• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.290-298
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• 2021

This study was conducted to evaluate the possibility of applying phytoremediation technology by investigating soil and native plants in waste coal landfills exposed to heavy metal contamination for a long period of time. The ability of native plants to accumulate heavy metals using greenhouse cultivation experiments was alse evaluated. Plants were investigated at an abandoned coal mine in Hwajeolyeong, Jeongseon, Gangwon-do. Two species of native plants (Carex breviculmis. R. B. and Salix koriyanagi Kimura ex Goerz.) located in the study area and three Korean native plants (Artemisia japonica Thunb. Hemerocallis hakuunensis Nakai., and Saussurea pulchella (Fisch.) Fisch.) were cultivated in a greenhouse for 12 weeks in artificially contaminated soil. Soils contaminated with arsenic and lead were generated with arsenic concentration gradients of 25, 62.5, 125, and 250 mg kg^-1 and lead concentration gradients of 200, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg kg^-1, respectively. Results showed that none of the five plants could survive at high arsenic concentration treatment (125 and 250 mg kg^-1) and some plants died in 2000 mg kg^-1 lead concentration treatment soil. The plant translocation factor (TF) was highest in H. hakuunensis in arsenic treatments, and A. japonica in lead treatments, respectively. The bioaccumulation factor (BF) of plants was more than 1 in all species in arsenic treatment, whereas it was highest in H. hakuunensis. BF for all species was less than 1 in lead treatment. Particularly, in 2000 mg kg^-1 concentration lead treatment, A. japonica accumulated more than 1000 mg kg^-1 lead and was expected to be a lead hyperaccumulator. In conclusion, A. japonica and H. hakuunensis were excellent in the accumulation of arsenic heavy metals, and S. koriyanagi was excellent in lead accumulation ability. Therefore, the above mentioned three plants are considered to be strong contenders for application of the phytoremediation technology.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.464-472
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• 2014

The Codex Committee of Contaminants in Food (CCCF) has been discussing a new standard for arsenic (As) in rice since 2010 and a code of practice for the prevention and reduction of As contamination in rice since 2013. Therefore, our current studies focus on setting a maximum level of As in rice and paddy soil by considering bioavailability in the remediation of As contaminated soils. This study aimed to select an appropriate single chemical extractant for evaluating the mobility of As in paddy soil and the bioavailability of As to rice. Nine different extractants, such as deionized water, 0.01 M $Ca(NO_3)_2$, 0.1 M HCl, 0.2 M $C_6H_8O_7$, 0.43 M $HNO_3$, 0.43 M $CH_3COOH$, 0.5 M $KH_2PO_4$, 1 M HCl, and 1 M $NH_4NO_3$ were used in this study. Total As content in soil was also determined after aqua regia digestion. The As extractability of the was in the order of: Aqua regia > 1 M HCl > 0.5 M $KH_2PO_4$ > 0.43 M $HNO_3$ > 0.2 M $C_6H_8O_7$ > 0.1 M HCl > 0.43 M $CH_3COOH$ > deionized water > 1 M $NH_4NO_3$ > 0.01 M $Ca(NO_3)_2$. Correlation between soil extractants and As content in rice was in the order of : deionized water > 0.01 M $Ca(NO_3)_2$ > 0.43 M $CH_3COOH$ > 0.1 M HCl > 0.5 M $KH_2PO_4$ > 1 M $NH_4NO_3$ > 0.2 M $C_6H_8O_7$ > 0.43 M $HNO_3$ > 1M HCl > Aqua regia. BCF (bioconcentration factor) according to extractants was in the order of : 0.01M $Ca(NO_3)_2$ > 1 M $NH_4NO_3$ > deionized water > 0.43 M $CH_3COOH$ > 0.1 M HCl > 0.43 M $HNO_3$ > 0.2 M $C_6H_8O_7$ > 0.5 M $KH_2PO_4$ > 1 M HCl > Aqua regia. Therefore, 0.01 M $Ca(NO_3)_2$ ($r=0.78^{**}$) was proven to have the greatest potential for predicting As bioavailability in soil with higher correlation between As in rice and the extractant.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.265-276
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• 2017

Heavy metals leaching from closed mines have been causing severe environmental problems in nearby soil ecosystems. Mine reclamation in Korea has been recently implemented based on the heavy metal immobilization (a.k.a., stabilization). Since the immobilization temporarily fixes the heavy metals to the soil matrix, the potential risk of heavy metal leaching still exists. Therefore the appropriate monitoring and the related policies are required to safeguard the soils, where all the cultivations occur. The current monitoring methods are based on either heavy metal concentration or simple toxicity test. Those methods, however, are fragmented and hence it is difficult to evaluate the site in an integrated manner. In this study, as the integrated approach, ecological functional state evaluation with a multivariate statistical tool was employed targeting physiochemical soil properties, heavy metal concentrations, microbial enzymatic activity, and arsenic respiratory reductase gene quantity. Total 60 soil samples obtained from three mines (Pungjeong, Jeomdong, Seosung) were analyzed. As a result, the stabilized layer soil and lower layer soil have shown the similar pattern in Pungjeong mine. In contrast, Jeomdong and Seosung mine have shown the similarity between the stabilized layer soil and the cover layer soil, indicating the possible contamination of the cover layer soil.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.57-65
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• 2008

The geochemical partitioning of arsenic in contaminated soils from a of wet land and tailing of the abandoned mine is examined. Chemical analysis and sequential extraction method by ultrasound-sonication extraction are applied to investigate the mobility and chemical existence conditions of arsenic as well as heavy metals. The results of this study showed that heavy metals concentration of tailings showed as a following order: Fe > As > Cu > Pb > Cr. The highest metal concentration was recognized in samples less than $63\;{\mu}m$ fraction in their particle sizes. Exchangeable and carbonate fractions in soil samples showed following Cu > As > Pb > Fe > Cr for tailings, and Fe > Pb > Cu > As > Cr for reservoir soils, respectively. Arsenic was bound as exchangeable fraction in tailings and its concentration appeared higher than those of the other metals. Thus, As can be easily dispersed into soil and water environments. The obtained results can be used to design soil remediation plan in the study area and require further detailed study to investigate severe environmental pollution of surface water as well as rivers with respect to heavy metals in terms of speciation analysis of toxic elements such as As and Cr.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.673-683
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• 2008

As-rich alluvial groundwaters occurring in the agricultural area of Mankyeong River watershed were geochemically studied. 15 out of 29 investigated wells (52%) showed As levels exceeding the WHO drinking water standard ($10{\mu}g/L$). Their chemistry is characterized by low Eh levels, low $NO_3$ and $SO_4$ concentrations, and high pH, alkalinity, Fe, $NH_4$, and $PO_4$ levels. This suggests that arsenic is enriched by the reductive dissolution of As-bearing Fe-/Mn-(hydro)oxides, the commonest process in Bangladesh and West Bengal of India, of which groundwaters are severely contaminated by As. It was also revealed that As concentrations in the area are strongly regulated by the presence of agrochemicals such as $NO_3$ and $SO_4$.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.51-59
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• 2010

The sediments and soils around a mine are likely to be exposed to contamination of arsenic (As) through mining operations. In this study, the factors associated with As movement in soils around a closed zinc (Zn) mine were evaluated by the relationship of As distributions to physico-chemical properties of soils. A sequential extraction scheme, based on a soil P fractionation, was used to assess the As distributionsin solid phases. A significant difference in As distributions was found between paddy and upland soils. While As contents of paddy soils increased with soil depth, those of upland soils decreased with soil depth. In upland soils, As showed additional significant relationships to oxides of Si, Al and Fe. Although a major fraction of As in soils was found to be in the NaOH extractable fraction, As exhibited highly significant relationship to the Zn species that apparently originated from the mine. Therefore, As mobility around Zn mine seems to be governed by mass flow of the particulates containing As-associated Zn in paddy soils, whereas retention reactions such as adsorption, complexation, and precipitation seem to predominate in upland soils.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.101-110
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• 2018

There is an increasing concern over arsenic (As) contamination in rice since Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food (CCCF) discuss on maximum levels for As in rice in 2010. This study was conducted to reduce As concentration in rice by soil amendment treatments in paddy field soils contaminated by As. The selected four amendments were poultry manure, agri-lime, steel slag, and gypsum with the addition of 3% or 5% (w/w) on a dry basis. The As reduction effect could not be verified, as a result of the pot test by adding poultry manure to the paddy soil around the mine located in Yesan. Among the agri-lime treated rice cultivated pots, the As concentration increased up to 32.1%. On the other hand, the content of As in the sample pots treated with steel slag and gypsum decreased by 65.4% and 63.4%, respectively. On the basis of the results of these pot experiments, the field test was carried out in the As polluted rice field around the mine located in Yesan, and when the four amendments were treated, the As content in the brown rice reduced in all the amendment treatments compared with the control plot. The As reduction in brown rice of the amendment was confirmed to be higher efficiency by the order of gypsum > steel slag > poultry manure > agri-lime. As a result of pot experiments using paddy soil around the mine located in Seosan, As stabilization efficiency in rice and As reduction effect could not be determined by comparison to the control. From the rice cultivated from agri-lime treated pot, As concentration increased by 15.8% in rice. On the other hand, the As content of the pots treated with steel slag and gypsum decreased by 39.1% and 60.2%, respectively. In conclusion, distinguished As reducing effectiveness could be expected by soil amendment treatments for rice cultivation.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.799-811
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• 2019

The aim of this study was to evaluate heavy metal contamination and pollution index of agricultural soils around industrial complexes in the Jeon-Buk Regions of Korea. Soil samples near industrial complexes in 2017 were collected at two depths (0 - 15 and 15 - 30 cm) within a 500- and 1000-meter radius before planting. Eight heavy metals (Arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), Cupper (Cu), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg) and zinc (Zn)) and the pollution index (PI), geoaccumulation index (Igeo) and soil pollution index (SPI) were evaluated based on soil contamination warning standard (SCWS). Overall, the heavy metal concentrations were below the SCWS. The PI ranged from 0.1 to 0.9 and categorized into Group 1 which is not polluted with any heavy metals. The average Igeo values of all the soil samples ranged from - 2.56 to 3.22. The Igeo values of Cd and Hg may not represent well the pollution index because the heavy metal concentrations in the soil is lower compared to the SCWS. In fact, based on the heavy metal concentrations, the Igeo for monitored soils should be categorized into Group 1, uncontaminated to moderately contaminated. However, the Igeo of Cd and Hg are classified into heavily contaminated. These results suggest that for calculating the Igeo, the heavy metal concentration and background concentration should be used very carefully if the heavy metal concentration in the soil is lower than the background concentration. SPI for all the soil samples ranged from 0.00 to 0.11 which indicates no heavy metal pollution was observed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.245-245
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• 2017

Heavy metal pollution of agricultural soils affects land productivity and has impact on the quality of surrounding ecosystem. Soil microbial community parameters are used as reliable indices for assessing quality of agricultural lands under metal stress. This study investigated bacterial community structure of polluted and undisturbed paddy soils to elucidate soil factors that are related to alteration of bacterial communities under conditions of metal pollution. No obvious differences in the richness or diversity of bacterial communities were observed between samples from polluted and control areas. The bacterial communities of three locations were distinct from one another, and each location possessed distinctive set of bacterial phylotypes. The abundances of several phyla and genera differed significantly between study locations. Variation of bacterial community was mostly related to soil general properties at phylum level while at finer taxonomic levels concentrations of arsenic and lead were significant factors. According to results of bacterial community functional prediction, the soil bacterial communities of metal polluted locations were characterized by more abundant DNA replication and repair, translation, transcription and nucleotide metabolism pathway enzymes while amino acid and lipid metabolism as well as xenobiotic biodegradation potential was reduced.Our results suggest that the soil microbial communities had adapted to the elevated metal concentrations in the polluted soils as evidenced by changes in relative abundances of particular groups of microorganisms at different taxonomic resolution levels, and by altered functional potential of the microbial communities.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.524-530
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• 2016

Agricultural soils near or around industrial complexes can contain a certain amount of heavy metals that readily enter the food chain and negatively affect human health. Therefore, we conducted the study to investigate the distribution of selected heavy metals, including arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and zinc (Zn), in farm-land soils around fifteen industrial complexes in the southwestern provinces, Korea. The concentrations of heavy metals in the soil samples were determined by the pseudo-total aqua regia (3 HCl : $1HNO_3$) digestion procedure. The heavy metal concentrations in most soils examined did not exceed the levels of Soil Contamination Warning Standard (SCWS) for agricultural lands (Region 1) presented in Soil Environment Conservation Law (SECL) established by Ministry of Environment (MOE), Korea. However, only one sampling site showed higher As amount ($27.1mg\;kg^{-1}$) than the SCWS level of As ($25mg\;kg^{-1}$). Pollution index (PI) for heavy metals did not exceed 1.0. The PI values were significantly positively correlated (p < 0.01) with the heavy metal concentrations. In particular, the values of correlation coefficient between the Cd and Pb concentrations and the PI values were higher than those estimated from other combinations, and thus the amounts of Cd and Pb in the agricultural soils highly affected the PI values for the heavy metals.