• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.96-100
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• 1998

The effects of electron acceptors and acclimation of inoculum on the anaerobic degradation of benzene, toluene, and m-xylene (BTX) were investigated to enhance the rate of degradation by estuarine sediment inoculum. With the fresh sediment inocula, degradation of BTX ensued after a 10-week acclimation period, and 37~61% of benzene and 57~61% of toluene were degraded after 16 weeks. Sediments from heavily contaminated sites showed higher degradation rates of BTX. After a 6-month of acclimation, degradation onset rapidly from the time of BTX addition and no difference was found among the sediment inocula. Single compound of BTX was slowly degraded in the methanogenic conditions, however, the degradation of BTX mixture was slow in the denitrifying conditions. Although the degradation rate of m-xylene was the fastest among the components of BTX mixture, longer acclimation enhanced the degradation rate of BTX, especially that of benzene. When the culture fluids were tested with Microtox, anaerobic degradation of BTX reduced the toxicity of BTX as well.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.345-350
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• 2005

Acute toxicities of five pharmaceutical products were evaluated with aquatic microbes, invertebrates, and fish. The test pharmaceuticals, i.e., cimetidine, carbamazepine, diltiazem, acetaminophene, and metformin have been often detected in aquatic environment, but theire cological hazard on receptors of various trophic levels has seldom been evaluated. In the present study, we conducted acute toxicity assays with a marine bacterium, Vibrio fischeri, an invertebrate, Daphnia magna, and a fish, Japanese medake (Oryzias latipes). In general, D. magna, showed the most sensitive response to the test chemicals. Diltiazem exhibited the lowest EC50 value after 96 hr of exposure at 7.6 mg/L, followed by cimetidine >acetaminophen > metformin = carbamazepine in an order of decreasing susceptibility. With the fish, diltiazem and carbamazepine showed the 96 hr EC50 values at 14.1${\sim}$35.4 mg/L while acetaminophen, cimetidine, and metformin did not cause 50% mortality at 100 mg/L. Similar pattern was noted with the Microtox Assay, with which the median effective concentrations for acetaminophen, cimetidine, and metformin were found at the range between 301.8 and 755.4 mg/L. Carbamazepine and diltiazem exposure to the microbes resulted in EC50 values around 50 mg/L. Predicted no effect concentrations (PECs) of these pharmaceuticals derived from the EC5O values obtained from this study, and predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) obtained from available literatures were utilized to estimate ecological risks of the test compounds. No test pharmaceuticals resulted in risk quotients (PEC/PNEC) greater than 1, which suggests no serious potential ecological concerns. It should be noted however that further studies including the refinement of PEC derivation, identification and toxicity assessment of the metabolites and/or their interactions with other stressors may be warranted to better understand the environmental consequences of the residual pharmaceutical discharge to the waterway.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.48-54
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• 2004

Two methods, a Ceriodaphnia algal uptake suppression test (CAUST) and a new toxicity test based on temperature control (TTBTC) which are based on feeding behaviour and temperature control, respectively, were developed and compared for the adoption as the better methodology for short-term toxicity screening. As previously published by Lee et aI., (1997), the CAUST method is based on the feeding behaviour of C. dubia and requires as little as 1 hour of contact time between C. dubia neonates and toxicant. However, even though CAUST requires only 1 hour of contact time, this method still take many hours for the preparation and measurement. Before the test starts, neonate digestive tracts were cleared by feeding yeast to the daphnids, Neonates were then exposed to toxicant, followed by addition of Scenedesmus subspiatus into the bioassay vessels. Daphnids were examined under the bright-field microscope with the presence of algae (indicated by a green colored digestive tract) or the absence of algae. Uptake indicated no toxic effect, whereas, absence of uptake indicated toxic inhibition. Unlike CAUST, the newly developed method (TTBTC) is based on just temperature control for the toxicity test of C. dubia. Initially, neonates are exposed to toxicants while the temperature of water bath containing media increased to $35.5^{\circ}C$. After 1.25 hour of contact time, the number of the daphnids, either live (no toxic effect) or dead (toxic effect), is counted without the aid of any instrument. In both methods, median effective concentrations ($EC_{50}$ values) were computed based on the results over a range of dosed toxicant concentrations. It showed that TTBTC was as sensitive as the standard 48-hour acute bioassay and CAUST. TTBTC and CAUST were much more sensitive than the I-hour I.Q. test and 30-minute Microtox. This study indicates that TTBTC is an easier and more rapid toxicity test than the standard 48-hour acute bioassay and even CAUST.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.955-960
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• 2008

We investigated and estimated at the characteristics of decomposition and mineralization of benomyl using a design of experiment(DOE) based on the general factorial design in an E-beam process, and also the main factors(variables) with benomyl concentration(X$_1$) and E-beam irradiation(X$_2$) which consisted of 5 levels in each factor was set up to estimate the prediction model and the optimization conditions. At frist, the benomyl in all treatment combinations except 17 and 18 trials was almost degraded and the difference in the decomposition of benomyl in the 3 blocks was not significant(p > 0.05, one-way ANOVA). However, the % of benomyl mineralization was 46%(block 1), 36.7%(block 2) and 22%(block 3) and showed the significant difference of the % that between each block(p < 0.05). The linear regression equations of benomyl mineralization in each block were also estimated as followed; block 1(Y$_1$ = 0.024X$_1$ + 34.1(R$^2$ = 0.929)), block 2(Y$_2$ = 0.026X$_2$ + 23.1(R$^2$ = 0.976)) and block 3(Y$_3$ = 0.034X$_3$ + 6.2(R$^2$ = 0.98)). The normality of benomyl mineralization obtained from Anderson-Darling test in all treatment conditions was satisfied(p > 0.05). The results of prediction model and optimization point using the canonical analysis in order to obtain the optimal operation conditions were Y = 39.96 - 9.36X$_1$ + 0.03X$_2$ - 10.67X$_1{^2}$ - 0.001X$_2{^2}$ + 0.011X$_1$X$_2$(R$^2$ = 96.3%, Adjusted R$^2$ = 94.8%) and 57.3% at 0.55 mg/L and 950 Gy, respectively. A Microtox test using V. fischeri showed that the toxicity, expressed as the inhibition(%), was reduced almost completely after an E-beam irradiation, whereas the inhibition(%) for 0.5 mg/L, 1 mg/L and 1.5 mg/L was 10.25%, 20.14% and 26.2% in the initial reactions in the absence of an E-beam illumination.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.21-29
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• 2007

In Korea, we assign the chemical substances of 535 types as toxic substance. Only 10% of the 535 toxic substances are being managed by the Ministry of Environment related with water quality standard. Tar color is also one of chemical substances, but we have the lacks for the information of tar colors about the environmental effects of aquatic ecosystem. This study performed the test of bioassay using Water Fleas and Luminescent Bacteria. The tar has 7 types of colors allowed as the edible color and we evaluate the toxicities of 5 tar colors out of 7 colors and we would like to provide the informations for further study as we perform the toxicity test for the samples of 5 tar colors. We did the toxicity test of using Water Fleas From the results, we obtained the magnitudes of toxicity in order of Red No.2, Yellow No.5, Red No.3, Yellow No.4, Blue No.1. As the result based on Microtox Acute Toxicity Test using Luminescent Bacteria with the standard of 15min-EC50, we obtained in order of Yellow No.5, Food Red No.3, Red No.2, Yellow No.4, Blue No.1. We could expect the tar colors may have different effects on the aquatic ecosystem, respectively and it may influence to the aquatic ecosystem and the human, because of bioconcentration by food chain when toxicity of the tar colors overflow in the aquatic ecosystem.