Ambient Air Quality and General Health Outcomes in Nigde (Turkey) between 2011 and 2017.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to provide information for health practitioners and other related people about the association between ambient air quality and adverse health outcomes in the general population of Nigde, a central Turkish city, within the context of current health data epidemiological evidence. METHODS: The present study highlights the connection between health problems and time series of particulate matter (PM10) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) in Nigde, Turkey between 2011 and 2017. Significant morbidity is linked to ambient air pollution, resulting in a significant economic cost to society. RESULTS: We found that the required funds to treat cancers and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease triggered by ambient air pollution in Nigde, exceed 9 million US dollars per year, even when only the city center is taken into account. CONCLUSION: As Turkish cities grow and urban population density increases, air pollution issues need to be given priority in order to protect the health of the public and support sustainable development for future generations. It is recommended that particulate matter concentration in this urban center should be significantly reduced to minimize health problems.

Physical carrying capacity of a potential aquaculture site in the Mediterranean: the case of Sigacik Bay, Turkey.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate physical carrying capacity of a potential cage aquaculture site near a Cittaslow area in the northern part of the Mediterranean (Sigacik Bay, Turkey). Developing tools for timely management of marine aquaculture facilities are important to minimize harmful influences of fish farming. The physical carrying capacity was estimated by mathematical formulations previously developed for the same area, using data of topographical characteristics of the site, production capacities, and leased area information of fish farms in total. Based on the findings of the present study, estimated physical carrying capacity of the potential aquaculture site with a total area of 38.9 ha near the Cittaslow residential area of "Sigacik Bay" was found as 27,694 tons of fish production which is more than 2-fold of the present production level that is around 11,800 tons in the area. Therefore, it might be concluded from a physical point of view that the production level of the present cage farms in Sigacik Bay is below risk levels.

Ambient air quality and asthma cases in Nigde, Turkey.

Urban air quality is one of the key factors affecting human health. Turkey has transformed itself into an urban society over the last 30 years. At the same time, air pollution has become a serious impairment to health in many urban areas in the country. This is due to many reasons. In this study, a nonparametric evaluation was conducted of health effects that are triggered by urban air pollution. Nigde, the city which is the administrative centre of Nigde province was chosen of the effects of air pollution since, like many central Turkish cities, it is situated on a valley where atmospheric inversion occurs. In this paper, the relationship between ambient urban air quality, namely PM10 and sulphur dioxide (SO2), and human health, specifically asthma, during the winter season is examined. Air pollution data and asthma cases from 2006 to 2010 are covered in this study. The results of our study indicate that total asthma cases reported in Nigde between 2008 and 2010 were highly dependent on ambient SO2 concentration. More asthma cases were recorded when 30 µg m(-3) or higher SO2 was present in the ambient air than those recorded under cleaner ambient air conditions. Moreover, it was determined that in Nigde in 2010, asthma cases reported in males aged between 45 and 64 were closely correlated with ambient SO2 (α=0.05).

Effect of kiln dust from a cement factory on growth of Vicia faba L.

This study was undertaken to study the effects of different amounts of kiln dust mixed with soil on the seed germination, plant growth, leaf area and water content of Vicia faba cv. Eresen. The reason for this was that cement kiln dust generated as a by-product from the cement factories is rich in potassium, sulfate and other compounds. This product becomes a serious problem when it comes in contact with water. The dust was collected from a cement factory located in Canakkale. Various elements such as Al, Co, Mo, Ca, B, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, S, Se and Zn were determined both in soil as well as kiln dust. Kiln dust was mixed with soil in pots (20 cm diameter) to make seven different treatments varying from 15 to 105 g kiln dust kg(-1) of soil. The experiment lasted for 4 months. Seeds of V faba were sown in the pots filled with mixtures of preanalysed kiln dust and soil. Germination was high in the pots with a lower treatment of cement kiln dust. However, lower germination rates were observed in the pots mixed with the highest and the medium amounts of cement kiln dust. Plants growing in the soil including 15 g kiln dust showed better performance in length as compared to control. Leaf area increased with increase in cement kiln dust content up to 60 g kiln dust kg(-1) of soil, but declined after 75 g kg(-1). Water content of leaves (mg cm(-2) leaf area) was found to be constantly decreasing with respect to increasing cement kiln content in the pots. Differences between the averages were evaluated by Tukey test and results were found to be significant.

Distribution of heavy metals in vegetation surrounding the Blackstone River, USA: considerations regarding sediment contamination and long term metals transport in freshwater riverine ecosystems.

The Blackstone River, a 74 km interstate stream located in South Central Massachusetts and Rhode Island (USA), has had a long history of problems due to high concentrations of metals such as copper and lead. The river has been subjected to metals load that include contributions from urban runoff, wastewater discharges, contaminated sediments, and also resuspension of contaminated sediments in the river-bed. All of these effects lead to elevated concentrations of metals such as lead, copper, zinc, chromium, cadmium and arsenic. Furthermore, the contaminated sediments located behind impoundments become especially important when higher flows cause resuspension of the previously deposited sediments and associated metals. While it is known that high metals concentrations in this river are found in the bottom sediments, the fate of the metals and impact on the ecosystem are not well known. This paper addresses the potential impacts that metals may have on vegetation and plant tissues in the vicinity of the river Plant tissues (primarily mosses), were collected from a number of sampling sites along a 14 km stretch of this river. At each site, samples were collected from multiple distances from the riverbank. Laboratory analyses made use of both wet digestion and dry ashing digestion methods, followed by analysis using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The wet and dry ashing digestion methods yielded similar results, although the results afforded by the dry ashing methods were slightly lower than the results obtained from the wet method. The results showed that the metals concentrations in vegetation (as determined from plant tissue analyses) were generally inversely related to the distance between the vegetation and the riverbank, with higher metals concentrations existing in plant tissues located close to the riverbank. In addition, it was found that the transport of metals concentrations to the terrestrial vegetation adjacent to this section of the Blackstone River was affected by the river morphology and flow characteristics (including velocity, flow rate and depth of flow, which can govern the potential for plant submergence, as well as the dynamics of flow and transport in the soil near the river). The analyses help to provide an improved understanding of metals transport and potential significance of metals contamination in a terrestrial ecosystem that is located adjacent to a river.

An analogy on assessment of urban air pollution in Turkey over the turn of the millennium (1992-2001).

Rapid industrialization and urbanization in Turkey, especially over the last twenty five years, has provided better living standards to its residents, but it also caused a decrease in environmental quality. In late 1970's, air quality monitoring activities were started in some major cities by individual researchers in Turkey. It was just around the 1990's that a countrywide program on continuous air pollution monitoring in major province centers and selected large towns was launched. The impact of air pollution on people depend on various factors, such as existence and magnitude of coal powered energy generation plants, type of urban heating and their efficiency, and the numbers and specifications of vehicles. In this study, current Turkish urban air quality over the turn of the Millennium (1992-2001) is studied in the light of the country's worst cities in terms of outdoor air quality, the number of upper respiratory diseases, sinusitis, bronchitis, and pneumonia cases in these provinces reported by the state medical treatment facilities in 2001. The population that is under outdoor urban air pollution hazard was computed. A comparative analysis between the provinces that use natural gas and others that use fossil fuels was also completed in order to project monetary gains if the studied provinces will transform their indoor heating and industrial operations to be run by natural gas or other cleaner energy sources. If natural gas use in air polluted urban centers could be realized in the near future, approximately 212 to 350 million US dollars per annum could to be saved just by reducing health related problems caused by outdoor air pollution.

An investigation on physical, chemical, and bacteriological quality of municipally supplied and well waters of the towns and city centre in the province of Nigde, Turkey.

Physical, chemical, and bacteriological properties of municipally supplied water and well water in selected towns and the city centre (Nigde, population 76,000) of the province of Nigde, located in central Anatolia, in Turkey, were investigated in this study. A composition of 70 samples were collected, 31 from Nigde city centre; 17 from Bor; 8 from Ulukisla; 6 from Altunhisar; 6 from Ciftlik and 2 from Camardi. Analyses showed that all the samples collected were found to have been chemically safe to consume for domestic purposes. Twenty-three water samples were found potentially unsafe because of the existence of coliform bacteria in them, which was probably caused by the inexistence of sufficient chlorination. Physical tests indicated that 11 water samples were found to have deposit; therefore, the use of such water causes risks where human health is a concern, based upon Turkish national standards (TSE, 1984).