• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.3-12
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• 1997

Phytoremediation, using plants to remediate toxic organic and inorganic pollutants in contaminated soils, is an emerging technology for environmental cleanup. Three strategies of this technology are applicable to the remediation of toxic heavy metals, radionuclides, and toxic organic pollutants: They are (1) phytoextraction, in which plants anumulate the contaminants and are harvested for the downstream processing; (2) phytodegradation, in which plant-released enzymes or plant-associated microorganisms convert toxic pollutants into non-toxic materials; and (3) phytostabilization, in which toxic pollutants are precipitated from solution or absorbed in either the plant tissue or the soil matrix. Phytoremediation is more effective and less expensive than other current treatment technologies.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.1098-1108
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• 2008

Batch type and column type experiments were performed in order to predict adsorption and movement within soil. Clay minerals montmorillonite and kaolinite were respectively added to paraquat which is a cationic compound with long residual time, 2,4-D which is an anionic compound with relatively short residual time and napropamide which is an amphoteric compound. Therefore, it is very important to determine the movements of toxic pollutants in the ground soil to establish measures to prevent soil grounds contamination and to restore contaminated soils effectively, because contamination of soil is getting severe due to these toxic wastes, industrial waste water, and agricultural chemicals, etc. Therefore, in this study, we have carried out column and batch experiments by using general toxic organic compounds as test samples in order to restore contaminated soils effectively as well as to prepare a basic data to develop absorbents that will remove various toxic organic compounds, with a grandiose purpose to prevent contaminations of soil and grounds due to various toxic organic compounds.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.745-754
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• 2013

This study evaluated the optimal soil washing conditions for toxic metals considering the removal efficiency of toxic metals from contaminated soils as well as from soil washing effluents. In the contaminated soils, As was the major contaminant and extracted by sodium hydroxide solution better than by sulfuric acid. However, in the case of the treatment of soil washing effluents, sodium hydroxide was less effective extractant because soil organic matter extracted by sodium hydroxide prevented the solid-liquid phase separation and toxic metal removal. In the treatment of soil washing effluents with sulfuric acid, toxic metals in the effluents were mostly precipitated at the pH above 6.5. In addition, granular ferric oxide (GFO) as an adsorbent enhanced the removal of As and Pb indicating that toxic metals in the washing effluents can be removed almost completely by the use of combined adsorption-neutralization process. This study suggests that soil washing techniques for toxic metals should be optimized based on the physical and chemical properties of the contaminated soils, the nature of chemical extractant, and the removal efficiency and effectiveness of toxic metals from the soils as well as soil washing effluents.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2003.02a
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• pp.81-93
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• 2003

USACE has developed guidance, training, procedures and and support to ensure that hazardous and toxic waste sites are assessed and remediated appropriately

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.37-44
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• 2018

Soil trace elements and their bioaccumulation in agricultural products have attracted widespread concerns, yet the crop uptake characteristics of trace elements in different soil-plants systems have been rarely investigated. Experiments were carried out to investigate the effect of soil properties on trace element concentrations in cabbage and radish. Soil pH and total organic matter were major factors influencing trace elements transfer from soil to vegetables. Inclusion of other soil properties in the stepwise regression analysis improved the regression models for predicting trace element concentrations. Consideration of other soil properties should be taken into account for more precise prediction of trace element concentrations in the two vegetables, which could help quantitatively evaluate the ecologic risk of toxic trace elements accumulation in crops.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.134-144
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• 2020

In-situ stabilization is a remediation method using amendments to reduce contaminant availability in contaminated soil. We tested the effects of two amendments (furnace slag and red mud) on the availability of toxic trace elements (TTEs) and soil enzyme activities (dehydrogenase, phosphatase, and urease). The application of amendments significantly decreased the availability of TTEs in soil (p < 0.05). The decreased availability of TTE content in soils was accompanied by increased soil enzyme activities. We found significant negative relationships between the TTE content assessed using Ca(NO₃)_2^-, TCLP, and PBET extraction methods and soil enzyme activities (p < 0.01). Soil enzyme activities responded sensitively to changes in the soil environment (pH, EC, and availability of TTEs). It could be concluded that soil enzyme activities could be used as bioindicators or ecological indicators for soil quality and health in environmental soil monitoring owing to their high sensitivity to changes in soil.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.148-156
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• 2017

The wide distribution of redox-sensitive elements (RSE) as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), selenium (Se), and strontium (Sr) in the top soil of Siwaqa area are related to the weathering action of alkaline surface and groundwater on the parent rocks. The bioavailability, distribution, sorption, and ecotoxicity of As, Cd, Se, and Sr, of the wild plants and top soils in the study area were investigated. A total number of 23 surface soil samples and 23 plant samples were collected and analyzed for the most toxic elements. The uptake of elements by plants was dependent on the plant species and the concentration of elements in the soil. For example, Sr was the highest concentration in soil samples and plants, while Se was the lowest concentration in soil samples and pants. For the plants, the results showed that Bellevalia sp. had the highest elements uptake, while Allium rothii had the lowest elements uptake. The results of this work provide a valuable knowledge for understanding the bioavailability of some toxic elements in the soil and plants of Central Jordan. The results are expected to be of great help for the Jordanian Uranium Mining Company during their environmental risk assessments.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.335-342
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate the toxic effects of zinc in collembolan Paronychiurus kimi at the individual (survival and juvenile production) and population (population growth and age structure) levels after 28 days of exposure in artificially spiked soil. These toxic effects were interpreted in conjunction with the internal zinc concentrations in P. kimi. The EC₅₀ value for juvenile production based on the total zinc concentration was 457 mg Zn kg^-1 dry soil, while the LC₅₀ value for adult survival and r_i=0 value for population growth were within the same order of magnitude (2,623 and 1,637 mg Zn kg^-1 dry soil, respectively). Significant differences in adult survival, juvenile production, and population growth compared with the control group were found at concentrations of 1,500, 375, and 375 mg Zn kg^-1 dry or higher, respectively, whereas significant differences in the age structure, determined by the proportion of each age group in the population, were observed in all treatment groups. It appeared that the internal zinc level in P. kimi was regulated to some extent at soil zinc concentrations of ≤375 mg Zn kg^-1 dry soil, but not at high soil zinc concentrations. These results indicate that, despite zinc being regulated by P. kimi, excess zinc exceeding the regulatory capacity of P. kimi can trigger changes in the responses at the individual and population levels. Given that population dynamics are affected not only by individual level but also by population level endpoints, it is concluded that the toxic effects of pollutants should be assessed at various levels.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.1264-1270
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• 2012

The ecotoxicological effects of nanomaterials on animal, plant, and soil microorganisms have been widely investigated; however, the nanotoxic effects of plant-soil interactive systems are still largely unknown. In the present study, the effects of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) on the soil-plant interactive system were estimated. The growth of plant seedlings in the presence of different concentrations of ZnO NPs within microcosm soil (M) and natural soil (NS) was compared. Changes in dehydrogenase activity (DHA) and soil bacterial community diversity were estimated based on the microcosm with plants (M+P) and microcosm without plants (M-P) in different concentrations of ZnO NPs treatment. The shoot growth of M+P and NS+P was significantly inhibited by 24% and 31.5% relative to the control at a ZnO NPs concentration of 1,000 mg/kg. The DHA levels decreased following increased ZnO NPs concentration. Specifically, these levels were significantly reduced from 100 mg/kg in M-P and only 1,000 mg/kg in M+P. Different clustering groups of M+P and M-P were observed in the principal component analysis (PCA). Therefore, the M-P's soil bacterial population may have more toxic effects at a high dose of ZnO NPs than M+P's. The plant and activation of soil bacteria in the M+P may have a less toxic interactive effect on each of the soil bacterial populations and plant growth by the ZnO NPs attachment or absorption of plant roots surface. The soil-plant interactive system might help decrease the toxic effects of ZnO NPs on the rhizobacteria population.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.289-294
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• 2005

The toxic effects of 12 commercially available insecticides on the earthworm, Eisenia fetida (Savigny), were evaluated using artificial soil, surface sprayed soil, immersion, and contact filter tests. The risk to earthworm was assessed by the TER (toxic exposure ratio) value, which was calculated by the formula, TER=NOEC/PEC (predicted environmental concentration). TER was 3 for methomyl SL, 20 for carbaryl WP, 20 for phosphamidon SL, 30 for imidacloprid WP, and 60 for dichlorvos EC the in artificial soil test. At recommended, the earthworm mortality to methomyl SL reached 50% in the surface sprayed soil test, 72% in the immersion test, 30% in the contact filter paper test, whereas that to imidacloprid WP reached 56, 32, and 100 respectively. As a result of the four methods, methomyl SL and imidacloprid WP would be toxic insecticides to earthworm.