• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.41 no.6
• /
• pp.369-379
• /
• 2015

Objectives: The lack of reliable information on environmental pollution and health impacts related to asbestos contamination from abandoned mines has drawn attention to the need for a community health study. This study was performed to evaluate asbestos-related health symptoms among residents near abandoned asbestos mines located in the Chungcheong Provinces. In addition, exposure assessment for asbestos is needed although the exposure to asbestos was in the past. Methods: Past exposure to asbestos among inhabitants near abandoned asbestos mines was estimated by using surface sampling of deposited dust in indoor and outdoor residences. A total of 54 participants were divided into two groups with (34 cases) and without (20 controls) diseases related to asbestos. Surface sampling of deposited dust was carried out in indoor and outdoor residences by collecting 105 samples. Deposited dust for sampling was analyzed by polarization microscope (PLM) and scanning electron microscope?energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer (SEM-EDX) to detect asbestos. Subsequently, the elements of the deposited dust with asbestos were analyzed by SEM-EDX to assess the contribution of sources such as abandoned mines, slate and soil. Results: Among the 105 samples, asbestos was detected by PLM in 29 (27.6%) sampling points, and detected by SEM in 56 (48.6%) sampling points. Asbestos in indoor residences was detected by PLM in four sampling points, and by SEM in 12 sampling points. Asbestos detection in indoor residences may be due to ventilation between indoors and outdoors, and indicates long-term exposure. The asbestos detection rate for outdoor residences in the case group was higher than that in the control group. This can be explained as the case group having had higher exposure to asbestos, and there has been continuous exposure to asbestos in the control group as well as the case group. Conclusion: Past residential asbestos exposure may be associated with asbestosis among local residents near abandoned asbestos mines. Odds ratios were calculated for asbestos detection in outdoor residence by logistic regression analysis. Odds ratio between asbestos detection and asbestosis pulmonum was 3.36 (95% CI 0.90-12.53) (p=0.072), adjusting for age, sex, smoking status and work history with multi-variable logistic regression by PLM analysis method.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.313-322
• /
• 2013

Batteries, which are being used as energy sources in various applications, tend to degrade, and their capacity declines with repeated charging and discharging cycles. A battery is considered to fail when it reaches 80% of its initial capacity. To predict this, prognosis techniques are attracting attention in recent years in the battery community. In this study, a method is proposed for estimating the battery health and predicting its remaining useful life (RUL) based on the slope of the charge voltage curve. During this process, a Bayesian framework is employed to manage various uncertainties, and a Particle Filter (PF) algorithm is applied to estimate the degradation of the model parameters and to predict the RUL in the form of a probability distribution. Two sets of test data-one from the NASA Ames Research Center and another from our own experiment-for an Li-ion battery are used for illustrating this technique. As a result of the study, it is concluded that the slope can be a good indicator of the battery health and PF is a useful tool for the reliable prediction of RUL.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.23 no.6
• /
• pp.505-516
• /
• 2014

Northeast Asia including China, Japan, Mongolia, Russia, DPRK and ROK, is a geographically close region that falls under the same environmental influence. Recently the region is not only facing serious domestic environmental problems with rapid economic growth, but also confronted with transboundary environmental problems and associated conflicts between countries. Unfortunately, Northeast Asia lacks a solid environmental management system among countries to deal with transboundary and other environmental issues. Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment (TEIA) can, therefore, be one of the essential systematic measures in which environmental problems between countries would be negotiated. However, it would be necessary to have an indepth discussion of what we have to do first for implementing TEIA system in the region, and how to operate it while customizing each Northeast Asian country with different EIA system and socioeconomic circumstance. All these cannot be decided in a short time, and we need to invest enough time for discussing and considering them from various aspects. Recently, the Korean government declared "Eurasia Initiative". The initiative proposes important developing projects and ultimately plans to build a peaceful community throughout Eurasia based on comprehensive cooperation. The initiative aims to increase exchanges in transportation, energy and agricultural sectors to achieve the goals. In this regard, implementing TEIA in Northeast Asia is urgently needed and we have to prepare the strategy for introducing TEIA mechanism. Based on the results of 10 year experience on TEIA projects conducted since 2004, we suggest double-track approaches for developing TEIA mechanism. We continuously need to make an effort to establish a regional TEIA mechanism that all countries legally join, and simultaneously we also have to prepare a process to carry out TEIA for upcoming projects based on bi- or multi-lateral agreements. Practical solutions such as conducting pilot TEIA with relevant countries and developing TEIA guideline for the region could be the first step.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.39 no.3 s.117
• /
• pp.390-401
• /
• 2006

This study was conducted to understand the phytoplankton-zooplankton trophic linkage in Lake Paldang ecosystems (Paldang Dam and Kyungan Stream) from April to December 2005. Zooplankton were filtered as two size groups (microzooplankton (MICZ): 60{\sim}20\;{\mu}m$, macrozooplankton (MACZ): >$200\;{\mu}m$), and their clearance rates and C-fluxes on phytoplankton were measured. Grazing experiments were performed in the laboratory with the different zooplankton densities (0, 2, 4, 8x of ambient density, n=2). Diatoms, such as Aulacoseira and Cyclotella were dominant phytoplankton taxa at both sites. Among phytoplankton communities, total carbon biomass of phyflagellates was much higher than others at both sites. Rotifers numerically dominated zooplankton community, while cladocerans dominated carbon biomass. Both phytoplankton and zooplankton density and biomass were high in spring, but decreased markedly after summer monsoon season. plankton biomass at Kyungan Stream was significantly higher than that of Paldang Dam. Zooplankton clearance rate and amount of C-flux were relatively high in the spring and then decreased after summer at both sites. Seasonal change of C-flux was similar to that of zooplankton biomass (P<0.001, n=7). MACZ clearance rate and C-flux were higher than those of MICZ. Water residence time and physical disturbance in summer appeared to affect zooplankton grazing on phytoplankton at the study sites. Our results indicate phytoplankton were an important energy source for zooplankton in Lake Paldang ecosystem. Furthermore, C-flux of plankton food web is affected by not only biological components but also physical parameters.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.42-49
• /
• 2011

To locate anomalous features including seepage pathways through the Daeryong earth-fill dam, P and Rayleigh waves were recorded along a 250-m profile on the crest of the dam. Seismic energy was generated using a 5-kg sledgehammer and detected by 24 4.5-Hz vertical-axis geophones installed at 3-m intervals. P-wave and apparent S-wave velocities of the reservoir dam and underlying bedrock were then inverted from first-arrival traveltimes and dispersion curves of Rayleigh waves, respectively. Apparent dynamic Poisson's ratios as high as 0.46 were obtained at the base of the dam near its north-east end, where an outlet conduit occurs, and in the clay core body near the south-west end of the profile where the dam was repeatedly grouted to abate seepage before our survey. These anomalies of higher Poisson's ratios in the upper part of clay core were also associated with effusion of grout on the downstream slope of the dam during post-survey grouting to abate leakage. Combining P-wave traveltime tomography and inversion of Rayleigh wave velocities was very effective in detecting potential pathways for seepage and previous grouted zones in this earthen dam.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.213-226
• /
• 2003

Kongsfjorden near Korean Arctic Station, Dasan, is a glacial fjord in the Svalbard archipelago, Arctic that is influenced by both Atlantic and Arctic water masses. During the Arctic field season August 2002, surface temperature, salinity, density, and phytoplankton biomass (chi a) was measured in Kongsfjorden. A total of 15 surface samples were collected for the phytoplankton related measurements. Chl a values ranged from 0.08 to 1.4mg chi a $m^{-3}$ (mean of 0.53mg chl a $m^{-3}$) in the overall surface stations. The highest values of the chi a concentrations (> 1.0mg chi a $m^{-3}$) were found near glacier in the northeastern part of Kongsfjorden. Nanoplanktonic (< $20{\mu}m$) phytoflagellates were important contributors for the increase of the chi a. The nano-sized phytoflagellates accounted for more than 90% of the total chi a biomass in the study area. Surface temperatures and salinities ranged from 2.5 to $7.18^{\circ}C$ (mean of $4.65^{\circ}C$) and from 22.55 to 32.97 psu (mean of 30.16 psu), respectively. The physical factors were not highly correlated with phytoplankton distribution. The character of surface water due to down-fjord wind was highly similar to phytoplankton distribution. Drifting ice, freshwater, and semdiment inputs from large tidal glaciers located in the inner part of Konsfjorden create steep physico- and biogeochemical environmental gradients along the length of this ford. The glacial inputs cause reduced biodiversity biomass and productivity in the pelagic community in the inner fjord. Primary production of benthic and pelagic microalgae is reduced due to the limited light levels in the turbid and mixed inner waters. The magnitude of glacial effects diminishes towards the outer fjord. Kongsfjorden is an important feeding ground fer marine mammals and seabirds. Especially, seabirds play the largest energy intake and also export nutrients for primary production of the marine microalgae. Kongsfjorden has received a lot of research attention as a site for exploring the impacts of climate changes. Dasan Station in Kongsfjorden will be an important Arctic site for monitoring and detecting future environmental changes.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.207-214
• /
• 2013

A concerted effort to develop alternative forms of energy is underway due to fossil fuel shortages and its deleterious effects. Recently, bioenergy from microalgae has gained prominence and the use of municipal wastewater as a low cost alternative for a nutrient source has significant advantages. In this study, we have employed municipal wastewater directly after primary treatment (primary settling basin) in a small scale raceway pond (SSRP) for microalgal growth. Indigenous microalgae in the wastewater were encouraged to grow in the SSRP under optimal conditions. The mean removal efficiencies of TN, TP, and $NH_3-N$ after 6 days were 77.77%, 63.55%, and 89.02%, respectively. The average lipid content of the microalgae was 19.51% of dry cell weight, and linolenate and linoleate (18:n) were the predominant fatty acids. The 18S rRNA gene analysis and microscopic observations of the indigenous microalgae community revealed the presence of Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus obliquus as the dominant microalgae. These results indicate that untreated municipal wastewater, serving as an excellent nitrogen and phosphate source for microalgal growth, could be treated using microalgae in open raceway ponds. Moreover, microalgal biomass could be further profitable by the extraction of biodiesel.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.37 no.11
• /
• pp.631-635
• /
• 2015

Water quality investigation was conducted for small/medium sized reservoirs in A city in June and November 2014 as a preliminary step for further use. Water quality analysis experiments were conducted for 21 reservoirs managed by a local government and water quality data were obtained from Korea Rural Community Corporation for 12 reservoirs. It was found that relatively poor water quality, not satisfied with the regulation level (somewhat poor(IV)) for agricultural use, was observed for some reservoirs and worse water quality (poor(V) and very poor(VI) grade) was observed for more reservoirs during autumn /winter season due to the decrease in water volume. Correspondingly, the trophic state was obtained as "Eutrophic" or "Hypertrophic" using the Korean trophic state index for most reservoirs. It was also revealed that significant contamination in sediments was not observed for selected 8 reservoirs considering water quality in each reservoir. The results in this study could be useful for the use of small/medium sized reservoirs as alternative water resources, tourism resources, inland fishery resources, renewable energy production sites, and anti-flooding reservoirs.

• Journal of Distribution Science
• /
• v.13 no.11
• /
• pp.101-109
• /
• 2015

Purpose - A traditional retail market is a place that offers economic opportunity to employees and employers alike it also is a place where the community can meet. The Korean government has invested three trillion won to improve physical and non-physical aspects in traditional retail markets since 2004. However, little research on this has been conducted. We explore this research gap that could lead to theory extension. We analyze consumption behavior with respect to traditional retail markets through an empirical analysis, thus overcoming limits in previous research. We empirically analyze policy effects of traditional retail market projects supported by the Korean government. Research design, data, and methodology - We propose a traditional retail market improvement plan via the relation between cause and effect resulting from the analysis. More specifically, logit analysis was carried out with 1,754 consumers in 16 cities nationwide. In order to analyze consumer consumption behaviors nationwide, the probability was analyzed using a logit model. This research analyzes the link between support and non-support by the Korean government using binary values. The dependent variable is whether Korean government support is implemented; the binomial logistic regression is used as the statistical estimation technique. The object variables are:1 (support) or 0 (nonsupport), and the prediction value is between 1 and 0. As a result of the factor analysis of questions related to attributes of service quality, four factors were extracted: convenience, product, facilities, and service. Results - The results indicate that convenience, product, and facilities have a significant influence on consumer satisfaction in accordance with the government's traditional retail market support. Additionally, the results reveal that convenience, product, facilities, and service all have a significant influence on consumer satisfaction in a traditional retail market's service quality and consumer satisfaction. Finally, the analysis indicates that the highly satisfied traditional retail market customer has a significant influence on revisit intention. Moreover, the results reveal that the highly satisfied traditional retail market customer has a significant influence on recommendation intention. Conclusions - This research focused on consumers nationwide to measure policy effects of traditional retail markets compared to previous research that focused on one traditional retail market or a specific area. We verified the relationship of service quality and customer satisfaction and consumer behavior based on service quality theory. The results indicate that consumer satisfaction of traditional retail markets supported by service quality factors has a significant impact. In a concrete form, the results indicate that these effects are from facility modernization projects and marketing support projects of the Korean government. The results also imply that these facility and management support effects from the Korean government have been consistent. We realize that the Korean government has to selectively support traditional retail markets in major cities and small and medium-sized cities. To that end, the Korean government needs to select a concentration strategy for the revitalization of traditional retail markets.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.83-91
• /
• 2014

The global community demands the reduction of environmental pollution such as greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide emissions. According to these requirements, the road construction project in the highest energy consuming industry is required the efficient way of reducing environmental pollution emissions. In this study, during the whole life cycle process, an environment impact assessment was performed for the several road construction projects in order to evaluate environmental stress through the road construction process. This study provides a proper process of environment impact assessment for life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis of road construction project, and figures the environmental stress regarding to the major construction materials for the case projects. In addition, this study conducted a sensitivity analysis for the key materials of environmental stress through the quantity analysis of major materials for the 1km section of a road construction. By this sensitivity analysis of total environmental stress change from the different volumes of constructing materials, it would be useful information for the environment impact assessment for the future road construction project.