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Lead Pollution and Lead Poisoning among Children in China

  • Zheng, Yuxin
    • Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
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    • 2003.06a
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    • pp.24-25
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    • 2003
  • Lead is ubiquitous in the human environment as a result of industrialization. China's rapid industrialization and traffic growth have increased the potential for lead emissions. Lead poisoning in children is one of the most common public health problems today, and it is entirely preventable. Children are more vulnerable to lead pollution and lead in their bodies can affect their nervous, circulatory, and digestive systems. Children are exposed to lead from different sources (such as paint, gasoline, and solder) and through different pathways (such as air, food, water, dust, and soil). Although all children are exposed to some lead from food, air, dust, and soil, some children are exposed to high dose sources of lead. Significant sources of lead for China's children include industrial emissions (often close to housing and schools), leaded gasoline, and occupational exposure that occurs when parents wear lead-contaminated clothing home from work, burning of coal for home heat and cooking, contaminated food, and some traditional medicines. To assess the blood lead level in children in China, a large-scale study was conducted in 19 cities among 9 provinces during 1997 to 2000. There were 6502 children, aged 3-5 years, were recruited in the study The result indicates that the mean blood lead level was 8.83ug/dl 3-5 year old living in city area. The mean blood lead level of boys was higher than that of girls (9.1l ug/dl vs 8.73ug/dl). Almost 30 percent childrens blood lead level exceeded 10ug/dl. The average blood lead level was higher than that of in 1985 (8.83ug/dl vs 8.lug/dl). An epidemiological study was carried on the children living around the cottage industries recycling the lead from battery. Nine hundreds fifty nine children, aged 5-12 years, living in lead polluted villages where the lead smelters located near the residential area and 207 control children live in unpolluted area were recruited in the study. The lead levels in air, soil, drinking water and crops were measured. The blood lead and ZnPP level were tested for all subjects. The results show that the local environment was polluted. The lead levels both in the air and crops were much higher than that of in control area. In the polluted area, the average blood level was 49.6ug/dl (rang 19.5-89.3ug/dl). Whereas, in the unpolluted area, the average blood level was 12.4ug/dl (rang 4.6-24.8ug/dl). This study indicates that in some countryside area, some cottage industries induce seriously lead pollution and cause children health problem. For the introducing of unleaded gasoline in some large cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, the blood lead level showed a declined trend since 1997. By 2000, the use of leaded gasoline in motor vehicles has been prohibited in China. The most recent data available show that levels of lead in blood among children in Shanghai decreased from 8.3ug/dl in 1997 to 7.6ug/dl in 1999. The prevalence rate of children lead poisoning (blood lead >10ug/dl) was also decreased from 37.8% to 24.8%. In children living in downtown area, the blood lead level reduced dramatically. To explore the relationship between gene polymorphisms and individual susceptibility of lead poisoning, a molecular epidemiological study was conducted among children living in lead polluted environment. The result showed that the subjects with ALAD2 allele has higher ZPP level, and the subjects with VDR B allele has larger head circumference than only with b allele. In the present study, we demonstrated that ALAD genotypes modify lead effects on heme metabolism and VDR gene variants influence the skull development in highly exposed children. The polymorphism of ALAD and VDR genes might be the molecular inherited factor modifying the susceptibility of lead poisoning. Recently, Chinese government pays more attention to lead pollution and lead poisoning in children problem. The leaded gasoline was prohibited used in motor vehicles since 2000. The government has decided to have a clampdown on the high-polluted lead smelters for recycling the lead from battery in countryside. It is hopeful that the risk of lead poisoning in children will be decreased in the further

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Health Related Lifestyle and Stress Among Inhabitants of a City in Korea (일부 도시지역 주민들의 일상생활습관과 스트레스와의 관련성)

  • 손철준;조영채
    • Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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    • v.21 no.2
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    • pp.17-32
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    • 2004
  • The purpose of this study was to evaluate the patterns of stresses arising from various life styles and their related sociodemographic factors in urban residents. The subjects were recruited from the population of two ‘Dong’s (administrative blocks) representative of Daejeon city through stratified cluster random sampling during the period ranging from June I st to Aug. 31 st, 2003. Self-administered questionnaires, including items asking about subjects' sociodemographic characteristics, daily life styles, measurement of stresses by General Health Questionnaire (Goldberg, 1978), were delivered to 396 residents and their responses were analyzed with the following results. 1. Based on the discriminant scores of HPI, 46.7% of the subjects were found to have less than 4 points (poor life style), whereas 53.3% had points higher than 5 (good life style). Higher than 5 points were scored more frequently in females than in the male, in the age group of 40's - 60's than the 30's, in the group with spouse than without, in the group with both spouse and offsprings than without, and in the group owning a house than not. 2. Based on the degree of stress, 17.7% of the subjects were determined to be healthy, 74.5% were potentially under stress, and 7.8% were at higher risk of stress. The proportion of healthy individuals were significantly higher in the male, advanced aged group(40's and 60's), the group with higher education years( over highschool), with higher monthly income over two million Won, and with spouse, than their respective counterparts. On the other hand the proportion of the individuals potentially under stress and at higher risk of stress was significantly higher in the female, in the age group of 30's and over 60's, in the group with academic career lower than middle school, with monthly income lower than two million Won, and without spouse. 3. Based on the relation of HPI with degree of stresses, subjects with HPI scores lower than 4 had increased rate of falling into the groups under potential stress and at higher risk of stress, while on the other hand those with over 5 points were found to be healthy in light of stress. 4. Based on the specific relation of each item of HPI with degree of stress, the proportion of healthy individuals was higher in the groups who take appropriate hours of sleep(7-8hours), who take breakfasts everyday, who take physical exercises everyday, who don't smoke, who don't drink alcohol, who take snacks everyday, who are overweight and obese, whereas the proportion of the group under potential stress and at higher risk of stress was higher in their comparable counterparts. 5. The relation of mean scores of HPI with stress scores in both male and female subjects showed negative correlation that the higher HPI scores, the lower stress scores. 6. Multivariate regression analysis to reveal the factors influencing the stress of the subjects showed that for men the significant factors were age, education, presence of job or not, exercise, subjective health status, with the explanatory power of 26.3%. For women, they included educational years, presence of spouse or not, job, owning a house or not, sleeping hours, drinking habit, taking snacks, subjective health status, with the explanatory power of 31.8%. The above study results suggests that stresses of urban residents have significant correlation with daily life styles and this correlation is also remarkably distinguished by different age and sex.

Characterization of the Behavior of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Elements in the Groundwater within the Chiaksan Gneiss Complex : Focusing on the Mineralogical Interpretation of Artificial Weathering Experiments (치악산 편마암 지질의 지하수 내 자연 방사성 원소의 거동 특성 연구: 인공풍화 실험을 통한 광물학적 해석)

  • Woo-Chun Lee;Sang-Woo Lee;Hyeong-Gyu Kim;Do-Hwan Jeong;Moon-Su Kim;Hyun-Koo Kim;Soon-Oh Kim
    • Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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    • v.36 no.4
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    • pp.289-302
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    • 2023
  • The study area was Gangnim-myeon, Hoengseong-gun, Gangwon-do, composed of the Chiaksan gneiss complex, and it was revealed that the concentrations of uranium (U) and thorium (Th) within the groundwater of the study area exceeded their water quality standards. Hence, artificial weathering experiments were conducted to elucidate mineralogically the mechanisms of their leaching using drilling cores obtained from the corresponding groundwater aquifers. First of all, the mineralogical compositions of core samples were observed, and the results indicated that the content of clinochlore, a member of the chlorite group of minerals that can form through low- and intermediate-temperature metamorphisms, was relatively higher. In addition, the Th concentration was measured ten times higher than that of U. The results of artificial weathering experiments suggested that the Th concentrations gradually increased through the dissolution of radioactive-element-bearing minerals up to the first day, and then they tended to decrease. It could be attributed to the fact that Th was leached with the dissolution of thorite, which might be a secondary mineral, and then dissolved Th was re-precipitated as the various forms of salt, such as sulfate. Even though the U content was lower than that of Th in the core samples, the U concentration was one hundred times higher than that of Th after the weathering experiments. It is likely caused by the gradual dissolution and desorption of U included in intensively weathered thorite or adsorbed as a form of UO22+ on the mineral surface. In addition, the leaching tendency of U and Th was positively correlated with the bicarbonate concentration. However, the concentrations between U and Th in groundwater exhibited a relatively lower correlation, which might result from the fact that they occurred from different sources, as aforementioned. Among various kinetic models, the parabolic diffusion and pseudo-second-order kinetic models were confirmed to best fit the dissolution kinetics of both elements. The period that would be taken for the U concentration to exceed its drinking-water standard was inferred using the regressed parameters of the best-fitted models, and the duration of 29.4 years was predicted in the neutral-pH aquifers with relatively higher concentrations of HCO3, indicating that U could be relatively quickly leached out into groundwater.

A Study on Root Damage to Street Pavement from the Roots of Roadside Trees in Urban Areas - Focusing on Roadside Trees in Seo-gu, Daejeon City - (도심 가로수 뿌리의 융기특성 연구 - 대전 서구 가로수를 대상으로 -)

  • Tak, Seong-Cheol;Lee, Shiyoung
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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    • v.46 no.3
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    • pp.58-69
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    • 2018
  • This study investigated root damage characteristics and correlations between roadside trees and street furniture through the investigation of the root damage conditions and the current status of roadside trees and street furniture in Seo-gu, Daejeon City where the occurrence of pavement uplift is frequent. The study area was divided into six areas by species of trees as Metasequoia glyptostroboides and Platanus occidentalis focusing on the streets that were installed with trees chest height and 8cm round planted at the time of the development of the Dunsan-dong Housing Site Development in Seo-gu, Daejeon metropolitan city (1990~1994). The damage rate of roadside protection frames (95.3%) was higher than that of curbstones (19.7%) at the study site. Streets without a protective frame were more likely to have damaged pavement. In addition, the frequency of breakage of protective frames was lowered when a drinking water area was increased to more than a certain level. The frequency of the type of uplift in the sidewalk pavement surfaces is in the order of tail type > mounding type > irregular type, and the frequency of the uplift direction is the highest in Direction 1 ($0{\sim}44^{\circ}C$), Direction 2 ($45{\sim}89^{\circ}$), and Direction 3 ($95{\sim}134^{\circ}$) when $180^{\circ}$ of the street direction is based on $90^{\circ}$ parallel to the curbstone. The uplift length is about 31~60cm and it is most often at a height of 3~6cm. When comparing the results of uplift deformation, Metasequoia glyptostroboides was found to be higher than the deformation of Platanus occidentalis. In addition, it can be seen that the larger the length, width and height of the ridge, the larger the deformation becomes. The relationship between the diameter at breast height, the dimension of the pavement width, the frequency of the ridge phenomenon and the deformation amount is not necessarily proportional, and there seems to be a gap due to external factors such as soil humidity and planting base. Therefore there is a need for a multi-directional approach in reducing uplift.

Epidemiological Studies on Giardia Infection Associated with environmental Pollution (Giardia에 의한 환경오염(環境汚染)과 감염(感染)에 관한 역학적(疫學的) 연구(硏究))

  • Lee, Keun-Tae;Kim, Seok-Chan;Song, Jong-Sool;Chung, Pyung-Rim
    • Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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    • v.9 no.1
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    • pp.56-66
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    • 1984
  • Giardia lamblia is a pathogenic flagellate causing intestinal disorders such as diarrhea, abdominal pain and malabsorption of nutrients. Giardia is mainly infected by the ingestion of contaminated foods per os. Craun (1979) has recently reported that mass infection of this flagellate through the contaminated water supply systems is one of public health hazards. Also, so-called traveller's diarrhea is sometimes caused by Giardia infection (CDC, U.S.A., 1971). However, a few epidemiological studies figuring out the mode of infection or control measures of Giardia infection has been done so far in Korea. The present study was aimed to know the prevalence of Giardia infection in several Korean populations, detectability of this flagellate in water systems and the viability of the cysts against sewages and disinfectants applying to drinking water. In the present study, 388 stool specimens from orphanage children in Chun-joo, Chung-joo, On-yang and Chun-an areas and 538 stool specimens from inhabitants in Woo-do, In-chon, and Chun-joo were examined by formalin-ether concentration technique to detect out Giardia cysts. On the other hand, water samples from 14 sites of Han River and its tributaries were collected in May through July, 1984. Fifty liter of water sample in each sampling site was then filtered through water filtering system deviced by U.S. Environmental Proutection Agency and the sediments rinsed out from the thread rolls, a part of water filtering system, were examined to detect out the Giardia cysts. In order to observe the viability of Giardia cysts in the sewage samples, the cysts were treated in it at $4^{\circ}C$ or $25^{\circ}C$ for 7 through 28 days. For this purpose, the cysts were also exposed to various concentrations of disinfectants such as chlorine, iodine and ozone gas for proper time intervals. After treatment, the viability test of the Giardia cysts were carried out by method of Rice and Schaefer (1981) with minor modification. The results obtained in this study were as follows : 1) The detection rates of G lamblia cysts in the stool specimens were 18.3% in orphans and 4.3% in general examinees. 2) The prevalences of Giardia Infection were higher in the young age groups than in-adults. The highest positive rate was 18.4% in the age group less than 10. 3) Of 14 water specimens sampled from Han River system and its tributaries around the Seoul area, the Giardia cysts were detected from 4 samples, and no cyst was found in the water supply systems. 4) The cysts treated in the sewage survived for 28 days at $4^{\circ}C$ and for 13 days at $25^{\circ}C$. 5) The cysts were completely destroyed within 60 minutes by exposure to 8 mg/l of residual chlorine at 4g and within 30 minutes by exposure to the same concentration of chlorine at $25^{\circ}C$. 6) The cysts were all dead when exposed to 1 mg/1 of iodine for 60 minutes at $4^{\circ}C$ or $25^{\circ}C$. 7) The cysts were destroyed after 10 minute exposure in 0.15 mg to 0.25mg of residual ozone gas per liter. Summarizing the above results, it is considered that Giardia infection is regarded as water-borne disease and the cysts are able to be controlled by the application with the disinfectants in the water supply systems.

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Sodium Intakes of Korean Adults with 24-hour Urine Analysis and Dish Frequency Questionnaire and Comparison of Sodium Intakes According to the Regional Area and Dish Group (24시간 소변분석과 음식섭취빈도지를 사용한 우리나라 성인들의 나트륨 섭취량과 지역별, 음식군별 나트륨 섭취량의 비교)

  • Son, Sook-Mee;Park, Young-Sook;Lim, Hwa-Jae;Kim, Sook-Bae;Jeong, Yeon-Seon
    • Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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    • v.12 no.5
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    • pp.545-558
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    • 2007
  • This study was performed to assess the sodium intakes of Korean adults using a 24-hr urine analysis and dish frequency questionnaire (DFQ) according to each dish group and the regional area. The subjects of this study were comprised of 522 adults (male : 267, female : 285), aged 20-59yr residing in the metropolitan area (N=200), Chungcheng-Do (N=117), Jeolla-Do(N=117), and Gueongsang-Do provinces (N=118). The subjects were recruited from the residents who once participated or are participating in the various health programs offered by the public health center. The number of subjects who completed the 24-hr urine collection was 205 (male : 110, female : 95). The mean age and BMI of the subjects were $39.0{\pm}$11.7y and $23.1{\pm}2.9 kg/m^2$, respectively. The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure was $119.5{\pm}15.4 mmHg$, and $77.1{\pm}11.1 mmHg$, respectively. Eighteen percent of the subjects responded that they are currently smoking, 36% drinking and 50.4% exercising. Twenty point six percent of the subjects were assessed as having hypertension according to their systolic or diastolic blood pressure($SBP{\ge}140mmHg$ or $DBP{\ge}90mmHg$) measurements in the present study. Salt intake of the subjects estimated with 24-hr sodium excretion was 12.7g/d (male : 13.4g/d, female : 12.1g/d) based on the sodium excretion rate as 82%. Salt intake estimated with DFQ was 14.7g/d (male : 16.2g/d, female : 13.4g/d), 2 g more than the salt intake estimated with 24-hr urine analysis. The four dish groups that contributed most to the sodium intake in order were kimchi (11571.4mg), soup and stew (1260.5mg), fish and shellfish(706.3mg) and noodle and ramyeon(644.3mg). Salt intake estimated with DFQ was the highest in the subjects of Gueongsang-Do(17.0g/d), second highest Chungcheong-Do (16.4g/d) and the lowest in the metropolitan area (13.0g/d). Subjects of Gueongsang-Do showed the highest sodium intakes in most of the dish group, whereas subjects of the metropolitan area showed the lowest. Residents of Chungcheong-Do revealed the highest sodium intake with kimchi and of Jeolla-Do the higher sodium intake with main dish (meat, fish and beans). The highest salt percentage of kimchi ($3.0{\pm}0.8%$) and soybean paste ($14.5{\pm}5.1%$) were observed in Gueongsang-Do, whereas individuals of the metropolitan area were observed as having kimchi ($1.6{\pm}0.5%$) and soybean paste ($7.4{\pm}1.6%$) with the lowest salt percenage. Men were observed as having more salty kimchi ($2.4{\pm}0.1%$) than women ($2.1{\pm}0.1%$).

The Psychological Characteristics of Women in the Obesity Clinic (비만클리닉에 내원한 여성의 심리적 특성)

  • Park, Sat-Byul;Yun, Kyu-Wol;Woo, Haing-Won
    • Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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    • v.11 no.2
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    • pp.137-148
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    • 2003
  • Introduction: This research was performed to contract the attitude of dietary restriction and the psychological problems such as depressive mood and perceived stress and to investigate the relationship of these and obesity in women who visited the obesity clinic. Methods: During May 2001, sociodemographic variables, physical characteristics, Three Factor Eating Questionnaire(TFEQ), Symptom Check List-90-R(SCL-90-R) and Perceived Stress Scale were assessed from 150 female who visited the obesity clinics which were located at downtown, Seoul and the Hospital of Ajou University, Medical College. Hamilton depression rating scale(HDRS) was estimated by author. And then 116 female cases who filled up the questionnaire faithfully were included. Results: Obese group more than Body Mass Index(BMI) $25.0kg/m^2$ was 50% of the total subjects. BMI was increased as the age goes up(p<0.001). The frequency of unmarried cases in the under normal weight group was high rate of 48.8% while it in the obese group was 13.8%(p<0.001). There was no significant difference in the rate of smoking and alcohol drinking among subjects by BMI. There was no significant difference of TFEQ among subjects by BMI and the percent of body fat. Factor 2(r=0.27, p<0.01) and Factor 3(r=0.24, p<0.01) were significantly correlated with Global Severity Index(GSI). Only the paranoia scale among each estimated mean value of T scores of SCL-90-R by BMI was the significant difference between the overweight group and the obese group(p<0.05). T scores of scales of SCL-90-R were less than 50, but T scores of the under normal weight group and the obese group were higher than overweight group. GSI was significantly correlated with HDRS(r=0.75, p<0.01) and Perceived Stress Scale(r=0.32, p<0.01). Depressive mood in the obese group was significantly higher than non-obese group that HDRS was compared to two groups by the percent of body fat(p<0.05). Perceived Stress Scale was no significant correlation with BMI and the percent of body fat. All of the subject were in trouble of high stress. Stress affected dietary restriction owing that perceived stress had a relation with Factor 2(r=0.29, p<0.01) and Factor 3(r=0.37, p<0.01). Also, it affected psychological characteristics owing that perceived stress had a relation with the depression scale, GSI and HDRS(r=0.33, r=0.32, r=0.34, p<0.01). Conclusion: Obese women have more psychological difficulties including depression and high perceived stress, which closely related with the attitude of dietary restriction. Psychiatric intervention and aggressive assessment of psychological problems will be needed to the people who visit the obesity clinic in the future.

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Association of Health-related Behaviors with Socio-demographic Characteristics (건강증진과 관련된 행태에 영향을 미치는 인구사회학적 특성)

  • Roh, Won-Hwan;Kim, Seok-Beom Gib;Kang, Pock-Soo
    • Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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    • v.23 no.2
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    • pp.157-174
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    • 1998
  • A survey was conducted to study the influence of socia-demographic factors on health-related behaviors. from June 1 to July 31, 1996. The study population was 1,903 adults in Kyongju City. A questionnaire method was used to collect data. Health-related behaviors included 24 items for men and 26 items for women. The followings are summaries of findings : The compliance of health promotion activities was higher when the age was older in men, when married, when having no religion and when the education level was higher than the other groups. And it was significantly higher when the income was lower in men and higher in women, in the residents living in apartment, in white collar workers, in the chronic ill people and when the body weight was lower than the other groups. Notable differences were found in the composition of health behavior factors for socio-demographic characteristics. Men used more tobacco, coffee and tea, salt and alcohol than women. However, the practice rates of regular exercise and physical examination were higher in men than women. On the other hand, the practice rates of fruit/vegetable intake, milk drinking and regular tooth brushing were higher in women than men. When the age was old, the amount of fruit/vegetable intake, the frequency of physician visit and health check-up, and regularity of meal were increased. When the income was high, the use rate of seat-belts, the amount of coffee, milk, fruit/vegetable and red meat intake were increased. The frequency of regular exercise. tooth brushing, health check-up, pap test and breast self examination were higher in the rich than the poor. When the education level was high, the frequency of regular exercise and tooth brushing, and the use rate of seat belts were increased, and the amount of alcohol consumption and salt intake were decreased. These findings suggest that socio-demographic factors are significantly associated with the patterns of health behaviors. In conclusion public health programs and individual counseling efforts should be multifaceted and behavior-specific to encourage to practice healthy life-style.

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A Study on the Stability and Sludge Energy Efficiency Evaluation of Torrefied Wood Flour Natural Material Based Coagulant (반탄화목분 천연재료 혼합응집제의 안정성 및 슬러지 에너지화 가능성 평가에 관한 연구)

  • PARK, Hae Keum;KANG, Seog Goo
    • Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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    • v.48 no.3
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    • pp.271-282
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    • 2020
  • Sewage treatment plants are social infrastructure of cities. The sewage distribution rate in Korea is reaching 94% based on the sewage statistics based in the year of 2017. In Korean sewage treatment plants, use of PAC (Poly Aluminum Chloride) accounts for 58%. It contains a large amount of impurities (heavy metal) according to the quality standards, however, there have been insufficient efforts to reinforce the standards or technically improve the quality, which resulted in secondary pollution problems from injecting excessive coagulant. Also, the increase in the use of chemicals is leading to the increases in the annual amount of sewage sludge generated in 2017 and the need to reuse sludge. As such, this study aims to verify the possibility of reusing sludge by evaluating the stability of heavy metals based on the injection of coagulant mixture during water treatment which uses the torrefield wood powder and natural materials, and evaluating the sedimentation and heating value of sewage sludge. As a result of analyzing heavy metals (Cr, Fe, Zn, Cu, Cd, As, Pb, and Ni) from the coagulant mixture and PAC (10%), Cr, Cd, Pb, Ni, and Hg were not detected. As for Zn, while its concentration notified in the quality standards for drinking water is 3 mg/L, only a small amount of 0.007 mg/L was detected in the coagulant mixture. Maximum amounts of over double amounts of Fe, Cu, and As were found with PAC (10%) compared to the coagulant mixture. Also, an analysis of sludge sedimentation found that the coagulant mixture showed a better performance of up to double the speed of the conventional coagulant, PAC (10%). The dry-basis lower heating value of sewage sludge produced by injecting the coagulant mixture was 3,378 kcal/kg, while that of sewage sludge generated due to PAC (10%) was 3,171 kcal/kg; although both coagulants met the requirements to be used as auxiliary fuel at thermal power plants, the coagulant mixture developed in this study could secure heating values 200 kal/kg higher than the counterpart. Therefore, utilization of the coagulant mixture for water treatment rather than PAC (10%) is expected to be more environmentally stable and effective, as it helps generating sludge with better stability against heavy metals, having a faster sludge sedimentation, and higher heating value.

Comparision of Family Environment, Health Behavior and Health State of Elementary Students in Urban and Rural Areas (도시.농촌 지역 초등학생의 가족환경, 건강행위 및 건강상태에 관한 비교)

  • Bae, Yeon-Suk;Park, Kyung-Min
    • Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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    • v.9 no.2
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    • pp.502-517
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    • 1998
  • This research intends to survey family environment, health behavior and health status of the students in urban-rural elementary schools and analyze those factors comparatively, and use the result as basic material for school health teacher to teach health education in connection with family and regional areas. It also intends to improve a pupil's self-abilitiy in health care. The subjects involve 2,774 students of urban elementary schools and 583 student in rural ones, who were selected by means of a multi -stage probability sampling. Using the questionnaire and school documents, we collected data on family environment, health behavior and health status for 19 days. Feb. 2nd 1998 through Feb. 20th 1998. The R -form of Family Environment Scale (Moos, 1974) was used in the analysis of family environment(Cronbach's Alpha =0.80). Questionnaires of Health Behavior in School-aged children used by the WHO in Europe(Aaro et al., 1986) and the ones developed by the Health Promotion Committee of the Western Pacific(WHO, 1995)(adapted by long Young-suk and Moon Young-hee(1996)) were used in the analysis of health behavior, as well documents on absences due to sickness, school health room-visits, levels of physical strength, height, weight and degree of obesity were used to determine health status. In next step, We used them with an $X^2$-test, t-test, Odds Ratio, and a 95% Confidence Interval. 1. In two dimensions of three, family-relationship (t=3.41, p=0.001) and system -maintenances(t= 2.41, p=0.0l6) the mean score of urban children were significantly higher than those of rural ones. In the personal development dimension however, there was little significant difference. Assorting family environment into 10 sub-fields and analyzing them, we recognized that urban children were superior to rural children in the sub-fields of expressiveness (t =3.47, p=0.001), conflict (t=0.48, p=0.001), active-recreational orientation (t = 1.97, p=0.049) and organization (t=4.33, p=0.000). 2. Referring to the Odds Ratios of urban-rural children's health behaviors, urban children set up more desirable behavior than rural children wear ing safety belts (Odds Ratio =0.32, p=0.000), washing hands after meals(Odds Ratio = 0.43, p= 0.000), washing hands after excreting (Odds Ratio = 0.39, p=O.OOO), washing hands after coming - home ( Odds Ratio = 0.75, p = 0.003), brushing teeth before sleeping(Odds Ratio =0.45, p=0.000), brushing teeth more than once a day (Odds Ratio =0.73, p=0.0l2), drinking boiled water (Odds Ratio = 0.49, p=0.000), collecting garbage at home(Odds Ratio=0.31, p=0.000) and in the school(Odds Ratio =0. 67, p=0.000). All these led to significant differences. As to taking milk(Odds Ratio = 1.50, p=0.000), taking care of eyesight(Odds Ratio=1.41, p=0.001) and getting physical exercise in(Odds Ratio = 1.33, p=0.0l9) and outside the school(Odds Ratio = 1.32, p=0.005), rural children had more desirable behavior which also revealed a significant difference. There was little significant difference in smoking, but the smoking rate of rural children(5.5%) was larger than that of urban children(3.9%). 3. Health status was analyzed in terms of absences, school health room-visits, levels of physical strength, and the degree of obesity, height and weight. Considering Odds Ratios of the health status of urban-rural children, the health status of rural children was significantly better than that of the urban ones in the level of physical strength(t=1.51, p=0.000) and the degree of obesity(t=1.84, p=0.000). The mean height of urban children ($150.4{\pm}7.5cm$) is taller than that of their counterparts($149.5{\pm}7.9$), which revealed a significant difference (t =2.47, p=0.0l4). The mean weight of urban children($42.9{\pm}8.6kg$) is larger than that of their counterparts($41.8{\pm}9.0kg$), which was also a significant difference(t=2.81, p=0.005). Considering the results above, we can recognize that there are significant differences in family environment, health behavior, and health status in urban-rural children. These results also suggestion ideas for health education. What we would suggest for the health program of elementary schools is that school health teachers should play an active role in promoting the need and importance of health education, develop the appropriate programs which correspond to the regional characteristics, and incorporate them into schools to improve children's ability to manage their own health management.

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