• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.123-135
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• 1997

In order to investigate the dispersion patterns and contamination level of heavy metals in the soil-ecosystem and to evaluate the efficiency of soil remediation by reversed soil method, soils and plants were collected from the Dongjin Au-Ag-Cu mine area and analysed for heavy metals. The dispersion patterns of heavy metals in soils and plants show that heavy metal pollutions caused by waste rump around Dongjin mine are mainly found in the vicinity of the waste rump and in the southward slanting of mine. Toxic metallic pollutants from the mine influence heavy metal contents in paddy soils in downstream area, and may be a potential sources of heavy metal pollution on crop plants. Soil samples collected from the remediated rice farming field by reversed method show similar levels of heavy metal content to those from the polluted rice farming field, but topsoil enrichment of heavy metals are not found. Heavy metal contents of the rice plants collected from remediated rice farming field are significantly lower than those from polluted rice farming field, and it suggests that the reversed soil method is effective for the reduction of bioavailability of heavy metals.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.25-31
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• 2013

Civil and military firing ranges are usually contaminated with heavy metals such as lead and copper and remediation is required. Acid washing and extraction are common remediation methods. Lead contaminated firing range soil samples were collected and a preliminary study was conducted to evaluate the characteristics of the contamination and the contribution of high specific gravity particles. Ethylenediamine tetra acetic acid(EDTA) extraction was applied for the removal of heavy metal but the extraction was not feasible for the firing range soil. Even after the repeated EDTA extraction, the contamination were still over the Korean environmental standard indicating that soil particles highly contaminated with heavy metal which release the heavy metal ion even after the repeated extraction. Some colored and higher specific gravity particles were separated from the soil samples and analyzed. The colored particles have specific gravity of 2.5-6.6. The saturation ratio of Pb and EDTA was 4.9-32%. After removal of these colored particles, the sandy soil showed moderate contamination which can be treated with soil washing. This was proved with the five-level sequential extraction and TCLP tests.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.346-360
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• 2003

In order to investigate the geochemical characteristics of surface sediments in streams of Gwangju City, sediment samples from the main stream of Yeongsan river, Hwangryong river, and Gwangjucheon in the city were collected and analyzed for grain size and metal and organic carbon contents. The sediment types of the streams widely vary from pebble to mud. The metal contents in the sediments from Yeongsan river and Hwangryong river are mainly dependent on the grain size of the sediments and the geology around the streams, while the sediments in Gwangiucheon are controlled by organic matter contents from the domestic sewage. The enrichment factor (Ef) and index of geoaccumulation (Igeo) representing the degree of metal contamination in the sediments are relatively low in the mainstream of Yeongsan river and Hwangryong river. However, those of Gwangjucheon show EF values of P=8.30, Cu=5.54, Zn=14.28 and Pb=7.41 and Igeo values of P=3.78, Cu=2.79, Zn=3.66 and Pb=1.59. The heavy metal contamination is especially significant near the area where the Seobangcheon and Donggyecheon branches of Gwanjucheon, join. Therefore, it is suggested that the metallic contaminations of these small streams are significantly influenced by the domestic sewage of the city.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.1522-1542
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• 2019

To adapt to environmental changes and to maintain cellular homeostasis, microorganisms adjust the intracellular concentrations of biochemical compounds, including metal ions; these are essential for the catalytic function of many enzymes in cells, but excessive amounts of essential metals and heavy metals cause cellular damage. Metal-responsive transcriptional regulators play pivotal roles in metal uptake, pumping out, sequestration, and oxidation or reduction to a less toxic status via regulating the expression of the detoxification-related genes. The sensory and regulatory functions of the metalloregulators have made them as attractive biological parts for synthetic biology, and the exceptional sensitivity and selectivity of metalloregulators toward metal ions have been used in heavy metal biosensors to cope with prevalent heavy metal contamination. Due to their importance, substantial efforts have been made to characterize heavy metal-responsive transcriptional regulators and to develop heavy metal-sensing biosensors. In this review, we summarize the biochemical data for the two major metalloregulator families, SmtB/ArsR and MerR, to describe their metal-binding sites, specific chelating chemistry, and conformational changes. Based on our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms, previously developed metal biosensors are examined to point out their limitations, such as high background noise and a lack of well-characterized biological parts. We discuss several strategies to improve the functionality of the metal biosensors, such as reducing the background noise and amplifying the output signal. From the perspective of making heavy metal biosensors, we suggest that the characterization of novel metalloregulators and the fabrication of exquisitely designed genetic circuits will be required.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.6-13
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• 2015

BACKGROUND: Most of the tailings have been left without any management in abandoned metalliferous mines and have become the main source of heavy metal contamination for agricultural soils and crops in the these areas. METHODS AND RESULTS: This experiment was carried out to investigate the assessment of the heavy metal contamination in paddy soils located on downstream of the closed metalliferous mine. The average total concentrations of cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), and arsenic (As) in paddy soils were 8.88, 56.7, 809, 754, and 37.9 mg/kg, respectively. Specially, the average concentrations of Cd, Pb and Zn were higher than those of warning criteria for soil contamination(4 mg/kg for Cd, 200 mg/kg for Pb, and 300 mg/kg for Zn) in agricultural soil established by Soil Environmental Conservation Act in Korea. The proportions of 0.1 M HCl extractable Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, and As concentration to total concentration of these heavy metals in paddy soils were 27.7, 21.3, 35.1, 13.8 and 10.5%, respectively. The pollution index of these five metals in paddy soils ranged from 0.42 to 11.92. Also, the enrichment factor (EFc) of heavy metals in paddy soils were in the order as Cd>Pb>Zn>Cu>As, and the enrichment factor in paddy soil varied considerably among the sampling sites. The geoaccumulation index (Igeo) of heavy metals in soils were in the order as Cd>Pb>Zn>Cu>As, specially, the average geoaccumulation index of Cd, Pb, and Zn (Igeo 2.49~3.10) were relatively higher than that of other metals in paddy soils. CONCLUSION: Based on the pollution index, enrichment factor, and geoaccumulation index for heavy metal in paddy soils located on downstream of closed metalliferous mine, the main contaminants are mine waste materials and mine drainage including mine activity.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.9-18
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• 2003

Sampling of waters from each stage of treatment system (Successive Alkalinity Producing System; SAPS), tailings seepage, and spring near the Hanchang coal mine of Kangwon Province were carried out seasonally and analyzed to evaluate the source and possible path of groundwater contamination by acid mine drainage (AM). Sulfur isotope compositions were measured to identify the origin of groundwater contaminations and the sulfate reduction processes in the SAPS. Low pH and high metal concentration of spring water indicates possibility of the groundwater contamination by AMD. Removal efficiency of acidity of the SAPS was 18.17 g/$\textrm{m}^2$/day on an average and the metal removal efficiency was almost 100%, which was higher than those of other treatment systems. However, no appreciable decrease of sulfur content and almost similar sulfur isotope compositions of water from each stage of the treatment system may suggest incomplete or very poor sulfate reduction by sulfate reducing bacteria. Chemical and sulfur isotope compositions showed that spring water was contaminated by seepage from mine tailings. And seepage of stonewall, a part of treatment system was affected by both tailings seepage and mine adit drainage. In this study site, the treatment system was constructed for the only AMD from mine adit not for tailings seepages, which resulted in the groundwater contamination from tailing seepages. Similar situation is expected in other abandoned coal mine areas.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.105-109
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• 2007

This study monitored and compared the contamination levels of total aerobic bacteria, coliform groups and S. aureus of 16 Shrimp Jeotgal (Salt Fermented Shrimp) products from 3 traditional markets (TM), 3 department stores (DS) and 3 super markets (SM) located on seoul, Korea. Moreover this study was carried out to survey the concentrations of NaCl and heavy metal (lead; Pb) of the Shrimp Jeotgal. The contamination levels of total aerobic bacteria in the Shrimp Jeotgai were $3.35log_{10}CFU/g$ as a mean and $3.71log_{10}CFU/g$ for TM, $3.16log_{10}CFU/g\;for\;DS,\;2.84log_{10}CFU/g$ for SM. The coliform groups were contaminated in 50% of Shrimp Jeotgal and it means that the hygienic control is needed urgently. S. aureus were not detected in every sample. The levels of NaCl were between 17.9 and 28.5%. Heavy metal (lead; Pb) was detected in only 1 product at the level of 0.02 ppm out of 16 products. Although microbiological contamination levels of Shrimp Jeotgal were not much high, hygienic management like HACCP is thought to be needed for the production of Shrimp Jeotgal in traditional market.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.413-417
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• 2010

Line to ground faults by deterioration of insulators has frequently occurred in power system, and the main cause is surface contamination of the insulators. The contamination of insulator is analyzed by monitoring the surface leakage current flowing them. The suspension insulator is monitored by installation of a zero-phase current sensor(ZCT), but the line-post insulator is impossible to apply the same method because of its large diameter structure. This paper proposed a detection method of surface leakage current for a line-post insulator, and it can easily be applied to new and/or built insulators. The leakage current is indirectly calculated from the potential difference between the metal electrode attached on the surface of insulator and the ground connector. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, the leakage current is compared as a function of contamination condition controlled by the density of NaCl solution. The leakage current is proportioned to the density of NaCl solution, and the voltage detected by the electrode showed the same trend. From the experimental results, we designed and fabricated a monitoring device which is composed of a detection electrode, signal converter, microprocessor, and ZigBee, and its measurement range is $10{\mu}A{\sim}5mA$.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2013

This study was on leaching test(KSLT, TCLP) of the aggregate for the products(RA-1) and for the site(RA-2) to evaluate the characteristics of contaminants and the possibility of contamination arising from the aggregate. On the basis pH, conductivity and heavy metal contents in the aggregate, RA-1 indicated higher than RA-2. As a result of the leaching test, the pollutants were eluted from the aggregate increased as the particle size of the aggregate was smaller. The pH in the aggregate had a strong alkali by a pH value of 9.0~12.3, the conductivity was higher in less than 10mm RA-1 due to the leaching of dissolved inorganic ions. The heavy metals satisfied the leaching standards of KSLT and less 10% was eluted from the aggregate. As a result of evaluating water pollution possibility of the aggregate, the pH displayed in items with a very high possibility of contamination, conductivity and turbidity did in item with a low possibility of contamination and on the other hand the heavy metals did in item with a very low possibility of contamination.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.237-246
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• 2015

Heavy metal pollution in soil, such as lead contamination, has become an area of interest in Korea because of urbanization and atmospheric deposition from neighboring countries. Therefore, in this research, eco-physiological responses such as chlorophyll contents, antioxidant enzyme activity, photosynthetic rate, biomass and phytoaccumulation abilities were investigated for 4 commonly used native roadside tree species to suggest suitable tree species to cope with lead contamination. The target species, Ginkgo biloba, Prunus yedoensis, Zelkova serrata and Chionanthus retusus showed lead toxicity by significant changes of chlorophyll contents and antioxidant enzyme activities on treatments over 200 mg Pb/kg. However, biomass and photosynthetic rates only showed significant responses of plants in the highest level (5,000 mg/kg) treatment. Especially, G. biloba did not show any significant changes of antioxidant enzyme activity, photosynthetic rate, and biomass even in the highest level treatment. In low level - environmentally realistic treatments, G. biloba and P. yedoensis showed the highest phytoaccumulation rate of lead from soil. Selecting and planting species like G. biloba which have good phytoaccumulation abilities and resistance to lead contamination by further research will be required to deal with emerging lead contamination.