• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
• /
• 2021.06a
• /
• pp.245-245
• /
• 2021

해양으로 유출된 5 mm 이하의 크기로 분해된 미세플라스틱이 해양 환경 오염의 주요 원인으로 자리잡았다. 최근에는 청정해역으로 알려진 남극해에서도 발견되고 있어 남극해에 잔류하는 미세플라스틱 오염 수준을 이해하기 위해 노력하고 있다. 하지만, 파랑의 효과를 고려한 남극해의 해수 순환 구조와 미세플라스틱의 고유 특성을 반영한 미세플라스틱의 거동 및 공간적 분포에 대한 복합적 이해는 상대적으로 부족하다. 남극해에서 발견된 미세플라스틱은 과학기지들의 방류수나, 조사선 등과 같은 인위적인 활동으로 인해 집적될 수 있으며, 특히 영구적으로 거주하는 과학기지에서 흘려보내는 방류수에 포함된 미세플라스틱은 과학기지 주변 해수 오염에 직접적인 영향을 줄 것으로 예상된다. 따라서, 본 연구에서는 파랑 효과에 따른 남극 킹조지 섬(King George Island)에 위치한 세종과학기지의 방류수에 포함된 미세플라스틱의 이송에 대해 모의하였다. 세종과학기지가 위치한 킹조지 섬과 넬슨 섬(Nelson Island) 사이의 멕스웰 만(Maxwell Bay)의 해수 흐름을 재현하기 위하여 해수 유동 모델(Delft3D-FLOW)이 사용되었다. 또한, 해수 유동 모델에 파랑 모델(Delft3D-WAVE)을 결합하여 파랑의 효과가 미세플라스틱의 이송에 미치는 영향을 확인하였다. 세종과학기지의 방류수가 흘러나가는 마리안 소만(Marian Cove)의 유속장을 바탕으로 이송, 확산, 입자의 침강 속도를 고려하여서, 세종과학기지에서 밀물 시 방출한 입자를 라그랑지안 입자 추적(Lagrangian Particle Tracking) 방법을 이용해 추적하였다. 해수의 밀도보다 가벼운 플라스틱의 경우 해수 표층의 흐름을 따라 소만 내부로 이송되어 해안선에 도달하고, 해수의 밀도보다 무거운 플라스틱의 경우 소만 내부로 이송되나 입자의 침강 속도로 인해 방출 위치 근처에서 집적된다. 파랑의 효과를 고려하게 되면, 고려하기 전보다 두 종류의 미세플라스틱 모두 소만 내부로 더 멀리 이송되는데, 이는 파랑으로 인한 힘(wave-induced force)이 해수 유동 모델의 운동방정식에 추가되며 파랑 에너지 분산으로 인해 해수 흐름에 변화를 준 것으로 보인다.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.65-98
• /
• 2014

Plastics of the marine environment are broken gradually down into smaller particles by chemical weathering, called "microplastic". Microplastics absorb organic pollutants that are persistent bioaccumulative substances. If marine animals ingested microplastic added to contaminant, it will lead to a bioaccumation through the food web. It eventually destroy health of marine environment and is harmful to marine top predators including humans. Also, Microplastics can impact marine animals by leaching the endocrine disruptor in microplastic itself as well as playing an adsorbent role of organic pollutants. Persistent and bioaccumulative substances in Korea have been regulated in terms of chemical risk but existing regulations largely have been limited in land-based source management of microplastic. Thus, the harmful impact will be increased whether the microplastics absorbed contaminants. To prevent risk of persistent bioaccumulative substances, this study suggests the following: (1) the strict management of microplastic by designating the hazardous substances, (2) expand the use of biodegradable plastic, (3) the effort for reuse and recycle, (4) the expand of microplastic clean-up programs.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.135-149
• /
• 2017

Microplastics are fractions of plastics less than 5 mm in size and can be divided into artificially manufactured primary microplastics and physically or chemically decomposed secondary microplastics. In this study, the emission source of microplastics made by the human activities is defined as the primary source of microplastics. And the primary sources of microplastics were summarized by using the literature and the emission potential of each source was estimated. As a result, this study showed that 63,000 to 216,000 ton/year of microplastics were discharged into the environment. Among primary sources, transport, tyre dust, and laundry were the major primary sources.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.153-160
• /
• 2020

Most studies defined microplastic (MP) as plastic particles less than 5 mm. The ubiquity of MP is raising awareness due to its potential risk to humans and the environment. MP can cause harmful effects to humans and living organisms. This paper review aimed to provide a better understanding of the sources, pathways, and impacts of MP in the environment. MP can be classified as primary and secondary in nature. Moreover, microplastic can also be classified as based on its physical and chemical characteristics. Stormwater and wastewater are important pathways of introducing MP in large water bodies. As compared to stormwater, the concentrations of MP in wastewater were relatively lower since wastewater treatment processes can contribute to the removal of MP. In terms of polymer distribution, wastewater contains a wider array of polymer varieties than stormwater runoff. The most common types of polymer found in wastewater and stormwater runoff were polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The continuous discharge and the increasing number of MP in the environment can pose greater hazards and harmful effects on humans and other living organisms. Despite the growing number of publications in relation to MP, further studies are needed to define concrete regulations and management strategies for mitigating the detrimental effects of MP in the environment.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.59 no.3
• /
• pp.316-325
• /
• 2021

Human-made plastics takes more than 500 years to break down and have been introduced into the ecosystem, threatening terrestrial and aquatic organisms. By 2025, there will be more than 250 million tons of plastics in the ocean. Although studies regarding microplastics have been exponentially increasing since 2015, international standards for defining the size classification for microplastics, as well as methods for qualitative/quantitative analysis have not been concluded yet. Thus, in this study, the latest trends in analytical methodologies have been reviewed. Further, the study suggests directions for future research approaches can be taken to analyze aquatic microplastics, which could be as useful information for establishing effective microplastic management policy via standardization in microplastic analysis.

• Prospectives of Industrial Chemistry
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.1-12
• /
• 2019

미세플라스틱은 5 mm 이하의 작은 플라스틱 입자를 말하며, 그 축적에 따른 환경적 문제가 커지면서 현재 심각한 사회문제가 되고 있다. 미세플라스틱은 해양으로 유입되어 해양생물계의 내분비계 교란물질로 작용하며 생태계를 교란시키고 종국에는 먹이사슬의 끝인 인류에게 큰 위험으로 다가오고 있다. 미세플라스틱에 대한 사회적 이슈가 높아지고 있는 현 시점에서 이들 문제점을 제대로 인식하고 해결방안을 모색할 필요성이 있다. 본 총설에서는 미세플라스틱의 현황과 해양생태계와 인체에 미치는 영향 그리고 미세플라스틱 검출법과 제거를 위한 정책과 연구 동향에 대해서 논의하고자 한다.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.216-226
• /
• 2023

Since nylon 66, a polyamide resin, has been developed and applied to toothbrush bristles, plastic consumption has increased rapidly every year, along with the increase in the amount of plastic discarded. Among the various forms of plastic debris produced by the decomposition of plastics, microplastics with a size of less than 5 mm are widely distributed in the environment, which poses a threat not only to the environment but also to animals and humans. The pathway through which microplastics enter the human body is known as ingestion by water and food, inhalation from air, and skin contact. Microplastics introduced into the human body affect human health. Recently, food-related studies have begun to be reported among microplastics-related studies, and analyses of the presence of microplastics in processed foods, such as canned foods, dried seaweed, beverages, beer, milk, sugar, and honey, are underway. Here, we present trends in the production and consumption of plastics, the generation of microplastics, the route of human inflow and human risk, and the microplastics present in processed foods, which are limited but have recently been reported. Thus far, studies on microplastics and risk assessment in processed foods have been insufficient, but microplastics are gradually being recognized as a factor that affects the environment and food. Future studies are expected to have implications for regulations regarding microplastics present in processed foods.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.463-475
• /
• 2020

Presence of microplastics in soil and groundwater has recently been reported and environmental concerns are raised as to the plastic pollution. In the subsurface environment, clay minerals and metal oxide minerals are commonly found as finely dispersed states. Because the minerals have high sorption capacities for diverse pollutants, interactions with mineral surface play an important role in the transport of microplastics in groundwater. Accordingly, environmental mineralogy investigating the interactions between microplastics and mineral surfaces is the essential research area to understand the fate and transport of microplastics in the subsurface environment. The microplastic-mineral surface research requires molecular- to nano-scale analyses to be able to probe the relatively weak interactions between them. The current report introduces a nano-scale analysis tool called quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) that can measure the sorbed/desorbed mass of nanoplastics on mineral surfaces at the level of a few nanograms (~10-9 g). This report briefly reviews the main principles in the QCM measurement and discusses applications of QCM to the environmental mineralogy research.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
• /
• v.9 no.9
• /
• pp.252-257
• /
• 2019

We investigated the microstructure and morphological characteristics of microplastics added to rinse off cosmetics by scanning electron microscope. The size of the microplastic was in a wide range of sizes, from $250{\mu}m$ to 1.5mm in diameter. The small microplastics were in the shape of elongated particles and the large microplastics were cuboidal. Most cubic microplastics were observed in the form of squares or rectangles. The surface of the cubic microplastic was smoothly observed without protruding portions, but irregularly many gaps were formed. The gap between openings was measured from about $5{\mu}m$ to $20{\mu}m$. It has not been confirmed that these gaps are formed from the surface of the microplastic to the inside there of.

• Proceeding of EDISON Challenge
• /
• 2016.03a
• /
• pp.576-581
• /
• 2016

해양환경에서 큰문제가 되고 있는 아주 작은 크기의 플라스틱 입자인 미세플라스틱(Microplastic)은 잔류성이 크고 생물축적성이 있는 잔류성 유기오염 물질(POP)을 잘흡착하여 해양환경과 먹이사슬에 지대한 피해를 끼친다. 본 연구에서는 해양에 존재하는 대표적인 미세플라스틱 uPVC와 입자상의 잔류성 유기오염 물질 PAH를 원형 실린더로 가정하여 해양 환경에서 침강하고 있는 미세플라스틱이 잔류성 유기오염 물질에 의해 오염될 가능성을 알아보았다 이를 위해 표층및 심층수 환경에서 반지름에 따른 충돌효율과 접촉 시간을 구하여 두 실린더가 접촉할 시간의 기댓값인 기대 접촉시간을 계산하였다.