• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.307-319
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• 2009

Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technology has been regarded as one of the most possible and practical option to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) and consequently to mitigate the climate change. Korean government also have started a 10-year R&D project on $CO_2$ storage in sea-bed geological structure including gas field and deep saline aquifer since 2005. Various relevant researches are carried out to cover the initial survey of suitable geological structure storage site, monitoring of the stored $CO_2$ behavior, basic design of $CO_2$ transport and storage process and the risk assessment and management related to $CO_2$ leakage from engineered and geological processes. Leakage of $CO_2$ to the marine environment can change the chemistry of seawater including the pH and carbonate composition and also influence adversely on the diverse living organisms in ecosystems. Recently, IMO (International Maritime Organization) have developed the risk assessment and management framework for the $CO_2$ sequestration in sub-seabed geological structures (CS-SSGS) and considered the sequestration as a waste management option to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. This framework for CS-SSGS aims to provide generic guidance to the Contracting Parties to the London Convention and Protocol, in order to characterize the risks to the marine environment from CS-SSGS on a site-specific basis and also to collect the necessary information to develop a management strategy to address uncertainties and any residual risks. The environmental risk assessment (ERA) plan for $CO_2$ storage work should include site selection and characterization, exposure assessment with probable leak scenario, risk assessment from direct and in-direct impact to the living organisms and risk management strategy. Domestic trial of the $CO_2$ capture and sequestration in to the marine geologic formation also should be accomplished through risk management with specified ERA approaches based on the IMO framework. The risk assessment procedure for $CO_2$ marine storage should contain the following components; 1) prediction of leakage probabilities with the reliable leakage scenarios from both engineered and geological part, 2) understanding on physio-chemical fate of $CO_2$ in marine environment especially for the candidate sites, 3) exposure assessment methods for various receptors in marine environments, 4) database production on the toxic effect of $CO_2$ to the ecologically and economically important species, and finally 5) development of surveillance procedures on the environmental changes with adequate monitoring techniques.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.208-215
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• 2000

The estimated total material transports through the Cheju Strait using all data which investigated in 1997 and 1999 are as follows; A large amount of suspended sediments and dissovted inorganic nutrients are carried tothe South Sea through the Cheju Strait by a persistent eastward flow (Cheju Current) from the Y311ow Sea andthe East China Sea. The annual material Oanspous by the Cheju Current are as follows; 22.9${\times}$10$^6$ ton yr$^{-1}$(SS), 0.52${\times}$10$^{10}$ mol yr$^{-1}$ (NH$_4\;^+$), 6.05${\times}$10$^{10}$ mol yr$^{-1}$ (NO$_3\;^-$), 0.36${\times}$10$^{10}$ mol yr$^{-1}$ (PO$_4\;^{3-}$), 10.27${\times}$10$^{10}$ mol yr$^{-1}$ (Si(OH)$_4$). The annual suspended sediment flux per water transport in the Cheju Strait (44.48${\times}$10$^6$ ton yr$^{-1}$ Sv$^{-1}$) is about 1.7 larger than that in the Korean Strait (26.08${\times}$10$^6$ ton yr$^{-1}$ Sv$^{-1}$). The annual nitrate flux per water transport (11.60${\times}$10$^{10}$ mol yr$^{-1}$ Sv$^{-1}$) is about 1.2 larger than that in the Korean Strait (9.72${\times}$10$^{10}$ mol yr$^{-1}$ Sv$^{-1}$) and 2/3 of that by Kuroshio in the East China Sea (18.55${\times}$10$^{10}$ ton yr$^{-1}$ Sv$^{-1}$). It suggests that chemical rich Cheju Current will play a significant role in the biogeochemical processes in the South Sea where the huge land-based waste are introduced.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.63-73
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• 2019

In this study, it was studied recycled soils with bentonite-polymer mixture in order to design economic landfill instead of clay liner. Recycled soil was used as SP, a sandy soil with 90.58% sand and 1.88% silt and clay. The recycled soils were mixed with 4%, 6%, and 8% bentonite by weight, and then compared with samples mixed with 2%, 3%, and 4% bentonite by weight in marine clay. Recycled soil satisfied the permeability criteria at 8%, and clay soil satisfied at 3%. In order to make a sample that satisfies the standard of the waste landfill, a permeability test was conducted by mixing 0.16%, 0.24%, and 0.28% of the polymer in a sample having 4% bentonite mixing ratio. The unconfined compression strength test was carried out at the same mixing ratio to confirm that the specification was satisfied. As the bentonite mixture ratio increased, the permeability coefficient and unconfined compression strength decreased. The strength in polymer mixing increased initially and then maintained a constant value. At 4% bentonite mixing ratio and 0.28% polymer mixing ratio, the coefficient of permeability was 1.0×10^-7 cm/sec or less, and the unconfined compression strength was over 500 kPa. It was confirmed that it can be used as a mixed liner material of waste landfills.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.32 no.7
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• pp.5-14
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• 2016

The use of geothermal energy has increased for economically and environmentally friendly utilization, and a geothermal heat pump (GSHP) system for space heating and cooling is being used widely. As ground thermal properties such as ground thermal conductivity and ground thermal diffusivity are substantial parameters in the design of geothermal heat pump system, ground thermal conductivity should be obtained from in-situ thermal response test (TRT). This paper presents an experimental study of ground thermal properties of U and 2U type ground heat exchangers (GHEs) measured by TRTs. The U and 2U type GHEs were installed in a partially saturated dredged soil deposit, and TRTs were conducted for 48 hours. A method to derive the thermal diffusivity as well as thermal conductivity was proposed from a non-linear regression analysis. In addition, remolded soil samples from different layers were collected from the field, and soil specimens were reconstructed according to the field ground condition. Then equivalent ground thermal conductivity and ground thermal diffusivity were calculated from the lab test results and they were compared with the in-situ TRT results.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.126-135
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• 2012

Republic of Korea designates a waste disposal site within the fishing zone administered jointly with Chin in the Yellow Sea. The issue of waste disposal at sea is subject to the 1996 Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter commonly called London Protocol. China, one of the contracting parties declared that if China becomes a party to a dispute concerning the interpretation and application of the Protocol, the Arbitral procedure of the Protocol shall only be applied with written consent of the Government of China according to the Article 16.5 of the Protocol at the time of its accession. The Article allows any State may declare that, when it is a party to dispute about the interpretation or application of precautionary approach or polluter pay principle, its consent will be required before the dispute may be settled by means of the Arbitral procedure of the Protocol. This paper analyzes the legal basis of Chinese declaration and its implication to parties that may be in dispute with China using international precedents of similar nature and a game theory.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.107-114
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• 2007

This study aimed to investigate the hexachlorobenzene (HCB) dechlorinating ability of sediment microbes collected from a natural canal receiving secondary effluents from an industrial estate and nearby factories. Nine sites along the stream and one in the estuary in the Gulf of Thailand into which the canal spills were specified and sampling for sediment and water. Preliminary analysis of the sediments showed that the first four sites nearest to the discharging location were contaminated by HCB within the range of 0.18 to 1.25 ppm. Apart from that, 1,3,5-trichlorobenzene which has never been commercially produced or used in any manufacturing processes except for the transformation from higher chlorinated benzene was also identified in the range of 0.16 to 0.24 ppm. This suggested a possibility of sporadically HCB contamination in this stream. Of more important, people in the community along this canal earn their living by coastal fishery; hence, posing a risk of spreading HCB and its less chlorinated congeners via food chain from caught marine creatures to human. As a result, there is an urgent need to understand the behavior of HCB dechlorination in this stream sediment which can lead to a clean-up action in the future. Serum bottles with sediment slurries (sediment to water ratio of 1:1 (v/v) and filtered to remove particles larger than 0.7 mm) from each site were inoculated with 2 mg/l of HCB, kept anaerobically in the dark at room temperature without any nourishment, and analyzed for HCB and its less-chlorinated congeners every 6 days. Total chemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, and volatile suspended solids were in the range of 21,492-73,584, 158,100-518,100 and 6,000-32,700 mg/l, respectively. It was found that all sediment slurries began to dechlorinate HCB in 12 to 30 days and the HCB was completely removed within 42 to 60 days or so. On the other hand, there was no HCB dechlorination occurred in the controlled set which was sterilized by autoclaving prior to the addition of HCB. This implies that the HCB transformation was solely due to microorganisms' activities. HCB was dechlorinated principally via pentachlolobenzene to 1,2,3,5-tetrachlorobenzene and terminated at 1,3,5-trichlorobenzene which is the major pathway as reported by many researchers. Dichlorobenzene has not been detected in any samples within the dechlorination period of 60 days. The results indicate that the microbial matrix in the sediment of this stream has an outstanding capability to dechlorinate HCB. Existing substrates and nutrients which mainly sorbed onto the solid phase and the typical temperature in Thailand were sufficient and suitable to promote the activities of these HCB-dechlorinating microbes.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.193-202
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• 2006

The Consultative Meeting of the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and other matter, 1972 (London Convention 1972) has requested to International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environmental Protection Committee to collaborate and help clarify a boundary issue between International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Shops, 1973 as modified by the Protocol of 1978 (MARPOL) and the London Convention concerning 'dumping' versus 'discharges' during normal operations of ships in 2004, and subsequently established a Joint London Convention/MEPC Correspondence Group. The Contracting Parties to London Convention expressed their environmental concerns on the broad interpretation of the "cargo-associated wastes" by the States, which could be discharged by ships under MARPOL. Regulatory regimes for the cargo residues appear to vary among states. Some countries require fur ships to discharge their cargo wastes into the port reception facility and IMO also recommends doing so. This paper examines the related current national and international legal texts for the regulation of disposal of wastes from ships in order to analyze the current global concern on the marine pollution associated with waste discharge during operations of ships. In particular, we attempt to evaluate the likely marine environmental consequences arising from the disposal of cargo residue using an hypothetical case for the coal cargo residue among bulk cargos in this paper, since location, magnitude and frequency of the discharge of coal cargo residues into the sea adjacent to Korean Peninsula are not readily available. The cargo residues may be discharged to the sea according to MARPOL 73/78; however, its marine environmental consequences can be significant depending upon the characteristics and amounts of wastes to be discharged. Also the public tolerance of the environmental consequences would be widely different among nations. Multilateral environmental agreements, in general, more strictly apply their rules if there are other options to disposal at sea, i.e. port reception facility in this case. Therefore, port reception facilities for the wastes generated by ships are recommended to be further constructed in major national ports in order to reduce the risk of environmental damages during the operations of ships.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2013

In this study, we tried to describe the distribution patterns of marine opportunistic mollusks in Korean waters where various environmental stresses have been imposed. Five opportunistic molluscan species were found from four types of disturbed benthic environments around Korea. Theora fragilis, Macoma incongrua, Musculista senhousia were typical dominant species mainly in the coastal area such as harbour regions and semi-enclosed regions where their sediments were enriched with organic matter and summer hypoxia occurred. However, in the waste dumping areas located in the Yellow Sea and southeastern shelf, small size bivalves such as Thyasira tokunagai and Raetellops pulchella were typical opportunistic species.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.31-42
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• 2024

This review paper provides a detailed analysis of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottle recycling in Japan. Japan is a global leader in PET bottle recycling due to its advanced regulatory framework and proactive industry initiatives. Japan's success attributes to the widespread adoption of bottle-to-bottle recycling, driven by the beverage industry's commitment to sustainability. By utilizing post-consumer PET bottle recovery and food-grade mechanical recycling technologies, Japan has achieved significant milestones in PET bottle recycling. This paper examines regulatory frameworks, collection systems, reprocessing facilities, and food safety assessments to highlight Japan's innovative approaches to PET bottle recycling and their impact on global sustainability efforts. Drawing parallels with Korea's early stages of PET recycling, it suggests involving major beverage companies and re-evaluating regulations to promote bottle-to-bottle recycling. The focus is on the implications for Korea to promote circular economy principles in plastic recycling.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.13 no.7
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• pp.13-17
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• 2012

Recently, our ocean development paradigm is changing so that the development focus has been moved from the port facility developments to creating useful marine space. This paradigm accords well with the current green technology and helps the growth of service industries and the development from this paradigm can become a national land mark. Accordingly, the concept of creating marine waste landfill by the development of resource recycling technology has been introduced for eco-friendly space as an artificial island in future. Therefore, this study introduces the reactive vertical drainage method that is to pursue the purification of pollutants as well as stabilization of newly deposited soils in marine environments. To install the reactive vertical drainage piles for more effective feasibility and constructability, placements of drainage mid-layer are considered in the geotechnical viewpoint. Consolidation characteristics were evaluated by standard consolidation tests after several types of model test. As s result, the application of mid-layer drainage is strongly recommended in the reactive vertical drainage to quickly stabilize newly deposited soils. And vacuum consolidation method has better consolidation characteristic than vertical loading method in terms of the settlements predicted by additional stress for further use as an artificial island.