• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.38 no.11
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• pp.819-826
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• 1994

This study described a simple, rapid and cost effective analytical technique for the ultra-trace analysis of dioxins in environmental samples. Liquid-Liquid extraction methods were used for the initial extraction and enrichment of the analyte. Subsequent clean-up procedures were achieved by using strong cation exchanger, silica and Florisil cartridges. Extracts were analysed by HRGC/HRMS-SIM. The efficiency of these analytical methods was tested by recovery and selectivity for elimination of interferences such as phenols, pesticides and PCBs in each step. The mean recovery of 1,2,3,4-TCDD spiked at 10 ppt in sea water was about 92(${\pm}$1.6)%. This analytical method was applied to Kwangyang sea water and 4.5pg/L of 2,3,7,8-TCDD was determined.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.484-492
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• 2011

Bioaccumulation status and distribution characteristics of PCDDs, PCDFs and DL-PCBs in cruian carp collected from the four representative sites of major river systems in Korea were investigated. The recovery rates of PCDDs and PCDFs ranged from 50.6% to 88.3%, and those of DL-PCBs ranged from 52.3% to 93.2%. The mean, median and concentration range of ${\sum}$dioxins, which represents the total concentratons of PCDDs, PCDFs and DL-PCBs accumulated in the muscle of crucian carp, were 0.39, 0.14 and 0.047-1.0 pg TEQ/g wet wt., respectively. DL-PCBs were detected above the detection limit from all the samples, whereas PCDDs and PCDFs were detected from limited crucian samples. The relative contribution of DL-PCBs to ${\sum}$dioxins was remarkably larger than those for PCDDs and PCDFs. The percent contribution was 83.6% for DL-PCBs, and followed by 12.7% and 3.7% for PCDFs and PCDDs, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.39-48
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• 2008

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs) are ubiquitous and can contaminate the food chain. A study monitoring PCDD/Fs in imported meat was conducted at the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service (NVRQS, Republic of Korea) in order to maintain food safety from the bioaccumulative PCDD/Fs. Seventeen PCDD/Fs with toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) established by World Health Organization (WHO, 1998) were analyzed in imported beef, pork, and chicken by high resolution gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (HR-GC/MS). Results of the monitoring for the last 5 years are presented. The levels of PCDD/Fs were similar to other studies except two unusually high concentrations in pork and beef. Excessive levels greater than the Korean provisional maximum residue limit of PCDD/Fs were found in a sample of pork imported from Chile and a sample of beef imported from U.S, and those products were rejected and returned. There was no obvious trend or differences with respect to time or origin of meat in this study.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.157-165
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• 2012

This experimental study was performed to obtain thermal energy from the combustion of synthetic gas, produced by the pyrolysis of insulating oil containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in a high temperature and high pressure reactor. The average synthetic gas generated was $59.67Am^3/hr$ via the steady state gasification of insulating oil waste (20 kg/hr) with average concentrations (standard deviation) of $CO_2$, CO, and $H_2$ in the synthetic gas of $38.63{\pm}3.11%$, $35.18{\pm}1.93%$, and $28.42{\pm}1.68%$, respectively. The concentrations of the PCBs in the transformer insulating oil and synthetic gas after its gasification, and the concentrations of the dioxins that could be produced from the incomplete degradation of PCBs were measured. It was revealed that the PCBs in the insulating oil were composed of the series from tetrachlorobiphenyl to octachlorobiphenyl. However, only the #49, #44, #52, and #47/75/48 congeners were detected from the synthetic gas after gasification of the insulating oil and in the flue gas from the combustor. In conclusion, the experimental conditions suggested in this study were very useful for the appropriate treatment of insulating oil containing PCBs. Also, fuel gas containing CO and $H_2$ can be obtained from the pyrolysis of insulating oil containing PCBs.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.61-67
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• 1999

Two of municipal waste incinerators were selected as surveying facilities to research on the emission of dioxin and precusors. The sampling of flue gas and analysis was performed in the selected facilities. From the result, the emission patterns of dioxin and precusors, their relatership were examined. The toxic equivalency quantity(TEQ) of dioxin concentration was evaluated in two municipal waste incinerators. The 76.24% and 60.84% of total dioxin concentration in A and B incinerator were made up of the penta-, hexa- and hepta-chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin, respectively. Therefore, to reduce the dioxins in flue gas have to control the formation of furans. The chlorobenzenes and chlorophenols were analyzed in two incinerators. The 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzene, penta-, and hexachlorobenzene are discharged and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol and pentachlorophenol are discharged mainly in A and B municipal waste incinerators.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.93-101
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• 2007

Concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) were determined in marine sediments from Mokpo coastal water of Korea. Total and toxic equivalent (TEQ) concentrations of PCDD/Fs ranged from 19.4 to 175pg/g dry weight and ranged from 0.195 to 2.87 pg WHO-TEQ/g dry weight, respectively. These PCDD/F concentrations were below the safety sediment value (20 pg TEQ/g dry weight) of chronic toxicity. A highly significant correlation between the concentrations of PCDD/Fs and total organic carbon (TOC) in marine sediments was observed. Overall PCDD/F concentrations in the sediments were elevated in rivers and at inner locations close to harbors, indicating that these contaminants derived from local discharges of human activities. PCDD/F concentrations measured in our study were lower than those in several industrialized areas in Korea. Nonparametric multidimensional scaling (MDS) ordination showed that combustion processes from industrial complexes are the major source of PCDD/Fs in Mokpo coastal water.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.184-191
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• 2004

In this study, the separation of toxic dioxin 2,3,7,8-congeners by DB-5MS and SP-2331 GC columns which are widely used in HRGC/HRMS analysis was examined. Through the dioxin analysis of column performance check standard solution and fly ash sample, the isomer specific separation of 2,3,7,8-substituted dioxins from tetra to hexa-isomers on DB-5MS and SP-2331 columns were studied. The effect of I-TEQ value by these columns was also studied. The total concentrations of toxic dioxins for the column performance check standard solution were 508.4 ng/mL analyzed by DB-5MS and 515.8 ng/mL analyzed by SP-2331, respectively. The I-TEQ value obtained by both columns was shown to be almost equivalent for the column performance check standard solution and fly ash sample.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.349-354
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• 2006

The aromatic hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that mediates many of the biological and toxicological effects of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD, dioxin) and related chemicals. The application of recombinant reporter plasmid such as the firefly luciferase gene has proven to be a very effective method to detect these chemicals. The bioassay system, CALUX, is sensitive in directly detecting AhR-agonists from a variety of environmental and biologic materials. However, responses of the AhR-dependent bioassays are dependent on the cell types used. Thus, we developed a sensitive bioassay using the recombinant mouse hepatoma cell (Hepa1c1c7) for the determination of dioxins. The recombinant cell line was stably transfected with firefly luciferase reporter gene (pGudLuc1.1). The transfected cells showed the highest induction of luciferase activity at 4.5 hr and a decrease beyond this time point. The system showed the highest sensitivity of detection ever reported. Upon TCDD exposure cells showed 2 fold increase at 10 pM and 7 fold increase at 100 pM, respectively. The passage number after the transfection played an important role in the sensitivity. The increase of passage number tended to increase the sensitivity of the cells up to 15. The media without phenol red showed a higher induction rate than with phenol red, suggesting the preferable use of phenol red-free media for the bioassay. Since each of the assays has unique characteristics that make them suitable for some screening applications and not others, development of sensitive bioanalytical methods based on a variety of cellular systems in a key to the successful determination of dioxins. The bioassay system developed in this study will contribute to further development of successful screening the AhR agonists among the environmental mixture. In addition, the rapid and sensitive nature of this cellular system can be applied as a valuable tool to screen the dioxin-like moieties among the prodrugs at the initial stage, thereby expediting the new drug discovery.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.662-666
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• 2011

In this study, distribution characteristics of dioxins in soils in Busan, Korea were investigated regarding different land use types. Soil sampling sites that distributed through the Busan city showed dioxin concentration ranging from 0.489 to $322.736pg-TEQ\;g^{-1}$ dry weight with a mean value of $26.257pg-TEQ\;g^{-1}$ dry weight. The mean dioxin concentrations of investigated soils ranged from 1.554 to $50.357pg-TEQ\;g^{-1}$ dry weight in consideration of each land use type. That in metal refinery sites with $50.357pg-TEQ\;g^{-1}$ dry weight was higher than any other sites, followed by waste incinerator sites with $44.285pg-TEQ\;g^{-1}$ dry weight. The majority of soil samples had the same dioxin congener profiling despite the different range of dioxin concentration. Octa-CDD was the major contributor among seventeen dioxin congeners with the range from 29.5 to 70.1% in real values. In contrast to real values, dioxin congener profiles in TEQ values were dominated by 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF which contributed about 35.3~43.8% to the total dioxin concentrations. It was judged by these results that penta-CDF was the major contributor of soil samples in Busan city. The mean ratio of PCDFs/PCDDs in real values was about 0.71, but that in TEQ values was, in contrast to it, approximately 3.03.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.689-695
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• 1999

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), ultrasonic extraction (USE), and accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) were compared with the well known Soxhlet extraction for the extraction of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins(PCDDs) from the XAD-2 resin which was used to adsorb PCDDs in the atmosphere. XAD-2 resin spiked with five PCDDs was chosen as a sample. The optimum conditions for the extraction of PCDDs by SFE were turned out to be the use of CO2 modified with 10% toluene at 100 ℃ and 350 atm, with 5 min static extraction followed by 20 min dynamic extraction. SFE gave a good extraction rate with good reproducibility for PCDDs ranging from 68 to 98%. The ultrasonic extraction of PCDDs from XAD-2 was investigated and compared with other extractions. A probe type method was compared with a bath type. Two extraction solvents, toluene and acetone were compared with their mixture. The use of their mixture in probe type, with 9 minutes of extraction time, was found to be the optimum condition. The average recovery of the five PCDDs for USE was 82-93%. Accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) with a liquid solvent, a new technique for sample preparation, was performed under elevated temperatures and pressures. The effect of tem-perature on the efficiency of ASE was investigated. The extraction time for a 10 g sample was less than 15 min, when the organic solvent was n-hexaneacetone mixture (1 : 1, v/v). Using ASE, the average recoveries of five PCDDs ranged from 90 to 103%. SFE, USE, and ASE were faster and less laborious than Soxhlet extraction. The former three methods required less solvent than Soxhlet extraction. SFE required no concentration of the solvent extracts. SFE and ASE failed to perform simultaneous parallel extractions because of instrumental limitations.