• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.93-107
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• 1998

Because of its stable quantity and quality, groundwater has long been a reliable source of drinking water for domestic users. Rapid economic growth and rising standards of living have in recent years put severe demands on drinking water supplies in Korea. Groundwaters that are currently being used for natural mineral water were hydrochemically evaluated and investigated in order to maintain their quality to satisfy strict health standards. There exist 15 natural mineral water plants in the Okcheon metamorphic belt. Characteristics of groundwaters are different from those of other areas in that electrical conductivity, hardness, contents of Ca, Mg and $HCO_3$are relatively high. The content of major cations is in the order of Ca>Mg, Na>K, whereas that of major anions shows the order of $HCO_3$>$SO_4$>Cl>F. The fact that the Ca-Mg-HCO$_3$type is mostly predominant among water types reflects that dissolution of carbonates that are abundantly present in the metamorphic rocks plays an important part in groundwater chemistry. Representative correlation coefficients between chemical species show Mg-$HCO_3$(0.92), Ca-$HCO_3$(0.88), Ca-Mg(0.80), Ca-Cl(0.78), Mg-$SO_4$(0.78), Ca-$SO_4$(0.71), possibly due to the effect by dissolution of carbonates, gypsum or anhydrite. Determinative coefficients between some chemical species represent a good relationship, especially for EC-(K+Na+Ca), Ca-$HCO_3$, Ca-Mg, indiacting that they are similar in chemical behaviors. According to saturation index, most chemical species are undersaturated with respect to major minerals, except for some silica phases. Groundwater is slightly undersaturated with respect to calcite and dolomite, whereas it is still greatly undersaturated with respect to gypsum, anhydrite and fluorite, Based on the Phase equilibrium in the systems $NA_2$O-$Al_2$$O_3$-$SiO_2$-$H_2$O and $K_2$O-$Al_2$$O_3$-$SiO_2$-$H_2$O, it is clear that groundwater is in equilibrium with kaolinite, evolved from the stability area of gibbsite during water-rock interaction. It is expected that chemical evolution of groundwater continue to proceed with increasing pH by reaction of feldspars, with calcite much less reactive.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.241-250
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• 2018

Recently, negative effects on human health such as disease caused by harmful environment have been dealt with seriously. In particular, studies on the effect of radon exposure, which is known as a primary carcinogen in lung cancer due to radioactive materials, have been actively studied. In Korea, since January 1, 2018, radon measurement is mandatory when building a new apartment, so it is necessary to measure the radon concentration and submit it to the local government and it should be posted where residents can see it. Radon has only recommended standards for multi-use facilities, but now it has decided to set recommendation standards for private homes. Therefore, it should now be possible to manage the radon in the environmental impact assessment phase as well as in the Post-environmental Impact Assessment. It should be possible to share health information such as the radon concentration and the risk of radon, and participation of health experts in the environmental impact assessment stage is required. Soil, air quality, hygiene and aerial items should be improved to take into account the effects of radon on human health during the environmental impact assessment process. If the level value of conncentration of radon shows above the recommended level, then alternative measures should be prepared and mitigation measures should be prepared as well.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.479-495
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• 2018

This study was carried out to research the multimedia fate modeling, concentration distribution and impact assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) emitted from automobiles, which are known as carcinogenic and mutation chemicals. The amount of emissions of PAHs was determined based on the census data of automobiles at a target S-city and emission factors of PAHs, where multimedia fugacity modeling was conducted by the restriction of PAHs transfer between air-soil at the impervious area. PAHs' Concentrations and their distributions at several environmental media were predicted by multimedia fugacity model (level III). The residual amounts and the distributions of PAHs through mass transfer of PAHs between environment media were used to assess the health risk of PAHs at unsteady state (level IV), where the sensitivity analyses of the model parameter of each variable were conducted based on Monte Carlo simulation. The experimental result at S-city showed that Fluoranthene among PAHs substances are the highest residual concentrations (60%, 53%, 32% and 34%) at all mediums (atmospheric, water, soil, sediment), respectively, where most of the PAHs were highly accumulated in the sediment media (more than 80%). A result of PAHs concentration changes in S-city over the past 34 years identified that PAHs emissions from all environmental media increased from 1983 to 2005 and decreased until 2016, where the emission of heavy-duty vehicle including truck revealed the largest contribution to the automotive emissions of PAHs at all environment media. The PAHs concentrations in soil and water for the last 34 years showed the less value than the legal standards of PAHs, but the PAHs in air exceeded the air quality standards from 1996 to 2016. The result of this study is expected to contribute the effective management and monitoring of toxic chemicals of PAHs at various environment media of Metropolitan city.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.170-174
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• 1997

Constructed wetland system was studied to treat wastewater from industrial complex in rural area. Pilot plant at the Baeksuk Nongkong Danzi in Chunahn-City was used for field study. For the DO, the effluent concentration was higher than the influent concentration and it implies that natural reaeration supplies enough oxygen to the system. For the SS, the effluent concentration was consistently lower than the water quality standard even though the influent concentration varied significantly, which showed that SS was removed by the system effectively which is consist of soil and plants. For the BOD and COD, the average removal rate of them were 56% and 43%, respectively, therefore, the effluent concentration could not meet water quality standards when influent concentration was high. The removal rate of BOD and COD can be improved by supplemental treatment in addition to this system if necessary. For the T-N and T-P, the influent concentration of them were lower than the water quality standards than no further treatment was needed. Overall, the result showed that constructed wetland system is a feasible alternative for the treatment of wastewater from industrial complex in rural area. For actual application of this system, further study on design factors including loading rate, removal mechanism, and temperature effects is required to meet water quality standard consistently. Compared to existing systems, this system is quite competitive because it requires low capital cost, almost no energy and maintenance, and therefore, very cost effective.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.15-29
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• 2020

The aims of this study is to improve physical properties of the sewage sludge and the process sludge generated in the leachate treatment by mixing the dry fuel, to develop the neutral solidifing agents that reduce oder, and to recycle the sewage and the process sludges as landfill cover materials. The mixing ratio (W/W) of sludges and dry fuel was appropriate at about 1:1, and the mixed materials were shown to be homogeneous at that ratio. We could know that when the sludges were mixed with dry fuel, moisture contents and viscosities are reduced, and air passages are formed between particles and particles. The various mixing tests and odor tests showed that the neutral solidifing agent was effective for the odor reduction. The main ingredient of the solidifing agent is the ash of sewage sludge, enabling it competitive in waste recycling and production costs. The landfill cover, using developed neutral solidification agent, improved physical properties to satisfy the quality standards and to increase the compressive strength. It also proved to reduce the value of complex oder and the usage of solidification agent to 1/3 (3,000 to 1,000) and to 1/8 (50% to 6%), respectively, from the comparative study with alkaline solidified landfill cover. Further research is under way to prove that this can be mixed with general soil to be used as a soil improvement agent for plant cultivation.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.611-619
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• 2018

Basalt powder sludge (abbreviated BPS) is an inevitable industry by product resulted from the stone processing. Recently, demands for natural materials have been increasing in the construction and landscaping fields, therefore, amounts of BPS have been also increasing. Since most of BPS are used as landfill and earth soil, it is necessary to figure out to expedite their utilization. In this study, by considering the characteristics of precipitation of Jeju, effectiveness of BPS as a filler for asphalt compounds mixed with cement were analyzed. As a result, BPS satisfies quality criterion required in KS F 3501. Marshall mixing designs were performed to determine the optimal asphalt content for the Modified recycling asphalt mixture (27% recycling aggregate) and the Normal asphalt mixture. Effectiveness of BPS were identified by the Marshall Stability Test with the mixing ratio (level 3) of two asphalt compounds and composition ration (level 3) of BPS and cement. Performance of asphalt compounds shown appropriate effect of mixing and composition ratios of the filler were assessed. Test results show that two types of asphalt compounds satisfy the quality standards of the MLIT (2015). Therefore, BPS could be used as filler for asphalt compounds.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.53-60
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• 2007

L/EPS, manufactured in the shape of block and used for civil engineering, is a lightweight material with an excellent resistance to compression, and provides a superb self-sufficient stability. EPS is a suitable material capable of resolving the problem of settlement and lateral flow if it is applied as the soil on soft ground. The Korean Standards (KS) has not yet proposed any testing method for use of EPS as an engineering banking material. Only its testing and quality ordinance as a heat insulation material has been standardized. The design criteria for EPS has been established and applied through the trial construction of KHC (Korea Highway Corporation) and quality test of manufacturer, but most studies on them have been confined to factory products. This study is focused on comparing and analyzing long-term durability by conducting cyclic load test, freezing and thawing test, absorption rate test and others. EPS used in the test was chosen from construction sites and factory products, focusing on the long-term durability of EPS depending on the passage of time. Unconfined compression test results indicated that the strength of collected samples was lower than factory products. While the triaxial compression test results indicated that the shear strength increased in proportion to the increase of confining pressure, and factory products had declining shear strength as the confining pressure rose.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.475-485
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• 2001

The presence of airborne particles in the earth atmosphere expert important controls on the global climate because of their effects on the radiative balance. However, there are major uncertainties associated with the direct and indirect radiative effects of aerosols. In addition, their physicochemical properties cannot only the decline of air quality but also damage human health. Airborne particles were collected by two different commercial air samples, high volume sampler(for TSP) and low volume sampler(for P $M_{10}$ ) at the campus of Kunsan National University during February to September, 2000. In most cases, TSP and P $M_{10}$ were sampled once a week for the duration of 24 hours from 9:00 a.m. In addition samples were collected more intenisve, when the yellow dust was expected. Each sample was analyzed for pH and major ions concentration (C $l^{[-10]}$ , S $O_4$$^{2-}$, N $O_3$$^{[-10]}$ , N $a^{+}$, N $H_4$$^{+}$, $K^{+}$, $Mg^{2+}$, $Ca^{2+}$) by ion chromatography and atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Acidity (pH) of TSP and P $M_{10}$ ranged from 5.09 to 8.51 and from 6.22 to 7.54, respectively. The concentrations of airborne particles were found to satisfy both the short and long-term air quality standards during the sampling period. If the ratio of ionic concentrations originating from None sea salt(Nss) to sea salt(ss) in aerosol samples was concerned, it was found that the ionic concentrations from marine environment contributed dominantly in total mass concentration in the airborne particles. When seasonal trends were examined, the TSP concentrations in spring were higher than those of other seasons. It may result form frequent occurrences of yellow dust and during the spring season. The concentration ratio of P $M_{10}$ to TSP ranged from 0.78 to 1 during the sampling period. pH in the airborne particle was highest during spring, but the other seasons maintained almost same level. These results suggest that alkaline species in yellow dust can directly neutralize aerosol acidity. During spring season, yellow dust could be a positive factor that can defer the acidification of surface soil and water by neutralizing acidic aerosols in the atmosphere.osphere.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 1976

One of the most common needle leaf species used in planting in Korea is korean pine (Pinus koraiensis S. et Z.), and jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) is one of the test species for suitability. The relation of nursery bed density of 2-1 korean pine and 1-1 jack pine was studied at the Kwang Nung Nursery, Central Branch Station of Forest Research Institute, and about 40km north of Seoul. Nursery bed density of 2-1 korean pine, which ranged from 36 to 324 trees per square meters and of 1-1 jack pine, which ranged from 25 to 169 trees per square meters, had a marked effect on caliper, height, dry weight and percent and amount of plantable stock. The soil physical and chemical properties is silt plus clay, 50.55 percent; organic matter, 2.09 percent; total nitrogen, 0.13 percent; available phosphorus, 253.25 ppm; exchangeable potash, 0.46 m.e/100g; and pH, 5.58. As the density of the nursery seedling stand of 2-1 korean pine increases, the average tree height increases (Fig. 1A), but in 1-1 jack pine density do not affect to increase or decrease the average tree height. As the density of nursery bed increases, the average stem caliper (at 2cm above ground line) and dry weight decrease (Fig. 1B), but the decreasing rate is more seriously in 1-1 jack pine than 2-1 korean pine (Fig.5). As increasing the density of nursery bed, the T/R ratio of trees of the test species increase. Also the dry weight of leaf, stem and root parts are decreasing in proportion to the increase of stand density, but the drop rate of jack pine is more rapid than korean pine (table. 1) The patent facts of difference of growth characteristics between 2-1 korean pine and 1-1 jack pine were studied. These facts should be used to select the scale of stand density at the nursery bed or the plantable site. Korean pine is demanded high density, on the other hand in jack pine low density are more suitable to manage the stand density. Stands of comparatively low density had the greatest percentage of high-quality stock, and the stands of high density had less than the high quality trees of low density. An important criterion of the best density is percent and number of high-quality trees produced per square meter of bed area. Stem caliper and stem height of seedling is used in most public nurseries to sort seedling into plantable grades. The stock grade standard has set at 4.5mm caliper and 16cm height of 2-1 korean pine as the minimum desired stem caliper and height. By the result studies, the plantable stock grade standards of 2-1 korean pine used at stem height 16cm and stem caliper 4.5mm from public nurseries should be reformed to stem height 18cm and stem caliper 4.0mm by the growth characteristics and the tree distribution of stem height and caliper of relation to density. For the 2-1 korean pine, best density should be about 160 to 200 trees per square meter according to soil fertility. For the 1-1 jack pine, the suitable standard of plantable stock should be at stem height 25cm and caliper 6mm (at 2cm above ground line) and best density was about 100 to 120 trees.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.289-302
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• 2023

The study area was Gangnim-myeon, Hoengseong-gun, Gangwon-do, composed of the Chiaksan gneiss complex, and it was revealed that the concentrations of uranium (U) and thorium (Th) within the groundwater of the study area exceeded their water quality standards. Hence, artificial weathering experiments were conducted to elucidate mineralogically the mechanisms of their leaching using drilling cores obtained from the corresponding groundwater aquifers. First of all, the mineralogical compositions of core samples were observed, and the results indicated that the content of clinochlore, a member of the chlorite group of minerals that can form through low- and intermediate-temperature metamorphisms, was relatively higher. In addition, the Th concentration was measured ten times higher than that of U. The results of artificial weathering experiments suggested that the Th concentrations gradually increased through the dissolution of radioactive-element-bearing minerals up to the first day, and then they tended to decrease. It could be attributed to the fact that Th was leached with the dissolution of thorite, which might be a secondary mineral, and then dissolved Th was re-precipitated as the various forms of salt, such as sulfate. Even though the U content was lower than that of Th in the core samples, the U concentration was one hundred times higher than that of Th after the weathering experiments. It is likely caused by the gradual dissolution and desorption of U included in intensively weathered thorite or adsorbed as a form of UO₂²⁺ on the mineral surface. In addition, the leaching tendency of U and Th was positively correlated with the bicarbonate concentration. However, the concentrations between U and Th in groundwater exhibited a relatively lower correlation, which might result from the fact that they occurred from different sources, as aforementioned. Among various kinetic models, the parabolic diffusion and pseudo-second-order kinetic models were confirmed to best fit the dissolution kinetics of both elements. The period that would be taken for the U concentration to exceed its drinking-water standard was inferred using the regressed parameters of the best-fitted models, and the duration of 29.4 years was predicted in the neutral-pH aquifers with relatively higher concentrations of HCO₃, indicating that U could be relatively quickly leached out into groundwater.