• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.173-200
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• 1992

The quality of groundwater in the central part of Taegu City is influenced by upstreams of Sin-stream and Beomeo-stream because the stream waters are main source of the groundwater, and chemical composition of the upstream waters has close relationship with andesite and monzonite in the igneous rock terrain. The pH of upstreams are weak acid ~ neutral in the igneous rock area and weak alkaline in the sedimentary rock area. Contents of $Ca^{2+}$ and $Mg^{2+}$ in the streams are apparently high, and $Na^{+}$ content is only slightly high in the sedimentary rock area. But $K^{+}$ content is lower in the Panyaweol formation area than in the monzonite area. The contents of heavy metals and $N0_3^{-}$ are also higher in the sedimentary rock area of residential sections and industrial complexes than those in the igneous rock area. The groundwater is contaminated in comparison to the upstream water of the igneous rock areas, and there are some differences in pollution level between the Panyaweol formation area of residential sections and the Haman formation area of industrial complexes. K, Na, Ca, Mg, Cl, $SO_4$ and $NO_3$ contents in the Haman formation area are relatively higher than those in the Panyaweol formation area. But pH is nearly equal in the two areas. The content of heavy metal ions is still lower than the drinking water standard of Korea and only slightly differs in the two sedimentary rock areas. But the groundwater in the Haman formation area is considerably contaminated by Kongdanstream and Dalseo-stream.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.553-565
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• 2002

Seasonal variations in vertical distributions of metals were investigated in the contaminated paddy soils around Siheung Cu-Pb-Zn and Deokeum Au-Ag mines. Geochemical behavior of metals was also evaluated with respect to redox changes during the cultivation of rice. Two microcosms simulating the rice-growing paddy field were set up in the laboratory. The raw paddy soils from two sites showed differences in mineralogy, metal concentrations and gecochemical parameters, and it is suggested that high proportions of exchangeable fractions in metals may give high dissolution rates at Deokeum. In both microcosms of Siheung and Deokeum, redox differences between surface and subsurface of paddy soils were maintained during the flooded period of 18 weeks. Siheung soil had neutral to alkaline pH conditions, while strongly acidic conditions and high Eh values were found at the surface soil of Deokeum. The concentrations of dissolved Fe and Mn were higher in the subsurface pore waters than in interface and upper waters from both microcosms, indicating reductive dissolution under reducing conditions. On the contrary, dissolved Pb and Zn had high concentrations at the surface under oxidizing conditions. From the Siheung microcosm, release of dissolved metals into upper waters was decreased. presumably by the trap effect of Fe- and Mn-rich layers at the interface. However, in the Deokeum microcosm, significant amounts of Pb and Zn were released into upper water despite the relatively lower contents in raw paddy soil, and seasonal variations in the chemical fractionation of metals were observed between flooded and drained conditions. Under acidic conditions, rice may uptake high amounts of metals from the surface of paddy soils during the flooded periods, and increases of exchangeable phases may also increase the bioavailability of heavy metals in the drained conditions.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.477-490
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• 2003

Bottom sediments from Youngil Bay, East Coast of Korea, were analyzed for grain composition as well as elemental compositions and total organic carbon (TOC) content in order to investigate the spatial variability and content of metal elements. Grain size distribution of the sediments seems to be controlled by anticlockwise current pattern with bottom topography of the study area. Spatial variability of TOC and all elemental contents reflects those of grain size, but an exception was found in the harbor area (Old-Port): their contents are high in the central part of the bay with the muddy sediment and decrease toward the sand-dominated coastal zone. However, contents of Ca, Sr, K are high in the sand-dominated coastal zone and contents of some heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Zn) are high in the Old-Port area and the mouth of Hyeongsan River. The correlation matrix and R-mode factor analyses reveal that four important factors controlling the distribution of metals in the bay are sediment grain size (or quartz dilution effect), the formation of sulfide minerals associated with decomposition of organic matters under anoxic geochemical environment, calcium carbonate (mainly shell fragments) and coarse-grained feldspar mineral. According to the metal content of labile fraction an CER (concentration enrichment ratio) value, high accumulation of some heavy metals in the harbor area seems to result not formed by early diagenetic processes under anoxic environment.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.314-322
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• 2008

This study was carried out to assess aerobic stabilized waste sludge as liquid fertilizer for the growth of cucumber, cabbage and chrysanthemum. Sludge was pretreated with NaOH(40 meq/L) at 40$^{\circ}C$ for 330 min. The number of fecal coliforms in batch test sludge fertilizer was more efficiently reduced than those in continuous one, maybe due to longer SRT. All produced fertilizer belonged to class B according to US EPA requirement at least. Among 6 heavy metals regulated in Korea, As, Cd and Hg were not detectable in plant amended with fertilizer whereas the concentration of Cr, Cu and Pb in plant was less than 10 mg/kg dw. However, Zn and Ni, which were restricted in other country, but not in Korea, were detected in most amount of 118 mg/kg and 15.7 mg/kg, respectively. Furthermore, based on dry weight of plant, digested sludge(5.4 mg, dw) functioned as better fertilizer rather than activated sludge (4.3 mg, dw), much more fertile when those sludge was pretreated(1.24 mg, dw) compared to untreated one(1.12 mg, dw). But its fertility was 60$\sim$80% of commercial fertilizer and accumulation of Zn, Ti and Cr in plant was founded. Therefore, it could be concluded that sludge-fertilizer can be used for flower unlimitedly, but for edible plant limitedly as additive fertilizer.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.284-294
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• 2010

In this study, river water-based reference materials (RMs), NIER-I08RW and NIER-I09, for trace metal analysis were prepared and certified for Pb, Cd, Cr and Cu with evaluation of uncertainties. The RMs were confirmed to be homogeneous enough to be used as proficiency testing materials since within-bottle homogenieties of the RMs were lower than 0.3 times of targeted standard deviation of proficiency testing. The RMs were distributed to environmental testing laboratories for the proficiency testing and the variation of Z scores of the proficiency testing results were compared for different assigned values. The relative bias, $B_{relative}$, deviations between reference values and consensus values, were lower than ${\pm}$1 except for cadmium of NIERI08RW. The results showed both values were in a good agreement and only 2.9% of Z scores changed by using a different assigned values such as consensus and reference values.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.525-534
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• 2014

Environmental problems typically occurring in abandoned mine lands (AML) include: contaminated and acidic surface water and groundwater; stockpiled waste rock and mill tailings; and ground subsidences due to mining operations. This study examines the effectiveness of various geophysical techniques for mapping potential hazard and contaminated zones. Four AML sites with sedimentation contamination problems, acid mine drainage (AMD) channels, ground subsidence, manmade liner leakage, and buried mine tailings, were selected to examine the applicability of various geophysical methods to the identification of the different types of mine hazards. Geophysical results were correlated to borehole data (core samples, well logs, tomographic profiles, etc.) and water sample data (pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and heavy metal contents). Zones of low electrical resistivity (ER) corresponded to areas contaminated by heavy metals, especially contamination by Cu, Pb, and Zn. The main pathways of AMD leachate were successfully mapped using ER methods (low anomaly peaks), self-potential (SP) curves (negative peaks), and ground penetrating radar (GPR) at shallow penetration depths. Mine cavities were well located based on composite interpretations of ER, seismic tomography, and well-log records; mine cavity locations were also observed in drill core data and using borehole image processing systems (BIPS). Damaged zones in buried manmade liners (used to block descending leachate) were precisely detected by ER mapping, and buried rock waste and tailings piles were characterized by low-velocity zones in seismic refraction data and high-resistivity zones in the ER data.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.24 no.1 s.61
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• pp.38-45
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• 2006

Ecological characteristics of microbial populations inhabiting heavy metal polluted soil were investigated. The samples were collected from 293 sites around an factory and industry at Gyeoungsangbuk-do. We measured the contents of seven heavy metal elements (Cd, Cu, As, Hg, Pb, $Cr^{6+}$, CN), seven sites have been seriously contaminated by mercury and chrome. A quantitative evaluation of microbial populations in mercury and chrome contaminated soil was examined by using plate count method. Bacterial numbers in polluted soil samples ranged from $7.4X10^5\;to\;9.3X10^7\;cfu\;g^{-1}$, about $10\sim100$ fold less than the count for the unpolluted soil. Moulds were not detected in chrome polluted soil. The log values of actinomycetes of each contaminated soil samples were log ranged from 6.18 to 7.52. The ratio of actinomycetes was similar to unpolluted soil. The investigation showed actinomycetes to be the major microbial population inhabiting the mercury and chrome polluted soil. Thirty-one isolates among the total isolates were examined for antibacterial activity. These isolates were identified based on a phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA gene nucleotide sequences, they were categorized in three major phylogenetic groups, belong to the Streptomyces (6 strains), Saccharopolyspora (3 strains), Nocardiodes (1 strain). On the phylogenetic tree, the clade consisting of five isolates were distantly related to all of the established Streptomycetes genera, indicating the possibility as members of new species.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.7
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• pp.1048-1054
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was carried out to investigate the cause of sulfur dioxide occurrence, general element composition, sulfur compounds, heavy metals, macro- & micro-minerals, and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) following baking time course of RS (RS1, RS2, RS3, and RS4) and mudflat solar salts (MSS). Sulfur dioxide ($SO_2$) and sulfite ($SO{_3}^{2-}$) were not detected in MSS or RS. However, sulfate ($SO{_4}^{2-}$) content significantly decreased in RS (29,878.15~36,097.45 ppm) compared to that in MSS (35,601.65 ppm). ORP was 181.15 mV in MSS, and 58.55 mV in RS1. Moisture content was 9.34% in MSS and 0.00% in RS with increased NaCl (94.77~95.77%). Moisture and NaCl contents showed no significant difference in RS. Insoluble and sandy residues were higher in RS than in MSS, whereas Ca and K showed no significant difference. Mg and Cl contents were higher in RS than in MSS. Br level was higher in MSS (628.1 ppm) than in RS (512.72~586.62 ppm), but there was no significant difference in $NO_3$. Heavy metals (Pb, As, and Hg) were more abundant in RS than in MSS, but levels were still safe. These results suggest that MSS and RS may increase protection against from $SO_2$ and $SO{_3}^{2-}$.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.855-864
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• 2009

The effect of toxicant on the inhibition of nitrification was investigated, using concentrated nitrifying bacteria of both attached and suspended growth. This nitrifying organism was originally obtained from the activated sludge of sewage treatment plant and cultivated for more than three months. The object of this experiment is to determine the effect of the specific surface area and the growth condition of nitrifying bacteria on toxicity of heavy metal. The results of this study were as follows. The specific surface area of both attached and suspended growth of nitrifying organism was proven to be a major factors in determining the inhibition of nitrification of heavy metal such as $Cu^{++}$ion. When the condition of attachment and detachment was compared in an experiment using attached growth nitrifier, the effect on toxicant was 1.12 times less in attached condition than in detached condition for Nitrosomonas, and 1.09 times less for Nitrobacter. In case of suspended growth nitrifier, the effect on toxicant was 1.46 times less in non-ground condition than in ground condition for Nitrosomonas, and 1.35 times less for Nitrobacter. Also, similar results were obtained in a set of experiments, without adding nitrite to the substrate. In an experiment that compared attached condition using attached growth nitrifier with detached condition using attached growth nitrifier, the effect on toxicant was 1.83 times less in attached condition than in detached one for Nitrosomonas, and 1.78 times less for Nitrobacter. In case of suspended growth nitrifier, the effect on toxicant was 1.27 times less in non-ground condition than in ground condition for Nitrosomonas, and 1.32 times less for Nitrobacter.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.86 no.4
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• pp.435-442
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• 1997

The research was carried out to investigate the contamination of stream water by the acid mine drainage originated from the abandoned coal mines and coal waste rock in Keumsan, Chungnam. The pH, sulfate and chemical compositions in the stream water were analyzed. At the polluted sites, the pH of stream water was the strong acid, ranging from 3.46 to 4.29. The pH shows negative correlations with sulfate, manganese, copper, zinc, iron and magnesium concentrations. Sulfate concentrations of the polluted stream water, 236.73-310.53mg/l, had 10 times more than those of the non-polluted stream water. The concentrations of heavy metals, Mn and Fe, in the polluted water were 0.56 - 0.83mg/l and 5.89 - 10.58mg/l, respectively. The Mn concentrations were 20 times higher than those of the non-polluted stream water. Compared with those in the non-polluted stream water, the Mg and Ca concentrations in the polluted stream water were high because of leaching from rock and soil to water by the acidifications. Calculated AMDI(Acid Mine Drainage Index) values are low in the polluted stream water, relative to those of the non-polluted water.