Due to the pressure on limited resources produced by a growing population and due to a decade of war, Rwanda is facing a major problem in environmental protection. Because of such problems, it seems only reasonable that environment-related courses should play an important role in the curricula of institutions of higher learning. The main aim of this research is to present a comprehensive picture of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) integration in graduate and undergraduate programs in Rwandese higher education institutions and to make recommendations for its improvement. During this study, two surveys were conducted: the first survey targeted Environmental Impact Assessment lecturers and the second survey was for Environmental Impact Assessment practitioners (including EIA certified experts and competent authorities). The study found that Environmental Impact Assessment is not well established in these institutions and it is not taught in some programs; civil engineering, for example, has no Environmental Impact Assessment courses. Recommendations to improve EIA education are proposed, such as requiring that a common core course in Environmental Impact Assessment be made available in Rwandese higher learning institutions.

Soil contamination has become a crucial issue in urban redevelopment. Japan has many contaminated sites on which manufacturing has been conducted over several decades. Site holders are now under pressure to manage chemical contamination; however, the use of heavy machinery is difficult in remedial operations on restricted sites, especially where there are still working factories. The slant well is a potentially useful technique in such settings, but its use is technically challenging because of the need for high drilling accuracy and the difficulty in sealing the slanted bores. In this study, we investigated an improved technique for slant drilling that can be used around existing structures to treat contaminated soil and groundwater. A key to this novel approach was the use of water-swelling materials as sealants. Research at a test site investigated the accuracy of drilling. Tracer tests were also conducted using sodium chloride and urea. The improved slant borings showed a deviation of less than 2% from the target bore. The spread of the two tracers at different depths was demonstrated. The proposed technique provides a useful approach to the treatment of brownfield sites in countries where in situ remediation has not yet been undertaken.

The aim of this research is to evaluate the groundwater geochemistry in western Nile Delta area as an example of an aquifer influenced by reclamation and seawater intrusion. To conduct this study, 63 groundwater samples and one surface water sample from El Nubaria Canal were collected. To estimate the origin of dissolved ions and the geochemical processes influencing this groundwater, integration between land use change, pedological, hydrogeological, hydrogeochemical, and statistical approaches was considered. Results suggest that the groundwater flow regime changed from northeast and southwest directions around El Nubaria canal before 1966 to northern and northeastern directions due to newly constructed channel network. Soil salinity and mineral contents, seepage from irrigation canal, and seawater intrusion are the main factors controlling the groundwater chemistry. Statistically, the groundwater samples were classified into eight groups, one to four for the deep groundwater and five to eight for the shallow groundwater. The deep groundwater is characterized by two groups of chemicals (SO₄–HCO₃–Mg–Ca–K and Cl–Na), while the shallow groundwater groups of chemicals are Na–Cl–SO₄ and K–HCO₃–Ca–Mg. Both shallow groundwater and deep groundwater are mostly saturated with respect to carbonate minerals and undersaturated with respect to chloride minerals. Sulfate minerals are above the saturation limit in the shallow groundwater, but in the deep samples, these minerals are under the saturation limit. Ion exchange, carbonate production, mineral precipitation, and seawater intrusion are the geochemical processes governing the groundwater chemistry in the study area.

Green algae Cladophora aegagropila, present in cooling water of thermal power plants, causes many problems and complications, especially during summer. However, algae and its metabolites are rarely eliminated by common removal methods. In this work, the elimination efficiency of electrochemically prepared potassium ferrate(VI) on algae from cooling water was investigated. The influence of experimental parameters, such as Fe(VI) dosage, application time, pH of the system, temperature and hydrodynamics of the solution on removal efficiency, was optimized. This study demonstrates that algae C. aegagropila can be effectively removed from cooling water by ferrate. Application of ferrate(VI) at the optimized dosage and under the suitable conditions (temperature, pH) leads to 100% removal of green algae Cladophora from the system. Environmentally friendly reduction products (Fe(III)) and coagulation properties favour the application of ferrate for the treatment of water contaminated with studied microorganisms compared to other methods such as chlorination and use of permanganate, where harmful products are produced.

During the past 10 years, exploiting engineered nanoparticles in agricultural sector has been rapidly increased. Nanoparticles are used to increase the productivity of different crops particularly under biotic and abiotic stresses. This study aims to test the ability of nanosilica (NS) to ameliorate the detrimental impact of Na⁺ with different concentrations on the seed germination and the growth of common bean seedlings. Five doses of Na⁺ have been prepared from NaCl, i.e., 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, and 5000 mg L⁻¹, and distilled water was applied as a control. Seeds and seedlings were treated with three different NS concentrations (100, 200, and 300 mg L⁻¹). The results proved that Na⁺ concentrations had detrimental effects on all measured parameters. However, treating seeds and seedlings with NS improved their growth and resulted in higher values for all measurements. For instance, the addition of 300 mg L⁻¹ NS leads to an increase of the final germination percentage, vigor index, and germination speed for seeds irrigated with 5000 mg Na⁺ L⁻¹ by 19.7, 80.7, and 22.6%, respectively. Although common bean seedlings could not grow at the highest level of Na⁺, fortification seedlings with NS helped them to grow well under 5000 mg L⁻¹ of Na⁺. An increase of 11.1 and 23.1% has been measured for shoot and root lengths after treating seedlings with 300 mg L⁻¹ NS under irrigation with 5000 mg Na⁺ L⁻¹ solutions, and also at the same treatment, shoot and root dry masses are enhanced by 110.9 and 328.0%, respectively. These results proved the importance of using NS to relieve the detrimental effects of Na⁺-derived salinity. This finding could be reinforced by low Na content which was measured in plant tissues after treating seedlings with 300 mg L⁻¹ of NS.

Assessment of water resources requires interdisciplinary studies that include multiple ecosystem aspects. This study evaluated the water quality of Juara Lagoon (ES, Brazil) based on physical and chemical variables, cytogenetic responses in Allium cepa and phytoplankton dynamics. Three sampling sites were defined and water samples were collected during two sampling periods. Analyses such as determination of photic zone, conductivity, and concentrations of nutrients and metals were conducted as well as cytotoxic, mutagenic, and genotoxic potentials using A. cepa test. The main attributes of phytoplankton community, such as total richness, total density, density by class, dominance, and diversity, were also evaluated. Results have revealed that Juara Lagoon has signs of artificial eutrophication at two sampling sites due to high levels of total phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen. Cytotoxic, genotoxic, and mutagenic potentials were detected as well as high concentrations of Fe and Mn. Furthermore, 165 phytoplankton taxa were recorded, with highest richness in Chlorophyceae and Cyanophyceae classes. In addition, Cyanophyceae presented as the highest density class. A. cepa test and phytoplankton community evaluation indicated that the ecological quality of Juara Lagoon is compromised.

This study aims to determine the atmospheric concentrations of particulate matter 2.5 (PM₂.₅)-bounded polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their association with their urinary metabolites in children and adolescents. This study was conducted from October 2014 to March 2016 in Isfahan, Iran. We measured 16 species of PAHs bounded to PM₂.₅ by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) from 7 parts of the city. Moreover, PAH urinary metabolites were measured in 186 children and adolescents, randomly selected from households. Urinary metabolites consisted of 1-hydroxy naphthalene (1-naphthol), 2-hydroxy naphthalene (2-naphthol), 9-hydroxy phenanthrene (9-phenanthrol), and 1-hydroxy pyrene using GC/MS. Considering the short half-lives of PAHs, we measured the metabolites twice with 4 to 6 months of time interval. We found that the ambient concentrations of PAHs were significantly associated with their urinary metabolites. 1-hydroxy naphthalene and 2-hydroxy naphthalene concentrations showed an increase of 1.049 (95% CI: 1.030, 1.069) and 1.047 (95% CI: 1.025, 1.066) for each unit increase (1 ng/m³) in ambient naphthalene. Similarly, 1-hydroxy pyrene showed an increase of 1.009 (95% CI: 1.006–1.011) for each unit increase (1 ng/m³) in ambient pyrene concentration after adjustment for body mass index, physical activity level, urinary creatinine, age, and sex. The association of urinary 9-hydroxyphenanthrene and ambient phenantherene was significant in the crude model; however after adjustment for the abovementioned covariates, it was no more significant. We found significant correlations between exposure to ambient PM₂.₅-bounded PAHs and their urinary excretion. Considering the adverse health effects of PAHs in the pediatric age group, biomonitoring of PAHs should be underscored; preventive measures need to be intensified.

Optical properties and molecular composition of humic substances (HS) can provide valuable information on the sources and the history of the associated biogeochemical processes. In this study, many well-known spectral and molecular characteristics were examined in eight different HS samples, which were extracted from soils and sediments located in a forested watershed, via two advanced tools including fluorescence excitation emission matrix-parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC) and high-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS). Two humic-like (C1 and C2) and one protein-like (C3) components were identified from EEM-PARAFAC. Irrespective of the origins, humic acid (HA) fractions were distinguished from fulvic acid (FA) fractions by the HS characteristics of specific UV absorbance (SUVA), the number of formulas, maximum fluorescence intensities of C1 and C2, condensed aromatics, tannins, and CHON, CHOS, and CHONS classes. In contrast, only five HS indices, including C3 intensity, H%, modified aromatic index (AIₘₒd), the percentages of carbohydrates, and unsaturated hydrocarbons, were found to be significant factors in discriminating between the two HS origins (i.e., soils and sediments). The ordination of the Bray-Curtis dissimilarity matrix further confirmed that the HS chemical fraction (i.e., HA or FA) was the more important factor to determine the measured HS characteristics than the HS origin. Our results provided an in-depth insight into the chemical and structural heterogeneity of bulk HS, which could be even beyond the differences observed along the two HS origins. This study also delivers a cautious message that the two operationally defined HS chemical fractions should be carefully considered in tracking the origins of different HS samples.

The present study demonstrates development of a rapid testing protocol based on a small portable luminometer using flash kinetic assessment of bacterial bioluminescence. The laboratory comparisons based on six model organic toxicants and two metals showed significant correlations between responses of freshwater bacteria Photorhabdus luminescens and standard marine bacterial species Vibrio fisheri. While P. luminescens was less sensitive in standard arrangements, the responses of both organisms were comparable in the newly introduced portable luminometer setup. The applicability and reproducibility of the portable luminometer protocol was further demonstrated in the assessment of 43 European wastewater effluents that were simultaneously tested for toxicity and analysed for 150 organic and 20 inorganic contaminants grouped into 13 major chemical classes. Clear association between the toxic responses in both compared bacterial species and the elevated levels of inorganic compounds (toxic metals), chlorophenols and benzotriazole anticorrosives was observed. The new protocol with a portable luminometer provides a fast (30 s) response and may be used as a tool for rapid in situ toxicity evaluation of freshwater environmental samples such as effluents.