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IntroductionUnderstanding consumer perception of drinking water can contribute to improvements in water management and consumer satisfaction. The aim of this study was to assess the consumer perception of tap water quality and other drinking water sources in Gonabad as a small semiarid city.MethodsThis study was performed in autumn and winter 2013. For collection data a researcher-made a questionnaire consisting of nine questions, based on demographic information prepared. Questions were asked for participants to provide information regarding household drinking water usage and patterns, opinion about tap water safety, taste and reasons for purchasing bottled water. For statistical analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SPSS version 16 was applied in this study.ResultsResults showed that demographic variables had a significant relationship with consumer satisfaction (p < 0.05). Office employees, women and poor families had the most satisfaction from tap water quality. Peoples’ preferences for tap water, commercial softener, domestic softener, ghanat (a type of underground cistern) and bottled water were 27.8, 19, 27.8, 40.4 and 3.5% respectively. Dissatisfaction from production of foam, unsuitable taste, unacceptable appearance and other problems in tap water was 11.1, 95.6, 27.8 and 0.4% respectively. Consumer reasons for using domestic water softeners are: suitable taste (80%), easy availability (71%), economical (56%) and low health side effects (34%).ConclusionAccording to these results it was clear that each consumer group, based on self-condition, prefers using a specific drinking water source.

Background Scientific cooperation is one of the effective methods to access current knowledge and technologies and also to use successful experiences of researchers in developed countries by academicians living in developing countries. This study aimed to determine the level of international contribution in compilation of scientific articles in Iranian journals published in the field of environmental health engineering. Methods This descriptive and retrospective study was conducted within a 10-year period (2008–2017), in which all articles published in five specialized Iranian journals of environmental health engineering were reviewed using a researcher-made checklist. The information collected in the checklist included: the year of publication, number of issues and articles, information about the status of authors’ participation in terms of number of authors, sex, institutional affiliation, country, continents, and research centers. Descriptive and inferential statistics such as index of dispersion, measures of central tendency, and Chi-square and t tests were used to statistically analyze the data. Besides, VOSviewer software was used to visualize the data. Results The review of 1276 articles published in 102 issues of the five journals of environmental health engineering in Iran showed that 184 articles were written with the participation of researchers from other countries. Most articles with the participation of international authors during the last decade were published in 2014. Chi-square test indicated a significant difference in the publication of these articles within 2014–2015 than other years ( P = 0.001). Among the five journals, the best participation of international researchers was observed in J Environ Health Sci Engineer (168 articles, 91.3%). Considering the number of joint articles with Iran, the top continents were Asia, Europe, and Africa each with 117, 52, and 32 articles, respectively. India, Turkey, and Malaysia had the highest level of cooperation with Iranian researchers with 53, 16, and 14 articles, respectively. 637 authors contributed in 184 articles, of whom 469 (73.6%) were male and 121 (18.9%) were female. T test was used to compare the mean number of male and female authors in the articles with or without the participation of international researchers, which showed no significant difference. Conclusion International contribution of researchers in compilation of specialized environmental health articles was good. Given the low level of cooperation between researchers from developed European and American countries and their Iranian counterparts, it seems necessary to adopt different methods to attract more collaboration from researchers working in developed countries considering their significant role in health-related areas.

IntroductionAn environmental impact assessment (EIA) before embarking on any project is a useful tool to reduce the potential effects of each project, including landfill, if possible. The main objective of this study was to assess the environmental impact of the current municipal solid waste disposal site of Gonabad by using the Iranian Leopold matrix method.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the environmental impacts of a landfill site in Gonabad in 2015 by an Iranian matrix (modified Leopold matrix). This study was conducted based on field visits of the landfill, and collected information from various sources and analyzing and comparing between five available options, including the continuation of the current disposal practices, construction of new sanitary landfills, recycling plans, composting, and incineration plants was examined. The best option was proposed to replace the existing landfill.ResultsThe current approach has a score of 2.35, the construction of new sanitary landfill has a score of 1.59, a score of 1.57 for the compost plant, and recycling and incineration plant, respectively, have scores of 1.68 and 2.3.ConclusionResults showed that continuation of the current method of disposal, due to severe environmental damage and health problems, is rejected. A compost plant with the lowest negative score is the best option for the waste disposal site of Gonabad City and has priority over the other four options.