• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.13-19
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• 1996

An estimation methodology, based on statistics and numerical method, has been developed for estimating the upper explosive limits(UEL) of paraffinic and olefinic hydrocarbon compounds. With proposed method, the UEL has been calculated for 24 paraffinic and 10 olefinic hydrocarbon compounds. The estimated the UEL agree with the experimental values within a few percent. A comparisond with four other methods avaiable in the literature are also presented. It is hoped eventually that this method will permit estimation of the UEL with improved accuracy and broader application for other compounds.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.56-65
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• 2014

Contamination of explosive compounds in the soils of military shooting range may pose risks to human and ecosystems. As shooting ranges are located at remote places, active remediation processes with hardwares and equipments are less practical to implement than natural solutions such as bioremediaton. In this study, a series of experiments was conducted to select a suitable carbon source and to optimize dosing rate for the enhanced bioremediation of explosive compounds in surface soils and sediments of shooting ranges with indigenous microorganisms activated by external carbon source. Treatability study using slurry phase reactors showed that the presence of indigenous microbial community capable of explosive compounds degradation in the shooting range soils, and starch was a more effective carbon source than glucose and acetic acid in the removal of TNT. However, at higher starch/soil ratio, i.e., 2.0, the acute toxicity of the liquid phase increased possibly due to transformation products of TNT. RDX degradation by indigenous microorganisms was also stimulated by the addition of starch but the acute toxicity of the liquid phase decreased with the increase of starch/soil ratio. Taken together, the optimum range of starch/soil ratio for the degradation of explosive compounds without significant increase in acute toxicity was found to be 0.2 of starch/soil.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.57-65
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• 2017

Six soil subsampling methods were evaluated with explosive compounds-contaminated soils to quantify the variance associated with each method. The methods include modified grab sampling, simplified ripple splitting, fractional shoveling, coning & quatering, degenerate fractional shoveling, and rolling & quatering. All the methods resulted in significantly lower CV (coefficient of variation) of 1~5%, compared to common grab sampling that gave 8~98% of CV, possibly due to the reduction of grouping and segregation errors described by Gy sampling theory. Among the methods, simplified ripple splitting tends to result in lower explosive compounds concentrations, while the rolling & quatering gave the opposite result. Fractional shoveling method showed the least variance and the highest reproducibility in the analysis.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.55-61
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• 2011

Cyclonite is a white powder and is very explosive. It can cause seizures (a problem of the nervous system) in human and animals when large amounts are inhaled or eaten. Research papers for workers exposure assesment of the cyclonite are very a few in the world. A field study was conducted at explosive compounds and bomb manufacturing companies to evaluate workers exposure to cyclonite. The airborne average concentration of cyclonite in explosive compounds manufacturing company was $4.10{\mu}g/m^3$(range: ND - $59.92{\mu}g/m^3$), and that of cyclonite in bomb manufacturing company was $31.49{\mu}g/m^3$(range: ND - $291.41{\mu}g/m^3$). Package process and assembly process in both companies were considered the high potential of exposure to cyclonite. Even though all airborne concentrations of cyclonite were lower than occupational exposure standard (MOEL: $500{\mu}g/m^3$), exposure to cyclonite can also occur through dermal contact during manufacture, handling, and clean-up of cyclonite. So control measures for protecting skin absorption of cyclonite were needed for preventing adverse health effect by cyclonite exposure.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.45-53
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• 2009

A quick and simple detection method of explosive compounds in environmental matrix (soil and water) can provide a screening step which reduces the number of unnecessary samples and the cost of expensive laboratory analysis at a site investigation. A commercially available EXPRAY$^{(R)}$Explosives Field Detection Kit (EXPRAY) was used to determine the minimum detection concentration and to test the possibility of semi-quantitative analysis of 14 explosive compounds using standard solutions. The results showed that EXPRAY could detect 5 explosive compounds, TNT, RDX, HMX, Tetryl, and TNB, out of 14 US EPA designated explosives. The minimum detection limit of the nitramine explosives was 14 ng/$^2$ for HMX and RDX. EXPRAY was more sensitive to nitroaromatics than the nitramines and the minimum detection limits per unit area (mm$^2$) for Tetryl, TNB, and TNT, were 3 ng, 3 ng, and 0.3 ng, respectively. The semi-quantification of 5 explosive compounds in an order ofmagnitude could be achieved by the intensity of developed color only when EXPRAY was applied on the standard solutions under controlled laboratory conditions. With contaminated soil samples, however, only the presence and type of explosive compounds was identified. Therefore, EXPRAY is an economic and sensitive method that can be used in a screening step for the identification of explosives in the field samples.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.17-29
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• 2014

A remedial investigation was conducted at five military training ranges in northern Gyeonggi province to collect information necessary for the design of on-site treatment facilities for the abatement of explosive compounds release to the environment. These information includes (i) identification of dominant explosive compounds in each range, (ii) discharge/migration routes, and (iii) contaminant distribution in particle size fraction and settling velocity of the soils. The results of investigation showed that TNT and RDX are the major contaminants but the extent of contamination varied depending on the types of military training practices and topography of the site. RDX was also detected in the subsurface soil and in the nearby stream within the training ranges, suggesting release of contaminants to streams. The median concentrations of explosives in the surface soil were less than 20 mg/kg despite several 'hot spots' in which explosives concentrations often exceeds several hundred mg/kg. The average clay contents in the soil of target area was less than 5 % compared to 12 % in the control, indicating loss of smaller particles by surface runoff during rainfall due to lack of vegetative land cover. Analysis of explosive compounds and particle size distribution showed that the amount of explosive compounds in soil particles smaller than 0.075 mm was less than 10 % of the total. Settling column tests also revealed that the quantity of explosive compounds in the liquid phase of the effluent was greater than that in the solid phase. Therefore, pre-treatment of particulate matter in surface runoff of shooting range with a simple settling basin and subsequent effluent treatment with planted constructed wetlands as polishing stage for explosives in the aqueous phase would provide the shooting ranges with a self-standing, sustainable, green solution.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.82-93
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• 2014

A starch ball was devised to conveniently supply carbon source to indigenous microorganisms and to enhance biotransformation of explosive compounds(TNT and RDX) in the sediments of settling basins installed in military shooting ranges. To identify optimum dose/sediment ratio for degradation of explosives in the basin, a series of bench scale settling basin experiments were performed for 30 days while monitoring supernatant pH, DO, concentrations of nitrite, nitrate, sulfate, explosive compounds, and acute toxicity measured by bacterial luminescence. Addition of starch ball induced changes in oxidation conditions from oxic to anoxic in the benthic zone of the basin, which resulted in subsequent reductive degradation of both TNT and RDX in the liquid and solid phase of basin. However, fermentation products of excess starch, acetic acid and formic acid, caused acute toxicity in the liquid phase. The optimum ratio of starch ball/sediment for explosive compounds degradation by inducing changes in bio-geochemical environments without increase in acute toxicity, was found to be 0.009~0.017.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.93-100
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• 1999

By using literature data, the empirical equations have been derived which describe the interrelationships of explosion and other related properties of n-alcohols. The properties which have been correlated data are : lower and upper explosive limits, heats of combustion, carbon numbers. Also, the new equation for predicting the temperature dependence of lower explosive limits(LEL) of n-alcohols on the basis of explosive limits, heats of combustion, flame propagation theory and mathematical method is proposed. The values calculated by the proposed equations were a good agreement with literature data within a few percent. From a given explosive properties. by using the proposed equations, it is possible to predict the other properties. It is hoped eventually that this method will permit the estimation of the explosive properties of alcohol with improved accuracy and the broader application for other compounds.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Industrial Safety Conference
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• 2002.11a
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• pp.291-296
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• 2002

Flammable compounds are indispensible in domestic as well as in industrial fields as fuel, solvent and raw materials. The fire and explosion properties necessary for safe storage, transport, process design and operation of handling flammable substances are lower explosive limits(LEL), upper explosive limits(UEL), flash point, fire point, AIT(auto ignition temperature), MIE(minimum ignition energy), MOC(minimum oxygen concentration) and heats of combustion.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.103-108
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• 2001

Explosive limit is one of the major physical properties used to determine the fire and explosion hazards of the flammable substances. Explosive limits are used to classify flammable liquids according to their relative flammability. Such a classification is important for the safe handling of flammable liquids which constitute the solvent mixtures. Explosive limits of all compounds and solvent mixtures can be calculated with the appropriate use of the fundamental laws of Raoult, Dalton, Le Chatelier and activity coefficient models. In this paper, Raoult,s law and van Laar equation(activity coefficient model) are shown to be applicable for the prediction of the explosive limits in the flammable ethylacetate-toluene system. The values calculated by the proposed equations were a good agreement with literature data within a given percent. From a given results, by the use of the proposed equations, it is possible to predict explosive limits of the other flammable mixtures. It is hoped eventually that this method will permit the estimation of the explosive Properties of flammable mixtures with improved accuracy and the broader application for other flammable stances.