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The present study examined the removal of bisphenol A (BPA) and total organic carbon (TOC) from aqueous solutions by the Fe/CMK‐3 as peroxymonosulfate activator used in the sono‐photo‐catalytic process. The synthesis of Fe/CMK‐3 was carried out using the co‐precipitation method, and it was characterized by FTIR, XRD, BET, EDX, and TEM. The results showed that the iron nanoparticles were uniformly embedded in the CMK‐3 pores. The effect of factors affecting on the removal of BPA and TOC was evaluated by response surface methodology (RSM) with center composite design (CCD). The analysis of variance of the quadratic model showed that the model is significant (p value <.0001 and R2 > 99.4%) and can be used to optimize the removal efficiency of BPA. Optimization results showed that the highest removal efficiency of BPA (100%) and TOC (80.6%) was achieved in optimum conditions of pH 7.8, catalyst dose 0.33 g/L, PMS dose 3.35 mmol/L, BPA concentration 39.3 mg/L, and 78.5 min. In addition, statistical analysis of the data showed that, in the studied range, the initial concentration of BPA was the most influential factor, followed by pH and PMS dose. Highest catalytic stability of Fe/CMK‐3 showed the potential applicability of catalyst in the treatment of BPA‐containing solutions. The quenching test showed that sulfate radical was the main responsible for the removal of BPA. The decrease in IOUR value after the 75‐min reaction time indicates that this process has a high ability for oxidation of the pollutant and its intermediates. Generally, the observed results suggest that the Fe‐CMK‐3/UV/US/PMS system can be a promising procedure for the removal of persistent pollutants such as BPA from aqueous media. Practitioner points: Fe/CMK‐3 exhibited prominent catalytic activity and high stability for peroxymonosulfate activation.Effective degradation of bisphenol A was achieved in the Fe‐CMK‐3/UV/US/PMS system.The effect of five factors at five levels and their interactions during the removal of BPA was evaluated by RSM method coupled with central composite design (CCD).The analysis of variance of the quadratic model showed that the model is very significant (p value <.0001) and can be used to optimize the removal efficiency of BPA.The quenching test showed that sulfate radical was the main responsible for the removal of BPA.Reducing IOUR value after the 75‐min reaction time indicates that toxicity of the solution was significantly decreased in this system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Ochratoxin is a fungal toxin produced by Penicillium verrucosum and some Aspergillus species. Ochratoxin is usually found in grains, cereal products and also animal feed of livestock. The aim of this study was to measure the level of Ochratoxin in pasteurized milk samples of Golestan Province, Iran. Methods: Overall, 38 milk samples were collected from East and West of the Golestan province in accordance with standards 326 and 419 of the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran. The level of Ochratoxin was measured by ELISA method. Results: The mean level of Ochratoxin A in 20 raw milk samples collected from the West of the Province was 3.32 ± 3.76 ng/ml. The mean level of Ochratoxin A in 18 raw milk samples collected from the East was 6.02 ± 4.42 ng/ml. Ochratoxin A levels in most samples were higher than the limits established by the European standards. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, Ochratoxin level of 84.2% and 52.6% of the samples from the West and East of the province are higher than the allowed limits (2 ng/ml), respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]