• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.557-565
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• 2010

Recently, regulations on toxic compounds in aquatic environment have been strengthened in korea due to the increasing public awareness of the water quality. Typically, these regulations include introduction of emerging toxic compounds and stricter effluent limitations for the already regulated compounds. However, too strict regulations may cause excessive burden on the industry. Therefore it is also important to assess the economic impacts when the new effluent limitation guidelines are introduced. The estimation of the additional cost for the wastewater dischargers to meet the new guidelines are based on the selected treatment technology to handle the hazardous substances and the regulatory levels for effluent limitations. To explore the procedures for cost estimation in enforcing new effluent limitations, a case study was performed specially for 1,4-dichlorobenzene. The pollutants of concern are surveyed for different industrial categories and various treatment technologies. For a given pollutant, the general performances of the treatment technologies are surveyed and a representative technology is selected. For a given technology, the capital cost and annual Operation and Maintenance (O&M) cost was calculated. The calculation of baseline costs to operate ordinary treatment technologies is also important. The ratio between the cost for introducing new treatment process and the baseline cost required for conventional technology was used to evaluate the economic impact on the industry. For 1,4-dichlorobenzene, steam stripping and activated carbon processes were selected as the specific treatment technologies. The cost effects to the regulation of the compound were found to be 6.4% and 14.5% increase in capital cost and O&M cost, respectively, at the flow rate over $2,000m^3/d$ for the categories of synthetic resin and other plastics manufacturing industry. For the case of petrochemical basic compounds manufacturing industry, the cost increases were 5.8% and 12.4%, respectively. It was suggested that cost effect analysis to evaluate the economic impacts of new effluent limitations on the industry is crucial to establish more balanced and reasonable effluent limitations to manage the industrial wastewater containing emerging toxic compounds in the wastewater.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.38 no.11
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• pp.589-595
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• 2016

This study evaluated the environmental impacts for landfill treatment of the wastewater treatment sludge (WTS) from petrochemical firms by life cycle assessment (LCA) and reviewed the impact reduction by landfill gas (LFG) utilization. The functional unit was 'landfill of 1 ton of WTS', and the system boundary included the process of input and treatment for WTS in landfill site. The impacts were high at landfill process (LP) and leachate treatment process (LTP). Global warming (GWP) and photochemical oxidants creation (POCP) were high at LP, while abiotic depletion (ADP), acidification (AP), eutrophication (EP), ozone depletion (ODP) were high at LTP. The major substances of various impact categories were crude oil (ADP), $NO_X$ (AP, EP), $CH_4$ (GWP, POCP), $Cl_2$ (ODP), respectively. The major factor of ADP, AP, EP was attributed from the generation of electricity used in LTP, and the methane within uncollected LFG was main factor of GWP and POCP. Therefore, electricity consumption reduction is identified to be an impact improvement option, and the flaring system installation or enhanced LFG recovery could be an alternative to reduce impacts. Among the various categories, GWP accounted the highest impact (${\geq}90%$) followed by ADP, POCP. In the avoidance impact resulted from the utilization of LFG, to substitute B-C oil or LNG showed the impact reduction of 32.7% and 12.0%, respectively.

• ALGAE
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.199-222
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• 2017

Occurrence of Cochlodinium polykrikoides red tides have resulted in considerable economic losses in the aquaculture industry in many countries, and thus predicting the process of C. polykrikoides red tides is a critical step toward minimizing those losses. Models predicting red tide dynamics define mortality due to predation as one of the most important parameters. To investigate the roles of heterotrophic protists in red tide dynamics in the South Sea of Korea, the abundances of heterotrophic dinoflagellates (HTDs), tintinnid ciliates (TCs), and naked ciliates (NCs) were measured over one- or two-week intervals from May to Nov 2014. In addition, the grazing impacts of dominant heterotrophic protists on each red tide species were estimated by combining field data on red tide species abundances and dominant heterotrophic protist grazers with data obtained from the literature concerning ingestion rates of the grazers on red tide species. The abundances of HTDs, TCs, and NCs over the course of this study were high during or after red tides, with maximum abundances of 82, 49, and $35cells\;mL^{-1}$, respectively. In general, the dominant heterotrophic protists differed when different species caused red tides. The HTDs Polykrikos spp. and NCs were abundant during or after C. polykrikoides red tides. The mean and maximum calculated grazing coefficients of Polykrikos spp. and NCs on populations of co-occurring C. polykrikoides were $1.63d^{-1}$ and $12.92d^{-1}$, respectively. Moreover, during or after red tides dominated by the phototrophic dinoflagellates Prorocentrum donghaiense, Ceratium furca, and Alexandrium fraterculus, which formed serial red tides prior to the occurrence of C. polykrikoides red tides, the HTDs Gyrodinium spp., Polykrikos spp., and Gyrodinium spp., respectively were abundant. The maximum calculated grazing coefficients attributable to dominant heterotrophic protists on co-occurring P. donghaiense, C. furca, and A. fraterculus were 13.12, 4.13, and $2.00d^{-1}$, respectively. Thus, heterotrophic protists may sometimes have considerable potential grazing impacts on populations of these four red tide species in the study area.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.22-38
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• 2012

Adaptation of climate change is necessary to avoid unexpected impacts of climate change caused by human activities. Vulnerability refers to the degree to which system cannot cope with impacts of climate change, encompassing physical, social and economic aspects. Therefore the quantification of climate change impacts and its vulnerability is needed to identify vulnerable regions and to setup the proper strategies for adaptation. In this study, climate change vulnerability is defined as a function of climate exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. Also, we identified regions vulnerable to ozone due to climate change in Korea using developed proxy variables of vulnerability of regional level. 18 proxy variables are selected through delphi survey to assess vulnerability over human health sector for ozone concentration change due to climate change. Also, we estimate the weighting score of proxy variables from delphi survey. The results showed that the local regions with higher vulnerability index in the sector of human health are Seoul and Daegu, whereas regions with lower one are Jeollanam-do, Gyeonggi-do, Gwangju, Busan, Daejeon, and Gangwon-do. The regions of high level vulnerability are mainly caused by their high ozone exposure. We also assessed future vulnerability according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) A2, A1FI, A1T, A1B, B2, and B1 scenarios in 2020s, 2050s and 2100s. The results showed that vulnerability increased in all scenarios due to increased ozone concentrations. Especially vulnerability index is increased by approximately 2 times in A1FI scenarios in the 2020s. This study could support regionally adjusted adaptation polices and the quantitative background of policy priority as providing the information on the regional vulnerability of ozone due to climate change in Korea.

• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.1-14
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• 2004

As environmental issues have been become critical concerns of business, many domestic small and medium enterprises(SME's) are rapidly accepting environmental management systems(EMS) that confirm ISO 14001 guidelines. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of an empirical study carried out on a sample of certified SME's with the aim of identifying obstacles encountered in adopting ISO 14001 standards and the impact of environmental systems on corporate performance after implementation of the ISO 14001 registration process. Data from this study show that the vast majority of respondents reported environmental improvements related to the implementation of an ISO 14001 EMS, especially in the area of employees' participation of the environmental management and responsibilities for reducing negative impacts, energy and resource conservation, materials reuse, and raising top management commitment. The greatest obstacles for implementing the ISO 14001 standard are lack of cooperation and a scarcity of resources such as personnel, money, and time. Results of this study serve as a reference point understanding the problems in the implementation of ISO 14001 in other small and medium firms.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.363-372
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• 2000

For any particular development project or environmental regulations, decision-making criteria is required and conflicts among criteria should be resolved. It is necessary to investigate criteria that government agencies employ in making decisions that influence the environment. The evaluation of alternative development proposals and regulatory measures involves much more than environmental issues. Economic, technical, and social factors should be considered along with environmental impacts when making evaluations. Evaluation should be based on values of all individuals who may be affected by public or private decisions. There are many evaluation methods for determining how individuals and groups value alternative public actions. Numerous weighting-scaling methodologies can be used in such evaluations. These methodologies represent adaptations of multiple-criteria or multiple-attribute decision-making techniques. Environmental risk assessment which accounts for uncertainties in choosing among alternative policies and projects is increasingly used.

• Proceedings of The Korean Society of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology Conference
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• 2017.11a
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• pp.45-45
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• 2017

• Proceedings of the Korea Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry Conference
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• 2002.11a
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• pp.228-233
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• 2002

In this study, Life Cycle Assessment method has been carried out the Corrugated board box in considering environmental aspects by quantifying the environmental emission and assessing its environmental impact potential. The system boundary in this study is selected from cradle to gate stage(raw material acquisition, raw material production and product manufacturing) of the paper product. To evaluate the environmental impact potential, impact categories are divided into 8 categories. As a results, abiotic resource depletion of the impact categories has the largest contribution to the total impact potential as 31.02% of total, Next were continued ecotoxicity having a contribution of 27.17%. In the life cycle, environmental impacts from law material production stage were contributed largely as 80.78%.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.297-311
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• 2020

Objective: We compared the level of blood cadmium exposure with health impacts by using data from a survey of residents near an abandoned mine and a national health survey. Methods: For this study, we used data from 7,046 individuals who participated in the Health Effects Survey of Abandoned Metal Mines (AMS, 2008-2011) and 6,871 individuals who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey IV-VI (KNHANES, 2008-2013). To evaluate the health impacts, the quartiles (S1 to S4) were classified according to blood cadmium concentration, and then the odds ratios of S2 to S4 over S1 for exceeding the reference values of renal function, blood pressure, and bone density were compared. Similarly, the odds ratio of AMS over KNHANES was confirmed. Results: In the AMS, adjusted for general characteristics, the geometric mean of blood cadmium concentration was 1.34 ㎍/L, which was statistically significantly higher than that of the KNHANES 1.22 ㎍/L (p<0.001). In the integrated data of AMS and KNHANES, the estimated odds ratio of S4 over S1 for exceeding the reference value was found to be 1.70 for serum creatinine, 1.71 for hypertension, and a T-score 2.02 for the tarsal bone. They were all statistically significant. Conclusion: Residents around abandoned metal mines had a higher blood cadmium concentration than the general population, and the odds for exceeding the reference values were higher for some health indicators. Continuous biomonitoring should be conducted for vulnerable areas such as around abandoned metal mines, and measures to reduce cadmium exposure and management of chronic diseases are needed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.125-137
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• 2013

This study investigated the conceptual constructs of ethical consumption beliefs and their impacts on the consumer attitudes toward eco-friendly faux leather apparel goods. The mediating roles of perceived consumer effectiveness and apparel environmental knowledge were examined in this research. A survey was conducted on female consumers between the ages of 20 and 50; subsequently, 300 responses were analyzed. The results of this study were follows: 1) The results of factor analysis and the reliability test on ethical consumption beliefs clearly showed factorial structures that include Social Responsibility, Eco-friendly Consumption, Animal Welfare, and Individual Enhancement. 2) The results of the mean scores of ethical consumption beliefs showed that respondents tended to consider Social Responsibility more important than the other three factors. Ethical consumption beliefs showed a significantly positive influence on consumer attitudes toward eco-friendly faux leather apparel products; in addition, Social Responsibility had the highest effect on product attitudes among the four factors of ethical consumption beliefs. 3) The perceived consumer effectiveness and environmental knowledge of apparel had important medicating roles in the relation-ship between ethical consumption beliefs and attitudes towards eco-friendly faux leather apparel products. This study highlighted a potential marketability of eco-friendly faux leather apparel products and that ethical consumption beliefs, perceived consumer effectiveness, and apparel environmental knowledge should be promoted among consumers to increase favorable attitudes towards these products.