Association of metals (Cd, Fe, As, Ni, Cu, Zn and Mn) with cigarette butts in northern part of the Persian Gulf.

Cigarette butts are the most common form of litter in the marine environment and represent potential point sources for environmental contamination. The metals leached from cigarette butts have not been studied well in the marine environment. In this study, the levels of metals (Cd, Fe, As, Ni, Cu, Zn and Mn) in cigarette butts were monitored at nine stations along the northern part of the Persian Gulf in Bushehr coastal areas in summer 2015 with a sampling time interval of 10 days. The Cd, Fe, As, Ni, Cu, Zn and Mn contents of cigarette butts were found to vary widely between 0.16 and 0.67 µg/g, 79.01 and 244.97 µg/g, 0.12 and 0.48 µg/g, 1.13 and 3.27 µg/g, 4.29 and 12.29 µg/g, 6.39 and 21.17 µg/g, and 38.29 and 123.1 µg/g, respectively. A Wilcoxon signed rank test showed that there were no significant differences between the Cd, Fe, As, Ni, Cu, Zn and Mn contents of cigarette butts at different sampling times. Considering the estimated number of cigarette butts littered annually, the results of this study indicated that considerable metals including Cd, Fe, As, Ni, Cu, Zn and Mn may enter the marine environment each year from cigarette litter alone.

Data on fluoride contents in groundwater of Bushehr province, Iran.

In this article, we measured the levels of fluoride in groundwater. The samples were taken from groundwater in Bushehr's province, Iran. After the collection of samples, the concentration levels of fluoride were determined by the standard SPADNS method using spectrometer. The mean concentration levels of fluoride in water of all stations were higher than the WHO drinking water guideline. Microsoft Office Excel 2016 was used for calculation of mean values. The mean concentration level of fluoride instatement were in the range of 1.52 to 3.64 mg l-1.

Cigarette butts abundance and association of mercury and lead along the Persian Gulf beach: an initial investigation.

The toxic metal contents of cigarette butts and distribution of cigarette butts have not been studied well in maritime environment. In the present study, cigarette butts distribution and the associations of Hg and Pb from cigarette butts were monitored along the Persian Gulf with 10 days interval sampling time. The number of cigarette butts, and Hg and Pb associations of butts were found to vary widely between 2 and 38 items per square meter, 2.5 and 86.32 ng/g cigarette butt (CB), as well as 650 and 8630 ng/g CB, respectively. Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed that there were no significant differences between the number of butts, and Hg and Pb contents of the butts at different sampling times. Considering amount of cigarette butts littered yearly, this study demonstrates that remarkable toxic metals of Hg and Pb may enter maritime environment each year and may introduce critical hazards to aquatic organisms, enter food chain, and finally human body.

Characterization of plastic debris and association of metals with microplastics in coastline sediment along the Persian Gulf.

This study reports number, size and color distribution, and metal contents of microplastics as well as adherent sediments along the Persian Gulf. Samples were collected from 9 stations in summer 2015 with a sampling time interval of 10 days. Plastic size of 2-5 mm, and ≤0.25 mm with 45 and 33% and white and colorless plastics with 62 and 33% had the highest abundance considering number per m2, respectively. In general, the majority of collected plastics (79%) were smaller than 5 mm (defined size for microplastics). The mean Al, Fe, Mn, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, Cu contents of plastic fragments were 115, 531, 32.2, 0.035, 0.915, 2.03, 4.59, and 3.6 µg g-1, respectively while the mean Al, Fe, Mn, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, Cu contents of sediments were 186, 3050, 127, 0.81, 5.01, 14.5, 48.6 and 5.43 µg g-1 respectively. There were significant differences between the abundance of plastic items as well as the all examined metal concentrations of microplastics and sediments at different sampling times. As there is no regular cleanup program in the studied areas, significant differences between plastic items number at different sampling times (with higher plastic items number at the first day of sampling) showed that a large number of plastic items may enter from beaches to the sea and become available to marine organisms.

Data on metal levels in the inlet and outlet wastewater treatment plant of hospitals in Bushehr province, Iran.

In this paper, we measured the levels of metals including Pb, Cr, Cd, Ni, Hg, Fe, and Cu in the inlet and outlet wastewater of hospitals. The samples were taken from wastewater in Bushehr׳s province hospitals, Iran. After the collection of samples, the concentration levels of metals were determined by using graphite furnace absorption spectrometer (AAS) method (Varian, SpectrAA 240, Australia). Statistical analysis of the data was carried out using Special Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 16).

Data on metals (Zn, Al, Sr, and Co) and metalloid (As) concentration levels of ballast water in commercial ships entering Bushehr port, along the Persian Gulf.

In this article, we determined the concentration levels of metals including Zn, Al, Sr, and Co and metalloid of As of ballast water in commercial ships entering Bushehr port, along the Persian Gulf. Ballast water samples were taken from commercial ships entering Bushehr port from 34 ports around the world during 15 February and 25 August 2016. The concentration levels of metals and metalloid were determined by using a graphite furnace absorption spectrometer (AAS).