• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.25 no.2_spc
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• pp.16-27
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• 2020

Nitrate contamination has received much attention at local as well as regional scales. The domestic situation is not out of exception, and it has been reported to be very serious, particularly within agricultural areas as a result of excessive usage of nitrogen fertilizers. Meanwhile, nitrate can be naturally attenuated by denitrification in subsurface environments. The denitrification occurs through biotic (biological) and abiotic processes, and numerous previous studies preferentially focused the former. However, abiotic denitrification seems to be significant in specific environments. For this reason, this study reviewed the previous studies that focused on abiotic denitrification processes. Firstly, the current status of nitrate contamination in global and domestic scales is presented, and then the effect of geological media on denitrification is discussed while emphasizing the significance of abiotic processes. Finally, the implications of the literature review are presented, along with future research directions that warrant further investigations. The results of previous studies demonstrated that several geological agents could play a vital role in reducing nitrate. Iron-containing minerals such as pyrite, green rust, magnetite, and dissolved ferrous ion are known to be powerful electron donors triggering denitrification. In particular, it was proven that the rate of denitrification by green rust was comparative to that of biological denitrification. The results indicate that abiotic denitrification should be taken into account for more accurate evaluation of denitrification in subsurface environments.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.120-145
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• 2001

Environmental risk is one of major risks in contemporary society which is often conceptualized in terms of 'risk society'. The crisis which retains such environmental risk can be characterized by 'technical hazards', rather than natural hazards in traditional societies, because of potentiality of technical control over its generation and managing process. Environmental crisis tends to be recurred due to certain limitations of response of both government and civil society. Moreover, it can be argued that generation of environmental crisis and limitations of its managing process are inherent in problematic structures in contemporary society, especially in its 4 basic elements and their characters; that is, capitalist market economy which promotes increasing profits and decreasing cost; bureaucratic representative politics which has brought about concentration of power and evasion of responsibility, instrumental science and technology which leads to blind belief on scientific knowledge and its uncertainty; and finally individualistic way of life with exclusive and passive response to crisis. This paper aims to consider the generation and managing process of environmental crisis in terms of these 4 basic elements, with comparative studies on empirical cases of the water crisis by Phenol pollution in Taegu in 1991 and the water crisis by parasites contamination in Sydney in 1998.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Navigation
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.77-97
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• 1995

The protection of the marine environment is one of the main international legal problems in recent years. In parallel with the industrial development, a great quantity of chemical materials were used and in consequence, mass transportation of oil and other dangerous materials was required on the one hand, and discharge of industrial wasters drew also the attention on the other hand. Furthermore, oil tankers accidents, mass use of nuclear materials, sea-bed exploration and exploitation stimulated further deep human concern on the marine environment. The expansion of international concern to new and more dangerous sources of marine pollution regarded more strict and legal control on the Oil Tanker(DWT 95, 000tons, Cb=0.805) model. Calculation results are compared to the international, especially regional level. In particular, this study is concerned with the preservation of the Northeast Asian Seas surrounded by Japan, the Russian Far East, South Korea, North Korea, China and Taiwan. These adjacent countries must intensify cooperation regarding the prevention, reduction and control of the contamination of the sea. And this cooperation between the States concerned should, as much as possible, be aimed at maximizing the effectiveness of measures to prevent or abate transboundary environmental pollution. To achieve this purpose, States concerned should be imposed upon duties such as duty to assess the environmental impact, duty to inform, duty to consult and duty to assist on the basis of general principle of international law, international customary law and other various resolutions of international bodies. Depending on the nature and extent of actual or potential transboundary pollution with the use of a natural resource or the environment in general the establishment of some form of institutionalized cooperation between the States concerned may become useful or indispensable. The functions of this Organization are, inter alia, to keep the implementation of the Convention and the protocals under continuous observation, to make recommendations on regional or sub-regional rules and standards to be elaborated and on measures to be taken by the Contracting Parties, to be notified of any grave and imminent danger from pollution or threat of pollution by the Contracting Parties and to promote in close cooperation with appropriate governmental bodies additional measures to protect the marine environment of the Northeast Asian Seas, and so on. Above mentioned countries, first of all, are located within the Northeast Asian Seas geographically and, therefore, take responsibilities of preserving the clean sea against marine interferences regardless of any difference of the social, political and economic systems. They must be followed under the UNCLOS and other marine conventions. Under the present circumstances, Northeast Asian Seas will become dead seas in case that there is no instant and prompt action against pollution. Hence we have an absolute obligation to promote the development of the mandatory international environmental law, which in turn can faciliate more effective implementation of the regional cooperation by the neighbouring states within this area.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.395-401
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• 2010

This research was carried out as a survey on the contents of Lead (Pb) and Cadmium (Cd) in 5 type agricultural products unestablished safety guideline in Korea. The average levels of Pb: onion 0.010 mg/kg, cucumber 0.018 mg/kg, garlic 0.012 mg/kg, green pepper 0.027 mg/kg, sesame 0.029 mg/kg. The average levels of Cd: onion 0.006 mg/kg, cucumber 0.002 mg/kg, garlic 0.008 mg/kg, green pepper 0.011 mg/kg, sesame 0.024 mg/kg. The present result of this study showed that Pb and Cd contents in the whole samples were less than the maximum residual levels of the codex standard. The levels of exposure assessment for Pb and Cd by intake from vegetables and sesame were merely at $1.3{\times}10^{-4}$(mean) ~ $5.1{\times}10^{-4}$($95^{th}$ percentiles) ${\mu}$g/kg bw/day for Pb, $7.5{\times}10^{-5}$(mean) ~ $3.6{\times}10^{-4}$($95^{th}$ percentiles) ${\mu$}g/kg bw/day for Cd. The data from this research will be valuable source for database construction for science-based safety control and management for the trace metal contamination in food including agricultural products.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.253-266
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• 1993

GIS technique was applied for ffie work of water supply protection, and GIS rnaps were produced by this technique in Cheong-ju area. They are actual runoff rnap and regional groundwater protection map. The digital database was estabilished for creation of these maps in EGIS(Environmental Geologic information system). A lot of environmental, hydrological and geotedmical data relating to the area were collected from various sources, and used along with the results of the field investigation and laboratorv works in the interpretation of environmental geologic characteristics of the area. These special maps can be applied in the establishment of water supply protection and regional land use planning. For instant, the actaal runoff rnap is very linportant for hydrologic study, and groundwater protection map for susceptibility to groundwater contamination in the area. Actual runoff of the study area was calculated about 148mm using the method of SCS(Soil Consrevation Service) in GIS. The GIS technique was effective in watershed analysis and water balance study.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.599-609
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• 2020

Objectives: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) first emerged in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and has rapidly become a global pandemic with over 26.4 million confirmed cases and approximately 871,000 fatalities worldwide as of this writing. In the Republic of Korea, disease clusters frequently occurred in long-term care hospitals where the majority of residents are elderly with underlying medical conditions. Despite the fact that public health authorities and local community health centers have put tremendous efforts into preventing the spread of disease, positive cases have continued to occur. Thus, the Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention rapid response team decided to conduct an environmental investigation of a long-term care hospital to identify whether environmental contamination has remained and contributed to the spread of COVID-19. Methods: An environmental investigation was conducted at Hospital A. The characteristics of the facility and its HVAC system were assessed by checking the layout and interviewing the people in charge. A total of 64 surface samples were collected from areas of concern, including patient rooms, toilets, elevators, and nurses' station. These samples were tested by a regional health and environmental research institute using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results: All samples from Hospital A were confirmed to be negative. Through interviews with high-level personnel at the regional community health center, we found that extensive disinfection is frequently performed on potentially contaminated areas in Hospital A in accordance with government guidelines. Conclusion: The environmental control measures implemented in Hospital A had been sufficient for mitigating the risk of further infection, suggesting that such measures may also be effective for other long-term health care facilities.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.273-281
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• 2012

The government is carrying forward a sustainable development which reduces green-house gas and environmental pollution by preparing 'Low Carbon Green Development' policy basis as a new paradigm of national development. This study aims to understand the status of atmosphere contamination which Seoul has by finding correlation among social, economical indexes and carbon, the humanities and social characteristic materials which best express types of city and correlation and to suggest implications. According to the results of the analysis, first the carbon emission volume of Seoul recorded 0.56 ppm, Jongno, Jung-Gu, Kuro, Kangnam and Songpa were more than the average of Seoul and Kwangjin-Gu & Kangbuk-Gu, relative north east regions, Yeongdeungpo-Gu and Dongjak-Gu, south west regions showed lower CO occurrences. Second, according to the correlation and factor analysis, elements which affect CO emission volume of Seoul are largely represented by regional level, traffic level and development density level. Third, when the importance of influence factors based on the analyzed standard coefficient by a regression model, traffic and development density level were most important by recording traffic level (0.967), environmental level (0.385), regional level (0.530) and development density (0.561). Consequently, it was revealed that the traffic level most affected CO emission.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Agricultural Machinery Conference
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• 1999.06a
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• pp.137-159
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• 1999

Over the last three decades, Korean farming system has been directed to maximum agricultural production and to increase farmer's income through adoption of high-yielding crop varieties and high input of agrochemicals . These farming practices have resulted in problems of water-quality deterioration, soil degradation , and food safety. At present, over 40 million tones of animal waste are bing produced annually, which amounts to disposing the waste at the annual rate of 20 tones per ha in the total area of farming land in Korea. Nearly a half of total available water resources is used as irrigation water predominantly for rice paddy field. Thus, non-point source contamination of the water resources has been linked to agriculture across the nation. However, the extent to which agriculture contributes to the water quality is not fully known. Recently, Korean government provided various institutional measures to reduce the negative impacts of agricultural practices on the environ ental quality, and the Agricultural Environment Act was also passed by the legislature in 1998 and became effective January 1999. This Act does not cover the broad spectrum of the sustainable agriculture ; thus, the limited incentives within this Act are arguably ineffective to control the non-point source pollution. Recently new bulk blending of fertilizers(BB fertilizer) are bing produced (100, 000 tones in 1998) with Government subsidies. The BB fertilizers are to balance N-P-K ratio in the soils . Although the use of the BB fertilizers are encouraged with Government subsidies, non-point source pollution is still serious and will become worse. Precision farming is regarded as a new means for sustainable agriculture. It is a new technology that modifies the existing techniques and incorporates new one such as GIS, GPS , differential applicator to produce a new set of tools for the farmer to use. Precision farming, however, has constraints for individual farming practices. For exam le , farm size or parcel unit of each farmer is too small to adopt the precision agriculture on farmhouse-hold bases and farmer's ability to adopt the new technology is limited. However, it would be appropriate to establish local or regional cooperatives to operate such a precision farming system. It is recommended that Government provide sufficient incentives to help establish local and/or regional cooperatives.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.99-103
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• 2015

Potato virus T (PVT) is a plant pathogen in the family Betaflexiviridae, group IV single-stranded positive sense RNA viruses. The major host of PVT is potato, and it has been reported in Ullucus tuberosus, Oxalis tuberosa and Tropaeolum tuberosum. This study aimed at developing reverse transcription (RT)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and nested PCR techniques for specific detection of PVT. Finally, Two RT-PCR primer sets were developed and verified. The RT-PCR products were amplified to 734 (PVT RT-PCR primer set 6) and 828 bp (PVT RT-PCR primer set 29) long to detect PVT. The nested PCR primer sets [PVT-N70/C20 ($734{\rightarrow}315bp$) and PVT-N75/C30 ($828{\rightarrow}529bp$)] were developed which are high sensitivity and verification for detection of PVT. Furthermore, a modified-positive control plasmid is use to verify contamination of laboratory in PVT detection. This study supported the diagnose PVT in potato or PVT related hosts.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.435-444
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• 2005

A survey was conducted to 890 radiological technologists working at 44 general hospitals of 16 cities and provinces across the county to determine their stress level according to regions divided into the capital city, metropolitan areas and small- and medium-sized cities. For this purpose, such factors as their working environment, role playing, job conflict and job burden were compared and analyzed according to the regions. The findings may be summed up as follows: 1. In terms of working environment, radiological technologists in the capital city were found to have the least stress(23.46), followed by those in metropolitan areas(24.53) and small- and medium-sized cities(24.85). There was a significant difference according to the regions as for the item 'worry about influence of radioactive contamination(genetic, decisive and plausible)(P<0.001). 2. As for role playing, radiological technologists in small-and medium-sized cities appeared to receive the highest stress(l8.25) followed by metropolitan areas(l7. 71) and the capital city(l6.69). There was a statistically significant difference(P<0.001) according to the regions 3. Regarding job conflict, those who work in small- and medium-sized cities turned out to get the highest stress(15.66) compared to those in metropolitan areas(15.35) and the capital city(l4.44). In terms of job autonomy, there was no significant result from the survey in spite of the difference between metropolitan areas(14.87), small- and medium-sized cities(l4.79) and the capital city(l4.66). 4. Little difference was detected according to the regions as far as the job burden(excessive or too little) was concerned. But their was a significant regional difference in tenns of patient-related factors with the capital city(11.50), small- and medium-sized cities(l0.75), and metropolitan areas(1.63)(P<0.001).