Current Pollution Research Articles

Toxicity Assessment for Aquatic Ecosystem, Soil and Crops in Tongi, Bangladesh

As Tongi is an industrial area, massive amounts of effluents generated by the industries end up in the river and soil of this region. These wastes contain an excessive amount of heavy metals, which is detrimental for both environment and living organisms. The concentration of metals, Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), and Lead (Pb) were studied for water, soil and vegetable samples in order to understand the current pollution scenario of Tongi industrial area, Bangladesh. In this research, studies were conducted on water and soil by using water quality parameters, geo-chemical index, contamination factor, and pollution load index. This research also investigated the daily metal intake by people consuming the vegetables grown from that contaminated soil. Experimental observations reveal that the water of those areas is polluted with the concentration of Cd (0.0542-0.1728) mgL-1, Pb (0.0421-0.245) mgL-1 and Cr (1.0622-2.4357) mgL-1. However, the study also demonstrated that the soil of these areas is severely contaminated with Cd(4.42-100.564)mgkg-1, but moderately contaminated with Pb and Cr, and the rate of heavy metal intake is within the World Health Organization (WHO) standard among the consumers of vegetables grown in the local agricultural land. Cadmium concentration is observed to be higher in water and soil compared to the concentrations of lead and chromium, which might be due to the high cadmium containing industrial effluent discharge in the river. This study demonstrates the requirements for wastewater containing heavy metal discharge regulations into the river water, and it is also concluded that the assessment area is extremely contaminated with cadmium concentrations.

Emerging small-scale textile industries in residential areas of Mirpur, Dhaka City, Bangladesh: an assessment of the discharged wastewater quality and potential impacts.

The textile industries in Bangladesh are establishing remarkable opportunities for the financial growth of Bangladesh but the rapid and unplanned expansion of small-scale textile industries in residential areas has resulted in alarming environmental concerns. To examine the current pollution scenario in Dhaka City, Bangladesh generated from small-scale textile industries in residential areas, a study was conducted in Dhaka North City Corporation, particularly in Mirpur Sect.7 and the Mirpur Shialbari area. Wastewater samples were collected from eight textile wet processing industries to assess the physio-chemical parameters of the samples. The investigation discovered that just two companies' wastewater samples (Industry 1 and 3) met the national standard set by the Department of Environment (DoE), Bangladesh as only these two sectors have Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) while the wastewater quality in the other industries (Industry 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8) was unsatisfactory, indicating serious violations of the law. The results of the study will aid government policymakers in developing serious implementation strategies to prevent the discharge of untreated wastewater from small-scale companies in residential areas.

Pollution severity-regulated effects of roof strategies on China’s winter PM2.5

Urbanization took place rapidly over recent decades and is expected to continue in the future, producing a series of environmental issues, including heat stress. Cool roof and green roof strategies have been adopted in a number of megacities to mitigate urban heat and carbon emissions, yet China is lagging behind developed countries in the implementation. One reason is the lack of careful and thoughtful assessment of potential effects of roof strategies, including their influences on winter PM2.5. With numerical simulations in this study, we assess how cool and green roof strategies affect winter PM2.5 pollution in North China, and we find that adoptions of cool roofs tend to aggravate PM2.5 pollution in lightly polluted regions. When PM2.5 pollution worsens, the negative effects of cool roofs are likely to be diminished. Green roofs cause less enhancements of PM2.5 pollution as a result of inhibited evapotranspiration in winter. We demonstrate that the effects of roof strategies are regulated by pollution severity and conclude that green roofs with suppressed evapotranspiration and thus weaker penalty on winter PM2.5 pollution seem to be better choices given the current pollution severity level in China, especially for regions suitable for growth of broadleaf plants.

Air Pollutants Removal Using Biofiltration Technique: A Challenge at the Frontiers of Sustainable Environment.

Air pollution is a central problem faced by industries during the production process. The control of this pollution is essential for the environment and living organisms as it creates harmful effects. Biofiltration is a current pollution management strategy that concerns removing odor, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and other pollutants from the air. Recently, this approach has earned vogue globally due to its low-cost and straightforward technique, effortless function, high reduction efficacy, less energy necessity, and residual consequences not needing additional remedy. There is a critical requirement to consider sustainable machinery to decrease the pollutants arising within air and water sources. For managing these different kinds of pollutant reductions, biofiltration techniques have been utilized. The contaminants are adsorbed upon the medium exterior and are metabolized to benign outcomes through immobilized microbes. Biofiltration-based designs have appeared advantageous in terminating dangerous pollutants from wastewater or contaminated air in recent years. Biofiltration uses the possibilities of microbial approaches (bacteria and fungi) to lessen the broad range of compounds and VOCs. In this review, we have discussed a general introduction based on biofiltration and the classification of air pollutants based on different sources. The history of biofiltration and other mechanisms used in biofiltration techniques have been discussed. Further, the crucial factors of biofilters that affect the performance of biofiltration techniques have been discussed in detail. Finally, we concluded the topic with current challenges and future prospects.

Plastic waste pollution, environmental impacts and regulatory challenges: The Cameroonian example

This paper examines the challenges that bedevil the regulation of plastic pollution in Cameroon. Drawing on existing primary and secondary data, the paper argues that although there is an enabling legal environment for regulating plastic pollution in Cameroon, such an enabling environment disappointingly is not comprehensive and holistic to effectively combat plastic pollution owing to some pertinent reasons. Because of such reasons, the paper finds that the legal environment is timid and lends little support for effectively combating plastic pollution in Cameroon as land and marine plastics litter is continually on a hike. After demonstrating that the current legal efforts are timid and are not fit to address the current plastic pollution crisis and its associated harms, the paper recommends some key measures and pathways to effectively tackle the problem with a major one being the dire need for a comprehensive legislation that addresses plastics and the plastic pollution crisis in a holistic manner and that such legislation must be contingent on a similar global legally binding agreement that enjoins all countries to adopt, implement and enforce national plastics and plastic pollution legislation.

Spatiotemporal changes of eutrophication and heavy metal pollution in the inflow river system of Baiyangdian after the establishment of Xiongan New Area.

Pollution in inflow rivers seriously endangers the water environment in downstream lakes. In this study, an inflow river system of the Baiyangdian–Fuhe river system (FRS) was investigated to display timely pollution patterns of eutrophication and heavy metals after the establishment of Xiongan New Area, aiming to reveal the weak parts in current pollution treatments and guide the further water quality management. The results showed that the pollution of eutrophication was worse than the heavy metals in FRS, with serious eutrophic parameters of ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). There were greatly spatiotemporal variations of the pollution in FRS. (1) Concentrations of NH4+-N and total phosphorus were all higher in summer and autumn, whereas, COD contents were higher in spring; the water quality index (WQI) of eutrophication linearly increased along FRS in summer and autumn, with pollution hotspots around the estuary area. (2) The pollution levels of plumbum exceeded cadmium (Cd) and chromium (Cr) but without strongly spatiotemporal changes; however, Cd and Cr in the town area and Cd in spring showed higher concentrations; the WQI of heavy metals showed single peak curves along FRS, with significantly higher values around the town area. Additionally, the four potential pollution sources: domestic sewage, traffic pollution, agricultural wastewater and polluted sediments were identified based on the pollution patterns and pollutant associations. These findings demonstrated current treatments failed to eliminate the pollution in some hotspots and periods, and the in-depth understanding of the pollution spatiotemporal patterns in this study, especially the pollution hotspots, serious periods and potential sources, are crucial to furtherly develop spatiotemporally flexible pollution treatment strategies.

Modifications of calcium metabolism and apoptosis after ammonia nitrogen exposure imply a tumorous fate in clam Ruditapes philippinarum?

Ammonia nitrogen (NH3N) is a kind of toxic inorganic nitrogen that has been a great ecological stressor to the marine organisms for quite a few years in Chinese coastal area. Toxic mechanism of ammonia nitrogen on marine bivalve is not well elucidated, especially in calcium metabolism and apoptosis. In the present study, clams Ruditapes philippinarum were used as the experiment animals to receive NH3N exposure with environmental concentrations for 21 days. Results showed that NH3N exposure induced ROS production, decreased Ca2+ concentration, and increased caspase 3 activities in the clam gill cells. In addition, three kinds of Ca2+ exchanger genes, e. g. Na+/K+/Ca2+ exchanger 2, Na+/Ca2+ exchanger 3 and monovalent cation/H+ antiporter, exhibited significant increments in transcription to eliminate intracellular Ca2+. Besides, NH3N exposure significantly increased mRNA expression levels of key anti-apoptotic regulator Bcl-2 genes (Bcl2-1 and Bcl2-1), which would inhibit the apoptosis degree in gill cells. Taken together, increased Ca2+-extrusion and apoptosis inhibition would act cooperatively to alleviate the apoptosis degree and extend the lifespan, so that some kind of tumor might develop in oxidative damaged gill cells after NH3N exposure. Therefore, it is predicted that NH3N exposure will probably bring the clam R. philippinarum a tumorous fate, which will be a great challenge for the healthy development of molluscs aquaculture under the current pollution condition. In addition, caspase 3 activity and mRNA expression levels of Bcl2-2 and Na+/Ca2+ exchanger 3 could be used as potential clam biomarkers to indicate NH3N pollution.

A new approach for determining optimal placement of PM2.5 air quality sensors: case study for the contiguous United States

Considerable financial resources are allocated for measuring ambient air pollution in the United States, yet the locations for these monitoring sites may not be optimized to capture the full extent of current pollution variability. Prior research on best sensor placement for monitoring fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution is scarce: most studies do not span areas larger than a medium-sized city or examine timescales longer than 1 week. Here we present a pilot study using multiresolution dynamic mode decomposition (mrDMD) to identify the optimal placement of PM2.5 sensors from 2000 to 2016 over the contiguous United States. This novel approach incorporates the variation of PM2.5 on timescales ranging from 1 d to over a decade to capture air pollution variability. We find that the mrDMD algorithm identifies more high-priority sensor locations in the western United States than those expected along the eastern coast, where a large number of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) PM2.5 monitors currently reside. Specifically, 53% of mrDMD optimized sensor locations are west of the 100th meridian, compared to only 32% in the current EPA network. The mrDMD sensor locations can capture PM2.5 from wildfires and high pollution events, with particularly high skill in the west. These results suggest significant gaps in the current EPA monitoring network in the San Joaquin Valley in California, northern California, and in the Pacific Northwest (Idaho, and Eastern Washington and Oregon). Our framework diagnoses where to place air quality sensors so that they can best monitor smoke from wildfires. Our framework may also be applied to urban areas for equitable placement of PM2.5 monitors.

Impact on the Power Grid Caused via Ultra-Fast Charging Technologies of the Electric Buses Fleet

Battery Electric Buses (BEBs) are considerably integrated into cities worldwide. These buses have a strict schedule; thus, they could be charged in a very short time with a power level up to 600 kW. The high-power systems and short charging times imply special grid operation conditions that should be taken into account. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the influence of their charging infrastructure on the distribution system operation, especially near the charging point. This work presents two Use Cases (UCs) from two demos (Germany and the Netherlands) to investigate the impact of the slow and fast-chargers’ integrations on the power grid and environment. Fast-chargers up to 350 kW based on pantograph technology and slow-chargers up to 50 kW based on Combined Charging System Type 2 (CCS2) are used on the BEB line route and in the depot, respectively. The charging of BEBs with these solutions is studied here to investigate their impact on the grid in terms of power quality. It was found that the voltage variations due to fast-chargers terminal remain much below the EN50160 standard limit values i.e., ±10%. The obtained maximum Total Harmonic Voltage Distortion (THDv) value is 2.7%, with an average value of 1.3%, which is below the limit value of 8%, as per the standard EN 50160. Similarly, the individual harmonic currents were measured. The maximum value of total harmonic current distortion (THDI) is around 25%, with an average value of 3% only. As the average value of THDI is quite low, the harmonic current pollution is not a big concern for the installation at this time.

Characteristics of PM2.5 Pollution in Osorno, Chile: Ion Chromatography and Meteorological Data Analyses

Over the decades, air pollution has become a serious problem in Osorno, Chile. This study aims to clarify the source of PM2.5 by comprehensively analyzing its chemical composition and comparing it with meteorological conditions. The PM2.5 and filter samples were collected during April 2019–August 2019 using a continuous particulate monitor. The analyses were conducted using Image J software, ion chromatography, and backward trajectory. The ion composition and the PM2.5 were compared. The results on the PM2.5 and potassium (K+) concentrations indicated a correlation factor of 0.93, indicating that biomass combustion, such as wood burning, is the dominant source of PM2.5 in Osorno. High PM2.5 concentrations of over 170 to 1124 µg/m3 were observed in low temperature, low precipitation, and low wind speed periods—meteorological conditions contributed to the development of a thermal inversion layer. In addition, correlations of 0.61 to 0.67 were found among the detected ions that are often found in seawater. The backward trajectory analyses showed dominant air mass transport from the South Pacific Ocean, suggesting that part of the detected PM2.5 was derived from the marine environment. Continuous monitoring and mitigation strategies focusing on wood combustion activities are necessary to alleviate the current air pollution problem in Osorno city.

Air Pollution Monitoring System with Prediction Abilities Based on Smart Autonomous Sensors Equipped with ANNs with Novel Training Scheme

The paper presents a concept of an air pollution monitoring system with prediction abilities, based on wireless smart sensors, that takes into account local conditions (microclimate) prevailing in particular areas of the city. In most cases reported in the literature, artificial neural networks (ANNs) are used to predict future pollution levels. In existing solutions of this type, ANNs are trained with generalized datasets common for larger areas, e.g., cities. Our investigations show, however, that conditions may strongly differ even between particular streets in the city, which may impact prediction quality. This results from varying density of urban development, different levels of insolation, airiness, amounts of greenery, etc. As a result, with similar values of ANN input signals, such as current pollution levels, temperature, pressure, etc., the results of the prediction may differ significantly from reality. For this reason, we propose an innovative solution, in which particular sensors are equipped with miniaturized low-power ANNs, trained with datasets gathered directly from their closest environment, without a need for the obtaining of such data from a base station. This may simplify the installation and maintenance process of a network of such sensors. In a further part of this work, we dealt with solutions that enable the reduction of the computational complexity of ANNs in the case of their implementation on specialized integrated circuits. We propose replacing the most complex mathematical operations used in the learning algorithm with simpler solutions. A prototype chip containing the main blocks of such an ANN was also designed.

Physics experiments using arduino: determination of the air quality index

Air pollution is one of our day’s significant reasons for human health problems and affects every community throughout the world. Monitoring air pollution is a key aspect of raising awareness and pollution mitigation approaches followed by different nations. This paper targets to develop a low-cost Internet of things-based embedded system to measure and maintain air quality index (AQI) indicators at any locality. The system implemented here is minimal and can be deployed quickly and easily. The AQI measurement system was developed and tested for several periods, and recorded values of AQI were found to be in close agreement with actual values obtained from standard databases. In addition, several starting physics and electronics laboratory courses train students on measuring physical parameters over time. In this context, along with the introduction to the current pollution scenario and the challenges, this experiment will give a first-hand exposure of setting up a simple experiment and measuring a physical parameter to time. Students also learn to write simple programs and interface the experiment with a computer to record the results. The current work also demonstrates how to publish/subscribe the data using the message queue telemetry transport protocol.

Inter-estuarine and seasonal to decadal variations of heavy metal pollution in the Gulf of Cambay, India

Toxic heavy metals adsorbed preferentially onto suspended sediments enter our food chain by bio-assimilation in coastal ocean organisms. To decipher metal pollution status in the Gulf of Cambay (food hub of India) under rising anthropogenic pressure, we present seasonal abundances of Ti, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb in > 150 samples of suspended sediments (> 0.45µm) collected in four seasons (2016-2017) from two large estuaries (Narmada and Tapi). The suspended sediments of both the estuaries generally show low heavy metal pollution (Igeo < 1). The hotspots of moderate-to-high pollution of Pb (Igeo < 4), Cd (Igeo < 3), and Zn (Igeo < 2) are found at salinity < 2, and those of Co (Igeo < 2) at salinity ~ 20-30 in the Tapi estuary during the non-monsoon seasons indicating their decoupled sources in Surat. The PLI values show no or little seasonality in the overall metal pollution status of both the estuaries. A comparison with the literature data suggests that suspended sediments efficiently capture active metal pollution in Indian estuaries. Furthermore, a recent decline (2004-2017) in estuarine metal pollution in the Gulf of Cambay found in this study could be due to enhanced organic matter supplies by enhanced urban sewage discharge and/or more trapping of contaminated riverine sediments upstream of the newly built large dam reservoirs counteracting the growth of anthropogenic metal inputs in the Narmada and Tapi watersheds. The data scarcity of heavy metal concentrations in suspended sediments limits reporting unambiguously the current pollution status of other major Indian estuaries.

China pollutant discharge permits as a link between total emission control and water quality: a pilot study of the pesticide industry

Abstract The deficiency of China's current pollution discharge permit system lies in the failure to improve the water quality effectively. This paper discusses the premise that the water quality of a water environmental functional zone (WEFZ) is mostly affected by industrial pollution sources. By reviewing the related policy, we noted the link between total emission control, effluent limitations and pollutant discharge permits us to configure a practical framework for pollutant discharge permits based on water quality. China's pollutant discharge permit system provides an administrative foundation for reducing polluters' total emissions at the scale of the WEFZ, and it is best implemented through the imposition of limitations on polluters to identify the related treatment technology levels. Owing to the importance of limitations, the methodology of limitation classification and the related treatment technology classification are presented for the pesticide industry. Additionally, a comprehensive analysis of the pollutant reduction potential for the pesticide industry is conducted to determine the current level of sewage treatment. More importantly, this study offers an innovative way to investigate pollutant reduction potential and provides an example that may be useful to other key industries.

Improving the assessment of polluted sites using an integrated bio-physico-chemical monitoring framework

Soil – water pollution resulting from anthropogenic activities is a growing concern internationally. Effective monitoring techniques play a crucial role in the detection, prevention, and remediation of polluted sites. Current pollution monitoring practices in many geographical locations are primarily based on physico–chemical assessments which do not always reflect the potential toxicity of contaminant ‘cocktails’ and harmful chemicals not screened for routinely. Biomonitoring provides a range of sensitive techniques to characterise the eco–toxicological effects of chemical contamination. The bioavailability of contaminants, in addition to their effects on organisms at the molecular, cellular, individual, and community level allows the characterisation of the overall health status of polluted sites and ecosystems. Quantifying bioaccumulation, changes to community structure, faunal morphology, behavioural, and biochemical responses are standard procedures employed in biomonitoring studies in many High-Income Countries (HICs). This review highlights the need to integrate biomonitoring tools alongside physico–chemical monitoring techniques by using ‘effect–based’ tools to provide more holistic information on the ecological impairment of soil-water systems. This paper considers the wider implementation of biomonitoring methods in Low to Middle Income Countries (LMICs) and their significance in pollution investigations and proposes an integrated monitoring framework that can identify toxicity drivers by utilising ‘effect–based’ and ‘risk–based’ monitoring approaches.

COVID-19 Pandemic – A Review of the Effects on the Environment

The scourge of the coronavirus diseases-2019 (COVID-19) has caused suffering to human population globally. It is one of the most devastating pandemic in history. With the current lockdown and restriction, there is a concern that this bleak period might spark an even more severe pollution and climate changes once this is over. This paper reviews the effects of post COVID-19 in the environmental perspective. Activities such as agriculture and urbanization has brought about the various input of pollutants into the natural ecosystem of Malaysia. In recent years it has been reported on the rise of the levels of harmful pollutants such as pesticides, heavy metals and hydrocarbons. Therefore, continuous monitoring and remediation researches has been carried out to curb the detrimental effects of pollutants in the natural environments of Malaysia. In this study, we discuss the status, impacts and sources of pollutions globally. It is hoped that the current review will provide a better picture of the current pollution status and to further aid to mitigate the pollution issues we are facing.

A nonlinear and time-dependent leak current in the presence of calcium fluoride patch-clamp seal enhancer.

Automated patch-clamp platforms are widely used and vital tools in both academia and industry to enable high-throughput studies such as drug screening. A leak current to ground occurs whenever the seal between a pipette and cell (or internal solution and cell in high-throughput machines) is not perfectly insulated from the bath (extracellular) solution. Over 1 GΩ seal resistance between pipette and bath solutions is commonly used as a quality standard for manual patch work. With automated platforms it can be difficult to obtain such a high seal resistance between the intra- and extra-cellular solutions. One suggested method to alleviate this problem is using an F - containing internal solution together with a Ca 2+ containing external solution - so that a CaF 2 crystal forms when the two solutions meet which 'plugs the holes' to enhance the seal resistance. However, we observed an unexpected nonlinear-in-voltage and time-dependent current using these solutions on an automated patch-clamp platform. We performed manual patch-clamp experiments with the automated patch-clamp solutions, but no biological cell, and observed the same nonlinear time-dependent leak current. The current could be completely removed by washing out F - ions to leave a conventional leak current that was linear and not time-dependent. We therefore conclude fluoride ions interacting with the CaF 2 crystal are the origin of the nonlinear time-dependent leak current. The consequences of such a nonlinear and time-dependent leak current polluting measurements should be considered carefully if it cannot be isolated and subtracted.

Investigation of water quality and its spatial distribution in the Kor River basin, Fars province, Iran

As one of the largest rivers in the southwest of Iran, the Kor River plays an important role in local economy and ecosystem. However, the rapid development of industry has caused significant pollution in this river in recent years. Despite of a number of studies reported on this river regarding water pollution, few have conducted a comprehensive investigation of a wide range of water quality parameters to map the current pollution status. This study focuses on 21 water quality parameters around the industrial centers of the Kor River basin with samples taken from 25 stations. With the measured parameters, the interpolation maps of each parameter were determined using the Kriging method, and the water quality was quantified using the Water Quality Index (WQI) method. The results showed that the WQI values were between 28 and 73, showing more pollution around the factories than in the upstream areas. The results of the principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that BOD, COD, NO3−, and coliforms were the most important parameters among the 21 parameters affecting the water quality. Linear regression results suggested that the best parameters for determining coliforms and WQI values were BOD, and Cr, PO43−, Hg and Zn levels, respectively, with R2 greater than 0.87. These results can also simplify the prediction of coliforms and WQI using only a few parameters. We further found that flatter regions generally had more pollution, primarily due to pollutant accumulation as a result of water stagnation.

A nonlinear and time-dependent leak current in the presence of calcium fluoride patch-clamp seal enhancer

Automated patch-clamp platforms are widely used and vital tools in both academia and industry to enable high-throughput studies such as drug screening. A leak current to ground occurs whenever the seal between a pipette and cell (or internal solution and cell in high-throughput machines) is not perfectly insulated from the bath (extracellular) solution. Over 1 GΩ seal resistance between pipette and bath solutions is commonly used as a quality standard for manual patch work. With automated platforms it can be difficult to obtain such a high seal resistance between the intra- and extra-cellular solutions. One suggested method to alleviate this problem is using an F − containing internal solution together with a Ca 2+ containing external solution — so that a CaF 2 crystal forms when the two solutions meet which ‘plugs the holes’ to enhance the seal resistance. However, we observed an unexpected nonlinear-in-voltage and time-dependent current using these solutions on an automated patch-clamp platform. We performed manual patch-clamp experiments with the automated patch-clamp solutions, but no biological cell, and observed the same nonlinear time-dependent leak current. The current could be completely removed by washing out F − ions to leave a conventional leak current that was linear and not time-dependent. We therefore conclude fluoride ions interacting with the CaF 2 crystal are the origin of the nonlinear time-dependent leak current. The consequences of such a nonlinear and time-dependent leak current polluting measurements should be considered carefully if it cannot be isolated and subtracted.

Climate change indicates that a balanced environment is a historic requirement

ABSTRACT Both the gas phase and solid phase environmental pollution produce double problems. The first is to reduce the current pollutants and the second is to stop producing further pollutants. The first is the simpler because existing technologies are satisfactory although expensive. The second problem is more involved because new technologies need to be developed. Such developments are not only expensive, but require decades of major scientific and engineering efforts. This paper focuses only on the second, the more difficult problem.