• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.49-58
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• 2017

Biotic ligand model (BLM) and species sensitivity distribution (SSD) were used to determine the site-specific Cu threshold concentration (5% hazardous concentration; HC5) in soil pore water. Model parameters for Cu-BLM were collected for six plants, one collembola, and two earthworms from published literatures. Half maximal effective concentration ($EC_{50}\{Cu^{2+}\}$), expressed as $Cu^{2+}$ activity, was calculated based on activities of major cations and the collected Cu-BLM parameters. The $EC_{50}\{Cu^{2+}\}$ varied from 2 nM to $251{\mu}M$ according to the variation in environmental factors of soil pore water (pH, major cation/anion concentrations) and the type of species. Hazardous activity for 5% (HA5) and HC5 calculated from SSD varied from 0.076 to $0.4{\mu}g/L$ and 0.4 to $83.4{\mu}g/L$, respectively. HA5 and HC5 significantly decreased with the increase in pH in the region with pH less than 7 due to the decrease in competition with $H^+$ and $Cu^{2+}$. In the region with pH more than 7, HC5 increased with the increase in pH due to the formation of complexes of Cu with inorganic ligands. In the presence of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), Cu and DOC form a complex, which decreases $Cu^{2+}$ activity in soil pore water, resulting in up to 292-fold increase in HC5 from 0.48 to $140{\mu}g/L$.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.7-14
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• 2010

Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) supports a decision-making process such as establishment of environmental quality criteria. Soil quality criteria (SQC) are essential to protect soil organisms from the exposure to various soil contaminants. In this study, ERA methodologies of advanced countries for soil pollution were extensively compared to propose the ERA approach suitable for soil ecosystem in Korea. The soil ERAs in European Chemical Bureau(ECB), The Netherlands, and Canada can be classified as deterministic ecological risk assessment (DERA), and probabilistic ecological risk assessment (PERA) based on species sensitivity distribution (SSD). We propose three ERA methods according to abundance and reliability of soil ecotoxicity data. The method considered land use such as residential/agricultural, and industrial/commercial uses. The taxonomic groups of soil organism were classified as 'Class' level including different trophic levels (Magnoliopsida or Liliopsida, Clitellata, and Insecta or Secernentea). This study can be used to estimate the soil quality criteria to protect soil biota.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.1-9
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• 2012

The purpose of ecological risk assessment in soil ecosystem is to protect ecological receptors and to provide a scheme of efficient management for soil contaminants. Developed countries have already prepared the methodologies of ecological risk assessment by considering their soil properties, land use, and ecological receptors. In this study, we compared the soil ecological risk assessment processes in the similarity and differences in methodology. Four countries, except for USA, adjusted the toxicological data for ecological risk assessment, based on their representative soil properties because the soil properties affect toxic effects to ecological receptors. The soil ecological risk assessment methodology of Netherlands and UK was based on 'Technical guidance document on risk assessment (TGD)' of European Chemical Bureau (ECB). Australia, USA, and Canada developed their autonomous methodology. In the Netherlands, UK, Australia, and Canada, they employed the species sensitivity distribution (SSD) approach if sufficient toxicity data are available. The USA determined the ecological soil screening level by obtaining the geometric mean of toxicological data for three species. Furthermore, all countries consider secondary poisoning in their soil ecological risk assessment. The latest risk assessment methodology of soil ecosystem that this study investigated can be used to explore what Korea needs to develop the Korean ecological risk assessment methodology of soil ecosystem in the future.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.494-501
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• 2009

Probabilistic Ecological risk assessment (PERA) is extensive approach to qualify and quantify risk on the multi species based on species sensitivity distribution (SSD). As a while, deterministic ecological risk assessment (DERA) considers the comparison of predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) and predicted exposure concentration (PEC). DERA is used to determine if there is potential risk or no risk, and it doesn't consider the nature variability and the species sensitivity. But PERA can be more realistic and reasonable approach to estimate likelihood or risk. In this study, we compared PERA used in developed countries, and proposed PERA applicable for the Korean water environment. Taxonomic groups were classified as "class" level including Actinopterygill, Branchiopoda, Chlorophyceae, Maxillapoda, Insects, Bivalvia, Gastropoda, Secernentea, Polychaeta, Monocotyldoneae, and Chanophyceae in this study. Statistical extrapolation method (SEM), statistical extrapolation method $_{acutechronicratio}$ ($SEM_{ACR}$) and assessment factor method (AFM) were used to calculate the ecological protective concentration based on qualitative and quantitative levels of taxonomic toxicity data. This study would be useful to establish the PERA for the protection of aquatic ecosystem in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.153-165
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• 2014

Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technology is recognizing one of method responding the climate change with reduction of carbon dioxide in atmosphere. In Korea, due to its geological characteristics, sub-seabed geological $CO_2$ storage is regarded as more practical approach than on-land storage under the goal of its deployment. However, concerns on potential $CO_2$ leakage and relevant acidification issue in the marine environment can be an important subject in recently increasing sub-seabed geological $CO_2$ storage sites. In the present study effect data from literatures were collected in order to conduct an effect assessment of elevated $CO_2$ levels in marine environments using a species sensitivity distribution (SSD) various marine organisms such as microbe, crustacean, echinoderm, mollusc and fish. Results from literatures using domestic species were compared to those from foreign literatures to evaluate the reliability of the effect levels of each biological group and end-point. Ecological effect guidelines through estimating level of pH variation (${\delta}pH$) to adversely affect 5 and 50% of tested organisms, HC5 and HC50, were determined using SSD of marine organisms exposed to the $CO_2$-induced acidification. Estimated HC5 as ${\delta}pH$ of 0.137 can be used as only interim quality guideline possibly with adequate assessment factor. In the future, the current interim guideline as HC5 of ${\delta}pH$ in this study will look forward to compensate with supplement of ecotoxicological data reflecting various trophic levels and indigenous species.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.548-555
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• 2018

Objectives: We conducted ecological risk assessment for cadmium, a heavy metal and carcinogen, to identify safety standards by environmental media and to determine its impact on ecosystems by estimating and evaluating exposure levels. Methods: Species sensitivity distributions (SSDs) were generated using ECOTOX DB. A hazardous concentration of 5% (HC5) protective of most species (95%) in the environment was estimated. Using this estimate, predicted no effect concentrations (PNECs) were calculated for aquatic organisms. Based on the calculated PNECs for aquatic organisms, PNEC values for soil and sediment were calculated using the partition coefficient. Predicted exposure concentrations (PECs) were also calculated from environmental monitoring data with hazard quotients (HQs) calculated using PNECs for environmental media. Results: Chronic toxicity data were categorized into four groups and 11 species. In species sensitivity distribution (SSD) analysis, HC5 was $0.340{\mu}g/L$. Based on this value, the PNEC value for aquatic organisms was calculated as $0.113{\mu}g/L$. PNEC values for soil and sediments using a partition coefficient were calculated as 15.02 mg/kg and 90.61 mg/kg, respectively. In an analysis of environmental monitoring data, PEC values were calculated as $0.017{\mu}g/L$ for water, 1.01 mg/kg for soil, and 0.521 mg/kg for sediment. Conclusions: HQs were 0.150, 0.067 and 0.006 for water, soil and sediment, respectively. HQs of secondary toxicity were 0.365 for birds and 0.024 for mammals. In principle, it is judged that an HQ above 1 indicates a high level of risk concern while an HQ less than 1 indicates an extremely low level of risk concern. Therefore, with HQs of cadmium in the environment being <1, its risk levels can be considered low for each media.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.19-27
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• 2015

Permissible soil concentrations for explosives (i.e., TNT and RDX) and heavy metals (i.e., Cu, Zn, Pb, and As) heve been derived from human risk and ecotoxicity, respectively. For TNT and RDX, human risk based-permissible soil concentrations were determined as 460 mg-TNT/kg-soil and 260 mg-RDX/kg-soil. Ecotoxicity based-permissible soil concentrations for Cu and Zn were determined from species sensitivity distribution (SSD) and uncertainty factor of 1 to 5, yielding 18.0-40.0 mg-Cu/kg-soil and 46.0-100 mg-Zn/kg-soil. For Pb and As, ecotoxicity data were not enough to establish SSD so that a deterministic method was used, generating 13.8-30.8 mg-Pb/kg-soil and 2.10-4.60 mg-As/kg-soil. It is worth noting that the methodology used to derive permissible concentrations in soil can differ depending on ecotoxicity data availability and socio-economic situations, which results in different permissible concentrations. The permissible concentrations presented in this study have been derived from conservative assumptions for exposure parameters, and thus should be considered as soil standards. In the light of remediation and pollution management of a site of interest, the site-specific and receptor-specific permissible soil concentrations should be derived considering potential receptors, current and future land use, background concentrations, and socio-economic consultation.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2020

Objectives: This study intends to evaluate the ecological risk of lead (Pb), arsenic (As), and their compounds according to the 2010 action plan on inventory and management for national priority chemicals and provide calculations of risks to the environment. By doing so, we aim to inform risk management measures for the target chemicals. Methods: We conducted species sensitivity distribution (SSD) analysis using the collected ecotoxicity data and obtained predicted no effect concentrations (PNECs) for the in-water environment using a hazardous concentration of 5% (HC5) protective of most species (95%) in the environment. Based on the calculated PNECs for aquatic organisms, PNEC values for soil and sediment were calculated using the partition coefficient. We also calculated predicted exposure concentration (PEC) from nation-wide environmental monitoring data and then the hazard quotient (HQ) was calculated using PNEC for environmental media. Results: Ecological toxicity data was categorized into five groups and five species for Pb and four groups and four species for As. Based on the HC5 values from SSD analysis, the PNEC value for aquatic organisms was calculated as 0.40 ㎍/L for Pb and 0.13 ㎍/L for As. PNEC values for soil and sediment calculated using a partition coefficient were 77.36 and 350.50 mg/kg for Pb and 24.20 and 112.75 mg/kg for As. The analysis of national environmental monitoring data showed that PEC values in water were 0.284 ㎍/L for Pb and 0.024 ㎍/L for As, while those in soil and sediment were respectively 45.9 and 44 mg/kg for Pb, and 11.40 and 19.80 mg/kg for As. Conclusions: HQs of Pb and As were 0.70 and 0.18 in water, while those in soil and sediment were 0.59 and 0.13 for Pb and 0.47 and 0.18 for As. With HQs <1 of lead and arsenic in the environment, their ecological risk levels are found to be low.