• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.31
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• pp.19.1-19.7
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• 2016

A large portion of the Korean population has been exposed to toxic humidifier disinfectants (HDs), and considering that the majority of the victims are infants, the magnitude of the damage is expected to be considerably larger than what has currently been revealed. The current victims are voicing problems caused by various diseases, including but not limited to lung, upper respiratory tract, cardiovascular, kidney, musculoskeletal, eye, and skin diseases, etc. However, there has been difficulty in gaining validation for these health problems and identifying causal relationships due to lack of evidence proving that toxic HD is the specific causes of extrapulmonary diseases such as allergic rhinitis. Furthermore, the victims and bereaved families of the HD case have not received any support for psychological distress such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, feelings of injustice, and anger caused by the trauma. In addition, because the underlying mechanisms of the toxic materials within the HDs such as polyhexamethylene guanidine phosphate, poly(oxyalkylene guanidine) hydrochloride, chloromethylisothiazolinone /methylisothiazolinone have yet to be determined, the demand for information regarding the HD issue is growing. The victims of the HD cases require support that goes beyond financial aid for medical costs and living expenses. There is a desperate need for government-led integrated support centers that provide individualized support through health screenings; in other words, we need an integrated facility that provides the appropriate social support to allow the victims to recover their physical and mental health, so as to well prepare them to return to a normal life. The implementation of such a plan requires not only the close cooperation between those departments already directly involved such as the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, but also active support on a national scale from pan-governmental consultative bodies.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Agricultural Machinery Conference
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• 2017.04a
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• pp.148-148
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• 2017

방역 차량의 약액탱크, 차량의 연료, 워셔액 등의 탱크 내부에는 잔존량을 측정하기 위해 기둥과 floating box로 이루어진 부력식 수위레벨센서가 사용되고 있으나 액체레벨에 따라 float이 상하로 움직이는 측정원리상 차량 주행 중 정확성이 매우 떨어진다(Park et al. 2016). 방역차량이 주행 중 분사할 때, 슬로싱 현상과 방역소독기의 노즐과 펌프에서 발생하는 진동으로 인해 기존의 부력식 센서를 이용한 약제 살포량 측정방법은 정확성이 매우 떨어지는 경향이 있다. 본 연구의 목적은 방역차량이 주행하면서 분사할 때, 수위레벨 센서를 이용한 약제살포량 측정의 정확성을 개선하는 것으로 디지털 칼만필터, Low pass filter와 댐퍼를 제작하여 이용했다. 본 연구에서는 압력식 레벨센서를 이용해 약액탱크의 높이당 단면적과 수위를 측정하여 약제살포량을 계산했다. Python 2.7을 이용해 디지털 칼만필터와 Low pass filter(LPF)를 구현하였으며 3D프린터를 이용해 댐퍼를 제작했다. 실내에서 슬로싱 현상을 인공적으로 만들어 필터와 댐퍼의 수위 측정 정확성 개선효과를 확인 후 실제 방역차량에 부착하여 비포장도로에서 주행하면서 분사할 때 필터와 댐퍼의 효과를 확인하였다. 댐퍼의 공극률(p)을 바꿔가며 수위 측정 정확성 개선효과를 확인하였다. 실내, 현장 실험 결과, 칼만필터가 LPF보다 개선효과가 더 크지만 데이터 50개 처리에 1.71초의 시간지연이 발생했다. 댐퍼는 수위센서를 고정시키고 유체의 운동을 방해하여 이상치와 큰 오차제거에 효과적이었다. 칼만필터와 댐퍼를 동시에 이용할 경우, 수위 측정정확성 $R^2$는 0.9985, 0.9981로 ${\pm}4.3cm$의 범위내에서 수위를 측정할 수 있었다. 필터의 시간지연과 수위 측정정확성을 고려하여 데이터 기록간격을 3초로 설정하면 ${\pm}3cm$이내에서 약탱크 내 수위를 측정할 수 있었다. 공극률(p)가 0.294, 0.291, 0.17에서 측정정확성 $R^2$는 각각 0.9897, 0.9858, 0.9872 로 p가 0.294에서 개선효과가 가장 좋았으나 개선효과의 차이는 크지 않았다.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.115-119
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• 2005

As the regulations on DBPs are tightened, many water treatment plants (WTPs) in Korea have already introduced or will introduce enhanced coagulation, alternative disinfectants and advanced treatments such as ozonization and granular activated carbon to improve drinking water qualify. After a phenol leakage accident at the Nakdong-River in 1991, 26 WIPs in Korea introduced carbon dioxide generators, but there has been no accumulation of significant operating data. This research summarizes things that should be considered for the introduction of carbon dioxide disinfection process to WTPs based on one year operation data from A WTP that has had high concentration of DBP during a specific period in the summer. The removal efficiency of DBP was $30{\sim}40%$, but those of 2-MIB, Geosmin were less than 10%. The generation rate of $ClO_2$ by-products such as chlorite and chlorate were $70{\sim}100%$ of input dosage, but the ratios increased over time. At the same time, strong chlorine odors may be produced in the distribution system when $ClO_2$ was used with $Cl_2$ as a result of reaction between the chlorite and residual chlorine.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.247-256
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• 2017

Objectives: The deaths of Korean victims exposed to the disinfectant CMIT/MIT have remained unresolved. This is mainly due to a lack of concordance between the few available toxicity tests and the abundant epidemiological data, making it difficult to establish a cause-and-effect relationship. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate any potential associations between CMIT/MIT exposure and death. Methods: Groups of experimental and control C57BL/6 mice were instilled (in the trachea) with chloromethylisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone (CMIT/MIT) using a visual instillobot. CMIT/MIT was instilled over a period of three days and eight weeks, respectively, to achieve acute and chronic exposures. A threshold dose-response model was applied for estimating the threshold level as one line of evidence for a causal association between CMIT/MIT and death. Results: An acute exposure of 1.2 mg ai/kg/day of CMIT/MIT was estimated to reflect the threshold for death. The dose-response curve with this threshold showed a very steep slope and a narrow range of CMIT/MIT exposures. The narrow range of CMIT/MIT exposures, in particular, indicated an evident boundary between survival and death, thus implicating a strong causal association. A similar threshold dose-response relationship observed following acute exposure was also seen following chronic exposure to CMIT/MIT. Airborne disinfectant exposure was visible as minimal or mild lung damage with no fibrosis, as shown by histopathological tests. However, many observations are considered to be functional respiratory tract or lung failure due to death, as observed in necropsies of the mice that died due to CMIT/MIT exposures. Conclusions: There are two strong lines of evidence for a causal association between death and CMIT/MIT exposure: 1) The threshold dose-response curve, with a very steep slope and a narrow range of CMIT/MIT exposures showing a visible boundary between survival and death; and 2) many cases of functional respiratory or lung failure.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.227-233
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• 2013

In this study, we evaluated the ability of various disinfectants to suppress the growth of microorganisms in fresh-cut products and organic vegetable. The growth of more than 50% of B. cereus isolates were suppressed by 50% ethanol, 0.1% hydrogen peroxide, 0.4% sodium hypochlorite or 1% calcium oxide. E. coli generally showed high susceptibility to concentration of 10% ethanol, 0.4% sodium hypochlorite and 1% calcium oxide. Eighty percent or more of S. aureus isolates exhibited resistance to ethanol, hydrogen peroxide and sodium hypochlorite, but the isolates were susceptible to concentrations of 1% calcium oxide. All isolates evaluated in this study were sensitive to benzalkonium chloride (BAC) and growth in the presence of $2.0{\mu}g/mL$ of BAC was completely inhibited. These pathogens showed widely different susceptibilities to different organic acids. Greater than 0.5% acetic acid and 2% and higher concentrations of malic acid and tartaric acid inhibited the growth of 60% of the isolates of B. cereus. Two percent acetic acid and tartaric acid inhibited 50% of the S. aureus isolates. Seventy percent of the E. coli isolates were resistant to malic acid and susceptible to 1% acetic acid and 10% tartaric acid. The antibacterial effects of the various sanitizers evaluated in this study were not only dependent on the type of disinfectant but also on the pathogen. Thus, it is important to select a sanitizer that is safe and effective at removing specific types of microorganisms.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.141-146
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• 2016

In South Korea, many cases of humidifier disinfectant-associated lung injury (HDLI) have been reported among people who used humidifier products containing humidifier disinfectant (HD). The objectives of this study are to estimate both airborne HD concentration in the room where HD was used and the amount of humidifier disinfectant absorbed into the respiratory system. Information and data on the HDs were collected using a structured questionnaire and home environmental investigations include the volume of HD (ml) and hours used per day, concentration of disinfectants contained in the HD brand (${\mu}g/ml$), volume of the room ($m^3$), assumed ventilation rate ($m^3/hr$) and breathing rate assumed ($m^3/hr$). We used children aged under five years old as a sample and estimated both airborne HD concentrations and amount of HD absorbed into the respiratory system. The estimated airborne concentration of HD in the room ranged from 68 to $369{\mu}g/m^3$ for PHMG (polyhexamethylene guanidine phosphate) and from 16 to $239{\mu}g/m^3$ for PGH (oligo (2-(2-ethoxy) ethoxyethyl guanidine). The amount of HD absorbed in the respiratory system per day was estimated to range from 227 to $1,225{\mu}g$ for PHMG and from 53 to $794{\mu}g$ for PGH. In conclusion, a great amount of HD was likely absorbed into respiratory system, likely beyond the level of the capacity of the immune system to remove the HD absorbed.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.117-123
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• 2015

Economic loss by soft tunic syndrome of edible ascidian, Halocynthia roretzi has become a serious problem. Recently, it has discovered that the cause of this syndrome is infection by a protozoan parasite Azumiobodo hoyamushi. However, only a few studies have been conducted to control this parasitic disease. In a previous research, non-specific disinfectants have been found to be effective in controling the causative parasite. In an attempt to eradicate this causative parasite, organic acids were tested in this study to evaluate their in vitro and in vivo efficacy. In vitro tests showed that 8 different organic acids used in this study were moderately or highly effective with protozoan-killing effects ($EC_{50}=153{\sim}275{\mu}g/ml$). Despite weak in vivo penetration of organic acids into the tunic tissues, treatment with high concentration reduced the mortality of ascidian caused by infection the parasite, indicating that we might be able to develop a disinfection method using environmentally-friendly organic acids.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.65 no.2
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• pp.124-129
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• 2020

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) is an annual crop belonging to Poaceae, and is the fifth-largest crop after maize, wheat, rice, and barley. This study was conducted to establish an efficient seed sterilization method to manage fungal or bacterial infections of germinating sorghum seeds. Two varieties of sorghum seeds (BTx623 and SAP317) were treated with benomyl-thiram and thiophanate-methyl triflumizole which are known to be effective disinfectants for sorghum seeds. For SAP317, the highest germination rate was accomplished with 24-hour treatment of both chemicals at a 200× dilution rate. For BTx623, the highest germination rate was observed after 24-hour treatment at a 200×/400× dilution rate for benomyl-thiram and control/200× for thiophanate-methyl triflumizole. Consequently, the optimal treatment for the seed disinfection in sorghum seeds may be at the dilution rate of 200× or 400× for 24 hours.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.81-87
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• 2006

The industrial systems contain many sites and components susceptible to biofilms formation. Biofilms play an important role in microbial growth and industrial fouling. Thus, the control of the biofilms in industrial systems has been emphasized, however, the efficient controlling method was not provided yet. Since silver compounds have no residual and corrosion problem, the interest for silver compounds as a biofilm control disinfectant has been increased. In this study, we attempted to examine the disinfection ability of silver compounds. The disinfection efficiency of two silver compounds(silver ion and silver oxide) were evaluated for biofilms in comparison with suspended cells using well known indicator microorganisms(E. coli, P. aeruginosa) and compared with that of chlorine. Silver compounds were found to be effective in inactivating E. coli and P. aeruginosa biofilms. The reason for superiority of silver compounds as biofilm disinfectant was suggested by that silver can penetrate into the inner biofilm matrix faster than chlorine without consumption. This study reports that the disinfectant which is highly effective in inactivating the suspended cells in water becomes the less effective for controlling biofilm because of its high reactivity. This results imply that the effective strategy for biofilm control can be achieved by considering thoroughly the chemical nature of disinfects and biofilm structure and the reactivity between them.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.28
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• pp.2.1-2.7
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• 2013

Objectives Tricalcium phosphate and calcium hydrogenorthophosphate are high production volume chemicals, mainly used as foodstuff additives, pharmaceuticals, lubricants, synthetic resin, and disinfectants. Phosphate has the potential to cause increased algal growth leading to eutrophication in the aquatic environment. However, there is no adequate information available on risk assessment or acute and chronic toxicity. The aim of this research is to evaluate the toxic potential of phosphate compounds in the aquatic environment. Methods An aquatic toxicity test of phosphate was conducted, and its physico-chemical properties were obtained from a database recommended in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guidance manual. An ecotoxicity test using fish, Daphnia, and algae was conducted by the good laboratory practice facility according to the OECD TG guidelines for testing of chemicals, to secure reliable data. Results The results of the ecotoxicity tests of tricalcium phosphate and calcium hydrogenorthophosphate are as follows: In an acute toxicity test with Oryzias latipes, 96 hr 50% lethal concentration ($LC_{50}$) was >100 (measured:>2.14) mg/L and >100 (measured: >13.5) mg/L, respectively. In the Daphnia test, 48 hr 50% effective concentration ($EC_{50}$) was >100 (measured: >5.35) mg/L and >100 (measured: >2.9) mg/L, respectively. In a growth inhibition test with Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, 72 hr $EC_{50}$ was >100 (measured: >1.56) mg/L and >100 (measured: >4.4) mg/L, respectively. Conclusions Based on the results of the ecotoxicity test of phosphate using fish, Daphnia, and algae, $L(E)C_{50}$ was above 100 mg/L (nominal), indicating no toxicity. In general, the total phosphorus concentration including phosphate in rivers and lakes reaches levels of several ppm, suggesting that phosphate has no toxic effects. However, excessive inflow of phosphate into aquatic ecosystems has the potential to cause eutrophication due to algal growth.