• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.158-169
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• 2012

Sabah has experienced a rapid decline in the extent of forest cover. The precise impact of habitat loss on the conservation status of the plants of Sabah is uncertain. In this study we use the niche modelling algorithm MAXENT to construct preliminary, revised and final ecological niche models for Dipterocarpus lamellatus and Dipterocarpus ochraceus and combined these models with data on current land-use to derive conservation assessments for each species. Preliminary models were based on herbarium data alone. Ground surveys were conducted to evaluate the performance of these preliminary models, and a revised niche model was generated from the combined herbarium and ground survey data. The final model was obtained by constraining the predictions of the revised models by filters. The range overlap between the preliminary and revised models was 0.47 for D. lamellatus and 0.39 for D. ochraceus, suggesting poor agreement between them. There was substantial variation in estimates of habitat loss for D. ochraceus, among the preliminary, revised and constrained models, and this has the potential to lead to incorrect threat assessments. From these estimates of habitat loss, the historic distribution and estimates of population size we determine that both species should be classified as Critically Endangered under IUCN Red List guidelines. Our results suggest that ground-truthing of ecological niche models is essential, especially if the models are being used for conservation decision making.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.7
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• pp.2388-2394
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• 2023

The radioactivity concentration of environmental radionuclides was analyzed for soil and sand at eight locations within a radius of 255 m centered on the Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Science (DIRAMS), Korea. The average activity concentrations of ⁴⁰K, ¹³⁷Cs, ²²⁶Ra, and ²³²Th were 661.1 Bq/kg-dry, 0.9 Bq/kg-dry, 21.9 Bq/kg-dry, and 11.1 Bq/kg-dry, respectively. The activity of ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs was lower than the 3-year (2017-2019) average reported by the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, respectively. Due to the nature of granite-rich soil, the radioactivity of ⁴⁰K was 0.6-fold higher than in other countries, while ¹³⁷Cs was in the normal fluctuation range (15-30 Bq/kg-dry) of the concentration of radioactive fallout from nuclear tests. The activity of ²²⁶Ra and ²³²Th was lower than in Korean soils reported by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). The average activity concentrations of ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K for the soil and sand samples from DIRAMS were within the range specified by UNSCEAR in 2000. The radium equivalent activity and internal and external hazard index values were below the recommended limits (1 mSv/y). These radionuclide concentration (²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, ⁴⁰K, and ¹³⁷Cs) data can be used for regional environmental monitoring and ecological impact assessments of nuclear power plant accidents.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.99-110
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• 2017

Service life assessments which do not include the synergy between mechanical and environmental loading are neglecting a factor that can have a significant impact on structural safety and durability assessment. The degradation of concrete structure is a result of the combined effect of environmental and mechanical factors. In order to make service life design realistic it is necessary to consider both of these factors acting simultaneously. This paper deals with the advanced modelling of concrete carbonation and chloride ingress into concrete using stochastic 1D and 2D models. Widely accepted models incorporated into the new fib Model Code 2010 are extended to include factors that reflect the coupled effects of mechanical and environmental loads on the durability and reliability of reinforced concrete structures. An example of cooling tower degradation by carbonation and an example of a bended reinforced concrete beam kept for several years in salt fog are numerically studied to show the capability of the stochastic approach. The modelled degradation measures are compared with experimental results, leading to good agreement.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.301-313
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• 2010

Growth promoters including hormonal substances and antibiotics are used legally and illegally in food producing animals for the growth promotion of livestock animals. Hormonal substances still under debate in terms of their human health impacts are estradiol-$17\beta$, progesterone, testosterone, zeranol, trenbolone, and melengestrol acetate (MGA). Many of the risk assessment results of natural steroid hormones have presented negligible impacts when they are used under good veterinary practices. For synthetic hormonelike substances, ADIs and MRLs have been established for food safety along with the approval of animal treatment. Small amounts of antibiotics added to feedstuff present growth promotion effects via the prevention of infectious diseases at doses lower than therapeutic dose. The induction of antimicrobial resistant bacteria and the disruption of normal human intestinal flora are major concerns in terms of human health impact. Regulatory guidance such as ADIs and MRLs fully reflect the impact on human gastrointestinal microflora. However, before deciding on any risk management options, risk assessments of antimicrobial resistance require large-scale evidence regarding the relationship between antimicrobial use in food-producing animals and the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance in human pathogens. In this article, the risk profiles of hormonal and antibacterial growth promoters are provided based on recent toxicity and human exposure information, and recommendations for risk management to prevent human health impacts by the use of growth promoters are also presented.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.16 no.3 s.62
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• pp.195-202
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• 2006

Hydro-environmental impact assessments (HEIA) in tunnel constructions have been performed through various methods including preliminary investigations, field tests, numerical simulations, and monitoring. Specially, it is very important to evaluate quantitatively groundwater inflows into tunnels as well as drawdowns caused by tunnelling. Obvious definitions between porous and fractured rock media in hvdrogeologic properties of study regions must be needed to execute HEIA for rational tunnel construction in fractured bedrocks. In this paper, we propose a HEIA on tunnel constructions in fractured rocks media resulted from various hydrogeologic field tests and numerical models on given regions and determination of systematic order, i.e. the technical road map (TRM) of HEIA. These systematic HEIAs are expected to be usefully applied to base data in tunnel construction in fractured rock media.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.84-98
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• 2024

This study proposed a prediction equation for the estimation of blasting vibaration and blasting noise, utilizing 320 datasets for the blasting vibration and blasting noise acquired during urban blasting works in the Incheon, Suwon, Wonju, and Yangsan regions. The proposed blasting vibration prediction equation, derived from regression analysis, indicated correlation coefficients of 0.879 and 0.890 for SRSD and CRSD, respectively, with an R² value exceeding 0.7. In the case of the blasting noise prediction equation, stepwise regression analysis yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.911 between the prediction values and real measurements for the blasting nosie, and further analysis to determine the constant value revealed a correlation coefficient of 0.881, with an R² value also exceeding 0.7. These results suggest the feasibility of applying the proposed prediction equations when environmental impact assessments or education environment evaluation according to urban development or apartment construction projects is performed.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.347-353
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• 2005

The risk assessment is the qualitative or quantitative evaluation of the risk posed to human health and the environment by the actual or potential presence or release of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants. The environmental impact assessment (EIA) is assessed by the environmental criteria, and risk assessment is assessed by the risk rate. Risk rate based on dose-response values may not be easy to apply on regulatory basis like EIA for uncertainty. Internationally there is an example of OECD program. Risk assessment of High Production Volume (HPV) Chemicals has started since the OECD Program with the 1990 Council Act on the Co-operative Investigation and Risk Reduction of Existing Chemicals. These HPV chemicals include all chemicals produced or imported at levels greater than 1,000 tonnes per year in at least one Member country or in the European Union region. The SIDS called the Screening Information Data Set is regarded as the minimum information needed to assess an HPV chemical to determine whether any further work should be carried out or not. All the data elements of SIDS including assessment for environment and health are prepared as three formats of the full SIDS Dossier, the SIDS Initial Assessment Report (SIAR), and the SIDS Initial Assessment Profile (SIAP) of an HPV chemical. In 1998 the global chemical industry through the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) has joined to work with OECD. The OECD has assessed approximately 1,000 chemicals from 1991 through 2004 with ICCA. Till the February of 2005, 592 chemicals of those chemicals completed SIDS reports. Member countries have been targeted the goal of 1,000 new chemicals from 2005 to 2010 and Korea shared 36 chemicals from the 1,000 new chemicals. Currently Korea has completed SIDS reports of 7 chemicals among sponsored 24 chemicals. In conclusion SIDS project will be linked to national program for outputs application with more reliable production. Both the OECD and industry will carry out their commitment to complete assessments for more and the remaining chemicals assessment. The major outputs will contribute to cope with international chemical management.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.39-45
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• 2023

In this paper, a track irregularity according to adjacent deep excavation of railway was analyzed using three-dimensional numerical analysis. The construction for excavation adjacent to the railway track is likely to have a negative impact on train operations. Despite mandatory assessments of the stability and impact on adjacent structures during construction, reports continue to indicate ongoing settlement and track irregularity resulting from construction. Changes in the groundwater level and stress state of the ground due to excavation are pointed out as causes for settlement and track irregularity in structures adjacent to the excavation. In this study, therefore, numerical analysis was conducted taking into account factors that induce track irregularity during adjacent excavation work as variables. The KRL-2012 standard train load was applied to simulate operating trains. As a results, The position of the train load, the distance from the excavation point, had a significant impact on track irregularity, and there was a significant occurrence of track misalignment when the train load was applied. The impact of the groundwater level was not significant.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.29-43
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• 2024

Legally protected species are one of the crucial considerations in the field of natural ecology when conducting environmental impact assessments (EIAs). The occurrence of legally protected species, especially 'Endangered Wildlife' designated by Ministry of Environment, significantly influences the progression of projects subject to EIA, necessitating clear investigations and presentations of their habitats. In perspective of statistics, a minimum of 30 occurrence coordinates is required for population prediction, but most of endangered wildlife has insufficient coordinates and it posing challenges for distribution prediction through modeling. Consequently, this study aims to propose modeling methodologies applicable when coordinate data are limited, focusing on Rodgersia podophylla, representing characteristics of endangered wildlife and northern plant species. For this methodology, 30 random sampling coordinates were used as input data, assuming little survey data, and modeling was performed using individual models included in BIOMOD2. After that, the modeling results were evaluated by using discrimination capacity and the reality reflection ability. An optimal modeling technique was proposed by ensemble the remaining models except for the MaxEnt model, which was found to be less reliable in the modeling results. Alongside discussions on discrimination capacity metrics(e.g. TSS and AUC) presented in modeling results, this study provides insights and suggestions for improvement, but it has limitations that it is difficult to use universally because it is not a study conducted on various species. By supporting survey site selection in EIA processes, this research is anticipated to contribute to minimizing situations where protected species are overlooked in survey results.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.407-418
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• 2023

This study conducted an analysis of terrain change indicators in major development projects in Korea, examining the correlation between terrain change indicators to derive foundational terrain change metrics based on different land use and slope types. The aim is to contribute to sustainable development by enhancing the efficiency of land utilization and landscaping, while minimizing environmental impacts in future development endeavors. Additionally, to apply the research findings in practical contexts, domestic regulations related to terrain were surveyed, and the compatibility and usability between these regulations and research analysis results were discussed. Based on this, the study seeks to explore strategies for more accurate and useful utilization of terrain change indicators in future research. As a result, in the tourism development, terrain changes predominantly occur in the order of flat land, hillly land, and mountain land, with the analysis indicating higher terrain changes in undulating hilly and mountainous lands compared to flat land. Furthermore, in industrial complex development, very steep (20°-30°) and extreme (30°-40°) slopes; in urban development projects, steep slope (15°-20°); in athletic service facility and tourist development, steep (15°-20°) and very steep (20°-30°) exhibit higher average terrain change indicators compared to other slope categories. The findings of our study can contribute to the formulation of strategies aimed at minimizing terrain disturbance in future domestic development projects and serve as foundational data for environmental impact assessments.