Access to the coast and erosion control: use of wastes on local engineering works in the coast of Gaza City

Investment in the coastal resources of Gaza City is vital to various developmental issues and projects. Access to the coast and coastal erosion represent two major geo-environmental problems to the city. This paper describes local engineering works developed by the municipality and local people to overcome such problems. A cliff of calcareous sandstone – Kurkar as it is locally known – (up to 18 m high), is located at a distance of 20–50 m from the water–land contact. People who need to reach the beach must cross this Kurkar cliff. The engineering works used to facilitate access to the beach are: old automobile tires, white waste skeletons (refrigerators) and construction waste, where long stairs were designed using these materials. Meanwhile the engineering works which were used as erosion control measures include: rock gabions, concrete wastes, construction waste, concrete walls and shallow

Environmental contamination of groundwater in the Gaza Strip

Environmental problems of groundwater contamination in the Gaza Strip are summarized in this paper. The Gaza Strip is a very narrow and highly populated area along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea (360 km2). Human activities greatly threaten the groundwater resources in the area, while the unconfined nature of some parts of the coastal main aquifer favors groundwater contamination. Recent investigations show contamination of the aquifer with organic substances from detergents, agrochemicals, sewage (cesspools), and waste degradation. These effects enhance each other because there is no recycling industry, sewage system, or any type of environmental protection management at present. Inorganic contamination results from overpumping, which increases the salinity of the groundwater. Seawater intrusion also increases the salinity of the groundwater that are used for drinking and agricultural

Assessment of Impact Sewage Effluents on the Coastal Water Quality Around the Mouth of Wadi Gaza (Gaza and Middle Governorates, Gaza Strip, Palestine)

Gaza Strip is a narrow coastal region locates at the southeastern coastal plain of Mediterranean Sea. Along the beach of the Gaza Strip eight sewage stations are observed in addition to mouth of Wadi Gaza, which are pumping untreated sewage into the seawater. The aim of the study is to assess the impact of the wastewater disposal and pollutant sources along the study area, focusing around the mouth of Wadi Gaza. This study is carried out along the beach of Gaza and Middle Governorates. Sampling has done at 36 stations along three lines survey extending from SW to NE, these lines locate at distance 100 m; 200 m; and 350 m respectively in the sea. The results of geochemical analysis show variations in physico-chemical parameters: pH; electrical conductivity (EC); total suspended solids (TSS); total dissolved solids (TDS); nitrates; chlorides; calcium; sodium; and potassium. The results reveal that the pollution had significantly higher level round the raw sewage discharge points and decrease towards north direction and significantly decrease at distance greater than 200 m in the sea. Keywords: sewage, seawater, pollution, Wadi Gaza, Gaza beach, Palestin

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RISKS TO FARMERS AS A RESULT OF PESTICIDES’ MISMANAGEMENT IN KHANYOUNIS GOVERNORATE, GAZA STRIP

Several poisoning and death cases were reported in Khanyounis Governorate as a result of mis-use and mishandling of pesticides. Carcinogenic and internationally banned pesticides are still available in the markets in all the governorates of the Gaza Strip. This study aims to investigate the awareness and health issues of the farmers. Fortyfive farmers were randomly selected to fill a questionnaire prepared for this purpose. The results showed that protective clothing are totally not worn during application of pesticides. Lack of storage faculties, unlicensed pesticide shops, improper disposal of the empty containers and smoking and eating during application are among the hot spots related to pesticides handling and application. Also, 44.5% of the farmers complain of health problems, of which headache, coughing, skin rashes and difficulty in breathing. Only 4.5% of the farmers attended general agricultural training courses. In conclusion the study suggests that the government, public, the non-governmental organizations and all the interested parties should cooperate in a collective and serious work to minimize these environmental and health risks

Altered pituitary hormone secretion in male rats exposed to Bisphenol A

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a xenobiotic estrogenic compound. This compound has been suspected to have estrogenic effects on reproductive system of males and females. In this present study we investigated possible low-dose effects of BPAon Luteinizing Hormone in rats. Male Wistar rats (12-13 weeks old) were administrated a daily intra peritoneal 10 μg/kgbw/day, 50 μg/kgbw/day, 100 μg/kgbw/ day dose of BPA for 6, 6, and 12 days, and one day after last injection, serum level of Luteinizing Hormone was examined by ELISA method. All data were expressed as means ± SE. Two-way ANOVA was performed. Analysis of data showed that in all dose groups, plasma level of Luteinizing Hormone significantly decreased compared to control group. The present study showed that BPA at low doses affects Luteinizing Hormone, one of main hormones in spermatogenesis in the adult Wistar rats, and subsequently alters the steroidgenesis in testicular Leydig cells

Hydrogeology and Water Quality of Umm Alradhma Aquifer, Eastern Saudi Arabia

Umm Alradhma limestone aquifer represents the most important aquifers in Saudi Arabia. This aquifer is the largest groundwater reservoir in the Arabian Peninsula. It has high potential of groundwater with average saturated thickness of Umm Alradhma 270 m. the average transmissivity, hydraulic conductivity and effective porosity of Umm Alradhma limestone aquifer are 5800 m2/day, 33 m3/day and 30% respectively. The groundwater of the Umm Alradhma limestone aquifer exists under confined condition in the study area. The productivity of the wells reached 704000 m3/day and provided Riyadh City about 300,000 m3/day. The hydrochemical analyses of 52 groundwater samples representing Umm Alradhma limestone aquifer reveal that the groundwater origin is meteoric. The presence of marine salts in groundwater is attributed to the effective leaching and dissolution processes through the flow path within the aquifer materials (limestone, dolomitic limestone and dolomite). The groundwater salinity of the Umm Alradhma limestone aquifer in the study area ranges between 1195-1429 ppm. This suggests that groundwater of Umm Alradhma limestone aquifer is acceptable for domestic, industrial and agricultural purposes. Keywords: Umm Alradhma aquifer, Hydrogeology, Water Qualit

PM10 emitted from gravel crushers and their effects on complete blood counts for workers, middle gover-norate–Gaza, Palestine

Case-control study was conducted during the period from April to August, 2013 on all gravel crushers at Middle Gaza Governorates. There were 87 individuals participants invloved in this study, out of which 40 were case (exposed) and 47 control (non-exposed) groups respectively. PM10 (Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 micrometer or less) concentration level was measured in the six crushers, and all participants were subjected to Complete Blood Counts (CBC). This was conducted to evaluate the level of PM10 air pollution in crusher’s plants, and their impacts on complete blood counts (CBC) for crushers workers. Results showed that an average of particulate matter contributions is 15153 μg/m3 (microgram/cubicmeter), which is about 100 times higher than PM10 existing standard of 150 μg/m3. As well as, it showed clear links between PM10 exposure and CBC changes among exposed group. Increasing in white blood cells count were more common among the exposed group, whereas in the non-exposed group, CBC did not change. Therefore, we can conclude that PM10 concentration level in crushers plants were much higher than the existing standard. Occupational exposure to PM10 leads to CBC changes especially increasing in white blood cells count

Environmental Impact of Landfill on Groundwater, South East of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The main objective of this work had been given to the environmental impact of landfill on groundwater. The groundwater in the study area had problems caused by the landfill and the high volumes of sewage water percolating into the groundwater. The existing soil stratigraphy at the landfill consisting of sandy sheet and fractured limestone lead to increasing leachate percolation into the groundwater. The groundwater resources are used mainly for crop irrigation in an agriculture dominated area. The chemical analysis of groundwater indicates that nitrate pollution can be a serious problem affecting groundwater due to the infiltration of leachate in landfill downward to groundwater and the use of nitrogen (N) fertilizers in agriculture. The high concentrations of NO3- and Zn especially in landfill site in groundwater, likely indicate that groundwater is being significantly affected by leachate percolation. The nitrate and Zinc concentrations in groundwater samples in landfill site reach 191 ppm and 1473 ? g/L respectively. The groundwater in the study area is exploited from fractured limestone aquifer belonging to several limestone formations and groundwater of the concerned aquifer exists under unconfined conditions. The groundwater flow direction is from the northwest to the southeast direction. The leachate produced by waste disposal sites contains large amounts of substances which are likely to contaminate groundwater. Chemical analyses were carried out on groundwater samples collected from the neighborhood of landfill yard and spread to southeast direction. The effects of dumping activity on groundwater appeared most clearly as high concentrations of total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), total hardness (TH), chloride, nitrates and sulphates. Groundwater samples from the wells situated close to the landfill were found to be more contaminated than that of the wells situated farther away. Keywords: Environmental Impact, Landfill, Groundwater, Saudi Arabi

Heavy Metals Distribution and Pollution in the Sediments of the Wadi Gaza Mouth, Eastern Mediterranean Coast, Palestine

Wadi Gaza is the most important wetland in Gaza Strip. Due to the difficult economic conditions, the Israeli occupation and lack of the resources, Wadi Gaza became a place for solid and liquid waste disposal from surrounding provinces. The aim of this study is to assess the heavy metals in the sediments of the Wadi Gaza, North, and South of downstream along the beach of Gaza Strip. This was achieved through sediment sampling along the course of the Wadi downstream; north and south of the beach sands, and the geochemical analysis was done in the Ministry of Health Laboratories. The concentrations of Mn, Zn, Ni, Cd, Cu, and Pb were determined in the sediments, using atomic absorption spectrophotometer

The environmental impact on the hydrogeochemical characterization of the Kurkar aquifer system, Gaza strip, Palestine.

The Gaza strip is suffering groundwater deterioration as a result of high population density where the outflow exceeds inflow by about 20 Mm3/y. This quantity of water is believed to be replaced by deep seawater intrusion and/or upconing of deep brines in the southern areas or by anthropogenic wastewater. Large cones of depression have been formed over the last 40 years within the Gaza, Khan Younis, and Rafah governorates. The salinity increases in the northwestern and the southeastern parts of Gaza Strip. Nitrate and chloride exceed the WHO maximum permissible limits and are considered as the major pollutants of the aquifer, their high concentration values are attributed to agricultural activity and leaked wastewaters as well as the scarcity of the resource. The cluster analysis (Q-mode) classified the data into 5 clusters and 3 independent cases depending upon salinity and nitrate concentrations. The rotated factor analysis identified 3 factors. The AquaChem program clarified that the study area was supersaturated with calcite and dolomite and undersaturated with gypsum and anhydrite minerals. In general, the groundwater was unsuitable for drinking according to their TDS and NO3 contents. The groundwater can be used in permeable soils for irrigation purposes