• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.97-103
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• 2012

BACKGROUND: Metal mines were actively developed in the early twentieth century in Korea; however, most of these mines were closed and abandoned without proper management. Therefore, toxic metal contamination in the vicinity of Korean abandoned metal mines has been reported. A risk assessment for these metals was performed for residents near by abandoned Sanyang metal mine. METHODS AND RESULTS: Soil and groundwater samples were collected from May to October 2007 around the mine. After pretreatment of these samples, metal concentrations were measured and then a risk assessment was performed using the Korean soil-contamination risk assessment guidelines. Cancer risk was the highest from inhalation of Pb-contaminated soil, followed in descending order by As-contaminated soil inhalation and water ingestion. The sum of carcinogenic risks was $3.35{\times}10^{-3}$. The noncarcinogenic risk was observed for inhalation of Hg-contaminated soil (5.71). CONCLUSION: Inhalation of soil in dust was the principal pathway to cause the health risk and most of the risk was attributed to As, Pb,Cd, and Hg contamination.

• 한국환경농학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.07a
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• pp.93-115
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• 2009

There are growing public concerns over crop and food safeties due to the elevated levels of heavy metals grown in contaminated soil. Heavy metals are classified as the chemical harmful risks for crop and food safety. With implementation of GAP, crop safety is controlled by many regulatory options for soil, irrigation water and fertilizers. Any attempt to retard the metal uptake by crops may be the best protocol to secure crop and food safety. This article reviews the management strategies for heavy metals in view of crop safety in Korea and demonstrates results from the field experiments to retard metal translocation from soil to crops by using chemical amendments and soil layer management methods. Major source of soil pollution by heavy metals has been related with mining activities. Risk assessment revealed that rice consumption and groundwater ingestion in the abandoned mining areas were the major exposure pathways for metals to human and the heavy metal showed the toxic effects on human health. Chemical amendments such as lime and slag retarded Cd uptake by rice (Oryza sativa L.) by increasing soil pH, lowering the phytoavailable Cd concentration in soil solution, immobilizing Cd in soil and converting the available Cd fractions into non-available fractions. The soil layer management methods decreased the Cd uptake by 76% and Pb by 60%. Either reversing the surface layer with subsurface layer or immobilization of metals with layer mixing with lime was considered to be the practical option for the in-situ remediation of the contaminated paddy soils. Combination of chemical soil amendments and layer management methods was efficient to retard the metal bioavailability and thus to secure crop safety for heavy metals. This protocol seems to be cheap, relatively easy to practice and practical in the agricultural fields. However, a long term monitoring work should be followed to verify the efficiency of this protocol.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.63-71
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• 2024

Hydrothermal Reaction (HTR) was applied for the stabilization of contaminated soil with heavy metals, and then the test determined the optimal conditions for HTR. After HTR, the concentration of heavy metals in the contaminated soil increased. However, it was observed that the leachability potential significantly decreased as determined by TCLP and SPLP tests. This decrease was attributed to a decline in fractions 1-2 and an increase in fractions 3-4 as revealed by sequential extraction procedure. Due to the mineralogical characteristics of the dredged soil, distinct changes were not evident in the five-stage fraction. Therefore, it is deemed necessary to understand the chemical and mineralogical characteristics of the target soil for HTR application in order to selectively address contaminants. Comparison among operating conditions determined the optimal condition to be at 240℃ for one hour.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.22-22
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• 2005

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.12-29
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• 2023

Conceptual site model (CSM) development and enhancement for contaminated sites assists in identifying data gaps during the site investigation process. In this study, CSM was developed and enhanced for a contaminated site in Korea as a case study. Site Y was scrutinized four times previously. The site profiles for each scrutiny were reorganized based on the scrutiny reports, and the relevant data was utilized to develop and enhance CSMs. CSM for the first investigation was developed in various forms including table, flowchart, diagram, and narrative formats. CSM was enhanced in a stepwise manner by incorporating the updated profile information obtained in next investigation to existing CSM. The hypothetical data gap analysis between each investigation step was established to meet the purpose of the follow-up investigation. This case study showed that CSM is a useful tool to identify the history and current status of contaminated sites and thereby help in planning supplementary investigations for better site characterization.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.69-81
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• 2012

Diverse geostatistical tools such as kriging have been used to estimate the volume and spatial coverage of contaminated soil needed for remediation. However, many approaches frequently yield estimation errors, due to inherent geostatistical uncertainties. Such errors may yield over- or under-estimation of the amounts of polluted soils, which cause an over-estimation of remediation cost as well as an incomplete clean-up of a contaminated land. Therefore, it is very important to use a better estimation tool considering uncertainties arising from incomplete field investigation (i.e., contamination survey) and mathematical spatial estimation. In the current work, as better estimation tools we propose stochastic simulation approaches which allow the remediation volume to be assessed more accurately along with uncertainty estimation. To test the efficiency of proposed methods, heavy metals (esp., Pb) contaminated soil of a shooting range area was selected. In addition, we suggest a quantitative method to delineate the confident interval of estimated volume (and spatial extent) of polluted soil based on the spatial aspect of uncertainty. The methods proposed in this work can improve a better decision making on soil remediation.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.25 no.2_spc
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• pp.70-85
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• 2020

This paper introduces the 'Smart Scoping for Environmental Investigations Technical Guide' issued by the US Environmental Protection Agency in 2018, which describes the use of smart scoping during lifecycle of remedial investigation projects. This paper also briefly summarizes the guidelines of soil and groundwater contamination investigation of South Korea. The smart scoping practices can support the development of a robust and realistic conceptual site model that is very useful for investigations and evaluations of the contaminated site. The application of evaluation tools relevant for the site-specific characteristics is important for the development of a conceptual site model. The smart scoping recommends the use of previous investigation data and implementation of best proven strategies for successful remedial investigation project. The use of smart scoping in contaminated site investigation will provide better management of contaminated sites.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.23-31
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• 2010

For an efficient remediation of Pb-contaminated soil (S-1) in a clay shooting range, a soil washing test was performed with mineral acid, organic acid, chelating agent, and chloride. The Pb extraction efficiency of extractant (0.1 M) used in the washing test showed the order of HCl > $Na_2$-EDTA > NTA > DTPA > citric acid > malic acid > succinic acid > acetic acid > $CaCl_2$ > $MgCl_2$, for S-1 soil. As compared to initial Pb concentration, extraction efficiency by the concentration of extractant was 93.35%, 80.80%, 73.92%, and 24.57% in S-1 soil for HCl (0.5 M, pH 1.10), $Na_2$-EDTA (0.01 M, pH 3.99), citric acid (0.5 M, pH 1.27), and $MgCl_2$ (0.1 M, pH 8.82), respectively. S-1 soil had 56.83% of residue form and 43.17% of non-residue form (18.04% of exchangeable form), respectively. Although the concentrations of these fractions sharply decreased after HCl washing, since the exchangeable forms with relatively large mobility are still distributed as high as 18.78% (to Pb total content in residual soils) in S-1 soil, it is necessary to devise a proper management plan for residual soils after soil washing application.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.36-44
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• 2013

The objectives of this study were to identify the characteristics of shallow groundwater from the oil-contaminated site for a long period and to evaluate the applicability of biopile technology to treat the soil excavated from it. The eight monitoring wells were installed in the contaminated site and pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP), Temperature and the concentrations of major ions and pollutants were measured. The VOCs in soil gas were monitored during biopile operation and TPH concentration was analyzed at the termination of the experiment. The pH was 6.62 considered subacid and EC was 886.19 ${\mu}S/cm$. DO was measured to be 2.06 mg/L showing the similar characteristic of deep groundwater. ORP was 119.02 mV indicating oxidation state. The temperature of groundwater was measured to be $16.97^{\circ}C$. The piper diagram showed that groundwater was classified as Ca-$HCO_3$ type considered deep groundwater. The ground water concentration for TPH, Benzene, Toluene, Xylene of the first round was slightly higher than that of the second round. The concentration of carbon dioxide of soil gas was increased to 1.3% and the concentration of VOCs was completely eliminated after the 40 days. The TPH concentration showed 98% remediation efficiency after the 90 days biopile operation.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1-7
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• 2013

Groundwater development and use have been increasing in Korea causing frequent occurrences of related hazards such as groundwater level decline, land subsidence, and groundwater contamination. To tackle these groundwater problems, central and local governments have set-up and maintained many groundwater monitoring programs such as the National Groundwater Monitoring Network and the Groundwater Quality Monitoring Network, which collect very valuable data on the overall status of domestic groundwater to aid proper groundwater management. However, several problems mainly related to the remediation of contaminated groundwater remain unresolved. Recently, there have been some incidents related to the contamination of groundwater, and these have drawn the concern of the Korean people. Although groundwater contamination has been investigated in detail, actual groundwater remediation work has not yet been implemented. The remediation of the contaminated groundwater must begin immediately in order to sustain the eco-system service of clean groundwater and enhance the welfare of the Korean people.