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Nowadays one of the main agents morbidity and mortality, in worldwide, is exposure to air pollution. Based on reported health organization, air pollution is the second most important factor in nonc...

Recently the short term effects of air pollutants on cardiovascular and respiratory morbidity and mortality has attracted the attention of many researchers. This study comprehensively examined the ...

This study reports on the characteristics, sources, and health risks of atmospheric PM10-bound heavy metals (HMs) on citizenship living in different regions of Ahvaz, Southwest of Iran were investi...

The etiology of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is not well known, however it is a final response of frequent injuries to endothelial and epithelial cells that cause influx of the inflammatory ...

In this study, the surface properties of activated carbon from Aloe vera leaf shells were modified by sulfuric acid Aloe vera-acid activated carbon (AV-AAC) and then used as a novel adsorbent to remove para-chlorophenol (p-CP) and methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions. The adsorbent was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR). The maximum monolayer adsorption capacities were found to be 137 and 192.3 mg/g for p-CP and MB, respectively. Due to low-cost and high adsorption capacity, AV-AAC can be considered as an effective adsorbent for wastewater treatment containing p-CP or MB. © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Over the last decades, air pollution has been regarded as one of the major environmental problems. Cardiovascular and respiratory diseases are among the most common illnesses arising from a...

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. © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

One of the important wards in educational hospital due to special conditions of patients is operating rooms (ORs). Anesthetic gases sevoflurane among air anesthetic pollutant is very dangerous for health care worker (HCW) and patients. The aim of this study was to associate the concentration of anesthetic toxic sevoflurane gases (ppm) indoor air in Emam, Razi and Golestan teaching hospitals OR during 2016. In the current study, portable pump SKC equipped with sorbent Tube Tenax TA 250 mg was used to sampling and measurements of sevoflurane gases concentration in the ORs. Three detection places were selected for sampling volatile anesthetic gases sevoflurane. In this study, health risks produced by non-cancer causing agents are quantified by calculating the hazard index (HI). Based on result this study, the Emam and Golestan had the lowest and the highest sevoflurane concentrations. According to the results from the current study, level of sevoflurane on indoor air quality in the operation room in Emam, Razi and Golestan hospitals were 2.058, 2.201 and 2.289 ppm, respectively. According result this study HI was under 1.0 and it amount showed that no significant risk of adverse health effects related to exposure to concentration of sevoflurane in Emam, Razi and Golestan teaching hospitals OR during 2016. Result showed that the average concentration of sevoflurane in studied hospitals were more than the standard level (2 ppm) and exposure to this concentration of sevoflurane could be threaten for HCW. Based on result our study, the average level of sevoflurane was significantly higher than that of ORs without standard ventilation in comparison with ORs with standard ventilation system. Performed active for decreasing anesthetic gases can cause decrease health endpoint in OR HCWs and costs. While OR management in ambient air can cause disorders in staffs and causing more spiritual and material costs.

In this study, trace heavy metals, such as aluminum (Al), barium (Ba), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), antimony (Sb), vanad...

The incidence of hospitalizations due to cardiovascular (HACVD) and respiratory diseases (HARD) associated with PM10 was assessed with AirQ2.2.3. Daily PM10 data were used to this purpose. The results showed that 8.2% (95% CI: 5.6–11.4%), 7.2% (95% CI: 4.9–10.1%), and 4.4% (95% CI: 3.0–6.3%) of HACVD and 7.3% (95% CI: 4.5–10%), 6.4 (95% CI: 4.0–8.8%), and 3.9% (95% CI: 2.4–5.4%) of HACVD in the cities of Ahvaz, Khorramabad and Ilam were attributed to PM10, respectively. Governmental authorities need to act to control the dust hazard by spreading mulch and developing green space using vegetation amenable to the local climate.

Based on research findings around the globe, the content of heavy metals (HM) has been kept limited in traditional popular pastries. This study was carried out to conduct a health risk assessment of heavy metals (As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sn, and Zn) in Qom's Sohan (a kind of traditional Persian saffron brittle toffee) in 2015. Samples were selected randomly from the most popular brands of Sohan workshops in Qom. After the dry digestion of all Sohan samples, 100 different brands were analyzed via inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). In this study, about 100 brands of Sohan made by vegetable oil or buttery were analyzed. The results showed that the metals level (µg/kg) in specimens for As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sn, and Zn ranged 100–300, 10–50, 500–36,000, 60–550, 30–1750, 45–1700, and 2500–15000, respectively. In addition, health risk assessment showed that consuming the sample Sohan of the study poses no potential risks for children and adults. Results also revealed that althoug...

The aim of this study is to survey the concentrations of air pollutants in rural and urban areas in Ahvaz city during two seasons. We used ANOVA to determine the differences between the areas. Paired t-test was used to compare the concentrations of the air pollutants in cold season and hot season. The concentration of the air pollutants in cold season was higher than warm season except for O3. Mobile vehicles represent the major source of air pollution in many areas, and the concentrations of traffic pollutants are greater near urban areas. The trend of changes in PM concentration in cold and warm seasons depends on dust storms occurrence.

Water is one of the pivotal, both in natural ecosystems and human development. Inadequate and unsafe water is still one of the major challenges in most developing countries. Due to the growing trends of bottled water (BW) consumption in Iran, especially in dry regions, regular monitoring of the quality of bottled mineral water is necessary. Therefore, this cross-sectional study was carried out to evaluate the chemical and microbiological quality of bottled mineral water which was sold in the markets of Birjand city, Iran in 2015. Samples were selected randomly from 12 most popular brands of national BW in autumn and winter. Then, 12 most popular brands were selected for analysis. Finally, parameters including total hardness, levels of calcium, magnesium, pH, bicarbonate, sulfate, alkalinity, residual chlorine and total and fecal coliforms were examined for each brand. The results of the present study revealed that most of the chemical and microbiological parameters of BW in Birjand city were lower...

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are one of the main components of urban air pollution. The level of concentration PAHs and effects are depended on seasonal variations and amount of exposure to PAHs. Nowadays, PAHs are one of the important pollutants that threat the public health. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons of the outdoor air in Ahvaz, southwest Iran using active sampling system during the warm and cold seasons of 2016. Data collection was performed daily during the study period in three stations in Ahvaz citizens at industrial, high traffic and residential areas. Omni sampler and equipped with PTFE filters (8*10) were utilized for sampling in this study. Gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) were utilized for detection of PAHs concentration (ngm−3). Statistical SPSS software (SPSS version 16) was used to determine the effects of PAHs during warm and cold season. According to result this study, the industrial and residential ar...

Operating rooms (ORs) in hospital wards are very important because of special conditions of patients. The hazards of contact with low concentrations of anesthetic gases (AG) are undeniable. Nowadays AG isoflurane is one of the important pollutants which is in the air of ORs and used in anesthesia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of anesthetic toxic isoflurane gases of the indoor air of Razi, Golestan and Emam educational hospitals ORs, using active sampling system during 2016. In this study, in order to sampling and detection of isoflurane concentration (ppm), a portable pump (SKC pump) and tubes (Sorbent Tube Tenax TA 250 mg) were utilized. The sampling was done in three different points of the ORs. According to this study, the “Razi” and “Emam” hospitals had the highest and the lowest isoflurane concentrations. According to the results of this study, isoflurane concentrations in three main educational hospital ORs affiliated to the Ahvaz Jundishapur University of medical scie...

Ozone is a highly oxidative compound and is one of the important pollutants present in the atmosphere and at ground level. Concentration of ground-level ozone (GLO) pollutant depends on different factors such as the amount of VOC and NOX, heat and location in the atmosphere. Ozone can cause health effects such as problems to breathe deeply and vigorously, inflame and damage the airways, bronchitis, reduced lung function in children and adults, emphysema and increase the frequency of asthma attacks. In this work, we focused on the determination of number of hospital admissions associated with ozone in Ahvaz with population of 1 000 000, during 2013. In this study, ozone data collections were through Iranian Environmental Protection Agency (Iranian EPA) and Meteorological Organization. Ozone data and meteorological parameters were used in Excel software to prepare input file of AirQ model. After running model, outputs presented in term of hospital admissions of ozone exposure were calculated. Accord...

The concentration of heavy metals in household dust and their health risks on children living in different areas of Ahvaz city was investigated during November 2013 to October 2014 in Iran. Totally, 108 dust samples were taken from their houses in three different areas including S1 (industrial), S2 (heavy traffic) and S3 (residential zone far away from industrial and traffic emission sources). The samples were analyzed for eight selected heavy metals (Cr, Ni, Cu, Mn, Pb, Zn, Co and Cd) using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES, Spectro Arcos Model, Germany). Exposure and risk assessment of these metals were estimated using USEPA’s exposure parameters. Results showed that the mean values of all heavy metals in tempered months were significantly higher than the other months (p