In this study, the estimated amounts of discarded face masks due to COVID 19 were investigated. In this context, the amount of waste face masks was determined separately according to the mask types used (nonwoven, meltblown, and 3-ply, pleated) and the importance of waste face masks was revealed. According to obtained data, the estimated total daily face mask use in Turkey is 72,351,638. The highest amounts of nonwoven, meltblown, and 3-ply face mask waste were determined as 26.88, 36.29, and 43.68 tonnes/day for İstanbul city, respectively. Total amounts of nonwoven, meltblown and 3-ply face mask waste in Turkey were calculated as 144.7, 195.35, and 235.14 tonnes/day, respectively. The top 5 provinces with the highest amount of waste masks are listed as follows; İstanbul (nonwoven=26.88, meltblown=36.29, 3ply=43.68 tonnes/day), Ankara (nonwoven=9.91, meltblown=13.38, 3ply=16.11 tonnes/day), İzmir (nonwoven=7.76, meltblown=10.47, 3ply=12.61 tonnes/day), Bursa (nonwoven=5.40, meltblown=7.29, 3ply=8.78 tonnes/day), and Antalya (nonwoven=4.45, meltblown=6.01, 3ply=7.23 tonnes/day), respectively. In Turkey, 91.3% of medical waste collected in health institutions in 2019 (90,920 tonnes) was sterilized and disposed of in storage areas (83,010 tonnes). 8.7% of medical waste was sent to incineration facilities and disposed (7,910 tonnes). Considering these values, 132, 178.35, and 214.7 tonnes/day of nonwoven, meltblown, and 3-ply face mask wastes can be disposed by sterilization and the remaining 12.7, 17, and 20.44 tonnes/day by incineration, respectively.

Water is one of the most crucial substances for life. In order to maintain their public health, each and every country has defined standards of drinking water quality, beyond which the water is considered harmful for human health. The current study compares physical, chemical, and biological standards of drinking water quality for the USA, EU, Japan, India, and Bangladesh, considering 4 physical parameters (namely, color, odor, taste, and turbidity), 35 chemical parameters (such as Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Phosphate (PO43-), Sodium (Na), Phenolic compounds, Nitrite (NO2-), Arsenic (As), Aluminum (Al), etc.) and 2 biological parameters (i.e., Coliform (Fecal) and Coliform (Total)). The data has been collected from several secondary sources and since processes of data collection for water quality differ from one another, this aspect has been ignored. No variation has been found in biological water quality standards along with physical quality standards of the considered regions. In order to find out the differences in chemical parameters, standard ANOVA and pair-wise F-test have been conducted. There was no disparity among chemical parameters in ANOVA test. Moreover, thanks to the few excessive values of the standards (as in case of Bangladesh), the COD value is 4 mg/L, whereas in other countries this parameter is much less. However, the chemical parameters of water quality standards in Bangladesh vary significantly from other countries. Besides, there has been no variation among the standards of other countries, even though they are located in different continents. Most interestingly, despite being neighbors, Bangladesh and India differ significantly in this regard.

PR | IFPRI3; ISI; DCA; 1 Fostering Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Food Supply; 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all; G Cross-cutting gender theme | DSGD

peer reviewed | Contamination of land and aquatic ecosystems with heavy metals (HMs) is a global issue having the persistent potential to damage the quality of food and water. In the present study, Tagetes erecta L. plants were used to assess their potential to uptake HMs from wastewater. Plants were grown in soil for 20 days and then transplanted in hydroponic system containing Hoagland nutrient solution. After more than 15 days of growth, plants were then subjected to wastewater from tannery and surgical industries in different concentrations ranging from 25 to 100% in combination of citric acid (5 and 10 mM). After 6 weeks of treatment, plants were collected and segmented into roots, stem, and leaves for characterizing the morphological properties including plant height, roots length, fresh and dry mass of roots, stem, and leaves. For evaluation of the effect of wastewater on the plants, photosynthetic pigments; soluble proteins; reactive oxygen species (ROS); antioxidant enzymes SOD, POD, CAT, and APX; and metal accumulation were analyzed. Application of industrial wastewater revealed a significant effect on plant morphology under wastewater treatments. Overall growth and physiological attributes of plant decreased, and metal accumulation enhanced with increasing concentration of wastewater. Similarly, the production of ROS and antioxidant enzymes were also increased. Chlorophyll, protein content, and enzyme production enhanced with CA (5 and 10 mM) mediation; however, ROS production and EL were reduced. Metals analysis showed that the maximum accumulation of Pb was in roots, while Cr and Ni in the stem which further increased under CA mediation. Overall, the metal accumulation ability was in the order of Pb > Ni > Cr under CA.

In the global COVID-19 epidemic, humans are faced with a new challenge. The concept of quarantine as a preventive measure has changed human activities in all aspects of life. This challenge has led to changes in the environment as well. The air quality index is one of the immediate concrete parameters. In this study, the actual potential of quarantine effects on the air quality index and related variables in Tehran, the capital of Iran, is assessed, where, first, the data on the pollutant reference concentration for all measuring stations in Tehran, from February 19 to April 19, from 2017 to 2020, are monitored and evaluated. This study investigated the hourly concentrations of six particulate matters (PM), including PM2.5, PM10, and air contaminants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), ozone (O3), and carbon monoxide (CO). Changes in pollution rate during the study period can be due to reduced urban traffic, small industrial activities, and dust mites of urban and industrial origins. Although pollution has declined in most regions during the COVID-19 quarantine period, the PM2.5 rate has not decreased significantly, which might be of natural origins such as dust. Next, the air quality index for the stations is calculated, and then, the interpolation is made by evaluating the root mean square (RMS) of different models. The local and global Moran index indicates that the changes and the air quality index in the study area are clustered and have a high spatial autocorrelation. The results indicate that although the bad air quality is reduced due to quarantine, major changes are needed in urban management to provide favorable conditions. Contaminants can play a role in transmitting COVID-19 as a carrier of the virus. It is suggested that due to the rise in COVID-19 and temperature in Iran, in future studies, the effect of increased temperature on COVID-19 can be assessed. | peer reviewed

This international scale study measured the prevalence of indoor microplastics (MPs) in deposited dust in 108 homes from 29 countries over a 1-month period. Dust borne MPs shape, colour, and length were determined using microscopy and the composition measured using μFTIR. Human health exposure and risk was assessed along with residential factors associated with MPs via a participant questionnaire. Samples were categorised according to each country's gross national income (GNI). Synthetic polymers dominated in low income (LI) (39%) and high income (HI) (46%) while natural fibres were the most prevalent in medium income (MI) (43%) countries. Composition and statistical analysis showed that the main sources of MPs and dust were predominantly from indoor sources. Across all GNI countries, greater vacuuming frequency was associated with lower MPs loading. High income country samples returned higher proportions of polyamides and polyester fibres, whereas in LI countries polyurethane was the most prominent MPs fibre. Exposure modelling showed infants (0–2 years) were exposed to the highest MPs dose through inhalation (4.5 × 10⁻⁵ ± 3 × 10⁻⁵) and ingestion (3.24 × 10⁻² ± 3.14 × 10⁻²) mg/kg-Bw/day. Health risk analysis of constituent monomers of polymers indicates cancer incidence was estimated at 4.1–8.7 per million persons across age groups. This study's analysis showed socio-economic factors and age were dominant variables in determining dose and associated health outcomes of MPs in household dust.

In an extensive environmental study, field samples, including soil, water, rice, vegetable, fish, human hair and urine, were collected at an abandoned tungsten mine in Shantou City, southern China. Results showed that arsenic (As) concentration in agricultural soils ranged from 3.5 to 935 mg kg−1 with the mean value of 129 mg kg−1. In addition, As concentration reached up to 325 μg L−1 in the groundwater, and the maximum As concentration in local food were 1.09, 2.38 and 0.60 mg kg−1 for brown rice, vegetable and fish samples, respectively, suggesting the local water resource and food have been severely contaminated with As. Health impact monitoring data revealed that As concentrations in hair and urine samples were up to 2.92 mg kg−1 and 164 μg L−1, respectively, indicating a potential health risk among the local residents. Effective measurements should be implemented to protect the local community from the As contamination in the environment. It is the first report on arsenic contamination and potential health risk implications at abandoned Lianhuashan tungsten mine.

Determining sources of neurotoxic metals in rural and urban soils is important for mitigating human exposure. Surface soil from four areas with significant clusters of mental retardation and developmental delay (MR/DD) in children, and one control site were analyzed for nine metals and characterized by soil type, climate, ecological region, land use and industrial facilities using readily available GIS-based data. Kriging, principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) were used to identify commonalities of metal distribution. Three MR/DD areas (one rural and two urban) had similar soil types and significantly higher soil metal concentrations. PCA and CA results suggested that Ba, Be and Mn were consistently from natural sources; Pb and Hg from anthropogenic sources; and As, Cr, Cu, and Ni from both sources. Arsenic had low commonality estimates, was highly associated with a third PCA factor, and had a complex distribution, complicating mitigation strategies to minimize concentrations and exposures. GIS-based data, principal component and cluster analysis identified complex distributions of metals in soils in areas with clusters of mental retardation and developmental delay.