• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.595-600
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• 2001

Recently, interests in subsidence hazard have been increased due to the underground construction such as subway construction and managements of abandoned mines. GIS analysis of subsidence hazard has a lot of advantages in handling of spatial data and managing database. For better result of GIS analysis, there are some necessities of modifying previous subsidence theory and model. To take surface profile into account allows the application of complicated topology. Furthermore. for 3-dimensional analysis. two subsidence profile curves that are perpendicular to each other should be considered simultaneously. Through these modifications, the model for subsidence analysis using GIS can be established. With ideal case of cavities and other conditions, GIS analysis was accomplished and meaningful results were produced. More realistic properties of cavity. soil layers, groundwater condition and topology will enable GIS analysis method to produce more reliable result and to widen the area of applications.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.15-26
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• 2010

The contaminated soils near abandoned mine area can threaten human's health and natural ecosystems through multiple pathways. Remediation of contaminated soil using physicochemical technologies are expensive and destructive of soil environments. On the other hand, environmentally friendly approach that maximize biological remediation, that is, phytoremediation, attracts attention as a low carbon green growth technology. This research is a field demonstration study, focused on the enhanced phytoremediation by bioaugmenting PGPR(Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria)that is helpful on the growth of and heavy metal removal by Echinochloa frumentacea, at a Zn contaminated paddy soil near SamBo mine at Hwasung, Kyunggi. The results showed that the zinc removal by the plant with PSM(Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria), a kind of PGPR, was three times higher than that by the control. The results are valuable as it is a result from the field-scale technology demonstration. The results also implies that application of PGPR can enhance heavy metal removal from contaminated soil in full scale phytoremediation using Echinochloa frumentacea.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.56-64
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• 2013

After the law has been enacted for the prevention and recovery of mining damage in 2005, efforts of remediation have been started to recover heavy metal contaminated soils in agricultural land near mining sites. As part of an effort, the upper part of cultivation layer has been treated through covering up with clean soil, but the heavy metal contamination could be still spreaded to the surrounding areas because heavy metals may be remained in the lower part of cultivation layers. In this study, the most frequently occurring arsenic (As) contamination was selected to study in agricultural land nearby an abandoned metal mining site. We applied separation technologies considering the differences in the physical characteristics of soil particles (particle size, density, magnetic properties, hydrophobicity, etc.). Based on physical and chemical properties of arsenic (As) containing particles in agricultural lands nearby mining sites, we applied sieve separation, specific gravity separation, magnetic separation, and flotation separation to remove arsenic (As)-containing particles in the contaminated soil. Results of this study show that the removal efficiency of arsenic (As) were higher in the order of the magnetic separation, flotation separation, specific gravity separation and sieve separation.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.142-149
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• 2005

This investigation was conducted to observe and verify the distribution and their occurrence between heavy metals and natural isotopes in the soil collected at the 40 locations from the abandoned coal mine areas to the sediment of Chungra reservoir located at Chungra-Myon Boryung city, Chungnam. The results of the investigation showed that there were distinctive differences of the contents for the heavy metals and the natural isotopes between the area influenced by the coal mine tailing and the non-influenced area. The amounts of the heavy metals were Pb ($1.32-29.96mg\;kg^{-1}$), Cd ($0.15-0.76mg\;kg^{-1}$), Cu ($0.28-49.67mg\;kg^{-1}$), and Cr ($1.31-13.18mg\;kg^{-1}$) while the averages were Cu ($12.43mg\;kg^{-1}$), Pb ($10.44mg\;kg^{-1}$), Cr ($4.87mg\;kg^{-1}$), Cd ($0.51mg\;kg^{-1}$). The standard deviations of Pb and Cu were significantly higher compared to other heavy metals investigated in this experiment. And the amounts of the natural isotopes measured from the dried soil samples were Pb-210 ($4.87dpm\;g^{-1}$), Th-234 ($3.52dpm\;g^{-1}$), Ra-226 ($2.88dpm\;g^{-1}$), Ra-228 ($7.30dpm\;g^{-1}$), K-40 ($58.06dpm\;g^{-1}$) for all locations whereas Cs-137 which is fall-out by nuclear experiment from atmosphere was rarely found. From these results we found that the amounts of natural isotopes such as Pb-210 (4.41%), Th-234 (3.60%), and Ra-226 (2.09%) were less than those found in the coal-tailing while the proportion of Ra-228 (266%) and K-40 (308%) were significantly higher than those in the coal-tailing. Also occurrence of correlations between the amounts of the heavy metals and the natural isotopes was proportionally related.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.63-71
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• 2020

Various types of amendments have been studied for heavy metal stabilization in soil. However, researches on the effect of amendments on alkali soil and their effects on the plants at various edible parts are insufficient. The aim of this study was to evaluate the stabilization efficiency of heavy metals and their transfer into edible parts of food crops. Abandoned mine area was selected and 3 types of amendments (lime stone, LS; steel slag, SS; acid mine drainage sludge, AMDS) was applied with 3% (w/w). in field. After 6 month aging, Chinese cabbage (leafy), bok choy (leafy), garlic (root) and red pepper (fruit) were transplanted and cultivated. For chemical assessment, total concentration and bioavailability using Mehlich-3 solution were determined. For biological assessment, fresh weight and heavy metal uptakes were analyzed. It was revealed that AMDS reduced bioavailability most effectively, resulting in the decrease in heavy metal concentration in edible parts of all crops. When explaining the heavy metal uptake of plants, the bioavailability was more appropriate than the total contents of soil heavy metals. Therefore, bioavailability-based further research and management practices should be carried out continuously for the sustainable environment management, safe crop production, and human health risk reduction.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.38 no.4 s.173
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• pp.451-462
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• 2005

In order to examine the extent of environmental contamination at abandoned Samsanjeil Cu mines in Kosung-kun, Kyeongsangnam-do, we have investigated the contaminations and mobility of toxic trace elements from mine wastes including about 280,000 tonnages of tailings by chemical experiments (total extraction, partial extraction by 0.1N HCI and sequential extraction procedure). Total concentrations of trace elements showed that Cu, As, Co, Zn, Pb, and Cd concentrations in tailings were 14.0, 3.6, 3.1, 2.1, 2.1 and 1.6 times greater than those in background soil, respectively. From the proportion of metals bound to the exchangeable and carbonate fractions, the comparative mobility of metals decrease in order of $Zn(29.0\%)>Cu(12.3\%)Pb(9.6\%)>Cd(3.0\%)>As=Co(0.0\%)$. Based on the concentrations, chemical speciations of tailings, waste rock and nearby soil, it was revealed that Cu and Zn were the most possible elements to contaminate the surrounding environment in Samsanjeil mine area. In addition, the tailings had total trace metal concentrations below Dutch guideline values except Cu, and they might not affect adverse impact on environment.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.41-45
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• 2007

It is very important that selection of packing media with large surface area, high limited back pressure in biofilter. The object of this study is the isolation of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria and the removal of hydrogen sulfide in biofilter by media. This investigation led to the following results: 1) we isolated Thiobacillus sp. IW. at an abandoned coal mine in Hwasun, Jeonnam Province. 2) The inorganic media showed better results than the organic media from experiments looking at removal characteristics and changes in pressure drop using various media. 3) Among the inorganic media, fibril and PU media showed best performance.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.111-121
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• 2003

The objective of this study is to investigate the physical and chemical properties for environmental assessment of water system affected by acid mine drainage (AMD) from coal mining activities in the Youngwol, Jungseon and Pyungchang areas in Korea. During November 2000 to July 2002, 6 times of water samples were collected season-ally from acid mine drainage and nearby streams at 13 coal mines in the study area. The physical and chemical properties including pH, Eh, TDS, salinity, bicarbonates and DO were measured in the field. Eighteen cations includ-ing Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn and Zn, and 6 anions including nitrates and sulfates were also analyzed by ICP-AES and If, respectively. Acid water from the Jungam coal mine has typical characteristics of AMD with very low pH(3∼4) and high TDS(1,000∼5,000 mg/1). Relatively high concentrations(mg/kg) of heavy meals, especially for Al(380), Fe(80), Mn(44) and Zn(8), were found in water samples from the Jungam coal mine area. Water samples from the Seojin, Sebang and Sungjin coal mines also contained over 50 mg/l of Al, >100 mg/1 of Fe and )10 mg/1 of Mn. In addition to anioins, over 1,000 mg/l of sulfate was found in several water samples. Seasonally, the concentrations of metals and sulfates varied; wet season samples were relatively higher in metals and sulfates than dry season samples. It is needed to establish the proper remediation and environmental monitoring of the AMD continuously.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.271-281
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• 2001

The characteristics of the heavy metal contamination in the soils affected by the tailings of the Palbong mine have been studied. The soils in the studied area consist mostly of loam by the particle size analysis, but a little of it, located near the stream, consist of loamy sand to sandy loam, finally to loam downward. The organic contents of soils are significantly low aoom 2 percent and the pH is in acidic ranging 6.0 $\pm$ 0.1. The samples of the parent rocks, the normal soils, the tailings and the channel deposits from the studied area were chemically analysed. From the result, the heavy metal concenlration of the soils is a little Jow compared with that of the parent rocks, shows the hydrologic process of the surface and the groundwater. The contamination of the tailings from the ore mining are high in lead, copper and arsenic. In the channel deposits the concenlrations of lead and copper are abnormally high but that of arsenic is uniquely low. And most of heavy metal contamination are decreased with the distance from the mine. It is caused by the properties of the surface and the ground water during the process of the heavy metal migration. The correlation-coefficient between sand and silt contents and the concentrations of Cd, Cu and Pb are significant but the amounts of As and Hg are increased with the clay contents. The dispersion of the heavy metals with the distance shows that the concentrations of them in the soils sampled at distance of 100 m to 200 m along the stream started near the Palbong mine are extremely high compared with those from other distances. These discrepancies are significant in Cd, Cu, Pb and Hg, but low in As. All the samples contain below detection limit of Cr+6 In the present stream water the concentrations of the heavy metals are not detected. So, it is interpreted that the concentrations in the soils are caused by the activities of the mining during the operation and have been continued by the dispersion from the tailings since after the closure of the mining, especially by the surface and ground water. The concentrations are diminished with the distance from the mining site, but in the interval of 800-2000 m increases abruptly. In the soil samples counted on the dispersion direction by wind, the lowering of the concentration is relatively uniform with the distance from the mining site. So, the rapid increase of the heavy metal concentrations is presumed to have been caused by the ground-water movement. In the migration of the heavy metals, the groundwater conditions, such as pH, Eh, the contents of colloidal particles, and Mn and Fe oxides are closely involveo. Integrating with these factors, it is interpreted that the groundwater conditions which have caused the heavy metal contamination of the studied area are those that the pH is about 3 in oxidized conditions, the contents of the colloidal particles are low, and Mn and Fe oxides are not involved in the migration of the heavy metals. Meanwhile, the vegetables growing on the soils in the studied area are not affected by the contamination of the heavy metals.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.10-19
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• 2020

BACKGROUND: This study was to carry out risk assessment of contamination of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and inorganic arsenic (I-As) in agricultural products of 25 crops from the abandoned mine areas. The 36 typical investigation sites located in Gyeongbuk provincial area were selected by considering the heavy metal levels, that had been known that the amount of the heavy metals exceeded the contamination level based on the previous survey. METHODS AND RESULTS: Cadmium, lead, and total arsenic (T-As) concentrations were determined using microwave device and ICP-MS. Inorganic arsenic was determined by HPLC-ICP-MS. The limits of quantification for heavy metals were 0.59 ㎍/kg for Cd, 0.42 ㎍/kg for Pb, 0.55 ㎍/kg for T-As, and sum of As (III) (1.74 ㎍/kg) and As (V) (2.25 ㎍/kg) for I-As, respectively. The contents of Cd, Pb, and I-As (only rice) were N.D.-0.958 mg/kg, N.D.-0.227 mg/kg, and 0.082 mg/kg, respectively, in the agricultural products. For risk assessment, dietary exposures of heavy metals through usual intake were 5.20×10^-4-7.15×10⁰ ㎍/day for Cd, 7.00×10^-5-7.75×10^-1 ㎍/day for Pb, and 1.17×10¹ ㎍/day for I-As, taking 0.01-14.37%, 0.01-2.05%, and 15.16% as risk indices, respectively. CONCLUSION: It requires to consider the critical levels of heavy metals in agricultural products due to unexpectedly high levels in a few places, while concentrations of heavy metals in the samples were relatively low in most areas.