• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.46-54
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• 2020

Oil spill accidents at sea result in a wide range of damages, including the destruction of ocean environments and ecosystems, as well as human illnesses by the generation of harmful gases caused by phase changes in crude oil. When an oil spill occurs, an immediate initial action should be performed to minimize the potential damage. Existing studies have attempted to identify crude oil spillage by calculating the crude oil spill range using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite images. However, SAR cannot capture rapidly evolving events because of its low acquisition frequency. Herein, an algorithm for estimating an oil spill area from an image obtained using a digital camera is proposed. Noise that may occur in the image when it is captured is first eliminated by preprocessing, and then the image is analyzed. After analyzing the characteristics of the digital image, a strategy to binarize an image using the color, saturation, or lightness contained in it is adopted. It is found that the oil spill area can be readily estimated from a digital image, allowing for a faster analysis than any conventional method. The usefulness of the oil spill area measurement was confirmed by applying the developed algorithm to various oil spill images.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.795-799
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• 2008

We have studied bioremediation of effective microorganisms on crude oil spill in Taean, west-coast of Korea. Oil contaminated soil samples were collected on December 14, 2007, seven days after the Hebei Spirit oil-spilled accident. Total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) was measured to evaluate the effectiveness of effective microorganisms (EM) which were composed with yeast, photosynthetic bacteria and lactic acid bacteria on oil degradation. TPH concentration before EM treatment was 323.8 mg/kg, whereas TPH concentrations on 2 days after EM treatment and that of control (without EM) was 102.1 mg/kg and 170.6 mg/kg, respectively. On six days after EM treatment TPH was 91.3 mg/kg and that of control was 127.7 mg/kg. Percentages of degraded crude oil were 47.3% without EM and 68.5% with EM, 60.6% without EM and 71.8% with EM on 2 and 6 days after EM treatment, respectively. These results clearly showed that the application of effective microorganisms toward oil-contaminated soil was quite useful to degrade crude oil spill. These results were derived from the effects of biostimulation of microbial media nutrients and bioaugmentation of effective microorganisms. If we carefully apply these effective microorganisms, it can be a useful bioremediation method to recover oil-contaminated marine ecosystems.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.67 no.3
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• pp.249-253
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• 2009

On 7 December 2007, the Hebei Spirit ran aground near Taean and released approximately 10,900 tons of oil into the sea. Crude oil on the coastal areas and fumes in the air increased the number of health problems among the local population. We report a case of respiratory failure after the oil spill clean-up work. A 66-year-old female was admitted to hospital with cough, sputum, and dyspnea of 1-month duration after the oil spill clean-up. She was diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia and treated with empirical antibiotics. However, she had progressive respiratory failure without identification of the pathogen. Respiratory failure due to chronic inhalation of hydrocarbons from the crude oil spill clean-up was suspected. After mechanical ventilation care, she recovered from respiratory failure and was discharged. We report a case of severe respiratory toxic effects after an oil spill clean-up. We concluded that long-term hydrocarbon inhalation during the oil spill clean-up may have induced respiratory failure in this case.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.10-18
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• 2013

Oil spills have occurred throughout the years of industrialization and represent a global challenge as they affect vast areas of the ocean. The toxicity of crude oil to aquatic organisms has been extensively investigated, but the potential impacts of crude oil on vertebrate development remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated the effects of dispersants used in treating a recent oil spill, as well as that of crude oil, on vertebrates by using the zebrafish (Danio rerio) model species, which has been widely used in empirical studies of both early embryonic development and adult physiology. Chronic exposure to crude oil resulted in marked developmental abnormalities, including pericardial edema, abnormal trunk vessel development, retardation of axonal branching, and abnormal jaw development. Embryonic development was affected more severely by exposure to the oil-dispersant combination than to the oil alone. Thus, the zebrafish in vivo model system suggests that dispersant treatment can have detrimental developmental effects on vertebrates and its potential impact on marine life, as well as humans, should be carefully considered in clean-up efforts at the site of an oil spill.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.166-173
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• 2010

Objectives: On December 7, 2007, the Hebei Spirit oil tanker spilled out 12,547 kl of crude oil on the Yellow Sea 10 km away from the cost of Taean Province, Korea. As the coastline has been contaminated, local residents have been exposed to crude oil. Because the residents were showing many symptoms, we investigated the acute health effects of this oil spill on them. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study consisting of the heavy and moderately oil soaked area in Taean and the lightly oil soaked area in Seocheon. Ten seashore villages were selected from each area, and 10 male and female adults were selected from each village. We interviewed the subjects using a structured questionnaire on the characteristics of residents, the cleanup activities, the perception of oil hazard, depression and anxiety, and the physical symptoms. The odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. The logistic regression model was adjusted for age, gender, education, smoking, the perception of oil hazard and anxiousness. Results: The more highly contaminated the area, the more likely it was for residents to be engaged in cleanup activities and have a greater chance of exposure to oil. The indexes of anxiety and depression were higher in the heavy and moderately oil soaked areas. The increased risks of headache, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, tingling of limb, hot flushing, sore throat, cough, runny nose, shortness of breath, itchy skin, rash, and sore eyes were significant. Conclusions: The results suggest that exposure to crude oil is associated with various acute physical symptoms. Long-term investigation is required to monitor the residents' health.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.389-397
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• 2010

The in vitro toxicities of three crude oils of the Hebei Spirit were examined on laboratory grown plankton, with a focus on the effects of a dispersant. The specific growth rate of phytoplankton and the mortalities of two zooplankton were measured in response to exposure to various concentrations of water accommodated oil, dispersant or both. The effects of the oils varied among the plankton, but were generally low within the range of the oil concentrations used, with little difference in toxicity among the three oils. Such low toxicity appeared to be associated with weathering of the crude oils. Exposure to the dispersant, however, dramatically increased the mortality of zooplankton, with complete inhibition of phytoplankton growth. No synergistic toxic effect was observed with the crude oil and dispersant combination. A better decision making process could be crafted for future application of dispersant in the event of an oil spill in Korean waters to better protect the marine plankton community from the excessive use of dispersant.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.555-558
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• 2008

For trying to frontal attack of new solution by fusion of technical tasks and conditions with it's solving methods of the essential tasks of marine resource development and environmental conservation in addition with elements of electronic high-technologies, the skimmer robot was proposed by using of oil spill disaster prevention and its disposal system with sequentially circular collection type of magnetic oil spill adsorbent powder and fabrics on the electronic barge robot for the scheme of sustainable development of environment-friendly technology. It was verified from the experiment of electronic barge robot demonstrator that the skimmer system of magnetic oil spill adsorbent powder and fabrics was very effective and useful technique to collect oil spill samples. At this point, the barge-based electronic remote control was very useful system operating easily on the marine fields to skim oil spill with dangerous toxic substances of crude oil and very harmful to human. Therefore, fusion technology proposed in this study combined with electronic and marine technology is the novel contributable technology for developing marine environmental conservation and environment-friendly disaster prevention, and also its management techniques.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.73-81
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• 2009

Objectives : This study presents a scientific basis for the establishment of an environmental health contingency plan for dealing with accidental coastal oil spills and suggests some strategies for use in an environmental health emergency. Methods : We reviewed the existing literature, and analyzed the various fundamental factors involved in response strategies for oil spill. Our analysis included data derived from Hebei Spirit oil spill and used air dispersion modeling. Results : Spill amounts of more than 1,000 kl can affect the health of residents along the coast, especially those who belong to vulnerable groups. Almost 30% of South Korean population lives in the vicinity of the coast. The area that is at the highest risk for a spill and that has the greatest number of people at risk is the stretch of coastline from Busan to Tongyeong. The most prevalent types of oil spilt in Korean waters have been crude oil and bunker-C oil, both of which have relatively high specific gravity and contain volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and metals. In the case of a spill of more than 1,000 kl, it may be necessary to evacuate vulnerable and sensitive groups. Conclusions : The government should establish environmental health planning that considers the spill amount, the types of oil, and the distance between the spot of the accident and the coast, and should assemble a response team that includes environmental health specialists to prepare for the future oil spill.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.70-79
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• 2013

Since crude oil contains various pollutants including heavy metals, the environmental impact should be assessed for heavy metals as well as oil itself. In order to estimate the extent of heavy metal contamination, surface sediments were collected at the intertidal and coastal zone around the Herbei sprit oil spill area during December 2007 and January 2008. Organic carbon, sulfur and heavy metals were determined to assess heavy metal contamination in sediments. The crude oils contained C, S, V and Ni, but little toxic metals such as As, Cd, etc. From organic carbon content, the highest contaminated site was estimated that oils contributed to sediments up to 10%, and this site showed high V concentration. Potentially contaminated sediments by crude oil could be differentiated from unaffected sediments through V/Al and Ni/Al ratios, which can be used as indicators of oil contamination even after the oils were fully degraded.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.23-32
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of oil dispersant and ultraviolet (UV) radiation on the toxicity of crude oil. The toxicity of water-accommodated fraction (WAF) and chemically enhanced water-accommodated fraction (CEWAF) of Hebei Spirit crude oil was investigated in the embryo of the Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum with- and without ultraviolet radiation. The WAF and CEWAF with- and without UV radiation affected significantly the embryonic development of R. philippinarum. The EC50s of WAF without UV, WAF with UV, CEWAF without UV, and CEWAF with UV were 2.82, 0.79, 1.60, and 0.45 g/L, respectively. CEWAF was 1.6 times more toxic than WAF. UV radiation increased crude oil toxicity to 3.6 times for both WAF and CEWAF. The oil dispersant and UV radiation did not affect the acute toxicity to the embryo but retarded the period of embryonic development up to 26%. R. philippinarum proved to be a sensitive species to reflect the toxic effects of oil spill combined with oil dispersant and UV radiation. It is suggested that the chemical analyses on the WAF and CEWAF is important for the identification and quantitative explanation of the phototoxic compounds in crude oil.