Domestic wastewater treatment by Pistia stratiotes in constructed wetland.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the performance of Pistia stratiotes for treatment of domestic wastewater in a free surface water flow constructed wetland. The objective of the study was to evaluate contaminants removal efficiency of the constructed wetland vegetated with P. stratiotes in treatment of domestic wastewater against Hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 10, 20 and 30 days was investigated.

Alleviation of Cadmium Stress by Silicon Supplementation in Peas by the Modulation of Morpho-Physio-Biochemical Variables and Health Risk Assessment.

Agricultural soil quality degradation by potentially toxic elements, specifically cadmium (Cd), poses a significant threat to plant growth and the health of humans. However, the supplementation of various salts of silicon (Si) to mitigate the adverse effect of Cd on the productivity of peas ( L.) is less known.

Heavy metal bioremediation of coal-fired flue gas using microalgae under different CO concentrations.

Sustainability assessments have revealed that integration of CO from coal-fired flue gas with microalgae cultivation systems could reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The technical goal of this integration is to utilize exhaust from coal power plants to enhance microalgae cultivation processes by capturing and recycling of carbon dioxide from a more toxic to a less toxic form. However, heavy metals are also introduced along with CO2 to the cultivation system which could contaminate biomass and have deleterious effects on products derived from such systems.

Enhancement of natural radioactivity in fertilized soil of Faisalabad, Pakistan.

Unlabelled: BACKGROUND, GOAL, AND SCOPE: Natural radioactivity in phosphate rock (PR) is transferred to phosphate fertilizer (PF) during the manufacturing process of the PF. The continuous addition of the PF to the cultivated soil accumulates the radionuclides in the land and increases the level of radioactivity in the soil. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the enhanced level of accumulated radioactivity due to the continuous addition of the PF in the farmlands of Nuclear Institute of Agriculture and Biology (NIAB) at Faisalabad in Pakistan.

Hazard of NORM from phosphorite of Pakistan.

In order to investigate the radiological hazard of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) in phosphorite deposits of Pakistan, 26 samples of phosphorite were collected from the phosphorite mines near Abbottabad, and 20 samples of single superphosphate (SSP) fertilizer were obtained from the warehouses in Pakistan. Activity concentration in all the samples was assayed using HPGe detection system. Specific activity values of (238)U, (40)K, (226)Ra and (232)Th in the samples of phosphorite were 550+/-156 (329-845), 206+/-72 (93-362), 511+/-189 (316-830) and 52+/-17 (23-81) Bq kg(-1), respectively; and those in SSP fertilizer due to these radionuclides were 637+/-44 (596-687), 164+/-24 (113-215), 589+/-44 (521-671) and 29+/-6 (16-45) Bq kg(-1), respectively.

Radiological implications of granite of northern Pakistan.

Granite is an igneous rock that contains natural radioactivity of primordial radionuclides. In Pakistan, granite is distributed in a vast area called the Ambela Granitic Complex (AGC) in North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Granite is a hard rock that exists in different colours and is used to decorate floors, kitchen counter tops, etc.

Natural radioactivity hazards of building bricks fabricated from saline soil of two districts of Pakistan.

Primordial radionuclides in building materials are one of the sources of radiation hazard in dwellings made of those materials. Activity concentrations of primordial radionuclides 40K, 226Ra and 232Th have been measured in house building bricks fabricated from saline soil. Forty samples of the bricks were collected from the brick fabrication sites and brick baking kilns in and around the saline soil areas of the districts of Lahore and Faisalabad in the Punjab province of Pakistan.