• Title/Summary/Keyword: Heavy metal pollution level

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Distribution of heavy metal contamination in soils and sediments in the vicinity of the Hwacheon Au-Ag-Pb-Zn mine

  • Lee Sung-Eun;Lee Jin-Soo;Chon Hyo-Taek
    • 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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    • 2003.11a
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    • pp.529-531
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    • 2003
  • In order to investigate the level of heavy metal contamination and the seasonal variation of metal concentrations in soils and sediments influenced by past mining activities, tailings, soil and sediment samples were collected from the Hwacheon mine in Korea. The main pollution sources in this mine site are suggested as tailings and mine waste rocks. Elevated levels of Cd, Pb and Zn were found in soils and sediments. In a study of seasonal variation on the heavy metals in soils and sediments, heavy metals were higher enriched collected from before rainy season ($2^{nd}$ sampling) than after rainy season ($1^{st}$ sampling). Also, in order to estimate the microbial effects on Cd speciation in sediments, bacteria which can adsorb Cd was isolated and Cd adsorption characteristics of isolated bacteria in Cd solution was evaluated. The Cd bioremoval efficiency in Cd solution (5 ppm) by bacteria was more than $90\%$. Bioremoval efficiency in single metal solution was higher than that in mixed metal solution of Pb and Zn.

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Interpretation of heavy metal elements from the road dusts using GIS (GIS를 이용한 도로 분진의 중금속원소 함량 해석에 관한 연구)

  • 이효재;이근상;이언호;장영률
    • Spatial Information Research
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    • v.10 no.2
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    • pp.201-213
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    • 2002
  • Chemical analyzes were carried out the samples from roadsides of the Gwangju city. The purpose of this research is to investigate the concentrations and distribution patterns of heavy metals due to urbanization and industrialization in the Gwangju city This study area is not significantly contaminated based on the concentrations of Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn. However, the concentrations of the chemical elements analyzed are locally higher than those of serious contamination level indicated by Ministry of environment. The dust pH is in the rage of 5.60-7.09 and was generally neutral, and there are no difference in pollution area and nonpollution area. Chemical analyses utilized are dilution by 0.1N HCl. In result of analysis by the method using 0.1N HCl, concentrations of Cd and Cu are a little high in Gwangchondong of Seo-Gu. Concentrations of Mn and Pb are a little high in Buk-Gu and Nam-gu, and Concentrations of Zn are generally higher than average of soils. Zn, in the study area, keeps polluting greatly as Zn concentration of average is 150.9ppm. All of P.I values are lower than 1, it means heavy metal pollution is not serious.

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The Recognition Level of Food Contamination with Residual Pesticides and Hazardous Heavy Metals in Taejon Area (식품의 잔류농약 및 유해중금속의 오염인식도 -대전지역을 중심으로-)

  • 한장일;김성애
    • Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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    • v.3 no.3
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    • pp.454-465
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    • 1998
  • This study was to investigate the recognition level of food contamination with residual pesticides and hazardous heavy metals from 365 male and female adults in Taejon area using questionnaires. Among the recognizing level of residual pesticides in overall foods, 69.1% were 'serious', 25.6% were 'average' and 5.3% were 'not serious'. Over 94.7% of the subjects recognized residual pesticides pollution infoods. for hazardous heavy metals in food, 47.8% responsed as 'serious', 40.5% as 'average' and 11.8 as ' not serious' . Over 88.3% of the subjects recognized contaminated pesticides seriously in fruits, 72.1% in vegetables and 51.7% in cereals, whereas 55.7% of the subjects recognized hazardous heavy metal contamination seriously in fruits, 53.4% in vegetables, 40.8% in fishes and shellfishes and 35.0% in seaweeds. The subjects recognized residual pesticides contamination more seriously in overall foods, cereal, potatoes and starches, bean, vegetables and fruits, whereas hazardous heavy metal contamination was recognized more seriously in fishes and shellfishes, and seaweeds food groups. Comparisons were shown based on individuial's occupation. Farmer, forester, iner and fisher showed the lowest recognizing level of food contamination in most food groups. The mean score of the dietary effect by mass media's information on food contamination from residual pesticides and hazardous heavy metals were 3.51±0.96 out of 5 points. By Duncan's multiple range test, sex, age, marriage, food cost per month, concerns about health and nutrition knowledge showed significant differences in the mean effect score at p<0.05. According to a pesticides contamination in several food groups were affected by food cost per month, mass media's information on food contamination, health status, and concerns about health, But a recognition level of hazardous heavy metals in food were affected by income and, food cost per month mass media's information on food contamination, health status, concern about health and nutrition knowledge. People who need to take extreme precautions of food contamination were in order of producers, government officials, homemakers, the consumer's association and consumers.

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Heavy Metal Pollution in Sub-Saharan Africa and Possible Implications in Cancer Epidemiology

  • Fasinu, Pius Sedowhe;Orisakwe, Orish Ebere
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.14 no.6
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    • pp.3393-3402
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    • 2013
  • The increasing scourge of cancer epidemiology is a global concern. With WHO emphasizing that 40% of all cancer cases are preventable, exposure to known and suspected carcinogens must be discouraged. The battle with communicable diseases and other third world challenges has greatly de-emphasized anti-cancer campaigns in sub-Saharan Africa. The abundant deposit of mineral resources in sub-Saharan Africa has attracted high mining activity with its negative environmental aftermath. Poor regulatory mechanisms have led to environmental contamination by products of mining including heavy metals. In addition to poor urban planning, the springing up of settlements in industrial areas has led to generation and exposure to more hazardous wastes consequent on poor disposal systems. Studies establishing close association between exposure to heavy metals and cancer epidemiology in sub-Saharan Africa are increasing. The current review assesses the level of environmental pollution by heavy metals in sub-Saharan Africa, and brings to the fore available evidence implicating such in the increasing cancer epidemiology in the sub-continent.

Ecological impact of fast industrialization inferred from a sediment core in Seocheon, West Coast of Korean Peninsula

  • Choi, Rack Yeon;Kim, Heung-Tae;Yang, Ji-Woong;Kim, Jae Geun
    • Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.44 no.4
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    • pp.212-221
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    • 2020
  • Background: Rapid industrialization has caused various impacts on nature, including heavy metal pollution. However, the impacts of industrialization vary depending on the types of industrializing activity and surrounding environment. South Korea is a proper region because the rapid socio-economical changes have been occurred since the late nineteenth century. Therefore, in this study, we estimate the anthropogenic impacts on an ecosystem from a sediment core of Yonghwasil-mot, an irrigation reservoir on the western coast of Korea, in terms of heavy metal concentrations, nutrient influx, and pollen composition. Results: The sediment accumulation rate (SAR) determined by 210Pb geochronology showed two abrupt peaks in the 1930s and 1950s, presumably because of smelting activity and the Korean War, respectively. The following gradual increase in SAR may reflect the urbanization of recent decades. The average concentrations of arsenic (As), copper (Cu), and lead (Pb) during the twentieth century were > 48% compared to those before the nineteenth century, supporting the influence of smelting activity. However, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the As, Cu, and Pb concentrations decreased by 19% compared to levels in the twentieth century, which is coincident with the closure of the smelter in 1989 and government policy banning leaded gasoline since 1993. The pollen assemblage and nutrient input records exhibit changes in vegetation cover and water level of the reservoir corresponding to anthropogenic deforestation and reforestation, as well as to land-use alteration. Conclusions: Our results show that the rapid socio-economic development since the twentieth century clearly affected the vegetation cover, land use, and metal pollutions.

Assessment of Soil Pollutant Distribution Characteristics and Heavy Metal Pollution in Korea (국내 토양오염물질 분포 특성 및 중금속 오염도 평가)

  • Lee, Jong Cheol;Kang, Min Woo;Choi, Gyu Hyuk;Oh, Se Jin;Kim, Dong Jin;Lee, Sang Soo
    • Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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    • v.41 no.1
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    • pp.9-15
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    • 2022
  • BACKGROUND: Heavy metals discharged from various sources contaminate the soil and water and the residuals can persistently be accumulated. In this study, the concentration of soil heavy metals was assessed over the whole regions of Korea based on the contamination factor and the geoaccumulation index. METHODS AND RESULTS: The data of averaged concentrations of heavy metals and fluorine were collected from the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) and the research papers published. In order to classify the levels of heavy metal concentration, the contamination index, including the contamination factor and the geoaccumulation index, based on the relative ratio of the actual concentration of heavy metals in the soil to the background concentration was calculated. In addition, the distribution of heavy metals in soils was visualized by using the geographic information system (GIS). As a result, the Cd contamination in the soils was the most concerned. CONCLUSION(S): This study very roughly indicated the outline of heavy metal concentration over the whole regions of Korea. The change in heavy metals' concentration over the time should further be monitored and the larger data of heavy metal contamination are needed for better understanding in the future.

The study on the Sea Food Pollution According to Environmental pollution of the Western Coast in Korea(I. Fish) (서해안지역의 환경 오염에 의한 수산식품 오염실태 및 예방에 관한 연구(I. 어류))

  • 김순경;이종화;김애정
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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    • v.26 no.5
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    • pp.851-859
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    • 1997
  • This study was perfomed to investigate the contamination level of harmful heavy metals and the level of trace elements in 15 kinds of fish collected at the western coast in Korea from July to December in 1996. The levels of total lead, cadmium, mercury, iron, copper and zinc were determined and the results were summarized as follows: The minimum and maximum values(ppm) of fish, mean value bracketed, were ; Pb : 0.02~4.80(2.26), Cd: 0.001~0.54(0.04), Hg: 0.007~1.08(0.52), Fe: 7.76~66.39(25.70), Cu; 0.37~121.6(1.90), Zn:12.01~112.10(54.78). The results show that mean contents of Pb, Cd and Hg in 15 species fish were not yet dangerous levels enough to cause a health problem. But the contents of Pb and Hg tend to increase.

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A Study on the Crops Pollution with Heavy Metal (농작물중(農作物中) 중금속오염도(重金屬汚染度)와 1일섭취량(日攝取量) 및 허용기준설정(許容基準設定)에 관(關)한 연구(硏究))

  • Yum, Yong-Tae;Bae, Eun-Sang;Yun, Bae-Joung
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.13 no.1
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    • pp.3-12
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    • 1980
  • Certain heavy metals which may lead peoples to poisonous status are widely used in industry and their uses have been increasing along with rapid industrialization of this country. Such an increasement of metal uses aggravates the status of environmental pollution affecting foodstuffs which are the most important life supporting factor of animal and humanbeing. Concerning the safety measures to minimize food-borne transmission of such hazardous metals, surveillance is the backbone of them and probably more so with a potential problem such as intoxication. Theoretically, this surveillance should include the determination of levels of heavy metal toxicants in foods, the determination of food consumption patterns and typical total diet, and the estimation of total load of the metal contaminant from all sources of exposure including air, water, and occupational sources. In recent year, actually, such estimates on the total daily intake of some heavy metals from foods have been made in several developed countries and a wide variation of date by season, locality, and research method was recognized. Also in this country, this kind of research data is vitally needed to make up for the serious shortage or lack of references to estimate the total amount of heavy metal intake of the people. In this study, a modification model for estimation of the total daily intake of cadmium copper, nickel, zinc, and lead through foods was applied and concentrations of the above metals in crops cultivated in this country were measured with atomic absorption spectro photometer to get the following results. 1. Level of heavy metal concentration in crops Generally, the levels of such metals in essential crops such as rice, cucumber, radish. chinese cabbage, apple, pear, grape, and orange are similar or lower than those in Japan and other developed countries. By the way, a striking result on cadmium concentration was increasement of its concentration in rice from $0{\sim}0.035ppm$ in 1970 to 0.11ppm in this study. However, the value is still far below the. Japanese Permissible Lebel of 1.0ppm. 2. Estimation of total daily intake per capita from foods A new model for estimation was devised utilizing levels of metal concentration in foods, amount of food consumed, and other food factors. Based on the above method, the daily intake of cadmium was estimated to be $70.53{\mu}g/man/day$ in average which was as high as the Limit Value of ILO/WHO(up to $71.4{\mu}g/man/day$). Also, 3.89mg of Zinc, 1.65mg of cuppor, 0.32mg of lead were given as the total daily intake per capita by this research. 3. Efficacy of washing or skinning to decrease the amount of metals in crops After washing the crops sufficiently with commercial linear alkylate sulfonate, the concentration of heavy metals could be reduced to $50{\sim}80%$ showing decreasement rate of $20{\sim}50%$. Also, after skinning the fruits, decreasement rate of the heavy metal concentration shelved $0{\sim}50%$.

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Sediment Quality Assessment for Heavy Metals in Streams Around the Shihwa Lake (시화호 유역 하천 퇴적물에서의 중금속 오염도 평가에 관한 연구)

  • Jeong, Hyeryeong;Kim, Kyung-Tae;Kim, Eun-Soo;Ra, Kongtae;Lee, Seung-Yong
    • Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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    • v.19 no.1
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    • pp.25-36
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    • 2016
  • Heavy metals in the stream sediments around Shihwa Lake were studied not only to investigate the characteristics of spacio-temporal distribution but also to assess the pollution degree and ecological risk using various pollution indices. Among metals, Zn had the highest values (1,311 mg/kg) and Hg showed the lowest value (0.261 mg/kg). The order of mean concentrations (mg/kg) of metals was Zn>Cu>Pb>Cr>Ni>Co>As>Cd>Hg in stream sediments around Shihwa Lake. Metal concentrations showed different pollution pattern with industrial region, indicating that these metals originated from different sources and industrial region had higher metal concentration than rural/urban regions. The results of geoaccumulation index (Igeo) showed that the stream sediments were significantly polluted with Cd, Cu, Zn and Pb, indicating moderately to highly polluted by these metals. According to PLI consideration, industrial region was more seriously polluted by metals whereas an rural/urban region was not polluted. About 85% of sampling site for Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb from industrial regions were exceeded the PEL values. The mPELQ and SQI values derived from PEL of industrial region were classified as 'highly toxic' and 'very poor' and metal pollution level tend to be worse in wet season. This indicates that the industrial activities and stromwater runoff represents an important sources of heavy metals around Shihwa Lake.

A Study on Contents of Heavy and Trace Metal of the Agricultural Products around Mines Located in Chollanam-Do - with Yeongam, Boseong, Gokseong, Yeocheon Gun in the Center - (전라남도 광산 주변에서 수확한 농산물 충의 중금속 및 미량금속 함량 조사 - 영암, 보성, 곡성, 여천군을 중심으로 -)

  • 박정숙;이미경
    • The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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    • v.15 no.1
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    • pp.64-69
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    • 2002
  • To know a degree of pollution in agricultural products cultivated around 4 unworked mines located in Chollanam-Do, we investigated a concentration of heavy metal and trace metal to provide the basic data for its residual limits. 28 samples of seven kinds of agricultural products(lettuce, onion, potato, radish, pepper, pumpkin, bean) collected from 4 unworked mines located in Chollanam-Do in 2001 were analyzed by Mercury Analyzer for mercury and Atomic Absorption spectrophotometer for Pb, As, Cd, Cu, Mn, and Zn. Hg contents were detected N.D. ∼trace level(0.01 ppm and less) and As content were detected N.D. ∼ 0.029 lpm but most of same)leE were not detected. Cd contents were detected N.D∼0.124 ppm. The results of Hg, As, Pb and Cd content showed that for all the 7 species of agricultural products studied, none have accumulated levels dangerous enough to Pose health problems. The average contents of Cu were 3.070 ∼ 7.825 ppm in bean, the Mn were 3.688 ∼23.935 ppm in lettuce ailed the Zn were 5.690 ∼21.171 ppm in bean, respectively.