Facile green synthesis of zero-valent iron nanoparticles using barberry leaf extract (GnZVI@BLE) for photocatalytic reduction of hexavalent chromium.

In this study, zero-valent iron (GnZVI) was synthesized using barberry leaf extract (GnZVI@BLE). The physicochemical properties of the final products were characterized by FT-IR, SEM, TEM, and EDS techniques. The results of TEM analysis showed that the obtained iron zero-valent nanoparticles with a diameter between 20 and 40 nm and shell-core structures were successfully synthesized. The results of FT-IR confirmed the presence of various functional groups. The photocatalytic activity of synthesized nanoparticles was investigated by reduction of hexavalent chromium. Laboratory data showed that the presence of GnZVI@BLE as a nanocatalyst in the photocatalytic process could be reduction the hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)). Photocatalytic data revealed that, when the dosage of nanoparticles was 0.675 g/L, the reduction efficiency of hexavalent chromium was 100%. The kinetics of the reaction follows a pseudo-second-order equation. The constant of reaction rate was 0.4 at pH 2 and 0.5 g/L concentration of GnZVI@BLE.

Chlorpyrifos remediation in agriculture runoff with homogeneous solar photo-Fenton reaction at near neutral pH: phytotoxicity assessment.

This study represents the first application of Fe-citrate-based photo-Fenton chemistry for the degradation of chlorpyrifos (CPF) spiked into agricultural runoff, and its phytotoxicity assessment. The effects of the initial CPF concentration, time and ratio of Fe-citrate/H2O2 on CPF removal during the photo-Fenton reaction were investigated and modeled with analysis of variance using R software by the response-surface methodology package. According to the stationary point in original units, the optimal condition for 70.00% CPF removal was as follows: CPF = 2.5 mg L-1 (0.0), time = 48.0 min (0.585) and Fe-citrate/H2O2 = 0.075 (0.539). Beside running the system at near-neutral pH, another strength of this study is related to the treatment of agricultural runoff contaminated with CPF with a raceway pond reactor, which has the advantages of simplicity of the facilities and procedures, as well as the possibility of using sunlight more efficiently in the field of applications. Finally, untreated and treated agriculture runoffs were used as irrigation to determine their phytotoxic effects on seed germination of cress (Lepidium sativum). Solar photo-Fenton treatment greatly reduced phytotoxicity of agriculture runoff and showed the highest germination percentage (70%) compared to both raw agricultural runoff (60%) and untreated CPF-spiked runoff (35%).

Antibiotic resistance and antibiotic-resistance genes of Pseudomonas spp. and Escherichia coli isolated from untreated hospital wastewater.

Hospitals are considered an important factor in the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARBs) and antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs). The purpose of this research was to characterize the microbial populations in hospital wastewater and investigated the prevalence of ß-lactamase, SulІ and QnrS resistance genes. In the first step, culture method was used to isolate Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. In the next step, accurate identification of isolated bacteria was carried out using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method, then the resistance of the bacteria at different concentrations of antibiotics (8-128 µg/mL) was examined. Finally the ARGs were detected using the PCR method. The averages of heterotrophic plate count (HPC) and ARB concentration in wastewater samples were 1.8 × 108 and 4.3 × 106 CFU/100 mL, respectively. The highest resistance rates were found for sulfamethoxazole and the highest resistance rates in the ß-lactamase group were for ceftazidime, while highest sensitivity was for gentamicin and there was no isolate that was sensitive to the studied antibiotics. SulІ and QnrS were the highest and lowest abundance of all ARGs in samples respectively and blaSHV was the highest ß-lactam resistance gene. Our results indicated an increase in the resistance of identified bacteria to several antibiotics. So it can be concluded that numerous antibiotic-resistant pathogens and vast numbers of ARGs exist in the human body so that their release from hospitals without effective treatment can cause many dangers to the environment and human health.

The concentration of BTEX compounds and health risk assessment in municipal solid waste facilities and urban areas.

In this study, human exposure to benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes (BTEX), along with their respective risk assessment is studied in four major units (n = 14-point sources) of the largest municipal solid waste management facilities (MSWF) in Iran. The results were compared with four urban sites in Tehran, capital of Iran. Workers at the pre-processing unit are exposed to the highest total BTEX (151 µg m-3). In specific, they were exposed to benzene concentrations of 11 µg m-3. Moreover, the total BTEX (t-BTEX) concentrations measured over the conveyor belt was 198 µg m-3 at most, followed by trommel (104), and active landfills (43). The mean concentration of ambient t-BTEX in Tehran is 100 µg m-3. On average, xylenes and toluene have the highest concentrations in both on-site and urban environments, with mean values of 24 and 21, and 41 and 37 µg m-3, respectively. Even though the non-carcinogenic risk of occupational exposure is negligible, BTEX is likely to increase the chance of carcinogenic risks (1.7E-05) for workers at the pre-processing unit. A definite carcinogenic risk of 1.3E-04, and non-carcinogenic effect, of HI = 1.6 were observed in one urban site. With the exception of the pre-processing unit, the citizens of Tehran had higher exposure to BTEX. Overall, BTEX concentrations in the largest MSWF of Iran remains an issue of public health concern.

Exposure to endotoxins and respiratory health in composting facilities.

The impact of bioaerosols in municipal solid waste management is nowadays identified as a growing health concern worldwide. In this study, exposure to endotoxin in composting facilities and its association with lung function and clinical symptoms was investigated in Tehran municipal solid waste management complex (Aradkooh) as one of the largest solid waste management facilities in the Middle East. Airborne endotoxins were collected between June and July 2019 and the concentrations were determined by Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) method. Healthy workers with no history of respiratory disease were recruited and data on clinical symptoms (cough, phlegm, wheezing, dyspnea, fatigue, headache, eye irritation, runny nose, runny eyes, and sore throat) was obtained by the modified American Thoracic Society questionnaire, and spirometric measurement was performed by an expert. The binary logistic regression test was used and adjusted for confounding variables. The results didn't show any difference in lung function parameters (FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, PEF, FEF25-75%), and most of the respiratory symptoms despite a relatively high difference in the concentration of endotoxin observed in air samples of different locations. Only the increased risk of cough (OR 10.5, 95% CI: 2.4 to 44.8 in the moderately exposed group and 7.8, 95% CI: 1.6 to 39.1 in highly exposed ones), fatigue (OR 3.7, 95% CI: 1.2 to 11.7), and headache (OR 6.02, 95% CI: 1.4 to 24.5) were found in the exposed groups compared to controls after adjusting for age, active and passive smoking. However, findings of the study might be underestimated due to some issues including healthy worker effect, intra and intersubject variability, and self-reporting bias, thereby the results should be interpreted with caution. Although we did not find any relationship, due to the high concentrations of endotoxins observed in some sites, it is recommended to consider some possible prevention measures such as using personal protective equipment to reduce the exposure of workers at an acceptable level.

National and subnational mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to 17 occupational risk factors in Iran, 1990-2015.

We estimated age-sex specific and cause-specific mortality, years of life lost due to premature mortality (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs) and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to 17 individual occupational risks in Iran at the national and subnational levels in 1990-2015 based on the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015 (GBD 2015). The burden of disease attributable to occupational risk factors was calculated using the comparative risk assessment methodology based on 10 outcomes and 21 risk-outcome pairs. The temporal changes in the attributable burden of disease were decomposed into the contribution of population growth, population ageing, risk-deleted DALY rate, and risk exposure. National DALYs attributable to occupational risks at the national level in 1990, 2005, and 2015 were 138,210 (95% uncertainty interval 64,429-223,028), 193,243 (91,645-310,281), and 228,310 (106,782-371,709), respectively indicating a total increase of 65% (65-67) during the study period. Between 1990 and 2015, the share of the attributable DALYs for women rose by 55% (51-58) from 13% (12-14) to 20% (19-21). The proportion of YLLs in national DALYs attributable to occupational risks during the study period slightly decreased from 24% in 1990 to 23% in 2015. The five occupational risks with the highest contributions in the national attributable DALYs in 2015 were ergonomic factors (107,490), noise (52,122), exposure to particulate matter, gases, and fumes (26,847), asthmagens (19,347), and exposure to asbestos (7842). From 1990 to 2015, the increase in total DALYs attributable to occupational carcinogens (112%) was higher than that for other occupational risks. During the study period, changes in risk deleted DALY rate and risk exposure led to decreases in total DALYs attributable to occupational risks by 14% and 30%, respectively. Based on the Gini coefficient, spatial inequality in DALY rate attributable to occupational risks at the provincial level decreased during 1990-2015. A comprehensive plan for management of exposure to occupational risks, especially occupational carcinogens can cause an important effect for control of the increasing trend of occupational health losses.

Response surface methodology modeling to improve degradation of Chlorpyrifos in agriculture runoff using TiO2 solar photocatalytic in a raceway pond reactor.

This paper deals with the use of a raceway pond reactor (RPR) as an alternative photoreactor for solar photocatalytic applications. Raceway pond reactors are common low-cost reactors which can treat large volumes of water. The experiments were carried out with TiO2 in the agriculture effluent spiked with Chlorpyrifos (CPF) at circumneutral pH. The Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to find the optimum process parameters to maximize CPF oxidation from the mathematical model equations developed in this study using R software. By ANOVA, p-value of lack of fit > 0.05 indicated that, the equation was well-fitted. The theoretical efficiency of CPF removal, under the optimum oxidation conditions with UV solar energy of around 697 ± 5.33 lux, was 84.01%, which is in close agreement with the mean experimental value (80 ± 1.42%) confirming that the response model was suitable for the optimization. As far as the authors know, this is the first study of CPF removal using RPR in agriculture runoff at circumneutral pH.

The catalytic destruction of antibiotic tetracycline by sulfur-doped manganese oxide (S-MgO) nanoparticles.

The present study evaluates the efficacy of S-doped MgO (S-MgO) as compared with the plain MgO as a catalyst for destructive removal of tetracycline (TTC) in aqueous solutions. The S-MgO had around 6% S in its structure. Doping MgO with S caused increase in surface oxygen vacancy defects. Adding S-MgO (12 g/L) to a TTC aqueous solution (50 mg/L) caused removal of around 99% TTC at the neutral pH (ca. 5.1) and a short reaction time of 10 min. In comparison, plain MgO could remove only around 15% of TTC under similar experimental conditions. Diffusing O2 into the TTC solution under the reaction with S-MgO resulted in a considerable improvement of TTC removal as compared to diffusing N2. Complete removal of TTC and 86.4% removal of its TOC could be obtained using 2 g/L S-MgO nanoparticles. The removal of TTC increased with the increase in solution temperature. The presence of nitrate, sulfate and chloride did not considerably affect the removal of TTC using S-MgO while TTC removal significantly decreased at the presence of bicarbonate and phosphate. The S-MgO was a stable and reusable catalyst exhibiting much higher catalytic activity than plain MgO for the TTC destruction. Accordingly, S-MgO is an emerging and efficient catalyst for catalytic decomposition and mineralization of such pharmaceutical compounds as TTC under atmospheric temperature and pressure.

National and sub-national age-sex specific and cause-specific mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to household air pollution from solid cookfuel use (HAP) in Iran, 1990-2013.

National and sub-national mortality, years of life lost due to premature mortality (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs) and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for household air pollution from solid cookfuel use (HAP) in Iran, 1990-2013 were estimated based on the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (GBD 2013). The burden of disease attributable to HAP was quantified by the comparative risk assessment method using four inputs: (1) exposure to HAP, (2) the theoretical minimum risk exposure level (TMREL), (3) exposure-response relationships of related causes (4) disease burden of related causes. All across the country, solid fuel use decreased from 5.26% in 1990 to 0.15% in 2013. The drastic reduction of solid fuel use leaded to DALYs attributable to HAP fell by 97.8% (95% uncertainty interval 97.7-98.0%) from 87,433 (51072-144303) in 1990 to 1889 (1016-3247) in 2013. Proportion of YLLs in DALYs from HAP decreased from 95.7% in 1990 to 86.6% in 2013. Contribution of causes in the attributable DALYs was variable during the study period and in 2013 was in the following order: ischemic heart disease for 43.4%, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for 24.7%, hemorrhagic stroke for 9.7%, lower respiratory infections for 9.3%, ischemic stroke for 7.8%, lung cancer for 3.4% and cataract for 1.8%. Based on the Gini coefficient, the spatial inequality of the disease burden from HAP increased during the study period. The remained burden of disease was relatively scarce and it mainly occurred in seven southern provinces. Further reduction of the disease burden from HAP as well as compensation of the increasing spatial inequality in Iran could be attained through an especial plan for providing cleaner fuels in the southern provinces.

Degradation and COD removal of catechol in wastewater using the catalytic ozonation process combined with the cyclic rotating-bed biological reactor.

The effect of ozonation catalyzed with MgO/granular activated carbon (MgO/GAC) composite as a pretreatment process on the performance of cyclic rotating-bed biological reactor (CRBR) for the catechol removal from wastewater has been investigated. CRBR with acclimated biomasses could efficiently remove catechol and its related COD from wastewater at organic loading rate (OLR) of 7.82 kg COD/m(3).d (HRT of 9 h). Then, OLR increased to 15.64 kg COD/m(3).d (HRT of 4.5 h) and CRBR failed. Catalytic ozonation process (COP) used as a pre-treatment and could improve the performance of the failed CRBR. The overall removal efficiency of the combined process attained respective steady states of 91% and 79% for degradation and COD removal of catechol. Therefore, the combined process is more effective in degradation and COD removal of catechol; it is also a viable alternative for upgrading industrial wastewater treatment plant.

Analysis of the health and environmental status of sterilizers in hospital waste management: a case study of hospitals in Tehran.

According to the first article of the waste management rule ratified in 2004, healthcare facilities are responsible for sterilizing their own infectious wastes. Nowadays non-incineration techniques are preferred internationally owing to toxic emissions caused by incinerators. Surveys have been conducted in Iran, resulting in ratification of an executive code by the Iranian Board of Ministers, which imposed a ban on incinerators; furthermore, it emphasized, instead, the use of sterilizers. The main objective of this research was evaluating the present status of these facilities to figure out which ones have less effect on the community, personnel and on the environment. A questionnaire was used to collect the data. The results showed that biological tests had not been conducted for most of the sterilizers. As biological testing is the most important factor in assessing autoclave accuracy, a comprehensive program should be initiated to perform these tests to improve functioning of the sterilizers so that the best treating process can be achieved.

Analysis of heavy metal, rare, precious, and metallic element content in bottom ash from municipal solid waste incineration in Tehran based on particle size.

Waste incineration is increasingly used worldwide for better municipal solid waste management and energy recovery. However, residues resulting from waste incineration, such as Bottom Ash (BA) and Fly Ash (FA), can pose environmental and human health risks due to their physicochemical properties if not managed appropriately. On the other hand, with proper utilization, these residues can be turned into valuable Municipal metal mines. In this study, BA was granulated in various size ranges (< 0.075 mm, 0.075-0.125 mm, 0.125-0.5 mm, 0.5-1 mm, 1-2 mm, 2-4 mm, 4-16 mm, and > 16 mm). The physicochemical properties, heavy metal elements, environmental hazards, and other rare and precious metal elements in each Granulated Bottom Ash (GBA) group from Tehran's waste incineration were examined using ICP-MASS. Additionally, each GBA group's mineralogical properties and elemental composition were determined using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that the average concentration of heavy metals in GBA, including Zn (1974 mg/kg), Cu, and Ba (790 mg/kg), Pb (145 mg/kg), Cr (106 mg/kg), Ni (25 mg/kg), Sn (24 mg/kg), V (25 mg/kg), As (11 mg/kg), and Sb (29 mg/kg), was higher in particles smaller than 4 mm. Precious metals such as gold (average 0.3 mg/kg) and silver (average 11 mg/kg) were significantly higher in GBA particles smaller than 0.5 mm, making their extraction economically feasible. Moreover, rare metals such as Ce, Nd, La, and Y were detected in GBA, with average concentrations of 24, 8, 11, and 7 mg/kg, respectively. The results of this study indicated that BA contains environmentally concerning metals, as well as rare and precious metals, with high concentrations, especially in particles smaller than 4 mm. This highlights the need for proper pre-treatment before using these materials in civil and municipal applications or even landfilling.

Occurrence and removal of psychiatric pharmaceuticals in the Tehran South Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Psychiatric drugs released by humans in wastewater have received more attention because of their potential risks for aquatic organisms. In this study, the occurrence of the two most common groups of psychiatric drugs (sedatives-hypnotics-anxiolytics and antidepressants) were evaluated in the Tehran South Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant. All the target sedatives-hypnotics-anxiolytics (alprazolam, phenobarbital, and thioridazine) and antidepressants (fluoxetine, citalopram, sertraline, and venlafaxine) were observed in influent and secondary clarification (SC) effluent. Thioridazine (164.25 ± 218.74 ng/L) and citalopram (672.53 ± 938.56 ng/L) had the highest mean concentrations in the influent, while alprazolam (5.09 ± 2.33 ng/L) and citalopram (776.97 ± 1088.01 ng/L) had the highest concentrations in the SC effluent. The higher concentrations of the psychiatric drugs, except thioridazine, were detected in the SC effluent compared to the concentrations in the influent. The increased drugs concentrations, with negative removal efficiencies, were more distinctive in the cold season samples. Psychiatric drugs processed in the chlorination unit followed a completely different pattern compared to the drugs in the biological treatment unit. All the drugs' concentrations, except thioridazine, decreased in the chlorination unit, ranging between 27 ± 14% for alprazolam and 75 ± 10% for citalopram. However, the mean concentrations of the detected drugs were as follows: sertraline (11.96 ± 11.62 ng/L) and venlafaxine (184.94 ± 219.74 ng/L) which could cause environmental and ecological concerns.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in meat, poultry, fish and related product samples of Iran: a risk assessment study.

Meat, poultry, and seafood such as fish are a valuable source of protein, vitamins and minerals. Considering their high consumption in the human diet, it is necessary to study pollutants (such as PAHs) in them. This present study has focused on the PAHs level and probabilistic risk of health in meat, poultry, fish and related product samples by MSPE-GC/MS technique (magnetic solid-phase extraction with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry). The maximum mean of 16 PAH was detected in smoked fish samples (222.7 ± 13.2 µg/kg) and the minimum mean of 16 PAH was detected in chicken (juje) kebab (112.9 ± 7.2 µg/kg µg/kg). The maximum mean of 4PAHs was detected in tuna fish (23.7 ± 2.4 µg/kg) and the minimum mean of 4PAHs was seen in grilled chicken and sausage samples (non-detected). Our results showed the 4PAHs and B[a]P were lower than the EU (European Union) standard levels (these standard levels were 30 and 5 µg/kg, respectively). Furthermore, the correlation among the type and concentrations of PAHs congeners was investigated through cluster analysis by heat map and principal component analysis. The 90th percentile ILCR (incremental lifetime cancer risk) of PAH compounds in fish, poultry, meat and related products samples was 3.39E-06, which was lower than the maximum acceptable level of risk (10-4). Finally, the highest ILCR was related to hamburger (4.45E-06). Therefore, there is no risk in consuming these foods in Iran, but it is necessary to monitor PAHs concentration in different types of foods.

BTEX in indoor air of barbershops and beauty salons: Characterization, source apportionment and health risk assessment.

BACKGROUND: Volatile organic compounds, mainly BTEX, are among the pollutants of concern in beauty salons and barbershops that threaten both staff personnel and clients' health. This study aimed to determine the concentration of BTEX in barbershops and beauty salons and assess the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks based on the actual risk coefficients. Also, possible sources of BTEX were determined. METHOD: Samples were collected by passive sampling. Quantitative and qualitative measurements of BTEX compounds were performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MASS). Subsequently, the health risks were assessed according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. SPSS24 software and positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis were used for statistical analysis and source apportionment respectively. RESULTS: Toluene is the most abundant compound in beauty salons, with a maximum concentration of 219.4 (µg/m3) in beauty salons. Results indicated that the mean ELCR value estimated for benzene regarding female staff exposure (1.04 × 10-5) was higher than that for men (4.05 × 10-6). Also, ELCR values of ethylbenzene for staff exposure were 2.08 × 10-6 and 3.8 × 10-6 for men and women, respectively, and possess possible carcinogenesis risks. CONCLUSION: Use of solvents and cosmetic products, improper heating systems, and type of service are the sources that probably contribute to BTEX emissions in beauty salons. It is necessary to follow health guidelines and conduct continuous monitoring for their implementation, in addition to setting a mandated occupational regulation framework or air quality requirements, to improve the health conditions in beauty salons.

4-Chlorophenol adsorption from water solutions by activated carbon functionalized with amine groups: response surface method and artificial neural networks.

4-Chlorophenol pollution is a significant environmental concern. In this study, powdered activated carbon modified with amine groups is synthesized and investigated its efficiency in removing 4-chlorophenols from aqueous environments. Response surface methodology (RSM) and central composite design (CCD) were used to investigate the effect of different parameters, including pH, contact time, adsorbent dosage, and initial 4-chlorophenol concentration, on 4-chlorophenol removal efficiency. The RSM-CCD approach was implemented in R software to design and analyze the experiments. The statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to describe the roles of effecting parameters on response. Isotherm and kinetic studies were done with three Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin isotherm models and four pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, Elovich, and intraparticle kinetic models in both linear and non-linear forms. The synthesized adsorbent was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. The results showed that the synthesized modified activated carbon had a maximum adsorption capacity of 316.1 mg/g and exhibited high efficiency in removing 4-chlorophenols. The optimal conditions for the highest removal efficiency were an adsorbent dosage of 0.55 g/L, contact time of 35 min, initial concentration of 4-chlorophenol of 110 mg/L, and pH of 3. The thermodynamic study indicated that the adsorption process was exothermic and spontaneous. The synthesized adsorbent also showed excellent reusability even after five successive cycles. These findings demonstrate the potential of modified activated carbon as an effective method for removing 4-chlorophenols from aqueous environments and contributing to developing sustainable and efficient water treatment technologies.

Bottled water quality ranking via the multiple-criteria decision-making process: a case study of two-stage fuzzy AHP and TOPSIS.

Access to healthy drinking water is vital to human health and development. Bottled water consumption has been on the rise in recent years. As several chemical and bacteriological parameters affect bottled water quality, it is difficult to choose the highest-quality bottled water. Numerous studies have proposed the use of multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods to overcome this problem. Herein, the two-stage fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) and technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method were adopted to rank different brands of bottled water. The FAHP approach allows working at the intervals of judgment rather than absolute values. TOPSIS is a technique for ordering performance based on its similarity to the ideal solution. An expert panel selected and classified the criteria and sub-criteria. A pairwise comparison questionnaire was then developed, and the weights of the criteria and sub-criteria were assigned by water quality experts. The data on the quality of different brands of water were collected from the Iranian bottled water database. The final data analysis and weight determination of each parameter were performed in Excel and R software Programs. Finally, the CCi (value of closeness coefficient) and rank of 71 bottled water brands were calculated, and the best brand was introduced. Among the selected criteria, carcinogenic chemical compounds with the weight of 0.368 were the most important compound in ranking bottled water brands, followed by bacteriologic, pathogenic chemical compounds, chemical compounds important in terms of toxicity, nutritious chemical compounds with a low toxicity level, chemical compounds related to esthetic effects, and chemical compounds without health effects, respectively.

Quantifying and qualifying hospital pharmaceutical waste: a case study in Tehran, Iran.

Nowadays, hospital waste management is particularly important due to its potential pathogenicity and serious hazards and is considered as one of the most important environmental problems. One of the prominent actions in hospital waste management is quantitative studies and the collection of reliable and valid data to provide the best management solutions using the obtained information. Therefore, the present study was performed to reach this purpose. Measuring and quantifing of the hospital waste was performed using a daily list of the amount of medication used in the hospital. The weight of vial containers and the amount of residue and syringe, and serum wastes were also measured separately. Finally, the overall amount and per capita of waste production were determined. The results showed that pharmaceutical waste and drug residue in the hospital were 153.82 kg.d-1 and 45.87 kg.d-1, respectively. Per capita production of pharmaceutical waste per patient and hospital bed was estimated to be 181.81 g.p-1.d-1 and 264.7 g.b-1.d-1, and per capita production of drug residue per patient and hospital bed were 54.22 g.p-1.d-1 and 88.21 g.b-1.d-1, respectively. Among the types of pharmaceutical waste found in vials, the antibiotics had the highest weight percent. The emergency department and operating room played a major role in producing pharmaceutical waste among different hospital wards. This study showed that the pharmaceutical waste production in the considered hospital was relatively high, which can be attributed to several factors such as waste management, type of health care, type of hospital, ratio of patients under daily treatment, gender, and initial weight of containers. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40201-022-00790-6.

Capability of Different Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Techniques in the Performance Assessment of the Hospitals in Terms of Medical Waste Management.

Background: Assessing the performance of hospitals in waste management requires considering several criteria of different types. The multiplicity of the criteria and how they are weighed and, ultimately, the ranking of hospitals; are among the most complex challenges faced by the environmental health authorities. This research tried to assess the capability of four commonly used multi-criteria decision-making methods, as well as a hybrid technique for performance assessment of six hospitals in Tehran City, Iran, in 2018 regarding waste management. Methods: The effective criteria and sub-criteria were identified by reviewing the relevant literature. The data collection tool was a self-constructed checklist developed based upon the identified criteria and sub-criteria and analysis of the collected data was done in MATLAB software. The sample hospitals were ranked based on the scores given to the management performance of hospitals. Results: The final rankings by the different techniques did not differ significantly. According to the results of the hybrid method, among six studied hospitals, the top three hospitals were Hospital C, B, and A respectively, regarding hospital waste reduction criteria. These hospitals generally had an acceptable performance in terms of waste management, especially waste disinfection and separation at the origin. Conclusion: In assessing the performance and ranking of hospitals in terms of waste management, hybrid multi-criteria decision-making techniques can be used as a useful tool in waste management planning. By identifying the areas in need of corrective actions and choosing the appropriate strategy, they pave the way for improving the performance of hospitals in the field of waste management.

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

The analysis and probabilistic health risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in cereal products were done by using magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) method and gas chromatography/mass spectrometric (GC/MS). The results of method showed LOQ and LOD of PAHs compounds were 0.105-0.180 and 0.035-0.060 µg/kg, and the recorded values were 4.3-12.1 and 6.1-20.3% for repeatability and reproducibility with an estimated recovery of 94.4-103.4%. In this study, we analyzed kind of bread (Barbari, Sangak, Baguette, Taftoon, Lavash), macaroni, lasagna, and cooked rice that mean of total PAHs were 98.2, 121.7, 134.9, 166.3, 176.3, 176.2, 130.1, and 248.3 µg/kg, respectively. Further, the correlation between the type and amount of 16 PAHs with cereal products samples evaluated with multivariate principal component analysis and heat map visualization. The highest incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) was found in cooked rice (7.80E-6), while the lowest ILCR was found in Lasagna (2.35E-07). In conclusion, the PAHs content in the tested products were in low health risk ranges (1 × 10-6 < ILCR < 1 × 10-4), and all of the cereal products sold in Tehran are considered safe for consumers. Therefore, cereal products should be regularly evaluated and monitored by regulatory agencies to reduce contaminants in these high-consumption products.