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-Chelating agents can increase the bioavailability of cadmium (Cd) which is an important factor in phytoremediation. Current study aimed at comparing potential of organic and inorganic ligands for improving phytoextraction of Cd in soil. The greenhouse experiment was carried out to investigate the impacts of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), citric acid and titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO 2 NPs) on the Cd accumulation and growth of Pelargonium hortroum. For this purpose, soil was spiked with different levels of Cd. One month old seedlings of P. hortorum were transplanted in each pot and different concentrations of EDTA, citric acid and TiO 2 were applied. After harvesting, plant biomass was measured and plant parts were digested in mixture of acid for the determination of Cd in root and shoot. The results revealed that the dry biomass of P. hortorum decreased by 46.5% with increasing levels of Cd and EDTA. However, the dry plant biomass increased with increasing levels of citric acid and TiO 2 NPs. The maximum dry plant biomass was observed in soil amended with TiO 2 NPs followed by citric acid and EDTA. The maximum accumulation of Cd in root (350, 260, ) and shoot (997, 650, 450 mg Cd kg -1 ) was observed at 4 mmol kg -1 EDTA followed by 10 mmol kg -1 citric acid and 100 mg kg -1 TiO 2 NPs, respectively. Our results demonstrated that citric acid and TiO 2 NPs had affirmative effect on the Cd uptake in the artificially Cd-contaminated soil.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) was the most severely affected province in the monsoon flood of 2010. A total of twenty-seven water samples were collected, nearly two months after the flood, from Nowshera district and were analyzed for physical, chemical and biological parameters. Nearly all samples showed abnormally higher values for Electrical Conductivity (EC), hardness, alkalinity, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Total Solids (TS), Total Coliform Bacteria (TCB), Fecal Coliform Bacteria (FCB), chloride, sulfate, sodium, iron, lead, cadmium and nickel, therefore, water was not safe for human consumption. Some quality parameters, such as pH calcium, magnesium, nitrate, phosphate, chromium, copper and zinc, were found within permissible limits. This study was conducted to evaluate changes in the groundwater quality of district Nowshera in the wake of 2010 super-flood and to establish its relationship with wide occurrence of water-borne diseases.

This paper reports on the research carried out onto a kind of waste material from the medication supply industry viz, the waste steel dust. This research focuses on the potential of the waste steel dust as soil stabiliser agent based on strength improvement. Soil stabilisation is conducted to enhance the geotechnical characteristics of the problematic soil, such as marine clay soil. The engineering properties of the marine clay soil has been determined such as particle size distribution, particle density and plasticity of the soil. The soil sample was mixed and compacted with different amount of the waste steel dust i.e. 5%, 10% and 15% for compaction and strength test. Dry weight technique was used to prepare these samples. Standard Proctor Test has been executed to determine the Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) and Maximum Dry Density (MDD) of the stabilised soil sample. Meanwhile, Unconsolidated Undrained Triaxial Test (UUT) has been done to obtain the undrained cohesion, cu of the stabilised soil. Findings from this study shows that additional of waste steel dust in the marine clay soil is unbeneficial, because as the content of the waste steel dust increased, the value OMC increased and both of MDD cu and decreased. Therefore, the waste steel dust alone incapable to become a soil stabiliser agent. However, based on the comparison with previous study, it is found out that the presence of activated agent could potentially increase the performance of the waste steel dust as soil stabilizer. Significant findings from this study would contribute additional literature knowledge related to soil improvement works using waste material.