• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.63-70
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• 2009

The optical fiber cable acting as a sensor was embedded in the underground research tunnel and portal area in order to monitor their stability and the spatial temperature variation. This system includes two types of sensing function to monitor the distributed strain and temperature along the line, where sensor cable is installed, not a point sensing. According to the results of one year monitoring around the KURT, there is no significant displacement or movement at the tunnel wall and portal slope. However, it would be able to aware of some phenomena as an advance notice at the tunnel wall which indicates the fracturing in rockmass and shotcrete fragmentation before rock falls accidently as well as movement of earth slope. The measurement resolution for rock mass displacement is 1 mm per 1 m and it covers 30 km length with every 1m interval in minimum. In temperature, the cable measures the range of $-160{\sim}600^{\circ}C$ with $0.01^{\circ}C$ resolution according to the cable types. This means that it would be applicable to monitoring system for the safe operation of various kinds of facilities having static and/or dynamic characteristics, such as chemical plant, pipeline, rail, huge building, long and slim structures, bridge, subway and marine vessel. etc.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.335-342
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• 2009

The effects of bacterial lysis on the rate of quartz dissolution were investigated under pH 7 condition using Bacillus subtilis cells which were either irradiated or non-irradiated with gamma ray. The amount of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) which resulted from bacterial lysis increased in slurries of quartz and bacteria mixture over experimental period. Lysis of non-irradiated bacteria led to the elevated concentration of dissolved silicon when compared with abiotic control. Concomitant increase in the amounts of DOC and dissolved silicon over time indicated that lixiviation of silicon from quartz was due to bacterial lysis. Higher amounts of DOC and dissolved silicon were present in the irradiated bacterial slurries than those of non-irradiated bacteria. The enhancement of quartz dissolution in the irradiated bacterial slurries was likely attributed to disruption of organic molecules in the bacterial cells by gamma ray and formation of effective ligands for quartz dissolution. The results suggest that the effects of bacterial lysis on mineral weathering rate should be considered for prediction of time for released radionuclides to migrate to surface biosphere in high level radioactive waste disposal site.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.189-197
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• 2019

HLW (High Level Radioactive Waste) is one of the problems that must be solved in the countries that implement nuclear power generation. Most countries that are concerned about HLW treatment are considering complete isolation from human society by disposing them deep underground. For perfect isolation, understanding the characteristics of underground rocks is very important. In particular, understanding the characteristics of discontinuity as a path way is one of the first things in order to predict the movement of exposed nuclear species to the surface. In this study, we used 500m underground core samples obtained from granite and gneiss area. The purpose of this study is to understand the characteristics of the discontinuities in each rock type and to analyze the properties of the joints in the underground relative to the surrounding environment. For this purpose, the types of discontinuities were classified and the distribution of each discontinuity were analyzed through visual analysis of the each sample obtained at 500m underground. This study can be used as a basic data for understanding the properties of discontinuities in the rock of the survey area and it can be also used as an important data for understanding the distribution characteristics of discontinuities according to the rock types.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.141-155
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• 2023

Monitoring technology based on electrical resistivity is widely used for non-destructive data collection and health analysis of underground structures and tunnels. Vulnerable sections such as fault zone generates many problems during construction of the tunnel. These problems cause displacement and stress changes of the ground. Therefore, it is necessary to predict the state of the fault zone section to ensure the mechanical stability of the underground structure. Monitoring the size of joints and the porosity of the fillings is essential for rocks. Previous studies have not considered the variety of fillings in rock joints. In this study, electrical resistivity tests were conducted according to the particle mixing state of the sandy fillings. When the size of fillings is decreased at the constant porosity, the electrical resistivity tends to increase. The results of this study are expected to be useful as basic electrical resistivity data for predicting the ground conditions and evaluation of the ground behavior that is containing sandy fillings in the rock joint for tunnels.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.117-128
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• 2017

Occurrence characteristics and existing forms of U-Th containing minerals in KURT (KAERI Underground Research Tunnel) granite are investigated to understand long-term behavior of radionuclides in granite considered as a candidate rock for the geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste. KURT granite primarily consists of quartz, feldspar and mica. zircon, REE(Rare Earth Element)-containing monazite and bastnaesite are also identified. Besides, secondary minerals such as sericite, microcline and chlorite including quartz vein and calcite vein are observed. These minerals are presumed to be accompanied by a post-hydrothermal process. U-Th containing minerals are mainly observed at the boundaries of quartz, feldspar and mica, mostly less than $30{\mu}m$ in size. Quantitative analysis results using EPMA (Electron Probe Micro-Analyzer) show that 74.2 ~ 96.5% of the U-Th containing minerals consist of $UO_2$ (3.39 ~ 33.19 wt.%), $ThO_2$ (41.61 ~ 50.24 wt.%) and $SiO_2$ (15.43 ~ 18.60 wt.%). Chemical structure of the minerals calculated using EPMA quantitative analysis shows that the U-Th minerals are silicate minerals determined as thorite and uranothorite. The U-Th containing silicate minerals are formed by a magmatic and hydrothermal process. Therefore, KURT granite formed by a magmatic differentiation is accompanied by an alteration and replacement owing to a hydrothermal process. U-Th containing silicate minerals in KURT granite are estimated to be recrystallized by geochemical factors and parameters such as temperature, pressure and pH owing to the hydrothermal process. By repeated dissolution/precipitation during the recrystallization process, U-Th containing silicate minerals such as thorite and uranothorite are formed according to the variation in the concentrated amount of U and Th.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.847-870
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• 2023

The safe disposal of high-level radioactive waste requires accurate predictions of the long-term geochemical behavior of radionuclides. To achieve this, the present study was conducted to model geochemical behaviors of uranium (U), plutonium (Pu), and palladium (Pd) under different hydrogeochemical conditions that represent deep groundwater in Korea. Geochemical modeling was performed for five types of South Korean deep groundwater environment: high-TDS saline groundwater (G1), low-pH CO₂-rich groundwater (G2), high-pH alkaline groundwater (G3), sulfate-rich groundwater (G4), and dilute (fresh) groundwater (G5). Under the pH and Eh (redox potential) ranges of 3 to 12 and ±0.2 V, respectively, the solubility and speciation of U, Pu, and Pd in deep groundwater were predicted. The result reveals that U(IV) exhibits high solubility within the neutral to alkaline pH range, even in reducing environment with Eh down to -0.2 V. Such high solubility of U is primarily attributed to the formation of Ca-U-CO₃ complexes, which is important in both G2 located along fault zones and G3 occurring in granitic bedrocks. On the other hand, the solubility of Pu is found to be highly dependent on pH, with the lowest solubility in neutral to alkaline conditions. The predominant species are Pu(IV) and Pu(III) and their removal is predicted to occur by sorption. Considering the migration by colloids, however, the role of colloid formation and migration are expected to promote the Pu mobility, especially in deep groundwater of G3 and G5 which have low ionic strengths. Palladium (Pd) exhibits the low solubility due to the precipitation as sulfides in reducing conditions. In oxidizing condition, anionic complexes such as Pd(OH)₃^-, PdCl₃(OH)₂^-, PdCl₄^2-, and Pd(CO₃)₂^2- would be removed by sorption onto metal (hydro)oxides. This study will improve the understanding of the fate and transport of radionuclides in deep groundwater conditions of South Korea and therefore contributes to develop strategies for safe high-level radioactive waste disposal.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.7
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• pp.953-960
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• 2015

This study evaluated the effects of Rubus coreanus Miq. oil on the plasma lipid profile of high fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice. Animals were randomly divided into 4 groups (n=10). After completion of the 5-week experimental period, we measured bodyweight gain, food intake, adipose tissue mass, and plasma lipid profile. We also analyzed the activities of carnitine and superoxide dismutase (SOD) involved in ${\beta}$-oxidation and antioxidation, respectively. Our results show that HFD-induced weight gain in animals in the R. coreanus Miq. oil diet group (RCO) and corn oil diet group (CO) was significantly lower compared to animals in the HFD group; RCO supplementation had a more noticeable effect than CO. Visceral and back fat weights were lower in the RCO and CO groups while plasma HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) and HDL-C per total cholesterol [HDL-C/TC (%)] ratio were significantly higher in the RCO group. The contents of acid-soluble acylcarnitine and total carnitine as well as SOD activation were significantly higher in the RCO group, but no significant difference was observed between the RCO and CO groups. In conclusion, RCO effectively averted elevation of total body weight and fat weight in HFD-induced obese mice and promoted increased HDL-C. Therefore, R. coreanus Miq. oil might play an anti-obesity role in obese people and could be used as an effective oil supplement.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.389-401
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• 2023

Climate, weather, insolation (solar radiation), and solar energy in major cities of Tajikistan were investigated prior to construction of infrastructure for the Dushanbe Solar Station. In Dushanbe city there was a 70% probability of sunny days from May 16 to October 23, a period of 5.2 months. August had the most sunny days of in the year, with 99% probability of a sunny, the cloudiest month was February with a 41% chance of being sunny. In major cities of the Sughd and Gorno-Badakhshan states, the average number of cloudy days per month was ~3.3, with Dzhauz having 53 day and Fedchnko Glacier 79 days. For the 18 major cities of Tajikistan, the average annual total solar radiation was 2,429 W/m², and the average monthly solar radiation was 202 W/m². The city with the lowest annual total and monthly average solar radiation was Shartuz in Sughd state, with values ~2.7% less than the national average. The cities with the highest annual total and monthly average solar radiation were Khorog and Jirgatol in Gorno-Badakhshan state, with values ~10% above the national average. The daily average incident shortwave solar energy in the cities Dushanbe, Karakul, and Jirgatol was ~7.8 kWh per 2.4 m² during summer (May-August), and 2.7 kWh during winter (November-February), or ~35% that of summer.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.1-32
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• 2005

The optimum population of a society or country can be defined as 'the population growth path that maximizes the welfare level of the society over the whole generations of both the present and the future, under the paths allowed by its endowments of production factors such as technology, capital and labor'. Thus, the optimum size or growth rate of population depends on: (i) the social welfare function, (ii) the production function, and (iii)demographic economic interrelationship which defines how the national income is disposed into consumption(birth and education of children included) and savings on the one hand and how the demographic and economic change induced thereby, in turn, affect production capacities on the other. The optimum population growth path can, then, be derived in the process of dynamic optimization of (i) under the constraints of (ii) and (iii), which will give us the optimum population growth rate defined as a function of parameters thereof. This paper estimates the optimum population growth rate of Korea by: specifying (i), (ii), and (iii) based on the recent development of economic theories, solving the dynamic optimization problem and inserting empirical estimates in Korea as the parametric values. The result shows that the optimum path of population growth in Korea is around TFR=1.81, which is affected most sensitively, in terms of the size of the partial elasticity around the optimum path, by the cost of children, share of capital income, consumption rate, time preference, population elasticity of utility function, etc. According to a survey implemented as a follow up study, there are quite a significant variations in the perceived cost of children, time preference rate, population elasticity of utility across different socio-economic classes in Korea, which implied that, compared to their counterparts, older generation and more highly educated classes prefer higher growth path for the population of Korea.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.235-243
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• 2006

In this study, an experimental study on the sorption properties of uranium(VI) onto a bentonite colloid generated from Gyeongju bentonite which is a potential buffer material in a high-level radioactive waste repository was performed as a function of the pH and the ionic strength. The bentonite colloid prepared by separating a colloidal fraction was mainly composed of montmorillonite. The concentration and the size fraction of the prepared bentonite colloid measured using a gravitational filtration method was about 5100 ppm and 200-450 nm in diameter, respectively. The amount of uranium removed by the sorption reaction bottle walls, by precipitation, and by ultrafiltration was analyzed by carrying out some blank tests. The removed amount of uranium was found not to be significant except the case of ultrafiltration at 0.001 M $NaClO_4$. The ultrafiltration was significant in the lower ionic strength of 0.001 M $NaClO_4$ due to the cationic sorption onto the ultrafilter by a surface charge reversion. The distribution coefficient $K_d$ (or pseudo-colloid formation constant) of uranium(VI) for the bentonite colloid was about $10^4{\sim}10^7mL/g$ depending upon pH and ionic strength of $NaClO_4$ and the $K_d$ was highest in the neutral pH around 6.5. It is noted that the sorption of uranium(VI) onto the bentonite colloid is closely related with aqueous species of uranium depending upon geochemical parameters such as pH, ionic strength, and carbonate concentration. As a consequence, the bentonite colloids generated from a bentonite buffer can mobilize the uranium(VI) as a colloidal form through geological media due to their high sorption capacity.