• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.86-94
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• 2015

Chironomous is aquatic insect belonging to order Diptera, family Chironomidae. Their larval stage can be found mainly in aquatic benthic environment, hence good model organism to study environmental toxicology assessments and consider as useful bio indicators of contamination of the aquatic environment. In this study, Chironomus Heat Shock Proteins, Cytochrome 450, Glutathione S-transferase, Serine-type endopeptidase gene expressions were compared between polluted field areas (Chironomus plumosus) and under laboratory conditions (Chironomus riparious) to investigate molecular indicators for environmental contaminant stress assessment. Heavy metal (Al, Fe, Mn, Cu, Cr, Zn, Se, Pb, As, Cd) concentrations in sediments collected from three study areas exceeded the reference values. Moreover, HSPs, CYP450 and GST gene expression except SP for C. plumosus showed higher expression than C. riparious gene expression. Similar gene expression pattern was observed in C. riparious that exposed environment waters up to 96 h when compared to C. plumosus exposed to waters that grown in lab conditions. In summary, this comparative gene expression analysis in Chironomous between field and laboratory condition gave useful information to select candidate molecular indicators in heavy metal contaminations in the environment.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.252-271
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• 2020

In this study, we investigated physical and chemical properties such as grain size, heavy metal pollution, magnetic properties, and their environmental impacts of road dusts (RD) collected from 14 sampling points in Daebul industrial Complex. Heavy metal concentrations in RD were in the order of Fe>Zn>Cu>Pb>Cr>Ni>As>Cd>Hg, and this pollution pattern was related to major industries and traffic activities in this area. The results of the correlation analysis between heavy metal elements and particle size in RD showed that Fe and all of analyzed heavy metals had a significant correlation with each other and metal concentrations had a significantly negative correlation (p<0.05). However, due to the input of large metal particles some heavy metal concentrations in the particle fraction of >1000 ㎛ were highest. Pollution load per unit area of this fraction was the highest among the grain size fractions. Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb levels in RD decreased and the levels of Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb were reduced to 85 (As) -22 (Ni)% of the whole after removal of MFs fraction from RD. The mean heavy metal levels in the study area did not exceed the soil contamination guide value of Korea, indicating that heavy metal levels in RD were not a concern. However, at some sampling points, Zn concentrations were exceeded the soil contamination guide value for the 3rd areas of Korea and this result indicated that further studies of the impact of RD on the surrounding environment through re-suspension or non-point pollution, and of effective management methods are required.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.618-629
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• 2021

The Fukushima nuclear power plant (NPP) accident caused by the East Japan Earthquake in 2011 and the recent increase in the frequency of earthquakes in Korea have caused safety concerns regarding radionuclide exposure. In addition, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) in Japan recently decided to release radionuclide-contaminated water from Fukushima's NPP into the Pacific Ocean, raising public concerns that the possibility of radionuclide contamination through both domestic- and foreign fishery products is increasing. Although many studies have been conducted on the input of artificial radionuclides into the Pacific after the Fukushima NPP accident, studies on the distribution and accumulation of artificial radionuclides in marine products from East Asia are lacking. Therefore, in this study, we attempted to explore recent research on the distribution of artificial radionuclides (e.g., ¹³⁷Cs, ^239+240Pu, ⁹⁰Sr, and etc.) in marine products from Korean seas after the Fukushima NPP accident. In addition, we also discuss future research directions as it is necessary to prepare for likely radiation accidents in the future around Korea associated with the new nuclear facilities planned by 2030 in China and owing to the discharge of radionuclide-contaminated water from the Fukushima NPP.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.442-451
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• 2021

Microplastics are fragments of any type of plastic with a size less than 5 mm. Ocean pollution by microplastics is now a worldwide concern in relation to marine ecosystems and human health. The widespread contamination by microplastics means that they can be ingested by and accumulated in diverse species of wildlife, such as fish, mussels, oysters, clams, and scallops. Once ingested, the microplastics can be observed in the intestines, liver, and kidney, and even in the brain. Seafood is one of the major sources of protein intake in humans; therefore, seafood consumption could be pathway for human microplastics exposure. Accumulating evidence indicates that repeated oral exposure to microplastics induces pathologic and functional changes in the reproductive, cardiac, gastrointestinal, endocrine, and even nervous systems of rodents. Maternal exposure to microplastics during gestation and lactation alters metabolic homeostasis in the offspring. Given that seafood provides more than 20% of the total protein intake by over 310 million people worldwide, a reasonable assumption is that microplastics could be substantially accumulated in the human body and impair physiological function. In this review, we have summarized the current status of microplastics contamination in the ocean, their accumulation and toxicities in marine animals and rodents, their exposure to humans, and their potential impacts on human health.

• Journal of Advanced Research in Ocean Engineering
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2017

The safety analysis of an earthquake is carried out during the operation of a subsea pipeline and an onshore pipeline. Several cases are proposed for consideration. In the case of a buried pipeline, permanent ground deformation by the earthquake and an increase of internal pressure by the acceleration of the earthquake should be considered. In the case of a subsea pipeline, a bending moment is caused by liquefaction of the backfill material on a trenched seabed, etc., which results in a high bending moment of the buried pipeline. The bending moment causes the collapse of the subsea pipeline or a leak of crude oil or gas, which results in economic loss due to enormous environmental contamination and social economic loss owing to operation functional failure. Thus, in order to prevent economic loss and operation loss, structurally sensitive design with regard to seismic characteristics must be performed in the buried pipeline in advance, and the negative impact on the buried pipeline must be minimized by conducting a thorough analysis on the seabed and backfilling material selection. Moreover, it is proposed to consider the selection of material properties for the buried pipeline. A more economical review is also required for detailed study.

• Composites Research
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.256-261
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• 2020

In this study, the ignition temperature of the Al-Ti-C reaction system, the microstructure and the mechanical properties of the TiC/Mg composite which produced by the self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) followed by stir casting process were investigated. Mg based composite with uniformly dispersed 0, 10, 20, and 30 vol.% TiC were fabricated, and higher volume fraction of TiC reinforced composite showed superior compressive strength and wear resistance as compared with Mg matrix. It is attributed to the less contamination, defects, impurities in TiC/Mg composite by the in-situ SHS yield effective load transfer from the matrix to the reinforcement.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.132-143
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• 1997

Removal of spilled oil over the sea and the river has become one of the urgent problem in these days. Removing oil using mechanical devices are recommended because chemical dispersion can cause the secondary contamination in the environment. In the present study a series of experiments were carried out to study the effect of working conditions of a belt type skimmer on the rate of recovery for the spilled oil. The oil chosen for the present experiment was diesel oil. Three different situations, namely, upward, downward, up-and-downward pickup have been investigated for various contact angles, belt speeds and oil thicknesses. The results show that the rate of oil recovery for the case of downward pickup with a contact angle of 45.deg. shows the highest among all the conditions. For the removal of spilled diesel oil the optimal belt speed can be found as the critical value to reach the saturated pickup rate for a given oil thickness. The recovery rate of bunker C oil shows 4-6 times higher than that for diesel oil. And the optimal belt speed for bunker C oil can be found less than that for diesel oil for the same slick thickness.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.58 no.1
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• pp.59-67
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• 2022

This study assessed the levels of water qualities and microbials contamination of inland olive flounder farms in Jeju in the summers from 2015 to 2017. Three farms (A-C) located in a concentrated area using mixing coastal seawater and underground seawater and one farm (D) located in an independent area using only coastal seawater were selected. Total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) reached a maximum of 0.898 ± 1.024 mg/L as N in the coastal seawater of A-C, which was close to the limit of the water quality management goal of the fish farm. TAN in the influent from A-C was up to three times higher than that of D, so that the discharged water did not spread to a wide range area along the coast and continued to affect the influent. TAN of the effluent in A-C increased by 2.7-4.6 times compared to the influent, resulting in serious self-pollution in the flounder farm. Heterotrophic marine bacteria in the influent of A-C was about 600 times higher than D, and the discharge of A-C was increased by about 30 times compared to the influent.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2023

Marine microalgae have different collection methods depending on their habitat. In the case of adhesive microalgae, it is difficult to separate organisms from the substrate surface, and contamination is likely to occur during the sampling process. In this study, we analyzed the collection efficiency of adhesive microalgae using three artificial fiber materials (nylon, blend fabric, and viscose rayon). Each fiber showed different fiber diameter and pore characteristics (nylon 26.09 ㎛, blend fabric 56.6 ㎛, viscose rayon 101.3 ㎛). In addition, attached organisms were collected on the surface of artificial substrates at Bukseong Port in Incheon using each tested fiber material. After that, we investigated the population and species composition. The highest number of cells was found in nylon, which was 8 times higher than in the least collected viscose rayon material. In addition, we identified 24 microalgal species from the substrate, demonstrating that the species composition differed from that of surface water. The number of collected microalgae species varied depending on the fiber materials, with nylon containing all the adhesive microalgae. In contrast, only a few microalgae were observed in other fibers. These results suggest that, of the tested fibers, nylon material may be suitable for collecting adhesive microalgae. As a result, this study may be useful for future research on adhesive microalgae.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.8-25
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• 2020

Industrialization has increased the production of road-deposited sediments (RDS) and the level of heavy metals in those RDS, which can have a significant impact on the surrounding aquatic environments through non-point pollution. Although the relationship between contamination characteristics and particle size of RDS is important for pollution control, there is very little information on this. In this study, we investigated the characteristics of grain size distribution and heavy metal concentrations in the road-deposited sediments (RDS) collected from 25 stations in Shihwa Industrial Complex. The environmental impact of RDS with particle size is also studied. I_geo, the contamination assessment index of each metal concentration, represents the RDS from Shihwa Industrial Complex are very highly polluted with Cu, Zn, Pb and Sb, and the levels of those metals were 633~3605, 130~1483, 120~1997, 5.5~50 mg/kg, respectively. The concentrations of heavy metals in RDS increased with the decrease in particle size. The particle size fraction below 250 ㎛ was very dominant with mass and contamination loads, 78.6 and 70.4%, respectively. Particles less than 125 ㎛ of RDS were highly contaminated and toxic to benthic organisms in rivers. RDS particles larger than 250 ㎛ and smaller than 250 ㎛ were contaminated by the surrounding industrial facility and vehicle activities, respectively. As a result of this study, the clean-up of fine particles of RDS, smaller than 125-250 ㎛, is very important for the control and reduction of non-point pollution to nearby water in Shihwa Industrial Complex.