• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.469-490
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• 2003

Atmospheric concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were measured at Gosan, Jeju in November 2001 and spring 2002, each time for two weeks. Primary target pollutants were organochlorine pesticides, coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (co- PCBs), and dioxin/furans listed in the Stockholm Convention adopted in May 2001. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were also measured in order to understand the overall characteristics of the POPs distribution as well as PM$_{2.5}$, a potent carrier of POPs. In the latter part of the measurement period of November 2001, almost every pollutant of combustion origin including dioxin/furans went high probably due to influence of emissions in the nearby area. The characteristics of atmospheric environment at Gosan in this period were rather close to urban areas far from those of a background area. A severe dust storm swept for three days at the end of the measurement period of spring 2002. However, changes in pollutant concentrations were relatively small except PM$_{10}$. Nevertheless, increases in particulate PAHs and OCDD (octachlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins), mostly present in fine particles, were observed. Trends in organochlorine pesticide variations were mixed although possible volatilization of DDT residues from soil was inferred from the measurements of spring 2002.2.2.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.291-294
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• 2015

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including banned organochlorine pesticides, are found in Korean agricultural environments. Their translocation from agricultural environment to major crops has been reported. In this study, the POPs in 15 different agricultural waters of the Chungchung Province were monitored and all samples were prepared, followed by liquid-liquid fractionation and column chromatography prior to analysis using gas chromatography. Among pesticide-originated persistent organic pollutants, ${\alpha}$-endosulfan was determined in the range of 0.01 to 1.13 ng/mL. ${\beta}$-Endosulfan was determined in the range of 0.01 to 0.55 ng/mL, and endosulfan sulfate was ranged from 0.13 to 1.13 ng/mL. The total sum of endosulfans reached the range of 0.38 to 1.18 ng/mL. Three pesticides being used currently were also found in samples as 2.03-2.05 ng/mL for triadimefon, 0.26-0.33 ng/mL for tolyfluanid, and 1.34-3.85 ng/mL for chlorpyrifos. Taken together, endosulfans were introduced in the agricultural waters and their fates need continuous monitoring.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Environmental Toocicology Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.72-73
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• 2004

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.65-98
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• 2014

Plastics of the marine environment are broken gradually down into smaller particles by chemical weathering, called "microplastic". Microplastics absorb organic pollutants that are persistent bioaccumulative substances. If marine animals ingested microplastic added to contaminant, it will lead to a bioaccumation through the food web. It eventually destroy health of marine environment and is harmful to marine top predators including humans. Also, Microplastics can impact marine animals by leaching the endocrine disruptor in microplastic itself as well as playing an adsorbent role of organic pollutants. Persistent and bioaccumulative substances in Korea have been regulated in terms of chemical risk but existing regulations largely have been limited in land-based source management of microplastic. Thus, the harmful impact will be increased whether the microplastics absorbed contaminants. To prevent risk of persistent bioaccumulative substances, this study suggests the following: (1) the strict management of microplastic by designating the hazardous substances, (2) expand the use of biodegradable plastic, (3) the effort for reuse and recycle, (4) the expand of microplastic clean-up programs.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.179-186
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• 2009

Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) is a bioaccumulative, persistent, and toxic pollutant. HCB is one of the 12 priority of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) intended for global action by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Governing Council. POPs are organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes. Some of HCB is ubiquitous in air, water, soil, and biological matrices, as well as in major environmental compartments. HCB has effects on various organs such as thyroid, bone, skin, kidneys and blood cells and especially, revealed strong toxicity to liver. In this study, we identified genes related to hepatotoxiciy induced by HCB in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells using microarray and gene ontology (GO) analysis. Through microarray analysis, we identified 96 up- and 617 down-regulated genes changed by more than 1.5-fold by HCB. And after GO analysis, we determined several key pathways which known as related to hepatotoxicity such as metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome P450, complement and coagulation cascades, and tight junction. Thus, our present study suggests that genes expressed by HCB may provide a clue for hepatotoxic mechanism of HCB and gene expression profiling by toxicogenomic analysis also affords promising opportunities to reveal potential new mechanistic markers of toxicity.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.634-640
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• 2016

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using HR-GC/MS for the rapid screening of dieldrin residues in soils. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) of organochlorine pesticides such as dieldrin, were analyzed in sedimentary rock and granite rock collected from greenhouses, Niigata, Japan. Dieldrin remains in Japanese farming soils, more than 40 years after their use as insecticides was prohibited. The averages in soil moisture ranged from 2.79% to 7.20% in soils derived from sedimentary rock and from 25.59% to 31.40% in soils derived from granite rock. Mean concentrations of dieldrin residues in sedimentary rock and granite rock were $39.7ng\;g^{-1}$ and $40.51ng\;g^{-1}$, respectively. Dieldrin residue was detected at a slightly higher concentration in granite rock than sedimentary rock samples. There was no consistency between the two soils or between surface and subsurface soils. The coefficients of variation of the two soils were 10.6% and 8.7%, respectively. These results suggest that our high-resolution mass spectrometry detector (HR-GC/MS) is effective at analyzing residual organochlorine pesticides in soil. In order to increase the precision and sensitivity for chemical analysis of POPs, high-resolution gas chromatography coupled with a HR-GC/MS is highly recommended.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.401-406
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• 2020

The plant uptake of endosulfan, a new persistent organic pollutants from soil environment was investigated on ginseng through the field survey in Korea. The endosulfan residues in soil for this survey were ranged on 0.013-0.136 mg kg-1. The plant uptake factor (PUF) for endosulfan in ginseng was 0.243-1.708 and the highest PUF was found on 3-year-old ginseng. The PUF for endosulfan decreased in the longer cultivation period and it might be caused by the dilution effect of ginseng growth. In addition, the soil organic matter (SOM) content affected on the PUF negatively and Pearson correlation coefficient (r) between SOM and PUF was -0.7812 (p <0.05). Thus, higher SOM would positively affect to reduce the endosulfan residue in ginseng root.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.171-184
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• 2016

In order to assess the level of contamination and identify the priority contaminants in the Busan coast, intensive sediment sampling was conducted and persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals were analyzed. The Sediment Quality Index (SQI) was derived based on the contaminant data by comparing with Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQGs) established in Korea, Canada, and Australia/New Zealand. Toxic contaminants were found to be widely distributed across the coast. Among organic contaminants, PAHs showed the highest concentration, followed by butyltins, nonylphenols, PBDEs, DDTs, PCBs, HCHs and CHLs. Heavy metals were also abundantly detected with the highest concentration of Zn followed by Cu > Cr > Pb > Ni > As > Cd > Hg. Compared to organic contaminants, most heavy metals, except for Cu and Hg, were homogeneously distributed along the coast in a good relationship with total organic carbon of sediment particles. In general, the concentrations of organic compounds and heavy metals were highest at the inner part of harbor areas with a tendency to decline from inside areas to the outside, indicating the high loading of pollutants from harbors. A high exceedance for low-SQGs and high-SQGs was found for TBT, p'-DDT, p,p'-DDD, Cu and Zn. The SQI scores calculated from low-SQGs and high-SQGs were in the range of 18-100 and 54-100, respectively. The inner part of Busan Harbor, Dadaepo Harbor, and Gamcheon Harbor were observed as being regions of concern. Overall, TBT, Cu, and p,p'-DDT were the chemicals most frequently exceeding SQGs and influencing SQI scores.

• Clean Technology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.29-39
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• 2005

Polychlorinated biphenyls, (PCBs) are a group of highly toxic chlorinated industrial chemicals used as dielectrics, coolants and lubricants in electrical transformers. This article reviewed the state-of-the-art on technologies for decomposition of Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), one of the persistent organic materials (POPs). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of decontaminating PCBs contaminated pollutants using treatment technologies such as chemical dechlorination, photodegradation and biological transformation.

• Ocean Science Journal
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.91-100
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• 2005

Bioassay using the marine bacteria, Vibrio fischeri and rotifer, Brachionus plicatilis, and chemical analyses were conducted to assess the toxicity of the various sewage sludges, one of the major ocean dumped materials in the Yellow Sea of Korea. Sludge elutriates extracted by filtered seawater were used to estimate the ecotoxicity of the sludge. Chemical characterization included the analyses of organic contents, heavy metals, and persistent organic pollutants in sludge. Bacterial bioluminescent inhibition (15 min), rotifer mortality (24 hr) and rotifer population growth inhibition (48 hr) assay were conducted to estimate the sludge toxicity. EC50 15 min (inhibition concentration of bioluminescence after 15 minutes exposed) values by Microtox(R) bioassay clearly revealed different toxicity levels depending on the sludge sources. Highest toxicity for the bacteria was found with the sludge extract from dyeing waste and followed by industrial waste, livestock waste, and leather processing waste. Clear toxic effects on the bacteria were not found in the sludge extract from filtration bed sludge and rural sewage sludge. Consistent with Microtox(R) results, rotifer neonate mortality and population growth inhibition test also showed highest toxicity in dyeing waste and low in filtration bed and rural sewage sludge. High concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals were measured in the samples from the industrial wastes, leather processing plant waste sludge, and urban sewage sludge. However, there was no significant correlation between pollutant concentration levels and the toxicity values of the sludge. This suggests that the ecotoxicity in addition to the chemical analyses of various sludge samples must be estimated before release of potential harmful waste in the natural environment as part of an ecological risk assessment.