Analysing Street Traffic Noise Pollution In The City Of Yazd

A model is demonstrated that describes street traffic-induced noise pollution in 2008 in Yazd, Iran. Sound levels were measured using a Bruel and Kjaer-2260 sound level meter on 10 streets across the city over this period during the morning rush hour and different vehicle types were counted simultaneously at various sampling points. Geographical Information System was used to generate, store and retrieve the spatial data and map the sound levels using an interpolation technique. The minimum and maximum sound levels appeared to be 70.9 dBA and 80.7 dBA, respectively and these values were above the national legislated norm. Cars and motorcycles were the most commonly used vehicle type in the city, comprising 61.2% and 23.7 % of the total traffic volume, respectively. These data were followed by trucks, buses and bicycles. A number of parameters which were assumed to impact on noise pollution were collected and considered, including geographical position, elevation, the distance to the nearest intersection, street geometry and the numbers of vehicles according to class. The modelling demonstrated that there is a significant relationship between the average sound level and traffic flow (R2 = 0.5). The results showed that although street traffichas increased between 2002 and 2008, the sound levels in the city decreased slightly and this has been attributed to advances in vehicle design

Heavy Metal Pollution in the Floor Dust of Yazd Battery Repairing Workshops in 2014

Background and Objectives: The presence of industrial workshops has increased urban pollution. This study aimed to investigate the heavy metal pollutants of Yazd battery repairing workshops and to identify the ecological and environmental effects resulted. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in Yazd. In this regard, the city was divided into three parts on the basis of geographical features. Then, 30 workshops were selected from each part through stratified random sampling method. Heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cr, Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn) in the floor were measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The impacts assessment of heavy metals was evaluated using environmental potential risk index (RI), cumulative pollution index (IPI), pollution coefficient factor (Cf), and the degree of modified contamination (mCd) and Pearson’s correlation statistical test. Results: The trend of heavy metals concentrations in floor dust particles of workshops was as Fe>Cu>Pb>Zn>Mn>Cr>Cd. Therefore, the average concentrations of Fe and Cd in the samples were 27011.52 ±4721.05 and 78.25±21.07 mg/kg respectively. The results of the RI showed that heavy metal of floor dust had very high danger (2816.29). The mCd value was as 63.35 indicating these workshops were at severe contamination class. The value of Cf was as 304.17 revealing that these workshops were at very severe contamination class. Conclusions: This research showed that the high concentration of heavy metals in battery repairing workshops is due to the interaction of heavy metals of industrial wastes components, including electrical wastes and battery with the dust having mankind origin