function. The value of epsilon should change from the worst to the best value of the emission function to generate the family of solutions representing Pareto set. A numerical example with 2 origin zones and 2 destination zones and 7 links is solved by GAMS and the set of Pareto points is obtained. There are 15 efficient solutions. According to these solutions as cost function value increases, emission function value decreases and vice versa.

Keywords: epsilon-constraint, multi-objective, network design, stochastic

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Authors: Mahesh Chandra Paliwal, Ajay Kumar Jain

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Supervisors working in the industries must have the knowledge and skills for performing their job for environmental protection and sustainable development. A survey of thirty industries was conducted to know the roles of supervisors related to environmental protection and sustainable development. A questionnaire was prepared based on the discussion with the environmental experts. The findings of the study show that supervisors must be aware of practices followed for good housekeeping, water management, waste management, maintenance of effluent treatment plants, monitoring pollution control level to perform their job to save the environment. These aspects must be incorporated in diploma curriculum so that the diploma pass outs may use this knowledge and skills in the industries.

Keywords: environmental protection, sustainable development, water management, waste management, curriculum

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Authors: Muhammad Abid

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Utilization of renewable energy resources for energy conservation, pollution prevention, resource efficiency and systems integration is very important for sustainable development. In this study, we perform energy and exergy analyses of a wind turbine, located on the roof of Mechanical Engineering Department, King Saud University, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The turbine is part of a hybrid photovoltaic (PV)-wind system with hydrogen storage. The power output from this turbine varies between 1.5 and 5.5 kW with a rated wind speed of 12 m/s and a cut-in wind speed of 2.4 m/s. We utilize a wide range of experimental data in the analysis and assessment. We determine energy and exergy efficiencies. The energy efficiency changes between 0% to 45% while the exergy efficiency varies between 0% and 31.3%. We also determined some of the exergoeconomic parameters that are the ratios of energy and exergy loss rates to the capital cost (R en and R ex), respectively. (R en) changes between 0.96% and 59.03% for different values of velocity while R ex has a maximum value of 53.62% for the highest wind speed.

Keywords: exergy, efficiency, performance evaluation, wind energy

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Authors: Sara Bouzekri, Said Madani

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In many Mediterranean cities such as Algiers, the human activity, the strong mobility the urban sprawl, the air pollution, the problems of waste management, the wasting of the resources and the degradation of the environment weaken in an unquestionable way the farming. The question of sustainable action vis-a-vis these threats arises then in order to maintain a level of desired local development. The methodology is based on a multi-criteria method based on the AFOM diagnosis, which classifies agricultural strength indicators and those of threat, according to an analytical approach. In a sustainable development perspective, it will be appropriate to link the threat factors of the case study with the factors of climate change to see their impact on the future of agriculture. This will be accompanied by a SWOT analysis, which crosses the most significant criteria to arrive at the necessary recommendations based on future projects for urban agriculture.

Keywords: Algiers, environment, urban agriculture, threat factors

Procedia PDF Downloads 299

Authors: Mohsen Ehsanpour, Maryam Ehsanpour, ‎Majid Afkhami, Fatemeh Afkhami ‎

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Heavy metals are increasingly being released into natural waters from geological and anthropogenic sources. The distribution of several heavy metals (Cd, Pb) was investigated in muscle, liver in six different fish species seasonally collected in Persian Gulf (autumn 2009-summer 2010). The concentrations of all metals were lower in flesh than those recorded in liver due to their physiological roles. The THQ index for fish was calculated. Estimation of target hazard quotients calculations for the contaminated fish consumption was calculated to evaluate the effect of pollution on health. Total metal THQs values (Pb and Cd) for adults were 0.05 and 0.04 in Bushehr and Bandar-Genaveh, respectively, and for children they were 0.08 and 0.05 in Bandar-Abbas and Bandar-Lengeh, respectively.

Keywords: Persian Gulf, heavy metals, health risks, THQ index

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Authors: F. Fernandes, C. Poleto

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This paper aims at assessing the concentrations of heavy metals and the isotopic composition of lead ²¹⁰Pb in different fractions of sediment produced in the watershed that makes up the Mãe d'água dam and thus characterizing the distribution of metals along the sedimentary column and inferencing in the urbanization of the same process. Sample collection was carried out in June 2014; eight sediment cores were sampled in the lake of the dam. For extraction of the sediments core, a core sampler “Piston Core” was used. The trace metal concentrations were determined by conventional atomic absorption spectrophotometric methods. The samples were subjected to radiochemical analysis of ²¹⁰Po. ²¹⁰Pb activity was obtained by measuring ²¹⁰Po activity. The chronology was calculated using the constant rate of supply (CRS). ²¹⁰Pb is used to estimate the sedimentation rate.

Keywords: ²¹⁰Pb dating method, heavy metal, lakes urban, pollution history

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Authors: Muhammad Azhar, Arshad Hussain

Abstract:

Vehicular emissions have increased in recent years due to rapid growth in world traffic resulting in an increase in associated problems such as air pollution and climate change, therefore it’s necessary to control vehicle emissions. This study looks at the effect of road maintenance on vehicle emissions. The Highway Development and Management Tool (HDM-4) was used to find the effect of road maintenance on vehicle emissions. Key data collected were traffic volume and composition, vehicle characteristics, pavement characteristics and climate data of the study area. Two options were analysed using the HDM-4 software; the base case or do nothing while the second is overlay maintenance. The study also showed a strong correlation between average roughness and yearly emission levels in both the alternatives. Finally, the study showed that proper maintenance reduces the roughness and emissions.

Keywords: vehicle emissions, road roughness, IRI, maintenance, HDM-4, CO2

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Authors: Alpana Saini, Sanghamitra Barman

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Investigations were carried out to determine whether low cost peanut hull as adsorbent hold promise in removal of thionine dyes in the biomedical industries. Pollution of water due to presence of colorants is a severe socio-environmental problem caused by the discharge of industrial wastewater. In view of their toxicity, non-biodegradability and persistent nature, their removal becomes an absolute necessity. For the removal of Thionine Dye using Peanut Hull, the 10mg/L concentration of dyes, 0.5g/l of adsorbent and 200 rpm agitation speed are found to be optimum for the adsorption studies. The Spectrophotometric technique was adopted for the measurement of concentration of dyes before and after adsorption at ʎmax 598nm. The adsorption data has been fitted well to Langmuir isotherm than to Freundlich adsorption isotherm. The adsorbent was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).

Keywords: adsorption, langmuir isotherm, peanut hull, thionine

Procedia PDF Downloads 378