• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.1-10
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• 2022

This study assessed the feasibility of iron oxide nanoparticles impregnated with biochar (INPBC), derived from woody biomass, as a stabilizing agent for the stabilization of farmland soil in the vicinity of an abandoned mine through pot experiments with 28 days of lettuce growth. The lettuce grown in the INPBC amended soils increased by more than 100% and the concentrations of inorganic elements (Cu, Ni, Zn) decreased by more than 40%. As, Cd and Pb were not transferred properly from the soils to the lettuce biomass. The bioavailability of arsenic and heavy metals in the INPBC amended soils were decreased by 26%~50%. It seems that the major mechanisms of stabilization were arsenic adsorption on iron oxides, heavy metal precipitation by soil pH increasing and heavy metal adsorption on organic matter. These results revealed that the lower bioavailability of the inorganic pollutants in the soils stabilized using INPBC induced lower transfer to the lettuce. Thus, INPBC could be used as an amendment material for the stabilization of farmland soils contaminated by arsenic and heavy metals. However, a pre-review of the chemical properties of the amended soil must be performed prior to applying INPBC in farmland soil because the concentration of the nutrients in the soil such as available phosphates and exchangeable cations (Ca, Mg, K) could be decreased due to adsorption on the surface of the iron oxides and organic matter.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.79-89
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• 2007

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the present status of several environmental problems caused by emerging toxic substances such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), and arsenic in various environmental media in Vietnam. Monitoring data reported during the 1990s demonstrated elevated contamination of DDTs in most of these compartments in Vietnam. Studies in frame of the Asia-Pacific Mussel Watch Program revealed that fish, mussels and resident birds from Vietnam contained higher concentrations of DDTs as compared to other countries in region, suggesting the role of Vietnamese environment as a significant emission source of DDT in the Southeast Asian region. The estimated dietary intakes of PCBs and DDTs for Vietnamese were relatively high among Asian developing countries, suggesting potential risk for humans posed by thesechemicals. Widespread contamination of some endocrine active compounds such as alkylphenols and phthalates was observed at various sites along the coasts of northern and middle Vietnam. The presence of significant source of bisphenol-A along Red River estuary was revealed with the concentrations comparable to those reported for developed nations. A case study on seasonal variation of alkylphenols and phthalates in surface water of river delta and estuary of north and middle Vietnam indicated the differences in distribution of these compounds between dry and rainy seasons. Higher concentrations of alkylphenols and phthalates were found in dry season in estuary; while the contrasting pattern was observed in the river delta, showing elevated residues in rainy season. This result suggests the different behavior of alkylphenols and phthalates in river delta and coastal environment. From ecotoxicological perspectives, concentrations of bis-phenol A and di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalates [DEHP] in surface water from some locations in Vietnam exceeded the guideline values for Ecotoxicological Effects and the Environmental Risk Limit, respectively, suggesting potential for toxic implications on aquatic wildlife. Widespread and elevated arsenic contamination was discovered inour recent surveys in groundwater in a large area of suburban areas of Hanoi city, the capital of Vietnam. The most recent investigation in 4 villages showed about more than 50 % of groundwater samples contained As concentrations exceeding 50 g/L (the WHO and Vietnamese standard). In particular, in Son Dong villages, 58 % of samples analyzed contained As concentrations higher than 200 g/L. Good correlations were found in As concentrations in water and hair and urine of peoples in corresponding families, suggesting the chronic exposure to As by people living in As-contaminated ground water areas. In Son Dong village, As levels in hair (mean: 1.7 mg/kg dry wt) and urine (g/g creatinine) exceeding the reference values recommended by WHO, suggesting potential for human risk posed by long term accumulation of As in human body. Future studies should be focused on the time trends of POPs and EDCs in biota in Vietnam in order to predict future trend of contamination and to reveal new clues for understanding possible toxic impacts on aquatic organisms. The issues of arsenic contamination in groundwater and their chronic toxic implications on human health should be systematically investigated in the future.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.199-205
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• 2023

Arsenic is a highly toxic element, and its contamination is widespread around the world. The natural materials with high selectivity and efficiency toward pollutants are important in wastewater treatment technology. In this study, the mesoporous synthetic hectorite was synthesized by facile hydrothermal crystallization of gels comprising silica, magnesium hydroxide, and lithium fluoride. Additionally, the naturally available clay was modified using zirconium at room temperature. Both synthetic and modified natural clays were employed in the removal of arsenate from aquatic environments. The materials were fully characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) analyses. The synthesized materials were used to remove arsenic (V) under varied physicochemical conditions. Both materials, i.e., Zr-bentonite and Zr-hectorite, showed high percentage removal of arsenic (V) at lower pH, and the efficiency decreased in an alkaline medium. The equilibrium-state sorption data agrees well with the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms, and the maximum sorption capacity is found to be 4.608 and 2.207 mg/g for Zr-bentonite and Zr-hectorite, respectively. The kinetic data fits well with the pseudo-second order kinetic model. Furthermore, the effect of the background electrolytes study indicated that arsenic (V) is specifically sorbed at the surface of these two nanocomposites. This study demonstrated that zirconium intercalated synthetic hectorite as well as zirconium modified natural clays are effective and efficient materials for the selective removal of arsenic (V) from aqueous medium.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.78-80
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• 2005

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.145-146
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• 2005

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.147-147
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• 2005

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.205-206
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• 2005

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.32-41
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• 2011

By using a newly developed Korean risk-based corrective action (K-RBCA) software (K-RBCA) and the RBCA Tool Kit, risk assessment was performed on a site that was contaminated with aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals. Eight chemicals including benzene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, naphthalene, benz(a) anthracene, benzo(b) fluoranthene, benzo(a) pyrene, and arsenic that exceeded the US EPA Soil Screening Level were chosen as the target pollutants. A conceptual site model was constructed based on the site-specific effective exposure pathways. According to the RBCA Tool Kit the carcinogenic risk of arsenic was larger than $10^{-6}$, which is the generally acceptable carcinogenic risk level. The K-RBCA estimated the same level of carcinogenic risk for arsenic. With the RBCA Tool Kit, the carcinogenic risk of benzo(a) pyrene was estimated to be about $1.3{\times}10^{-6}$. However, with the K-RBCA benzo(a) pyrene did not exhibit any risk. The inconsistency between the softwares was attributed to the different fundamental settings (i.e., medium division) between the two softwares. While the K-RBCA divides medium into surface soil, subsurface soil, and groundwater, the RBCA Tool Kit divides medium into only soil and groundwater. These differences lead to the different exposure pathways used by the two softwares. The K-RBCA considers the exposure pathways in surface soil and subsurface soil separately to estimate risk, however, the RBCA Tool Kit considers the surface soil and subsurface soil as one and uses the integrated exposure pathways to estimate risk. Thus the resulting risk is higher when the RBCA Tool Kit is used than when the K-RBCA is used. The results from this study show that there is no significant difference in the risks estimated by the two softwares, thus, it is reasonable to use the K-RBCA we developed in risk assessment of soil and groundwater. In addition, the present study demonstrates that the assessor should be familiar with the characteristics of a contaminated site and the assumptions used by a risk assessment software when carrying out risk assessment.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.33-44
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• 2009

The objective of the study was to develop a hybrid technology integrating biological and physicochemical technologies to efficiently remediate arsenic contaminated lands such as abandoned mine area. The tailing soil samples contaminated with As at a high level were obtained from Songchon abandoned mine, and the content of arsenic and heavy metals as well as physicochemical properties and mineral composition were investigated. In addition, two sets of sequential extraction methods were applied to analyze chemical speciations of arsenic and heavy metals to expect their leachability and mobility in geoenvironment. Based on these geochemical data of arsenic and heavy metal contaminants, column-type experiments on the bioleaching of arsenic were undertaken. Subsequently, experiments on the hybrid process incorporating bioleaching and electrokinetics were accomplished and its removal efficiency of arsenic was compared with that of the individual electrokinetic process. With the results, finally, the feasibilty of the hybrid technnology was evaluated. The arsenic removal efficiencies of the individual electrokinetic process (44 days) and the hybrid process incorporating bioleaching (28 days) and electrokinetics (16 dyas) were measured 57.8% and 64.5%, respectively, when both two processes were operated in an identical condition. On the contrary, the arsenic removal efficiency during the bioleaching process (28 days) appeared relatively lower (11.8%), and the result indicates that the bioleaching process enhanced the efficacy of the electrokinetic process as a result of mobilization of arsenic rather than removed arsenic by itself. In particular, the arsenic removal rate of the electrokinetics integrated with bioleaching was observed over than 2 times larger than that obtained by the electrokinetics alone. From the results of the study, if the bioleaching which is considered a relatively economic process is applied sufficiently prior to electrokinetics, the removal efficiency and rate of arsenic can be significantly improved. Consequently, the study proves the feasibility of the hybrid process integrating both technologies.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.257-264
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• 2011

Recycling of industrial products as the stabilizers can be proper handling of industrial products and has positive side in terms of recycling of wastes. In this study, the final aims were to evaluate the usability as stabilizer of Bio-solids which was generated from contaminated soil with heavy metals after primary process and to compare the treatment efficiency with slag being currently applied in many existing sites. Soluble and exchangeable forms have closely related to pollution of groundwater and plant growth and they can be used to determine the effect of the stabilization efficiency. Slag and Bio-solids were tested to investigate the capacity of stabilizing arsenic. Slag treatment process 4 (PS-ball 5%) showed higher leachate concentration rather to 0.84% compared to treatment 1 (blank) based on an average of 0.63%. The other hand treatment 4 (Bio-solids 5%) showed the lowest soluble and exchangeable forms to 0.57% when Bio-solids was applied to stabilize arsenic. Thus, the leaching of arsenic will be more reduced if the Bio-solids are used as stabilizer in stead of slag which is being currently used in many fields.