The present study was designed for identification of arthropods species in Urmia city municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill in 2014. The specimens were collected by hand and with sweep net. After the initial classification at the order level, genus and species identification were done using morphological identification keys. In total, 1,913 arthropod samples were collected. The samples were classified into four different classes. The most abundant species of arachnids was Steatoda paykulliana Walckenaer (Araneae: Theridiidae) and Agelenopsis spp. Giebel (Araneae: Agelenidae). Out of nine insect orders, Coleoptera, Diptera, and Hymenoptera were the most prevalent, all of which include medically important species. Sixteen families and 25 genera of insects were collected, including the muscid genera, Musca, Muscinia, Phannia, and Stomoxys. Musca, Psyllabora, and Phania were the most prevalent insect genera. In total, 33 species of arthropods were collected from MSW landfill in Urmia. Five insect species were heterometabolic including medically important species, Periplaneta americana Linnaeus (Blattodea: Blattidae) and Shelfordella lateralis Walker (Blattodea: Ectobiidae). Determination of the fauna in MSW landfill will be helpful in the control of possible vector borne disease epidemics.

Decomposition of Basic Blue 9 (BB-9) in aqueous solution using ozonation and catalytic ozonation system (O₃/granular activated carbon [GAC]) in the bench-scale experiment was investigated. The effect of ozone dose, pH, and GAC contents in removal of BB-9 and biodegradability of effluent such as Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD₅); Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and BOD₅/COD were studied. Results show that pH of solution and ozone concentration are significant factors on removal of BB-9; COD and BOD₅. Kinetic studies of reactions indicated that reactions followed the first-order kinetics model. The application of GAC as catalyst, in mass concentration of 2 g/l, caused 48% increase in the degradation rate of BB-9. Ozonation process caused an increase in biodegradability of BB-9. However, catalytic ozonation did not have an effect on the biodegradability of the effluent. Acute toxicity tests with Daphnia magna show that this applied treatment method can significantly decrease toxicity of dye in aquatic solutions.

The objective of this study was to identify the components, composition, generation rate and management of dental waste in Urmia, Iran. Fifteen dental centers including eight general dental offices, five specialist dental offices and two dental clinics were selected and two samples were taken from each office. Then, the wastes were manually separated in 31 components and weighted. The results showed that total dental waste generation in all general dental offices, specialist dental offices and dental clinics were 58.94, 17.92 and 10.22 kg/day, respectively. Domestic, potentially infectious, toxic and chemical and pharmaceutical waste also constituted 35.46, 34.24, 11.83 and 5.56 % of total waste, respectively. Only 11 components including blood-contaminated paper towel, saliva-contaminated paper towel, saliva-contaminated cotton, extracted teeth, blood-contaminated gauze, inseparable components, nylon glove, tongue blade, latex glove, saliva ejector and blood-contaminated cotton constituted more than 80 % of total infectious waste generation. There was no management program (waste minimization, separation, reuse and recycling) in the dental offices. Source reduction, separation, reuse and recycling activities should be conducted to decrease the hazards of dental wastes. It is also suggested that each fraction of dental waste should be separately collected and disposed in the accordance with its related criteria.