Journal of Environmental Science & Engineering

Permanent URI for this collection

https://imsear.searo.who.int/handle/123456789/113972

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 228

Assessment of the impacts of vehicular pollution on urban air quality.
(2004-01-03) Ghose, Mrinal K; Paul, R; Banerjee, S K
Air quality crisis in cities is mainly due to vehicular emissions. Owing to the expanding economic base Indian cities are growing at a faster rate. Transportation systems are increasing everywhere and the improved technology is insufficient to counteract growth. The effect of vehicular emission on urban air quality and human health has been described. A survey has been conducted in an Indian mega city to evaluate the status of air pollution at traffic intersections and the unique problem arising out of vehicular emissions in the study area has been narrated. Approach for the selection of the air monitoring stations, methodology adopted for data collection and the results have been discussed. Vulnerability analysis (VA) has been carried out to identify the zones at what pollution stress. Options for reducing mobile source emission have been discussed and a strategic air quality management plan has been proposed to mitigate the air pollution in the city.
Benzene, toluene and xylene (BTX) pollution in ambient air: a case study.
(2004-01-03) Deole, Sarika; Phadke, K M; Kumar, Animesh
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in presence of sunlight and oxides of nitrogen in atmosphere are considered as precursors for ozone production at the ground level. Concentration of Benzene, Toluene and Xylene (BTX) in ambient air was measured near seven traffic junctions in the city of Nagpur. Air samples were collected using Organic Vapour Sampler and analyzed by Gas Chromatograph equipped with Flame Ionization Detector (FID). Benzene concentration was found to be in the range 9.3 to 28.7 microg/m3, Toluene 3.26 to 21.0 microg/m3 and Xylene 4.9 to 15.0 microg/m3. These values are lower than those found in Metropolitan cities like Mumbai.
Effect of noise on human performance under variable load in a die casting industry--a case study.
(2004-01-03) Muzammil, M; Khan, Abid A; Hasan, F; Hasan, S N
The manual mode of working in industries is very common in the developing and under developed countries. Many industrial processes have generated high levels of noise and causing physiological effects on operators and thus leading to reduced performance. A survey was carried in various die casting industries to determine the levels of noise. It was found that the levels were in the range of 80-100dB(A). The survey also showed that the effects were more pronounced when the task was conducted under varying load conditions. Keeping this in view the problem was formulated to study whether the level of noise and amount of load has a bearing on human performance. For this purpose, experimental investigations in a simulated environment were carried out. Five subjects, all males and having no experience in the trade were selected for the task. The levels of noise under taken were 80, 90 and 100 dB(A) while the levels of load were 150, 200 and 250 N. A pulse oximeter was used to measure the human performance in terms of heart rate. The data was collected and analyzed on the basis of two factor repeated measure type of experimental design. Results of the study indicated that the level of noise and load both were having statistically significant effect on human performance. However, the interaction of level of noise and load was found to be statistically non-significant. The findings of the present work have been discussed in the light of the previous researches carried out on the topic. Suggestions have been made to reduce the levels of noise as per the recommendations of Occupational Safety and Health Association (1990). It is also suggested that instead of hand operated machines, foot operated versions should be used to reduce fatigue.
Assessment of air pollution indices in opencast coal mining complex--an Indian case study.
(2004-01-03) Ghose, Mrinal K
India is world's third largest coal-producing country and to meet the future energy demand it will have to produce coal at a faster rate. The coal by opencast mining has been about 80% of the total production. This paper focuses on some of the key air pollution problems arising from increased use of opencast mining. It examines the utility of an Air Pollution Index (API) for tackling air pollution problems. A fact-finding survey was conducted to evaluate the status of air pollution due to opencast coal mining in Jharia Coalfield of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. The approach for the selection of air monitoring stations, its monitoring programme, data analysis and results are discussed. The Oak Ridge Air Quality Index (ORAQI) was used to evaluate the relative ranking of overall air quality different locations within the mining complex. The paper recommends the use of API data rather than individual air pollution level data when attempting to develop effective air pollution control strategies for mining areas.
Bio-medical waste management in the U.T., Chandigarh.
(2004-01-03) Singh, Kamaljit; Arora, Shakti Kumar; Dhadwal, P J S; Singla, Ashwani; John, Siby
Investigations were carried out to assess the generation and disposal of biomedical waste in the various medical establishments in the urban and rural areas of the U.T. Chandigarh. It was found that there were 474 medical establishments in the U.T., Chandigarh including Nursing Homes, Clinics, Dispensaries, Pathological labs., Hospitals, Veterinary Institutions and Animal houses. The total quantity of bio-medical waste generated in Chandigarh is 811.35 kg/day and the rate of generation of bio-medical waste varies from 0.06 kg/day/bed to 0.25 kg/day/bed. Though the major hospitals are equipped with incinerators, proper bio-medical waste management system is yet to be implemented. The medical establishments in the rural area and smaller ones in the urban area dispose off their bio-medical waste along with municipal solid waste and no waste management system exists. It is recommended that an integrated waste management plan using the three incinerators installed at the major hospitals can safely dispose off the total bio-medical waste generated in the city.
Development of an evaluation criteria for rural water supply and environmental sanitation programme in project and non-project villages--a case study.
(2004-01-03) Murthy, B M Sadashiva; Girijamma, A R; Bejankiwar, Rajesh S
The Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) in project and non-project villages of Mysore Taluk has been evaluated and discussed in this paper. The study area covered two villages (Yelwala and Kadakola) where Integrated Water Supply Scheme (IRWSS) was implemented under World Bank Project and two non-project villages (Belwadi and Byathahalli) closer to them. Pre and post scenarios of the project and non-project villages were investigated in terms of water quality analysis and also grading of villages has been done on the basis of water supply, sanitation, hygienic awareness and practices. Matrix methodology was used to evaluate the indicators from the survey data gathered from all studied villages. Finally, the villages were graded on the basis of cumulative value obtained for each village. Water quality analysis depicted turbidity, total dissolved solids and hardness being high and iron deficiency was also observed in water samples of all the villages. It was concluded that the present method of evaluation of rural water supply and sanitation project could be effectively applied to different upcoming projects.
Composting of partially decomposed agroresidues.
(2004-01-03) Desai, Himali; Nagori, G P
Biphasic biodegradation of any organic waste has several advantages over conventional anaerobic digestion but has a problem of generation of a large quantity of partially decomposed residues in the acid reactor of the system that require further processing to make them safe for disposal. Composting of these residues was attempted and the quality of final product was analysed. A stabilized and very good quality compost was produced. The details of the experiments and results are discussed in the paper.
Ground water contamination in the area adjoining zinc smelter effluent stream.
(2004-01-03) Garg, V K; Totawat, K L
A preliminary survey of the area adjoining to zinc smelter effluent stream was undertaken to assess ground water contamination. Twenty-five ground water samples from the wells located in the study area were collected and grouped into nine groups based on their lateral and longitudinal position from the stream carrying the effluent discharged from zinc smelter, Debari- Udaipur. The study indicate that waters of wells situated in the vicinity of effluent stream (255m radius) were of medium salinity having higher levels of Ca and Mg and lower values of pH as compared to the waters of the reference wells situated far away from the effluent stream. The Fe, Zn, Cd, Cl, F and SO4 contents ofthe water from the wells located within 80m vicinity of the effluent stream were above the permissible limits for drinking purposes. Furthermore the Zn, Cl and SO4 levels in these waters were so high that they were even not suitable for irrigation, indicating a gradual encroachment of effluent into the native ground water.
Chemical analysis of ground water of Sanganer area, Jaipur in Rajasthan.
(2004-01-03) Gupta, Sanjay; Kumar, Akhalesh; Ojha, C K; Seth, Gita
The chemical analysis of ground water quality of Sanganer area, Jaipur in Rajasthan is presented in this paper. It is important from this point of view to observe the suitability of water for safe drinking and irrigation. The different parameters measured are pH, conductivity, TDS, calcium, magnesium, total hardness, COD, alkalinity, Cl-, F-, PO4(3-), Na+, K+, SO4(2-), NO3-, Cd2+, Pb2+ and Fe2+. From the observed data it is found that parameters like conductivity, TDS, alkalinity, F- have high values in this area whereas other parameters are approximately with in the limits or below limit.
Heavy metals accumulation in soils irrigated by municipal and industrial effluent.
(2004-01-03) Sharma, O P; Bangar, K S; Jain, Rajesh; Sharma, P K
Four soil profiles have been exposed in municipal, industrial effluents and municipal wastes mixed with industrial wastes (mixed effluent) and tube well irrigated areas of Indore district of Madhya Pradesh. Soil samples were collected horizon wise and analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon, CaCO3, clay content, cation exchange capacity (CEC), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) and heavy metals content viz. Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Cd, Cr, Co and Pb. Results showed all the heavy metals content decreased with increase in depth of soil profile. Municipal wastes / untreated sewage affected soil of Bhangarh village depicted highest content of heavy metals. The order of percentage availability of different heavy metals irrespective of the sources of irrigation is Pb>Co>Cr>Cd. However, continuous application of sewage indicated higher accumulation of heavy metals although the rate of accumulation was faster in case of industrial effluent within 2 years of irrigation. Organic carbon content had significant positive correlation with heavy metals except Cu and Zn, and negative correlation with pH and CaCO3. ESP had a negative correlation with all the metals. Zn, Mn, Cd and Co indicated significant negative correlation with the CEC of the soil. Inter-metallic correlation indicates a significant positive correlation in between Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Co, and Pb and among themselves.
Leaching of As(III) and As(V) from exhausted calsico--a case study.
(2004-01-03) Bhunia, P; Bandyopadhyay, M
Batch leaching experiments were conducted to estimate the leaching of As(III) and As(V) from exhausted CalSiCo.The leaching of As(III) and As(V) was found to be function of time and concentrations of anions such as Cl-, NO3-, SO4(2-) in extraction fluid. Extraction tests were carried out to determine the maximum leachable concentration under the chosen conditions of leaching medium and leaching time. It has been observed that the leaching of As(III) is more than As(v) in all the cases. Leaching of As(III) and As(v) from exhausted CalSiCo is also carried out in rainwater and in tap water. It is observed that leaching of As is more in rainwater than tap water. Further higher leaching is observed in case of fluids containing chloride compared to those containing nitrate and sulphate.
Growth, nodulation and dry matter yield of blackgram cultivars under nickel stress.
(2004-04-03) Vijayarengan, P
Four cultivars of blackgram (Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper) were grown in soil amended with nickel (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 mg/kg) and analysed on the 45th day. Nickel at all levels tested reduced the length of root and shoot, number of nodules, area of leaves and dry matter yield of root and shoot of blackgram cultivars. The reduction was lower in AB-1903 and ADT-3 than in ADT-4 and ADT-5. Cultivars AB-1903 and ADT-3 were less sensitive than ADT-4 and ADT-5. The accumulation of nickel was higher in roots than in shoots. The increase of nickel content in roots of blackgram did not differ with cultivars. However, the accumulation of nickel in shoots of blackgram differed with cultivars. The sensitive cultivar ADT-4 and ADT-5 accumulate more nickel in their shoots than the other cultivars, AB- 1903 and ADT-3.
Characterization and management of municipal solid waste of Srinagar-Garhwal.
(2004-04-03) Singh, Deepak; Sharma, Ramesh C
Characterization and physico-chemical composition of municipal solid waste of Srinagar-Garhwal, a hill town of Uttaranchal were carried out to know the composition of solid waste for its efficient management. A total of 28,56,500 kg (2,856.5 tonnes) of solid waste was produced per annum. A disposal site away from the open bank of Alaknanda has been suggested. 1,500 m3 volume of land will be required for the land filling of half of the solid waste generated in Srinagar town. In addition to it, 60 numbers of trenches (size 10 m x 3 m x 1 m) with clear spacing of 2.0 m will be required for the composting of remaining half of the solid waste. A list of suggestions has also been made for reducing the waste generation at source.
Air quality status at selected locations in Hyderabad City.
(2004-04-03) Sastry, M S; Suneela, M; Kumar, N P Shashidhar; Hussain, S K
A case study for assessing the air quality status is elaborated for Hyderabad city. Monitoring was carried out at 11 locations during March 2003. These observations on air quality status and AQEI predicts that most of the localities in Hyderabad are experiencing the air pollution stress and the trend is likely to worsen in near future if proper control measures are not implemented.
Batch kinetic modeling of arsenic removal from water by mixed oxide coated sand (mocs).
(2004-04-03) Vaishya, Rakesh Chandra; Gupta, Sudhir Kumar
A new granular media developed by coating of iron and manganese on quartz sand surface proved to be effective for arsenic (III) removal from water. The media has shown alkali resistance. The kinetic and thermodynamic studies data were tested using pseudo-second- order, intraparticle diffusion and Elovich equation models. The rate constants, equilibrium sorption capacity and normalized standard deviations were calculated for all the three models. It was shown that all three models almost accurately predict the sorption capacity with respect to time for whole range of data points. However, sorption kinetic data were better correlated using Elovich equation model based on normalized standard deviation. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm equations could be used to describe the partitioning behavior of system at different pH and media size. The results of thermodynamic studies show that the As(III) adsorption on Mixed Oxide Coated Sand (MOCS) was endothermic in nature. Kinetic and isothermal studies data have also been used to obtain thermodynamic parameters of the process.
Urban air pollution forecasting with respect to SPM using time series neural networks modelling approach--a case study in Coimbatore City.
(2004-04-03) Meenakshi, P; Saseetharan, M K
The Coimbatore city due to its climatic conditions and industrial development is experiencing an exponential growth in the vehicular usage and fuel consumption. On the other hand, the existing weather pattern of the city is not favourable for the dispersion of pollutants. This paper presents the evolution of SPM forecasting models for the prediction of SPM one week in advance. Time series neural networks approach is used for modelling. The input variables are the meteorological parameters, the concentration of SPM one week before and the concentration of SPM on the monitoring day. The evolved models of SPM for selected monitoring stations will be useful for the effective functioning of the air quality management programme.
Studies on persistence of temephos in sandy loam soil under field and laboratory conditions.
(2004-04-03) Verma, Gayatri; Kumar, A; Tomar, Alka; Singh, K K
Persistence of temephos was studied in soils under field and laboratory conditions in sandy loam soil to evaluate the effect of moisture and formulations on persistence. The insecticide was applied as 50 EC and 1 % S.G. granules @1 kg a.i. ha-1 on surface of the soil' and residues were determined spectrophotometrically. The soil was fortified separately with dilute emulsion of EC and suspension of granular formulation at 5 ppm level and incubated at different moisture levels at 25:1:1 degrees C for 90 days. The residues of temephos from both the formulations persisted upto 55 days in soil when applied @1 kg a.i. ha(-1). In 40 days 92 and 91.43 per cent temephos was dissipated from soil treated with EC and granular formulations, respectively. There was no leaching or downward movement of the toxicant beyond 7.5 cm. The half-life of temephos under field condition for EC and granular formulations were 18.14 and 20.44 days, respectively. Statistically, there was no significant effect of two formulations of temephos on its persistence. But at three different moisture conditions viz. airdry, field capacity and sub-merged, the difference was significant at 5% level.
Removal of azo dyes from aqueous solutions using activated carbon as an adsorbent.
(2004-04-03) Rao, A Nageswara; Lathasree, S; Sivasankar, B; Sadasivam, V; Rengaraj, K
The potentiality of commercially available activated carbon has been investigated as an effective adsorbent to remove the dyes from aqueous solutions. The effects of pH of the solution, adsorbent dose, solute concentration and temperature on activated carbon for azo dyes such as acid orange 7 and direct red 31 have been evaluated. The percentage removal of the dyes has been found to be high at neutral pH. The dynamics of adsorption has been studied at different temperatures. The adsorption data follow Langmuir model as well as Freundlich model in the case of acid orange 7 whereas the data for direct red 31 fit into only Langmuir model.
Mass balance approach for assessment of pollution load in the Krishna River.
(2004-04-03) Sekhar, Chandra; Umamahesh, N V
River Krishna in the Southern Peninsula of India is a typical receiving water body of both point and non-point discharges. Comparisons between upstream and downstream monitoring sites reveal changes in the concentrations and load to the river. This information is used to discriminate between point and non-point source contribution to pollution. The pre-monsoon and post-monsoon water quality and flow data are used to assess river pollution loads. The resulting differential loads, if adjusted for uncharacterized non-point source contribution may represent the total point loads to the river minus losses due to volatilization, sedimentation, adsorption and other physical, chemical and biological phenomena. The results of the mass balances indicate that non-point sources to be major contributors to the pollutant loads. The non-point sources in the study area predominantly include pollution due to agricultural practices and activities, soil erosion, dissolution of soil minerals or combination of these sources.
Genesis of domestic sewage--case study of a residential university campus.
(2004-04-03) Ganguly, S; Maiti, S K
The study reports on the genesis of domestic sewage in a predominantly residential university campus area ofDhanbad, Jharkhand. The domestic sewage has been collected from three different locations of the campus area and their physicochemical characteristics have been studied. These studies reveal that the extent of mineral pick-up is different for different parameter. It has been found out in the present study that in the domestic sewage, the chloride pick-up is 71%, nitrate pick-up is 97%, total hardness pick-up is 20 %, iron pick-up is 98% and zinc pick-up is 98%. The rate constants have been found out by using standard methods and have been compared with those mentioned in the standard literatures and previous works.

Browse

Browsing Journal of Environmental Science & Engineering by Issue Date

Results Per Page

Sort Options