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Background: Wastewater effluent in hospitals has been increasing during the recent decades due to developments in medical services and products. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the qualitative parameters of effluent wastewater in hospitals affiliated to Babol University of Medical Sciences (BUMS). Materials and Methods: Four hospitals were included and their wastewater effluent was studied. Ninety-six composited samples were collected and sent to the laboratory for determining pH, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD 5 ), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), total kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), total phosphorous (TP), heavy metals, total coliforms (TC) and total heterotrophic bacteria counts (THBC) based on standard methods. Results: Mean ± SD pH of the wastewater was 7.6 ± 0.4. Mean ± SD BOD 5, COD, TSS, TKN and TP were 372 ± 173 mg/L, 687 ± 231 mg/L, 289 ± 132 mg/L and 15 ± 5.5 mg/L, respectively. Mean concentration of Pb, Cd, Zn, Cr, Ni, Co, Hg, Fe and Cu were 26..1 mg/L and 49 (g/L), respectively. The total coliforms and heterotrophic bacteria were 5.4 × 10 8 MPN/100 mL and 2.6 × 10 10 CFU/mL, respectively. Total wastewater quantity and its organic loading rate were 169 263 m 3 and 62 966 kg in a year, respectively. Conclusions: Most of the qualitative indices evaluated in wastewater effluent of hospitals of BUMS were higher than effluent discharge standards of Iran Environment Protection Agency (IEPA). These wastewaters are usually purified improperly by wastewater treatment plants of these hospitals and polluted effluents which empty to the Babol Rood River and Caspian Sea can potentially endanger public health, natural resources and wildlife.

Rivers are considered as one of the main resources of water supply for various applications such as agricultural, drinking and industrial purposes. Also, these resources are used as a place for discharge of sewages, industrial wastewater and agricultural drainage. Regarding the fact that each river has a certain capacity for acceptance of pollutants, nowadays qualitative and environmental investigations of these resources are proposed. In this study, qualitative investigation of the Talar river was done according to Oregon Water Quality Index (OWQI), National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index (NSFWQI) and Wilcox indicators during 2011-2012 years at upstream, midstream and downstream of the river in two periods of wet and dry seasons. According to the results of OWQI, all of the values at 3 stations and both periods are placed at very bad quality category and the water is not acceptable for drinking purposes. According to NSFWQI, the best condition was related to the upstream station at wet season period (58, medium quality) and the worst condition was related to the downstream in wet season period (46, very bad quality). Also the results of Wilcox showed that in both periods of wet season and dry season, the water quality is getting better from upstream station to the downstream station, and according to the index classifi cation, the downstream water quality has shown good quality and it is suitable for agriculture.

Emerging and hazardous environmental pollutants like phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are one of the recent concerns worldwide. PAEs are considered to have diverse endocrine disrupting effects on human health. Industrial wastewater has been reported as an important environment with high concentrations of PAEs. In the present study, four short-chain PAEs including diallyl phthalate (DAP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), dimethyl phthalate (DMP), and phthalic acid (PA) were selected as a substrate for anaerobic fixed film fixed bed reactor (AnFFFBR). The process performances of AnFFFBR, and also its kinetic behavior, were evaluated to find the best eco-friendly phthalate from the biodegradability point of view. According to the results and kinetic coefficients, removing and mineralizing of DMP occurred at a higher rate than other phthalates. In optimum conditions 92.5, 84.41, and 80.39% of DMP, COD, and TOC were removed. DAP was found as the most bio-refractory phthalate. The second-order (Grau) model was selected as the best model for describing phthalates removal.