Transportation networks respond differently to applied policies. The Tehran Metropolitan Area has one of the most complex networks with complex users, which has experienced many of these policies change within the past decades. In this study, some of these policies and their effect on air pollution is investigated. The goal is to pinpoint the variables which have the most effect on various transportation models and investigate how new policies should be focused. In order to do so, long-term variations of air pollution monitoring stations were analyzed. Results show that the most significant parameter that may affect air pollution is users' behavior due to the lack of a public transportation network and its level of comfort. The results of this study will be useful in developing new policies and evaluating their long-term consequences in appropriate models.
Microbiological and chemical analysis of air was carried out on the area of landfill of wastes other than inert or hazardous. The landfill covers 20 ha and 40 000 Mg of wastes is deposited annually. Municipal waste is not segregated at the landfill. The research was conducted in April, May and November 2012. Number of the psychrophilic and mesophilic bacteria and fungi was estimated by a culture-based method. Quantitative determination of sulfur compounds and meteorological and olfactrometric examinations were also carried out. Chemical analysis was conducted with a Photovac Voyager portable gas chromatograph. Air samples were collected at 5 points. The largest group of microbes were psychrophilic bacteria, especially in summer. The highest concentration of hydrogen sulfide and other odorants was found at leachate tank and landfill body. According to the Polish Standard for the assessment of atmospheric air pollution the air in the area of the landfill is classified as not contaminated and sporadically moderately contaminated. In spring and summer the number of microscopic fungi was increased also in control samples.
The Henaya Irrigated Perimeter (HIP) is an agricultural area irrigated by treated wastewater (TWW) of Ain El Hout treatment plant. Various analyses have shown that i) this water has low concentration of heavy metals and toxic elements, ii) the average values of the physicochemical parameters for 136 samples are satisfactory (29.2 mg O2∙dm–3 for chemical oxygen demands – COD, 13.14 mg O2∙dm–3 for biological oxygen demands – BOD, 14.2 mg∙dm–3 of suspended matter – SM, 1.82 mg∙dm–3 of N-NO3, 7.7 for pH and 927.74 μS∙cm–1 for electric conductivity – EC). Thirdly, it contains a high number of bacteria and nematodes (7200 CFU∙(100 dm3)–1 for faecal coliforms and 30 eggs∙dm–3 for intestinal Nematodes) which makes it dangerous for groundwater contamination. The objective in this work is to characterize the TWW and evaluate the impact of it use for irrigation on the quality of Hennaya groundwater. Before this, one has to prove that there is an amount of TWW that feeds the water table to show that there is a risk of pollution. We then estimated the aquifer minimum recharge value by TWW using the Thormthwaite meth-od. The estimation has given 92 mm which is an important quantity. The results of the groundwater microbiological anal-yses reveal no sign of contamination. The cause is the efficiency of the degradation of pollutants of the Vadose zone. The soil purifying power Md of the HIP was evaluated by the Rehse method and gave values ranging from 2.1 to 12.7 which indicated a complete purification.
If we throw something into a river, how long will it take to reach a certain location downstream? We talk to Prof. Ian Guymer from the University of Sheffield about our increasingly complex models of this deceptively simple problem.
Room temperature vulcanized (RTV) silicone rubber is widely used to prevent pollution flashover with its excellent hydrophobicity and hydrophobicity transfer. However, RTV coatings are at the risk of deterioration and failure in heavily polluted operating environment. In this paper, RTV coated insulators with different suspension heights operating in coal ash polluted areaswere sampled. Pollution degree, pollution composition and aging degree of coatings were tested. The result shows that the insoluble pollution contains Al(OH)3 filler precipitated from RTV coating, which indicates the aging of the RTV coating. The top surface coating is more affected by ultraviolet and rainwater than the bottom surface resulting in more serious degradation. As the pollution degree of the lower phase insulator is heavier than that of the upper phase insulator, the erosion effect of pollution on the RTV coating is more intense. The fillers and rubber molecules of RTV continuously precipitate into the pollution layer, leading to further aging. Therefore, the overall aging degree of the lower insulator coating is more serious than that of the upper insulator coating.
People rarely consider where their tap water comes from, or how much of it is actually available. At the same time, it is people who are most often responsible for water pollution. Problems involving the contamination of water-supply areas in Poland are scrutinized by an “intervention team” of experts at the Polish Hydrogeological Survey.
What is smog, what does it consist of, and where does it come from? How badly polluted is the air in Poland in relation to other countries in Europe?
Trichloroethene (TCE) and tetrachloroethene (PCE) are chemical compounds which pose a serious threat for human health. Their specific properties make it possible that these substances may linger in soil and water for many years. These are the reasons why wells with water designed for drinking purposes have been subject of monitoring since 2006. This paper presents the results of monitoring research conducted in the soil-water environment within the framework in third phase of an ecological audit of land. The ecological audit of land made it possible to identify the cause and degree of the degradation, and helped formulate rationale for remedy decisions pertaining to the land (remediation/reclamation). The objective of the paper was to determine the pollution status of the soil-water environment and, subsequently, monitor (in years 2008-2010) the contents of the hazardous substances, namely trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene, within the area of the potential impact of metallurgical plant located in borders of the Main Underground Water Reservoir Wierzbica-Ostrowiec (GZWP 420) in in voivodeship Świętokrzyskie.
A plenum window with incorporation of Helmholtz resonators in between two glass panes was tested in a reverberation room. The effects of jagged flap on reducing strength of diffracted sound was also investigated in the present studies where white, traffic and construction noises were examined during each set of experiment. When the noise source was located at the central line of the plenum window, the plenum window with Helmholtz resonators was able to mitigate 8.5 dBA, 8.9 dBA and 8.2 dBA of white, traffic and construction noises, respectively, compared with the case of without window. These amounts of noises that attenuated by the plenum window were slightly higher than the case where noise source was diverged 30º away from the plenum window. The effects of jagged flaps on the acoustical performance of the plenum window were negligible. The Helmholtz resonators had the best performance in the frequency region between 900 Hz to 1300 Hz where in this frequency range, the plenum window with Helmholtz resonators was able to attenuate additional 1.7 dBA, 1.9 dBA and 1.6 dBA of white, traffic and construction noises, respectively, compared with the case of without resonators.
In the vicinity of copper foundry “Głogów” agricultural farms exist for 35 years. The aim of the work was to determine if biotypes of common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album L.) growing for many years in heavy metals polluted environment showed any differences in the efficacy of herbicides’ control. Seeds of C. album were collected near Głogów, from four cultivated fields with different content of heavy metals in soil (mainly copper). From these seeds experimental plants were grown in greenhouse conditions. In greenhouse experiments the efficacy of control of C. album by different pyridate (6-chloro-3-phenylpyridazin-4-yl S-octyl thiocarbonate) doses also in combinations with 0.2% CuSO4 was compared. Also the efficacy of pyridate in control of C. album seedlings which were grown in pots with soils collected from the vicinity of smelter was tested. Additionally, in growth chamber, the effect of increasing copper concentration on shoot and root growth was analyzed. Pyridate showed similar efficacy on tested populations of C. album without respect of soil contamination level, seeds’ origin and presence of copper ions in spray solution in which herbicide was used in full dose. Statistical differences were observed when herbicide was applied at ⅓ pyridate full dose, especially in the presence of Cu2+ ions in spray solution.
The aim of this paper is to present characteristics, toxicity and environmental behavior of nanoparticles (NPs) (silver, copper, gold, zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, iron oxide) that most frequently occur in consumer products. In addition, NPs are addressed as the new aquatic environmental pollutant of the 21st century. NPs are adsorbed onto particles in the aquatic systems (clay minerals, fulvic and humic acids), or they can adsorb environmental pollutants (heavy metal ions, organic compounds). Nanosilver (nAg) is released from consumer products into the aquatic environment. It can threaten aquatic organisms with high toxicity. Interestingly, copper nanoparticles (Cu-NPs) demonstrate higher toxicity to bacteria and aquatic microorganisms than those of nanosilver nAg. Their small size and reactivity can cause penetration into the tissues and interfere with the metabolic systems of living organisms and bacterial biogeochemical cycles. The behavior of NPs is not fully recognized. Nevertheless, it is known that NPs can agglomerate, bind with ions (chlorides, sulphates, phosphates) or organic compounds. They can also be bound or immobilized by slurry. The NPs behavior depends on process conditions, i.e. pH, ionic strength, temperature and presence of other chemical compounds. It is unknown how NPs behave in the aquatic environment. Therefore, the research on this problem should be carried out under different process conditions. As for the toxicity, it is important to understand where the differences in the research results come from. As NPs have an impact on not only aquatic organisms but also human health and life, it is necessary to recognize their toxic doses and know standards/regulations that determine the permissible concentrations of NPs in the environment.
The last two decades have brought a significant modernization in methods of cultivation in greenhouses. Soilless cultures, isolated from soils, have become a common practice, similarly as fertigation (fertilization + irrigation) installations, although most of them are applied in the open system (with no recirculation), where excess nutrient solution is removed straight to soil. This situation was the reason why it was decided to conduct studies, extended over a period of many years, on the estimation of environmental pollution caused by discharged drainage waters containing mineral fertilizers in economically important cultures in Poland (anthurium, tomato, cucumber). On the basis of the chemical composition of drainage waters and amounts of nutrient solution spillway from culture beds data were estimated concerning pollution of the soil medium by the nutrient solution. The level of pollution was dependent on nutrient requirements of crops and the length of the vegetation period. The highest environmental pollution is caused by intensive tomato growing (in kg·month·ha-1): N-NO3 (up to 245), K (up to 402), Ca (up to 145) and S-SO4 (up to 102). A lesser threat is posed by metal microelements: Fe (up to 2.69), Mn (up to 0.19), Zn (up to 0.52) and Cu (up to 0.09). Lower contamination of the natural environment is generated in cultures with lower nutrient requirements (anthurium) and in the case of culture on organic substrates. With an increase in ecological awareness of producers recirculation systems should be implemented in the production practice, in which drainage waters do not migrate directly to soil, but are repeatedly used to feed crops.