Urinary arsenic, cadmium, manganese, nickel, and vanadium levels of schoolchildren in the vicinity of the industrialised area of Asaluyeh, Iran

Asaluyeh is one of the most heavily industrialised areas in the world where gas, petrochemical, and many downstream industries are located. This study aims to survey the biomonitoring of four metals and one metalloid in children living in the vicinity of Asaluyeh area. To do this, we analysed the creatinine-adjusted urinary levels of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), vanadium (V), manganese (Mn), and nickel (Ni) in 184 elementary schoolchildren (99 boys and 85 girls) living in Asaluyeh and compared them with a reference population. The comparisons were done for two seasons (spring and fall). The results showed that in the case area (Asaluyeh), the levels of As, V, Mn, and Ni were significantly higher and that of Cd was not significantly higher than the reference city for both seasons. The mean concentration of metal(loid)s in Asaluyeh (case) and Sadabad (reference) area as μg g−1 creatinine was As 2.90 and 2.24, V 0.06 and 0.03, Mn 0.28 and 0.25, Ni 0.54 and 0.29, and Cd 0.31 and 0.28 in spring and As 3.08 and 2.28, V 0.07 and 0.03, Mn 0.30 and 0.26, Ni 0.91 and 0.30, and Cd 0.36 and 0.31 in the fall. Seasonal variations played a key role in determining urinary metal(loid) concentration, as we saw the significant level of As, Cd, V, and Ni in fall than in spring. With regard to the impact of gender on the absorption and accumulation of urinary metal(loid)s, boys showed higher levels of the studied elements, especially for As, than girls as outdoor activities are more popular among boys. Due to the values being lower than those reported in literature, more research is needed on various population groups and other exposure sources in order to judge whether living in the vicinity of the gas and petrochemical industries in Asaluyeh is a threat to nearby residents

Optimization of metal component, characterization, and stability of Cu/Mg/Al–chitosan catalyst in catalytic ozonation of a landfill leachate

The aim of this work was to optimize the metal components of the Cu/Mg/Al–chitosan catalyst for the treatment of a landfill leachate during a catalytic ozonation process. A central composite design with response surface methodology was applied to assess the relationships between the value of Mg, Cu, and Al in the Cu/Mg/Al–chitosan catalyst and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal from the landfill leachate and identify the optimum conditions. Quadratic model for three variables proved to be significant with very low probabilities (<0.0001). The optimum metal content for synthesis of the Cu/Mg/Al–chitosan was determined as Mg = 4 mmol/L, Cu = 0.89 mmol/L, and Al = 2 mmol/L. A confirmation run gave 81.35% of COD removal compared with 79.89% of predicted value. Results showed that the magnesium metal in the catalyst was more effective in COD removal than other metals. After a 50-min reaction time, the COD removal percentage of 49, 61, and 78 was attained for the landfill leachate with initial pH of 5.5, 7.3, and 9.1, respectively. The recyclability test indicated that the optimized catalyst could be efficiently utilized three times with COD removal efficiency of 81.35%, 66%, and 50%. The X-ray powder diffraction and electron dispersive spectroscopy tests confirmed the successful modification of chitosan with Mg/Cu/Al. The findings of this study demonstrate the applicability of Cu/Mg/Al–chitosan for eliminating COD from the leachate of sanitary landfil

Bacterial Quality of Drinking Water in Bushehr Intercity Buses in 2010

Background and Objective: Road transportation and specifically bus travel accounts for the bulk of travel. Contaminated drinking water consumption is one of the issues that threaten health, and always there is pollution possibility in drinking water in buses. This study evaluated the microbial quality of consumed drinking water in buses and also compared it with available standards. Materials and Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study. By considering similar studies, 95% confidence interval and based on the samples size formula for tradition of proportion, 80 buses from 122 buses that entered Bushehr Passenger Depot from other cities or exited it were randomly selected. Over a three-month period, samples were taken from drinking water in these buses. Temperature, pH, residual chlorine, total coliform (TC), and fecal coliform (E. coli) in each sample were measured in accordance with the standard method. Statistical analysis of the data was carried out with SPSS Version 16, and the t-test was performed for statistical difference. Results: The results showed that residual chlorine in 97.5% was zero and pH values of the samples were in the range of 6.8-8.7. TC and E. coli numbers in 12.5% and 8.8% of the samples were higher than those of standards, respectively. Conclusion: Use of ice, washing time of the drinking water tank (daily or weekly), and method of usage and storage of drinking water (with 20-liter tanks) had significant effects on the bacterial loads of the drinking water in the tanks (p value <0.05). Some factors such as tank material, driver's education and age, type and model of the bus, filling time of the tank (daily or weekly), the method of filling and emptying the tank (complete clearing out of the tank or otherwise), and distance had no significant effect on the quality of the drinking water in the buses

Evaluation of the knowledge level of health violations in food production, distribution, sales centers and public places and their authorities investigating among the women of Bushehr city

Background: Women and mothers are the most important educational audience to convey health teachings. This study was aimed to evaluate the knowledge level of different types of health violations of food production, distribution, sale centers and public places; and authorities investigating the violations among women referring to health care centers in Bushehr. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive‑analytical study, which was done cross‑sectionally, 600 women who were referred to health care centers affiliated to the Bushehr University of Medical Sciences was selected by convenience sampling. Two‑part questionnaire was used to collect data: demographic information and a researcher‑designed knowledge survey questionnaire consisted of 25 questions with Cronbach’s alpha = 0.7. Data were analyzed with the software SPSS version 13; using Chi‑square test and Phi and Cramer test. P ≤ 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The findings showed that 56.9% and 26.5% of women had good and moderate knowledge levels regarding health violations, while the general knowledge level of authorities investigating health violations were at the moderate level among 57.3% and at the good level among 15.3% of women. Overall, there was a significant relationship between education level and the women’s knowledge level of health violations (P < 0.0001). The relationship between the women’s education level and authorities investigating health violations was not significant (P = 0.073). Conclusion: Applying interventional methods of education in health violations to the women by health centers can elevate the level of health knowledge among them

Accumulation, sources, and health risks of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in road dust from heavily industrialized, urban and rural areas in southern Iran

In this research, a total of 51 road dust samples were collected from three districts (Asaluyeh, Bushehr, and Goshoui) in the south of Iran from April to June 2022 and analyzed for the concentration of 7 phthalic acid esters (PAEs) compounds. Asaluyeh was considered as an industrial area (near gas and petrochemical industries), Bushehr as an urban area, and Goshoui as a rural area (far from pollution sources). The PAEs concentration of the street dust samples was determined using a mass detection gas chromatography (GC/MS). The mean ± SD levels of ƩPAEs in samples from industrial, urban, and rural sources were 56.9 ± 11.5, 18.3 ± 9.64, and 5.68 ± 1.85 μg/g, respectively. The mean concentration levels of ƩPAEs was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in samples from the industrial area than urban and rural areas. The mean levels of di(2-Ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in industrial, urban, and rural areas were 20.3 ± 8.76, 4.59 ± 1.71, and 2.35 ± 0.98 μg/g, respectively. The results of the PCA analysis indicate that the likely major sources of PAEs in the road dust in the studied areas are the application of various plasticizers in industry, solvents, chemical fertilizers, waste disposal, wastewater (e.g., agricultural, domestic, and industrial), and the use of plastic films and plastic-based irrigation pipes in greenhouses. As well as, it was found that the non-cancer risk of exposure to dust-bound PAEs was higher for children than for adults. These values were <1 for both age groups (children and adults) and the exposure of inhabitants to PAEs in road dust did not pose a notable non-cancer risk. The cancer risk from exposure to DEHP in road dust was below the standard range of 10−6 in all three areas. Further studies that consider different routes of exposure to these contaminants are needed for an accurate risk assessment. Moreover, since higher PAEs level was found in industrial area, decision-makers should adopt strict strategies to control the discharging of pollution from industries to the environment and human societies