Air pollution is a major environmental and public health challenge, particularly in urban areas of developing countries where pollutant levels frequently exceed international safety standards. This study aimed to evaluate the association between air pollution exposure, respiratory symptoms, and health-related quality of life among adults residing in urban areas of Al-Diwaniyah City, Iraq. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 24 primary healthcare centers from January to March 2026. A total of 400 adults were recruited using a convenience sampling technique. Data were collected using the Air Quality Perception (AQP) scale, the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS), and the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire.The mean age of participants was 38 ± 10.3 years, and 52.0% were males. Overall, 81.0% of participants reported a moderate perception of air pollution, whereas 39.0% had chronic respiratory diseases. Poor health-related quality of life was identified in 57.3% of participants. Perceived air pollution was significantly associated with chronic respiratory diseases, respiratory health indicators and overall quality of life (all P < 0.001). In addition, perceived air pollution showed significant negative correlations with the physical (r = −0.440), psychological (r = −0.332), social (r = −0.362), and environmental (r = −0.307) domains of quality of life (all P < 0.001).The findings indicate that air pollution exposure has a substantial adverse effect on respiratory health and quality of life among adults living in urban areas and emphasize the need for effective environmental and public health interventions to reduce pollution-related health risks.
Spherical TiO₂ nanoparticles with tunable phase compositions were successfully synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal method by modulating HNO₃ dosage. The results reveal that acidity plays a decisive role in governing nucleation kinetics, particle size, and phase evolution from pure rutile to anatase–rutile mixed structures. XRD analysis confirms a transition from 100% rutile (1 mL HNO₃) to the most effective mixed-phase composition (62.8% anatase/37.2% rutile at 3 mL and 73.7% anatase/26.3% rutile at 5 mL). This structural evolution is accompanied by particle size refinement from 14.1 nm to 12 nm and enhanced surface hydroxylation. Optical studies show that the 3-HNO₃ sample exhibits the lowest photoluminescence intensity and a reduced bandgap (3.05 eV), indicating efficient charge separation. As a result, this sample delivers superior photocatalytic performance, achieving 99% Methylene Blue removal within 150 min under UV irradiation, with a high apparent rate constant of 0.028 min⁻¹. The enhanced activity is attributed to the synergistic effect of optimized anatase-rutile heterojunctions and nanoscale size control, which promote interfacial charge transfer and suppress electron-hole recombination. This work provides a simple yet effective strategy for phase engineering of TiO₂ toward high-performance photocatalytic applications.
Petrochemical industries are vulnerable to NaTech accidents, in which natural hazards trigger technological failures that may cause fires, explosions, hazardous releases, and environmental contamination. Resilience is therefore essential not only for industrial safety and operational continuity, but also for pollution prevention, public health protection, and environmental risk reduction. This systematic review synthesized evidence on the dimensions and operationalization of resilience in petrochemical industries exposed to NaTech risks.Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, international and national databases were searched for studies published up to July 2025. Eligible English- and Persian-language empirical studies, technical reports, and official guidelines were included. Two reviewers independently performed study selection, data extraction, and quality appraisal using CASP and JBI tools. Findings were synthesized through Graneheim and Lundman’s qualitative content analysis approach with MAXQDA.Twenty-three studies from seven countries met the inclusion criteria. Analysis of 346 initial codes identified seven themes: preparedness, comprehensive risk management, infrastructure and equipment development, emergency response, operational continuity, recovery, and knowledge and technology management. Resilience emerged as a dynamic capability shaped by technical, human, organizational, and institutional factors. Risk identification, hazardous material control, safe design, monitoring, and layered barriers were central, while post-event recovery, environmental remediation, and long-term pollution impacts remained underexplored overall.
Using the saline water for irrigation purposes negatively affects soil properties; however, these effects can be mitigated through appropriate management practices A field experiment was conducted to determine the feasibility of mixing phosphogypsum and humic acid with saline irrigation water to mitigate its harmful effects on the soil chemical properties and cauliflower growth. The experiment was designed in a complete block design with three replications. The first factor involved three levels of water irrigation salinity, i.e., 2.70, 5.50, and 7.50 dS/ m. The second factor was the level of phosphogypsum-to-humic acid ratio, namely 0.0, 0.25, and 0.50 g/L for each of them. The treatment Phosphogypsum and Humic Acid were arranged as T1 (H0PG0) (control), T2 (H1PG1), T3 (H1PG2), T4 (H2PG1), and T5 (H2PG2), all applied Mixed with irrigation water, T4 (0.25 g/L phosphogypsum and 0.50 g/L humic acid) showed better performance over other treatments Specifically, such treatments decreased (EC, SAR, Na, Cl, HCO3) all soil depths; the highest reduction rate was observed at the 0.0–15 cm depth, reaching (26.52, 49.11, 38.70, 25.53, 15.46)% for each, respectively, while (Ca²⁺) increased at 29.70% the same depth. Treatment T4 was the most effective treatment in terms of increasing cauliflower plant components )height, head weight, and yield( compared to the control treatment across all salinity levels; the increases recorded were 26.57% for height, 22.79% for head weight, and 22.67% for yield.
This research aims to develop two low-cost, eco-friendly bio-adsorbent materials de-rived from chitosan extracted from shrimp shells, for the removal of carcinogenic heavy ele-ments (lead, Pb²⁺; nickel, Ni²⁺; and vanadium, V⁵⁺) from wastewater generated by power plants. Adsorption experiments were conducted using multi-metal synthetic aqueous solutions contain-ing Pb²⁺, Ni²⁺, and V⁵⁺ simultaneously, prepared in the laboratory to simulate the reported composition of Basrah power-plant wastewater; real power-plant water was not tested in this study. Chitosan was obtained from shrimp shells via demineralization, deproteinization, and deacety-lation, then crosslinked into two hydrogels: one using natural tannic acid and one using bio-gelatin, to enhance their mechanical and chemical properties. Both materials were character-ized using FTIR, XRD, SEM, BET, and TGA techniques to assess chemical and crystalline structure, porosity, and thermal stability. Both hydrogels exhibited high adsorption efficiency under optimized conditions of pH = 5, contact time of 90 minutes, initial pollutant concentra-tion of 100 mg/L, and temperature of 25°C. For the tannic acid-crosslinked chitosan hydrogel, the maximum removal efficiencies were as follows: lead 98.3%, nickel 91.4%, and vanadium 88.7%. The gelatin-crosslinked hydrogel achieved removal efficiencies of lead 88.6%, nickel 83.2%, and vanadium 79.4%, indicating a slight superiority of the tannic acid-crosslinked hydrogel. Removal efficiency declined above an initial concentration of 150 mg/L but remained stable between pH 5 and 6. These findings demonstrate the potential of both materials, particularly the tannic acid-crosslinked hydrogel, as sustainable, low-cost filters for treating heavy-metalcontaminated water in Basrah Governorate, where deteriorating water quality is linked to elevated pollution-related cancer incidence.
