• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2014

This study was carried out not only to identify the optimum concentrations of sulfur powder and citric acid treated for improving arsenic absorption of Pteris multifuda known as hyperaccumulator of arsenic, but also to develop arsenic purification model in the forest soil. After applying sulfur powder (0, 30, 45, $60g{\cdot}m^{-2}$) and citric acid (0, 200, 400, $800g{\cdot}m^{-2}$) in the forest soil contaminated with heavy metals, P. multifuda was planted and cultivated for 16 weeks. And then the growth and arsenic contents of plants were analyzed. In the result of research, the growth of P. mulifuda, except plant width, cultivated in soils treated with sulfur powder and citric acid was relatively lower than control. The accumulated amount of arsenic in aerial parts of P. multifuda ($1822.2mg{\cdot}kg^{-1}$) cultivated in soils treated with $200g{\cdot}m^{-2}$ citric acid was improved 62.5% against the control. And the accumulated amount of arsenic per 1 $m^2$ ($20.1mg{\cdot}m^{-2}$) was the greatest in $200g{\cdot}m^{-2}$ citric acid treatment. Translocation rate (TR) was higher in all acid treatment compare to control, and was the best in $200g{\cdot}m^{-2}$ citric acid treatment (0.95) especially. It showed that the arsenic absorbed in underground parts was transferred fast to aerial parts. Therefore, $200g{\cdot}m^{-2}$ citric acid treatment in the soil is recommended for arsenic purification using P. multifuda.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.221-227
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• 2013

A risk assessment of environmental media was performed for the inhabitants in the area of the abandoned Nokdong metal mine. Soil, groundwater, and crop samples were collected from September to October 2008 around the mine. After pretreatment of these samples, metal concentrations were measured, and a risk assessment was performed using the Korean soil-contamination risk assessment guidelines. Lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) intake rates were the highest for inhalation of soil dust. The cancer risks from ingestion of As-contaminated groundwater, inhalation of As-, Cd-, and Pb-contaminated soils, and contact of As-contaminated soils exceeded the acceptable risk. The sum of all carcinogenic risks was $9.29{\times}10^{-3}$. The non-carcinogenic risk was highest for ingestion of As-contaminated water (11.0), followed, in descending order, by inhalation of Hg-contaminated soil and ingestion of Pb-contaminated water. Most of the risks were associated with As, Cd, Pb, and Hg contamination, and therefore, these metals were considered to be potential toxic carcinogens and non-carcinogens for humans in this area. In this study, the non-carcinogenic risks of ingestion of contaminated water or crops, as well as those associated with the inhalation of soil dust were observed.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.15-24
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• 2008

In general, ground pollution can be classified with soil pollution and underground water pollution. And ground pollution contaminates the land with garbage dumps and other harmful waste products as heavy metals that can also eventually enter our water supply. This study was conducted to define a characteristics of the electrical resistivity and the permittivity of weathered soil that was contaminated with heavy metals as Mercury and Arsenic. It is not easy whether contamination of soil as subsurface contamination is decided or not and at an early stage especially do that. Therefore the electrical resistivity and the permittivity were used to make up for this defects. These methods are more economical and more effective than the existing methods. And variation of the electrical resistivity and the permittivity values were found against the change of concentration of Mercury and Arsenic aqueous solutions and measuring frequency. These analyzed results indicate that the electrical resistivity and the permittivity tend to decrease against increasing measuring frequency. The electrical resistivity and the permittivity are also found to show the function of frequency.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
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• 2004.12a
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• pp.51-62
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• 2004

Lime based stabilization/solidification (S/S) can be an effective remediation alternative for the immobilization of arsenic (As) in contaminated soils and sludges. However, the exact immobilization mechanism has not been well established, Based on previous research, As immobilization could be attributed to sorption and/or inclusion in pozzolanic reaction products and/or the formation of calcium-arsenic (Ca-As) precipitates. In this study, suspensions of lime-As were studied in an attempt to elucidate the controlling mechanism of As immobilization in lime treated soils. Aqueous lime-As suspensions (slurries) with varying Ca/As molar ratios (1:1, 1.5:1, 2:1, 2.5:1 and 4:1) were prepared and soluble As concentrations were determined. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses were used to establish the resulting mineralogy of crystalline precipitate formation. Depending on the redox state of the As source, different As precipitates were identified. When As (III) was used, the main precipitate formation was Ca-As-O. With As(V) as the source, Ca4(OH)2(AsO4)2${\cdot}$4H2O formed at Ca/As molar ratios greater than 1:1. A significant increase in As (III) immobilization was observed at Ca/As molar ratios greater than 1:1. Similarly, a substantial increase in As (V) immobilization was noted at Ca/As molar ratios greater than or equal to 2.5: 1. This observation was also confirmed by XRD. The effectiveness of both As (III) and As(V) immobilization in these slurries appeared to increase with increasing Ca/As molar ratios.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.269-270
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• 2005

• Proceedings of the KSEEG Conference
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• 2007.04a
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• pp.405-406
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• 2007

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• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.241-245
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• 2014

The As accumulation in part of roots, shoots, husks and grains of rice plants was significantly decreased with the increasing dosage of kaolin addition from 0.5% to 10% w/w. Kaolin addition could reduce As accumulation in rice plants, which mainly could be attributed to the formation of stable crystalline Al oxides bound As that decreased the available As in soil with decreased As accumulation in rice plants. The pH values of the soils did not change significantly when amended with kaolin. The pH values of the soils was neural that proper to adsorb of arsenic with $Al_2O_3$. Arsenic tends to adsorb with $Al_2O_3$ at acid neutral pH and with desorbing at alkaline pH. The dry weight of rice plant was significantly increased with the increasing dosage of kaolin addition from 2.5% to 10% w/w. The highest dry weight of rice plants was 6.67 g/pot achieved at kaolin addition of 10% w/w with about 13% increasing over the control, which was probably attributed to the highest As concentration formation with kaolin at this dosage. The results of this study indicated that kaolin has the potential to reduce As accumulation in rice plants and enhance the dry weight of rice plants.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.33-44
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• 2009

The objective of the study was to develop a hybrid technology integrating biological and physicochemical technologies to efficiently remediate arsenic contaminated lands such as abandoned mine area. The tailing soil samples contaminated with As at a high level were obtained from Songchon abandoned mine, and the content of arsenic and heavy metals as well as physicochemical properties and mineral composition were investigated. In addition, two sets of sequential extraction methods were applied to analyze chemical speciations of arsenic and heavy metals to expect their leachability and mobility in geoenvironment. Based on these geochemical data of arsenic and heavy metal contaminants, column-type experiments on the bioleaching of arsenic were undertaken. Subsequently, experiments on the hybrid process incorporating bioleaching and electrokinetics were accomplished and its removal efficiency of arsenic was compared with that of the individual electrokinetic process. With the results, finally, the feasibilty of the hybrid technnology was evaluated. The arsenic removal efficiencies of the individual electrokinetic process (44 days) and the hybrid process incorporating bioleaching (28 days) and electrokinetics (16 dyas) were measured 57.8% and 64.5%, respectively, when both two processes were operated in an identical condition. On the contrary, the arsenic removal efficiency during the bioleaching process (28 days) appeared relatively lower (11.8%), and the result indicates that the bioleaching process enhanced the efficacy of the electrokinetic process as a result of mobilization of arsenic rather than removed arsenic by itself. In particular, the arsenic removal rate of the electrokinetics integrated with bioleaching was observed over than 2 times larger than that obtained by the electrokinetics alone. From the results of the study, if the bioleaching which is considered a relatively economic process is applied sufficiently prior to electrokinetics, the removal efficiency and rate of arsenic can be significantly improved. Consequently, the study proves the feasibility of the hybrid process integrating both technologies.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.5-11
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• 2010

Abandoned mines release acid mine drainage and cause the contamination of soil and crops around the mine area. The objective of current study is to evaluate effect of mine on the soil and crop contamination. Soils, water, and crops were collected and analyzed, and the heavy metal data were classified into types of the soil, types of crops, and distance from the minehead. Surface soils of the mine area were highly contaminated with heavy metals, especially with zinc and lead. Tailings and cultivated paddy soils were also highly contaminated. Heavy metal concentrations upon distance from minehead decrease steadily as the distance from the minehead increase. The correlation between heavy metals was extracted from soils and the content in the rice samples showed a positive relation for arsenic and cadmium but not a meaningful relation for other metals.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Visualization
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.30-36
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• 2007

The global environment is deteriorating at an alarming rate, despite of enhanced international environmental regulation. Many studies have been performed to reduce toxic pollutants. Recently, plant-based phytoremediation technology for moving toxic contaminants from soil and water has been receiving large attention. Arsenic-contaminated soil is one of the major pollutant sources for drinking water. Pteris erotica has been known as a hyper-accumulator of arsenic from soils. In this study, we investigated the effect of arsenic absorption on sap flow inside xylem vessels of Pteris. The synchrotron X-ray micro-imaging technique was employed to monitor the refilling process of water containing arsenic inside the xylem vessels of Pteris's leaves and stems non-invasively. The captured phase-contrast X-ray images show both anatomy of internal structure and transport of water inside Pteris. The exposure of Pteris to arsenic solution was found to increase largely the water raise speed in xylem vessels. The present results would provide important information needed for understanding the mechanisms of accumulation and transportation of toxic materials in plants.