• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.350-362
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• 2020

In this study, nano Fe°-impregnated biochar (INPBC) was prepared using pruning residues and one-pot synthetic method and evaluated its performance as an amendment agent for the stabilization of arsenic-contaminated soil. For the preparation of INPBC, the mixture of pruning residue and Fe (III) solution was heated to 220℃ for 3hr in a teflon-sealed autoclave followed by calcination at 600℃ under N₂ atmosphere for 1hr. As-prepared INPBC was characterized using FT-IR, XRD, BET, SEM. For the stabilization test of as-prepared INPBC, As-contaminated soils (Soil-E and Soil-S) sampled from agricultural sites located respectively near E-abandoned mine and S-abandoned mine in South Korea were mixed with different of dosage of INPBC and cultivated for 4 weeks. After treatment, TCLP and SPLP tests were conducted to determine the stabilization efficiency of As in soil and showed that the stabilization efficiency was increased with increasing the INPBC dosage and the concentration of As in SPLP extractant of Soil-E was lower than the drinking water standard level of Ministry of Environment of South Korea. The sequential fractionation of As in the stabilized soils indicated that the fractions of As in the 1st and 2nd stages that correspond liable and known as bioavailable fraction were decreased and the fractions of As in 3rd and 4th stages that correspond relatively non-liable fraction were increased. Such a stabilization of As shows that the abundant nano Fe° on the surface of INPBC mixed with As-contaminated soils played the co-precipitation of As leaching from soil by surface complexation with iron. The results of this study may imply that INPBC as a promising amendments for the stabilization of As-contaminated soil play an important role.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.297-302
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• 2001

To compare the relationship between the vertical distribution of heavy metals in paddy soil and soil pH near four abandoned metal mines, 40 paddy surface soils $(0{\sim}15\;cm)$ and 12 soils with soil depths ($0{\sim}20$, $20{\sim}40$, $40{\sim}60$, $60{\sim}80$ and $80{\sim}100$ cm) were collected. Both total and extractable heavy metal contents in soils were analyzed after acid digestion $(HNO_3:HClO_4:H_2SO_4)$ and 0.1 N-HCl extraction, respectively. The 0.1 N-HCl fraction ratio over total contents of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn were 57, 30, 23, and 19% respectively. Vertical distribution of heavy metals varied considerably among the different mines. In Choil mine, there was no difference in concentrations of all the metals with soil layers. However, Cu and Pb contents in Gahak mime were high at $0{\sim}20\;cm$ depth, and Zn was high at $0{\sim}40\;cm$ depth. In Sinyemi mine, Cd and Cu contents were high at $0{\sim}40\;cm$ depth. Cd, Cu, and Pb contents in Okcheon mine were high through all soil profiles up to 100 cm soil depth. The 0.1 N-HCl fraction ratio over total contents of heavy metals with soil layers were very high at $0{\sim}20\;cm$ depth. As soil depth increased, fraction ratio of heavy metals decreased at the high soil pH (Gahak, Sinyemi, and Choil mines). However, the ratios of Cd, Cu, and Pb in Okcheon mine, having a relatively lower soil pH than other sites, were relatively similar through all the soil profiles up to 100 cm soil depth. Therefore, it was estimated that the mobility and availability of heavy metals in soils were affected by soil pH.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.10-19
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• 2020

BACKGROUND: This study was to carry out risk assessment of contamination of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and inorganic arsenic (I-As) in agricultural products of 25 crops from the abandoned mine areas. The 36 typical investigation sites located in Gyeongbuk provincial area were selected by considering the heavy metal levels, that had been known that the amount of the heavy metals exceeded the contamination level based on the previous survey. METHODS AND RESULTS: Cadmium, lead, and total arsenic (T-As) concentrations were determined using microwave device and ICP-MS. Inorganic arsenic was determined by HPLC-ICP-MS. The limits of quantification for heavy metals were 0.59 ㎍/kg for Cd, 0.42 ㎍/kg for Pb, 0.55 ㎍/kg for T-As, and sum of As (III) (1.74 ㎍/kg) and As (V) (2.25 ㎍/kg) for I-As, respectively. The contents of Cd, Pb, and I-As (only rice) were N.D.-0.958 mg/kg, N.D.-0.227 mg/kg, and 0.082 mg/kg, respectively, in the agricultural products. For risk assessment, dietary exposures of heavy metals through usual intake were 5.20×10^-4-7.15×10⁰ ㎍/day for Cd, 7.00×10^-5-7.75×10^-1 ㎍/day for Pb, and 1.17×10¹ ㎍/day for I-As, taking 0.01-14.37%, 0.01-2.05%, and 15.16% as risk indices, respectively. CONCLUSION: It requires to consider the critical levels of heavy metals in agricultural products due to unexpectedly high levels in a few places, while concentrations of heavy metals in the samples were relatively low in most areas.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.29-41
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• 2015

Abandoned paddy field provides an excellent opportunity to improve the species diversity and habitat quality. Ecological characteristic on the changing of plant communities at different seral stages is a major basis data for ecological restoration. In this study, we investigated changes of the species composition and community indices on the plant community associated with abandonment of cultivated rice paddies. The ecological stability of the habitat was evaluated by using eco-floristic characters(Di; Disturbance index, AUI; Actual urbanization index). Survey sites were grouped into six stages(stageI (${\leq}3years$), stageII(3-5years), stageIII(5-7years), stageIV(7-10years), stageV(10-15years), stageVI(${\geq}20years$). Vegetation investigation was done from May 2009 to October 2012 and carried out phytosociological approach. The total flora were summarized as 176 taxa including 58 families, 127 genera, 157 species, 3 subspecies, 15 varieties and 1 forms. At each of successional stages, 64 taxa in stage I, 34 taxa in stage II, 84 taxa in stage III, 83 taxa in stage IV, 92 taxa in stage V, 23 taxa in stage VI were identified. Of the occurrence plants, the species with the highest r-NCD value were Alopecurus aequalis, Juncus effuusus var. decipiens, Persicaria thunbergii, Artemisia princeps, Salix koreensis and Alnus japonica at each stages. Herbaceous annual plants were dominated in the early stage, but its r-NCD value declined in the middle stage and the late stage. On the other hand, herbaceous perennial plants and Persicaria thunbergii, annual hydrophytes, increases in the middle stage. Woody plant and herbaceous plant which appeared in the forest edge increases in the late stage. Community indices correlate with successional stages. Richness and diversity index increase along the successional gradient. But dominance index decrease along the successional gradient. Evenness index was correlated with lower. In the ecological stability analysis of the habitat that evaluated by eco-floristic characters, stage I was the most unstable habitat. And the stability of the habitat has improved according to the successional stage.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.314-325
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• 2014

We studied fish fauna at 10 study sites in Ungcheon stream for 4 times from April to October, 2011 to investigate the influence of artificial structures such as dam (with fish-way) and weir (without fish-way), and abandoned mine on fish community. A total of 12 families, 36 species of fishes were collected. Dominant species was Zacco platypus (23.4%) and subdominant species was Zacco koreanus (20.5%). Ten species (27.8%) of Korean endemic species and Micropterus salmoides, exotic species, were observed during the study period. Endangered species of Korea such as Pseudopungtungia nigra and Liobagrus obesus, and Korean endemic species, Coreoperca herzi, which are vulnurable for water quality and had been observed in previous study, were not identified in this study. According to the cluster analysis, Ungcheon stream were divided into three groups consisting upstream (St.1, St.2, St.3), midstream (St.4, St.5, St.6, St.7), downstream (St.8, St.9, St.10). Community structure similarity between upper and lower site of Boryeong dam with fish-way (St.6-St.7) was high, whereas that of weir, lack of fish-way (St.7-St.8) showed little similarity indicating that fish-way was required. According to the canonical correlation analysis, high level of conductivity and salinity at upstream was detected and Misgurnus mizolepis, and endemic species of Korea such as Silurus microdorsalis, Coreoleuciscus splendidus and Iksookimia koreensis were observed at this part of the stream. Since Korean endemic species, Squalidus gracilis majimae cohabit with exotic species, M. Salmoides at downstream whose width is wide and water velocity is low, protection was needed for these endemic species.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.59 no.4
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• pp.532-538
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• 2014

Arsenic (As) is nonessential element toxic to plants. In Korea little is not only known about the extent of actual anthropogenic sources and inputs of arsenic to the agricultural land which plays a active role as a sink, but also systematic research on arsenic as an toxic element entering the food chain via the soil-plant pathway has not been investigated in the fields and greenhouses besides in few places of abandoned mining sites. Therefore, it is important to focus on the effect of As-contaminated soils on As uptake and biomass production of lettuce plants. In this study, As concentrations in the soil and accumulation of As in lettuce transferred by As uptake from soils were investigated. To do this, soil which was mixed with various rates of arsenopyrite gravels containing arsenic from 0 to 100% was packed into a round plastic pot. Then, 10 days old vegetable crops of chinese cabbage and lettuce after germination were transplanted into a pot. Growth of lettuce was observed for four weeks with one week interval. All experiments were done by triplicate. The results showed that the growth rates for number of leaves, width and length of the crop plants were retarded with increasing amount of gravel mixed due to increasing bioavailable amount of arsenate with increasing rate of gravel in soils. With these results, we conclude that the bioavailable amount of arsenate can influence the growth of lettuce.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.290-294
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• 2014

In this study, we investigated the characteristics of rodent (mainly ground squirrel) burrows found near the Lake Hovsgol, Mongolia. Those burrows are straight to slightly curved and gently inclined in lateral view. Cross-sectional shapes are either circular or elliptical with diameters ranging from mostly 8-10 cm. Most abandoned burrows are passively filled with soils and/or pebbles. The size and architecture of these Mongolian burrows are remarkably similar to those of the previously reported Late Pleistocene burrows from Korea. Therefore, the rodent burrows found at Korean Palaeolithic sites are thought to have been formed by ground squirrels. However, the difference in burrow-fills suggests that the mean annual precipitation of the Korean Peninsula during the Late Pleistocene is much higher than that of Mongolia.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.553-565
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• 2002

Seasonal variations in vertical distributions of metals were investigated in the contaminated paddy soils around Siheung Cu-Pb-Zn and Deokeum Au-Ag mines. Geochemical behavior of metals was also evaluated with respect to redox changes during the cultivation of rice. Two microcosms simulating the rice-growing paddy field were set up in the laboratory. The raw paddy soils from two sites showed differences in mineralogy, metal concentrations and gecochemical parameters, and it is suggested that high proportions of exchangeable fractions in metals may give high dissolution rates at Deokeum. In both microcosms of Siheung and Deokeum, redox differences between surface and subsurface of paddy soils were maintained during the flooded period of 18 weeks. Siheung soil had neutral to alkaline pH conditions, while strongly acidic conditions and high Eh values were found at the surface soil of Deokeum. The concentrations of dissolved Fe and Mn were higher in the subsurface pore waters than in interface and upper waters from both microcosms, indicating reductive dissolution under reducing conditions. On the contrary, dissolved Pb and Zn had high concentrations at the surface under oxidizing conditions. From the Siheung microcosm, release of dissolved metals into upper waters was decreased. presumably by the trap effect of Fe- and Mn-rich layers at the interface. However, in the Deokeum microcosm, significant amounts of Pb and Zn were released into upper water despite the relatively lower contents in raw paddy soil, and seasonal variations in the chemical fractionation of metals were observed between flooded and drained conditions. Under acidic conditions, rice may uptake high amounts of metals from the surface of paddy soils during the flooded periods, and increases of exchangeable phases may also increase the bioavailability of heavy metals in the drained conditions.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.208-222
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• 2001

Geochemical investigations on suspended amorphous iron oxide material from the Kwangyang gold mine and its surrounding area, Cheonnam, Korea have been carried out. The sediments samples were collected from 11 location along Kwangyang mine area and were air dried and sieved to -80 mesh. These samples consist mainly of iron, silicon and alumina. The Fe$_2$O$_3$ contents ranges from 17.9 wt.% to 72.3 wt.%. The content of Fe$_2$O$_3$ increase with decreasing Si, Al, Mg, Na, K, Mn, and Ti, whereas the contents of Te, Au, Ga, Bi, Cd, Hg, Sb, and Se increase in the amorphous stream sediments. Amorphous stream sediments have been severely enriched for As (up to 54.9 ppm), Bi (up to 3.77 ppm), Cd (up to 3.65 ppm), Hg (up to 64 ppm), Sb (up to 10.1 ppm), Cu (up to 37.1 ppm), Mo (up to 8.86 ppm), Pb (up to 9.45 ppm) and Zn (up to 29.7 ppm). At the upstream site, the Au content (up to 4.4 ppm) in the amorphous stream sediments are relatively high but those contents decrease with distance of mine location. The content of Ag (up to 0.24 ppm) were low in upstream site but those contents increase significantly in the downstream sites. The X-ray diffraction patterns of the samples have virtually no sharp and discrete peaks, indicating that some samples are amorphous or poorly-ordered. The quartz, goethite, kaolinite and illite were associated in amorphous stream sediments. The infrared spectra for amorphous stream sediments show major absorption bands due to OH stretching, adsorbed molecular water, sulfate and Fe-O stretching, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.78-85
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• 2014

BACKGROUND: Recent studies using various industrial wastes for heavy metal stabilization in soil were conducted in order to find out new alternative amendments. The acid mine drainage sludge(AMDS) contains lots of metal oxides(hydroxides) that may be useful for heavy metal stabilization not only waste water treatment but also soil remediation. The aim of this study was to investigate the applicability of acid mine drainage sludge for heavy metals stabilization in soils METHODS AND RESULTS: Alkali soil contaminated with heavy metals was collected from the agricultural soils affected by the abandoned mine sites nearby. Three different amounts(1%, 3%, 5%) of AMDS were applied into control soil and contaminated soil. For determining the changes in the extractable heavy metals, $CaCl_2$ and Mehlich-3 were applied as chemical assessments for metal stabilization. For biological assessments, lettuce(Lactuca sativa L.) and chinese cabbage(Brassica rapa var. glabra) were cultivated and accumulation of heavy metals on each plant were determined. It was revealed that AMDS reduced heavy metal mobility and bioavailability in soil, which resulted in the decreases in the accumulation of As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in each plant. CONCLUSION: Though the high level of heavy metal concentrations in AMDS, any considerable increase in the heavy metal availability was not observed with control and contaminated soil. In conclusion, these results indicated that AMDS could be applied to heavy metal contaminated soil as an alternative amendments for reducing heavy metal mobility and bioavailability.