Journal of Health Research in Community

1-11

Authors: Mashallah Nikzad Mahdi Farzad kia Mitra Gholami

Introduction and Purpose: The quantity and quality of industrial wastewater is variable owing to the different lines of production and product variety of industry. Meeting the effluent standards requires proper environmental management. The current study aimed to evaluate the industrial wastewater management in Savojbolagh,Alborz, Iran from an environmental perspective in 2013-2014.Methods: This study was cross-sectional. The data were collected through field visits, questionnaire (of Iran's Environmental Protection Agency), and controlling data from industrial plants with more than 50 workers (totally 108 units). The questionnaire included questions about the quantity, quality, and management of wastewater. Based on an environmental perspective, the way of managing industrial wastewater was classified into four index: wastewater production, per capita production, BOD (Biochemical oxygen demand) per capita, and COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) per capita which were rated from1 to 6. For each index, a higher score was defined for better management. Results: The wastewater produced by industries was estimated to be 1942 cubic meters per day. Food industry alone produced 59% of the entire industrial wastewater. The industry related to animal slaughtering was shown to have the highest BOD per capita, 320 g/day per every worker; and the cellulose industry enjoyed the highest COD per capita, 561 g/day per every worker. 76% of the industries under investigation had no strategy to reduce the wastewater production. 34% of these industries possessed treatment plants, while only 17% of them were following the effluent discharge standards. The most common method of treated and untreated wastewater disposal was found to be absorbing well. Conclusion: Based on this assessment, the management of wastewater was revealed to be favorable in non-metallic minerals industry, but unfavorable in agriculture industry as the wastewater produced by this industry was considered to be an environmental pollutant.

21-27

Authors: Hadi Eslami, Ameneh Marzban, Seyed Saeed Mazloomy, Zohre Zare.

Introduction and Purpose: AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is one of the greatest social - health problems in many communities in the twentyfirst century. This disease is spreading rapidly due to low awareness and failure to be dealt properly with. The aim of this study was to determine knowledge and attitudes about HIV/ AIDS among health volunteers of Eghlid health centers in 2015. Methods: In this cross - sectional study, 240 health volunteers of Eghlid health centers were employed through census. The data were collected by questionnaires and analyzed by Independent t-test and one-way ANOVA, using SPSS 18. Results: The results showed that the mean score of knowledge and attitude among health volunteers were 14.88±94.2 and 46.85±6.99 respectively. Hence, health volunteers were found to acquire 74.4 % of the knowledge and 66.9 % of the attitude scores. Besides, 19.1%, 18.3%, and 30.6% of the health volunteers didn’t consider sexual contact, blood and blood products transfusions, and occupational contact such as injuries with contaminated needles as means of HIV transmission. Moreover, a significant relationship was found between the score of knowledge, age (P= 0.006), and degree (P ≤0.001).Conclusion: Considering the relatively low level of knowledge about transmission of HIV/ AIDS on the part of health volunteers, it was suggested that suitable and efficient packages and training programs are necessary to train the volunteers as literacy brings up awareness.

37-45

Authors: Ali Toolabi, Ahmad Allahabadi, Mohammad Miri, Hamid Reza Karimi Sani

Introduction and Purpose: Heavy metals are among the most important pollutants in leachate waste, causing serious health risks for humans through entering the food chain and reaching the top of food pyramid. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of modified clinoptilolite in the removal of copper and zinc ions from landfill leachate and modeling of adsorption isotherms and reactions.Methods: This cross-sectional in vitro study was conducted to test waste landfill leachate as a true sample for four seasons in 2014 in Bam, Iran. Natural zeolite (clinoptilolite), modified with 2 M HNO3 solution, was used to remove copper and zinc. Experiments were conducted as batch systems, in which the effects of pH, adsorbent dosage, and contact time on the adsorption of heavy metals in municipal waste landfill leachate by clinoptilolite (as soil amendment) were investigated. Afterwards, the adsorption isotherms of each adsorbent were demonstrated. Results: In total, the removal efficency of zinc in the optimum pH=5, equallied time=120 min and Adsorbent dosage of 120g/l was reached 92%. Adsorption isotherms indicated that the capacity of this adsorbent was higher in zinc, compared to copper, and adsorbents were absorbed with higher energy. The adsorption process was based on Langmuir’s equations (isotherm type II) (R2=0.99). Conclusion: According to the results, adsorption capacity of clinoptilolite was high for copper and zinc and based on isotherm equations, adsorption took place with higher energy. It was concluded that this method could be used for the removal of these metals due to its high removal efficiency. Therefore, it is recommended that further studies be conducted to evaluate the possibility of removal of other heavy metals with this method.