Evaluation of pesticide impact rating index (PIRI) model as a pesticide risk indicator
Friday, January 18th, 2008Systematic methods for assessment of potential risk of pesticides to the environment can be considered as valuable tools in decision-making and policy formulation. Pesticide Impact Rating Index (PIRI) is a user-friendly simple risk indicator and it can be used to rank pesticides in terms of their mobility. The predictions given by using PIRI for the […]
Eutrophication and poultry industry: Issues, challenges and opportunities
Friday, January 18th, 2008Eutrophication is the process of excessive growth of algae and cynobacteria due to over enrichment of the surface waters with mineral nutrients. Eutrophication restricts water use for fisheries, recreation, industry and drinking. Phosphorus (P) is the limiting mineral for the eutropication process. Experience from America, Europe and Australia clearly shows that improper land application of […]
Low cost eco-friendly polyethylene film for packaging of wheat flour
Friday, January 18th, 2008At present polymer packaging industry is compelled to use PET based polymeric materials to manufacture packaging materials for food packaging including wheat flour. Though these PET based materials possess the required properties these materials are very expensive and non recyclable. Therefore many researchers are investigating the possibilities of manufacturing polyethylene based packaging materials, which are […]
Emission factors for selected PAHs and carbonyl compounds from locally available mosquito coils and joss stick brands
Friday, January 18th, 2008In recent years, numerous investigations have revealed that indoor air pollution has a subtle chemistry which produces a range of pollutants. Combustion sources (some of which can be eradicated from indoors) have become the major contributor to the indoor air pollution and the pollutants emanating from these sources can poses serious health threats. Two of […]
Lichens as biomonitors of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide pollution in Colombo and suburbs
Friday, January 18th, 2008Biological monitoring is an efficient and inexpensive method for monitoring air quality. Studies have confirmed that lichens are among the most reliable accumulators of airborne inorganic contaminants. As limited research has been done in tropics with regard to biological monitoring, a study was carried out to monitor lichen diversity and distribution in selected locations in […]
Factors governing an integrated solid waste management program: A case study at Nuwara-Eliya district secretariat division
Friday, January 18th, 2008Solid Waste Management is one of the main national problems in Sri Lanka and integrated solid waste management (ISWM) has been recommended as the only solution. However, ISWM is hardly successfully practiced anywhere in the country due to many inherent reasons. This study examines the governing factors for the success/ failure of an ISWM program […]
Investigation of trace metals in air particulate matter collected from Colombo
Friday, January 18th, 2008The suspended particulate matter (SPM) in air is a complex multi-phase mixture of all airborne chemicals. Among the airborne inorganic chemicals, compounds associated with heavy metals have subjected to numerous chemical investigations due their known health effects. Uniqueness of the heavy metals has attributed its use in identifying or tracing the pollutant sources through source […]
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