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Background and Aim: Dyes are one of the most important pollutants in textile wastewater (TWW). Use of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) as an efficient method can be useful for removal of these pollutants from the effluent of textile wastewater. In this study we evaluated the efficiency of the persulfate activation process, using ultraviolet (UV), in the presence of granular activated carbon (GAC) for removal of methylene blue dye (MBD). Also, we studied the effect of operating parameters on dye removal.
Materials and Methods: This experimental study was performed in a pilot-scale batch photoreactor. The effect of operating parameters including solution pH (between 3 and 9), dosage of granular activated carbon (0.6-5 mg/L), persulfate concentration (0.2-2 mmol/L), initial concentration of methylene blue dye (50-400 mg/L), and contact time (2-30 minutes) were evaluated. The final concentration of methylene blue dye was measured by using DR-6000 device. Mineralization of the process, in optimal conditions, was determined by measuring COD and TOC.
Results: The highest efficiency of the process for removal of methylene blue dye (99% dye removal at an initial concentration of 50mg/L) was observed at pH = 3, granular activated carbon dose of 1 g/L, optimal persulfate concentration of 1 mmol/L, and after a 20-minute contact time. The removal rates of COD and TOC were 71% and 69.9%, respectively, and the decomposition rate of methylene blue dye was based on the first-order reaction (R² = 0.99).
Conclusion: Considering the results of this study, the combined process had a significant efficiency to remove methylene blue dye and can be used as an efficient method for removal of the dye from the effluent of textile wastewater.
 

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Background and Aim: People spent most of their time indoors. Therfore, quality of  indoor air ,especially in the therapeutic settings is of particular importance. This study aimed to determine the level of pollutants in indoor and outdoor air of Tohid Hospital in Sanandaj.
Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study 120 indoor and outdoor air samples were collected by TES-5200 copper counterpart machine made by TES company in Taiwan. Particulate matter samples were collected from 9 wards and also 3 stations in every ward in the hospital. Also air samples were obtained from 3 selected stations outside the hospital. Samples were taken from the selected sites  twice. The results were analyzed by Excel and SPSS software.
Results: According to the results of this study, the highest and lowest concentrations of particulate matter (PM_2.5, PM₄, PM₇, PM₁₀) belonged to the emergency room and the operating room, respectively. The highest level of PM₁ concentration was detected in the ICU ward. There was no significant relationship between temperature and particle concentration and also between moisture and particle concentration in the wards of the hospital. In regard to particulate matter, the emergency department was the most contaminated ward and the operating room had the best condition.
Conclusion: The relationship between the concentrations of particles in the outdoor and indoor air indicated the penetration of these particles from outside into the hospital building. Also, outdoor air can affect indoor air quality.

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Background and Aim: Irrigation with wastewater and the use of sludge as fertilizer is one of the important issues related to health and environmental concerns. The purpose of this study was to determine the amount of heavy metals of arsenic, cadmium and lead in potato and soil of agricultural lands in Sefid Dasht in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province.
Materials and Methods: This study was an experimental-laboratory study. Samples were obtained from three agricultural lands with an average area of ​​one hectare. Hach digestion and Sandstone were used for digestion of soil and potato samples, respectively. Finally, the concentrations of heavy metals were measured using Varian atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AA240 model).
Results: The results of this study showed that lead metal had the highest rate of accumulation in soil and potato. The calculated transfer factor was according to the Arsenic > Cadmium > Lead pattern.
Conclusions: According to the results of this study, measures should be taken to prevent contamination of the soil by heavy elements. Therefore, the amount of heavy elements in the soil of Sefid Dasht should be controlled by reducing use of livestock manure and chemical fertilizers.

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Background and Aim: Cadmium is one of the heavy metals and long time exposure to it can cause a lot of health problems in human beings. In this study, we investigated the toxic effects of Cadmium on kidney performance in the smokers and non-smokers and also its relationship with ventilation systems at Maragheh City prison.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study included 90 prisoners. Cadmium of urine samples was measured by using a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer. Parameters of renal function including urine specific gravity, creatinine, protein, albumin, glucose and urea were measured using a Hitachi autoanalyzer.
Results: The highest values of excretion of cadmium, protein, albumin, per gram creatinine and glucose were observed in the smokers without ventilation systems in their living quarters. In this group, ratio of cadmium per creatinine showed significant relationships with protein per creatinine, albumin per creatinine, urea, and glucose (P < 0.05), while in the control group without ventilation, this ratio had significant relationship only with urinary glucose excretion (P < 0.05) and we found no significant relationships between cadmium per creatinine ratio and other variables in this group (P ≥ 0.05).
Conclusion: Exposure to cadmium metal through cigarette smoke can directly and indirectly affect kidney function and lead to increased excretion of protein, albumin, urea and glucose. This effect is also affected by indoor ventilation systems, so that the presence of proper ventilation systems reduces exposure to cigarette smoke and hence cadmium, which results in reduced harmful effects of cadmium on the renal function of the exposed individuals.

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Background and Aim: Amoxicillin antibiotic is one of the antibiotics which is used in medicine and veterinary medicine to treat bacterial infectious diseases. In this study, a special electrochemical cell design was used as it could integrate the process units and the operation units to reduce COD and amoxicillin antibiotic residues from the wastewater of Alimoradian Hospital. Also, to optimize the operational parameters, the central composite design of response surface methodology (RSM) was used.
Materials and Methods: This experimental study was conducted in two parts. In the first stage, synthetic wastewater was prepared from Amoxicillin antibiotics to investigate the effect of various parameters such as reaction time, initial antibiotic concentration, current density, and pH on the efficiency of the method. In the second stage, the efficiency of the method in removing the antibiotic and reducing COD from the actual wastewater of Alimoradian hospital was evaluated.
Results: Using the RSM, the optimal conditions of the laboratory findings were determined as follows: reaction time = 30 min, pH = 7.5, current density = 2.31 mA/cm², and initial concentration of amoxicillin = 54.66 mg/L. Under these conditions, the removal amount of amoxicillin was 90.56%. The results also showed that under optimal conditions, the removal rate of COD and TOC from synthetic wastewater is 65.5% and 44.5%, respectively, and in the effluent of Alimoradian hospital is 47.7% and 38%, respectively. The reason for this difference is probably due to the presence of some resistant compounds in the real wastewater.
Conclusion: This experimental study showed that the combined electrocoagulation process can be a more effective method in removing the amoxicillin antibiotic and COD from aqueous solutions and hospital wastewater.

 

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Background and Aim: Today, environmental pollution, including water pollution, has become a global issue, and human life is dependent on the safe drinking water. This study aimed at spatial analysis of minerals and heavy metals in drinking water distribution network in Kurdistan Province’s villages.
Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study we assessed the concentrations of nitrate, nitrite, total soluble solids, fluoride, arsenic, lead, and cadmium in drinking water of all villages connected to water distribution network (1524 villages) in Kurdistan Province from 2015 to 2017. To describe the concentrations of the studied chemicals, spatial distribution maps were plotted using Arc GIS V. 10.3 software. Other statistical analyses including the analysis of the mean difference of the concentrations of nitrate, nitrite, and total soluble solids in the studied cities were performed by one-way analysis of variance using SPSS V. 22 software.
Results: According to the results of this study, tap water in 1485 villages of Kurdistan Province (97.44%) contained nitrate and the amount of this ion in the drinking water of 31 villages (2.03%) was above the national and WHO standards. The mean concentration of total soluble solids in Bijar City was significantly higher than that in other cities (P <0.001). The mean concentration of fluoride in the drinking water of rural areas of Kurdistan province was 0.19 ± 0.25 mg/l, which was lower than the value determined by national standard of Iran (0.5-1.5 mg/l). The concentrations of arsenic in the tap water of 47 villages of Bijar (23 villages), Qorveh (11 villages), Saqez (7 villages), Dehgolan (5 villages), and Kamyaran (1 village), respectively, were higher than the maximum permitted value.
Conclusion: Continuation of the current trend, especially in agricultural sector and uncontrolled use of groundwater resources in agriculture, will lead to decreased water quality. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor agricultural activities and use of fertilizers.

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Background and Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of pollution and concentration of heavy metals in agricultural soil, wheat and flour and to evaluate the consequent health risks in the residents of Bijar city in 2021.
Materials and Methods: To determine the total content of heavy metals, after acid digestion, the dry soil samples were converted into powder and prepared according to the steps of acid digestion for reading by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). Extraction from the samples was also done by acid digestion method. In the flour sample, direct acid digestion was done. For non-carcinogenic risk assessment studies, two routes including direct consumption (ingestion) and dermal absorption of heavy metals were considered. To calculate carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks, we considered heavy metals including cadmium, lead, zinc and arsenic.
Results: The concentrations of heavy metals studied in the soil, wheat and flour samples of four regions were similar to one another and no significant differences were observed. The results of the risk assessment showed that the soil samples of all four studied areas were in class III (moderate risk) in regard to the carcinogenic risk of arsenic. Also, the soil samples of all four regions showed a low cancer risk in relation to cadmium. All other samples showed a low risk less than 10^-6. In all of the samples of flour, wheat and soil from the four regions, we found no risk higher than 10^-4 and, thus they were considered safe.
Conclusion: The results of this study showed non-carcinogenic risk in relation to zinc, lead, arsenic, and cadmium based on the results of examined samples, but the concentration of some of these metals, such as arsenic, is close to the risk level for the vulnerable populations such as children, and appropriate measures should be taken to evaluate and reduce these heavy metals concentrations.
 

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Background and Aim: Monitoring alcohol consumption in population is very important for planning public health and evaluation of the efficiency of intervention strategies. The aim of this study was to use wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) to estimate alcohol consumption in a Kermanshah City and calculate risk assessment using the margin of exposure (MOE) approach.
Materials and Methods: Raw composite wastewater samples (5 hours) were collected form the entrance of Kermanshah wastewater plant over a 30 days’ period. Ethyl sulfate metabolite was used to measure the alcohol content of the samples, which is excreted in the urine after consuming alcohol by humans and enters into the wastewater collection network. After centrifugation and filtration, the samples were directly injected into the liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry LC-MS/MS for analysis. After calculation of alcohol consumption rate with back-calculation method, the results were used for risk assessment by MOE.
Results: In general, the average amount of alcohol consumption during sampling in the society was 0.332 ml per person of equal age and over 15 years of age (adult) per day, which was equal to 0.121 liters of pure alcohol per person per year. We found no significant difference in the amount of alcohol consumption between the weekend and working days of the week, and also between  sampling days in Ramadan and ordinary  days. In 90% of the samples taken, the risk associated with alcohol consumption was higher than MOE=100 and only in 3 samples the MOE value was in the "risk" category.
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that wastewater-based epidemiology can provide appropriate timely and transisional  information on alcohol use and its associated exposure risks in the community. Also, the amount of alcohol consumption in the population in our study was much lower than those in the European and American countries.

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Background and Aim: The thermo-hygrometric index (THI) represents the combined effects of two quantities of air temperature and relative humidity on living organisms and the occurrence of environmental stress, which is expected to change in the coming decades due to the consequences of global warming. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the thermal image of Iran using THI in the summer season of Iran during a statistical period of 30 years.
Materials and Methods: The data related to the average of two variables of air temperature (Celsius) and relative humidity (percentage) daily from 60 synoptic meteorological stations for a statistical period of 30 years (1985-2014) from the summer season of Iran were obtained from the Iranian Meteorological Organization. The THI was calculated for the summer season. The Mann-Kendall statistical test was used to investigate the changes in air temperature, relative humidity and THI.
Results: The trend of temperature parameter changes for the summer season has been increasing in 88.38 percent of Iranian cities, and this increasing trend has been statistically significant in 66.03 percent of these monitored stations. Considering the Sens slope, the most significant increase in the temperature parameter was seen at Yasouj station (+1.050 °C/decade). The trend of changes in temperature-humidity index has been increasing in 75% of the cities, and this increasing trend has been statistically significant in 71.43% of these stations. The most significant increase in THI was seen at Qaemshahr station (+0.449°C/decade). Also, the trend of changes in relative humidity has decreased in 88.3% of cities, and this decreasing trend has been statistically significant in 58.5% of these stations. The most significant decrease in relative humidity was seen in Zabul station (-5.700 °C/decade).
Conclusion: For a statistical period of 30 years in Iran, in the summer season, the trend of changes in THI has been generally increasing and the trend of changes in relative humidity has been decreasing. Considering the phenomenon of climate change and global warming, heat stress evaluation using the THI seems necessary for the general awareness of people and the adoption of prevention policies in the country.