Environmental Engineering / Çevre Mühendisliği
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11147/4321
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Article Citation - WoS: 4Citation - Scopus: 5Radiological Modeling of the Impacts of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident on Turkey and Southwest Asia(Elsevier, 2022) Bilgiç, Efem; Gündüz, OrhanMany studies investigated the impacts of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident on Europe. However, majority of these have spatially excluded the highly populated southeast region of Chernobyl, including countries such as Turkey, Armenia, Georgia and Iran. In this study, a comprehensive environmental and radiological analysis were conducted particularly for this region. For this purpose, atmospheric dispersion and ground deposition of radionuclides were estimated using a Lagrangian particle dispersion model, FLEXPART. Totally, six simulations were conducted and model results were validated with measurements from Europe and Turkey. Furthermore, total effective dose equivalent (TEDE) values were estimated for adults and infants using the most current dose conversion factors of ICRP. Highest deposition of 137Cs were found in around Eastern Black Sea areas (10–40 kBq/m2). Similar values were found in some locations of Armenia and Azerbaijan under some scenarios, but country averages of 137Cs deposition were lower than 10 kBq/m2 for both countries. No significant depositions were found in southwest Iran, but relatively higher depositions (2–10 kBq/m2) of 137Cs were estimated along the Turkish border. Although there were slightly higher values in northern areas of Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Cyprus, 137Cs depositions were mostly less than 2 kBq/m2. The 1-year TEDE value was calculated less than 1 mSv throughout the model domain except for some regions of eastern Black Sea. Highest values in lifetime dose values were calculated along the Black Sea coasts of Turkey and Georgia. Overall, infants were affected more from ionizing radiation compared to adults in this region.Article Citation - WoS: 32Citation - Scopus: 36A Review of Boron Removal From Aqueous Solution Using Carbon-Based Materials: an Assessment of Health Risks(Elsevier, 2022) Gören, Ayşegül Yağmur; Recepoğlu, Yaşar Kemal; Karagündüz, Ahmet; Khataee, Alireza; Yoon, YeojoonCarbon-based compounds have gained attention of researchers for use in boron removal due to their properties, which make them a viable and low cost adsorbent with a high availability, as well as environmental friendliness and high removal efficiency. The removal of boron utilizing carbon-based materials, including activated carbon (AC), graphene oxide (GO), and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), is extensively reviewed in this paper. The effects of the operating conditions, kinetics, isotherm models, and removal methods are also elaborated. The impact of the modification of the lifetime of carbon-based materials has also been explored. Compared to unmodified carbon based materials, modified materials have a significantly higher boron adsorption capability. It has been observed that adding various elements to carbon-based materials improves their surface area, functional groups, and pore volume. Tartaric acid, one of these doped elements, has been employed to successfully improve the boron removal and adsorption capabilities of materials. An assessment of the health risk posed to humans by boron in treated water utilizing carbon-based materials was performed to better understand the performance of materials in real-world applications. Furthermore, the boron removal effectiveness of carbon-based materials was evalu ated, as well as any shortcomings, future perspectives, and gaps in the literature.Article Citation - WoS: 18Citation - Scopus: 21Fine and Coarse Particulate Matter, Trace Element Content, and Associated Health Risks Considering Respiratory Deposition for Ergene Basin, Thrace(Elsevier, 2021) Can Terzi, Begüm; Fıçıcı, Merve; Tecer, Lokman Hakan; Sofuoğlu, Sait CemilErgene Basin is located in Thrace, Turkey, where industries are densely populated. This study aimed to determine exposure of people living in Ergene Basin (Corlu and Cerkezkoy) to fine and coarse PM, and its potentially toxic element (PTE) content by considering variation in respiratory airway deposition rates with daily activities and PM particle size by employing deposition models of International Commission on Radiological Protection and Multiple Path Particle Dosimetry. Fine and coarse PM samples were collected daily for a year at points in Corlu and Cerkezkoy representing urban and industrial settings, respectively. A questionnaire survey was conducted in the study area to obtain time-activity budgets, and associated variation was included in the health risk assessment by considering time-activity-dependent inhalation rates. The studied PTEs were Al, As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Co, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Se. The mean fine and coarse PM concentrations were measured as 23 and 14 mu g/m(3) in Corlu, and 22 and 12 mu g/m(3) in Cerkezkoy, respectively. The only PTE that exceeded acceptable risk in terms of total carcinogenic risk was Cr. Non-carcinogenic risks of all the PTEs including Cr were below the threshold. The use of deposition fractions in the health risk assessment (HRA) calculations was found to prevent overestimation of health risks by at least 91% and 87% for fine and coarse PM, respectively, compared to the regular HRA. Minor differences in risk between Corlu and Cerkezkoy suggest that urban pollution sources could be at least as influential on human health as industrial sources. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Article Citation - WoS: 37Citation - Scopus: 40Arsenite Removal From Groundwater by Aerated Electrocoagulation Reactor With Al Ball Electrodes: Human Health Risk Assessment(Elsevier, 2020) Gören, Ayşegül Yağmur; Kobya, Mehmet; Öncel, Mehmet SalimThe application of conventional electrocoagulation (EC) process for removal of As(III) from groundwater suffers from the need of external oxidation agent for oxidation of As(III) to As(V). To tackle this limitation, an aerated EC reactor for the removal of As(III) from groundwater was evaluated in this study. The effect of initial pH(i), air flow rate, applied current, and electrode height in the EC reactor was examined. The experimental results showed that removal of arsenic mostly dependent on the applied current, electrode height in EC reactor, and air flow rate. The As(III) removal efficiency (99.2%) was maximum at pH(i) of 7.5, air flow rate of 6 L min(-1), applied current of 0.30 A, and electrode height in EC reactor of 5 cm, with an total operating cost of 0.583 $ m(-3). Furthermore, the carcinogenic risk (CR) and non-carcinogenic risk of arsenic (As) was in the range of tolerable limits at all operating conditions except applied current of 0.075 A at the end of the aerated EC process to remove As from groundwater. The present EC reactor process is able to remove As(III) from groundwater to below 10 mu g L-1, which is maximum contaminant level of arsenic in drinking water according to the World Health Organization (WHO). (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Article Citation - WoS: 2Citation - Scopus: 2A Deterministic and Stochastic Assessment for Exposure and Risk of Arsenic Via Ingestion of Edible Crops(Springer Verlag, 2019) Can Terzi, Begüm; Gündüz, Orhan; Sofuoğlu, Sait CemilNatural arsenic contamination is a critical problem for various places around the world. Simav Plain (Kutahya, Turkey) is one such area that was shown to have natural arsenic contamination in its waters and soils. Arsenic exposure through ingestion of edible crops cultivated in Simav Plain and associated health risks were assessed in this study. To achieve this objective, arsenic levels in 18 crop species were estimated based on measured soil arsenic concentrations. Individual and aggregate non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks associated with ingestion of arsenic-contaminated crops were then assessed with scenario-based deterministic point estimates and stochastic population estimates. Monte Carlo simulation was used for the estimation of population health risks. Accordingly, wheat was found as the highest-ranked crop specie for the both types of health risks, followed by tomato and potato, which are three of the most consumed crops in the region. The risk levels estimated in this study were relatively high, indicating consumption of crops grown in the plain may be posing significant health risks even at lower-bound estimates. Consuming wheat, tomato, potato, and their products from uncontaminated sources was found to reduce the aggregate risks up to 88% implicating the importance of proposing suitable management measures for similar risk-prone areas.Article Citation - WoS: 108Citation - Scopus: 113Spatial and Seasonal Variations, Sources, Air-Soil Exchange, and Carcinogenic Risk Assessment for Pahs and Pcbs in Air and Soil of Kutahya, Turkey, the Province of Thermal Power Plants(Elsevier Ltd., 2017) Dumanoğlu, Yetkin; Gaga, Eftade O.; Güngörmüş, Elif; Sofuoğlu, Sait Cemil; Odabaşı, MustafaAtmospheric and concurrent soil samples were collected during winter and summer of 2014 at 41 sites in Kutahya, Turkey to investigate spatial and seasonal variations, sources, air-soil exchange, and associated carcinogenic risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The highest atmospheric and soil concentrations were observed near power plants and residential areas, and the wintertime concentrations were generally higher than ones measured in summer. Spatial distribution of measured ambient concentrations and results of the factor analysis showed that the major contributing PAH sources in Kutahya region were the coal combustion for power generation and residential heating (48.9%), and diesel and gasoline exhaust emissions (47.3%) while the major PCB sources were the coal (thermal power plants and residential heating) and wood combustion (residential heating) (45.4%), and evaporative emissions from previously used technical PCB mixtures (34.7%). Results of fugacity fraction calculations indicated that the soil and atmosphere were not in equilibrium for most of the PAHs (88.0% in winter, 87.4% in summer) and PCBs (76.8% in winter, 83.8% in summer). For PAHs, deposition to the soil was the dominant mechanism in winter while in summer volatilization was equally important. For PCBs, volatilization dominated in summer while deposition was higher in winter. Cancer risks associated with inhalation and accidental soil ingestion of soil were also estimated. Generally, the estimated carcinogenic risks were below the acceptable risk level of 10− 6. The percentage of the population exceeding the acceptable risk level ranged from < 1% to 16%, except, 32% of the inhalation risk levels due to PAH exposure in winter at urban/industrial sites were > 10− 6.Article Citation - WoS: 42Citation - Scopus: 50Occurrence, Oral Exposure and Risk Assessment of Volatile Organic Compounds in Drinking Water for Izmir(Elsevier Ltd., 2006) Kavcar, Pınar; Odabaşı, Mustafa; Kitiş, Mehmet; İnal, Fikret; Sofuoğlu, Sait CemilConcentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured in the drinking water in Province of İzmir, Turkey, and associated health risks due to ingestion of these compounds were investigated using population weighted random samples. A total of 100 houses were visited in different districts of İzmir and drinking water samples were collected from consumers' drinking water source. Questionnaires were administered to one participant in each house to determine demographics and drinking water consumption rates. Oral exposure and risks were estimated for each participant and İzmir population by deterministic and probabilistic approaches, respectively. The four trihalomethane (THM) species (i.e., chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane, and bromoform), benzene, toluene, p-xylene, and naphthalene were the most frequently detected VOCs with concentrations ranging from below detection limit to 35 μg/l. The risk estimates were found to be less than the values reported in the literature with few exceptions. Noncarcinogenic risks attributable to ingestion of VOCs for İzmir population were negligible, whereas the mean carcinogenic risk estimates for bromodichloromethane and dibromochloromethane were above the de minimis level of one in a million (10-6). For all VOCs, the concentrations measured in metropolitan area were greater than those in other districts. All THM species were detected in higher concentrations in tap water, whereas nontap water contained more benzene, toluene, p-xylene, and naphthalene. Therefore, the concentrations of the latter four compounds and associated risks increased with increasing income and education level since bottled water was used in larger proportions within these subgroups. The results of this study showed that oral exposure to drinking water contaminants and associated risks may be higher than the acceptable levels even if the concentrations fall below the standards.