• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.1308-1312
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• 2016

Heavy metals such as gallium (Ga) cause serious physiological damage to exposed organisms, mostly of aquatic species. Ga one of the inter-metallic, transition elements increasingly being used in making high-speed semiconductors, such as Ga arsenide. The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of Ga on acute toxicity, serum biochemical changes, and erythrocyte morphological changes in the blood stream of goldfish (Carassius auratus). Median lethal concentrations were determined in acute tests. The 96 hr $LC_{50}$ value was 9.15 mg/ml. Goldfish were exposed to different Ga concentrations (2.0, 4.0, and 8.0 mg/ml) for 30 days to assess its toxic effects. The results indicate that the measured serum biochemistry parameters (including glucose, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, cholesterol, and triglyceride) of the Ga-exposed fish groups differed significantly from the untreated fish group. In addition, a change in the erythrocytes' morphology at a high concentration (8.0 mg/ml) of Ga exposure shows respiratory problems. Our results suggest that 2.0 mg/ml is proposed as a biologically safe concentration that can be used for establishing tentative water quality criteria concerning the same-size goldfish.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.358-363
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• 2005

A large amount of oyster-shell waste has been illegally disposed at oyster farm sites along the southern coast of Korea, which already created serious environmental problems. Therefore, the study was undertaken to increase the consumption of oyster shell meal as a soil amendment. The effects of oyster shell meal on dynamics of heavy metals and uptake of heavy metals by spring Chinese cabbage were evaluated in silt loam soil (in Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Gyeongnam-do, Korea), where 0, 4, 8, 12 and 16 Mg $ha^{-1}$ oyster-shell meal fertilizer were added. Lime treatment (2 Mg $ha^{-1}$) was selected as a control. In the results of this study, cabbage yields were increased by increasing levels of oyster-shell meal fertilizer. With increasing levels of oyster-shell meal fertilizer, total heavy metals concentrations were not significant among treatments. However, 0.1N HCl extractable heavy metals concentration was significantly reduced due to increasing of soil pH. A lot of portion (ca. $80{\sim}90%$) heavy metals fraction of all fractions was residual phase in soil after harvesting. The contents of Cu, Mo, Zn in cabbage were slightly increased by increasing levels of oyster shell meal fertilizer. However, there were no toxic symptoms of heavy metals during cultivation. Conclusively, it was estimated that oyster shell fertilizer could be a good amendment to increase productivity of crop and reduce uptake of heavy metals by crop and mobility of heavy metals in soil.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.199-204
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• 2006

Objectives: Mercury is a hazardous organ-specific environmental contaminant. It exists in a wide variety of physical and chemical states, each of which has unique characteristics for the target organ specificity. Exposure to mercury vapor and to organic mercury compounds specifically affects the CNS, while the kidney is the target organ for inorganic Hg compounds. Methods: In this study, mercury chloride $(HgCl_2)$ was studied in a renal derived cell system, i.e., the tubular epithelial Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cell line, which has specific sensitivity to the toxic effect of mercury. MDCK cells were cultured for 6-24 hr in vitro in various concentrations (0.1-100 M) of $HgCl_2$, and the markers of apoptosis or cell death were assayed, including DNA fragmentation, caspase-3 activity andwestern blotting of cytochrome c. The influence of the metal on cell proliferation and viability were evaluated by the conventional MTT test. Results: The cell viability was decreased in a time and concentration dependent fashion: decreases were noted at 6, 12 and 24 hr after $HgCl_2$, exposure. The increases of DNA fragmentation were also observed in the concentrations from 0.1 to 10 M of $HgCl_2$ at 6 hr after exposure. However, we could not observe DNA fragmentation in the concentrations more than 25 M because the cells rapidly proceeded to necrotic cell death. The activation of caspase-3 was also observed at 6 hr exposure in the $HgCl_2$ concentrations from 0.1 to 10 M. The release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria into the cytosol, which is an initiator of the activation of the caspase cascade, was also observed in the $HgCl_2-treated$ MDCK cells. Conclusions: These results suggest that the activation of caspase-3 was involved in $HgCl_2-induced$ apoptosis. The release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria into the cytosol was also observed in the $HgCl_2-treated$ MDCK cells. These findings indicate that in MDCK cells, $HgCl_2$ is a potent inducer of apoptosis via cytochrome c release from the mitochondria.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.235-241
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• 2014

In this study, we are trying to verify humidity control capability of the exhibition environment of cultural property by measuring adsorption and desorption performance, the control ability of harmful substances by the adsorption experiments of harmful gases. In the experiment of adsorption and desorption performance, in the low humidity area, Artsorb desorbed overwhelmingly more than activated carbon whereas activated carbon absorbed more. Adsorption speed was faster slightly in Artsorb absorption speed was similar in both. In the middle humidity area, absorption by artsorb was slightly more and desorption was similar in both so characteristic of Artsorb didn't appear. Also, Adsorption speed was faster in activated carbon but in the process of desorption, the speed of Artsorb was faster. In adsorption experiment of harmful substances, the concentration in the environment with activated carbon was lower than one with Artsorb, but the difference appeared small. And as a result of observation of the difference in concentration due to adsorption of harmful gas by the change in the metal specimen, the most change was shown in lead specimen and the color difference between the lead specimens of the activated carbon and Artsorb appeared greatly.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.387-394
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• 2011

This study was performed to investigate the contents and leaching characteristics of hazardous wastes from the paint industry. In order to establish a hazardous waste list, samples from industrial discharge have been analyzed for 8 non-regulated inorganic hazardous substances (i.e., Sb, Ni, F, V, Ba, Zn, Be, Se). In more detail, hazardous waste samples from a total of 64 workplaces, e.g. manufacture, formulation, supply and use (MFSU) of coatings, adhesives, sealants and printing inks processing, have been chosen and analyzed. Contents and leaching tests for inorganic metal species in samples show that the non-regulated hazardous substances satisfy all the criteria, while quantitative analyses reveal that some samples of the discharged wastes exceeded the criteria proposed by NIER (National Instituted of Environmental Research). In conclusion, we expect the outcome of this study to align the classification system of hazardous waste management in South Korea with international legislations, and consequently contribute to reduce environmental pollution as well as health risks by toxic wastes.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.279-288
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• 2014

Nuclear energy is expected to meet the growing energy demand while avoiding CO2 emission. However, the problem of accumulating spent fuel from current nuclear power plants which is mainly composed of uranium oxides should be addressed. One of the most practical solutions is to reduce the spent oxide fuel and recycle it. Next-generation fuel cycles demand innovative features such as a reduction of the environmental load, improved safety, efficient recycling of resources, and feasible economics. Pyroprocessing based on molten salt electrolysis is one of the key technologies for reducing the amount of spent nuclear fuel and destroying toxic waste products, such as the long-life fission products. The oxide reduction process based on the electrochemical reduction in a LiCl-$Li_2O$ electrolyte has been developed for the volume reduction of PWR (Pressurized Water Reactor) spent fuels and for providing metal feeds for the electrorefining process. To speed up the electrochemical reduction process, the influences of the feed form for the cathode and the type of anode shroud on the reduction rate were investigated.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.30 no.10
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• pp.566-572
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• 2020

In the recent years, thin film solar cells (TFSCs) have emerged as a viable replacement for crystalline silicon solar cells and offer a variety of choices, particularly in terms of synthesis processes and substrates (rigid or flexible, metal or insulator). Among the thin-film absorber materials, SnS has great potential for the manufacturing of low-cost TFSCs due to its suitable optical and electrical properties, non-toxic nature, and earth abundancy. However, the efficiency of SnS-based solar cells is found to be in the range of 1 ~ 4 % and remains far below those of CdTe-, CIGS-, and CZTSSe-based TFSCs. Aside from the improvement in the physical properties of absorber layer, enormous efforts have been focused on the development of suitable buffer layer for SnS-based solar cells. Herein, we investigate the device performance of SnS-based TFSCs by introducing double buffer layers, in which CdS is applied as first buffer layer and ZnMgO films is employed as second buffer layer. The effect of the composition ratio (Mg/(Mg+Zn)) of RF sputtered ZnMgO films on the device performance is studied. The structural and optical properties of ZnMgO films with various Mg/(Mg+Zn) ratios are also analyzed systemically. The fabricated SnS-based TFSCs with device structure of SLG/Mo/SnS/CdS/ZnMgO/AZO/Al exhibit a highest cell efficiency of 1.84 % along with open-circuit voltage of 0.302 V, short-circuit current density of 13.55 mA cm^-2, and fill factor of 0.45 with an optimum Mg/(Mg + Zn) ratio of 0.02.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.57-65
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• 2008

The geochemical partitioning of arsenic in contaminated soils from a of wet land and tailing of the abandoned mine is examined. Chemical analysis and sequential extraction method by ultrasound-sonication extraction are applied to investigate the mobility and chemical existence conditions of arsenic as well as heavy metals. The results of this study showed that heavy metals concentration of tailings showed as a following order: Fe > As > Cu > Pb > Cr. The highest metal concentration was recognized in samples less than $63\;{\mu}m$ fraction in their particle sizes. Exchangeable and carbonate fractions in soil samples showed following Cu > As > Pb > Fe > Cr for tailings, and Fe > Pb > Cu > As > Cr for reservoir soils, respectively. Arsenic was bound as exchangeable fraction in tailings and its concentration appeared higher than those of the other metals. Thus, As can be easily dispersed into soil and water environments. The obtained results can be used to design soil remediation plan in the study area and require further detailed study to investigate severe environmental pollution of surface water as well as rivers with respect to heavy metals in terms of speciation analysis of toxic elements such as As and Cr.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.149-155
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• 2020

Most of radiation protection clothing is made of lead with excellent radiation shielding because it has excellent process ability and economic efficiency and has a high atomic number. However, lead is classified as a hazardous heavy metal, and there is a risk of lead poisoning. Recently, research to replace lead has been actively conducted. In this study, a research on a shielding sheet with improved physical properties while maintaining the radiation shielding ability equivalent to that of conventional materials by mixing two materials that are harmless to the human body, such as BaSO₄ and Bi₂O₃, and a silicone material binder Was performed. For comparison evaluation with the existing lead shielding sheet, the shielding rate was evaluated using a 40 degree shielding sheet having the highest porosity. As a result, it was analyzed that the shielding rate was superior to 9 % or more at the same thickness. In addition, as a result of studies to improve the physical properties of the shielding sheet, it was analyzed that the shielding sheet mixed with BaSO₄/nylon/Bi₂O₃ was the best.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.44-50
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• 2000

This study was carried out to get the basic data on the efficient processing method of food wastes for utilizing as the resources of swine feeds composition, mineral and toxic elements of food waste were estimated in relation to the steps of processing and fermentation with MS (Miraculous soil-bacteria) microorganism complex. The chemical composition of food wastes was largely varied according to disposing sites, collection time and season. Offensive odor was reduced by anaerobic fermentation with MS microorganism complex. Food wastes fermented with MS microorganism complex have high contents in crude protein (24.1% D.M) and crude fat (12.9% D.M). Mineral composition was to be relatively well balanced compared to other plant or animal feed resources. Particularly the content of sodium was slightly higher than that of grains or agricultural byproducts. In food wastes fermented with MS microorganism complex, heavy metals such as Hg, As or F were not detected. Pb or Cd were detected in small quantities but their levels were below the dose s-permitted feeding standard of permitted dose in feeding standard. These results indicated that food wastes could be efficiently used for the resources of swine feeds through proper processing and fermentation.