• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.63-75
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• 2018

Objectives: The aim of this research is to explore the total heavy metals from a coal-fired power plant burning bituminous coal with wood pellets due to the implementation of the Renewable Portfolio Standard policy (RPS, 10% of electricity from renewable energy resources by 2023). Methods: The research was carried out by collecting archival data and using the USEPA's AP-42 & EMEP/EEA compilation of emission factors for use in calculating emissions. The Monte Carlo method was also applied for carrying out the calculations of measurement uncertainty. Results: In this paper, the results are listed as follows. Sb was measured at 110 kg (2015) and calculated as 165 kg (2019) and 201 kg (2023). Cr was measured at 1,597 kg (2015) and calculated as 1,687 kg (2019) and 1,728 kg (2023). Cu was measured at 2,888 kg (2015) and calculated as 3,133 kg (2019) and 3,264 kg (2023). Pb was measured at 2,580 kg (2015) and calculated as 2,831 kg (2019) and 2,969 kg (2023). Mn was measured at 3,011 kg (2015) and calculated as 15,034 kg (2019) and 23,014 kg (2023). Hg was measured at 510 kg (2015) and calculated as 513 kg (2019) and 537 kg (2023). Ni was measured at 1,720 kg (2015) and calculated as 1,895 kg (2019) and 1,991 kg (2023). Zn was measured at 7,054 kg (2015) and calculated as 9,938 kg (2019) and 11,778 kg (2023). Se was measured at 7,988 kg (2015) and calculated as 7,663 kg (2019) and 7,351 kg (2023). Conclusion: This shows that most heavy metals would increase steadily from 2015 to 2023. However, Se would decrease by 7.9%. This analysis was conducted with EMEP/EEA's emission factors due to the limited emission factors in South Korea. Co-firewood pellets in coal-fired power plants cause the emission of heavy metals. For this reason, emission factors at air pollution control facilities would be presented and the replacement of wood pellets would be needed.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.985-992
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• 2011

The 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was performed in relation to the internal fluid characteristics and flow distribution for the development of the most optimal model in the complex post-disposal device. As it is expected that a channeling (drift) would be made by the semi-dry reactor due to the large difference in the flow distribution by the compartment in the bag filter, a structural improvement should be urgently made for more uniformed flow distribution in the bag filter. Three types of modifications such as i) changing the plenum shape, ii) orifice install in the exit part of cleaned gas, iii) increasing the plenum number were established. From the results of computational fluid dynamics, it was revealed that the changing of plenum shape and orifice install in the exit part of cleaned gas was more reasonable than the increasing the plenum number because of the difficulties of retrofit. The complex post-disposal device, modified and supplemented with this analysis, integrated the semi-dry reactor and the bag filter in a single body, so it follows that the improvement can make the device compact, save the installation area, save the operation fee, and management more convenient.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.18 no.sup
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• pp.73-80
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• 2012

Nitrogen included in animal manure can be used as organic fertilizer if it is treated properly but it may cause serious air and water pollution without proper management. Significant amount of nitrogen losses happen in the form of ammonia when the manure staying in animal house and storage facilities and being composted and applied to the field. In order to maximize the manure nitrogen utilization, it is important to understand the mechanisms of nitrogen loss during the diverse manure handling and treatment procedures. The plant available nitrogen portion of total nitrogen in excreted manure was evaluated based on animal type, animal manure collection system, manure treatment process, and application method. About 27% of nitrogen included in excreted pig manure could be plant available if it is applied to the filed after composting process. The plant available nitrogen portion varies from 29% (surface application) to 54% (solid injection) based on application method of digestated piggery slurry. Plant can use 18% of manure nitrogen if the composted cattle and poultry manure applied to the field using surface application method. Manure treatment and application methods need to be carefully selected to control and utilize the manure nitrogen properly.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.399-404
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• 2021

From 1 January 2020, the limit for Sulphur in fuel oil used on board ships operating outside designated emission control areas will be reduced to 0.5 %. This regulation by international maritime organization (IMO) is able to significantly reduce the amount of Sulphur oxides (SOx) discharging from ships and should have environmental advantages and health for all over the world. To meet the regulation, in these days, wet scrubber system is being actively developed. However, this process leads to make washing wastewater. In this study, we evaluated ion exchange resin system in accordance with scrubber wastewater discharge regulation by IMO. Theoretical wastewater used as feed solution of lab scale water treatment systems. The results revealed that nitrate ion was removed selectively in spite of high TDS wash wastewater solution depending on ion exchange resin property. Moreover, it was possible to improve efficiency of the system by optimizing operating conditions.

• Clean Technology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.19-32
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• 2019

As regional air pollution gets worse by the sulfur oxides emitted from various types of vessels passing through the many countries, the International Maritime Organization establishes the emission control areas and regulates sulfur dioxide in those areas. In order to satisfy these regional regulations, the fuel selection method and the exhaust gas post-treatment device are applied to the ships. Due to the economic reasons, the post-treatment method of exhaust gas for reducing the amount of sulfur oxides discharged is mainly preferred. The scrubber which is dominantly used in the ships are the spray type system where the sprayed liquid drops used for capturing the soluble sulfur dioxides in the exhaust gas. The performance of the spray type system depends on the size distribution of the sprayed droplets. In order to evaluate this performance, we designed counterflow type scrubber and cyclone scrubber and evaluated the desulfurization efficiency and the amount of droplet evaporation according to the size of each droplet by using computational fluid dynamics. The Eulerian-Eulerian analysis method was used because the scrubber had a gas-liquid two-phase flow inside the scrubber. When the diameter of the droplet was $100{\mu}m$, $300{\mu}m$, $500{\mu}m$ and $700{\mu}m$. As a result, both of scrubbers showed high desulfurization efficiency and low evaporation amount at $500{\mu}m$ and $700{\mu}m$.

• Journal of Appropriate Technology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.37-44
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• 2020

Medical waste is any kind of waste that contains infectious material and recommended not to be transferred for infection control. As a means of disposal, incineration has better points than dumping or landfill in the quantity reduction, odorless and nonhazardous. However, open burning and incineration of health care wastes under bad circumstances, can result in the emission of environmental pollutants to air. A burial of biological waste brings pollution of soil and water. Most of sub divisional hospitals in Fiji transfer their medical wastes to divisional hospitals for incineration. In 2011, 62,518 kg of medical waste was incinerated in the three divisional hospitals. However, some medical wastes are considered as general waste and burnt or sent to landfill site, some are buried on site in some sub-divisional hospitals. In this regards, urgent education is necessary for awareness promotion to relevant personnel in medical waste treatment. On site incineration using small scale incinerator is more recommended than transportation of medical wastes treatment in Fiji. Moreover, remotely controllable and fixable small scale of incinerator is more desirable in sub-divisional hospitals. It is recommended that Fiji government to set up a legal framework for medical waste management (MWM), to develop specific guidelines for MWM, to set up a training system for MWM to ensure that all relevant personnel are trained, to develop a monitoring and supervision system for MWM, to clarify the future financing of MWM activities, and to improve the MWM infrastructure.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.108-117
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• 2023

Background: When particles are absorbed into the human body, they penetrate deep into the lungs and interact with the tissues of the body. Heavy metals in PM_2.5 can cause various diseases. The main source of PM_2.5 emissions in South Korea's atmosphere has been surveyed to be places of business. Objectives: The concentration of heavy metals in PM_2.5 near the Ulsan Industrial Complex was measured and a health risk assessment was performed for residents near the industrial complex for exposure to heavy metals in PM_2.5. Methods: Concentrations of heavy metals in PM_2.5 were measured at four measurement sites (Ulsan, Mipo, Onsan, Maegok) near the industrial complexes. Heavy metals were analyzed according to the Air Pollution Monitoring Network Installation and Operation Guidelines presented by the National Institute of Environmental Research. Among them, only five substances (Mn, Ni, As, Cd, Cr⁶⁺) were targeted. The risk assessment was conducted on inhalation exposure for five age groups, and the excess cancer risk and hazard quotient were calculated. Results: In the risk assessment of exposure to heavy metals in PM_2.5, As, Cd, and Cr⁶⁺ exceeded the risk tolerance standard of 10^-6 for carcinogenic hazards. The highest hazard levels were observed in Onsan and Mipo industrial complexes. In the case of non-carcinogenic hazards, Mn was identified as exceeding the hazard tolerance of 1, and it showed the highest hazard in the Ulsan Industrial Complex. Conclusions: This study presented a detailed health risk from exposure to heavy metals in PM_2.5 by industrial complexes located in Ulsan among five age groups. It is expected to be utilized as the basis for preparing damage control and industrial emission reduction measures against PM_2.5 exposure at the Ulsan Industrial Complex.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.249-257
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• 2009

Surface runoff and erosion are responsible for extensive losses of top soil and agricultural productivity. In this study, a laboratory experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of different polyacrylamides (PAM) on the protection of soil from erosion and turbidity in loamy sand soil. To accomplish this, 10 and 40 kg $ha^{-1}$ of PAM were applied to the soil surface. The effects of rainfall on 10 and 20% slopes were then evaluated in the laboratory using a rainfall simulator. After air drying, the surface was subjected to rain at 30 mm $hr^{-1}$. The silt+clay of the runoff from samples treated with 10 kg PAM $ha^{-1}$ reduced by 43% and 13% when the 10% and 20% slopes were evaluated, respectively, when compared with the tap water without PAM treatment as control. The mean contents of silt+clay were reduced as the amount of PAMs applied increased at both slopes. Specifically, samples treated with 40 kg PAM $ha^{-1}$ showed reductions in the silt+clay of the runoff to 88% and 85% when the 10% and 20% slopes were evaluated, respectively, when compared to control. Furthermore, the mean turbidity of runoff in the 40 kg PAM $ha^{-1}$ treatment was reduced to 94.7% and 84.8% when the samples were subjected to 10% and 20% slopes, respectively, when compared to the control. Taken together, these findings indicate that PAM treatment will improve water pollution and agricultural productivity on sloped land via a reduction in soil erosion.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.724-734
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• 2019

The present study investigated the cytotoxicity of particulate matter (PM) derived from car air filter (outdoor PM) and home cleaner filter (indoor PM) in the various human cell lines. Each outdoor and indoor PM were harvested by ethanol extraction method, subsequently sieved with 10 um filter paper, sterilized with autoclave and added to culture media. The half maximal inhibitory concentration ($IC_{50}$) values was significantly (p<0.05) lower in the outdoor PM, compared with indoor PM, and the significantly (p<0.05) higher $IC_{50}$ values were observed in the cancer cell lines (A-549 lung adenocarcinoma and AGS stomach adenocarcinoma), than those of normal MRC-5 fibroblasts and dental papilla tissue derived-mesenchymal stem cells (DSC). After being exposed to $100{\mu}g/ml$ outdoor PM for 7 days, the population doubling time (PDT) was significantly (p<0.05) increased in especially MRC-5 and DSC cell lines, compared with untreated cell lines. Further, the expression of senescence-associated ${\beta}$-galactosidase activity was up-regulated in all the cells exposed to outdoor PM than those of untreated control. Besides, the expression level of inflammation-associated genes, such as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) was found to be significantly (p<0.05) increased in the outdoor PM-treated cell lines than those of untreated cell lines. Our results showed that PM induces the cytotoxicity via arrest of cell growth, cell damage and inflammation response.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.16 no.2 s.27
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• pp.45-53
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• 1980

Lipid peroxidation in vitro has been identified as a basic deteriorative reaction in cellular mechanism of aging processes, such as air pollution oxidant damage to cell and to the lung, chlorinated hydrocarbon hepatotoxicity. Many experimental evidences were reported by several investigators that lipid peroxidation could be one of the principle causes for the hepatotoxicity produced by $CCl_4$. It is now reasonably established that $CCl_4$ is activated to a free radical in vivo, that lipid peroxidation occurs very quickly in microsomes prepared from damaged livers, that the peroxidation is associated with loss of enzyme activity of microsomes, and that various antioxidants can protect animals against the hepatotoxic effect of $CCl_4$. Recent studies have drawn attention to some other feature of microsomal lipid peroxidation. Incubation of liver microsomes in the presence of NADPH has led to a loss of cytochrome $P_{450}$. However, the presence of an antioxidant prevented lipid peroxidation and preserved cytochrome $P_{450}$. Decrease of cytochrome $P_{450}$ in microsomes under in vitro incubation can be enhanced by $CCl_4 and these changes were parallel to a loss of microsomal polyunsaturated fatty acid and formation of malonaldehyde. The primary purpose of this experiment was to study the effect of riboflavin tetrabutylate on lipid peroxidation, specially, the relationship between lipid peroxidation and drug metabolizing enzyme system which is located in smooth endoplasmic recticulum as well as the effect of ritoflavin tetrabutylate on drug metabolizing enzyme system of animal treated with $CCl_4$. Albino rats were used for experimental animal. In order to induce drug metabolizing enzyme system, phenobarbital was injected intraperitoneally. $CCl_$ and riboflavin tetrabutylate were given intraperitoneally as solution in olive oil. Microsomal fraction was isolated from liver of animals and TBA value as well as the activity of drug metabolizing enzyme were measured in the microsomal fractions. The results are summerized as following. 1) The secobarbital induced sleeping time of $CCl_4$ treated rat was about 2 times longer than that of the control group. However, the pretreatment with riboflavin tetrabutylate inhibited completely the lengthened sleeping time due to $CCl_4$ treatment. Furthermore TBA value was significantly increased in $CCl_4$ treated rat in comparison to control group tut the increase of TBA value was prevented by the pretreatment with riboflavin tetrabutylate. On the other hand, the activity of hepatic drug metabolizing enzyme was decreased in $CCl_4$ group, however, the pretreatment with riboflavin tetrabutylate also prevented the decrease of the enzyme activity caused by $CCl_4$. 2) The effect of riboflavin tetrabutylate on TBA value and the activity of drug metabolizing enzyme in vitro was similar to in vivo results. Incubation of liver microsome from rat in the presence of $CCl_4$, $Fe^{++}$, or ascorbic acid has led to the marked increase of TBA value, however, the addition of riboflavin tetrabutylate in incubation mixture prevented significantly the increase of TBA value, suggesting the inhibition of lipid peroxidation. In accordance with TBA value, the activity of drug metabolizing enzyme was inhibited in the presence of $CCl_4$, $Fe^{++}$, ascorbic acid but the addition of riboflavin tetrabutylate protected the loss of the enzyme activity in microsome under in vitro incubation.