• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.29-36
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• 1988

This present study has been carried out to examine the correlation between the distribution of the coliform bacterial plasmids and the viability test against heavy metals in the upper stream of Han river(Gapyung; clean water) and the its basin (Anyang Cheon; polluted water). And the distribution of plasmids were examined to be used as trophic indicator for analysis between the clean and polluted waters. 1. A total of 110 isolates were analyzed for the presence of plasmids by means of the boiling method and agarose gel techniques. Plasmids were significantly more frequent in the strains which had been isolated from the clean water (14.3%). Also, there were much higher multiplicity of plasmids at the polluted water(41.0%), compared with the clean water (33.0%). By the comparision between molecular weight of bacterial plasmids in the clean water and those of polluted water, there were no significant differences of the clean water from the polluted water, to such extent as 30.0%, 28.6%, respectively, in frequency for occurrence of high molecular weight plasmids iver 35.8% Mdal. 2. Each isolate was carried out the resistance test for mercury(10-5M), nickel(10-3M) and arsenic (0.1%). At the polluted site, the survival ability of the plasmid-carrying straings(Hg, 31.0%l Ni, 5.7%; As, 65.7%) was higher than that of the non plasmid-carrying strains(Hg, 12.1%; Ni, 3.0%; As, 54.6%). This trend was more remarkable in the clean site (plasmid-carrying strains: 16.7%,-,-). As a result it is suggested that plasmids could be used as an indicator of a certain types of water pollution. In addition, heavy metals might have inflyenced, some extent, to the distribution of plasmids in the environment which has been surveyed in the present study.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.487-496
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• 2019

Objective: The purpose of this study was to create soil contamination maps using QGIS (Quantum Geographic Information System) and suggest selection methods for soil pollution sources for preferential investigation in a soil contamination survey. Method: Data from soil contamination surveys over five years in Gyeonggi-do Province, South Korea (2013-2017) were used for making soil contamination maps and analyzing the density of survey points. By analyzing points exceeding the concern level of soil contamination, soil pollutant sources for priority management were identified and selection methods for preferred survey points were suggested through a study of the model area. Results: A soil contamination survey was conducted at 1,478 points over five years, with the largest number of surveys conducted in industrial complex and factory areas. Soil contamination maps for copper, zinc, nickel, lead, arsenic, fluoride, and total petroleum hydrocarbons were made, and most of the survey points were found to be below concern level 1 for soil contamination. The density of the survey points is similar to that of densely populated areas and factory areas. The analysis results of points exceeding the criteria showed that soil pollutant sources for priority management were areas where ore and scrap metals were used and stored, traffic-related facilities areas, industrial complex and factory areas, and areas associated with waste and recycling. According to the study of the model area, the preferred survey points were traffic-related facilities with 15 years or more since their construction and factories with a score of 10 or more for soil contamination risk. Conclusion: Soil contamination surveys should use GIS for even regional distribution of survey points and for the effective selection of preferred survey points. This study may be used as guidelines to select points for a soil contamination survey.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.15-23
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• 2022

Food delivery is gaining popularity due to changes in lifestyle and dietary patterns. However, packages used to delivery food may contain contaminants including heavy metals, or additives added during manufacturing process which may migrate into food during processing and transportation. In this study, a total of 58 food packages for delivery were collected and tested for migration of heavy metals (lead, cadmium and arsenic), bisphenol A and phenol into food simulants. The method was validated by evaluating linearity of calibration curve, limit of detection, limit of quantification, recovery and precision. Result of heavy metal migration showed that lead was the most frequently migrated metal and the highest concentration was detected in a polypropylene sample. Although there are no specific migration limits for bisphenol A and phenol in packaging materials tested in this study, migrations of bisphenol A and phenol were detected in some packages. This may due to contamination or additives added during manufacture of packages. Risk (%) was calculated to analyze the risk associated with the migration of heavy metals, bisphenol A and phenol, and was always below 1 %. These results showed that food packages for delivery are safe in terms of heavy metals, bisphenol A and phenol migration.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.35
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• pp.3.1-3.11
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• 2023

Background: Studies on the risk of mercury (Hg) in Korean fishery products focus primarily on total Hg levels as opposed to methylmercury (MeHg) levels. None of the few studies on MeHg in tuna investigated tuna from Japanese restaurants. Few have evaluated lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) in tuna. Thus, this study aimed to conduct a risk assessment by evaluating heavy metal concentrations in tuna from Japanese restaurants. Methods: Thirty-one tuna samples were collected from Japanese restaurants in the Republic of Korea. They were classified according to region and species. The concentration of heavy metals in the samples was analyzed using the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety Food Code method. The rate of exceedance of maximum residue levels (MRLs) and the risk compared to the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) set by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives (%PTWI) were evaluated for risk assessment. Results: The mean of MeHg, Pb, Cd and As concentrations were 0.56 ± 1.47 mg/kg, 33.95 ± 3.74 ㎍/kg, 14.25 ± 2.19 ㎍/kg and 1.46 ± 1.89 mg/kg, respectively. No sample exceeded the MRLs of Pb and Cd, but 9.7% of the samples exceeded the MRL of MeHg. The %PTWIs of MeHg, Pb, Cd and As were 4.2037, 0.0162, 0.0244 and 1.1627, respectively. The %PTWI of MeHg by age group and sex was highest among men aged 19-29 years (10.6494), followed by men aged 30-49 years (7.2458) and women aged 19-29 years (4.8307). Conclusions: We found that 3 out of 31 samples exceeded the MRL of MeHg. The %PTWI of MeHg showed significant differences based on age and sex, and the value was likely to exceed a safe level depending on individuals' eating behaviors. Therefore, improved risk management for MeHg is required.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.453-459
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• 2018

This study was performed to investigate the contamination levels of heavy metals (such as lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury) and aflatoxin (such as $B_1$, $B_2$, $G_1$ and $G_2$) in commercial herbs for food and medicine. The concentrations of the heavy metals were measured by the ICP-MS and a mercury analyzer. The aflatoxins were analyzed by a HPLC-florescence coupled with photochemical derivatization. The detection ranges of the lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury were found to be 0.006~4.088 mg/kg, 0.002~2.150 mg/kg, ND~0.610 mg/kg and ND~0.0139 mg/kg respectively. Among the total samples, the 3 samples (2.6%) were not suitable for the specification of cadmium by the MFDS (Ministry of Food and Drug Safety). The 13 samples of the total 117 samples were aflatoxin positive (11.1%). The amount of aflatoxin $G_1$ was $0.7834{\mu}g/kg$ in the Puerariae Radix and aflatoxin $G_2$ were $0.3517{\mu}g/kg$, $0.4881{\mu}g/kg$ in two samples of the Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, respectively. The aflatoxins $B_2$ and $G_1$ were simultaneously detected in the 10 Angelicae Gigantis Radix. The detection ranges of aflatoxins $B_2$ and $G_1$ were $0.2324{\sim}1.0358{\mu}g/kg$ and $0.7552{\sim}1.6545{\mu}g/kg$ respectively in Angelicae Gigantis Radix. The results of the current study suggest that continuous monitoring is needed for the proactive management of commercial herbs for food and medicine safety.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.107-111
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• 2005

We investigated the quality of vaporized liquid of water-boiled pine needle in the aspects of drinking conformity and aroma characteristics. As a result, there was no hazardous component in the assessment for 45 types of ingredients. Especially, inorganic components such as arsenic (As), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and cadmium (Cd) which are harmful to human body were not detected. Additionally, we observed that other ingredients were present within the standard level suitable for drinking. The total 34 volatile components of the vaporized liquid of water-boiled pine needle were identified by dynamic head-space method. Fenchol, bomeol $\beta-fenchyl$ alcohol and bomyl acetate were the major volatiles and composed of 6.7, 13.1, 26.6 and $16.2\%$ of total volatiles, respectively. In addition, the alcohols and aldehydes were the prominent ingredients of which the contents showed comparatively high.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.207-212
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• 1986

Heavy metal contents and residues level of organochlorine pesticides were analyzed for commercial salted and fermented sea-food which bought from pusan area. Heavy metal contents ranged from 0.11 to 0.46 ppm of mercury, trace to 1.1 ppm of lead, 0.01 to 0.34 ppm of cadmium, 0.4 to 5.98 ppm of cupper, 0.16 to 4.5 ppm of zinc, trace to 0.49 ppm of manganese and trace to 1.35 ppm of arsenic. Residue level of organochlorine pesticides in salted and fermented sea-foods ranged from 0.3 ppb to 1.825 ppb of total BHC Organochlorine pesticides of DDE, dieldrine, pp'-DDD and pp'-DDT were detected a small amount from Ge jeot and Myeol-Chi jeot. In conclusion. the heavy metal and levels of organochlorine pesticides residues were safety to eat the salted and fermented sea foods.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Mineral and Energy Resources Engineers
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.527-537
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• 2018

Column tests of a sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) bioreactor were conducted to determine the design factors for sulfate-rich mine drainage. Various substrates were applied to the bioreactor, including cow manure and its mixture with a mushroom compost, with rice straw and limestone as subsidiary materials. This procedure provided a removal efficiency of up to 82% of the total sulfur with the mixture of cow manure (70%), mushroom compost (10%) and rice straw (20%), and higher efficiencies were observed after 2 days of retention time. In the downflow condition of the flow direction, oxygen supply and re-oxidation of the sulfates occurred, causing a decrease in sulfate removal efficiency. The addition of an inorganic sludge containing heavy metals, which was intended for production of metal-sulfides in the bioreactor, had a negative effect on the long-term operation owing to arsenic release and toxicity to the SRB. The results thus show that a bioreactor using a mixed substrate with cow manure and operating in the downflow direction could reduce sulfates and total dissolved sulfur content; this process confirms the applicability of the SRB bioreactor to sulfate-rich saline drainage.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.452-460
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• 2019

Exposure to heavy metals through the consumption of contaminated seafood poses a health risk to humans. In Korea, seafood imports are increasing with consumption, with the largest increase in imported seafood coming from Russia. Peter the Great Bay and the Razdolnaya River are both major fisheries and protected areas under the Northwest Pacific Action Plan located near Vladivostok, Russia. This study analyzed heavy metal [cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), total mercury (tHg), and total (tAs), and inorganic (iAs) arsenic] concentrations in shellfish and crustaceans collected from these areas. Except for iAs, the major toxic heavy metal concentrations of the samples met the national standards (Cd, 0.024-0.982 and 0.003-0.379 mg/kg; Pb, 0.021-1.533 and 0.002 mg/kg; tHg, 0.006-0.015 and 0.036-0.097 mg/kg). The tAs concentrations of three samples exceeded the Russian standard (5 mg/kg, wet weight), whereas the iAs concentrations were extremely low (ND-0.033 mg/kg). Compared with the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, the percentages of PTWI of Cd, Pb, and tHg were 0.239%, 0.001-0.049%, and 0.013-0.302%, respectively. These findings reveal that there is no potential health risk by heavy metals through the consumption of Russian seafood obtained in the surveyed areas.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.37-49
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• 2021

There is domestic Soil Contamination Warning Standard (SCWS) as remediation standard concentration of contaminated soils. No risk should be observed at soil concentration less than SCWS. Therefore, SCWS was evaluated to confirm the risk assessment. Background Concentration of Soil (BGC) and target remediation concentration were also assessed. The results show that Excess Cancer Risk (ECR) of SCWS was the highest in the groundwater intake pathway (Adult: 6.27E-04, Child: 2.81E-04). Total Cancer Risk (TCR) was 7.76E-04 and 4.30E-04 for adult and child, exceeding reference value (10^-6). Hazard Quotient (Non-Carcinogenic Risk, HQ) was the highest in the indoor air inhalation pathway (Adult: 3.64E+03, Child: 8.74E+02). Hazard Index (Total Non-Carcinogenic Risk, HI) exceeded reference value 1. ECR of the BGC was the highest in the groundwater intake pathway (Adult: 1.71E-04, Child: 7.67E-05). TCR was 2.12E-04 for adults and 1.17E-04 for children, exceeding the reference value (10^-6). HQ was the highest in groundwater intake pathway (Adult: 4.10E-01, Child: 1.84E-01). HI was lower than reference value 1 (Adult: 4.78E-01, Child: 2.50E-01). The heavy metal affecting ECR was Arsenic (As). The remediation-concentration of As was 7.14 mg/kg which is higher than BGC (6.83 mg/kg). TCR of As should be less than reference value (10^-6), but it was higher for all of SCWS, BGC and target remediation concentration. Therefore, it is suggested that risk assessment factors should be re-evaluated to fit domestic environmental settings and SCWS should be induced to satisfy the risk assessment.