Measurement of mass emission values of gaseous pollutants from the stack of Doroud Cement Plant

Background and Aims: Cement industries are known as one of the important sources of air pollution especially hazardous gases. Although several samples have been taken from stacks by environmental experts, accurate assessment of pollutant emissions, which can be used as basic modeling of air pollution and managing, is not available. The purpose of this study is to measure and investigate gases volumetric concentrations from stack of Doroud Cement Plant and finally compare with standards.Materials and Methods: The volumetric concentrations of gases (ppm) measured by Testo XL350 during a period of six months. After standardization of pressure and temperature on the ideal gas law, the detected values were converted to mass concentrations and then gases mass emission (g/s) was computed considering the stack flow.Results: Results showed that detected pollutants’ volumetric concentrations were higher than their standard levels for stack cement industrials (Electro Filter and Pre-heater). It has also been found that due to the use of oil fuel as a kiln fuel, the emissions of CO and SO2 gases increased in winter.Conclusion: This method can be applied as a model for gas emission. Long distance detection of gas pollutants should be considered for environmental monitoring of pollutants around cement industries.Key words: Mass emission, Pollutant gases, Doroud Cement Plan

Effect of Exposure to PM10 on Cardiovascular Diseases Hospitalizations in Ahvaz, Khorramabad and Ilam, Iran During 2014

Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 10μm (PM10) has the great adverse endpoints on human health. The aim of this study was to assess the hospital admissions (HA) due to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) attributed to PM10 among people living in the cities of Ahvaz, Khorramabad and Ilam, during 2014. In this study, Air Quality Health Impact Assessment (AirQ2.2.3) software proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to assess of health impacts of atmospheric pollutants was used. To evaluate human exposure and health outcome of PM10, 24-hour data was taken from the Departments of Environment of Ahvaz, Khorramabad and Ilam. We acquired an input file for the software from raw data and quantified PM10 by the AirQ2.2.3 model. The annual averages in three study areas illustrated that PM10 concentration in Ahvaz and Ilam with values of 534.77 and 60.45μg/m3, were the highest and lowest in 2014, respectively. The number of excess cases for HA due to CVD in Ahvaz, Khorramabad, and Ilam was estimated 508, 144 and 66 persons, respectively. The most percentage of person-days was attributable to the concentration interval of 130-139µg/m3 of PM10, whereas this was for Khorramabad and Ilam 60-69 and 40-49µg/m3, respectively. The comparison of PM10 concentrations with NAAQS standard was revealed the annual average of particulate matter concentrations in Ahvaz was higher than standard. Therefore, the efforts should be conducted in the governmental scale to prevent pollution and reduce PM10 emission from various sources, such as transport and industries and also control dust entering the country by spreading mulch and development of green space

Strategic roadmap to assess forest vulnerability under air pollution and climate change

Although it is an integral part of global change, most of the research addressing the effects of climate change on forests have overlooked the role of environmental pollution. Similarly, most studies investigating the effects of air pollutants on forests have generally neglected the impacts of climate change. We review the current knowledge on combined air pollution and climate change effects on global forest ecosystems and identify several key research priorities as a roadmap for the future. Specifically, we recommend (1) the establishment of much denser array of monitoring sites, particularly in the South Hemisphere; (2) further integration of ground and satellite monitoring; (3) generation of flux-based standards and critical levels taking into account the sensitivity of dominant forest tree species; (4) long-term monitoring of N, S, P cycles and base cations deposition together at global scale; (5) intensification of experimental studies, addressing the combined effects of different abiotic factors on forests by assuring a better representation of taxonomic and functional diversity across the similar to 73,000 tree species on Earth; (6) more experimental focus on phenomics and genomics; (7) improved knowledge on key processes regulating the dynamics of radionuclides in forest systems; and (8) development of models integrating air pollution and climate change data from long-term monitoring programs.</p

Effect of Exposure to PM10 on Cardiovascular Diseases Hospitalizations in Ahvaz, Khorramabad and Ilam, Iran During 2014

Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 10μm (PM10) has the great adverse endpoints on human health. The aim of this study was to assess the hospital admissions (HA) due to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) attributed to PM10 among people living in the cities of Ahvaz, Khorramabad and Ilam, during 2014. In this study, Air Quality Health Impact Assessment (AirQ2.2.3) software proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to assess of health impacts of atmospheric pollutants was used. To evaluate human exposure and health outcome of PM10, 24-hour data was taken from the Departments of Environment of Ahvaz, Khorramabad and Ilam. We acquired an input file for the software from raw data and quantified PM10 by the AirQ2.2.3 model. The annual averages in three study areas illustrated that PM10 concentration in Ahvaz and Ilam with values of 534.77 and 60.45μg/m3, were the highest and lowest in 2014, respectively. The number of excess cases for HA due to CVD in Ahvaz, Khorramabad, and Ilam was estimated 508, 144 and 66 persons, respectively. The most percentage of person-days was attributable to the concentration interval of 130-139µg/m3 of PM10, whereas this was for Khorramabad and Ilam 60-69 and 40-49µg/m3, respectively. The comparison of PM10 concentrations with NAAQS standard was revealed the annual average of particulate matter concentrations in Ahvaz was higher than standard. Therefore, the efforts should be conducted in the governmental scale to prevent pollution and reduce PM10 emission from various sources, such as transport and industries and also control dust entering the country by spreading mulch and development of green space

Long-term exposure to ambient PM2.5 and impacts on health in Rome, Italy

Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to estimate the impact of long-term exposure to PM2.5 on residents of Rome, Italy in terms of ischemic heart diseases (IHD), chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), lung cancer (LC), stroke and the number of working days lost (WDL). Methods In this study, we estimated human health impacts from long-term exposure to ambient PM2.5 through application of linear RR and integrated exposure-response (IER) functions and the AirQ + software. Results In 2014, on average 1189, 348, 43, 301 and 387 cases of IHD, COPD, LC, stroke and WDL, respectively could be avoided in Rome if the annual mean PM2.5 concentration was reduced from 15.6 to 10.0 μg m−3. In 2014, 27.67% of IHD, 15.9% of COPD, 9.5% of LC, 19.9% of stroke as well as 2.5% of WDL are attributed to the long-term exposure to PM2.5 concentrations exceeding 10 μg m−3. Conclusion This may be achieved through adoption of stringent air pollution regulations and sustainable city planning. Increase in urban green infrastructures and improving road transportation will reduce PM2.5 levels in urban environment, thereby safeguarding human health from air pollution and improving citizens' well-being

Effect of O3, PM10 and PM2.5 on cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in cities of France, Iran and Italy

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Benzo[a]pyrene Decomposition by UV/ZnO Process: Treatment Condition Optimization by Design of Experiments

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are nonpolar organic compounds that are made of two or more benzene rings. The most dangerous and the indicator of this group is benzo[a]pyrene consisted of five interlinked benzene rings the carcinogenic effect of which is confirmed by the World Health Organization. In this study, benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) decomposition with UV/ZnO process and treatment condition optimization is studied by design of experiments. The effects of initial concentration of BaP, radiation time, nanoparticle dose and pH were investigated. Thirty one samples were determined using a central composite design. The concentrations of BaP were measured by a high-performance liquid chromatography equipped with an 18 cm column. Data analysis were performed using the Design Expert software. In this study, the effects of BaP concentration, pH, contact time and ZnO concentration were studied. Optimum removal condition was obtained as 76% under 3.5 mg/L BaP, 1.5 g/L nanoparticles, pH equal to 4 and radiation time of 45 min. According to the obtained results UV/ZnO process is an effective procedure for the removal of BaPe from the aquatic solutions and this cleansing process can be done on a larger scale by optimizing the effective operational factor

Exposure to Particulate Matter and its Health Impacts (an AirQ Approach)

Background & Aims of the Study: Recent studies indicated that particulate matter can have the lung irritation, chronic lung diseases, lung tissue, etc. The aim objective of this study was to assess the mortality associated with exposure to PM10 concentrations in Ilam, Iran, during 2013. Materials & Methods: PM10 data were taken from Ilam's Local Agency of Environment (I-LAE). The annual mortality, including total, cardiovascular, and respiratory due to PM10 were estimated, using AirQ2.2.3 software model. The relative risk (RR) and baseline incidence (BI) defaulted by WHO were used for this purpose. Results: The number of excess cases for total, cardiovascular and respiratory mortality was estimated 161, 85 and 17 persons, respectively for a year exposure to PM10 among the people. About 3.95% of mortalities were occurred in the days with concentration levels less than 20 &mu;g/m3. The most percentage of person-days attributed to different levels of PM10 was found to be in concentration of 40-49 &micro;g/m3. Conclusions: In order to diminish the health impacts of particulate matter in Ilam city, health training by health systems should be conducted to public people especially persons with chronic lung and heart diseases, elderly and children to reduce their activities in the dusty days

Eriochrme black-T removal from aqueous environment by surfactant modified clay: equilibrium, kinetic, isotherm, and thermodynamic studies

In this study, the removal of Eriochrome black T (EBT) from aqueous solutions was evaluated by cationic surfactant of hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (HDTMA)-modified montmorillonite clay (MC). The effects of contact time, pH, adsorbent dosage, EBT concentration, solution ion strength, and temperature were investigated on the EBT removal. HDTMA-MC was also examined by Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometer (XRD). The results illustrated that the experimental data were well followed by the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Freundlich isotherm models. The results also showed HDTMA-MC can be used as an effective adsorbent for the removal of EBT from aqueous solution