• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.8-22
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• 2019

Among numerous chemicals used globally, the number of emerging contaminants is increasing. Numerical modeling for contaminant fate and transport in the subsurface is critical to evaluate environmental and health risk. In general, such models require physicochemical properties of contaminants as input values, which can be found in numerous chemical databases (DB). However, there exist lack of information specific to recently emerging contaminants, which requires estimation of physicochemical properties using regression programs. The purpose of the study is to introduce the workflow for identifying physicochemical properties of potential contaminants utilizing numerous chemical DBs, which frequently lists up potential contaminants for estimating chemical behavior. In this review paper, details of several chemical DBs such as KISChem, TOXNET, etc. and regression programs including EPI $Suite^{TM}$, ChemAxon, etc. were summarized and also benefit of using such DBs were explained. Finally, a few examples were introduced to estimate predominant phase, removal ratio, partitioning, and eco-toxicities by searching or regressing physicochemical properties.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.234-240
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• 2016

We examined the diffusion of contaminants released from the southern coast around Fukushima, Japan, during the passage of typhoons using a three-dimensional numerical model (POM) to track diffusing radioactivity (RA) released from the nuclear power plant at Fukushima following the accident caused by the giant tsunami event in March 2011. Radioactive contaminants released during the passage of typhoons may have significantly affected not only Japanese but also Korean coastal waters. The model domain covered most of the northwestern Pacific including marginal seas such as the East/Japan Sea and the Yellow Sea. Several numerical experiments were conducted case studies focusing on the westward diffusion from the southern coast of Japan of contaminants derived from the source site (Fukushima) according to various attributes of the typhoons, such as intensity, track, etc. The model produced the following results 1) significant amounts of contaminants were transported in a westward direction by easterly winds favorable for generating a coastal air stream along the southern Japanese coast, 2) the contaminants reached as far as Osaka Bay with the passage of typhoons, forced by a 5-day positive sinusoidal form with a (right-) northward track east of Fukushima, and 3) the range of contamination was significant, extending to the interior of the East/Japan Sea around the Tsugaru Strait. The model suggests that contaminants and/or radioactivity released from Fukushima with the passage of typhoons can affect Korean waters including the northeastern East/Japan Sea around the Tsugaru Strait, especially when the typhoon tracks are favorable for generating a westward coastal air stream along the southern Japanese coast.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.25 no.2_spc
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• pp.86-100
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• 2020

Analyzing and monitoring environmental contaminants based on geophysical exploration techniques have become important and it is now widely applied to delineate spatial distribution geophysical characteristics in wide area. Among the techniques, induced polarization (IP) method, which measures polarization effects on electrical potential distribution, has drawn much attention as an effective tool for environmental monitoring since IP is sensitive to changes in biochemical reactions. However, various reactions stemming from the presence of multiple contaminants have greatly enhanced heterogeneity of polluted sites to result in highly variable electrical characteristics of the site. Those contaminants influence chemical and physical state of soil and groundwater to alter electrical double layer, which in turn influences polarization of the media. Since biochemical reactions between microbes and contaminants result in various IP effects, IP laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate IP responses of the contaminated soil samples under various conditions. Field IP surveys can delineate the spatial distribution of contamination, while providing additional information about electrical properties of a target medium, together with DC resistivity. Reviewing IP effects of contaminants as well as IP surveys can serve as a good starting point for the application of IP survey in site assessment for environmental remediation.

• Proceedings of the KSEEG Conference
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• 2002.06a
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• pp.81-100
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• 2002

While most of regulatory communities in abroad recognize ' 'natural attenuation " to include degradation, dispersion, dilution, sorption (including precipitation and transformation), and volatilization as governing Processes, regulators prefer "degradation" because this mechanism destroys the contaminant of concern. Unfortunately, true degradation only applies to organic contaminants and short- lived radionuclides, and leaves most metals and long-lived radionuclides. The natural attenuation Processes may reduce the potential risk Posed by site contaminants in three ways: (i)contaminants could be converted to a less toxic form througy destructive processes such as biodegradation or abiotic transformations; (ii) potential exposure levels may be reduced by lowering concentrations (dilution and dispersion); and (iii) contaminant mobility and bioavailability may be reduced by sorption to geomedia. In this review, authors will focus will focul on "sorption" among the natural attenuation processes of hazardous inorganic contaminants including radionuclides. Note though that sorption and transformation processes of inorganic contaminants in the natural setting could be influenced by biotic activities but our discussion would limit only to geochemical reactions involved in the natural attenuation. All of the geochemical reactions have been studied in-depth by numerous researchers for many years to understand "retardation" process of contaminants in the geomedia. The most common approach for estimating retardation is the determination of distrubution coefficiendts ($K_{d}$) of contaminants using parametric or mechanistic models. As typocally used in fate and contaminant transport calculations such as predictive models of the natural attenuation, the $K_{d}$ is defined as the ratio of the contaminant concentration in the surrounding aqueous solution when the system is at equilibrium. Unfortunately, generic or default $K_{d}$ values can result in significant error when used to predict contaminant migration rate and to select a site remediation alternative. Thus, to input the best $K_{d}$ value in the contaminant transport model, it is essential that important geochemical processes affecting the transport should be identified and understood. Precipitation/dissolution and adsorption/desorption are considered the most important geochemical processes affecting the interaction of inorganic and radionuclide contaminants with geomedia at the near and far field, respectively. Most of contaminants to be discussed in this presentation are relatively immobile, i.e., have very high $K_{d}$ values under natural geochemical environments. Unfortunately, the obvious containment in a source area may not be good enough to qualify as monitored natural attenuation site unless owner demonstrate the efficacy if institutional controls that were put in place to protect potential receptors. In this view, natural attenuation as a remedial alternative for some of sites contaminated by hazardous-inorganic components is regulatory and public acceptance issues rather than scientific issue.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2003.03a
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• pp.597-604
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• 2003

In the soil washing process, the contaminants are usually removed by abrasion from soil particles using mechanical energy and water However, organic contaminants with low water solubility like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are remained on soil particles. Previous studies have shown that surfactant possessing amphipathic activity enhances the solubility of organic materials. For this reason solutions with surfactants have been used to improve removal of organic contaminants on soil washing process. But, in this manner, many problems were found like complete loss of surfactants and additional contamination by surfactant. The remediation method using microemulsion has been introduced to overcome these disadvantages. In this case, surfactants are recycled by phase separation of microemulsion after remediation. In microemulsion process, the surfactant will be recycled by phase separation of the microemulsion into a surfactant-rich aqueous phase and an oil phase after extraction. That is why remediation concept applying microemulsion as washing media has been Introduced. Suitable microemulsion have to be used in order to have the chance of refilling the soil after decontamination and to avoid any risk due to toxicity. The purpose of this research is to evaluate effect of microemulsion to remediation of contaminated soil. We performed test with various organic contaminants like Pyrene and BTEX, also compared efficiency of remediation in microemulsion process with soil washing

• Toxicological Research
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.221-226
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• 2015

With the diversification and internationalization of the food industry and the increased focus on health from a majority of consumers, food safety policies are being implemented based on scientific evidence. Risk analysis represents the most useful scientific approach for making food safety decisions. Total diet study (TDS) is often used as a risk assessment tool to evaluate exposure to hazardous elements. Many countries perform TDSs to screen for chemicals in foods and analyze exposure trends to hazardous elements. TDSs differ from traditional food monitoring in two major aspects: chemicals are analyzed in food in the form in which it will be consumed and it is cost-effective in analyzing composite samples after processing multiple ingredients together. In Korea, TDSs have been conducted to estimate dietary intakes of heavy metals, pesticides, mycotoxins, persistent organic pollutants, and processing contaminants. TDSs need to be carried out periodically to ensure food safety.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.185-189
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• 2012

While there is no standards on slip risk for contaminants on surface, glycerol is described in standard contaminant for measuring coefficient of friction(COF) and slip resistance such as ISO 13287. But that is just used to measure the slip resistance of surface materials and shoes not to evaluate the contaminant materials. Therefore the objective of this study was to find out the relationship between standard contaminant and the contaminants used usually at the workplaces. For this, some measurement criteria were acquired from the analysis based on biomechanics and kinetics of human gait during slips. The slip resistance according to viscosity of the contaminants was measured applying the criteria and slip probability was determined by the gait analysis. Some factors which should be considered when measuring the slip resistance were identified. The velocity, acceleration, contact time and contact pressure should be 1 m/sec, 10 $m/sec^2$, 350 kPa and less than 0.5sec respectively. The variation of viscosity according to temperature for working oils was different from that of standard contaminant. The static coefficient of friction (SCOF) of working oils was almost 0.5 times as large as the SCOF of standard contaminant. So it was assumed to be difficult to compare the contaminants at the workplaces with the glycerol as a standard contaminant for estimating the slip risk.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Educational Facilities
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.58-65
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• 2007

For the moderns who spend more than 80% of the time inside a building, interior environment became important since it directly affects their health. Recently as noxiousness of the air contaminants of the interior space stood out as well as the above trend, the Ministry of Environment enacted a lawto maintain the interior air quality at certain level of standard in the multi use facility and newly constructed apartment. To make the indoor air clean, removal technology of various contaminants should be developed and interior materials with chemical treatment should be restrained. In other words, selection of interior finish affects indoor air quality from the initial design stage to the construction stage. However, only limited contaminants emission data of building materials are supplied by related companies. There is no average contaminants emission data for overall materials. Moreover, high cost and equipments for one time measurement of VOCs emission of interior finish are the obstacles of active research and data measurement. Therefore, this paper searched the current condition of average VOCs & HCHO emission of various interior finish based on the study requested to research center from the building material company through Stands Test Method for Indoor Air Quality.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.395-398
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• 2003

Geosynthetic Clay Liners(GCLs) have been widely used as hydraulic barrier in landfills and remediation projects of contaminated sites. The aim of this research is to modify GCLs for effective removal of contaminants. We perform the free swell test, hydraulic conductivity test, and contaminants (TCE, hexavalent chromium, and nitrate) removal test on the bentonite-ZVI mixture with various ZVI content. As the ZVI content increased, contaminants removal efficiencies and swell volume increased, and hydraulic conductivity decreased.

• 한국환경농학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.07a
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• pp.279-279
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• 2011