Articles

A Systematic Review on Long Term Variation of Carbonaceous Aerosols in Pm2.5 at Different Sites of “Delhi” Capital City of India

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Being a criteria pollutant Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) exposure  not only affects human health but also deteriorates environmental health, air quality and artifacts. Traffic, biomass burning and industrial activities are important contributors to ambient fine particulate matter in major cities of the world. Therefore, to reduce fine particulate matter pollution and the considerable disease burden it causes solutions to bring down ambient fine particulate matter are needed. Carbonaceous aerosols are found to be a significant contributor to fine particulate matter. These aerosols are subdivided into organic carbon and elemental carbon. Elemental carbon is released from primary sources whereas organic carbon can be released either from primary or secondary sources. This paper presents a comprehensive critical review of the assessment of fine particulate matter and its carbonaceous content in the past decade on different sites in New Delhi, the capital of India. Considerable health effects of particulate pollution have also been discussed in the paper. Critically reviewed data showed a non – significant increase in the trend of particulate matter concentration. It was also shown through the data of each study that the emission standards of WHO exceeded by 15 times whereas for NAAQS they exceeded by 5 times respectively.

Review of the Effects of Water Characteristics and Quality on Human Health

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This paper reviews water quality parameters and their health effects on humans with the objective of enlightening the public on drinking water guidelines, the focal point and protection measures. It is also intended to help evade the health catastrophe that manifests as a result of ingesting water containing substances in excess concentration of recommended limits. Sources of water are reviewed, including rain water, surface water and groundwater. The presence and level of the biological, physical and chemical constituents referred to as water parameters which determine its suitability for drinking were also reviewed. Biological parameters are microorganisms, while physico-chemical parameters include temperature, color, dissolved solids, cations, etc. Drinking water quality standards as well as the health impacts of water quality parameters were discussed. Some of the health impacts include water borne diseases, organ failures, cancer, neurological damage, etc. The paper concludes that microorganisms and chemical constituents in drinking water sources and supply can directly or indirectly impair the use of the water for human consumption. Recommendations were made including the disinfection of drinking water sources to prevent growth of disease causing organisms, hand washing to prevent infections including Covid 19 virus and laboratory assessment of water quality parameters to ascertain their conformity with drinking water standards.