Passive sampler derived polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in indoor and outdoor air in Bursa, Turkey: Levels and an assessment of human exposure via inhalation

Although polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were banned several years ago, they can still be measured in the environment, especially in indoors, where their concentrations tend to be higher than outdoors in some cases. The current study reports the results of a study conducted to determine concentrations of a total of 40 PCBs congeners in the living rooms and kitchens of eight different houses, and in the outdoor air of three houses during summer and autumn in Bursa in 2014. The province of Bursa, having eighteen of organized industrial zones, indoor air pollution is of great importance. The average concentration of Sigma(40)PCBs in living rooms and the kitchen were 604 +/- 210 pg/m(3) and 639 +/- 2514 pg/m(3) during summer, respectively; while concentrations in autumn were 362 +/- 167 pg/m(3) and 309 +/- 93 pg/m(3), respectively. The average Sigma(40)PCBs outdoor concentrations were 303 +/- 183 pg/m(3) and 41 +/- 23 pg/m(3) for summer and autumn, respectively. The Sigma(40)PCBs concentrations in summer were almost two times higher than in autumn for indoor environment. The predominant PCB homologs in indoor samples were penta- (40%), tetra- (23%) and tri-CBs (17%) while they were penta- (37%) and tetra-CBs (22%) for outdoor samples. The results of the study indicated the presence of intentionally and unintentionally produced PCBs. The I/O ratios suggested the indoor sites as the most important PCBs source than outdoor sites. Finally, the measured PCB concentrations did not represent a cancer risk for human health for exposure via inhalation in all sampling points

Ab initio/DFT calculations of butyl ammonium salt of O,O'-dibornyl dithiophosphate.

O,O'-dibornyl dithiophosphete has been synthesized by the reaction of P2S5 and borneol in toluene. Fourier Transform Infrared spectra (FT-IR) of the title compound are measured. The molecular geometry, vibrational frequencies, infrared intensities and NMR spectrum of the title compound in the ground state have been calculated by using the density functional theory (DFT) and ab initio Hartree-Fock (HF) methods with the basis set of 6-31G(d). The computed bond lengths and bond angles show the good agreement with the experimental data. Moreover, the vibrational frequencies are calculated and the scaled values have been compared with experimental FT-IR spectra. Assignments of the vibrational modes are made on the basis of total energy distribution (TED) calculated with scaled quantum mechanical (SQM) method. The observed and calculated FT-IR and NMR spectra are in good agreement with each other

Solid waste collection route optimisation by geographical information system in Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey

2nd International Conference on Recycling and Reuse -- JUN 04-06, 2014 -- Istanbul, TURKEY -- Bogazici Univ, Environm Sci Inst, Istanbul Univ, Environm Engn DeptUncontrolled urban population growth in metropolitan areas of developing countries in recent years has made solid waste management an important issue. Generally, collection and hauling efforts cover a substantial amount of total expenditures on the solid waste management by city authorities. Success of an integrated solid waste management system is directly proportional to the success of solid waste collection and transport systems since all depends on an even and a timely manner collection process. The more populated cities bring increasing difficulties on the reach and utilise services. In order to reduce cost and time on these services, it is very crucial for authorities to search for optimisation possibilities. In this manner, for local authorities, one of the most important issues on solid waste management practices is an optimised solid waste collection function. An optimised collection function has become more important in metropolitan areas having improved and sophisticated road systems. In this study, in order to minimise the route and collection cost by employing GIS and using numerical road data, a solid waste collection route optimisation study was carried in Fatih District of Istanbul, Turkey.WOS:0004040126000032-s2.0-8501739176

Environmental and human health impacts of usage of oil industry products and wastes as alternative fuel

Hızlı nüfus artışı ve endüstrileşme süreciyle beraber yağ sektörü ürünlerine duyulan ihtiyaç gün geçtikçe artmaktadır. Yağ sektörü ürünleri, kullanıldığı ortam ve koşullara bağlı olarak fiziksel ve kimyasal yapılarında meydana gelen değişiklikler sebebiyle kullanım amacına uygunluğunu kaybederek atık formuna dönüşmektedir. Kalorifik değeri yüksek olan atık yağların bertarafında sıklıkla kullanılan yöntem yakma işlemidir. Bu çalışmada, yağ sektörü ürün ve atıklarının yakılması sonucunda ortaya çıkabilecek emisyonların çevre ve insan sağlığı üzerindeki potansiyel etkilerinin değerlendirilmesi amacıyla ülkemiz özelindeki kullanımlar irdelenmiştir. Yanma olayının uygun olmayan şartlarda gerçekleştirilmesiyle atık yağın yapısında bulunan maddeler ve/veya eksik yanma ürünleri atmosfere salınmaktadır. Yakıtın içeriğine bağlı olarak, partikül madde, karbon monoksit, organik kirleticiler ve metal emisyonları çevresel ortamlara ulaştığında, fizikokimyasal özelliklerine bağlı olarak toprak, su ve hava arasında dağılım gösterebilmektedir. Çevresel ortamlarda oluşturdukları sorunların yanı sıra insan sağlığı üzerinde başta kanserojen ve mutajen etkiler olmak üzere bağışıklık, üreme ve dolaşım sistemi rahatsızlıkları, zehirlenmeler ve ruhsal bozukluklar gibi sorunlara neden olabilmektedir. Ülkemizde, yasal olmamasına rağmen 10 numara yağ adı altında satılan standart dışı dizel muadili yakıtın kullanılması sonucu ortaya çıkan, insan sağlığı ve çevreyi tehdit eden unsurların ortadan kaldırılması için gerekli kontrol ve yasal düzenlemelerin artırılması yerinde olacaktır. Öte yandan, yağ sektörü ürün ve atıklarının yakılmasına dair sorunun boyutu ve dolaylı sağlık etkilerinin belirlenmesi için daha ayrıntılı bileşen analizlerinin yapılması ve alternatif yakma ürünü kullanan araçlarda eş zamanlı kirletici emisyon örneklemesi yapılarak sorunun boyutları ve ortaya çıkaracağı kirleticilerin karakteristikleri ortaya konulmalıdır.The need for oil industry products has increased in parallel to the rapid population growth and industrialization. Physical and chemical properties of these products change after usage based on the media and operating conditions. Then, these products lose the eligibility and turn into the form of waste. The most commonly used method for the disposal of waste oils is combustion due to its high calorific value. In this study, the possible effects on the environment and human health of combustion of oil industry products and wastes are evaluated. Poor combustion conditions lead emissions from the process depending on the ingredients of wastes in addition to incomplete combustion products such as particulate matter, carbon monoxide, volatile organic chemicals polyaromatic hydrocarbons, metals etc. that may occur according to the type of waste. These emissions are released into the environment and partition between soil, water and air media related to their physicochemical characteristics. In addition to environmental problems, these emissions are a risk factor for human health in terms of carcinogenicity and mutagenicity. Regulations and control measures should be put into practice in order to get rid of the effects of non-standard diesel like product named number 10 lube on human health and environment. In this context, emission measurements should be done simultaneously to determine the effects of combustion of these wastes and products of oil industry

Kiral kirleticiler ve çevresel önemi

Kiralite, canlı sistemlerden doğal ve sentetik organik maddelere kadar hayatımızın birçok alanında bulunmaktadır. En genel ifadeyle ayna görüntüsü kendisiyle çakışmayan maddeler olarak tanımlanan kiral moleküller, başta ilaç sanayi ve tıp olmak üzere birçok alanda kullanılmaktadır. Söz konusu maddelere ait ayna görüntülerinden her biri enantiyomer olarak adlandırılır ve kiral maddelere ait enantiyomerlerden biri kullanım amacına uygun hareket ederken diğeri veya her ikisi de çevresel ortamlarda kirliliğe ve canlılarda toksik etkiye neden olabilmektedir. Enantiyomerlerin yalnızca biyolojik değişime uğrama potansiyelleri farklılık göstermekte, bu özelliği sebebiyle kiral kirleticiler, güncel kirliliğin değerlendirilmesi amacıyla çevresel kirlilik araştırmalarına konu olmaktadır. Toprak, sediman, hava ve su ortamının yanı sıra canlılarda da, başta kromatografik yöntemler olmak üzere çeşitli metotlarla tespit edilebilmektedir. Bu derlemede, kiralite ve çevresel açıdan önem arz eden kiral bileşiklerin özellikleri, analiz yöntemleri ve çevredeki akıbetleri değerlendirilmiştir. Çeşitli avantajları nedeniyle endüstriyel uygulamalarda geniş yer bulan kiral bileşiklerden kullanım amacının dışında çevreye salınan bileşikler, biyolojik aktiviteleri nedeniyle çevresel izleme çalışmalarında önem arz etmektedir. Ülkemizde çevresel ortamlarda henüz araştırmalara konu olmaya başlayan kiral kirleticilerin akıbetinin değerlendirilmesi açısından enantiyoseçici davranışlarının anlaşılması önem arz etmektedir

The Relation Between Serum P-selectin, Thrombin-activatable Fibrinolysis Inhibitor Levels, and Carotid Artery Intima-media Thickness in Acute Ischemic Stroke

Objective: Inflammation and migration of leukocytes to the brain parenchyma play a role in atherosclerosis and cerebral ischemic stroke. Migration occurs with the help of adhesion molecules on the surface of cerebral endothelial cells and leukocytes. P-selectin, an adhesion molecule, is present on the platelet and endothelial surface and allows leukocytes to loosely adhere to the endothelium, and its increase has been shown in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) is a procarboxypeptidase molecule that can be another marker of AIS, which has been shown to increase the risk of thromboembolism and stroke 6-fold. Intima-media thickness (IMT) is thought to be associated with atherosclerotic diseases in carotid ultrasonography (USG) and increased risk of ischemic stroke has been found to be associated with increased carotid IMT. In this study, we investigated the relationship between P-selectin and TAFI levels, which have been shown to be effective for AIS via carotid IMT, and is considered significant for atherosclerosis

Brominated flame retardants in a computer technical service: Indoor air gas phase, submicron (PM1) and coarse (PM10) particles, associated inhalation exposure, and settled dust

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are found in multi-media indoors, therefore, may pose serious risks to human health. This study investigated the occurrence of BFRs in particulate matter (PM1 and PM10) and gas phase by active and passive sampling, and settled dust to estimate potential exposure in a computer technical service. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and their alternatives (novel BFRs, NBFRs) were studied. PM and gas phase were collected on glass fiber filters and polyurethane foam plugs, respectively, and analyzed with a GC/MS after extraction, clean-up, and concentration. Inhalation exposure of the staff was estimated based on the measured concentrations using Monte Carlo simulation. BDE-209 was the dominating PBDE congener in all media while bis(2-ethylhexyl)-3,4,5,6-tetrabromophthalate and 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane were those of NBFRs. Submicron particulate matter (PM1) BFR levels constituted about one half of the PM10-associated concentrations, while average PM10 mass concentration (69.9 μg m−3) was nine times that of PM1 (7.73 μg m−3). Calculated log10 dust-gas and PM-gas partitioning coefficients ranged from −5.03 to −2.10, −2.21 to −0.55, and −2.26 to −1.04 for settled dust, PM10, and PM1, respectively. The indoor/outdoor concentration ratios were >1 for all compounds indicating the strength of indoor sources in the service. The estimated potential inhalation exposures, for future chronic-toxic and carcinogenic risk assessments, indicated that the levels of gas-phase and PM1-associated exposures were similar at approximately one half of PM10-associated levels. Results of this study indicate that the occurrence of BFRs in all studied media should be taken into consideration for occupational health mitigation efforts