Papers by Dr Sabiha Khurram
Sustainability, Apr 6, 2024
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Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Nov 27, 2023
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South African Journal of Botany, Nov 30, 2023
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Scientific reports, Mar 30, 2024
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Social Science Research Network, 2022
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Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Oct 20, 2022
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Modern agricultural practices are depleting natural mineral content of soil required for efficien... more Modern agricultural practices are depleting natural mineral content of soil required for efficient growth of plants.In order to overcome the reduction of minerals in soil, different approaches are used; e.g. use of manure, organic and inorganic fertilizers etc.Application of phosphate fertilizers is one of the options. Unfortunately addition of desired minerals through fertilizers also accompanies the undesired heavy metal content (stable and/or radioactive). Continuous application of fertilizers may result in buildup of heavy metals, thus, posing a threat to the environment and plants, and consequently to human life.The present study was conducted to investigate the extent of the threat caused not only by phosphate fertilizers (PFs) but also by phosphate rock (PR) and precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC).Representative samples of PR from Hazara deposits, Pakistan, various types of PF used in Pakistan and the fertilizer waste, PCC, from a local fertilizer industry, were taken and analyzed for their radioactive and heavy metal content. Radioactivity was measured by gamma spectrometry using high purity germanium (HPGe) detector while heavy metals were determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) technique. Some of the elements were also determined by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). Major chemical composition for rock samples was quantified by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry technique. Variable amounts of elements like Ba, Sn, Th, V and rare earth elements (REEs) were present in all the studied sites of phosphate rocks.The elements Al, Cr, Cs, Fe, Sb and Zn were present in relatively higher amounts in Kakul phosphate rock crushing plant (KPRCP). Analysis of toxic elements depicts that Pb is present at relatively higher level in local phosphate rock samples while Cd and Zn are present in comparable amount.Assessment of hazards posed by heavy metals in PR showed that consumers are exposed to heavy metals from various pathways.The results indicated that Pakistani PR is agronomically effective. However, it contains higher values for toxic element like Ni, Pb and Cu that may be transferred to fertilizers and then to soil and plants grown on them thus threatening human life.The specific activity analysis showed that outdoor and indoor external dose from PR is higher than the maximum value of world‟s soil background level.It was noted that all of the studied phosphate fertilizers are rich in their mineralogical (Fe, K, Mn and Na) content while NPK fertilizers contain relatively higher amount of K.The activity concentrations of 40K and 232Th in the single superphosphate (SSP) fertilizer are lower than that of phosphorite of Pakistan. Monitoring of radon indicated greater risk for miners than the personnel working in fertilizer warehouses.Variations in heavy metal content for PCC may be due to the fact that the collected waste samples were produced from various batches of fertilizer production.The average value for outdoor and indoor external dose from PCC waste is about three times and twice the background median value of absorbed dose of gamma rays from worldwide soil respectively.This indicates the level of radiological hazard from PCC waste to surrounding environment. Corresponding effective dose was 1.20.1 mSv y1, which is higher than the annual limit of 1 mSv recommended by ICRP.The analysis of soil and crop samples (edible parts of rice, wheat and mungbean) was also performed and transfer factor (TF) from soil to crop was calculated. Greater TFs for Al, Eu, Fe, K, Sc, Sr and Zn were observed for mungbean than the other studied crops.Furthermore PLI (pollution load index) values are greater than one for all the fertilizer applied soil samples except rice growing soil samples which is just below one, showing pollution load in the respective soil environment after the applications of PFs. Moreover, the calculated health risk index (HRI) depicted a greater risk to human health from Al, Pb and Sb as they have HRI greater than one.It is concluded that special attention by environmental authorities should be given to phosphate industry of Pakistan to minimize these hazards and safety measures should be taken to decrease the risk being posed from it
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Social Science Research Network, 2022
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Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry
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Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry
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Journal of Environmental Management, 2019
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Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal, 2018
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International Journal of Scientific and Engineering Research
The management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a major problem in developing countries. Pakista... more The management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a major problem in developing countries. Pakistan is also facing the problem of MSW management. The MSW consists of the wastes generated daily by the residential, commercial, and institutional sources. The insufficient collection and improper disposal of MSW can pollute land, air and water and may pose threat to human health and environment.. The management of MSW in eight cities of Pakistan was studied. The characterization of MSW of these cities has been discussed. Furthermore, existing pattern of collection, handling, transportation, treatment and disposal of MSW was evaluated for these cities. . The study was finally concluded with fruitful suggestions that will beneficial to encourage researcher and competitive authority to work toward further betterment and contribute to make Pakistan clean.
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Life
Agricultural soil quality degradation by potentially toxic elements, specifically cadmium (Cd), p... more Agricultural soil quality degradation by potentially toxic elements, specifically cadmium (Cd), poses a significant threat to plant growth and the health of humans. However, the supplementation of various salts of silicon (Si) to mitigate the adverse effect of Cd on the productivity of peas (Pisum sativum L.) is less known. Therefore, the present investigation was designed to evaluate the exogenous application at various levels (0, 0.50, 1.00 and 1.50 mM) of silicate compounds (sodium and potassium silicates) on pea growth, gaseous exchange, antioxidant enzyme activities and the potential health risk of Cd stress (20 mg kg−1 of soil) using CdCl2. The findings of the study showed that Cd stress significantly reduced growth, the fresh and dry biomass of roots and shoots and chlorophyll content. In addition, electrolyte leakage, antioxidant enzymes and the content of Cd in plant tissues were enhanced in Cd-induced stressed plants. An application of Si enhanced the development of stress...
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kuwait journal of science, 2018
Sugar product is an important industry in Pakistan and contributes 1.9% to the GDP. However, the ... more Sugar product is an important industry in Pakistan and contributes 1.9% to the GDP. However, the sugar industry is emitting a number of gaseous pollutants through inefficient burning of bagasse and polluting the environment with the release of high wastewater amount. To mitigate this problem in such industries, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is introduced by which highly renewable energy efficient technologies are employed. This study was conducted to find out the potential of the CDM in the industrial sugar sector of Pakistan. Two models of bagasse and biogas utilization in sugar industry were used to estimate electricity generation and carbon reduction. The results show that the sugar industry of Pakistan had the potential of 2,033MW of electricity production and 232,5968t CO2 eq of Certified Emission Reduction (CER) annually. Certification processes were the major barriers in the implementation of the CDM in the sugar industry.
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Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal
The present study was conducted to assess the magnitude and health impacts of As in drinking wate... more The present study was conducted to assess the magnitude and health impacts of As in drinking water. Drinking water samples (n = 60) were collected from twenty different sites of Shiekhupura District (Pakistan). Health risk assessment through average daily dose (ADD), hazard indices (HI), hazard quotient (HQ), carcinogenic risk (CR), and cancer indices (CI) for dermal and oral exposure were determined. Results revealed that As concentration ranged from 2 to 900 µg L−1 in water samples, which was significantly greater than the safe limit of As (10 µg L−1) in water. Health risk assessment of As showed that ADD (1.07E−02–9.85E−04), HQ (1.06E+01–9.85E+00), and CR (1.60E−02–9.85E−04) for oral exposure and ADD (1.03E−05–9.69E−06), HQ (1.19E−02–7.96E−03), and CR (1.11E−05–8.98E−05) for dermal exposure which were exceeded the toxic risk index value. Comparison of the two exposure pathways indicated that the oral exposure is much higher risk than the dermal contact. Both values of HI and CI w...
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Journal of Environmental Management
Sustainability assessments have revealed that integration of CO2 from coal-fired flue gas with mi... more Sustainability assessments have revealed that integration of CO2 from coal-fired flue gas with microalgae cultivation systems could reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The technical goal of this integration is to utilize exhaust from coal power plants to enhance microalgae cultivation processes by capturing and recycling of carbon dioxide from a more toxic to a less toxic form. However, heavy metals are also introduced along with CO2 to the cultivation system which could contaminate biomass and have deleterious effects on products derived from such systems. The present study aimed at shedding some light on capability of microalgae to sustain their diversity and propagate them under different CO2 concentrations from coal-fired flue gas. Mixed microalgal culture was grown in nutrient rich medium and heavy metals (Al, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn) are expected to be introduced from flue gas. Three concentrations (1%, 3% and 5.5%) of CO2 were evaluated (reference concentrations from flue gas). Comparative studies were carried out by flue gas and control systems in photobioreactors. Under the 3% CO2 (30% flue gas), the highest fraction of B, Mn and Zn were found to be internalized by the cells (46.8 ±9.45 gL-1, 253.66 ± 40.62 gL-1 and 355.5 ±50.69 gL-1 respectively) during their cultivation period into biomass. Hence, microalgae may offer solution to two major challenges: providing potential biofuel feedstock for energy security and reducing heavy metal pollution to the air.
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The management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a major problem in developing countries. Pakista... more The management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a major problem in developing countries. Pakistan is also facing the problem of MSW management. The MSW consists of the wastes generated daily by the residential, commercial, and institutional sources. The insufficient collection and improper disposal of MSW can pollute land, air and water and may pose threat to human health and environment.. The management of MSW in eight cities of Pakistan was studied. The characterization of MSW of these cities has been discussed. Furthermore, existing pattern of collection, handling, transportation, treatment and disposal of MSW was evaluated for these cities. . The study was finally concluded with fruitful suggestions that will beneficial to encourage researcher and competitive authority to work toward further betterment and contribute to make Pakistan clean.
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ABSTRACT
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Journal of Endodontics, 2011
The NORM (naturally occurring radioactive material) in phosphate rock is transferred as TENORM (t... more The NORM (naturally occurring radioactive material) in phosphate rock is transferred as TENORM (technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material) to phosphatic fertilizers and to the waste generated by the chemical processes. The waste generated at the NP (nitrophosphate) fertilizer plant at Multan in Pakistan is PCC (precipitated calcium carbonate). Thirty samples of the PCC were collected from the heaps of
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Papers by Dr Sabiha Khurram