• 환경영향평가
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• 제18권6호
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• pp.429-434
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• 2009

Environmental specimen bank (ESB) is a new tool to assess ecosystem in environmental impact assessment (EIA). ESB looks at changes in the concentration of pollutants in human and environmental specimens over long periods of time through retrospective analysis of archived samples. Korea started to design its National Environmental Specimen Bank (NESB) in 2007 and planned to launch an operational pilot project by 2010. NESB prepares five Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) of shoots of Red and Korean pine, leaves of Mongolian oak, Pigeon's egg, and Common carp's muscle out of 14 planned specimens in 2009. ESB contributes to monitoring the effectiveness of EIA projects and policies by providing a time capsule through ecosystem assessment of representative species. This study reviews ecosystem assessment in EIA and the ESB establishment in Korea and probes NESB applications in ecosystem assessment.

• 자원환경지질
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• 제45권2호
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• pp.169-180
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• 2012

환경시료은행은 환경질(environmental quality)의 시공간적 변화를 모니터링 하는 역할 뿐 아니라 시료 자체를 장기 보존함으로써 후세에 과거의 환경을 직접적으로 검증할 수 있는 기회를 부여하는 기능을 가지고 있다. 이를 위해서 다양한 생태계의 환경을 대표할 수 있는 선정된 시료를 엄격하게 규정된 채취방법에 따라 채취하여 성분변화가 일어나지 않는 초저온상태에서 장기간 보관함으로써 미래 시점에서 회고적 분석(retrospective analysis)을 수행할 수 있는 시설이 요구된다. 선진국에서는 이미 30여 년 전부터 환경정책의 실효성을 입증하거나 시대별 환경배경농도의 변화를 모니터링 하기 위해 다양한 환경시료를 저장해 오고 있다. 우리나라에서 2009년 자동화된 초저온 저장시설을 갖춘 국가환경시료은행이 국립환경과학원의 연구진에 의해 설립되었다. 이를 계기로 선진국의 시료은행 운영 경험을 발전시켜 단시간 내에 정상궤도에 안착시키려는 노력을 경주하고 있다. 아울러 그간 선진국의 운영 사례를 분석하고 이를 토대로 작성된 표준운영절차(SOP)에 따라 시험연구를 진행하고 있다. 이러한 과정에서 도출된 문제점을 분석하고 개선함으로 환경을 대표하는 시료의 저장 및 분석이라는 기본적인 기능에 충실한 수행체계를 갖추어 나가고 있다. 그러나 이와 동시에 환경시료은행의 기능을 적극 응용하여 독자적 부가기능을 부여하는 청사진이 제시되고 이에 대한 실행방안도 요구되는 상황이다. 이를 계기로 국가환경시료은행이 명실공히 국제적인 환경기구로 인정받는 도약의 발판을 마련해야 할 것이다.

• 환경영향평가
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• 제17권4호
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• pp.225-233
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• 2008

An Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB) is an archive for samples that can be used to document and assess the quality of the environment in which we live. An ESB program looks at changes in the concentration of human and environmental specimens over long periods of time through retrospective analysis of archived samples of a particular area collected at regular intervals. The idea of ESB was first proposed by German and American scientists in the early 1970s and has been established since 1979 in Germany, USA, and Japan. Korea plans to establish a National Environmental Specimen Bank (NESB) in 2010. The NESB will be able to assess and improve the quality of analytical measurements as well as to compare the past and current environmental quality as a time capsule. The concept and design for the NESB facility was developed and its Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) are being developed based on an evaluation of ESBs and SOPs of Germany, USA, and Japan. Environmental specimens proposed for banking are based on typical representatives of every level of the food chain from each type of ecosystem that are widely distributed thus enabling comparisons between different sampling areas. Through retrospective analysis of environmental specimens, the NESB will improve the reliability of environmental monitoring, ecological risk assessment, and health impact assessment.

• 환경영향평가
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• 제21권2호
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• pp.327-338
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• 2012

Environmental specimen banks provide the baselines for the scientists and decision makers to do research using the past and present specimens to expect the possible contaminant implications of the future. Many chemicals that are considered harmless now but not found may be found and pose threats in the future. Collected specimens of animals and plants should be conserved without contamination for future analysis. To ensure the availability of samples for the retrospective analysis, the establishment and maintenance of specimen banks in the developing and developed nations has become absolutely necessary. National Environmental Specimen Bank (NESB) established at National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) in 2009. For the application of NESB, several activities such as standard operating procedures (SOPs) development have been prepared. This study applied the guidelines for sampling and sample treatment of five environmental specimens which had been prepared from 2007 to 2009. The target species were shoots of red pine and Korean pine, leaves of Mongolian oak, eggs of domestic pigeon and muscles and livers of common carp. The NESB will enhance the quality of environmental assessment and environmental monitoring based on real time and retrospective analysis.

• 환경영향평가
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• 제22권6호
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• pp.745-751
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• 2013

Environmental Specimen Banks (ESBs) have been established widely in the world since 1979 for monitoring long-term bio-accumulation of environmental pollutants. The ESBs perform the retrospective analysis of representative biological samples collected regularly and store them in cryogenic condition. In Korea, National Environmental Specimen Bank (NESB) was established in 2009. Since then, NESB had prepared the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the seven kinds of specimens (Red Pine (Pinus densiflora), Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio), and etc.) for monitoring the effect of environmental pollution on the terrestrial ecosystem and river ecosystem. In 2012, NESB added Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris)'s eggs to the list of the environmental specimen for monitoring marine environmental pollution. In this study, we sampled the eggs of the Black-tailed Gull on two islands (Baekryeongdo of the West Sea and Hongdo of the South Sea). Especially, we selected eggs which remained in the early stages of embryo development for certifying the consistent and stable monitoring for environmental pollutants in egg contents. However, it was not considered to classify an order of eggs per clutch in this study. It is known that the concentration variations of pollutants exist among eggs in one clutch. Therefore, it is needed to consider the positions of eggs in the laying sequences to meet the objective of bioaccumulation monitoring. We collected 30 eggs in each site but the amount may be insufficient to achieve storage target (over 2,000 g). Therefore, we need to consider an optimal sampling size.

• 환경영향평가
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• 제21권6호
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• pp.823-839
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• 2012

Environmental Specimen Banks (ESBs) are playing pivotal role in monitoring the effect of environmental pollution on the ecosystem based on the retrospective analysis of the representative samples collected regularly and stored in cryogenic condition. In Korea, National Environmental Specimen Bank (NESB) was established in 2009 and the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for sampling, and cryogenic milling and storage had been prepared during 2007-2010. Since then, the tentative SOPs for the seven kinds of specimens (shoots of Red Pine (Pinus densiflora) and Korean Pine (Pinus koraiensis), leaves of Mongolian Oak (Quercus mongolica) and Zelkova Tree (Zelkova serrata), eggs of Feral Pigeon (Columba livia var. domestica), muscles and organs of Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio), and Freshwater Bivalve (Unio (Nodularia) douglasiae)) have been put to test in the field and laboratory as well against the practicality and feasibility. The SOPs were improved by reflecting the findings from the research and the following discussion regarding the selection of specimen (Feral Pigeon suffering from a control management), sample size (a problem of decreasing number of sampling trees related to increasing sampling time) and period (a problem related to a bud growth), and sampling methods etc.. In addition, barcoding system for the management of the specimen information, and monitoring system of the cryogenic storage to regulate the optimum temperature and the liquid nitrogen level were also developed for the efficient and effective control of the samples. Lastly, the safety guide and emergency protocol were augmented to guarantee a safe work environment with the cryogenic facility. These improvements of the SOPs are expected to contribute to more stable operation of the NESB.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제24권10호
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• pp.1301-1307
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• 2014

White-rot fungi of the genus Bjerkandera are cosmopolitan and have shown potential for industrial application and bioremediation. When distinguishing morphological characters are no longer present (e.g., cultures or dried specimen fragments), characterizing true sequences of Bjerkandera is crucial for accurate identification and application of the species. To build a framework for molecular identification of Bjerkandera, we carefully identified specimens of B. adusta and B. fumosa from Korea based on morphological characters, followed by sequencing the internal transcribed spacer region and 28S nuclear ribosomal large subunit. The phylogenetic analysis of Korean Bjerkandera specimens showed clear genetic differentiation between the two species. Using this phylogeny as a framework, we examined the identification accuracy of sequences available in GenBank. Analyses revealed that many Bjerkandera sequences in the database are either misidentified or unidentified. This study provides robust reference sequences for sequence-based identification of Bjerkandera, and further demonstrates the presence and dangers of incorrect sequences in GenBank.

• 한국환경과학회지
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• 제27권12호
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• pp.1279-1290
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• 2018

Sea gulls are high trophic level consumers in the coastal environment, and thus, which have been widely used to monitor contamination biomagnified through a food web. However, such monitoring studies using sea gulls have been rare in the Korean literature. The National Environmental Specimen Bank chose eggs of a black-tailed gulls (Larus crassirostris) to serve as an environmental specimen for the long-term monitoring of the coastal ecosystem affected by terrestrial pollutants. Black-tailed gull eggs were collected from Baengnyeongdo, Hongdo and Uleungdo, and their DDTs and total mercury content were determined. The highest concentration of ${\Sigma}DDTs$ was $231.6{\pm}106.1{\mu}g/kg$ wet in Baengnyeongdo, followed by $230.0{\pm}123.8{\mu}g/kg$ wet in Ulleungdo, and $117.7{\pm}18.3{\mu}g/kg$ wet in Hongdo. In addition, total mercury was detected at $414.5{\pm}97.6{\mu}g/kg$ wet in Ulleungdo, $363.9{\pm}123.6{\mu}g/kg$ wet in Hongdo, and $237.5{\pm}42.3{\mu}g/kg$ wet in Baengnyeongdo. Relatively high concentrations of the target pollutants were recorded in specimens from Ulleungdo. Additional comprehensive and prolonged studies are required to elucidate spatial and temporal patterns of contamination in black-tailed gull eggs with regard to monitoring contaminant trends in eggs and prey.

• 한국환경과학회지
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• 제28권11호
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• pp.1033-1040
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• 2019

The National Environmental Specimen Bank (NESB) has set up a plan to develop reference materials in the facility for assuring analytical quality and validating analytical methods for its monitoring samples. Some of the crucial characteristics that reference materials must consist of are homogeneity and stability of both intra and inter-bottles. In this study, we examined the homogeneity and stability of cryogenically-milled muscle samples, from Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) for total mercury. Homogeneity was tested using ANOVA analysis and regression analysis was used to test short-term stability. The variations of total mercury concentration did not significantly differ between the intra and the inter-bottle (F=0.8, p=0.37). Additionally, relative standard deviation of the total mercury concentration showed low values (2.28%). For the short-term stability test, total mercury variations were not statistically significant as demonstrated by the result of the regression analysis (F ratio = 3.11, p = 0.18). This suggests that the cryogenic-milling process has statistically proven the degree of homogeneity and short-term stability for samples of carp muscles in the chemical analysis for total mercury.

• 한국환경과학회지
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• 제27권12호
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• pp.1271-1277
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• 2018

The National Environmental Specimen Bank (NESB) has been sampling and cryogenically preserving various wildlife specimens to monitor bio-accumulations of chemical pollutants since 2010. Recently, the NESB set up a plan to develop reference materials at their facility to assure the analytical quality of and validate the analytical methods for their monitoring samples. One of the crucial characteristics of reference materials is intra- and inter-bottle homogeneity. In this study, we used ANOVA for total mercury concentrations in some samples to validate their homogeneities after milling and homogenization. We examined the intra- and inter-bottle homogeneities of two cryogenically-milled samples (Korean mussel (Mytilus coruscus) and black-tailed gull's egg (Larus crassirostris). The variations in the total mercury concentrations were not significantly different intra- and inter-bottle (mussel: F=0.74, p=0.67; gull egg: F=1.96, p=0.10). Additionally, the relative standard deviations of the total mercury concentrations showed low values (mussel: 2.02%, gull egg: 1.78%). Therefore, the cryogenic-milling process statistically proves the homogeneity of the materials of mussels and sea gull eggs for chemical analysis for total mercury.