Environmental science and pollution research international
-
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int · Mar 2014
Risk assessment of N,N-dimethylformamide on residents living near synthetic leather factories.
Dimethylformamide (DMF) is a broad solvent used in the production of synthetic leather. Decades of year's research have been focused on workers in leather factories suffering from the release of DMF. However, little attention was paid on general population. ⋯ The significance of the correlations did not disappear after we excluded the extreme value of DMF or adjusted for SO2, NO2, and PM10. Population living near the leather factory has experienced almost constant DMF exposure, and real concern should be raised regarding such exposure. Governments should take responsibility for the protection of not only occupational workers but also residents, especially women.
-
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int · Jan 2014
Dissipation of available benzo[a]pyrene in aging soil co-contaminated with cadmium and pyrene.
A microcosm experiment was conducted to investigate the dissipation of available benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) in soils co-contaminated with cadmium (Cd) and pyrene (PYR) during aging process. The available residue of BaP in soil was separated into desorbing and non-desorbing fractions. The desorbing fraction contributed more to the dissipation of available BaP than the non-desorbing fraction did. ⋯ The calculated half-life of available BaP in the soil prolonged with the increment in Cd level; however, the addition of PYR shortened the half-life of available BaP by 13.1, 12.7, and 32.8% in 0.44, 2.56, and 22 mg Cd kg(-1) soils, respectively. These results demonstrated that the inhibiting effect of Cd and the promoting effect of PYR on the dissipation of available BaP were competitive. Therefore, this study shows that the bioremediation process of BaP can be more complicated in co-contaminated soils.
-
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int · Jun 2013
Comparative StudyFuzzy-logic modeling of Fenton's strong chemical oxidation process treating three types of landfill leachates.
Three multiple input and multiple output-type fuzzy-logic-based models were developed as an artificial intelligence-based approach to model a novel integrated process (UF-IER-EDBM-FO) consisted of ultrafiltration (UF), ion exchange resins (IER), electrodialysis with bipolar membrane (EDBM), and Fenton's oxidation (FO) units treating young, middle-aged, and stabilized landfill leachates. The FO unit was considered as the key process for implementation of the proposed modeling scheme. Four input components such as H(2)O(2)/chemical oxygen demand ratio, H(2)O(2)/Fe(2+) ratio, reaction pH, and reaction time were fuzzified in a Mamdani-type fuzzy inference system to predict the removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand, total organic carbon, color, and ammonia nitrogen. ⋯ The testing results clearly revealed that the proposed prognostic models showed a superior predictive performance with very high determination coefficients (R (2)) between 0.930 and 0.991. This study indicated a simple means of modeling and potential of a knowledge-based approach for capturing complicated inter-relationships in a highly non-linear problem. Clearly, it was shown that the proposed prognostic models provided a well-suited and cost-effective method to predict removal efficiencies of wastewater parameters prior to discharge to receiving streams.
-
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int · Apr 2013
Distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in surface water and sediment near a drinking water reservoir in Northeastern China.
The levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the water and the sediment samples collected near the Mopanshan Reservoir-the most important drinking water resource of Harbin City in Northeast China-were examined. A total of 16 PAHs were concurrently identified and quantified in the three water bodies tested (Lalin River, Mangniu River, and Mopanshan Reservoir) and in the Mopanshan drinking water treatment plant during the high- and low water periods. The total PAH concentrations in the water and sediment samples ranged from 122.7 to 639.8 ng/L and from 89.1 to 749.0 ng/g dry weight, respectively. ⋯ The conventional drinking water treatment operations resulted in a 20.7 to 67.0% decrease in the different-ringed PAHs in the Mopanshan-treated drinking water. These findings indicate that human activities negatively affect the drinking water resource. Without the obvious removal of the PAHs in the waterworks, drinking water poses certain potential health risks to people.