• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.427-438
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• 2023

Thermodynamic sorption modeling can enhance confidence in assessing and demonstrating the radionuclide sorption phenomena onto various mineral adsorbents. In this work, Ca-montmorillonite was successfully purified from Bentonil-WRK bentonite by performing the sequential physical and chemical treatments, and its geochemical properties were characterized using X-ray diffraction, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis, cesium-saturation method, and controlled continuous acid-base titration. Further, batch experiments were conducted to evaluate the adsorption properties of Cs(I) and Sr(II) onto the homoionic Ca-montmorillonite under ambient conditions, and the diffuse double layer model-based inverse analysis of sorption data was performed to establish the relevant surface reaction models and obtain corresponding thermodynamic constants. Two types of surface reactions were identified as responsible for the sorption of Cs(I) and Sr(II) onto Ca-montmorillonite: cation exchange at interlayer site and complexation with edge silanol functionality. The thermodynamic sorption modeling provides acceptable representations of the experimental data, and the species distributions calculated using the resulting reaction constants accounts for the predominance of cation exchange mechanism of Cs(I) and Sr(II) under the ambient aqueous conditions. The surface complexation of cationic fission products with silanol group slightly facilitates their sorption at pH > 8.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.605-622
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• 2007

Elemental, Rock-Eval pyrolysis and isotopic analysis of the core sediments from the northwestern and eastern Ulleung Basin of the East were carried out to identify their geochemical characteristics, spatial and vertical variation and origin of organic matter in Upper Quaternary sediments from the northwestern and eastern Ulleung Basin of the East Sea. TOC, m and TS did not show spatial variation between the sampling locations whereas they showed systematic vertical variation associated with MIS stages related to the sea-level change of the East Sea. It is suggested that these past changes of sea-level influenced the sedimentary depositional environments and/or diagenesis which resulted the patterns observed in this study. Based on the results of TOC/N, TS/TOC, ${\delta}^{13}C_{org}\;and\;{\delta}^{15}N_{org}$ analysis, organic matters in the study area appears to be predominantly originated from the marine algae rather than land plant and deposited under normal marine oxic condition during MIS I and MIS III period, and under euxinic/anoxic condition during MIS II period. TOC/N, ${\delta}^{13}C_{org}\;and\;{\delta}^{15}N_{org}$ have a relatively constant value irrespective of MIS stages, implying that the organic matter source does not change by the sea-level fluctuations. However, the results of Rock-Eval pyrolysis indicates that the organic matter is in immature stage and originated from land-plant (Type III), locating in the immature stage land plant (Type III). Similar differences were reported from other areas such as the Atlantic Ocean, Iberia Abyssal Plain, Mediterranean Sea, suggesting that Rock-Eval method does not exactly reflect the characteristic of immature organic matters. Accordingly, the application of Rock-Eval pyrolysis for delineating the source of immature organic matters should be approached with caution and all other geochemical proxies should be considered altogether at the same time.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Groundwater Environment
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.32-46
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• 2000

Hydrogeochemical and isotope ($\delta$$^{18}$ O, $\delta$D, $^3$H, $\delta$$^{13}$ C, $\delta$$^{34}$ S, $^{87}$ Sr/$^{86}$ Sr) studies of various kinds of waters (thermal groundwater, deep groundwater, shallow groundwater, and surface water) from the Yusung area were carried out in order to elucidate their geochemical characteristics such as distribution and behaviour of major/minor elements, geochemical evolution, reservoir temperature, and water-rock interaction of the thermal groundwater. Thermal groundwater of the Yusung area is formed by heating at depth during deep circlulation of groundwater and is evolved into Na-HCO$_3$type water by hydrolysis of silicate minerals with calcite precipitation and mixing of shallow groundwater. High NO$_3$contents of many thermal and deep groundwater samples indicate that the thermal or deep groundwaters were mixed with contaminated shallow groundwater and/or surface water. $\delta$$^{18}$ O and $\delta$D are plotted around the global meteoric water line and there are no differences between the various types of water. Tritium contents of shallow groundwater, deep groundwater and thermal groundwater are quite different, but show that the thermal groundwater was mixed with surface water and/or shallow groundwater during uprising to surface after being heated at depths. $\delta$$^{13}$ C values of all water samples are very low (average -16.3$\textperthousand$%o). Such low $\delta$$^{13}$ C values indicate that the source of carbon is organic material and all waters from the Yusung area were affected by $CO_2$ gas originated from near surface environment. $\delta$$^{34}$ S values show mixing properties of thermal groundwater and shallow groundwater. Based on $^{87}$ Sr/$^{86}$ Sr values, Ca is thought to be originated from the dissolution of plagioclase. Reservoir temperature at depth is estimated to be 100~1$25^{\circ}C$ by calculation of equilibrium method of multiphase system. Therefore, the thermal groundwaters from the Yusung area were formed by heating at depths and evolved by water-rock interaction and mixing with shallow groundwater.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.517-526
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• 2008

Geological and related thematic maps make various economical and social benefits at many sectors. Recently, development of information managing technology such as GIS, Geographic Information System, enlarges the usage of geological map and information. In this research, using the Analytic Hierarchy Process, we analyzed the weight of attributes which compose value of geological map and information. Results of research are as follows. By the analysis of the weight of attributes, we found that the weight of confidence, upper hierarchy attribute, was above 50%. The weight of convenience and additional effect was about $16%{\sim}30%$ in the geological map, geophysical map, geochemical map and hydrogeologic map. And the consumption of each maps will increase, especially in large scale map.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.273-282
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• 2000

In order to investigate the extent and degree of arsenic and heavy metal contamination and the bioavailability of toxic elements around the abandoned mine in Korea, an environmental geochemical survey was undertaken in the Daduk mine. After appropriate preparation, tailings, soil, stream sediment, crop plant and fingernail samples were analysed for As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn by ICP-AES and ICP-MS. Elevated levels of 8,782 mg/kg As, 8.3 mg/kg Cd, 489 mg/kg Cu, 3,638 mg/kg Pb and 919 mg/kg Zn were found in tailings from the Daduk mine. These significant concentrations can impact on soils and sediments around the tailing ponds. Mean concentrations of As, Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn in soils are significantly higher than those in world average soil, especially for As and Pb. Element concentrations in sediments decrease with distance from the tailing ponds due to a dilution effect by the mixing of uncontaminated sediments. Arsenic and Cd are elevated in rice grains and stalks, and Cu and Zn concentrations in chinese cabbage, sesame and bean leaves are higher than the upper limit values for normal plant. Arsenic concentration in fingernails of farmers are higher than the normal level with a maximum value of 1.5 mg/kg. The post-ingestion bioavailability of toxic heavy metals in some paddy and farmland soils has been also investigated using the SBET (simple bioavailability extract test) method. The method utilises synthetic leaching fluids closelyanalogous to those of the human stomach. The quantities of As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn extracted from paddy soils after 1 hour indicated 15.9, 65.4, 46.2, 39.4 and 29.4% bioavailability, respectively and for farmland soils, 12.4, 26.0, 31.2, 29.3 and 19.4% bioavailability, respectively. The results of the SBET indicate that regular ingestion of soils by the local population could pose a potential health threat due to long-term toxic element exposure.

• The Journal of Natural Sciences
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.87-92
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• 1995

In the Vicinity of the Sindae-dong waste disposal site in Taejon, the average Cu, pb and Zn concentrations in soils are higher than those in other Korean soils but these are not high enough to cause any harmful effect to human and animal through the crop plants. Copper, Pb and Zn are not detected in the groundwater samples and F, Cl, $NO_2$, $NO_3$ and $SO_4$ concentrations in groundwater samples are lower than drinking water standards. However, the pH of groundwater sample in site D is 5.58 which is not suitable for the drinking water. With the electric resistivity method, the water-containg layers are found in contaminated soils and the resistivity values are considerably low because of the dispersion of plume by the leak of leachates. According to the results from the magnetic survey method, the anomalous values of the total geomagnetic fields and their gradients are found in the sampling site of low resistivity and high trace element concentrations.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.245-251
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• 2020

Lead (Pb) has been shown to be a useful tracer of contamination sources and geochemical processes such as age dating and crustal evolution. These studies require a chromatographic technique for Pb separation from geological samples. This paper presents a comparison study on the effect of eluent concentration between 6M HCl and 8M HCl on the separation of Pb from Pb resin. The results showed that the separation of Pb using 6M HCl as the eluent was not effective compared to the separation using 8M HCl. To verify this method, we measured the Pb isotopic compositions of the Pb isotopic standard (NIST NBS981) and geological reference materials (BCR-2, GSP-2, and JG-1a) using a thermal ionization mass spectrometer (TIMS). The results correspond well with the reported values within the error range, implying that this method can be useful.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.1476-1484
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• 2023

Laboratory experiments and point monitoring of reservoir sediments have proven that stable sulfate reduction (SSR) can lower the concentrations of toxic metals and sulfate in acidic groundwater for a long time. Here, we hypothesize that SSR occurred during in situ leaching after uranium mining, which can impact the fate of acid groundwater in an entire region. To test this, we applied a sulfur isotope fractionation method to analyze the mechanism for natural attenuation of contaminated groundwater produced by acid in situ leaching of uranium (Xinjiang, China). The results showed that δ³⁴S increased over time after the cessation of uranium mining, and natural attenuation caused considerable, area-scale immobilization of sulfur corresponding to retention levels of 5.3%-48.3% while simultaneously decreasing the concentration of uranium. Isotopic evidence for SSR in the area, together with evidence for changes of pollutant concentrations, suggest that area-scale SSR is most likely also important at other acid mining sites for uranium, where retention of acid groundwater may be strengthened through natural attenuation. To recapitulate, the sulfur isotope fractionation method constitutes a relatively accurate tool for quantification of spatiotemporal trends for groundwater during migration and transformation resulting from acid in situ leaching of uranium in northern China.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.1087-1095
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• 2016

The concepts of residence time and flushing time can be used to explain the exchange and transport of water or materials in a coastal sea. The application of these transport time scales are widespread in biological, hydrological, and geochemical studies. The water quality of the system crucially depends on the residence time and flushing time of a particle in the system. In this study, the residence and flushing time in Gamak Bay were calculated using the numerical model, EFDC, which includes a particle tracking module. The average residence time was 55 days in the inner bay, and the flushing time for Gamak Bay was about 44.8 days, according to the simulation. This means that it takes about 2 months for land and aquaculture generated particles to be transported out of Gamak Bay, which can lead to substances accumulating in the bay. These results show the relationships between the transport time scale and physical the properties of the embayment. The findings of this study will improves understanding of the water and material transport processes in Gamak Bay and will be important when assessing the potential impact of coastal development on water quality conditions.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.421-426
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• 2017

In this study, we selected three representative granite samples and conducted petrological observation to establish the Korean geostandards. Samples were taken from the two Jurassic (KJG-1, KJG-2) and one Cretaceous (KCG-1) granites in South Korea. The powder samples were prepared by the standard pulverization process, and glass beads were made for geochemical analysis using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) method, and finally, major element contents of the samples were acquired. The analytical data are shown with mean, standard deviation and relative standard deviation. The accuracy of the analysis was confirmed within an estimated error range of about 5% by comparing the recommended true values of the USGS and GSJ geostandards. Also, we checked the analytical precision by calculating a relative standard deviation of about 3% from the XRF analytical results for the three samples.