• Journal of Environmental Policy
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.93-111
• /
• 2005

Defining soil quality in scopes and applications is one of the prerequisite for the sustainable management of soil environment to orient researches, strategies and policies. However, definition of soil quality is controversial depending upon a viewpoint of soil science or soil environment. Soil quality can be, irrespective of the disciplines, defined as the capacity of a soil to function within ecosystem boundaries to sustain biological productivity, maintain environmental quality and promote plant and animal health. Common to all of the soil quality concepts can be summarized as the capacity of soil to function effectively at present and in the future. The OECD includes soil quality as one of the agri-environment indicators. This article intends to i) summarize the current soil quality research, and ii) provide information on protocol of soil quality assessment. A framework for soil quality was divided into three steps: indicator selection as minimum data set (MDS), scoring of the selected indicators, and integration of scores into soil quality index. Korean government suggested possible physical and chemical indicators such as bulk density and organic matter for paddy and upland soils to OECD. The framework of soil quality assessment is not yet implemented in Korea. Countries such as USA, Canada and New Zealand have constructed the framework on soil quality assessment and developed a user-friendly version of soil quality assessment tools to evaluate the integrated effects of various soil management practices. The protocol provided in this review might help policymakers, scientists, and administrators improve awareness about soil quality and understand the way of soil environment management.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.38 no.4
• /
• pp.254-261
• /
• 2019

BACKGROUND: Agricultural water is known to be one of the major routes in bacterial contamination of fresh vegetable. However, there is a lack of fundamental data on the microbial safety of agricultural water in Korea. METHODS AND RESULTS: We investigated the density of indicator bacteria in the surface water samples from 31 sites collected in April, July, and October 2018, while the groundwater samples were collected from 20 sites within Jeollabuk-do in April and July 2018. In surface water, the mean density of coliform, fecal coliform, and Escherichia coli was 2.7±0.55, 1.9±0.71, and 1.4±0.58 log CFU/100 mL, respectively, showing the highest bacterial density in July. For groundwater, the mean density of coliform, fecal coliform, and E. coli was 1.9±0.58, 1.4±0.37, and 1.0±0.33 log CFU/ 100mL, respectively, showing no significant difference between sampling time. The survival of E. coli O157:H7 were prolonged in water with higher organic matter contents such as total nitrogen (TN), and nitrate-nitrogen (NO₃-N). The reduction rates of E. coli O157:H7 in the water showed greater in order of 25, 35, 5, and 15℃. CONCLUSION: These results can be utilized as fundamental data for prediction the microbiological contamination of agricultural water and the development of microbial prevention technology.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.322-326
• /
• 2014

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, USA) recently it was reported that the children (< 5 year-old children) were more susceptible to Foodborne-illness. Confectionery products should be strictly controlled because they are children-preferred foods. Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS, South of Korea) tried to monitor contamination of organisms in confectionery products (such as biscuits, candies, chewing gums and ice candies) distributed in South Korea. MFDS evaluated the levels of indicator organisms: total aerobic bacteria, coliforms, Escherichia coli as well as the levels of food-borne illness organisms: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens. Experimental plans for microbiological test were in accordance with the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Food (ICMSF). For this study, 1,005 samples were collected and from Seoul and Gyeongin region, South Korea. The average level of total aerobic bacteria in 1,005 samples was 1.7 log Colony Forming Unit(CFU)/g and the detection rate was 26.8%. The average level of Bacillus cereus was detected in 1.7 log CFU/g and the rate was 0.9%. There was no detection of coliforms, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium perfringens. The results of this study will be provided as the basic data to set the reasonable microbiological criteria of Korea Food Code.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
• /
• 2016.05a
• /
• pp.328-328
• /
• 2016

우리나라는 생활용수의 대부분을 지표수에 의존하고 있는 실정이다. 그러나 지표수는 가뭄과 같은 기상변화, 수질사고 등으로 물 공급의 안정성에 문제가 되기도 한다. 향후 기후변화는 가뭄의 빈도와 강도를 증대시킬 것으로 파악되므로 수질 및 수량의 문제를 더욱 악화시킬 것으로 예상된다. 이러한 문제점을 해결하기 위해 지표수를 대수층 내에 인공적으로 함양한 뒤 대수층의 자연정화 기능에 의해 여과된 양질의 청정원수를 생산하는 기술을 본 연구에서 현장에 실증 적용하는 시설을 구축하였다. 이러한 기술은 기존의 지하 대수층을 이용하는 강변여과 등이 갖는 장점을 취하고 단점을 보완하였으며 친환경적이며 지속가능한 용수공급뿐만 아니라 청정 원수 확보를 통해 정수처리비용을 절감, 장기간의 가뭄이나 지표수 수질사고 시에 비상용수 공급 등 기존 취수원들과 달리 많은 장점을 갖고 있는 대규모 청정지하저수지 시험시설이다. 청정 지하저수지 기술이 주로 적용되는 지역은 해안지역 또는 하구 델타지역을 대상으로 한다. 해안 또는 델타지역은 해수침투로 인하여 염지하수가 부존되어 있기 때문에 지하수자원 활용에 매우 제한적이다. 따라서 지표수(담수)를 전처리하여 대수층에 인공적으로 함양을 하여 염지하수 대수층 안에 담지하수(담수체)를 형성할 수 있다. 이는 염수와 담수의 밀도차에 의해 희석되지 않는 특성을 이용한 기술이다. 청정 지하저수지 시험시설은 크게 지표수 취수시설, 전처리시설, 주입정, 양수정, 운영시스템으로 나눌 수 있다. 주입정 및 양수정은 원형의 형태로 지하저수지 조성범위 중심부에 9개의 주입정과 외각에 8개의 양수정을 설치하였다. 시험시설의 운영 과정은 하천수를 취수하여 전처리시설에서 탁도를 제거한 후, 피압대수층 염지하수에 동력으로 주입을 한다. 이때 기존에 부존되어 있던 염지하수를 밀어내고 담수체 지하수 형성을 유도한다. 일정기간 주입을 통해 목표 담수체를 만들어 내면 양수정에서 담수를 취수하되, 대수층의 모래자갈층을 일정거리 이동하여 취수하는 방식이다. 즉, 하천수를 대수층에 함양하고, 일정거리를 이동하여 취수하는 ASTR 방식의 대체수자원 확보 기술이다. 시험시설은 통합운영센터를 통해 원격감시 및 각종 제어/계측을 실시하며, 모니터링된 자료는 운영시스템에서 관리한다. 본 연구시설에서는 대수층 주입, 관정폐색, 미생물/지화학 수질반응, 지하수모니터링, 지반변형 등이 주요 핵심 연구를 진행하고 있도록 시설을 구성하였다. 본 시험시설은 2015년 8월 착공하여 2016년 4월에 완공 예정이며, 2016년 3월부터 주입을 시작하여 6개월간 피압대수층에 주입을 실시하고 이후부터 주입과 양수를 병행할 계획이다.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.23-34
• /
• 2024

Sediment, aquifer materials, surface water, and groundwater from brackish Songji lake affected by salinity of seawater, were collected and a pilot scale column experiment was conducted to simulate the nitrogen transport through the hyporheic zone. Upstream experiments of groundwater displayed that groundwater containing a small amount of salt percolated into aquifers and sediments, maintaining low dissolved oxygen concentrations. In addition, partial denitrification occurred in the aquifer due to salinity and low dissolved oxygen, resulting in the accumulation of NO₂^-. In sediments,nitrogenous compounds were reduced due to adsorption by long residence times or microbial-mediated oxidation/reduction reactions. Downstream experiments of surface water displayed that surface water from the brackish lake, containing high concentrations of dissolved oxygen and salts, infiltrated into the sediments and aquifer, supplying high dissolved oxygen concentrations. This resulted in biological nitrification in the sediments and aquifer, which reduced nitrogen-based pollutants despite the high salt concentration in the surface water. Whereas partial denitrification at low dissolved oxygen concentrations in the upwelling mixing zone was observed by salinity and accumulated NO₂^-, nitrification at high dissolved oxygen concentrations in the downwelling mixing zone was not significantly affected by salinity. These results confirm that salinity in the brackish water lake has some influence on the nitrogen behavior of the hyporheic mixing zone, although nitrogen behavior is a complex combination of factors such as DO, pH, substrate concentration, and organic matter concentration.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.55-60
• /
• 2002

In order to investigate the microbiological contamination of spring water, we performed the standard plate count, coliform and psychrotrophilic bacteria in 109 spring waters in Seoul. Of 109 spring waters, geometirc mean standard plate count was 0.19 CFU/ml, and the highest in Mt. Boolam, 4..43 CFU/ml and Mt. Dobong, 3.86 CFU/ml, but not detected in Mt. Woomyun and Mt. Cheonggye. Four spring waters have shown over 100 CFU/ml in standard plate count. The geometric mean psychrotrophilic bacteria was 49.2 CFU/ml, the most prevalent spring water was Mt. Nam, 125 CFU/ml, the lowest Mt. Woomyeun. Among a total of 109, coliform was detected from 21 spring waters(19.3%) and the geometric mean of coliform was 0.005 MPN/100ml. The isolated genera of coliform were 7 isolates of E. coli(33%), 5 Klebsiella(24%), 4 Enterobacter(19%), 3 Citrobacter(14%) and 2 Serratia(10%), respectively. The 22 spring waters(20.2%) failed to meet the standard limits of drinking water based on regulation in Korea. The inappropriate rate of standard plate count in spring water was 4.5%, that of coliform was 81.1% and both of them was 13.6%. There was the significant correlation between standard plate count and psychrotrophilic bacteria in spring water(r=0.95, p<0.01).

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.49 no.4
• /
• pp.424-428
• /
• 2013

To identify risk factors for Legionella contamination, water quality variables routinely measured in examination of natural and city waters were meta-analyzed for significance of correlation to Legionella incidences. For evaluation of abundance of Escherichia coli as a risk factor, which is currently used as an indicator of Legionella contamination in an official guideline in Korea, odds ratio (OR) of above-cutoff total coliform counts for Legionella presence/absence was used as the effect size in the meta-analysis. The OR was estimated as 1.05 (0.36-3.12, 95% CI), and the probability of having identical odds reached 0.92. Also, ORs from individual studies showed significant heterogeneity (P=0.008), which contributed to 63% of total variance of the ORs. In the case of heterotrophic plate count (HPC), the OR for Legionella presence/absence was 2.72 (2.04-3.63) with highly significant deviation from identical odds (P<0.0001). ORs from different studies were seemingly homogeneous ($Q_{df=8}$=12.7, P=0.12). Turbidity and concentrations of chlorine, iron ion and cupper ion were other routine variables that could be considered as risk factors. However, statistical measures from different studies were not uniform enough to develop an appropriate effect size while the number of studies reporting the variables was also small (3-5). In conclusion, HPC appeared to be appropriate as indicator of Legionella contamination, rather than fecal bacteria contamination. HPC may imply abundance of habitats (amoebas and biofilms) of Legionella in water. This result warrants further studies for standardizing protocols and cutoff values to infer Legionella risks from HPC.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.27-35
• /
• 2003

No currently available methods to monitor pathogenic protozoa, Cryptosporidium and Giardia in environmental water come close to acceptable sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility, and so it has to be accompanied by thorough quality control and performance evaluation to credibly predict the distribution of them. We collected surface water samples from the Han River and spiked our prepared (oo)cysts, determined Matrix Spike recoveries using USEPA Method 1623 and considered what factors influence MS recovery and validity. As a result, average 46% of spiked oocysts and 60% of spike cysts were recovered, but repetitive sampling and statistical approach seemed to be necessary to determine the environmental pollution level of two protozoa as their variation coefficients was so much as 35oio and 26%. And MS recoveries with two acid dissociations during immunomagnetic separation were improved more 10% than that with one dissociations and the use of spiked suspension enumerated by flow cytometry instead of manual preparation enhanced the validity and reliability in spiking tests. Because fluorescence characteristics of (oo)cysts stained on well slides with FITC-labeled monoclonal antibodies and DAPI was not always same, well Elides from spiked field samples were helpful to evaluate the performance of staining. We found many (oo)cyst-like objects with typical fluorescence, not (co)cysts, from the Han River water samples, and then it was concluded that nuclei staining by DAPI (4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) and examination by Differential Interference Contrast Microscope should be critical for valid identification.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.45 no.3
• /
• pp.325-332
• /
• 2013

We aimed to determine the quality indicators for quality prediction of frozen green pumpkin in distribution. Freshly harvested green pumpkin slices were blanched under optimal conditions (confirmed in a preliminary experiment), quick-frozen at $-40^{\circ}C$ for 24 h, and stored at 0, -5, -15, and $-25^{\circ}C$. The correlation between each quality characteristic and the sensory preference rate was analyzed. There was a significant correlation between storage temperature-related drip rate and preference rate across all temperatures, except at$-25^{\circ}C$. Hunter values, a and b, showed relatively high correlation coefficient values at -5, -15, and $-25^{\circ}C$. Therefore, a change in the Hunter values should be considered when storing green pumpkin, because of their significant correlation with changes in the sensory preference and drip rates. Furthermore, they should be applied as quality indicators for the quality prediction of frozen green pumpkin in distribution.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.307-314
• /
• 2015

The study was carried out to investigate the effects of by-products of herbal medicines on performance, enteric microflora and blood biochemical profiles and immunological parameters in broiler chicks. A total of ninety-six, 3-d-old birds were assigned to a basal diet (CON) or a basal diet supplemented with 0.15 % (HM1), 0.3% (HM2) or 0.5% (HM3) by-products of herbal medicines. There was a significantly (p<0.05) improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) in birds fed diet supplemented with 0.15% by-products of herbal medicines (HM1) compared with the control birds during starter period (3~21 days). However, no difference in body weight, feed intake, total gain and FCR among treatment groups was observed during the entire feeding period (3~35 days). The colony forming units (CFU) of E. coli and Lactobacilli in the digesta of ileo-cecum was not also affected by dietary treatment. Serum AST (aspartate aminotransferase) and glucose decreased (p<0.05) in birds fed diets supplemented with herbal medicines compared with those fed the basal diet. In particular, the birds fed diets supplemented with herbal medicines showed a significant (p<0.05) increase in blood mean corpuscular volume (MCV) level compared with the control birds. However, the most of blood biochemical and hematological parameters and immunoglobulins (IgG and IgA) were not affected by the dietary treatment. In conclusion, the low level of dietary herbal medicines showed beneficial effects on FCR during starter period and liver functions, suggesting that by-products of herbal medicines may be applicable as functional feed additives in birds.