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Land Degradation in Coastal Areas and Its Impact:
A Study Using Remote Sensing and GIS
-- D Mitra
The present research area, the Gulf of Cambay, is a very dynamic coastal
region situated on the west coast of India. It is an inlet of the Arabian Sea. The strong
tides, sediment-laden currents and their interaction with the coastline
of the Gulf of Cambay have been a matter of observations, not fully understood in terms of their causes and effects.
The gulf comprises an area of high tides (upto 11 meters) and is characterized by the domination of strong tidal
currents. Saltwater intrusion in the study area is a serious problem that has been addressed qualitatively as well as
quantitatively. The region has been divided into various zones depending on vulnerability to saltwater intrusion using a model
and the chloride content of the potable water has been studied in pre- and post-monsoon seasons. A detailed study
has been carried out to find out the number of villages and the population affected by high chlorine content in
drinking water in these seasons.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Monitoring the Removal of Pollutants
in Municipal Sewage by Secondary Treatment
at Kalpakkam Urban System
-- A Yudhistra Kumar and M Vikram Reddy
Secondary treatment of sewage is known to reduce pollutants considerably. The present study reports on
the reduction in major pollutants—Nitrate
(NO3), Phosphate (PO4), and Sulphate
(SO4), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand
(COD)—leading to increase in Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
in municipal Raw Sewage (RS) when treated by secondary treatment, a conventional extended aeration
activated sludge process, at Kalpakkam located on the east coast of Tamil Nadu in India. The town generates 0.6
million gallons of sewage per day. These water quality parameters were monitored monthly during
pre-monsoon-2005 to post-monsoon-2006. It was found that
NO3, PO4, SO4, BOD and COD in the RS were 42, 1.6, 45, 279
and 399 mg/L respectively, which were reduced considerably at each phase of the treatment. At Aeration
Tank (AT), these reduced by 31%, 32%, 13%, 62% and 36% and at Secondary Clarifier (SC) by 57%, 69%, 37%,
92% and 65%, respectively. The DO in RS was only 0.6 mg/L that increased at AT and SC by 81% and
87%, respectively. The reduction in these pollutants at AT and SC showed considerable temporal variation
across different seasons.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Management of Oil Refinery Effluent Contaminated Soil
Using Composted Rice Husk
-- Alok Bharadwaj and Ashok K Agarwal
Effluents from the Mathura oil refinery have been causing severe water pollution and soil contamination
in the surrounding areas. Soil contamination by the
effluents showed undesirable physico-chemical and microbiological characteristics. In the present study, rice husk, the naturally available organic material
has been mixed (in composted form) in varying concentrations, viz., 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25%
dosages (w/w) with the oil refinery effluent contaminated soil of Mathura to assess its efficacy in restoration of the
health status of the soil. Different physico-chemical characteristics showed a definite change in values,
with increasing concentrations of rice husk compost. The values of pH, moisture content, water holding
capacity, organic carbon, organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphate and exchangeable potassium increased
in soil enriched by rice husk, showing its positive role in management of soil contaminated by effluents
from the oil refinery. Microbial counts (fungal, bacterial and actinomycetes) revealed an increasing trend
with increase of rice husk concentration, which might be attributed to improved soil
physico-chemical attributes. Qualitatively, soil microfungi expressed different dominant community
members in different doses of enrichments, as revealed from the data of IVI
(important value index) of individual fungal species.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Interaction of Radio-Frequency
and Microwave Radiation with the Human Body
-- Padmanabhan Krishnan
The health hazards posed by the non-ionizing Radio-Frequency (RF) and microwave radiation are discussed
in relation to transmission, absorption, resonance, thermal effects and indirect effects. The interaction with
the normal human body, patients with implants, children and monkeys are detailed so as to highlight the
correlation of material properties of skin, fat, tissues, bones and muscles with the nature of radiation these are exposed to.
The aspect of occupational and general public exposure to continuous as well as pulsed radiation in the near field
and far field domains is looked into with respect to the short-term and fatigue effects. Standards and safety
regulations of the developed countries and the acceptable levels of exposure are outlined, along with some ground realities
on the actual levels of exposure. The Indian scenario, with the advent of telecommunication boom, faces
more problems demographically, due to multiple exposures. The need for Indian standards on public health and
safety regulations in telecommunications is spelt out with emphasis on the necessity for evolving a science policy in
this regard.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
A Comparison of Production of Rhamnolipid
Biosurfactant by Two Different Strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Using Various Economical Nutrient Sources
-- Ch Rajani, N Rambabu, V Himabindu
and Y Anjaneyulu
The high-level production of rhamnolipid biosurfactant is a unique feature of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The rhamnolipid produced by P. aeruginosa strains is often a mixture of several homologues. This study was
aimed at the development of economical methods for higher yield of rhamnolipid by suggesting the use of
low-cost raw materials. It was reported that the use of economic substrates such as hydrophobic wastes like used
fried vegetable oils and agro industrial wastes helps in reducing pollution caused by them. The effect of two
carbon sources were examined for rhamnolipid production. In this study, two strains of P. aeruginosa, acquired culture, J1 and isolated culture, J2, were used to optimize a substrate for maximum rhamnolipid production by
varying carbon sources like groundnut oil and glycerol along with four nitrogen sources
(NaNO3, NH4NO3,
NH4Cl, and yeast extract). J1 strain produced rhamnolipid yield of 5.22 and 3.61 g/L with fried groundnut oil
and glycerol respectively when used as carbon sources. J2 strain produced rhamnolipid yield of 5.28 and 3.65
g/L with groundnut oil and glycerol respectively. Meanwhile,
NaNO3 appeared to be the preferable
nitrogen source, resulting in a rhamnolipid yield
of 6.3 and 6.2 g/L for J1 and J2 strains respectively. The effect of
C/N ratio on rhamnolipid yield was also studied using groundnut oil as carbon source and
NaNO3 as nitrogen source. The optimum C/N ratio of 26 was obtained with the rhamnolipid yield
of 7.2 g/L and 7.4 g/L for J1 and J2 strains respectively.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Railway Noise in a Residential Area: A Case Study
-- Chan Jia Wei, Wan Nor Azmin Sulaiman
and Mohd. Armi Abu Samah
The increasing number of urban railway lines laid around residential areas has inevitably caused major
noise pollution problems to the residents. Noise pollution can cause health problems. The objectives of the study
were to assess the level of railway noise, to research the existing attitudes and response of residents on railway noise
in a selected sampling area and to compare noise levels during different time interval in Serdang Lama. The
noise parameters measured were LAeq, Lmax, Lmin, L10, L50 and L90. Data and statistical analyses were done on the
data samples. The study revealed that, on a daily basis, the noise level exposure experienced by the residents
exceeded the limits set by World Health Organization.
© 2009 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
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