• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.53-58
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• 2024

Due to the development of industry and improvement of living standards, the amount of natural gas used in the world is constantly increasing, and related industrial facilities such as power plants, storage facilities, and supply pipelines are constantly increasing. Natural gas is a convenient and clean fuel that does not pollute the environment, but in the event of an accident due to leakage, it can cause human casualties, large-scale property damage, and negative effects on the global warming effect. In addition to the severe penalties under the Severe Disaster Punishment Act, it is necessary to ensure safety. Therefore, by applying the principle of laser-based absorption spectroscopy, we developed a long-range portable methane leakage gas detection system that can detect the concentration of methane leaking from a distance of up to 30 meters and verified its effectiveness.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.35
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• pp.10.1-10.10
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• 2023

The purpose of this paper was to review the problems relating to Korea's occupational health services and suggest ways to improve them. Korea can be classified as a welfare state type of conservative corporatism partially interwoven with liberalism. While experiencing compressed economic growth, the economic sectors of developed (excess areas) and developing (deficient areas) countries are interwoven. Therefore, it is necessary to perfect conservative corporatism along with a complementary reinforcement of liberal contents and to apply a multilayered approach focusing on complementing the deficient areas. It is essential to form a national representative indicator related to occupational health, and a strategy for selection and concentration is needed. The proposed central indicator is the occupational health coverage rate (OHCR), which is the number of workers who have applied for mandatory occupational health services under the Occupational Safety and Health Act in the numerator with the total working population in the denominator. This paper proposes ways to raise the OHCR, which is currently at the level of 25%-40%, to 70%-80%, which is the level of Japan, Germany, and France. To achieve this target, it is necessary to focus on small businesses and vulnerable workers. This is an area of market failure and requires the active input of community-oriented public resources. For access to larger workplaces, the marketability of services should be strengthened and personal intervention using digital health resources should be actively attempted. Taking a national perspective, work environment improvement committees with tripartite (labor, management, and government) participation for improvement of the working environment need to be established at the center and in the regions. Through this, prevention funds linked to industrial accident compensation and prevention could be used efficiently. A national chemical substance management system must be established to monitor the health of workers and the general public.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.31-39
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• 2016

Background: It is necessary to consider the overall countermeasure for analysis of nuclear activities according to the increase of the nuclear facilities like nuclear power and reprocessing plants in the neighboring countries including China, Taiwan, North Korea, Japan and South Korea. South Korea and comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty organization (CTBTO) are now operating the monitoring instruments to detect radionuclides released into the air. It is important to estimate the origin of radionuclides measured using the detection technology as well as the monitoring analysis in aspects of investigation and security of the nuclear activities in neighboring countries. Materials and methods: A three-dimensional forward/backward trajectory model has been developed to estimate the origin of radionuclides for a covert nuclear activity. The developed trajectory model was composed of forward and backward modules to track the particle positions using finite difference method. Results and discussion: A three-dimensional trajectory model was validated using the measured data at Chernobyl accident. The calculated results showed a good agreement by using the high concentration measurements and the locations where was near a release point. The three-dimensional trajectory model had some uncertainty according to the release time, release height and time interval of the trajectory at each release points. An atmospheric dispersion model called long-range accident dose assessment system (LADAS), based on the fields of regards (FOR) technique, was applied to reduce the uncertainties of the trajectory model and to improve the detective technology for estimating the radioisotopes emission area. Conclusion: The detective technology developed in this study can evaluate in release area and origin for covert nuclear activities based on measured radioisotopes at monitoring stations, and it might play critical tool to improve the ability of the nuclear safety field.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.90-103
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• 2012

Mallipo is a representative beach contaminated by Hebei Spirit oil spill accident in December 2007. This study aims to compare the differences of two seasons (winter and summer) for the spatio-temporal variation patterns of oiling status in the whole area and divided five regions of Mallipo beach. In the whole area, the decreasing rate of average TPH (total petroleum hydrocarbon) in winter was twice greater than summer during four years. According to the spatial variation pattern analysis of oiling status using weighted mean center and weighted standard distance, the oil concentration was clustered on southwestern region in winter, however, the TPH was dispersed in the whole area in summer. Temporal variation pattern of TPH in each of Mallipo's five regions showed that TPH had been consistently decreased in winter, but oil concentration had not been changed in summer since 2009 except the southwestern region. Therefore, in order to evaluate and predict the progress of oiling status, it is needed to analyze the spatio-temporal variation pattern of TPH using spatial analysis after separating data into seasons (e.g., winter and summer). In addition, time series analysis is useful in the regional scales through spatial partitioning rather than the whole beach area for the understanding of temporal variation pattern.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.32-38
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to assess quantitatively the amount of leaks and the extent of dispersion in case of a leak at a hydrogen fluoride tank container unloading station, and to suggest a safety improvement plan to prevent recurrence of similar accidents. In 2012, Company H leaks 8 tonnes of tank containers with a maximum storage capacity of 18 Ton, causing it to become a social issue. As a result of calculation using Gaussian plume model, the concentration was estimated to be more than 20ppm from the leak point to 1,321 m radius. The leakage of hydrogen fluoride from the company R in 2014 was estimated to be 11.02 kg, of which 2.9 kg was treated by the scrubber. As a result of calculation using Gaussian plum model, the damage range with a concentration of 20ppm or more from the leak source was estimated to be 69 m in radius. As a result of comparing the above two accidents, it was found that the leakage amount was about 987 times different and the damaged site was more than 19 times different. Therefore, it was concluded that it was necessary to control the wearing of the protective equipment, the enclosure of the unloading site, the installation of the scrubber, and the emergency training to avoid the accidental leakage of a hydrogen fluoride from the unloading site.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.79-83
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• 2015

The fire accident is a representative type of disaster that can largely impact on business. Therefore, precautionary measures and rapid initial response is very important when a disaster occurs. The storage of porous combustibles is inevitable in coal yard, plywood processing industry, and others that are currently operating. Initial fire fighting of fire and identifying the ignition point in such a porous combustible storage space are so difficult that if the initial response is failed, being led to deep-seated fire, surface fire is likely to result in secondary damage. In addition, deep-seated fire can cause personal injuries and property damage due to a large amount of toxic gases and reignition. Therefore damage reduction measures is required around the storage space to handle a porous flammable. Improving the penetration performance of the concentration of the surfactant is carried out as underlying study, which is about an deep-seated fire extinguishing efficiency augmentation when using wetting agents. The porous materials used in the experiments is radiata pine wood flour, which occupies more than 75% of the domestic wood market. Fire fighting water is selected as Butyl Di Glycol (BDG), which is being used for infiltration extinguishing agent, and the experiment was carried out by producing a standard solution. The experiment was carried out on the basis of the Deep-Seated Fire Test of NFPA 18. The amount of watering, porous material to the internal amount of penetration, and runoff measurement out of the porous material was conducted. According to experimental results, as the surface tension is reduced, the surfactant concentration macroscopic penetration rate decreases, but infiltration to a porous material is shown to have growth characteristics.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.23-36
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• 2019

In this paper, field measurement of the Block Type Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) wall curved section was performed, and the reinforced area of the curved part is studied through the result. MSE method has been applied to various fields because of easy construction and excellent economic efficiency, so that it can be easily access in our life. However due to lack of compaction and stress concentration phenomenon, cracks and collapse occur in the curve of MSE wall, which is important for safety. The cause of collapse is lack of research on curved section, lack of design criteria, lack of construction due to economical efficiency and shortening of construction period, insufficient compaction space. In this study, therefore, it was examined the existing design and construction standards, analyzed the cause through accident examples of the curved section of the Block Type MSE wall. As a result, the horizontal displacement of the curved section was 90% higher than that of the straight section and 60% higher than that of the concave section. In the case of the convex section in the curved section reinforcement region, the maximum displacement is shown in the H/2 section in the horizontal direction from the center of the MSE wall, and the range of influence from H is shown. In the case of the concave section, the maximum displacement is shown in the center, The minimum displacement was confirmed in H/4 section in the horizontal direction from the center of the MSE wall. As a basic study on the reinforcement area rehabilitation through the actual construction of block type MSE wall, the behaviors of the straight part and the curved part were compared and analyzed. And analyzed the reinforced area in order to reduce the damage of the stress concentration phenomenon and secure the safety.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.87-97
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• 2018

The cesium (Cs) removal from the contaminated water system has been considered to be difficult because the cesium likes to exist as soluble phases such as ion and complexes than the solid in water system. Many researches have focused on developing the breakthrough adsorbent to increase the cesium removal efficiency in water. In this study, the laboratory scale experiments were performed to investigate the feasibility of the adsorption process using the bamboo charcoal for the Cs contaminated water system. The Cs removal efficiency of the bamboo charcoal were measured and the optimal adsorption conditions were determined by the adsorption batch experiments. Total 5 types of commercialized bamboo charcoals in Korea were used to identify their surface properties from SEM-EDS and XRD analyses and 3 types of bamboo charcoals having large specific surface areas were used for the adsorption batch experiment. The batch experiments to calculate the Cs removal efficiency were performed at conditions of various Cs concentration (0.01 - 10 mg/L), pH (3 - 11), temperature ($5-30^{\circ}C$), and adsorption time (10 - 120 min.). Experimental results were fitted to the Langmuir adsorption isotherm curve and their adsorption constants were determined to understand the adsorption properties of bamboo charcoal for Cs contaminated water system. From results of SEM-EDS analyses, the surfaces of bamboo charcoal particles were composed of typical fiber structures having various pores and dense lamella structures in supporting major adsorption spaces for Cs. From results of adsorption batch experiments, the Cs-133 removal efficiency of C type bamboo charcoal was the highest among those of 3 bamboo charcoal types and it was higher than 75 % (maximum of 82 %) even when the initial Cs concentration in water was lower than 1.0 mg/L, suggesting that the adsorption process using the bamboo charcoal has a great potential to remove Cs from the genuine Cs contaminated water, of which Cs concentration is low (< 1.0 mg/L) in general. The high Cs removal efficiency of bamboo charcoal was maintained in a relatively wide range of temperatures and pHs, supporting that the usage of the bamboo charcoal is feasible for various types of water. Experimental results were similar to the Langmuir adsorption model and the maximum amount of Cs adsorption (qm:mg/g) was 63.4 mg/g, which was higher than those of commercialized adsorbents used in previous studies. The surface coverage (${\theta}$) of bamboo charcoal was also maintained in low when the Cs concentration in water was < 1.0 mg/L, investigating that the Cs contaminated water can be remediated up with a small amount of bamboo charcoal.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.55 no.8
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• pp.623-634
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• 2022

Due to river maintenance projects such as the creation of hydrophilic areas around rivers and the Four Rivers Project, the flow characteristics of rivers are continuously changing, and the risk of water quality accidents due to the inflow of various pollutants is increasing. In the event of a water quality accident, it is necessary to minimize the effect on the downstream side by predicting the concentration and arrival time of pollutants in consideration of the flow characteristics of the river. In order to track the behavior of these pollutants, it is necessary to calculate the diffusion coefficient and dispersion coefficient for each section of the river. Among them, the dispersion coefficient is used to analyze the diffusion range of soluble pollutants. Existing experimental research cases for tracking the behavior of pollutants require a lot of manpower and cost, and it is difficult to obtain spatially high-resolution data due to limited equipment operation. Recently, research on tracking contaminants using RGB drones has been conducted, but RGB images also have a limitation in that spectral information is limitedly collected. In this study, to supplement the limitations of existing studies, a hyperspectral sensor was mounted on a remote sensing platform using a drone to collect temporally and spatially higher-resolution data than conventional contact measurement. Using the collected spatio-temporal hyperspectral images, the tracer concentration was calculated and the transverse dispersion coefficient was derived. It is expected that by overcoming the limitations of the drone platform through future research and upgrading the dispersion coefficient calculation technology, it will be possible to detect various pollutants leaking into the water system, and to detect changes in various water quality items and river factors.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.45-52
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• 2015

We obtained the following results from investigation on vegetation damage from 5 to 6 August, 2013, about one year after an accident that hydrofluoric acid leaked from a chemical maker, Hube Globe in Gumi. Pinus densiflora and Pinus strobus showed very severe damage. Ginko biloba, Quercus acutissima, Pinus rigida, Salix glandulosa, Hibiscus syriacus, and Lagerstroemia indica showed severe damage. Quercus variabilis, Lespedeza cyrtobotrya, and Miscanthus sinensis showed moderate damage. Quercus aliena, Smilax china, Arundidinella hirta, Ailanthus altissima, Robinia pseudoacacia, and Paulowinia coreana showed slight damage. We did not find any plants without leaf damage around there. This result means that fluoride damage still persists in this area as was known that fluoride remains for a long time in air, soil and water and exerts negative effects at all levels of an ecosystem. In addition, fluoride content contained in plant leaf depended on the distance from a fertilizer producing factory and vegetation damage tended to proportionate to the concentration in the Yeocheon industrial complex. In these respects, a measure for removal or detoxification of the remaining fluoride is urgently required around the hydrofluoric acid leak spot. Fertilizing of dolomite containing Ca and Mg, which can trap fluoride, was prepared as one of the restoration plans. In addition, phosphate fertilizing was added in order to enhance soil ameliorating effects. Furthermore, we recommend the introduction of tolerant plants as the second measure to mitigate fluoride damage. As the tolerant plants to make a new forest by replacing trees died due to hydrofluoric acid gas damage, we recommended Q. aliena and S. china, A. hirta, etc. were recommended as plant species to add mantle vegetation to the forest margin to ensure stable interior environment of the forest.