• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.113-123
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• 2011

Objectives: Industrial development in Korea results in a rapid increase in the number of chemicals, some of which may be responsible for toxicity to aquatic ecosystems. In addition, the types of hazardous chemicals included in industrial effluents have gradually increased. Therefore, chemical analysis alone is not enough to assess ecological effects of toxic chemicals in wastewater. Methods: In response to new regulations as whole effluent toxicity (WET) tests for effluent discharge of 15 publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) and 25 industrial effluent treatment plants in Gyeonggi-do, which will be effective from 2011, a necessity of studies emerges that investigates toxicity levels. Results: In case of the public treatment plants, none of them had exceeded the criteria for ecotoxicity. As for individual wastewater discharge facilities, on the other hand, two types were found to exceed the criteria: pulp and paper manufacturing facilities and pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities. For the pulp and paper manufacturing facilities, monitoring results could not help determine the exact toxicant identification. However, Daphnia magna inhibition effect or death was found to leave white plums, suggesting that suspended solids treated and the polymer used in coagulant dose. In case of pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities, the general water quality parameters cannot affect Daphia magna. However, conductivity and salinity can have an effect to be 14,000 ${\mu}s/cm$, 8.1‰ by salts, respectively. Toxicity Identification Evaluation (TIE) and Toxicity Reduction Evaluation (TRE) procedures results appeared to be effective for identifying toxic compounds in $Cl^{-}$ and $SO_4^{2-}$. Conclusions: It is necessary to develop control measures for water treatment chemicals and salts used for processes such as coagulation in individual wastewater discharge facilities in order to achieve the goal to protect aquatic ecosystems in public waters.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.433-446
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• 2009

Pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment are trace contaminants of growing importance in environmental health due to their physiologically active nature. Pharmaceuticals could affect non-target species and might eventually damage sustainability of susceptible populations in the ecosystem. Potentials for health consequences among susceptible human population cannot be ruled out since long-term exposure to cocktails of pharmaceuticals, which might be present in drinking water, is possible. Selection of antibiotic resistant microorganisms is of another concern. In order to understand, and if needed, to properly address the environmental health issues of pharmaceutical residues, knowledge gaps need to be filled. Knowledge gaps exist in many important areas such as prioritization of target pharmaceuticals for further risk studies, occurrence patterns in different environments, chronic toxicities, and toxicities of pharmaceutical mixtures. Appropriate treatment technologies for drinking water and wastewater could be developed when they are deemed necessary. One of the simplest, yet most efficient measures that could be undertaken is to implement a return program for unused or expired drugs. In addition, implementation of environmental risk assessment frameworks for pharmaceuticals would make it possible to efficiently manage potential environmental health problems associated with pharmaceutical residues in the environment.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.173-181
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• 2020

Adsorption and heterogeneous electro-Fenton process using iron-loaded ZSM-5 nano-zeolite were investigated for the removal of Tetracycline (TC) from wastewater. The nano-zeolite was synthesized hydrothermally and modified through impregnation. The zeolite was characterized by XRD, FT-IR, FE-SEM, N₂ adsorption-desorption, and NH₃-TPD techniques. The equilibrium data were best represented by the Freundlich isotherm. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model was the most accurate model for the adsorption of TC on the modified nano-zeolite. The effect of parameters such as pH of solution and current density were investigated for the heterogeneous electro-Fenton process. The results showed that the current density of 150 mA and pH of 3 led to the highest TC removal (90.35%) at 50 min. The nano-zeolite showed the appropriate reusability. Furthermore, the developed kinetic model was in good agreement with the removal data of TC through the electro-Fenton process.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.9
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• pp.783-792
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• 2009

This study investigated 31 selected EDCs(Endocrine Disrupting Compounds) and PPCPs(Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products) in the influent and effluent of a wastewater treatment plant(WWTP) nearby Seoul metropolitan area. The chemical compounds of EDC/PPCPs detected from the plant influent sample include stimulant, X-ray contrast media and fire retardant. The total amount of each compound class were 59.67%, 20.20% and 9.00% respectively. However, in the effluent sample, the major micropolutants detected were oral beta-blocker(30.54%), fire retardant(20.49%), X-ray contrast media(18.17%). The EDC/PPCPs occurrence levels of this study were somewhat lower than previous domestic studies'. When compared to those of overseas, the values were even lower. Some pharmaceutical compound levels particularly measured in European studies were even several thousand times high. This study then compared PECs(Predicted Environmental Concentration) and MECs(Measured Environmental Concentration) of 9 selected pharmaceuticals compounds. The calculated PECs were substantially different with the MECs, while the occurrence order between the PECs and MECs in terms of concentrations of the compounds were similar.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.453-479
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• 2011

Residual pharmaceutical compounds have been recognized as emerging environmental pollutants and are widely distributed all over the world. These compounds cause bioaccumulation and biomagnification during present for a long time in the environment: thereby after adversely biota and human bodies. It is difficult to remove residual pharmaceutical compounds using conventional water/wastewater treatment because of resistant property to photodegradation, biodegradation and chemical decomposition. Moreover, domestic literature data on the pollution of residual pharmaceutical compounds in rivers and lakes are limited. In this paper, species, sources, fate and risk of residual pharmaceutical compounds as well as behavior properties in freshwater resources are demonstrated to encourage the domestic concern about residual pharmaceutical compounds. An extensive review of existing data in the form of figures and tables, encompassing many therapeutic classes are presented.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.764-771
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• 2012

In order to develop constructed wetlands for treating hydroponic wastewater in greenhouse, actual constructed wetlands were used the obtained optimum condition in previous study, and the removal rate of pollutant in the water according to 4 kinds connection method of piping such as system A (UP-UP stream), system B (UP-DOWN system), system C (DOWN-UP stream) and system D (DOWN-DOWN stream) were investigated. Removal rate of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), suspended solids (SS), total nitrogen (T-N) and total phosphorus (T-P) by system A (UP-UP stream) connection method in actual constructed wetlands were slightly higher than other systems. At the system A, the removal rate of BOD, COD, SS, T-N and T-P were 88, 77, 94, 54 and 94%, respectively. Under different hydroponic wastewater loading, the removal rates of pollutants were higher in the order of $75L\;m^{-2}day^{-1}{\fallingdotseq}150L\;m^{-2}day^{-1}$ $$\geq_-$$ $300L\;m^{-2}day^{-1}$. Therefore, optimum connection method was system A for treating hydroponic wastewater in greenhouse.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.124-132
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• 2011

Biofilm and aeration tank of pilot and full RABC (rotating activated Bacillus contactor) plant were analyzed to characterize and determine bacterial community structure in food wastewater treatment system at winter. Concentration of heterotrophic bacteria and Bacillus group was $10^7$ and $10^5$ CFU/ml, respectively, at biofilm of pilot-plant while others represented $10^6$ and $10^4$ CFU/ml, respectively. Five and eight phyla were detected at biofilm of pilot- and full-plant, respectively, by 16S rDNA sequencing. Biofilm of pilot-plant was dominated by ${\beta}$-Proteobacteria (38.8%), ${\gamma}$-Proteobacteria (22.4%), and Bacteroidetes (12.2%), and the most dominant genus was Zoogloeae genus (22.4%). Candidate division TM7 (12.5%) was only detected at biofilm of full-plant and it was dominated by Bacteroidetes (33.3%), ${\gamma}$-Proteobacteria (29.2%), and ${\beta}$-Proteobacteria (20.8%). Clostridium genus specific primer set enabled to detect the sequences of Clostridium genus. These suggested that anaerobic and aerobic bacteria were coexisted even from the initial period of biofilm formation and ${\beta}$-Proteobacteria, ${\gamma}$-Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were major phyla in biofilm of food wastewater treatment system at winter.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.45-64
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• 2020

Objectives: Limited information is available on the presence and associated ecological risks of pharmaceutical residues in aquatic environments near pharmaceutical manufacturing areas in Korea. In this study, we investigated the current state of pharmaceutical contamination and its associated ecological risks in streams near a pharmaceutical manufacturing complex. Methods: Seven pharmaceuticals (acetaminophen, clarithromycin, diclofenac, diphenhydramine, ibuprofen, mefenamic acid and roxithromycin) were measured in water samples collected from the streams near a pharmaceutical manufacturing complex. A predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) was derived using either the assessment factor method or species sensitivity distribution method. In addition, a hazard quotient for each pharmaceutical was calculated by dividing its measured environmental concentration by its PNEC. Results: Samples collected downstream from the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) had higher concentrations of pharmaceuticals than those collected from the reference site (upstream). Moreover, pharmaceutical concentrations were greater in ambient water than in the final effluent from the WWTP, which suggested that non-point sources were contributing to the contamination of the ambient water environment. Some of the target pharmaceuticals exhibited a hazard quotient >1, indicating that their potential ecological effects on the aquatic environment near the pharmaceutical industrial area should not be ignored. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the pharmaceutical manufacturing area was contaminated with residual drugs, and that there was a possible non-point source near the WWTP effluent discharge area. The results of this study will aid in the development of management plans for pharmaceuticals, particularly in hotspots such as pharmaceutical industrial sites and their vicinities.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.1808-1819
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• 2017

Knowledge on the functional characteristics and temporal variation of anaerobic bacterial populations is important for better understanding of the microbial process of two-stage anaerobic reactors. However, owing to the high diversity of anaerobic bacteria, close attention should be prioritized to the frequently abundant bacteria that were defined as core bacteria and putatively functionally important. In this study, using MiSeq sequencing technology, the core bacterial community of 98 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) was determined in a two-stage upflow blanket filter reactor treating pharmaceutical wastewater. The core bacterial community accounted for 61.66% of the total sequences and accurately predicted the sample location in the principal coordinates analysis scatter plot as the total bacterial OTUs did. The core bacterial community in the first-stage (FS) and second-stage (SS) reactors were generally distinct, in that the FS core bacterial community was indicated to be more related to a higher-level fermentation process, and the SS core bacterial community contained more microbes in syntrophic cooperation with methanogens. Moreover, the different responses of the FS and SS core bacterial communities to the temperature shock and influent disturbance caused by solid contamination were fully investigated. Co-occurring analysis at the Order level implied that Bacteroidales, Selenomonadales, Anaerolineales, Syneristales, and Thermotogales might play key roles in anaerobic digestion due to their high abundance and tight correlation with other microbes. These findings advance our knowledge about the core bacterial community and its temporal variability for future comparative research and improvement of the two-stage anaerobic system operation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.235-248
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• 2014

The widespread occurrence of dissolved endocrine disrupting compounds(EDCs) and pharmaceutical active compounds(PhACs) in water sources is of concern due to their adverse effects. To remove these chemicals, adsorption of EDCs/PhACs on granular activated carbon(GAC) was investigated, and bisphenol A, carbamazepine, diclofenac, ibuprofen, and sulfamethoxazole were selected as commonly occurring EDCs/PhACs in the aquatic environment. Various adsorption isotherms were applied to evaluate compatability with each adsorption in the condition of single-solute. Removal difference between individual and competitive adsorption were investigated from the physicochemical properties of each adsorbate. Hydrophobicity interaction was the main adsorption mechanism in the single-solute adsorption with order of maximum adsorption capacity as bisphenol A > carbamazepine > sulfamethoxazole > diclofenac > ibuprofen, while both hydrophobicity and molecular size play significant roles in competitive adsorption. Adsorption kinetic was also controled by hydrophobicity of each adsorbate resulting in higher hydrophobicity allowed faster adsorption on available adsorption site on GAC. EDCs/PhACs adsorption on GAC was determined as an endothermic reaction resulting in better adsorption at higher temperature ($40^{\circ}C$) than lower temperature ($10^{\circ}C$).