• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.296-305
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• 2021

This work investigated heavy metal pollution in surface sediments of rivers in Busan, Korea. Surface sediments were analyzed in order to conduct contamination assessment of organic matter, nutrients, and heavy metal concentrations. Contamination assessment of heavy metals was conducted using geoaccumulation index (I_geo), pollution load index (PLI), and potential ecological risk index (RI). Accumulation of organic matter and nutrients were affected by water discharged from sewage treatment plant. The concentrations of organic matter and nutrients were found to be greater in points which were close to the sewage treatment plant more than points furthest. The concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, Hg, As, Cr, and Ni were found to be greater in surface sediment more than in the background. The mean concentrations of heavy metals were in the order of Zn (323.5 mg/kg) > Cu (70.5 mg/kg) > Pb (39.8 mg/kg) > Cr (33.4 mg/kg) > Ni (13.5 mg/kg) > As (9.4 mg/kg) > Cd (0.84 mg/kg) > Hg (0.092 mg/kg). The result of geoaccumulation indices indicated that Hg > Cr > Cu > Ni > Zn > As > Pb > Cd were found in order of severe contamination by heavy metals. From PLI and RI analysis, it was evident that the Suyeonggang 2 was the most contaminated river.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2019

Mycotoxin contamination is a global phenomenon and causes a wide array of negative effects and other complications. This study focused on commonly found mycotoxins in Africa and the possible means of prevention or reduction of their contaminating effects. Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of mold and fungi; they are generally toxic to living organisms. Hundreds of mycotoxins have been identified thus far, with some, such as aflatoxins, ochratoxins, trichothecenes, zearalenone, fumonisins, and patulin, considered agro-economically important. Several factors contribute to the presence of mycotoxins in food, such as climatic conditions, pest infestation, and poor harvest and storage practices. Exposure to mycotoxins, which occurs mostly by ingestion, leads to various diseases, such as mycotoxicoses and mycoses that may eventually result in death. In light of this, this review of relevant literature focuses on mycotoxin contamination, as well as various methods for the prevention and control of their prevalence, to avert its debilitating consequences on human health. Clear evidence of mycotoxin contamination is present in Africa, and it was therefore recommended that adequate prevention and control of these toxic substances in our food system should be encouraged and that appropriate measures must be taken to ensure food safety as well as the enhanced or long-lifespan of the African populace. Governments, research institutions, and non-governmental organizations should tailor the limited resources available to tackle mycotoxin prevalence, as these will offer the best prospects for successful development of a sustainable food system in Africa.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.377-389
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• 2020

In this study, pollution characteristics were investigated for the Andong Dam sediments in the Nakdong River. Sediment samples were collected from the middle, left, and right points of the lake up to 40km upstream of the Andong Dam at intervals of about 5km by stratification and turnover period. In the case of nutrients and total organics such as loss of ignition, total nitrogen, and phosphorus, the degree of contamination is low, but heavy metals of arsenic and cadmium is very high. The contamination level of sediments in the dam area is higher than that of the branch of river and the control group, and concentration of chromium, copper, and lead are higher in the stratification period, and that of zinc is higher in turnover period. Arsenic, cadmium, manganese, and zinc showed contamination variation between upstream and downstream but chromium, copper, mercury, iron and lead didn't show the variation.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.332-335
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• 2011

As our interests in eco-friendly materials have been significantly increased, the utilization of porous zeolite concrete that has structural functionality and permeability has been increased. In this paper, the mixture of porous concrete and zeolite, which can be used as multirole boulders, was investigated for the suitability of an environment-friendly product by evaluating of the water purification ability. The contamination removal rates of BOD, TOC, T-N, and T-P in stagnant water tank were 70.6, 67.0, 57.7, and 50.6%, respectively. Also for the non-point source pollution with the inflow and the outflow, the removal rates of Zn, Pb, BOD, and COD were 99.9, 90.0, 69.2, and 33.5%, respectively. The performance of the heavy metal contamination removal for the porous zeolite showed better than that of stagnant system. Therefore, it is expected that the installation of the porous zeolite concrete can play a role as an eco-friendly products by its high contamination removal.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.62 no.6
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• pp.912-921
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• 2020

We examined the rates of pathogenic bacterial cross-contamination from gloves to meat and from meat to gloves during pork processing under meat-handling scenarios in transfer rate experiments of inoculated pathogens. The inoculated pork contained ~5-6 Log10 CFU/g pathogenic bacteria like Escherichia coli (E. coli), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes), and Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica (Sal. enteritidis). On cotton gloves, after cutting the pork, the cutting board, knife, and cotton gloves showed 3.07-3.50, 3.29-3.92 and 4.48-4.86 Log10 CFU/g bacteria. However, when using polyethylene gloves, fewer bacteria (3.12-3.75, 3.20-3.33, and 3.07-3.97 Log10 CFU/g, respectively) were transferred. When four pathogens (6 Log10 CFU/g) were inoculated onto the gloves, polyethylene gloves showed a lower transition rate (cutting board 2.47-3.40, knife 2.01-3.98, and polyethylene glove 2.40-2.98 Log10 CFU/g) than cotton gloves. For cotton gloves, these values were 3.46-3.96, 3.37-4.06, and 3.55-4.00 Log10 CFU/g, respectively. Use of cotton gloves, polyethylene gloves, knives and cutting boards for up to 10 hours in a meat butchering environment has not exceeded HACCP regulations. However, after 10 h of use, 3.09, 3.27, and 2.94 Log10 CFU/g of plate count bacteria were detected on the cotton gloves, cutting board, and knives but polyethylene gloves showed no bacterial count. Our results reveal the transfer efficiency of pathogenic bacteria and that gloved hands may act as a transfer route of pathogenic bacteria between meat and hands. The best hand hygiene was achieved when wearing polyethylene gloves. Thus, use of polyethylene rather than cotton gloves reduces cross-contamination during meat processing.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.385-390
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• 2020

It rains heavily, such as long rain and typhoons, during a typical rainy season in Korea. In this season, several fuel contamination accidents by water and vehicular problems caused by water contaminated fuel occur. Many research groups have studied the effects of water contaminated fuel on vehicles and environment. However the characteristics of water contaminated fuel have not been studied. In this study, we prepared diesel samples with a constant ratio of water (0~30 volume %) using an emulsifier. Then, we analyzed these diesel samples for their representative fuel properties. In the analytical results, diesel with 30% water showed an increase in fuel properties such as density (823→883 kg/㎥), kinematic viscosity (2.601→6.345 ㎟/s), flash point (47→56℃), pour point (-22→2℃), CFPP (cold filter plugging point) (-17→20℃) and copper corrosion number (1a→2a). The low temperature characteristics, such as low pour point and CFPP, blocks the fuel filter in the cold season. In addition, water contaminated diesel decreases lubricity (190→410 ㎛) under high frequency reciprocating rig (HFRR) and derived cetane number (54.81→34.25). The low lubricity of fuel causes vehicle problem such as pump and injector damage owing to severe friction. In addition, the low cetane diesel fuel increases exhaust gases such as NOx and particulate matters (PM) owing to incomplete combustion. This study can be used to identify the problems caused by water contamination to vehicle and fuel facilities.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.182-194
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• 2022

Objectives: This study evaluates and recommends the priority of policy implementation to improve the fire protection clothing management system used by firefighters and the reduction of cross-contamination from contaminated clothing at the scene of a fire. Methods: It consisted of 7 experts and conducted three interviews and two modified Delphi surveys. Through the results of previous research and interviews with experts, a plan to reduce cross-contamination of fire suits and improve the management system was first derived. An improvement plan was presented in the four areas including resources, management, fire protection related work, and laws and regulations, and the priority of policy implementation was derived by analyzing the importance and practicality of the policy at the same time. Results: As a result of the analysis, the first priority was education on the health effects of pollutants at the disaster scene for firefighters, and the second priority was the addition of SOP for the primary decontamination of on-scene personal protective equipment in preparation for the health effects of the disaster scene, and education for fire suppression and rescue workers. The next step was to improve the management system of personal protective equipment such as fire suits and develop a training course for systematic operation. Conclusions: This findings could be used in the implementation of mid- to long-term firefighting policies for the systematic operation and establishment of a systematic management system for personal protective equipment such as fire protective suits.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.662-669
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to test the effects of electrolyzed water treatment on dried-laver Pyropia sp. processing facilities to control microbial contamination. Following the progression of the process to the next step, as well as during the lapse between process operating hours, the contamination level of total viable cell counts (TVC) and total coliform (TC) of laver increased. The TVC increased during the aging step, and after the molding-drying steps were completed, it increased by approximately 2.0 log CFU (colony forming unit)/g. Freshwater used for processing in April had a TVC of 4.31 log CFU/mL, which was more polluted than 2.61 log CFU/mL of seawater. Electrolyzed water was used to treat the sponge used in the laver-molding process, which resulted in a 2 log CFU/mL decrease.The TVC of dried-laver decreased by 1 to 2 log CFU/g when electrolyzed water was applied to the process. In conclusion, application of electrolyzed water in dried-laver processing was shown to be effective in reducing the microbiological contamination of the final product.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.161-166
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• 2021

This study was on leaching test(KSLT) of the aggregate for the products to evaluate the characteristics of contaminants and the possibility of contamination arising from the aggregate. On the basis pH, conductivity, turbidity, TN, TP, COD and heavy metal contents in the aggregate increased as the particle size of the aggregate was smaller. The pH appeared to be 9.9~11.4 which is relatively higher than soil, however, heavy metal has investigated within the 1 region's standard value of soil pollution standards. From the leaching test, there is strong indication that the risk of pollution due to elution of pollutants gets higher with the smaller grain size. Especially conductivity and turbidity are the potential water pollution source and recycled aggregates of 10mm or less could be a potential pollution source since it could elute soluble matters and suspended solid, but there is no proper management standard for them. As a result of evaluating water pollution possibility of the aggregate, the pH displayed in items with a very high possibility of contamination, TN and TP did in item with a low possibility of contamination and on the other hand the heavy metals did in item with a very low possibility of contamination.

• Particle and aerosol research
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.137-145
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• 2022

As many studies on the harmfulness of fine dust have been reported, awareness of its seriousness is spreading. Recently, interest in indoor air quality as well as air pollution is increasing, and research on measures to block fine dust flowing into the room from the outside is being conducted. The clothing company is launching functional clothing to prevent fine dust attached to clothing from entering the room through outdoor activities. However, it is difficult to confirm whether there is actually fine-dust blocking performance, and there is no evaluation standard. In this study, the contamination rate caused by fine dust was quantitatively compared through image processing after contamination of the outer fabric for 4 types of commercially available functional clothing with fine-dust blocking effect. The difference in particle contamination according to the material of the outer fabric was analyzed by comparing the surface resistance, and it was found that the higher the surface resistance of the outer fabric material, the more fine dust was attached. The analysis method of this study is expected to be able to quantitatively compare and evaluate the fine-dust blocking performance of functional clothing.