Industrial growth and anthropogenic pollutants in arid and hyper-arid environments

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2014.02.014

Journal of Arid Environments

Volume 112, Part B, January 2015, Pages 145-146

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2014.02.014 Get rights and content

Highlights

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I outline research gaps concerning the effect of fluoride emissions in arid regions.
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I document the shift of aluminum industry production to the Middle East.
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Plant physiology and morphology may affect the impact of emissions in arid regions.

Abstract

Industrial development is greatly increasing in arid environments, in particular Asia and the Middle East. This note addresses the development of the aluminum industry as a case study in the Middle East. Our current understanding of the environmental impact of emissions from the smelting process is derived largely from models based on the plant communities and climates of the temperate Americas and Europe. Ultimately, these models depend on rainfall for plant protection and, therefore, may not be applicable to the arid environments.

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There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (3)

Cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins are present in drinking water impoundments and groundwater wells in desert environments
2016, Toxicon
Citation Excerpt :
In an independent study on the physicochemical characteristics of groundwater in Qatar, it was observed that Cl− and fluoride (F−) were above drinking water standards and F− and molybdenum (Mo) were above the regulatory concentrations for irrigation water (Kuiper et al., 2015). Fluoride occurs naturally in soils and waters, and it is also anthropogenically emitted from aluminum smelting facilities (WHO, 1970; Tjahyono et al., 2011; Richer, 2015). Fluoride has been shown to have deleterious effects on the skeletal system, kidneys and thyroid and the US Department of Agriculture has recognized that airborne fluorides cause the most damage to livestock than any other airborne pollutant (Azar et al., 1961; WHO, 1970; USDOA, 1972).
Desert environments and drylands experience a drastic scarcity of water resources. To alleviate dependence on freshwater for drinking water needs, countries have invested in infrastructure development of desalination plants. Collectively, the countries of the Arabian Gulf produce 45% of the world's desalinated water, which is stored in dams, mega-reservoirs and secondary house water tanks to secure drinking water beyond daily needs. Improper storage practices of drinking water in impoundments concomitant with increased temperatures and light penetration may promote the growth of cyanobacteria and accumulation of cyanotoxins. To shed light on this previously unexplored research area in desert environments, we examined drinking and irrigation water of urban and rural environments to determine whether cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins are present, and what are the storage and transportation practices as well as the environmental parameters that best predict their presence. Cyanobacteria were present in 80% of the urban and 33% of the rural water impoundments. Neurotoxins BMAA, DAB and anatoxin-a(S) were not detected in any of the water samples, although they have been found to accumulate in the desert soils, which suggests a bioaccumulation potential if they are leached into the aquifer. A toxic BMAA isomer, AEG, was found in 91.7% of rural but none of the urban water samples and correlated with water-truck transportation, light exposure and chloride ions. The hepatotoxic cyanotoxin microcystin-LR was present in the majority of all sampled impoundments, surpassing the WHO provisional guideline of 1 μg/l in 30% of the urban water tanks. Finally, we discuss possible management strategies to improve storage and transportation practices in order to minimize exposure to cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins, and actions to promote sustainable use of limited water resources.
Landscape disturbance caused by non-renewable energy production in a semi-arid region: a case study on the Russian steppe
2018, International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology
Evaluation of carbon sequestration in the sediment of polluted and non-polluted locations of mangroves
2018, Fundamental and Applied Limnology

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Industrial growth and anthropogenic pollutants in arid and hyper-arid environments

Highlights

Abstract

Chemosphere

Lancet

Environ. Pollut.

Int. Alum. J.

Ecology and Flora of Qatar

A review of the formation, environmental fate, and forensic methods for PAHs from aluminum smelting processes

Environ. Forensics

Megaproject: a four decade perspective of the gulf development model