• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.81-90
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• 2015

International Seabed Authority (ISA) is currently developing rules with regard to exploitation of manganese nodules which will be contained in its first regulations governing the exploitation of deep seabed mineral resources. A stakeholder survey was conducted in the early 2014 by ISA with the aim of facilitating participation of interested entities in the development process of the rules. The stakeholders who had replied to the survey included existing contractors, sponsoring States, environmentalists, academics, and nongovernmental organizations. Opinions given by them largely reflect their own interests. This paper aims to clarify the scope of the obligations regarding the environmental protection which may be imposed on contractors under the new regulations for the exploitation of manganese nodules. To do so, it first analyses the express provisions on environmental protection applicable to deep seabed mining included in the Law of the Sea Convention, its agreement on implementation of Part XI, and the regulations on exploration for manganese nodules. Secondly, it categorizes these obligations based on the categories of international obligations suggested by Combacau and Alland. Based on the categorizations this paper concludes that, in addition to the existing duties to protect deep seabed environment within the Law of the Sea Convention system, the following new obligations could be added: conservation of exploitation sites for a limited time after the contract is ceased; taking all necessary measures for rehabilitation of destroyed ecosystems that occurredas a result of mining activities; monitoring exploitation sites for a limited period time after the contract is ceased; observing rules and standards on safety of ships and environmental protection adopted under IMO instruments; regulation on the discharge of mine tailings from the facilities used for exploitation of deep sea minerals. Lastly, this paper attempts to provide ways of reflecting national interests in terms of potential obligations which may be included in the new regulations.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2011

Arsenic is one of the most abundant contaminant found in waste mine tailings and soil around refinery, Because of its carcinogenic property, the countries like United States of America and Europe have made stringent regulations which govern the concentration of arsenic in soil. The study focuses on solidification/stabilization for removal of arsenic from soil. Cement was used to solidify/stabilize the abandoned soil primarily contaminated with arsenic (up to 68.92 mg/kg) in and around refinery. Solidified/stabilized (s/s) forms in the range of cement contents 5-30 wt % were evaluated to determine the optimal binder content. Revised Korean standard leaching tests (KSLT), toxicity characteristic leaching procedures (TCLP), Old Korea standard leaching test and revised Korea standard leaching test were used for chemical characterization of the S/S forms. The addition of 10 % cement remarkably reduced the leachability of arsenic in contaminated soil. The concentration of As in leachate of TCLP, KSLT, and old KSLT for soil are below the standard. However that in leachate of revised KSLT is above the standard. Because of extraction fluid used in revised KSLT is very strong acid. It is arsenic in s/s with binder should be exhaustingly leached. Therefore S/S process would not be available for As treatment in soil in Korea.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2011

Arsenic is one of the most abundant contaminant found in waste mine tailings, because of it's carcinogenic property, the countries like United states of America and Europe have made stringent regulations which govern the concentration of arsenic in drinking water. The current study focuses on different treatment methods for removal of arsenic from waste water. Treatment method the high strength arsenic waste water is treated with Fe(III)-ettringite by co-precipitation method. Number of experiments were carried out to decide the optimal dosage of Fe(III)-ettringite to treat arsenic waste water. The Fe(III)-ettringite was synthesized by taking appropriate equivalent ratios of calcium oxide and ferric chloride in proportion to the arsenic. The best removal efficiencies of 94% were observed at a As/(Ca: Fe) ratio of 1:3. The maximum removal of arsenic was observed in pH range of 12. But as the pH increases the arsenic removal efficiency decreases as portlandite is formed in the pH above 12. The analysis of surface of precipitate conform the needle like structure of ettringite. This treatment technique has promising features such as, the chemicals required in the treatment as well as the sludge generated can be reduced. The operating pH range is in alkaline region which is advantageous over traditional treatment process which has lower pH. Also the co-precipitation not only helps in removal of arsenic but also heavy metals.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.142-149
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• 2005

This investigation was conducted to observe and verify the distribution and their occurrence between heavy metals and natural isotopes in the soil collected at the 40 locations from the abandoned coal mine areas to the sediment of Chungra reservoir located at Chungra-Myon Boryung city, Chungnam. The results of the investigation showed that there were distinctive differences of the contents for the heavy metals and the natural isotopes between the area influenced by the coal mine tailing and the non-influenced area. The amounts of the heavy metals were Pb ($1.32-29.96mg\;kg^{-1}$), Cd ($0.15-0.76mg\;kg^{-1}$), Cu ($0.28-49.67mg\;kg^{-1}$), and Cr ($1.31-13.18mg\;kg^{-1}$) while the averages were Cu ($12.43mg\;kg^{-1}$), Pb ($10.44mg\;kg^{-1}$), Cr ($4.87mg\;kg^{-1}$), Cd ($0.51mg\;kg^{-1}$). The standard deviations of Pb and Cu were significantly higher compared to other heavy metals investigated in this experiment. And the amounts of the natural isotopes measured from the dried soil samples were Pb-210 ($4.87dpm\;g^{-1}$), Th-234 ($3.52dpm\;g^{-1}$), Ra-226 ($2.88dpm\;g^{-1}$), Ra-228 ($7.30dpm\;g^{-1}$), K-40 ($58.06dpm\;g^{-1}$) for all locations whereas Cs-137 which is fall-out by nuclear experiment from atmosphere was rarely found. From these results we found that the amounts of natural isotopes such as Pb-210 (4.41%), Th-234 (3.60%), and Ra-226 (2.09%) were less than those found in the coal-tailing while the proportion of Ra-228 (266%) and K-40 (308%) were significantly higher than those in the coal-tailing. Also occurrence of correlations between the amounts of the heavy metals and the natural isotopes was proportionally related.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.281-295
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• 2010

This paper deals with magnetic susceptibility, mineralogy, soil properties (pH, EC, CEC, loss on ignition), iron and manganese oxides, the content and partitioning of heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn), and their mutual relationship in the soil samples of an unpolluted, abandoned mine area, and industrial complex area. The various minerals derived from weathered bedrock were identified by X-ray diffraction in the unpolluted soil samples, except for the magnetic minerals. XRD analysis also revealed the existence of hematite and magnetite related to mine tailings and waste rocks in the abandoned mine area samples. The industrial complex area samples had carbonate minerals, such as calcite and dolomite, that might be due to anthropogenic deposition. The sum of the reducible, oxidizable, and residual fractions was over 80% for the abandoned mine area samples and over 50% for the industrial complex area samples using the sequential extraction method. The industrial complex area samples had a relatively high carbonate fraction that was associated with carbonate minerals. The content of aqua regia-extractable Fe, Mn, As, and Zn had a high positive correlation with the content of the dithionite-citrate-bicarbonate (DCB)-extractable method related to Fe/Mn oxide phases. The 54% and 58% of aqua regia-extractable Fe and As content, respectively, acted together with the concentrations of the DCB-extractable phases. Magnetic susceptibility values of total samples ranged from 0.005 to $2.131{\times}10^{-6}m^3kg^{-1}$. The samples including iron oxide minerals, such as hematite and magnetite, had a high magnetic susceptibility. The magnetic susceptibility showed a significant correlation with the heavy metals, Cd (r=0.544, p<0.05), Cr (r=0.714, p<0.01), Ni (r=0.645, p<0.05), Pb (r=0.703, p<0.01), and Zn (r=0.496, p<0.01), as well as Fe (r=0.608, p<0.01) and Mn (r=0.615, p<0.01). The aqua regia-extractable Fe and Mn content had a significant positive correlation with Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn. However, the DCB-extractable Fe and Mn content had a significant positive correlation with As and Ni, indicating that the heavy metals were associated with Fe and Mn oxide minerals.