Ecological and Human Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metal Pollution in the Soil of the Ger District in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate human health and potential ecological risk assessment in the ger district of Ulaanbaatar city, Mongolia. To perform these risk assessments, soil samples were collected based on reference studies that investigated heavy element distribution in soil samples near the ger area in Ulaanbaatar city. In total, 42 soil samples were collected and 26 heavy metals were identified by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) methods. The measurement results were compared with the reference data in order to validate the soil contamination level. Although there was a large difference between the measurement results of the present and reference data, the general tendency was similar. Soil contamination was assessed by pollution indexes such as geoaccumulation index and enrichment factor. Mo and As were the most enriched elements compared with the other elements. The carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic risks to children exceeded the permissible limits, and for adults, only 12 out of 42 sampling points exceeded the permissible limit of noncarcinogenic effects. According to the results of the ecological risk assessment, Zn and Pb showed from moderate to considerable contamination indexes and high toxicity values for ecological risk of a single element. The Cr and As ranged as very high ecological risk than that of the other measured heavy metals.

Quantitative analysis of impact of awareness-raising activities on organic solid waste separation behaviour in Balikpapan City, Indonesia.

Many cities in Indonesia are under pressure to reduce solid waste and dispose of it properly. In response to this pressure, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Indonesian Government have implemented a solid waste separation and collection project to reduce solid waste in the target area (810 households) of Balikpapan City. We used a cluster randomised controlled trial method to measure the impact of awareness-raising activities that were introduced by the project on residents' organic solid waste separation behaviour. The level of properly separated organic solid waste increased by 6.0% in areas that conducted awareness-raising activities. Meanwhile, the level decreased by 3.6% in areas that did not conduct similar activities. Therefore, in relative comparison, awareness-raising increased the level by 9.6%. A comparison among small communities in the target area confirmed that awareness-raising activities had a significant impact on organic solid waste separation. High frequencies of monitoring at waste stations and door-to-door visits by community members had a positive impact on organic solid waste separation. A correlation between the proximity of environmental volunteers' houses to waste stations and a high level of separation was also confirmed. The awareness-raising activities introduced by the project led to a significant increase in the separation of organic solid waste.