Socio-economic, Environmental and Health Aspects of Farm Workers Engaged in Mango Plantations

A cross-sectional survey of 489 male subjects in the age group 15 to 65 years engageddirectly or indirectly in mango cultivation along with 208 control subjects was carried out to find their socio-economic, environmental and health conditions. The conditions like high illiteracy rate (49.5%), poverty (PCI less than Rs 100 per month, 52.2%), poor housing (mud houses, 66.7%) unsafe water supply (78.6%) were prevailing in the surveyed population. The high respiratory morbidity may be attributed to high prevalence of smoking andprolonged inhalation of organic dusts during farming operation associated with illiteracyand poor socio-economic status. Gastrointestinal disorders were related to poor hygienic conditions, smoking and consumption of contaminated water. The symptoms pertaining to CNS, skin and eyes were found to be associated with exposure to pesticides

Electroplating of diamond tools under economic and environmental care aspects

0 Introduction Economy and the protection of the environment are important topics.We are competent to talk about these topics.Due to the expanding areas of application for highprecision and electroplated diamond tools with reproducible quality and long life,of course the aspects of economy and environmental protection gain increasing significance.In this lecture we will explain and show that economical aspects and environmental aspects in diamond electro-plating do not contradict,but rather complement each other.

Environmental and Durability Perspective of the Use of Curaua Fiber Treated in Mortars

The use of natural lignocellulosic fibers(NLFs)as a reinforcement mechanism for cementitious composites,such as mortar,has been investigated in the last decades.However,their application has often been restricted to technological evaluation research.A NLF with great potential the curaua,which after treatment with NaOH solution,proved to be technologically feasible for mortars reinforcement based on cement and lime.The objective of this research was the comparative evaluation between a traditional mortar,based on cement and lime,with 1:1:6:0.8 ratio of cement:lime:sand:water,and a modified mortar with addition of 2 wt.%treated curaua fiber in cement mass by evaluating environmental and durability aspects.After a curing time for 28 days,environmental assessments were carried out and durability methodologies were evaluated.The tests performed were:(i)attack by chlorides and sulfate,(ii)the wetting and drying cycles,and(iii)slake durability test.The results showed that the mortar with the addition of curaua fiber presented a similar behavior to the reference mixture,both in terms of environmental and durability aspects.This modified mortar is able to be used in internal and external environments,the latter with some conditions.Besides,it also contributes to the promotion of sustainable use of curaua fiber.

An overview of bio-based polymers for packaging materials

Synthetic polymers are the most widely used materials for packaging because of their ease of processing,low cost,and low density.However,many of these materials are not easily recyclable and are difficult to degrade completely in nature,creating environmental problems.Thus,there is a tendency to substitute such polymers with natural polymers and copolymers that are easily bio-degraded and less likely to cause environmental pollution.There has been a greater interest in poly-lactic acid(PLA),poly-hydroxyalkanoates(PHAs),cellulose and starch based polymers and copolymers as the emerging biodegradable material candidates for the future.This paper reviews the present state-of-the-art biodegradable polymers made from renewable resources and discusses the main features of their properties and design.