8 research outputs found
Assessment of Air Pollution and its Effects on Health of Workers of Steel Re-Rolling Mills in Hyderabad
No full textThe SRRMs (Steel Re-Rolling Mills) are being releasing air pollutants in the environment. In order to evaluate their effect on the health of the workers, health and safety issues were analyzed by first measuring the concentrations of SO x (OIxides of Sulphur), NO x (Oxides of Nitrogen), CO (Carbon Monoxide) and O2 (Oxygen) produced in the three SRRMs located in SITE area Hyderabad. The mean concentration of SO x , NO x and CO were in the order of 0.35, 0.280, 6.333 ppm, respectively, whereas the mean concentration of O 2 was 203.53 thousand ppm. As per results, the concentration ofair pollutants, including SOx and NO x were significantly higher than to the NEQS (National Environmental Quality Standards) and NAAQS (National Ambient Air Quality Standards). The concentration ofCO was lower than to the NAAQS, but higher than to the NEQs, while the concentration of O2 was slightly lower than to the standard value. The workers who were exposed to these air pollutants are being suffering from chronic diseases related to breathing and allergies. Moreover, labour staff was lifting heavy loads manually, which causes them to muscular and joint problems. In all the SRRMs under study, the electrical and mechanical equipments were used without any safety. The MSDS were not displayed on the workstations, the housekeeping was inadequate and most of the workers were performing their jobs without personal protective equipment. In addition to these, the other serious issues related to the occupational health and safety were an unhygienic
supply of water, higher noise level, placement of explosive cylinders in the open atmosphere and
unavailability of the first aid facilities in the Mill premises
Study of deposit accumulation and tribological degradation in diesel engine utilizing blend fuels
No full textUtilizing alcohol in diesel engines offers an alternative approach to reducing dependence on diesel fuel. Specifically, higher alcohols such as n-butanol (nB) and n-pentanol (Pn), which have high carbon content and are largely derived from non-edible sources, can be directly blended with diesel. These blends present significant economic and environmental advantages, making the study of high-carbon alcohol use in diesel engines increasingly important. This research focused on creating blends of waste cooking oil and n-pentanol with diesel fuel, preparing three binary and ternary mixtures: DF95WCO5 and DF65WCO20Pe20. The primary goal was to investigate the fundamental characteristics of these blends. However, challenges such as increased deposits, pollutant emissions, and reduced engine performance when using biodiesel have been noted. A detailed evaluation of combustion chamber deposit buildup and its impact on emissions and engine performance was carried out. The study employed diesel, waste frying oil, and n-pentanol blends. After 200 h of operation, engine injectors and pump pistons were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. It was discovered that waste cooking oil binary mix fuel had a greater rate of carbon deposition generation than diesel fuel, with 89.68% for WCO and 80.01% for D100. By contrast, engine part deposition was reduced when n-pentanol was mixed with waste cooking oil as opposed to diesel fuel, with a deposition rate of 47.90% for n-pentanol. The results revealed notable surface structure changes on pistons with DF95WCO5 and n-pentanol blends. Wear debris concentration was reduced when using emulsified fuels, particularly in binary blends, while the ternary blend DF65WCO20Pe20 showed further reductions in Cadmium (Cd), Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu), and Nickel (Ni) compared to pure diesel. The engine demonstrated lower viscosity and increased density when operated with these blended fuels. Experimental findings highlighted significant differences between biodiesel derived from used and fresh cooking oils, including reduced engine performance, higher carbon deposits, and accelerated metal degradation in key components of diesel engine lubricating oil
Improving Methane Production through Co-Digestion of Canola Straw and Buffalo Dung by H2O2 Pretreatment
No full textIn this study an effect of acidic pre-treatment on the CS (Canola Straw) and BD (Buffalo Dung) by
anaerobic co-digestion was investigated. H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide) is a mainly accustomed reagent,
used as a bleaching agent in the different industries such as paper and wood. In the present study, it was
used as a pre-treatment chemical at varying concentrations in batch reactors. The co-digestion of CS and
BD was carried out in SAMPTS (Semi-Automatic Methane Potential Test System) at mesophilic (37±1oC)
conditions. The CS was pretreated in glass bottles with different concentrations of the H2O2 for seven
days. The inoculum used in the present study was an effluent of the CSTR (Continuous Stirred Tank
Reactor), which was treating BD at mesophilic conditions. The specific methane production from the codigestion
of canola straw and BD, by the pre-treatment of H2O2 at concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5%
were 530.8, 544.5, and 510.3 NmL CH4 g/VS, respectively. The significant reduction in the volatile solids
of CS was observed at the optimum pre-treatment of 1.0% H2O2
Anaerobic Biodegradability and Biomethanation Potential of Fruit-Vegetable Wastes at Sindh, Pakistan
No full textThe urban environment of every city of Pakistan has been degraded because of open dumping and burning of organic wastes along with other wastes. The focus of this study was to evaluate the fruit and vegetable wastes for methane generation through biomethanation process. After collection, various parameters such as alkalinity, volatile fatty acids, pH, lignin content, moisture content, total solids, volatile solids, fixed carbon, and elements (C, H, N, O, S) of waste samples were determined by using standard methodology. Anaerobic biodegradability of fruit and vegetable wastes was observed from 54 to 77% and from 59 to 87% along with their methane generation potential in the range of 258-367 NmL /gmVS and 274-407 NmL/gmVS, respectively. Further, the effect of feedstock to inoculum ratio was studied. The result of that showed that lower methane potential at a higher ratio and vice versa was observed. It was concluded that at a lower feedstock to inoculum ratio, fruit as well as vegetable wastes become more feasible for the biomethanation process. The study recommends that the conversion of fruit and vegetable wastes into methane gas by anaerobic digestion plays a significant role to save urban environment of the country
Debris accumulation, acoustic and wear analysis of compression ignition engine using bio alcohols blends
No full textThe use of alternative fuels in diesel engines has become increasingly important in recent years. In this study, deposit development was examined using combinations of n-pentanol, diesel, and gutter oil. Finding out how well adding n-pentanol improves ternary blend performance is the aim of this study. Three test fuels—DF, DF95GO5, and DF70GO20Pn10—were chosen for this purpose. Each fuel sample underwent a separate engine test to examine the surfaces of the piston crowns. The SEM and EDX tests revealed that using DF95GO5 significantly altered the piston's surfaces. The gutter oil binary mix fuel was found to produce carbon deposition more quickly than diesel fuel, with 67.68 % for GO and 60.72 % for D100. However, engine part deposition decreased when 1-pentanol was combined with gutter oil instead of diesel fuel, even though n-pentanol had a 52.90 % deposition rate. To compare to DF, N-pentanol was added as a ternary blend DF70GO20Pn10 for copper (Cu), nickel (Ni) 0.37 ppm, and cadmium (Cd) 8 ppm. The ternary blend gasoline, on the other hand, contained less debris. The results showed that engine noise emissions were generally increased when gutter oil was added to DF95GO5 diesel fuel. However, DF70GO20Pn10 had less of an effect on the engine's noise emissions (86.63 dB) than baseline fuel and gutter oil blend
Assessment of groundwater quality in Piryaloi, Pakistan: integrating GPI, SPI, and GIS for comprehensive analysis
No full textAt present, the groundwater quality in various parts of the world is under serious threat. As a result, human health is highly affected. Thus, the present study analyzed and mapped the groundwater quality of Piryaloi, Pakistan using two widely applied indices, i.e., groundwater pollution index (GPI), synthetic pollution index (SPI), and GIS. Water samples were analyzed for various physicochemical parameters such as pH, turbidity, total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), chloride (Cl−), calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), total hardness (TH), carbonates (CO32−), bicarbonates (HCO31−), fluoride (F), and heavy metals such as sodium (Na), potassium (K), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), molybdenum (Mo), boron (B), arsenic (As), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), palladium (Pd), and chromium (Cr). According to the GPI, 46.67, 40 and 13.33% of samples were excellent, good, and poor, respectively. Whereas, according to the SPI, 33.3, 40, 20, and 6.7% of samples were suitable, slightly polluted, moderately polluted, and highly polluted respectively. Despite the different inputs to the indices, the proportionate ranking showed a moderate correlation (R2 = 0.62) between the results of both indices. Interpolated maps also depicted that in some areas, groundwater is contaminated, and thus it should be treated well before drinking
Reducing childhood illness - fostering growth : an integrated home-based intervention package (IHIP) to improve indoor-air pollution, drinking water quality and child nutrition
No full textChild mortality attributable to pneumonia, diarrhoea and malnutrition accounts globally for the majority of 8.8 million annual deaths. More than half of these deaths are preventable. Available and effective interventions include safe water supply, household water treatment, improved chimney stoves and personal- and home-hygiene and -health messages. In Peru, the current health services reform is focused on shifting responsibilities to peripheral levels; thus, empowering community organisations to manage primary health care services, including health promotion and preventive measures at household level. The current political situation and policy framework to integrate effective preventive interventions that can be delivered at family level, prompted us to test the efficacy of a package of health interventions to reduce childhood illness burden at rural household level.
The goal of this PhD thesis was to assess the efficacy of an Integrated Environmental Home-based-Intervention Package (IHIP), comprised of an improved chimney stoves, access to safe drinking water from solar radiation household water treatment (SODIS), and hygiene education interventions, to reduce morbidity of acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea and poor growth of rural Peruvian children under three years of age. We implemented a community-randomised control field trial (cRCT) in 51 community’s clusters of the San Marcos Province, Cajamarca Region, Peru. The cRCT was divided as follows:
* Set-up, community selection and participatory intervention development: A pilot study was carried out for the selection of the interventions. These were adapted to local customs. The participatory phase is described in detail in Chapters 4 & 5.
* Randomization, enrolment and baseline data collection: Chapter 6 describes the randomisation, enrolment and baseline in detail.
* Carbon monoxide (CO) and Particulate Matter (PM2.5) household air quality assessment: Chapter 7 & 8 describe the efficacy of the OPTIMA-improved stove in improving household air quality in comparison to traditional open fire stoves.
* Morbidity surveillance and field data acquisition: Morbidity data on the daily occurrence of signs and symptoms diarrhoea and respiratory illnesses of children was collected weekly. Anthropometric every two months and microbial data every 6 months. Chapter 9 describes the IHIP impact on morbidity reduction.
* Workshops for a community-driven sustainable dessimination: Chapter 10 describes the community workshops and dissemination processes and dynamics within a socio-ecological framework.
Our community-randomised control trial demonstrated that IHIP reduced 22% per year of child diarrhoea (RR 0.78, 95% CI: 0.49-1.05) and found an odds ratio of 0.71 for diarrhoea prevalence (OR 0.71, 95%, CI: 0.47, 1.06). No effects on the frequency of acute lower respiratory infections (RR 0.99, 95% CI: 0.59, 1.65) or child’s growth rates were found when comparing study arms. We identified three reasons for this moderate diarrhoea reduction: i) hand-washing promotion was universally found in our setting, since it is being promoted by the health care centre; ii) SODIS compliance was moderate: only one third of the beneficiaries were using the method regularly; and iii) the increased awareness for the child’s needs linked to the control intervention, could induce improved child care behaviour. The lack of effect on ALRI, could be linked to insufficient reduction in exposure to household air pollutants and high health service utilisation due to cultural beliefs and health seeking behavoiur. The household air pollution assessment study revealed only moderate reductions of 45% and 27% reduction of PM2.5 and CO, respectively for mothers’ personal exposure. This result was achieved in the best working stoves only. This may most likely not be sufficient to reduce impact on physician-diagnosed pneumonia.
Community participatory meetings and surveys revealed that people’s decisions on adopting household-level environmental and hygiene interventions, was not only based on individual perceptions of their potential gains, but also depended on peer pressure and social network relations. Individual perceptions regarding pollution levels of water and household air (transparent, odourless water vs dirty air environments) influenced perceived gains and the adoption of certain interventions. Access to information and encouragement from health-care providers and programme implementers also increased adoption.
The IHIP had several additional benefits beyond health outcomes. Mother’s expressed that the stoves could reduce cooking time and wood consumption, which translated into cost saving. They also could perform other task while cooking. Regarding the kitchen sink, the mothers expressed it facilitated handwashing, and washing of utensils with detergent, generating a cleaner kitchen environment that fostered home and food hygiene. We believe that the IHIP package motivated families to improve the kitchen living area in general. The high acceptance and sustained use was not only observed in the IHIP families but also in non-participating families that had copied the OPTIMA-improved stove after the community engagement in the desimination activities. We can also conclude that the IHIP package added to the family status, improved quality of life and impacted on their livelihoods, by empowering the beneficiary families.
In conclusion, through this project we envisaged to demonstrate how an integrated package could be implemented at the household level in rural areas of Peru and its effect on health, quality of life and livelihoods. However, behaviour change for keeping maintanence of the interventions and use is necessary to achieve compliance, replication and sustainability
Global fertility in 204 countries and territories, 1950–2021, with forecasts to 2100: a comprehensive demographic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021
No full textBackground: Accurate assessments of current and future fertility—including overall trends and changing population age structures across countries and regions—are essential to help plan for the profound social, economic, environmental, and geopolitical challenges that these changes will bring. Estimates and projections of fertility are necessary to inform policies involving resource and health-care needs, labour supply, education, gender equality, and family planning and support. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 produced up-to-date and comprehensive demographic assessments of key fertility indicators at global, regional, and national levels from 1950 to 2021 and forecast fertility metrics to 2100 based on a reference scenario and key policy-dependent alternative scenarios. Methods: To estimate fertility indicators from 1950 to 2021, mixed-effects regression models and spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression were used to synthesise data from 8709 country-years of vital and sample registrations, 1455 surveys and censuses, and 150 other sources, and to generate age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) for 5-year age groups from age 10 years to 54 years. ASFRs were summed across age groups to produce estimates of total fertility rate (TFR). Livebirths were calculated by multiplying ASFR and age-specific female population, then summing across ages 10–54 years. To forecast future fertility up to 2100, our Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) forecasting model was based on projections of completed cohort fertility at age 50 years (CCF50; the average number of children born over time to females from a specified birth cohort), which yields more stable and accurate measures of fertility than directly modelling TFR. CCF50 was modelled using an ensemble approach in which three sub-models (with two, three, and four covariates variously consisting of female educational attainment, contraceptive met need, population density in habitable areas, and under-5 mortality) were given equal weights, and analyses were conducted utilising the MR-BRT (meta-regression—Bayesian, regularised, trimmed) tool. To capture time-series trends in CCF50 not explained by these covariates, we used a first-order autoregressive model on the residual term. CCF50 as a proportion of each 5-year ASFR was predicted using a linear mixed-effects model with fixed-effects covariates (female educational attainment and contraceptive met need) and random intercepts for geographical regions. Projected TFRs were then computed for each calendar year as the sum of single-year ASFRs across age groups. The reference forecast is our estimate of the most likely fertility future given the model, past fertility, forecasts of covariates, and historical relationships between covariates and fertility. We additionally produced forecasts for multiple alternative scenarios in each location: the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for education is achieved by 2030; the contraceptive met need SDG is achieved by 2030; pro-natal policies are enacted to create supportive environments for those who give birth; and the previous three scenarios combined. Uncertainty from past data inputs and model estimation was propagated throughout analyses by taking 1000 draws for past and present fertility estimates and 500 draws for future forecasts from the estimated distribution for each metric, with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) given as the 2·5 and 97·5 percentiles of the draws. To evaluate the forecasting performance of our model and others, we computed skill values—a metric assessing gain in forecasting accuracy—by comparing predicted versus observed ASFRs from the past 15 years (2007–21). A positive skill metric indicates that the model being evaluated performs better than the baseline model (here, a simplified model holding 2007 values constant in the future), and a negative metric indicates that the evaluated model performs worse than baseline. Findings: During the period from 1950 to 2021, global TFR more than halved, from 4·84 (95% UI 4·63–5·06) to 2·23 (2·09–2·38). Global annual livebirths peaked in 2016 at 142 million (95% UI 137–147), declining to 129 million (121–138) in 2021. Fertility rates declined in all countries and territories since 1950, with TFR remaining above 2·1—canonically considered replacement-level fertility—in 94 (46·1%) countries and territories in 2021. This included 44 of 46 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, which was the super-region with the largest share of livebirths in 2021 (29·2% [28·7–29·6]). 47 countries and territories in which lowest estimated fertility between 1950 and 2021 was below replacement experienced one or more subsequent years with higher fertility; only three of these locations rebounded above replacement levels. Future fertility rates were projected to continue to decline worldwide, reaching a global TFR of 1·83 (1·59–2·08) in 2050 and 1·59 (1·25–1·96) in 2100 under the reference scenario. The number of countries and territories with fertility rates remaining above replacement was forecast to be 49 (24·0%) in 2050 and only six (2·9%) in 2100, with three of these six countries included in the 2021 World Bank-defined low-income group, all located in the GBD super-region of sub-Saharan Africa. The proportion of livebirths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa was forecast to increase to more than half of the world's livebirths in 2100, to 41·3% (39·6–43·1) in 2050 and 54·3% (47·1–59·5) in 2100. The share of livebirths was projected to decline between 2021 and 2100 in most of the six other super-regions—decreasing, for example, in south Asia from 24·8% (23·7–25·8) in 2021 to 16·7% (14·3–19·1) in 2050 and 7·1% (4·4–10·1) in 2100—but was forecast to increase modestly in the north Africa and Middle East and high-income super-regions. Forecast estimates for the alternative combined scenario suggest that meeting SDG targets for education and contraceptive met need, as well as implementing pro-natal policies, would result in global TFRs of 1·65 (1·40–1·92) in 2050 and 1·62 (1·35–1·95) in 2100. The forecasting skill metric values for the IHME model were positive across all age groups, indicating that the model is better than the constant prediction. Interpretation: Fertility is declining globally, with rates in more than half of all countries and territories in 2021 below replacement level. Trends since 2000 show considerable heterogeneity in the steepness of declines, and only a small number of countries experienced even a slight fertility rebound after their lowest observed rate, with none reaching replacement level. Additionally, the distribution of livebirths across the globe is shifting, with a greater proportion occurring in the lowest-income countries. Future fertility rates will continue to decline worldwide and will remain low even under successful implementation of pro-natal policies. These changes will have far-reaching economic and societal consequences due to ageing populations and declining workforces in higher-income countries, combined with an increasing share of livebirths among the already poorest regions of the world. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licens
