• The Journal of Engineering Geology
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.39-49
• /
• 2023

Soil contaminants measured and managed in Korea include those of geologic origin such as arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, mercury, and fluoride. This study identifies the distribution of these contaminants using GIS modeling to analyze the spatial probability of soil contamination originating from geology. The modeling found that cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, and mercury often exceed the regulated standard by <1%. Concentrations of arsenic and zinc greatly exceeded the standard in the vicinity of mines and industrial complexes: mining and industry seemed to have substantial effects on the concentrations of these metals. Although fluoride was sampled at the lowest number of points, its frequency of exceeding the standard was the highest. No obvious source of artificial contamination has been identified, and fluoride's distribution characteristics showed continuity over a wide area, suggesting a strong correlation between geological characteristics and fluoride concentration. The highest frequencies of fluoride exceeding the standard were in Jurassic granite (40.00%) and Precambrian banded gneiss (34.12%). As these rocks contributed to the formation of soil through their weathering, high fluoride concentrations can be expected in soil in areas where these rocks are distributed.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.39 no.5
• /
• pp.265-276
• /
• 2017

Heavy metals leaching from closed mines have been causing severe environmental problems in nearby soil ecosystems. Mine reclamation in Korea has been recently implemented based on the heavy metal immobilization (a.k.a., stabilization). Since the immobilization temporarily fixes the heavy metals to the soil matrix, the potential risk of heavy metal leaching still exists. Therefore the appropriate monitoring and the related policies are required to safeguard the soils, where all the cultivations occur. The current monitoring methods are based on either heavy metal concentration or simple toxicity test. Those methods, however, are fragmented and hence it is difficult to evaluate the site in an integrated manner. In this study, as the integrated approach, ecological functional state evaluation with a multivariate statistical tool was employed targeting physiochemical soil properties, heavy metal concentrations, microbial enzymatic activity, and arsenic respiratory reductase gene quantity. Total 60 soil samples obtained from three mines (Pungjeong, Jeomdong, Seosung) were analyzed. As a result, the stabilized layer soil and lower layer soil have shown the similar pattern in Pungjeong mine. In contrast, Jeomdong and Seosung mine have shown the similarity between the stabilized layer soil and the cover layer soil, indicating the possible contamination of the cover layer soil.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.57-65
• /
• 2008

The geochemical partitioning of arsenic in contaminated soils from a of wet land and tailing of the abandoned mine is examined. Chemical analysis and sequential extraction method by ultrasound-sonication extraction are applied to investigate the mobility and chemical existence conditions of arsenic as well as heavy metals. The results of this study showed that heavy metals concentration of tailings showed as a following order: Fe > As > Cu > Pb > Cr. The highest metal concentration was recognized in samples less than $63\;{\mu}m$ fraction in their particle sizes. Exchangeable and carbonate fractions in soil samples showed following Cu > As > Pb > Fe > Cr for tailings, and Fe > Pb > Cu > As > Cr for reservoir soils, respectively. Arsenic was bound as exchangeable fraction in tailings and its concentration appeared higher than those of the other metals. Thus, As can be easily dispersed into soil and water environments. The obtained results can be used to design soil remediation plan in the study area and require further detailed study to investigate severe environmental pollution of surface water as well as rivers with respect to heavy metals in terms of speciation analysis of toxic elements such as As and Cr.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.291-301
• /
• 2018

BACKGROUND: Rice is one of the main sources for inorganic arsenic among the consumed crops in the world population's diet. Arsenic is classified into Group 1 as it is carcinogenic for humans, according to the IARC. This study was carried out to assess dietary exposure risk of inorganic arsenic in husked rice and polished rice to the Korean population health. METHODS AND RESULTS: Total arsenic was determined using microwave device and ICP-MS. Inorganic arsenic was determined by ICP-MS coupled with HPLC system. The HPLC-ICP-MS analysis was optimized based on the limit of detection, limit of quantitation, and recovery ratio to be $0.73-1.24{\mu}g/kg$, $2.41-4.09{\mu}g/kg$, and 96.5-98.9%, respectively. The inorganic arsenic concentrations of daily exposure (included in body weight) were $4.97{\times}10^{-3}$ (${\geq}20$ years old) $-1.36{\times}10^{-2}$ (${\leq}2$ years old) ${\mu}g/kg\;b.w./day$ (PTWI 0.23-0.63%) by the husked rice, and $1.39{\times}10^{-1}$ (${\geq}20$ years old) $-3.21{\times}10^{-1}$ (${\leq}2$ years old) ${\mu}g/kg\;b.w./day$ (PTWI 6.47-15.00%) by the polished rice. CONCLUSION: The levels of overall exposure to total and inorganic arsenic by the husked and polished rice were far lower than the recommended levels of The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), indicating of little possibility of risk.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.43 no.6
• /
• pp.589-601
• /
• 2010

Recently it has been frequently reported arsenic contamination of geologic origin in groundwater. The iron-impregnated ranular activated carbon (Fe-GAC) was developed for effective removal of arsenic from groundwater n the study. Fe-GACs were prepared by impregnating iron compounds into a supporting medium (GAC) with 0.05 M iron nitrate solution. The materials were used in arsenic adsorption isotherm tests to know the effect of iron impregnation time, batch kinetic tests to understand the influence of pH, and column tests to evaluate for the preliminary operation of water treatment system. The results showed that the minimum twelve hours of impregnation time were required for making the Fe-GAC with sufficient iron content for arsenic removal, confirmed by a high arsenic adsorption capacity evaluated in the isotherm tests. Most of the impregnated iron compounds were iron hydroxynitrate $Fe_4(OH)_{11}NO_3{\cdot}2H_2O$ but a mall quantity of hematite was also identified in X-ray diffraction(XRD) analysis. The batch isotherms of Fe-GAC for arsenic adsorption were well explained by Langmuir than Freundlich model and the iron contents of Fe-GAC have positive linear correlations on logarithmic plots with Freundlich distribution coefficients ($K_F$ and Langmuir maximum adsorption capacities ($Q_m$. The results of kinetic experiments suggested hat Fe-GAC had he excellent arsenic adsorption capacities regardless of all pH conditions except for pH 11 and could be used a promising adsorbents for groundwater arsenic removal considering the general groundwater pH range of 6-8. The pseudo-second order model, based on the assumption that the ate-limiting step might be chemisorption, provided the best correlation of the kinetic experimental data and explained the arsenic adsorption system f Fe-GAC. The column test was conducted to valuate the feasibility of Fe-GAC use and the operation parameters in arsenic groundwater treatment system. The parameters obtained from the column test were the retardation actor of 482.4 and the distribution coefficient of 581.1 L/mg which were similar values of 511.5-592.5 L/mg acquired from Freundlich batch isotherm model. The results of this study suggested that Fe-GAC could be used as promising adsorbent of arsenic removal in a small groundwater supply system with water treatment facility.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.37 no.6
• /
• pp.385-393
• /
• 2022

The contamination level of inorganic arsenic, a human carcinogen, was investigated in 87 grains and 66 processed grain foods. Two inorganic arsenic species arsenite (As(III)) and arsenate (As(V)) and four organic arsenic monomethylarsonic acid, dimethylarsinic acid, arsenobetaine, arsenocholine were analyzed using HPLC-ICP/MS with high separation and sensitivity and ICP/MS was used to quantify total arsenic. Inorganic arsenic was detected in all grains. And the total arsenic in grains consists of about 70-85% inorganic arsenic and about 10-20% DMA. The concentration of inorganic arsenic was high in rice and black rice cultivated in paddy soil with irrigated water, while the miscellaneous grain in field was low. Mean concentration of inorganic arsenic in rice germ, brown rice and polished rice was 0.160 mg/kg, 0.135 mg/kg, 0.083 mg/kg, respectively, indicating that rice bran contains more arsenic. In processed grain foods, inorganic arsenic concentration varied according to the kind of ingredients and content, and the detection amount was high in processed food with brown rice and germ. The arsenic content of all samples did not exceed each standard, but the intake frequency is high and it is considered that continuous monitoring is necessary for food safety.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
• /
• v.47 no.3
• /
• pp.185-191
• /
• 2021

Environmental pollution is defined as contamination of the earth's environment with materials which interfere with human health, quality of life, or the natural functioning of the ecosystem. Whenever a prolonged and repetitive exposure to environmental stressors exceeds the skin's normal defensive potential, there is a disturbance in the skin barrier function leading to the development of various skin diseases. Major air pollutants which affect the skin are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, cigarette smoke, heavy metals and arsenic. Dermal uptake depends on the deposition of air pollutants on the skin surface, the composition of epidermal lipids, and the diffusion through the epidermis to the blood vessels.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Industrial Safety Conference
• /
• 1998.05a
• /
• pp.153-158
• /
• 1998

산업발달과 더불어 우리의 일상 생활과 밀접한 관계를 갖게된 각종 중금속은 직접적으로는 직업병을 유발함음 물론 간접적으로는 식품류, 수질, 대기 및 토양 등을 오염시켜 만성적 혹은 급성적로 인체에 피해를 가져온다. 이와 관련해서 특히 문제시되는 중금속류로는 납, 카드뮴, 수은, 니켈, 크롬, 비소 등이 있다. 이중에서도 카드뮴에 의한 중독은 대표적인 예의 하나이다. (중략)

• 한국환경농학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2011.07a
• /
• pp.289-289
• /
• 2011

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.10-19
• /
• 2020

BACKGROUND: This study was to carry out risk assessment of contamination of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and inorganic arsenic (I-As) in agricultural products of 25 crops from the abandoned mine areas. The 36 typical investigation sites located in Gyeongbuk provincial area were selected by considering the heavy metal levels, that had been known that the amount of the heavy metals exceeded the contamination level based on the previous survey. METHODS AND RESULTS: Cadmium, lead, and total arsenic (T-As) concentrations were determined using microwave device and ICP-MS. Inorganic arsenic was determined by HPLC-ICP-MS. The limits of quantification for heavy metals were 0.59 ㎍/kg for Cd, 0.42 ㎍/kg for Pb, 0.55 ㎍/kg for T-As, and sum of As (III) (1.74 ㎍/kg) and As (V) (2.25 ㎍/kg) for I-As, respectively. The contents of Cd, Pb, and I-As (only rice) were N.D.-0.958 mg/kg, N.D.-0.227 mg/kg, and 0.082 mg/kg, respectively, in the agricultural products. For risk assessment, dietary exposures of heavy metals through usual intake were 5.20×10^-4-7.15×10⁰ ㎍/day for Cd, 7.00×10^-5-7.75×10^-1 ㎍/day for Pb, and 1.17×10¹ ㎍/day for I-As, taking 0.01-14.37%, 0.01-2.05%, and 15.16% as risk indices, respectively. CONCLUSION: It requires to consider the critical levels of heavy metals in agricultural products due to unexpectedly high levels in a few places, while concentrations of heavy metals in the samples were relatively low in most areas.