• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.302-313
• /
• 2012

Concentrations of selected heavy metals (Al, Fe, Mn, Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn, Pb, As and Cd) in surface sediments from 96 sites in Masan and Jinhae Bay were studied in order to understand metal contamination. Results show that the surface sediments were mainly enriched by Cu (18-294 ppm), Zn (67-568 ppm), Pb (10-120 ppm) and Cd (0.2-3.5 ppm). The coastal zone of Masan Bay was significantly more contaminated than the non-coastal zone, and spatial distribution pattern suggested additional sources of heavy metal input in the coastal area. The enrichment ratio and geoaccumulation index ($I_{geo}$) have been calculated and the relative contamination levels assessed in the study area. The enrichment ratios of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd in Masan Bay have been observed to be relatively high. $I_{geo}$ results reveal that the study area is not contaminated with respect to Fe, Mn, Cr and Ni; moderately to strongly contaminated with Cu, Zn and Pb; and strongly to strong contaminated with Cd. The high contents of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd in the study area result from anthropogenic activities in the catchment area. Based on the eight different sediment quality guideline values from USA (ERL, ERM), Canada (TEL, PEL), Australia/New Zealand (ISQG-high, ISQG-low) and Hong Kong (ISQV-low, ISQV-high), sediment quality of Masan and Jinhae Bay was also assessed and characterized.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.36 no.6
• /
• pp.415-429
• /
• 2003

This study was objected to identify the difference of water quality and the characteristics of water contamination in adjacent bed-rock areas of Upper Hwajeonni and Guryongsan Formations in Miwon, Choongchungbuk-do, Korea. Water samples showed mainly (Ca, Mg)-$HCO_3$ type in Upper Hawjeonni Formation and (Ca, Mg)-$SO_4$ and (Ca, Mg)-$HCO_3$ types in Guryongsan Formation indicating the enrichment of $SO_4$ in major compositions. Groundwater quality could be divided into two groups based on the major weathering processes, implied by the ratio of bicarbonate to silica. Carbonate-silicate weathering predominates in Upper Hwajeonni Formation, and silicate weathering in Guryongsan Formation. Stream-water quality also appeared to be controlled by water-rock interaction. Cluster analysis identified three groups of groundwater and four groups of stream-water with distinctive geochemical characteristics. The results of factor analysis indicated that the levels of each chemical constituent in water samples derived from both natural weathering reactions and anthropogenic contamination sources. To delineate the pollution potential of water resources, Modified Pollution Index(M.P.I.) was developed. M.P.I. scores of water samples ranged from -0.08 to 0.18, with mostly positive along the rock quarry in Guryongsan Formation areas. M.P.I. scores appeared to be a useful predictor of metal contamination of water resources.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.142-154
• /
• 2022

Arsenic (As) contamination in groundwater is one of the main problems in Bangladesh. As toxicity causes serious human health problems such as edema, skin cancer, bladder cancer, lung cancer, hyperkeratosis, premature birth, and black foot disease. As contamination in groundwater mainly originates from the geological characteristics of the area due to the influence of anthropogenic activities. Since most of the people in Bangladesh rely on tube well for drinking water, it is necessary to investigate the current status of As pollution and identify the treatment technologies that can be used to provide arsenic-free drinking water in water-scarce areas. A total of 92 papers were reviewed in this study to present a complete overview of the recent status of groundwater As contamination in Bangladesh and different low-cost remediation technologies. A method for evaluating the relative feasibility of different treatment technologies was also utilized to determine the most appropriate technologies for groundwater As treatment in Bangladesh. The districts with the highest groundwater As contamination include Brahamanbariya, Tangail, Barisal, Pabna, Patuakhali, Kurigram, Magura, and Faridpur, with concentrations exceeding 0.05 mg/L. Only six districts had relatively low groundwater arsenic concentrations (0.01 mg/L), including Kushtia, Khagrachari, Jessore, Dinajpur, Meherpur, and Munshiganj. There were a number of technologies used for treating As in water, but aerated electrocoagulation, Mg-Fe-based hydrotalcite-like compound, and electro-chemical As remediation (ECAR) reactor were found to be the most feasible treatment methods for As. Overall, the investment, operational, and maintenance costs, availability of materials, and expertise requirements should be considered when selecting the most appropriate treatment method for As in water.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.48-59
• /
• 2018

Beryllium (Be), cobalt (Co), thallium (Tl) and vanadium (V) are candidates of 21 priority soil pollutants in Korea. The distribution of their concentration in soils from three contamination sources including industrial, roadside and mining areas was investigated. Concentrations of the metals were evaluated quantitatively using pollution indices and the fractionation of metals was conducted using modified SM&T (Standards Measurements and Testing programme) sequential extraction. Concentrations of the metals for all samples from industrial and roadside soils were within the range of natural background levels, while some of Be in soils from abandoned mines exceeded that the range. Enrichment Factor (EF) and Nemerow Integrated Pollution Index (NIPI) for Be, Co, Tl and V showed that there are effects or possibilities of anthropogenic activities. Pollution Load Index (PLI) analyses indicated all investigated sites needed further monitoring. The results of sequential extractions indicated mobile fractions (F1+F2) of Be, Tl and V were below 30% except some of Co in soil, which implies their low mobility to neighboring environment media. Variable tools like sequential extraction, comparison with background/actual concentration and pollution indices, as well as aqua regia extraction should be considered when evaluating Be, Co, Tl, V in soil.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
• /
• 2004.09a
• /
• pp.334-337
• /
• 2004

Groundwater chemistry in Namwon area, Korea, was investigated to understand the contribution of geochemical processes on groundwater chemistry. For this study, a total of 279 groundwater samples were collected from 93 wells distributed over the study area. Higher concentrations of major ions are generally encountered in the shallow alluvial wells, suggesting that these chemicals are originated from the surface contamination sources. Mass balance analysis based on reaction stoichiometry reveals that the water chemistry is regulated by three major chemical processes: weathering of silicate/ carbonate minerals, input of C1/SO$_4$ salts, and nitrate generating processes. The results show that mineral weathering is the most dominating factor regulating the groundwater chemistry. However, the groundwaters with the higher salt concentration indicate the larger mineral weathering effect, suggesting that some part of the mineral weathering effect is also associated with the anthropogenic activities such as limes applied to the cultivated lands, carbonates (CaCO$_3$) in the cement materials.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 2016

Bottom sediment pollution with heavy metals of the Sventoji River in Ukmerge, Lithuania using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry is analyzed in this article. During the research, qualitative and quantitative parameters of heavy metal concentrations and their distribution were investigated. This article presents obtained results of study, where bottom sediment samples were examined from both shores of the river of Sventoji. During this research, received data was treated using GIS software, which helped to interpolate the data of concentrations into the research polygon of the river. GIS software also helped to evaluate the urban runoff influence to the bottom sediment quality and exclude sources of pollution. The runoff dischargers which transport surface wastewater to the river were registered before sampling. At the mouth of streams, flowing into the river of Sventoji, additional samples were taken. After comprehensive river bottom sediment research there is a possibility to assess the extent of anthropogenic activity and its impact on the river ecosystem and human health.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.205-215
• /
• 2000

The Anyang River runs through highly industrialized area and joins the lower part of the Han River. loading out large amounts of potential pollutants. Attempts were made to understand geochemical behavior of trace elements in the stream sedimens collected from the bottom of the river and the stream water. Bottom sediments, suspended solids and stream waters were collected and analysed for the chemical and mineralogical composition. Heavy metals including Cr, Zn, Ni, and Co in the sediments were enriched appeared to reflect anthropogenic input. Pb, Cu, As were also enriched between several to 10 times , compared to background levels. Although some heavy metals were derived from anthropogeic input, geochemical associations seem to implyh much of the elements are originated from natural sources as well, mainly from granitic rocks . This is also supported by the mineralogical composition of the suspended solids, which are mainly composed of quartz, feldspar and mica. Most of the elements are associated with total carbon and clay sized fractions, with high values of correlation coefficient. Most of the elements are associated with total carbon and clay sized fractions , with high values of correlation coefficient. It was noteworthy that Hg was detected between 2 and 4 ppb in the stream water.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.45 no.6
• /
• pp.335-343
• /
• 2012

Mercury is emitted to the atmosphere from various natural and anthropogenic sources, and degrades with difficulty in the environment. Mercury exists as various species, mainly elemental ($Hg^0$) and divalent ($Hg^{2+}$) mercury depending on its oxidation states in air and water. Mercury emitted to the atmosphere can be deposited into aqueous environments by wet and dry depositions, and some can be re-emitted into the atmosphere. The deposited mercury species, mainly $Hg^{2+}$, can react with various organic compounds in water and sediment by biotic reactions mediated by sulfur-reducing bacteria, and abiotic reactions mediated by sunlight photolysis, resulting in conversion into organic mercury such as methylmercury (MeHg). MeHg can be bioaccumulated through the food web in the ecosystem, finally exposing humans who consume fish. For a better understanding of how humans are exposed to mercury in the environment, this review paper summarizes the mechanisms of emission, fate and transport, speciation chemistry, bioaccumulation, levels of contamination in environmental media, and finally exposure assessment of humans.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.283-299
• /
• 2001

The middle cover soils and clay liners collected from the Kumheung landfill in Gongiu City were analysed for As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr, Ti and Zn concentrations using 0.] N HCl digestion and total/sequential extraction experiments followed by ICP-AES determination. The uncontaminated soil and sediment samples were also analyzed for the comparison. The results of sequential extraction showed that Cu was dominant in the oxidizable fraction, and As, Ni, Sr, Ba, and Mn were in the exchangeable fraction. Zinc and Mn occurred mostly in association with reducible, residual and carbonate fractions. Most of Cd and Pb were bound to the reducible and oxidizable fractions. The main carrier of Co, Cr, Fe and 11 was the residual fraction and another important carrier was the reducible fraction. The percentage of the metals of organically-bound form in the middle cover soils and clay liner was in the order of Cu(48%) > Ti(42%) > Pb(27%) > As(25%) > Cd(20%). As deduced from sequential extraction analysis, potential order of metal mobility in the middle cover soils and clay liner from the landfill was proposed: Cd > Sr > As > Ni > Mn > Ba > Cu > Pb > Zn » Co > 11 > Fe > Cr. Based on the 'geoaccumulation index' and the 'enrichment factor' normalized to A], the level of contamination of Cu, Ni and C1' was significant in the samples from Kumheung landfill and surrounding farmland. Their enrichments were attributed partly to anthropogenic pollutions.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.460-473
• /
• 2017

In order to certificate the contamination assessment of heavy metals in surface sediments from the Nakdong river. Surface sediments were collected of 24 sampling sites (main 14st., tributary 10st.) and analyzed for grain size heavy metals contents. Study area mainly composed of sand (avg. 94.1%) and mean grain size was $1.46{\Phi}$ on average. Heavy metals contents (avg. Al: 12.5%, Zn; 74.4, Cr: 45.3, Li: 26.0, Pb: 17.1, Ni: 10.5, Cu: 7.8, Cd: 0.22 mg/kg) were relatively high contents in the composed of fine sediments. In addition, the results of pearson's correlation coefficient showed that most heavy metals and grain size (silt and clay) were highly correlated. The contents of Zn (6st.) and Ni (1st.) evaluated as moderately polluted, Zn (6st.) evaluated as LEL when compared with sediment quality standard of USEPA and Ontario sediment quality guidelines. Most heavy metals contents were I levels that dose not affected the benthos when compared with sediment pollution evaluation standard of NIER. The results of EX, EF, Igeo and CF showed the contents of Zn, Pb and Cd exceed the background contents and distributing of anthropogenic pollution and evaluated as moderately polluted level. And Nm-08 were relatively high level of contamination in the study area. However as results of PLI (less than 1), all sampling sites were evaluated unpolluted level.