The Issue Of Heavy Metals Contamination Environmental Sciences Essay

The Issue Of Heavy Metals Contamination Environmental Sciences Essay Rapid urbanization and industrialization has led to increase disposal of heavy metals and radionuclide into the environment. Heavy metals contamination problem increase rapidly is due to the increasing of the industrialization. The key property of heavy metal is the non-biodegradable properties of the heavy metal ions. As metal ion persistent in nature it will remain in the environment and poses environmental-disposal problems (Leità £o, 2009). Among the pollution of water sources, contaminations of heavy metal ions in water are the problem that reaching a dangerous level (Regine and Volesky, 2000). The main sources of heavy metal ions contamination include the urban industrial aerosols, solid wastes from animals, mining activities, industrial and also agricultural activities (KarnikaAlluri et al,. 2007). Heavy metal is defined as element with high weight, which has the properties of a metallic substance at room temperature and is toxic or poisonous at low concentrations. Heavy metal ions of concern include chromium, lead, mercury, silver, gold, zinc, arsenic, nickel, cadmium, uranium, selenium and mercury (Ahalya et al, 2003). Heavy metal ions can enter a water sources by industrial and consumer waste, or even from acidic rain breaking down soils and releasing heavy metals into streams, lakes, rivers, and groundwater (Lenntech, 2009). These heavy metals have high toxicity and impact as they can cause human major health problem (Leità £o, 2009). Heavy metal ions are dangerous because it tend to bioaccumulation. Bioaccumulation defines as an increase in the concentration of a chemical in a biological organism over time, compared to the chemicals concentration in the environment. Compounds accumulate in living things any time they are taken up and stored faster than they are broken down (metabolized) or excreted (Lenntech, 2009). This is because these heavy metals can be carried into food web as a result of leaching from water dumps or other polluted water sources. These metals then will increase the metals concentration at every level of food chain and cause affect human health (Paknikar et al, 2003). Even at low concentration, heavy metals can also causing human health problem. It can cause toxicity to humans and other forms of life. 1.1 Aquatic and water sources pollutants One of the main causes of aqueous heavy metal pollution is the release of the heavy metal ion containing industrial waste into water sources. This usually as a direct result of inefficiency treatment of the heavy metal removal processes. Occurrence of aquatic pollutants (such as heavy metals) has been correlated to alterations in the fish immune system and the incidence of infectious diseases. Water bodies are being overwhelmed with pollutant and waste matter such as heavy metal. Among all the toxic substances reaching hazardous levels are heavy metals (Regine and Volesky, 2000). Even very low level of certain heavy metals can have profound effects upon the structure or even the functions of the immune system that could be almost as harmful as direct toxic doses (Saxena et al, 2009). The main threats to human health from heavy metals are associated with exposure to lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic. Cadmium compounds are the by-product that used in re-chargeable nickel-cadmium batteries. Cadmium will accumulate in living organisms and can cause several health problems in humans (Benguella and Benaissa, 2002). Cadmium emissions have increase dramatically during the 20th century, one reason being that cadmium-containing products are rarely re-cycled, but often dumped together with household waste. Therefore, measures should be taken to reduce cadmium exposure in the general population in order to minimize the risk of adverse health effects. The other metal ion that should be concern is copper. Unlike cadmium, copper is not toxic as cadmium, however extensive of copper used in industry and increasing the copper levels in the environment was a reason for concern. Besides, the general population is primarily exposed to mercury through food, fish being a major source of methyl mercury exposure because of the major food source. The adverse effects of heavy metals on human health show in Table 1.0 (Hima et al., 2007). The best accepted option is to avoid the possibility of polluting the water sources. Thus, the treatments of heavy metals contaminated water become more important issues in this endeavour. To avoid health hazards is essential to remove all these toxic heavy metals from wastewater before its disposal. Table 1.0: Types of heavy metals and their effect on human health. (Hima et al., 2007) 1.2 Method for heavy metal removal Recently, the efficient method of removal heavy metals has become important and concern for industry (Malik, 2004). They are various industrial processes for elimination of heavy metals. These industrial wastewater treatments is due to the process of chemical precipitation, membrane technologies, solvent extraction, reverse osmosis, electrochemical treatment, ion exchange, evaporation recovery and also chemical oxidation-reduction (Leità £o, 2009). Physiochemical processes also use in heavy metals removal of water sources before the influents into natural water system (Nars and Garima, 2004). However, all this methods have a major disadvantage which is difficult to handle and expensive processes. Besides, these methods frequently result in the release of toxic products and thus cause of secondary sources of environmental pollution problem (Leità £o, 2009). Most of the physiochemical process become less effective and more expensive when he metal concentration are in range of 1 to 10 0 mg/L (Nars and Garima, 2004). Another major problem is the ability for removal of heavy metals in low concentrations and is inefficiency. It also produces other waste products that require careful disposal (Ahalya et al., 2003). Thus, a need for a cost effective alternative technologies are important. In this case, microbial biomass has the high efficiency and option for developing an economic and eco-friendly waste water treatment process. Bioremediation can be defined as a biological process or treatment that used to clean up of hazardous chemicals. Bioremediation processes involve the use of microorganisms or even enzyme to return the environment back to its original condition. In recent years, rapid urbanization and industrialization has led the increase of heavy metals into environment. Hence, due to the environmental protection and economical constrain the need of bioremediation in removing and recycling of metal ions from industrial wastewater become more important. Bioremediation can be an effective method that can alter the ecosystem pollution. There are certain main advantages to bioremediation, in which other process cannot be reach easily. One simple case that can be view is the contamination of gasoline in underground water. By injection of the right microorganism, it may reduce the pollution concentrations after a period of time. The bioremediation is less expensive compared to other chemical cleaning processes. In recent years, certain new method was discovered in removing heavy metals from the water sources. It was found that fungus biomass would be an effective method in removing heavy metal ions in wastewater. This is because the ability of fungi in absorbing metal ions would be more efficiency when it grow some condition or reach certain situation. Certain condition or pre-treatment can be use on to the fungal biomass to increase the efficiency in order to speed up the bioremediation process. In other words, the biosorption procedure are said to be easy to handle, safer, rapid process, and inexpensive for the pretreatment and trace metals separation in aqueous solutions (Say, 2003). However, many of these methods are ineffective. This resulting in low levels of heavy metal ion removal and can also be economically inefficiency (Ghimire et al., 2003). Figure 1.0: Schematic representation of biosorption procedure. (Hima et al., 2007) 1.3 Biomass of Fungus To overcome the entire metal ion pollution problem, all the removal of heavy metals from waste water must be highly effective. Thus the use of biomass was selected. The biomass has several advantages as heavy metal ion adsorbent over the commonly method and more efficient adsorbents and is a renewable source (Ghimire et al., 2002). Biomass often as the waste product from the industry processes. It is cheap and easily available product. Thus, according to the industrial perspective, heavy metal removal systems that are renewable and inexpensive are highly preferred by industry and achieve the environmental perspective. A filamentous fungus is a member of large group of eukaryotic organisms which are variable in form, behavior and life cycle patterns that are classified as a kingdom that is separated from plants, animals and bacteria (Geeta Sumbali, 2005). There is the possibility that fungus has the ability to remove heavy metal ions to meet the discharge standards required by federal regulations. Fungi can remove heavy metals and radio nuclides from the aqueous solution. Fungi can accumulate heavy metal and radionuclide species by physico-chemical and biological mechanisms. These methods include extracellular binding by metabolites and biopolymers, binding to specific polypeptides and metabolism-dependent accumulation (Tobin, 1994). The transfer of metals from environment into the cell maybe accomplished by active transport associated with metabolic activities, but it is also a passive process metal uptake by the cell across the cell wall. The cell-wall fraction of biomass plays an important role in the sorption of heavy metals. The potential of fungal biomass as biosorbent has been recognized for the removal of heavy metals from polluted water sources. Due to the negative charge from the different functional group, fungal cell walls can act as a cation exchanger (Fomina, 2007). The examples are phosphate, carboxylic, sulfhydryl or amine that was found in different wall compo nents such as hemicelluloses, pectin and lignin (Fomina, 2007). The reason that makes fungi biosorption become attractive is due to the possibility of obtaining large quantities of product without causing disposal problem and low cost. One example is the Rhizopus arrhizus, which are common for industrial exploitation due to its strong metal-sorbent properties. The amino groups of chitin were found to be a major site of thorium uptake in Rhizopus arrhizus. The cell wall of fungi typically containing long chain of chitin polymer, cellulose or contain both chitin and cellulose. Fungi cell walls are rich in glycoproteins and polysaccharides, for example the glucans, chitin, mannans and phospho-mannans. The chemical structure of a part of cell wall fungi was show in figure 1.0. Chitin polymers layer provide the abundant sources of metal ion binding ligands. The amino groups of chitin were found to be a major site of thorium uptake in Rhizopus arrhizus. The main chemical groups in a biomass which are able to uptake metal ions are the electronegative groups such as hydroxyl, sulfhydryl groups and amino groups. This is the main factor that causes the fungi biomasses have the ability to accumulate metal ion. The level of heavy metals absorption capacity by various fungal species was show in table 1.1. Figure 1.1: Schematic diagram representation of the outer cell layer of fungi. (Leità £o, 2009) Figure 1.2: Chemical structure for a part of chitin polymer. (Boya Volesky, 1999) Table 1.1: Heavy metals absorption capacity by various fungal species. (Narsi and Garima, 2005) 1.4 Objective of this thesis The main objective of this review is to present report of investigations related to the ability of fungal species as a suitable model organism to use in the process of eliminating heavy metal ions from contaminated water sources. In this review the removal of heavy metal ions such chromium, cadmium and copper from synthetic wastewater by a fungus biomass is presented. The design of an effective bioreactor for the removal of copper in aqueous solution is presented. The reactor was based on an aqueous system containing metal ions in solution. These reviews also include a report on the investigation of the effect that would affect the efficiency of fungal biomass in absorption metal ions. A study of factors that affect the efficiency of fungal biomass will provide a good industrial reference for the use of fungus in the removal of metal ion as a mean of protecting the environment from heavy metal pollution.

Mahatma Gandhi’s Death

What are we to make of Gandhi's life? How should we judge this homespun-wearing politician-saint, the man who brought down an empire by preaching brotherhood and nonviolence? At the very end, with his beloved India reaping its own destruction, Gandhi considered himself a failure. But his place in history is secure, and it does not diminish his greatness to point out that in some respects, he had failed. He had spent his life working toward the achievement of independence for India without violence or division–†you can cut me in two if you wish,† he famously told Muhammed Jinnah, â€Å"but don't cut India in two. Yet in the end, he was forced to watch as his newborn country was torn by one of the great human calamities of the century. Gandhi had made India ungovernable for the British, but in the autumn of 1947, it became ungovernable for anyone. If his political dream was in some sense a failure, so too was his dream of an India cleansed of the age-old inequities of caste and prejudice, and yet uncorrupted by modern technology and industry. He imagined a country where countless Indian peasants wove their own clothes and tilled their own land, without what he considered the ruinous effects of modernity. But after his death, history passed him by: his great disciple, Jawaharlal Nehru, was an ardent socialist, and by the 1950s Nehru's five-year plans were turning India into an industrial state–and eventually, a nuclear state. Meanwhile, the iniquities of class and gender that he had so loathed persisted, even into the 21st century. Yet Gandhi had to aspire as high as he did to achieve what he did; indeed he won triumphs for India that less idealistic leaders would never have dreamed possible. No one did more than Gandhi to improve the lot of poor Indians, and if his dreams fell short of reality, it was not because the dreams were flawed, but because the human race, which he loved so much, could not rise to the standard he set. It is true that India split after independence, but without Gandhi's labor, without the power of his person, there would have been no India at all. The nationalists of the Indian National Congress fought for independence, but they were, and always would be, a Westernized elite, out of touch with the vast masses inhabiting the real India. It was Gandhi, the Mahatma, who made the people of the subcontinent believe in the idea of an Indian nation; indeed, it was he, the frail, bespectacled figure with the simple clothes and the ready smile, who embodied this idea throughout the long decades of struggle. To the Indian people, Gandhi gave a nation. To the world, he gave satyagraha, arguably the most revolutionary idea of a long and ravaged century. He showed that political change could be affected by renouncing violence; that unjust laws could be defied peacefully and with a readiness to accept punishment; that â€Å"soul-force,† as much as armed force, could bring down an empire. He drew this lesson from his readings of the Bible and Tolstoy and the Bhagavad-Gita, and he taught it to Martin Luther King Jr. , Nelson Mandela, and countless other political protestors who would follow his example in the years to come. In some sense, Gandhi's greatest achievement lay in his legacy; for his ideals, and the example he provided in living them out, inspired, and continue to inspire, people of all nations to take up the peaceful struggle for freedom from oppression. India won independence in 1947, followed by the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, and partition of India. Gandhi said, â€Å"Before partitioning India, my body will have to be cut into two pieces. † About one million people died in the bloody riots until partition was reluctantly asserted by Gandhi as the only way to stop the Civil War. He urged the Congress Party to accept partition, and launched his last â€Å"fast-into-death† campaign in Delhi, calling for a stop to all violence. Gandhi also called to give Pakistan the 550,000,000 rupees in honor of the partition agreement. He tried to prevent instability and anger against India. Gandhi was shot three times in the chest and died while on his way to a prayer meeting, on January 30, 1948. His assassins were convicted and executed a year later. The ashes of Mahatma Gandhi were split in portions and sent to all states of India to be scattered in rivers. Part of Gandhi's ashes rest in Raj Ghat, near Delhi, India. Part of Mahatma Gandhi's ashes are at the Lake Shrine in Los Angeles.

The Autobiography Of Benjamin Franklin - 1367 Words

Matthew Matheny HIST 2020 A.P. Tammy Prater 23 November 2014 Benjamin Franklin The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is a detailed account of the illustrious experiences of Benjamin Franklin. Though the cultural differences in writing has changed since the 18th century one can learn a lot about one of America’s greatest forefathers through this book. It accounts for Franklin’s life when he was born January 17th, 1706 till the year 1757. Unfortunately, he died in 1790 and was never able to finish his autobiography. However, the book thoroughly details the early life of Benjamin Franklin. Franklin may have started at the bottom but he soon worked his way to the top. He had many jobs in his lifetime. Helping his father in his candle shop was one of Franklin’s first jobs. However, he became bored with his work at his father’s candle shop and soon moved to Philadelphia. Upon arriving to Philadelphia Franklin began working as a printer assistant. It did not last long though and soon he was looking for another job. This is when Benjamin Franklin began to work for the Pennsylvania Gazette, an extensive newspaper. He soon sold the paper though to venture into other endeavors. Benjamin Franklin was an inventor, printers assistant, politician, scientist as well as other things. Franklin also played the harp, violin, and guitar which expresses his great love for music and his love for learning. Benjamin cared that young people got a good education; he thought that education today isShow MoreRelatedThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin1058 Words   |  5 PagesThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin’s life made a huge impact on the history of America. He also was an influence for many citizens. Since Franklin lived during the eighteenth century, a period of growth for America, he also played a part in the political founding of the United States. To help future generations, Franklin wrote an autobiography of his life. 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Effects Of Radiation Safety On The Health Risk Dealing...

Radiation Safety By Sean Trosper In requirements for AVIA 5103 Aviation Safety Program Development Michelle Crom, M.S. Table of Contents 1. Abstract 2. Discovery of Radiation 3. Health Effects of Radiation 4. Fukushima 5. Radiation Sources 6. Aircrew Radiation Exposure 7. Natural Ways to Reduce Radiation in Your Body 8. Conclusion Abstract This paper goes over radiation safety precautions and all the health risk dealing with radiation. I will discuss the discovery of radiation, non-iodizing and iodizing radiation, natural exposure to radiation, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma radiation and how they affect us. Also the paper will be going over radiation from human activities: underground miners, radiologists, medical†¦show more content†¦For some reason, Becquerel decided to develop his photographic plates anyway. To his surprise, the images were strong and clear, proving that the uranium emitted radiation without an external source of energy such as the sun. Becquerel had discovered radioactivity. Becquerel used an apparatus similar to that displayed below to show that the radiation he discovered could not be x-rays. X-rays are neutral and cannot be bent in a magnetic field. The new radiation was bent by the magnetic field so that the radiation must be charged and different than x-rays. When different radioactive substances were put in the magnetic field, they deflected in different directions or not at all, showing that there were three classes of radioactivity: negative, positive, and electrically neutral. The term radioactivity was actually named by Marie Curie, who together with her husband Pierre, began investigating the phenomenon recently discovered by Becquerel. The Curies extracted uranium from ore and to their surprise, found that the leftover ore showed more activity than the pure uranium. They concluded that the ore contained other radioactive elements. This led to the discoveries of the elements polonium and radium. It took four more years of processing tons of ore to isolate enough of each element to determine their chemical properties. Ernest Rutherford, who did many experiments studying the properties of radioactive decay, named