Inherent health and environmental risk assessment of nanostructured metal oxide production processes.

The health and environmental effects of chemical processes can be assessed during the initial stage of their production. In this paper, the Chemical Screening Tool for Exposure and Environmental Release (ChemSTEER) software was used to compare the health and environmental risks of spray pyrolysis and wet chemical techniques for the fabrication of nanostructured metal oxide on a semi-industrial scale with a capacity of 300 kg/day in Iran. The pollution sources identified in each production process were pairwise compared in Expert Choice software using indicators including respiratory damage, skin damage, and environmental damages including air, water, and soil pollution.

Selection of optimized air pollutant filtration technologies for petrochemical industries through multiple-attribute decision-making.

Selecting cost-effective and efficient air filtration technologies that ensure sustainable development is a challenge to national, regional and local policy makers. Various factors such as efficiency, maintainability, and design of the developed devices can affect the selection of optimized technologies. The present study aimed to select optimal technologies for air filtration devices in petrochemical industries through a multi-criteria decision-making (MADM) method based on a fuzzy model of Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS).

Comparison of AERMOD and CALPUFF models for simulating SO2 concentrations in a gas refinery.

In this study, concentration of SO2 from a gas refinery located in complex terrain was calculated by the steady-state, AERMOD model, and nonsteady-state CALPUFF model. First, in four seasons, SO2 concentrations emitted from 16 refinery stacks, in nine receptors, were obtained by field measurements, and then the performance of both models was evaluated. Then, the simulated results for SO2 ambient concentrations made by each model were compared with the results of the observed concentrations, and model results were compared among themselves.

Land use change detection and impact assessment in Anzali international coastal wetland using multi-temporal satellite images.

Anzali is one of the 18 Iranian wetlands of international importance listed in Ramsar Convention. This unique ecosystem in the world with high ecological diversity is highly threatened by various factors such as pollutants, sedimentation, unauthorized development of urban infrastructure, over-harvesting of wetland resources, land use changes, and invasive species. Among which, one of the most challenging destructive factors, land use change, was scrutinized in this study.

Ranking the effects of urban development projects on social determinants of health: health impact assessment.

Background & Objective: Health impact assessment (HIA) offer a very logical and interesting approach for those aiming to integrate health issues into planning processes. With a lot of works and plans waiting to be done (e.g.

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.

Effect of fertilizer application on soil heavy metal concentration.

A large amount of chemicals is annually applied at the agricultural soils as fertilizers and pesticides. Such applications may result in the increase of heavy metals particularly Cd, Pb, and As. The objective of this study was to investigate the variability of chemical applications on Cd, Pb, and As concentrations of wheat-cultivated soils.