In addition to global population growth due to migration from rural areas to urban areas, population density is constantly increasing in certain regions, thereby necessitating the introduction of new settlements in these regions. However, in the selection of settlement areas, no sufficient preliminary examinations have been conducted; consequently, various natural disasters may cause significant life and property losses. Herein, the most suitable settlement areas were determined using GIS (geographic information systems) in Canik District, where the population is continuously increasing. Therefore, this study aimed to incorporate a new perspective into studies on this subject. Within the scope of the study, landslide and flood risks, which are among the most important natural disasters in the region, were primarily evaluated, and high-risk areas were determined. Elevation, slope, aspect, curvature, lithology, topographic humidity index (TWI), and proximity to river parameters were used to produce flood susceptibility maps. A digital elevation model (DEM) of the study area was produced using contours on the 1/25,000 scaled topographic map. The elevation, slope, aspect, curvature, and TWI parameters were produced from the DEM using the relevant analysis routines of ArcGIS software. The raster map of each parameter was divided into 5 subclasses using the natural breaks classification method. In the reclassified raster maps, the most flood-sensitive or flood-prone subclasses were assigned a value of 5, and the least sensitive subclasses were assigned a value of 1. Then, the reclassified maps of the 7 parameters were collected using the “map algebra” function of ArcGIS 10.5 software, and the flood susceptibility index (FSI) map of the study area was obtained. The flood susceptibility map of the study area was obtained by dividing the FSI into 5 subclasses (very low, low, moderate, high, and very high) according to the natural breaks classification method. Thereafter, suitable and unsuitable areas in terms of biocomfort, which affects people’s health, peace, comfort, and psychology and is significant in terms of energy efficiency, were determined. At the last stage of the study, the most suitable settlement areas that were suitable in terms of both biocomfort and low levels of landslide and flood risks were determined. The calculated proportion of such areas to the total study area was only 2.1%. Therefore, because these areas were insufficient for the establishment of new settlements, areas that had low landslide and flood risks but were unsuitable for biocomfort were secondarily determined; the ratio of these areas was calculated as 56.8%. The remaining areas were inconvenient for the establishment of settlements due to the risk of landslides and floods; the ratio of these areas was calculated as 41.1%. This study is exemplary in that the priority for the selection of settlement areas was specified, and this method can be applied for selecting new settlements for each region considering different criteria. Due to the risk of landslides or flooding in the study area, the areas unsuitable for establishing a settlement covered approximately 41.1% of the total study area. The areas that had low flood and landslide risks but were suitable for biocomfort constituted only 2.1% of the study area. In approximately 56.8% of the study area, the risk of landslides or floods was low, and these areas were unsuitable in terms of biocomfort. Therefore, these areas were secondarily preferred as settlement areas. The most suitable areas for settlements constituted only 0.19% of the total study area, and these areas will not be able to meet the increasing demand for settlement area. Therefore, it is recommended to select areas that do not have the risk of landslides and floods but are unsuitable for biocomfort. This study reveals that grading should be performed in the selection of settlement areas. When choosing a settlement area in any region, possible natural disasters in the region should be identified first, and these disasters should be ordered in terms of their threat potential. Moreover, biocomfort areas suitable for settlements should be considered. In the next stages of settlement area selection, the criteria that affect the peace and comfort of people, such as distance to pollution sources, distance to noise sources, and proximity to natural areas, should also be evaluated. Thus, a priority order should be created for the selection of settlement areas using various other criteria.

Recently, China has declared its national objective of becoming carbon neutral by 2060. Hence, mitigating carbon dioxide emissions has become an important agenda of the Chinese government. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of pursuing expansionary fiscal and monetary policies on China’s carbon dioxide emission figures by using annual frequency data from 1980 to 2018. Accordingly, this study considers the levels of government expenditure and broad money supply as fiscal and monetary policy instruments, respectively. Besides accounting for structural break concerns in the data, the findings from the empirical analysis reveal that there are long-run associations between carbon dioxide emissions, economic growth, and fiscal and monetary expansion in China. Moreover, the results also show that in both the short- and long-run expansionary fiscal policy trigger higher carbon dioxide emissions while expansionary monetary policy inhibits the carbon dioxide emission figures of China. Furthermore, the results invalidate the existence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis since the relationship between China's economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions is evidenced to portray an N-shape. In line with these findings, it is recommended that China achieve environmentally sustainable economic growth by aligning the national fiscal and monetary policies with the 2060 carbon-neutrality objective.

In 2013, the Chinese government officially announced the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Since then, environmentalists have raised concerns regarding the environmental impact of trade between China and BRI countries. Therefore, the current study aims to analyze the environmental impact of the two aspects of BRI countries’ trade: First, it examines the environmental impact of trade openness between China and BRI countries. Second, it examines the environmental impact of trade openness among BRI countries. For this purpose, the current study employs the two-step system GMM model with a panel dataset for the period 2001–2018. The results obtained for the whole sample of 88 selected BRI countries suggest that the trade openness between China and BRI countries significantly reduces CO₂ emissions. However, the trade openness among BRI countries has no significant effect on CO₂ emissions. In addition, BRI countries’ exports to China do not have a significant effect on CO₂ emissions. However, BRI countries’ imports from China significantly reduce CO₂ emissions in these countries. The results obtained for the subsamples of BRI countries suggest that the trade openness between China and BRI countries, BRI countries’ exports to China, and BRI countries’ imports from China have no significant effect on CO₂ emissions in both low-income and high-income BRI countries. Moreover, the trade openness among BRI countries significantly increases CO₂ emissions in low-income BRI countries only.

To devise an appropriate climate policy dealing with environmental degradation, reliable measurement of CO₂ emissions is essential. In the recent past, most researchers have utilized production-based emissions in their studies, ignoring the important role of consumption-based emissions in environmental degradation. Therefore, the present research examines the drivers of consumption-based CO₂ emissions in SAARC nations over the period 1990 to 2018. By employing traditional and second-generation panel cointegration methodologies, the study, more specifically, explores the link between consumption-based CO₂ emissions and its five macroeconomic determinants, namely, GDP growth, energy consumption, FDI, trade openness (measured by composite trade share index), and urbanization. The study also applies the FMOLS and DOLS techniques for calculating the long-run elasticities of regressors with respect to the explained variable. The results establish a cointegration relationship between the variables and validate an “N-shaped EKC” for the SAARC region. It is also found that in the long run, energy consumption and urbanization amplify the consumption-based CO₂ emissions while FDI and trade openness improve the environmental quality by plummeting emissions. Most importantly, the study rejects the “pollution-haven hypothesis” for the SAARC region based on the outcomes of FDI and trade openness. Lastly, based on the results, some policies are recommended for the abatement of environmental degradation in SAARC countries. As the SAARC nations rely heavily on fossil-based energy, it is suggestive for these economies to enhance the level of energy efficiency and augment the share of renewable energy sources in the energy mix. Furthermore, the policy designers in this region should encourage trade openness and liberalize inward FDI for containing consumption-based emissions.

Lead (Pb) is a highly neurotoxic chemical element known for reducing intelligence quotient (IQ) and promoting antisocial behavior in children and adolescents, while cadmium (Cd) is a carcinogenic bioaccumulative element. Both these metals are included in the priority pollutant list of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and in the WHO List of Chemicals of Major Public Health Concern, where contaminated foods and beverages are the most common pathways of exposure. The objective of this study was to determine total Cd and Pb levels in colored plastic utensils (cups, mugs, bowls, feeding bottles, and plates) for use by children and to measure the specific migration of these elements into beverages and foods. Total contaminant levels were determined using a handheld X-ray fluorescence analyzer. Specific migration tests were conducted using the simulant solutions acetic acid 3% (m/v) and water. Migration levels were determined by ICP-MS. Specific migration tests for Pb were also performed on commercially available samples (cola soft drink, orange juice, vinegar, and milk), with levels determined by graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GF-AAS). A total of 674 utensils were analyzed in loco at major commercial centers in Greater São Paulo, of which 87 were purchased for containing Cd and Pb concentrations above permitted limits. Mean concentrations of the metals detected in the purchased utensils were 1110 ppm for Pb and 338 ppm for Cd. For specific migration assays, Pb levels were 187, 13, and 380 times above the permitted limit (0.01 mg.kg -1) for acetic acid, water, and orange juice, respectively. Cd levels were 50 and 2.4 times above the maximum permitted limit (0.005 mg.kg -1) for acetic acid and water, respectively. The districts where the utensils were purchased were grouped according to their social vulnerability index and compared using ANOVA. Pb levels were different between low and medium/high social vulnerability groups (p = 0.006). The findings corroborate the initial hypothesis that these utensils constitute a major source of exposure to PTEs such as Cd and Pb, pointing to the need for stricter regulation and inspection by the Brazilian regulatory agencies.

The increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) in this digital era and its interlinkage with other economic and environmental factors have gotten considerable attention from researchers. ICT tools are considered very important in economic activities such as international trade, the financial sector, and foreign direct investment. ICT is also interlinked with innovation and energy consumption. However, ICT with these activities influences ecological footprint, especially in emerging economies such as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries. Therefore, this topic has got considerable attention from researchers and policy makers on the impact of ICT and economic growth activities on environmental quality. Consequently, this study investigates the impact of information and communication technology, renewable energy consumption and innovation on carbon dioxide emission in BRICS countries from 1990 to 2019 using cointegration, generalized least square, and panel corrected standard errors models. The findings show that two ICT indicators, mobile cellular subscription and fixed broadband subscription, negatively affect carbon emission along with economic growth and financial development. Innovation and renewable energy consumption also significantly reduce emission in presence of ICT indicators, while trade openness and fixed telephone subscriptions increase it. In the case of the ICT index model, all variables are positively associated with carbon emission except renewable energy consumption, however, the square and interaction term of all indicators significantly reduce carbon emission and evidence the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis except trade openness. ICT growth should be considered in the energy sector, innovation, and financial development to enhance environmental quality. The findings of the study have considerable policy implications for the sample countries.

Cigarette butts (CBs) are non-biodegradable residues of synthetic origin, prevalent on beaches all over the world. The study evaluates discarded CBs on an intensely used urban beach, determining variations in physical and chemical characteristics. CBs collected were observed, classified, and visually separated according to a proposed scale of four levels of degradation to test the potential match between physical and chemical decay. CBs (un-smoked, smoked, and discarded) were used to determine the average length (cm) and mass (g) in order to observe changes in these parameters among the levels. Cigarette butts experience consecutive mass loss during environmental exposure. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images were obtained to assess physical changes in fibers due to smoking. FTIR-ATR was used to assess CBs new (un-smoked), smoked, and discarded samples in relation to cellulose acetate decay. The FTIR-ATR spectroscopy of the most visually degraded cigarette butts indicated modifications in the spectra when compared to un-smoked cigarettes.

This work developed a composite (Pe-FeLs) which loaded ferric lignin on polyethylene film (PE film) by chemical modification and physico-chemically characterized by Microscope, FESEM with elemental mapping analysis, and XRD. Microscope pictures showed that chemical modification did not destroy the appearance of PE film. The FESEM images of Pe-FeLs showed the well-distributed clusters could be clearly seen and most of the particles were spherical morphology. Elemental mapping of individual element on Pe-FeLs clearly indicated the existing of iron. The XRD pattern showed the amorphous hydroxides of iron on Pe-FeLs. In arsenic solution, the total arsenic adsorption capacity of Pe-FeLs was much higher than that of ferric lignin and PE, which showed Pe-FeLs had the ability to adsorb arsenic. For making Pe-FeLs work well in the soil, a Pe-FeLs system was set up with plastic grid plate, PE film with holes, Pe-FeLs, PE film, and plastic grid plate from the upper to bottom in order. With applying Pe-FeLs system under the soil, arsenic was significantly reduced by 25.5 ~ 53.4% in heavily, moderately, and lower arsenic-polluted soils, the biomass of the romaine lettuce increased and arsenic accumulation in the romaine lettuce decreased.

Mining and landfill activities can cause serious soil and groundwater contamination with lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd). Loess soils are common and have been reported as effective for the removal of heavy metals. The spectral induced polarization (SIP) technique has been approved for its nondestructive ability to characterize the contaminant transport process and surface geochemical properties in porous media. In the present study, SIP was applied to monitor Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ removal processes using loess through column flow-through experiments. The outflow aqueous geochemical analyses indicated a better retention capability of loess for Pb²⁺, which was through precipitation induced by calcite dissolution and aqueous pH increment, as confirmed by SEM–EDS and XRD results. Cd retention took place mainly through ion exchange with Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ on the loess surface. The SIP signals showed a continuous decrement on the magnitude of imaginary conductivity during both Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ flow-through, which was attributed to the total surface area and decrement of polarizable surface charges. The SIP signals differentiated the interactions between loess and Pb²⁺/Cd²⁺ by displaying a peak shift to a higher frequency on the imaginary conductivity spectra during Pb²⁺ flow-through, which was attributed to calcite dissolution and proved by the high correlation (R² = 0.9366) between the estimated dissolved calcite mass and the peak of imaginary conductivity. The above results suggest that loess has a great potential for field heavy metal remediation applications, and the SIP technique displays a promising capability of monitoring the remediation performance.

Medicinal plants are considered as the safest approach to treat various ailments. However, prolonged consumption of plants containing high levels of heavy metals (HMs) can lead to deleterious consequences. Euphorbia granulata (EG) is therapeutically used in Pakistan and many parts of the world. This study assessed EG from three districts of Khyber Pakhun Khwa, Pakistan, for the levels of seven HMs (Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni, Ag, Hg, and As) and the associated health risks. Non-carcinogenic health risk associated with HMs was assessed from hazard quotients (THQ) and hazard index (HI). THQ values of Hg for Peshawar (1.566) and Mardan (1.897) were above the safe recommended limits (< 1) of USEPA. Overall more than 80% of THQ was contributed by the Hg alone. Total cancer risk (TCR) was calculated using incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR). The hazard index (HI) displayed by Peshawar (1.87) and Mardan (2.7) samples indicated the potential adverse health effects due to EG. Furthermore, the TCR for Peshawar (2.2 × 10⁻⁴), Mardam (2.3 × 10⁻⁴), and Swat (1.4 × 10⁻⁴) was also more than US-EPA recommended threshold value (1 × 10⁻⁴). Our results unveiled the possibility of carcinogenic health risks with Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni, and As to EG consumers. Due to potential non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risk, chronic use of E. granulata is not recommended, particularly from HMs contaminated sites.