• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.234-236
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• 2013

Some of radioactive contamination is unavoidable in the facilities using the unsealed radioactive material. The primary purpose of radioactive contamination control in the workplace with contamination concern is the effects from the potential intake of radioactive material into the body. This paper provides procedures to estimate the level of internal exposure for the worker based on the conservative assumptions and simple calculations. They consist of two processes; to calculate air concentration of radioactive material and annual intake by inhalation with contaminated air and to compare each of them to Derived Air Concentration and Annual Limit on Intake mentioned in the related notification. The procedures are applicable to make a decision on practical requirements for monitoring air contamination and internal exposure of worker as follows; needs for measurement of air contamination and internal exposure and acquisition of information on the design of the ventilation system.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.641-645
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• 2015

Fascioliasis, a food-borne trematode zoonosis, is a disease primarily in cattle and sheep and occasionally in humans. Water dropwort (Oenanthe javanica), an aquatic perennial herb, is a common second intermediate host of Fasciola, and the fresh stems and leaves are widely used as a seasoning in the Korean diet. However, no information regarding Fasciola species contamination in water dropwort is available. Here, we collected 500 samples of water dropwort in 3 areas in Korea during February and March 2015, and the water dropwort contamination of Fasciola species was monitored by DNA sequencing analysis of the Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica specific mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) and nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS-2). Among the 500 samples assessed, the presence of F. hepatica cox1 and 1TS-2 markers were detected in 2 samples, and F. hepatica contamination was confirmed by sequencing analysis. The nucleotide sequences of cox1 PCR products from the 2 F. hepatica-contaminated samples were 96.5% identical to the F. hepatica cox1 sequences in GenBank, whereas F. gigantica cox1 sequences were 46.8% similar with the sequence detected from the cox1 positive samples. However, F. gigantica cox1 and ITS-2 markers were not detected by PCR in the 500 samples of water dropwort. Collectively, in this survey of the water dropwort contamination with Fasciola species, very low prevalence of F. hepatica contamination was detected in the samples.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.128-133
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• 2013

Objectives: This study was performed to evaluate the effect of blood contamination on the compressive strength (CS) of Root MTA (RMTA) modified with Calcium chloride ($CaCl_2$) and Disodium hydrogen phosphate ($Na_2HPO_4$) as setting accelerators over time. Materials and Methods: A total of 110 cylindrical specimens of RMTA were divided into 6 experimental groups as follows: Group1, RMTA; Group 2, RMTA modified with $CaCl_2$ (RMTA-C); Group 3, RMTA modified with $Na_2HPO_4$ (RMTA-N); Group 4, RMTA contaminated with blood; Group 5, RMTA-C contaminated with blood; Group 6, RMTA-N contaminated with blood. The CS of specimens in all groups was evaluated after 3 hr, 24 hr, and 1 wk. In the modified groups (groups 2, 3, 5, and 6) the CS of five specimens per group was also evaluated after 1 hr. Results: Blood contamination significantly reduced the CS of all materials at all time intervals (p < 0.05). After 3 hr, the CS of specimens in the RMTA groups (with and without blood contamination) was significantly lower than those in the RMTA-C and RMTA-N groups (p < 0.05). The CS values were not significantly different at the other time intervals. In all groups, the CS of specimens significantly increased over time (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Blood contamination decreased the CS of both original and accelerated RMTA.

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.31-35
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• 2019

Andong-dam was built up in 1967 and it is one of the biggest dams in Korea. Previous studies showed that the sediments are highly contaminated with heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, and lead. Many research projects are going on to find out the source of the contamination, to evaluate the toxicities to ecosystem, to estimate the volume of sediment to be treated and to find out a good remediation method. Reports show that the sediment is highly contaminated and the main contamination source is supposed to be abandoned mines and a zinc refinery located upper stream of the river. A magnetic separation has been tested as a treatment method for the dredged sediment. Lab scale test showed that the magnetically captured portion is about 10% in weight but the contamination of heavy metal is much higher than the contamination of the passed portion. This indicates that a magnetic separation could be applied for the purpose of reduction of sediment to be treated and for increasing the volume of low toxic sediments which can be dumped as general waste. A magnetic separation using a HGMS has been tested for the sediment with variable magnetic field and the results showed the higher magnetic field increase the captured portion but the concentrating effect of heavy metal was weakened. Further study is needed to establish a useful technology and optimization between decontamination and reduction of sediment volume.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.702-709
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to evaluate microbiological contamination of knives and cutting boards in child-care centers. Materials used in this study were swabbed of cutting boards and knives (blade, handle of knife, and joint of handle and blade) in 129 child-care centers. Mean values of total aerobic bacteria of swabs of knives and cutting boards were 1.7±0.7 log cfu/100 ㎠ and 1.7±0.9 log cfu/100 ㎠, respectively. Contamination levels of coliform bacteria from knives and cutting boards were 1.5±0.6 log cfu/100 ㎠ and 1.7±0.8 log cfu/100 ㎠, respectively. Comparing microbiological contamination levels of knives and cutting boards according to type and size of child-care centers, there was no significant difference. Bacillus cereus was detected in knife handles and cutting boards. Diarrhea-type toxin gene (entFM) was detected in B. cereus isolates. Antibiotic resistance tests showed that B. cereus was resistant to β-lactam antibiotics. To reduce microbiological contamination levels of knives and cutting boards in child-care centers and prevent food poisoning from bacteria contamination, continuous education by children's food-service management center is needed for sterilization and disinfection of knives and cutting boards.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.8-19
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• 2021

In this study, the evaluation standard for nitrate nitrogen contamination degree (WELCUP) was established using six factors that influence the groundwater quality in Jeju Island. To do this, weightings, ranges, and ratings were assigned for each factor and the relative possibility of nitrate nitrogen contamination degree was evaluated using WELCUP index for each well. As a result of calculating the WELCUP index using groundwater quality data of 5,112 wells in Jeju Island for 27 years (1993-2019), all 61 wells with the WELCUP index value higher than 100 are distributed in Daejung and Hangyung watershed with relatively large area of farmland in Jeju Island. In particular, as the ratio of private wells is more than 64%, it is necessary that systematic management is needed for private wells in terms of nitrate nitrogen contamination. Consequently, based on the results of applying the WELCUP evaluation standard, it is necessary to select the prioritization of nitrate nitrogen contamination pathways project for groundwater wells in Jeju Island.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1709-1715
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• 2021

Outbreaks of food poisoning due to the consumption of norovirus-contaminated shellfish continue to occur. Male-specific (F+) coliphage has been suggested as an indicator of viral species due to the association with animal and human wastes. Here, we compared two methods, the double agar overlay and the quantitative real-time PCR (RT-PCR)-based method, for evaluating the applicability of F+ coliphage-based detection technique in microbial contamination tracking of shellfish samples. The RT-PCR-based method showed 1.6-39 times higher coliphage PFU values from spiked shellfish samples, in relation to the double agar overlay method. These differences indicated that the RT-PCR-based technique can detect both intact viruses and non-particle-protected viral DNA/RNA, suggesting that the RT-PCR based method could be a more efficient tool for tracking microbial contamination in shellfish. However, the virome information on F+ coliphage-contaminated oyster samples revealed that the high specificity of the RT-PCR- based method has a limitation in microbial contamination tracking due to the genomic diversity of F+ coliphages. Further research on the development of appropriate primer sets for microbial contamination tracking is therefore necessary. This study provides preliminary insight that should be examined in the search for suitable microbial contamination tracking methods to control the sanitation of shellfish and related seawater.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.45-54
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• 2006

Resistivity cone penetrometer test (RCPT) can be employed at a relatively low cost for in-situ delineation of subsurface contamination. While the resistivity measurement has a potential to investigate the subsurface contamination, resistivity measurements alone will lead to some degree of ambiguity in the results. In this study, capacitance measurement was incorporated into the RCPT to overcome the ambiguity inherent in electrical resistivity measurements. This study is focused on verifying the applicability of resistivity and capacitance measurements of CPT module to provide information on subsurface contaminated by heavy metal and petroleum hydrocarbon. Laboratory model tests were performed to evaluate the sensitivity of the measured resistivity and relative capacitance on the water content and different types of contaminants. Test results show that simultaneous measurement of electrical resistivity and capacitance can give more reliable information on subsurface contamination. Electrical measurements of the CPT module showed high applicability to be used in detecting saturated soils contaminated by heavy metal and diesel plume floating above the groundwater table.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.15-25
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• 2008

Contamination level assessment of harbor dredged materials is carried out for beneficial use, which generated annually due to port construction and maintenance of harbor channel. The basic purpose of environmental risk assessment was a scientific approach to susceptibility of hazard risk to human's health from different dredged materials. And this paper proposes a guideline of safely beneficial use of dredged materials at both industrial area and residental area, generated from major port execution throughout a sound investigation of their contamination levels. Newly proposed guidelines were in general higher levels compared to both current guidelines of treatment and use of dredged materials and soil environment protection levels. Finally, environmental assessment results of dredged material contamination generated in major ports of Korea for beneficial use based on pre-assessment environmental levels show that some port's dredged materials contain heavy metals such as Cd, As, Cr and Zn, more than base levels which requires more precise contamination investigation. Others were found to be very appropriate for beneficial use.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2022

BACKGROUND: Heavy metals discharged from various sources contaminate the soil and water and the residuals can persistently be accumulated. In this study, the concentration of soil heavy metals was assessed over the whole regions of Korea based on the contamination factor and the geoaccumulation index. METHODS AND RESULTS: The data of averaged concentrations of heavy metals and fluorine were collected from the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) and the research papers published. In order to classify the levels of heavy metal concentration, the contamination index, including the contamination factor and the geoaccumulation index, based on the relative ratio of the actual concentration of heavy metals in the soil to the background concentration was calculated. In addition, the distribution of heavy metals in soils was visualized by using the geographic information system (GIS). As a result, the Cd contamination in the soils was the most concerned. CONCLUSION(S): This study very roughly indicated the outline of heavy metal concentration over the whole regions of Korea. The change in heavy metals' concentration over the time should further be monitored and the larger data of heavy metal contamination are needed for better understanding in the future.