RESUMEN
This study addressed micronutrients (Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Co) and heavy metals (As, Pb) in the soil and rice crop in Khuzestan Province, Iran. Twenty-eight composite soil and grain samples from the intended rice farms were garnered during harvest time. Concentrations of the elements in the samples and in the grains were, respectively, determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry device. The average concentration of As, Fe, Co, Cu, Mn, Pb, and Zn in soil of crop were 2.71, 20,065.8, 10.43, 22.28, 422.28, 5.85, and 47.07 mg/kg, respectively. The physicochemical properties of soil, bioconcentration factor, daily intakes, and health risk assessment of the elements were calculated. The results revealed that the area covered by alkaline saline soils is poor in micronutrients. Bioconcentration factor values of all elements were less than 1. Low levels of bioconcentration factor may be for low levels of nutrients in the soil and physicochemical conditions of the soil. Furthermore, the daily intake of Co (adults' group) and Fe and Zn (children group) was very low. Health risk assessment showed only adults are threatened by non-cancerous diseases due to excessive value of all the elements (HI = 2.53) and cancerous diseases caused by excessive As and Pb (2.86E-04 and 2.01E-05, respectively). Considering that Khuzestan Province is the fourth largest producer of rice in Iran, the lack of micronutrients and the presence of heavy metals in rice produced in the study area can adversely affect consumers. Further investigation is therefore a must in the region.
Asunto(s)
Metales Pesados , Oryza , Contaminantes del Suelo , Niño , Adulto , Humanos , Oryza/química , Contaminantes del Suelo/análisis , Micronutrientes/análisis , Granjas , Irán , Plomo/análisis , Monitoreo del Ambiente , Metales Pesados/análisis , Suelo/química , Medición de RiesgoRESUMEN
Ambient air pollution is one of the most significant environmental problems, and many individuals around the world die each year prematurely from diseases caused by this type of pollution. PM2.5 can transpire deep to the lungs and induce some dangerous health effects in humans. In this study, the health effects of long-term PM2.5 were estimated on expected life remaining (ELR) and years of life lost (YLL) indices in Ahvaz city during the years 2008-2017 using the AirQ+ software developed by WHO. Values obtained from the PM2.5 averaging, ELR, and YLL data were processed for the whole population in the age range of 0-64 and over 64. These values were entered into AirQ+ software. The mean annual concentration of PM2.5 was highly variable, with the highest concentration being 70.72 µg/m3 in 2010 and the lowest 41.97 µg/m3 in 2014. In all studied years, the concentration of PM2.5 with the variations between 4.2 to 7.07 times was higher than the WHO standard (10 µg/m3). Ahvaz city also did not experience any clean day during the 10-year period, and in 2010, there were 47 very unhealthy days and 27 dangerous days, i.e., the highest number of very unhealthy and dangerous days during the period. The results estimated that the highest and lowest YLL in the next 10 years for all ages groups would be 137,760.49 (2010) and 5035.52 (2014), respectively. Also, the ELR index was lower than the Iranian standard and EPA which was significantly correlated with the concentration of PM2.5.
Asunto(s)
Contaminantes Atmosféricos , Contaminación del Aire , Contaminantes Atmosféricos/análisis , Contaminación del Aire/análisis , Ciudades , Exposición a Riesgos Ambientales/análisis , Humanos , Irán , Material Particulado/análisisRESUMEN
Following the 2019 Karun River's flood, this study was conducted to evaluate the impact on the physicochemical characteristics and potentially toxic elements (PTEs) concentrations in the sediments as compared to 2015 pre-flood study. Surficial and core samples were collected from the river bed stretching through Ahvaz city for analysis and evaluation. The physicochemical properties of the sediments and the concentrations of PTEs (Mn, Fe, Cr, Ni, As, Zn, Pb, and Cu) in samples were determined by standard methodology. The PTEs contamination in sediments was assessed by calculating the contamination factor and the contamination degree. The potential ecological risk index (RI) was used to assess the contamination degree and ecological effects of PTEs in sediments. The comparative results showed that the flood reduced the concentration of PTEs and organic carbon in the sediments. The flood also decreased the silt and clay content and increased the acidity and sand content compared to pre-flood samples. The post-flood ecological risk assessment revealed that the sediments remained as low risk as compared to pre-flood state. Reduction of post flood PTEs concentration in the sediments as compared to pre-flood concentrations is probably due to long-term exposure to pollutants in the pre-flood sediments. It appears the reduction in the amount of clay particles and organic carbon (as important adsorbents for pollutants) has resulted in reduction of pollutants in the sediments. Statistical analysis of PTEs in the post-flood sediments showed that the major source of metals is geogenic. It seems that despite being destructive for the inhabitants, the flood, has reduced the amount of pollutants and the ecological risk, in the study area, at least for a while.
Asunto(s)
Metales Pesados/análisis , Contaminantes Químicos del Agua/análisis , Ciudades , Monitoreo del Ambiente , Inundaciones , Sedimentos Geológicos , Irán , Medición de Riesgo , RíosRESUMEN
Air pollution contains a complex mixture of poisonous compounds including particulate matter (PM) which has wide spectrum of adverse health effects. The main purpose of this study was to estimate the potential health impacts or benefits due to any changes in annual PM10 level in four major megacities of Iran. The required data of PM10 for AirQ software was collected from air quality monitoring stations in four megacities of Iran. The preprocessing was carried out using macro coding in excel environment. The relationship between different presumptive scenarios and health impacts was determined. We also assessed the health benefits of reducing PM10 to WHO Air Quality Guidelines (WHO-AQGs) and National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQSs) levels with regard to the rate of mortality and morbidity in studied cities. We found that the 10 µg/m3 increase in annual PM10 concentration is responsible for seven (95% CI 6-8) cases increase in total number of deaths per 2 × 105 person. We also found that 10.7, 7.2, 5.7, and 5.3% of total death is attributable to short-term exposure to air pollution for Ahvaz, Isfahan, Shiraz, and Tehran, respectively. We found that by attaining the WHO's proposed value for PM10, the potential health benefits of 89, 84, 79, and 78% were obtained in Ahvaz, Isfahan, Shiraz, and Tehran, respectively. The results also indicated that 27, 10, 3, and 1% of health impacts were attributed to dust storm days for Ahvaz, Isfahan, Shiraz, and Tehran, respectively.
Asunto(s)
Contaminantes Atmosféricos/análisis , Contaminación del Aire/prevención & control , Material Particulado/análisis , Contaminantes Atmosféricos/efectos adversos , Contaminación del Aire/efectos adversos , Ciudades/epidemiología , Monitoreo del Ambiente , Humanos , Irán/epidemiología , Morbilidad , Mortalidad , Material Particulado/efectos adversos , RiesgoRESUMEN
In view of the high incidence rate of urinary stones in the south and southwest of Iran, this paper investigates trace elements content including heavy metals in 39 urinary stones, collected from patients in Fars province, Iran. The mineralogy of the stones is investigated using X-ray diffractometry. The samples are classified into five mineral groups (calcium oxalate, uric acid, cystine, calcium phosphate and mixed stone). Major and trace elements in each group were determined using ICP-MS method. P and Ca constitute the main elements in urinary stones with Ca being more affine to oxalates while other alkali and alkaline earths precipitate with phosphate. Significant amounts of trace elements, especially Zn and Sr, were found in urinary calculi (calcium oxalate and phosphates) relative to biominerals (uric acid and cystine). Among urinary calculi, calcium phosphate contains greater amounts of trace metal than calcium oxalate. Phosphates seem to be the most important metal-bearing phases in urinary stones. Results indicate that concentrations of elements in urinary stones depend on the type of mineral phases. Significant differences in elements content across various mineralogical groups were found by applying statistical methods. Kruskal-Wallis test reveals significant difference between Ca, P, K, Na, Mg, S, Zn, Sr, Se, Cd, and Co content in different investigated mineral groups. Moreover, Mann-Whitney test differentiates Ca, Na, Zn, Sr, Co, and Ni between minerals in oxalate and uric acid stones. This study shows that urinary stone can provide complementary information on human exposure to elements and estimate the environmental risks involved in urinary stones formation.