Our aim was to investigate the adverse effects of occupational exposure to trivalent chromium. We measured chromium and iron levels in serum and urine and hemoglobin levels in tannery workers and unexposed persons. We studied three groups of subjects. Group 1 included 15 non-smoking male tannery workers highly exposed to chromium from tanning and retanning departments. Group 2 included 14 non-s...

Prosopis juliflora is characterized by distinct and profuse growth even in nutritionally poor soil and environmentally stressed conditions and is believed to harbor some novel heavy metal-resistant bacteria in the rhizosphere and endosphere. This study was performed to isolate and characterize Cr-resistant bacteria from the rhizosphere and endosphere of P. juliflora growing on the tannery efflu...

Kombolcha, a city in Ethiopia, exemplifies the challenges and problems of the sub-Saharan countries where industrialization is growing fast but monitoring resources are poor and information on pollution unknown. This study monitored metals Cr, Cu, Zn, and Pb concentrations in five factories' effluents, and in the effluent mixing zones of two rivers receiving discharges during the rainy seasons ...

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical produced in large quantities for use primarily in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. It is an endocrine disruptor, which can mimic the body’s own hormones such as estrogen and may lead to negative health effects. The tannery effluent was used as a source for isolation of Aspergillus sp. Physiochemical analysis of the effluent sample was do...

The interest in the carcinogenic and biological actions of N-nitroso compounds arose following the reports of the hepatotoxicity by Freund' and Barnes and Magee2 and ofcarcinogenicity (Magee and Barnes)3 of the simplest nitrosamine: N-nitrosodimethylamine (dimethylnitrosamine) and the subsequent observation of Schoental4 and Druckrey et aP on the carcinogenic action of the nitrosamides: n-methy...

Biological nitrification/denitrification is frequently used to remove nitrogen from tannery wastewater containing high concentrations of ammonia. However, information is limited about the bacterial nitrifiers and denitrifiers and their functional genes in tannery wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) due to the low-throughput of the previously used methods. In this study, 454 pyrosequencing and I...

Hair and urine samples were collected from 34 male tannery workers and from 12 normal adults. Eighteen of the workers dealt directly with chromium and the remaining 16 (controls) worked in the offices and kitchen of the same factory. All were found to be clinically healthy. Chromium was determined by flameless atomic absorption spectroscopy. When compared with normal adult values, urinary chrom...

Activated sludge process is a highly effective and commonly adapted method of aerobic biological treatment systems and is normally designed on the basis of simplified hydraulic related parameters. Designs of biological treatment systems based on hydraulic considerations are not adequate to ensure efficient operation. This is due to the wide variation in the composition of wastewater and the com...

This paper aims at providing a preliminary study of the effects of different doses of tannery waste containing high amounts of organic substances, mineral elements and heavy metals on growth dynamics and metal accumulation in willow plants. Scions of Salix alba L., clone S61-02, were grown in the open near Pisa (Italy), in pots filled with a natural soil. Willows were pruned for a unique shoot ...

The quest for an effective alternative means for effluent treatment is a major concern of the modern-day scientist. Fungi have been attracting a growing interest for the biological treatment of industrial wastewater. In this study, Saccharomycescerevisiae and Torulasporadelbrueckii were isolated from spoiled watermelon and inoculated into different concentrations of effluent. The inoculants wer...