The impact of COVID-19 pandemic in medical waste amounts: a case study from a high-populated city of Turkey.

In this study, the amount of medical waste generated in a high-populated city in Turkey between January 2018 and August 2021 was evaluated, and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on waste amounts and waste production rate was investigated. While a total of 79,027 kg/month of medical waste was produced in the city before COVID-19, this value reached 116,714 kg/month after COVID-19. The increase in the amount of medical waste due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the province was calculated as 48% on average. It was determined that 75% of this waste amount originates from public hospitals in the city. While the production of medical waste was 0.86 kg/bed day in the pre-COVID-19 period, this value increased to 0.96 kg/bed day in 2020 and to 1.34 kg/bed day in 2021 with the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the results obtained, the amount of medical waste reached in the province due to COVID-19 is the amount of medical waste expected to be generated in the 2040s under normal conditions. It is a very important issue in terms of public health that the capacity of waste disposal in medical waste management in cities is flexible to respond to severe epidemic conditions. Based on the information obtained within the scope of the study, changes in the amount of medical waste in a city with a dense population under pandemic conditions can be obtained based on real data and projections regarding disposal capacity can be made more realistically. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10163-022-01428-3.

Presence and distributions of POPS in soil, atmospheric deposition, and bioindicator samples in an industrial-agricultural area in Turkey.

In this study, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were detected in the soil, lichen pine needle, and total deposition samples in the Meriç-Ergene Basin, which is one of the most important regions in terms of industrial and agricultural activities in Turkey. POP concentrations were measured in 192 samples selected to represent four seasons over a 1-year period across four different regions: an intensive industrial area, an industrial + residential area, an agricultural area, and a background area. Total PAH concentrations are found in the range of 69.6-887.6 ng/g, 74.6-1277.7 ng/g, 113.4-588.9 ng/g, and 0.00-937.8 ng/m2-day; total PCB concentrations are 9.98-62.9 ng/g, 6.8-68.1 ng/g, 11.3-32.7 ng/g, and 0.00-144.4 ng/m2-day; total OCPs concentrations are 5.9-83.2 ng/g, 7.3-85.6 ng/g, 9.9-97.1 ng/g, and 0.00-137.6 ng/m2-day respectively for soil, lichen, pine needles, and bulk samples. The data were evaluated according to pollutant groups and spatial and temporal changes. The highest PAH and PCB values were detected in lichen samples from industrial areas. The highest OCP values were detected for total deposition and soil samples and in the agricultural area. The results showed that two- to three-ring PAHs, hepta-PCBs, and cyclodienes were the most widespread pollutant groups. Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate the accumulation and indication properties of the matrices in the study for 0.05 significance level. The pollutant group in which matrices are most similar is PAHs. Total deposition samples showed the most different pattern in terms of indications, especially for PCBs. For OCP results, the concentration values obtained in soil samples were different from all other matrices. It was determined that the indication properties of the matrices identified as pollutant indicators differ markedly from the pollutant type, and this difference is at the lowest level for PAH pollutants. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Utility of a source-related matrix in basin management studies: a practice on a sub-Basin in Turkey.

According to the water framework directive (WFD), the chemical status should be determined for each water body in a basin through monitoring and evaluation studies, and the gap between the status of water bodies and good water status should be revealed in river basin management plans. In this context, the methodology starting with the evaluation of the monitoring results of the priority substances (PSs) until the end of determining the measures to achieve good condition in surface waters was given in this study. The key aim was to provide a useful methodology defined as a matrix for determining the sources of pollutants that caused this gap. This matrix was applied to the most polluted sub-basin of Küçük Menderes Basin located on the western part of the Turkey. Monitoring studies were carried out in 21 water bodies for a 1-year period for 45 PSs and monitoring results were compared with environmental quality standards (EQS). It was determined that 13 of 45 PSs in 15 water bodies exceeded the EQS. The common PSs in the basin were lead, nickel, fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene, C10-13 chloroalkanes, and 4-nonylphenols and average rates of exceeding the EQS were 58.3%, 36.4%, 91.5%, 99.9%, 74.8%, and 49.4%, respectively. The detailed emission inventory of each water body in the basin has been made. Potential sources of PSs were searched via the matrix formed and a total number of 420 basic and supplementary measures were proposed to improve the water quality of the sub-basin.

Quantifying the sources of ozone, fine particulate matter, and regional haze in the Southeastern United States.

A detailed sensitivity analysis was conducted to quantify the contributions of various emission sources to ozone (O3), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and regional haze in the Southeastern United States. O3 and particulate matter (PM) levels were estimated using the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system and light extinction values were calculated from modeled PM concentrations. First, the base case was established using the emission projections for the year 2009. Then, in each model run, SO2, primary carbon (PC), NH3, NO(x) or VOC emissions from a particular source category in a certain geographic area were reduced by 30% and the responses were determined by calculating the difference between the results of the reduced emission case and the base case. The sensitivity of summertime O3 to VOC emissions is small in the Southeast and ground-level NO(x) controls are generally more beneficial than elevated NO(x) controls (per unit mass of emissions reduced). SO2 emission reduction is the most beneficial control strategy in reducing summertime PM2.5 levels and improving visibility in the Southeast and electric generating utilities are the single largest source of SO2. Controlling PC emissions can be very effective locally, especially in winter. Reducing NH3 emissions is an effective strategy to reduce wintertime ammonium nitrate (NO3NH4) levels and improve visibility; NO(x) emissions reductions are not as effective. The results presented here will help the development of specific emission control strategies for future attainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards in the region.

Assessment of airborne heavy metal pollution in soil and lichen in the Meric-Ergene Basin, Turkey.

In the present study, accumulations of airborne heavy metals in lichen and soil samples were determined on the basis of pollutant source groups by conducting Zinc (Zn), Lead (Pb), Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu), Chromium (Cr), Cadmium (Cd), Arsenic (As), Cobalt (Co) and Manganese (Mn) analyses on a total of 48 samples collected in the periods of May 2014 and August 2014 from 12 sampling points in a heavily industrialized area, a mixed industrial and residential area, an agricultural area and a background area in the Meric-Ergene Basin, and pH and total organic carbon determination was carried out on soil samples. With the obtained data, heavy metal levels were statistically assessed in detail by being associated with each other and with their probable sources; the accumulations found in soil and lichen samples were compared and spatial variances were set forth. Based on the results, it was observed that heavy metal pollution is at high levels particularly in industrialized areas, and that the differences between the cleanest and most polluted levels determined from soil samples for As, Cr, Cd and Pb reach 10 folds. The highest levels of all heavy metals were determined in both the soil and lichen samples collected from the areas in the south-east part of the region, where industrial activities and particularly leather and chemical industries are concentrated. With the comparison of the indication properties of soil and lichen, it was determined that significant and comparable results can be observed in both matrices.

Toxicity evaluation and source apportionment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) at three stations in Istanbul, Turkey.

This paper focuses on the toxicity evaluation and source apportionment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in three monitoring stations in Istanbul, Turkey. A total of 326 airborne samples were collected and analyzed for 16 PAHs and Total Suspended Particles (TSP) for the period of September 2006-December 2007. The total average PAH concentrations were 100.7±61.3, 84.6±46.7 and 25.1±13.3 ng m(-3) and the TSP concentrations were 101.2±53.2, 152.3±99.1, 49.8±18.6 µg m(-3) for URB1, URB2 and RUR stations, respectively. Benzo(a)Pyren (BaP) toxic equivalency factors to PAH concentration values were calculated indicating that the health risk of BaP and DiBenz(a,h)Anthracene (markers of traffic emissions) have the highest contribution compared to all of the other species measured at the sampling sites. In order to determine PAH sources, two different source apportionment techniques were applied to the measurements; diagnostic ratios (DR) and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF). The results of the two applications were compatible indicating the vehicle emissions - especially diesel engines - as the major source for urban stations.