• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.27-32
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• 2010

This study was conducted to monitor aflatoxins in various medicinal herbs, providing available data for the safety of those products. To monitor aflatoxins in medicinal herbs, a total of 400 samples of 40 different herbs were collected in commercial retailers in Seoul, Daejeon, Gwangju, Daegu, and Busan from March to August, 2008. The samples that passed the sensory evaluation were tested for aflatoxins. Aflatoxins in samples were analyzed by HPLC-florescence coupled with photochemical enhancement. Samples were extracted with 70% methanol and then diluted to the appropriate concentration. A refining process was performed using an immunoaffinity column. The analytical method used in this study was validated. The $R^2$ value for aflatoxin $B_1$ was 0.99946, and the detection range was from 0.25 to 10.0 ng/mL. The accuracy of the analysis was ranged from 83.2% to 101.8%. The relative standard deviation (RSD) in the aflatoxin $B_1$ analysis was 3.4%, demonstrating the precision of this method. In addition, the detection limit and quantitative analysis limit of aflatoxin $B_1$ was $0.53\;{\mu}g/kg$ and $1.76\;{\mu}g/kg$, respectively. These results indicated that the analytical method used in this study was appropriate. The results of HPLC showed that 1% (4 samples) of the samples may contain aflatoxins. The concentration of quantified aflatoxin was $2.3\;{\mu}g/kg$ for both Quisqualis fructus and Remotiflori radix samples. The other samples were below the limit of quantification. Moreover, the concentration of aflatoxin $B_1$ which is made by specific fungi were below the level of regulation. Only 20% of aflatoxin $B_1$ were transferred to hot water. Therefore, the levels of aflatoxins in medicinal herbs were considered to be safe especially considering the aflatoxin transfer ratio.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.8-13
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• 2010

Bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) and bisphenol F diglycidyl ether (BFDGE) were obtained by a polymerization reaction of epichlorohydrin (ECH) with bisphenol A (BPA) or bisphenol F (BPF). These compounds are commonly used as monomers or additives such as a polymerization stabilizer and a hydrochloric acid scavenger of epoxy resin, polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-containing organosols and polyester lacquers, that are applied to the internal surface of most canned foods to impart chemical resistance. The unreacted BADGE, BFDGE and their reaction products migrating from epoxy resin, PVC-containing organosol and/or polyester lacquer-based food packaging materials into the foods have recently become an issue of great concern because of increased customer demand for safety. This study was conducted to develop a rapid and sensitive simultaneous analysis method based on HPLC/FLD and HPLC/APCI-mass and to evaluate the concentration of BADGE, BFDGE and their metabolites, BADGE $H_2O$, BADGE $2H_2O$, BADGE HCl, BADGE 2HCl, BADGE HCl $H_2O$, BFDGE $H_2O$, BFDGE $2H_2O$, BFDGE HCl, BFDGE 2HCl and BFDGE HCl $H_2O$ for 133 canned food samples. The method provided a linearity of 0.9997-0.9999, a limit of detection of $0.01-0.13\;{\mu}g/mL$, a limit of quantitation of $0.03-0.44\;{\mu}g/mL$ and a recovery (%) of 85.64-118.18. The number of samples containing BADGE, BFDGE or their metabolites were: 28/133 (21.1%), with levels of 0.400-0.888 mg/kg being observed for aqueous foods (19/133) and 0.093-0.506 mg/kg being observed for oily foods (9/133).

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.37-44
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• 2012

BACKGROUND: Many edible mushrooms are known to accumulate high levels of heavy metals. This research was focused on health risk assessment to investigate the mushrooms in Korea, arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) contaminations in edible mushrooms in cultivated areas were investigated, and health risk was assessed through dietary intake of mushrooms. METHODS AND RESULTS: The heavy metals in mushrooms were analyzed by ICP/MS after acid digestion. Probabilistic health risk were estimated by Monte-Carlo simulation techniques. The average contents of As, Cd, Pb, and Hg were $0.035{\pm}0.042$ mg/kg, $0.017{\pm}0.020$ mg/kg, $0.043{\pm}0.013$ mg/kg, and $0.004{\pm}0.004$ mg/kg, respectively. The results showed that contents of Cd and Pb did not exceed maximum residual levels established by European Uion regulation (Cd 0.20 mg/kg and Pb 0.30 mg/kg). For health risk assessment, estimated intakes in all age populations did not exceed the provisional tolerable daily intake of As and Hg, provisional tolerable monthly intake of Cd, provisional tolerable weekly intake of Pb. The Hazard Index (HI) were ranged from $0.03{\times}10^{-4}{\sim}0.01{\times}10^{-3}$ for As, $0.02{\times}10^{-3}{\sim}0.81{\times}10^{-3}$ for Cd, $0.06{\times}10^{-3}{\sim}0.38{\times}10^{-3}$ for Pb, and $0.08{\times}10^{-4}{\sim}0.14{\times}10^{-3}$ for Hg at general population. CONCLUSION: The HI from the ratio analysis between daily exposure and safety level values was less than 1.0. This results demonstrated that human exposure to heavy metals through dietary intake of mushrooms might not cause adverse effect.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.8-14
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• 2008

This study was performed to establish analysis methods, and evaluated for grayanotoxin in domestic/foreign honey and wild honey. The molecular weight of grayanotoxins I, II and III, excluding grayanotoxin III that has been commercialized, were analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Then, the molecular structure of grayanotoxins I and II were analyzed by NMR. A total 111 samples (25 Korean honey, 21 Korean wild honey, 13 Korean honeycomb honey, 44 foreign honey, 8 foreign wild honey) were examined to determined whether or not each sample contained grayanotoxins I, II, and III. The honey samples were mixed with methanol and loaded into a tC18 cartridge, the filtrate was diluted with water, and the mixture was then analyzed by ESI triple-quadrupole LC-MS/MS. Grayanotoxins were only found in the foreign wild honey and were not detected in Korean honey, Korean honeycomb honey, or Korean wild honey. Three of the samples contained grayanotoxin I, II, and III, and one sample contained only grayanotoxins I and III. The lowest level for grayanotoxin I was 3.13 ${\pm}$ 0.00 mg/kg, and the highest level was 12.93 ${\pm}$ 0.01 mg/kg. The levels of grayanotoxin II were 0.84 ${\pm}$ 0.01 mg/kg, 0.92 ${\pm}$ 0.00 mg/kg and 1.08 ${\pm}$ 0.01 mg/kg, respectively. The lowest level of grayanotoxin III was 0.25 ${\pm}$ 0.01 mg/kg and the highest level was 3.29 ${\pm}$ 0.74 mg/kg. Through this study, safety management for foreign wild honey has been enabled.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.882-888
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• 2005

Procedure for analysis of methylmercury in fish was developed, involving addition of HCl, extraction with toluene, and clean-up using L-cystein solution. Obtained extract is analyzed by gas chromatography with electron capture detector using Ulbon HR-Thermon-Hg column. Detection limit and recovery of the method were 0.005mg/kg (expressed as Hg), 98-107 (103%), respectively. Total mercury and methylmercury concentrations in 175 commercial fish samples ranged from [mean-max (mean), unit: mg/kg]: 0.014-1.200 (0.270) and 0.006-0.901 (0.168) in tuna-fish, 0.020-0.934 (0.323) and 0.012-0.553 (0.149) in martin-fish, 0.082-0.782 (0.391) and 0.040-0.436(0.201) in shark, 0,023-0.031 (0.026) and 0,013-0.018 (0.015) in salmon, 0.098-0.193 (0.133) and 0.031-0.015(0.090) in tilefish, and 0,031-0.214 (0.089) and 0.016-0.093 (0.042) in canned tuna respectively. No sample of analyzed fish exceeded 1.0mg/kg wet wt., limit for methylmercury established by Codex. In all species examined, estimated weekly intake was lower than Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake recommended by the JECFA (the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives).

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.345-350
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• 2012

To investigate the exposure and health risk assessment for the residents near the D-asbestos mine in Chungbuk, Korea. We analyzed asbestos in the 20 ambient air and 23 activity based samples near the mine. The airborne sample results are showed that 8 of 20 samples ranged between 0.0025 to 0.0029 f/cc (fiber per cubic centimeter) and the others were below the detection limit by phase contrast microscopy (PCM). In addition, asbestos fibers were under the detection limit or not being by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Based on interview and survey targeting the local residents, we made the activity based sampling (ABS) scenarios fit to the conditions of field. At the same time, we calculated the excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) of these ABS scenarios according to the ELCR average value and 95% upper confidence limit (UCL). At the case of weed whacking, soil digging and sweeping yard scenario, 95% UCL of ELCR exceeded the $1{\times}10^{-4}$, acceptable risk range for exposure. Based on our study results, it is necessary safety measures such as risk communication, abatement or management of naturally occurring asbestos (NOA).

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.21-27
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• 2012

This research was carried out as a survey on the contents of lead, cadmium, and arsenic in processed foods (milk, vegetable oil, and margarine) in Korea. The limits of quantification (LOQs) were Pb 0.3 ${\mu}g/kg$, Cd 0.15 ${\mu}g/kg$, and As 0.45 ${\mu}g/kg$ for milk and Pb 0.61 ${\mu}g/kg$, Cd 0.31 ${\mu}g/kg$, and As 0.91 ${\mu}g/kg$ for vegetable oil and margarine. The recoveries were 92.6-98.0% for Pb, 91.2-98.9% for Cd, and 97.9-104.7% for As. The average levels of Pb were 2.395 ${\mu}g/kg$ for milk, and 7.656 ${\mu}g/kg$ for vegetable oil. The average levels of Cd were 0.483 ${\mu}g/kg$ for milk, and 0.380 ${\mu}g/kg$ for vegetable oil, and levels of As were 0.781 ${\mu}g/kg$ for milk, and 1.241 ${\mu}g/kg$ for vegetable oil. The results of this study showed that Pb, Cd, and As contents in the whole samples were less than the maximum residual levels in the processed foods that were specified by the Codex standard.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.525-528
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• 2001

This study was conducted to estimate the contents of heavy metals in some health foods available on Korean markets. The samples were digested with microwave system, then analyzed using GF-AAS for the contents of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As). The contents of mercury (Hg) were determined using a mercury analyzer. The average values of Hg, Pb, Cd and As in calcium (Ca) health foods were 0.007, 1.08, 0.02 and 0.48 mg/kg respectively. Those values in chitosan health foods were 0.001, 0.36, 0.01 and 0.03 mg/kg respectively. Those values in propolis health foods were 0.013, 4.96, 0.01 and 0.13 mg/kg, respectively. The health foods that contained cow bone powders had the highest lead contents. Based on the variation in lead contents of those products, it could be possible that they might be contaminated through raw materials and/or manufacuring process. Some propolis products were also very high in lead contents. There could be risks for some population, especially the aged who overtake those health foods, to have heavy intake of lead. Therefore, we established the lead standards of 3.0, 2.0 and 5.0mg/kg less than for Ca, chitosan and propolis health foods respectively, based on the Codex method.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.34 no.6_1
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• pp.869-877
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• 2018

The area of desert in East Asia is increasing every year, and it cause a great cost of social damage. Because desert is widely distributed and it is difficult to approach people, remote sensing using satellites is commonly used. But the study of desert area comparison is insufficient which is calculated by satellite sensor. It is important to recognize the characteristics of the desert area data that are calculated for each sensor because the desert area calculated according to the selection of the sensor may be different and may affect the climate prediction and desertification prevention measures. In this study, the desert area of Northeast Asia in 2001-2013 was calculated and compared using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Vegetation. As a result of the comparison, the desert area of Vegetation increased by $3,020km^2/year$, while in the case of MODIS, it decreased by $20,911km^2/year$. We performed indirect validation because It is difficult to obtain actual data. We analyzed the correlation with the occurrence frequency of Asian dust affected by desert area change. As a result, MODIS showed a relatively low correlation with R = 0.2071 and Vegetation had a relatively high correlation with R = 0.4837. It is considered that Vegetation performed more accurate desert area calculation in Northeast Asian desert area.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.32-43
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• 2021

Multichannel automated chamber systems (MCACs) were developed for the continuous monitoring of soil CO2 efflux in forest ecosystems. The MCACs mainly consisted of four modules: eight soil chambers with lids that automatically open and close, an infrared CO2 analyzer equipped with eight multichannel gas samplers, an electronic controller with time-relay circuits, and a programmable logic datalogger. To examine the stability and reliability of the developed MCACs in the field during all seasons with a high temporal resolution, as well as the effects of temperature and soil water content on soil CO2 efflux rates, we continuously measured the soil CO2 efflux rates and micrometeorological factors at the Nam-san experimental site in a Quercus mongolica forest floor using the MCACs from January to December 2010. The diurnal and seasonal variations in soil CO2 efflux rates markedly followed the patterns of changes in temperature factors. During the entire experimental period, the soil CO2 efflux rates were strongly correlated with the temperature at a soil depth of 5 cm (r2 = 0.92) but were weakly correlated with the soil water content (r2 = 0.27). The annual sensitivity of soil CO2 efflux to temperature (Q10) in this forest ranged from 2.23 to 3.0, which was in agreement with other studies on temperate deciduous forests. The annual mean soil CO2 efflux measured by the MCACs was approximately 11.1 g CO2 m-2 day-1. These results indicate that the MCACs can be used for the continuous long-term measurements of soil CO2 efflux in the field and for simultaneously determining the impacts of micrometeorological factors.