• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2002.09a
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• pp.291-295
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• 2002

We measured the concentrations of heavy metals and VOCs in groundwaters (N=38) in Seoul. The comparison of our data with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Maximum Contaminant Levels for Drinking Water and with the Korean Drinking Water Standards shows that most of the metals except for Fe and Mn do not exceed the levels. However, the concentrations of most heavy metals (esp., Zn, Cu, Cr, Ni) tend to increase in residential and industrialized areas. The examination of the metal speciation using Anodic Stripping Voltammetry (ASV) and TOC analyzer Indicates that large amounts of Zn occur as labile metal fraction, whereas Cu occurs as non- labile forms at many sites, possibly due to its tendency to be adsorbed onto inorganic colloidal particles to form electroinactive species in groundwater. The most frequently existed VOCs in Seoul groundwaters are trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene, especially in agricultural, industrial, and high traffic areas.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.83-89
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• 2015

Soil samples collected in an area of Gahak Mine were investigated for the characterization of mineralogical and physicochemical properties of contaminants in soils. It is found that soils in the study area are contaminated by lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), in which their concentrations are 595.3 mg/kg, 184.9 mg/kg, 712.8 mg/kg, and 10.64 mg/kg, respectively. All the concentrations exceed the concern criteria of Korean standard. Upon distribution patterns of metals identified by the sequential extraction procedure, our results show that more than 50% of metals are found as a residual type, and 30% are accounted for the association of Fe/Mn oxides. Interestingly, XRD results show that minium (Pb₃O₄) and cuprite (Cu₂O) are identified in the soil samples, suggesting that the sources of the contaminants for Pb and Cu are these minerals. In SEM images, tens of µm of Pb oxides and Pb silicate-minerals are observed. We, therefore, note that the contamination of metals in the study area results from the direct influx and disturbance of tailings. Our findings indicate that the characterization of physicochemical and mineralogical properties of contaminated soils is a critical factor and plays an important role in optimizing recovery treatments of soils contaminated in mine development areas.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.311-324
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• 2004

We investigated the contamination and behavior of heavy metals in stream sediments within the watershed of Juam Reservoir. Many abandoned mines within the reservoir can act as a potential contaminant source for water quality. Heavy metal concentrations (Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) in stream sediments from watershed are very low, indicating that content of heavy metals in the sediments probably do not affect the water quality in Juam Reservoir. However Pb concentration in the stream sediments increases downward streams, suggesting the possible diffusion of Pb contamination. According to the leaching ratio for stream sediments at a strong acidic condition in the abandoned mine areas, the relative mobility for metals decreases in the order of Pb＞Zn=Cu＞Ni＞Cr, indicating that Pb can have a bad effect upon the water quality in Jum Reservoir. Moreover, if contaminated sediment is placed in the bottom of reservoir (i.e., reducing condition), the relative mobility of Pb is the highest, indicating that Pb in the bottom sediments can be leached to water at interface between water and sediment with changing in physicochemical conditions.