• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.6-12
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• 2014

We reviewed literature focusing on the amounts of domestic production, distribution, and consumption of strong acids and their spill cases. In particular, we investigated the chemistry and toxicity of four strong acids classified as "accident preparedness substances," including hydrochloric, nitric, sulfuric, and hydrofluoric acid. We recommend sulfuric and hydrofluoric acid as the chemicals of priority control based on the amounts used and toxicity. An advanced prevention/response system needs to be established along with an improved human and social infrastructure to prevent and efficiently respond to chemical accidents. Understanding the behavior and transport of spilled strong acids in the soil and groundwater environments requires a multi-disciplinary approach since they go through a variety of chemical and biogeochemical reactions with complex geomedia. However, no such research has been done in this area in Korea to the best of our knowledge. We expect the results of this study to contribute as basic data to future research.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.27-37
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• 2014

Objectives: On September 27, 2012, leakage of anhydrous hydrofluoric acid occurred in a chemical plant in the Gumi National Industrial Complex. Following the accident, local factory workers and residents complained of abnormal health conditions. In addition, visual discolorations were widely observed in crops and trees in surrounding areas. The main objectives of the present study were to identify the area that was affected by the spill using data obtained from plants, soil, and water samples after the accident. Methods: Fluoride concentrations were analyzed in pine tree needles, soil, nearby streams, ponds and reservoirs collected from an area within a radius of three kilometers from the plant where the leak occurred. Fluoride concentrations in the air at the time of leakage were then estimated from fluoride concentrations that were measured in the pine tree needles. A Kriged map was developed to describe the spatial distribution of hydrofluoric acid at the time of the leakage and was compared with the area designated as a Special Disaster Zone by the government. Results: The Special Disaster Zone did not include all the affected area that was estimated by the Kriged map. Analytical results of the environmental samples also supported this discrepancy. Conclusion: Using plants, atmospheric concentrations of fluoride at the time of the leakage could be estimated. For the area that was identified as affected, further public health risk assessment and environmental risk assessment should be considered. Also, in the absence of air monitoring at the time of leakage, studies employing plants may be conducted in order to better understand the spatial extent and severity of the contamination.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.23-29
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• 2018

This study explored secondary effects of the residual hydrofluoric acid (HF) after a hypothetical acid spill accident by investigating the long-term dissolution of minerals and leaching of pre-existing arsenic (As) from two soil samples (i.e., KBS and KBM) through batch and column experiments. An increase in the HF concentration in both soil samples resulted in a dramatic increase in the release of major cations, especially Si. However, the amounts of mineral dissolved were dependent on the soil type and mineral characteristics. Compared to the KBM soil, relatively more Ca, Mg and Si were dissolved from the KBS soil. The column experiment showed that the long-term dissolution rates of the minerals are closely associated with the acid buffering capacity of the two soils. The KBM soil had relatively higher effluent pH values compared to the KBS soil. Also, more As was leached from the KBM soil, with a more amorphous hydrous oxide-bound As fraction. These results suggest that the potential of heavy metal leaching by the residual acid after an acid spill will be influenced by heavy metal speciation and mineral structure in the affected soil.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.864-872
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• 2020

In accordance with the sulfur regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) shows various production-dependent physico-chemical properties. This study aims to use as basic data for oil spill response according to study of physico-chemical characteristics of VLSFO and mixed fuel oil of VLSFO-HSFO. The mixed fuel oil was prepared by mixing 25, 50, 75 mass% of HSFO with VLSFO containing 0.46 and 0.36 mass% of sulfur. The physico-chemical properties such as the kinematic viscosity, pour point and distribution of Saturates, Aromatics, Resins, and Asphaltenes (SARA) were studied in the laboratory. As mixed of 75 mass% of HSFO with high the kinematic viscosity and low pour point in VLSFO, the kinematic viscosity of the mixed fuel oil increased to 350.2 %, and VLSFO with pour point of 23℃ and -11℃ lowered or raised to -3℃ and -6℃ respectively. As HSFO was mixed in VLSFO with a small Asphaltenes distribution, the Saturates distribution decreased to 68.8% and Asphaltenes distribution increased to 1,417 % dramatically.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.1702-1714
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• 1998

Removal of spilled oil over the sea and the river has become one of the urgent problems in these days. Removing oil using mechanical devices was recommended because chemical dispersion could cause the secondary contamination in the environment. In the present study a series of experiments were carried out to study the effect of operating conditions, especially, the angle between the belt and the fluid surface on the rate of recovery for the spilled oil using a belt skimmer. Three different types of operation, namely, upward pickup, downward pickup and up-and-downward pickup situations have been investigated for various contact angles, belt speeds and oil thicknesses to find the effects on the recovery rate. The highest rate of oil recovery was found in the case of a contact angle of $45^{\circ}$ and downward pickup. Furthermore, an optimal belt speed was found to reach the saturated recovery rate for a given oil thickness.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.52-58
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• 2016

In this study we collected various substance codes, physical and chemical properties, and hazard level of the 545 HNS which was determined earlier, and constructed the Korean HNS database including International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) codes,, informations of explosive and corrosive characteristics of HNS after reviewing of US, Japan and European Database. And also problems of present HNS Database which focused mainly on land-based environment and an absence of information for chemical and physical properties of mixed substance HNS are reported. For the efficient implementation of comprehensive HNS management system, we constructed the basic model for the HNS database in marine environment and made suggestions for improvement for the future development of HNS Database to be prepared for the marine spill accidents.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.439-450
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• 2023

The Yeongsan River, a major water resource for Jeollanam-do, that is adjacent to industrial complexes and agricultural areas, is exposed to water pollution. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the impact of water pollution incidences and prepare response systems for river environment safety for other water resources in the future. Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code (EFDC) was applied to the mainstream of the Yeongsan River where residential, commercial, and agricultural areas are located to analyze the behavior of pollutants conducting the scenario analysis. Considering the pollutants that affected the study area, two pollutants, oil and benzene, with different physical and chemical characteristics were selected for the analysis. As a result of comparing the actual and simulated values of the water elevation, temperature, and flow rate, it was confirmed that the model adequately reproduced the hydraulic characteristics of the Yeongsan River. The oil flow dynamics showed that an increase in flow rate led to reduction in the maximum height of the slick. Notably, the behavior of the oil was predominantly influenced by the wind conditions. In the case of benzene, lower flow scenarios exhibited decreased arrival times and residence times accompanied by an elevation in the maximum concentration levels. From the results of pollutant behavior in the study area, it is feasible to utilize the section of tributary confluence for collection and the weir area for dilution. This study enhances the understanding of the pollutant's behavior with different characteristics and develops effective control systems tailored to the physicochemical attributes of pollutants.

• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.70
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• pp.246-276
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• 2015

From a historical perspective of risk communication, risks can be classified by their associated level of responsibility. In the case of technical risks such as hazardous chemical accidents, people perceive that risk-related organizations have a high level of responsibility; however, they do not in traditional risks such as natural disasters. This study aims to examine risk information seeking and processing, as seen in two types of risk, based on the Risk Information Seeking and Processing(RISP) model. For this purpose, hypotheses and a research question are developed with current domestic risk issues, and the results show significant differences in risk information seeking and processing between the two types of risk. Specifically, in the case of the chemical spill accident, negative emotion against relevant institutions makes different information seeking and processing compared to the natural disaster. The low level responsibility risk such as typhoon comparatively follows the flow of the original RISP model. However, the high level responsibility risk such as the hydrofluoric acid spill did not match with the RISP model. Based on the research results, theoretical implications were discussed.

• Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
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• v.68
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• pp.416-424
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• 2018

Oil spill and oily wastewater have now become a serious threat to the freshwater and marine environments. Porous materials with super-hydrophobicity and super-oleophilicity are good candidates for the oil adsorption and oil/water separation. Here, flexible hybrid nanofibrous membrane (FHNM) containing $SiO_2$/polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) microspheres was prepared by simultaneous electrospinning and electrospraying. The obtained FHNM combined the flexibility of the nanofiber mat and super-hydrophobicity of the microspheres, which could not be achieved by either only electrospinning or only electrospraying. It was found that when the weight ratio between the $SiO_2$ and PVDF reached a critical value, the $SiO_2$ nanoparticles were present on the PVDF microsphere surface, significantly improving the surface roughness and hence the contact angle of the FHNM. Compared with the pure electrospun PVDF nanofiber mat, most of the FHNMs have a higher oil adsorption capacity. The FHNM could separate the oil with water quickly under the gravity and displayed a high efficiency and good reusability for the oil/water separation. More importantly, the FHNM could not only separate the oil with the pure water but also the corrosive solution including the salt, acid and alkali solution.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2019

This study presents a technical perspective to the fate characteristics of phenol and m-cresol, which represent some of the most common organic chemicals found in chemical spill accidents, and likely to persist in soil and groundwater due to their highly stable physicochemical properties. Some cases of domestic and foreign chemical accidents linked to phenol and m-cresol contamination were compiled. Due to their low organic carbon-water partitioning coefficient (Koc), phenol and m-cresol tend to migrate into groundwater and remained as dissolved phase. On the other hands, phenol and m-cresol can be readily decomposed by microbes in soil and groundwater under appropriate conditions. Therefore, the fate characteristics of these chemicals are highly contingent on environmental conditions. Thus, if a great quantity of leakage is occurred by chemical accidents, the up-to-date and correct information about fate characteristics taking into account both the chemical and environmental conditions is greatly needed to minimized the potential hazards from these chemicals.