Effect of land use changes on non-carcinogenic health risks due to nitrate exposure to drinking groundwater

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study aimed to determine the effect of land-use changes on the non-carcinogenic health risk of nitrate ion exposure of underground drinking water...     

Screening for plants and rhizospheral fungi with bioremediation potency of petroleum-polluted soils in a Tehran oil refinery area

The contamination of soils by toxic and/or hazardous organic pollutants, especially with crude oil, is a widespread problem. This study was conducted in a petroleum-contaminated area in a Tehran oil refinery to find petroleum-resistant plants and their rhizospheral fungal strains with bioremediation potency. The plants growing in the oil-polluted area were collected and determined taxonomically. Root samples of the plant species were collected from a polluted area and fungal strains determined by laboratory methods and taxonomical keys. The growth ability of the isolated fungal strains was studied in media containing 1%–15% crude oil. Results showed that seven plant species were of the highest density in the contaminated area: Alhagi persarum, Hordeum marinum, Peganum harmala, Phragmites australis, Prosopis farcta, Salsola kali, and Senecio glaucus. The root-associated fungi were isolated and showed that the fungal variation in the oil-polluted area is higher than that in a non-polluted area. The growth assay of isolated fungal strains showed that all studied fungal strains were able to form colonies at the applied concentrations but Alternaria sp. and Rhizopus sp. were the most resistant ones. Some plants were resistant to oil pollution, which also had positive effects on the fungal strains.     

Clove bud oil: an efficient, economical and widely available oil for the inhibition of wheat seed germination

Pre-harvest sprouting refers to the precocious germination of the grain in the spike prior to harvest as a result of moist weather conditions at harvest time. From the agricultural viewpoint, it is necessary to impose an exogenous dormancy to wheat seeds in order to improve the resistance of seed to pre-harvest sprouting. In this regard, we found that clove bud essential oil is a strong inhibitor for wheat seed germination. The extract obtained from clove bud by supercritical fluid extraction using CO₂ as solvent minimized the number of extracts to two compounds, eugenol and eugenyl acetate. Eugenol, as the main constituent of the oil, was responsible for its strong inhibitory activity in wheat seeds. The aqueous solution of clove bud oil was submitted to germination assay at various concentrations from 50 to 400 mg/L. Complete inhibition of seed germination was recorded when the concentration was 400 mg/L. Roots and sprouts have similar sensitivity to inhibitory effect. In an empirical study, the synergistic cooperation of eugenol and eugenyl acetate from clove bud oil in the inhibition of seed germination was found to be a 1:1 ratio. The clove bud essential oil is widely available and will broaden the horizon of applications for natural and safe inhibitors in the fields.     

The analysis and probabilistic health risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in cereal products

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The analysis and probabilistic health risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in cereal products were done by using magnetic...     

Determination of trace amounts of zirconium in real samples after microwave digestion and ternary complex dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction

In this study, a ternary Zr(IV) system with 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol (5-Br-PADAP) and fluoride was chosen on the basis of dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction method. Zirconium was extracted into the fine droplets of dichlorobenzene as extracting solvent. These drops dispersed as a cloud in the aqueous sample with the help of ultrasonic waves, and the procedure was done. Finally, atomic absorption spectrometry was applied for the determination of zirconium. The effects of different factors that influence complex formation and extraction, such as pH, amounts of complexing agents, type and volume of the extracting solvent, as well as sonication and centrifuging time, were optimized. Under optimum conditions, the calibration curve was linear in the range of 150.0–800.0 ng mL^?1 with a limit of detection of 44.0 ng mL^?1. Relative standard deviation was calculated to be 4.1 % (n?=?7, c?=?400.0 ng mL^?1). The enrichment factor was 80. The proposed method was successfully used to determine the zirconium in several water, wastewater, and soil samples.     

Silica-supported antimony(III) chloride as a mild and reusable catalyst for the Paal–Knorr pyrrole synthesis

Heterogeneous catalysts are used for control of environmental pollution. Heterogeneous catalysts are easily separated from the reaction mixture, thus allowing their recovery and re-use. There is a need for catalysts that are efficient under mild conditions. Here, we show that silica-supported antimony(III) chloride (SbCl₃/SiO₂) acts as a highly efficient heterogeneous Lewis acid catalyst for the Paal–Knorr pyrrole synthesis at room temperature. We found that condensation of hexane-2,5-dione with aromatic and aliphatic primary amines in hexane using SbCl₃/SiO₂ with 7.6 wt% SbCl₃ was the best reaction condition. The silica support facilitated the workup of the reaction mixture and provided a reusable catalyst at least for 7 runs without significant loss in activity. Indeed, the yield was 98% for the first run and 84% for the 7th run. We conclude that low catalyst loading, operational simplicity, practicability and applicability to various substrates make this reaction an interesting alternative to previously applied procedures. From the environmental standpoint, this eco-friendly catalyst is stable, highly active, easy to prepare and handle.     

A novel pollution index based on the bioavailability of elements: a study on Anzali wetland bed sediments

In this research, we study on the distribution of several elements in bed sediments of Anzali wetland. Anzali, one of the most important international wetlands, is located on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea in Iran. This wetland receives discharges of domestic, agricultural, and industrial wastewater, which affect the distribution of elements. Our contribution in this study is threefold. First, we measured the total concentration of metals as well as their chemical partitioning and bioavailability in the sediments. Second, we calculated anthropogenic portions of metals in the sediment of this area. The results reveal anthropogenic portion of metals as Mo > Mn > Cd > As > Zn > Hg > Co > Sn > Cu > V > Ag > Ni > Pb > Fe > Cr > Al, respectively. We evaluated the intensity of pollution by using an enrichment factor, the geo-accumulation index and the pollution index. All these indices do not take into consideration the bioavailability of the elements. As our third and most important contribution, we introduced a new formula that takes into account the bioavailability of different elements. In comparison with aforementioned pollution indices, our newly introduced pollution index has a higher Pearson correlation with anthropogenic portion of metals. This high-correlation coefficient shows that our proposed pollution index is an effective indicator for determining the level of pollution, while other indices preserve their own merits.     

Plants growing in a mining area: screening for metal accumulator plants possibly useful for bioremediation

A field study was conducted in an iron mine in Hamedan (Iran) to find native accumulator plants and to evaluate the extent of metal bioaccumulation in the naturally growing vegetation. The concentrations of total As, Cd, Cr, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Si, and Zn were found to be higher in the mine than in soil. These plants accumulated the highest amounts of the following metals in their roots: Euphorbia cheiradenia As, Stipa barbata Cd, Pb and Cr, Euphorbia macroclada Cu, Centaurea iberica Fe, Reseda lutea Mo, Salvia spinosa Ni and Zn, and Xanthium strumarium Se. In the aerial parts, the highest metal accumulation was found in Epilobium fragilis As, Carthamus oxyacantha Cd, Fe, Mn, and Pb, Verbascum speciosum Cu, Centaurea iberica Mo, Salvia spinosa Ni and Cr, Glaucium grandiflorum Se, and Malva neglecta Zn. Enrichment factors and bioconcentration factors were also determined; C. oxyacantha, S. spinosa, M. neglecta, C. iberica, V. speciosum, G. grandiflorum, and E. fragilis are the most effective accumulators and are proposed for phytoremediation of polluted soils.