• Toxicological Research
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.185-190
• /
• 2011

Di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (DEHP), the most widely utilized industrial plastizer and a ubiquitous environmental contaminant, can act on peroxisome proliferators-activated nuclear hormone receptor family (PPAR) isoforms. To understand the contribution of sphingolipid metabolism to DEHP-induced hepatotoxicity, effect of DEHP exposure on activities of sphingolipid metabolic enzymes in rat liver was investigated. DEHP (250, 500 or 750 mg/kg) was administered to the rats through oral gavage daily for 28 days. The activities of acidic and alkaline ceramidases were slightly increased in 250 mg/kg DEHP-administered rat livers and significantly elevated in 500 mg/kg DEHP-administered ones, although the level of 750 mg/kg DEHP-administered ones was not increased. Neutral ceramidase, acidic and neutral sphingomyelinases, sphingomyeline synthase and ceramide syhthase were not changed at all by DEHP exposure. Therefore, acidic and alkaline ceramidases might play important roles in DEHP-induced hepatotoxicity.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.65-98
• /
• 2014

Plastics of the marine environment are broken gradually down into smaller particles by chemical weathering, called "microplastic". Microplastics absorb organic pollutants that are persistent bioaccumulative substances. If marine animals ingested microplastic added to contaminant, it will lead to a bioaccumation through the food web. It eventually destroy health of marine environment and is harmful to marine top predators including humans. Also, Microplastics can impact marine animals by leaching the endocrine disruptor in microplastic itself as well as playing an adsorbent role of organic pollutants. Persistent and bioaccumulative substances in Korea have been regulated in terms of chemical risk but existing regulations largely have been limited in land-based source management of microplastic. Thus, the harmful impact will be increased whether the microplastics absorbed contaminants. To prevent risk of persistent bioaccumulative substances, this study suggests the following: (1) the strict management of microplastic by designating the hazardous substances, (2) expand the use of biodegradable plastic, (3) the effort for reuse and recycle, (4) the expand of microplastic clean-up programs.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.27 no.12
• /
• pp.1279-1290
• /
• 2018

Sea gulls are high trophic level consumers in the coastal environment, and thus, which have been widely used to monitor contamination biomagnified through a food web. However, such monitoring studies using sea gulls have been rare in the Korean literature. The National Environmental Specimen Bank chose eggs of a black-tailed gulls (Larus crassirostris) to serve as an environmental specimen for the long-term monitoring of the coastal ecosystem affected by terrestrial pollutants. Black-tailed gull eggs were collected from Baengnyeongdo, Hongdo and Uleungdo, and their DDTs and total mercury content were determined. The highest concentration of ${\Sigma}DDTs$ was $231.6{\pm}106.1{\mu}g/kg$ wet in Baengnyeongdo, followed by $230.0{\pm}123.8{\mu}g/kg$ wet in Ulleungdo, and $117.7{\pm}18.3{\mu}g/kg$ wet in Hongdo. In addition, total mercury was detected at $414.5{\pm}97.6{\mu}g/kg$ wet in Ulleungdo, $363.9{\pm}123.6{\mu}g/kg$ wet in Hongdo, and $237.5{\pm}42.3{\mu}g/kg$ wet in Baengnyeongdo. Relatively high concentrations of the target pollutants were recorded in specimens from Ulleungdo. Additional comprehensive and prolonged studies are required to elucidate spatial and temporal patterns of contamination in black-tailed gull eggs with regard to monitoring contaminant trends in eggs and prey.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.59-68
• /
• 1998

Gravity, magnetic and VLF surveys were carried out to investigate the dimension, nature and stability of the waste materials filled in the Seokdae landfill, Pusan. The Seokdae landfill, which is located in a former valley, was used as a dump for mainly domestic-type waste materials for 6 years from 1987. The landfill site is classfied into A, B, C and D areas according to the sequence of dumping period. The Bouguer gravity anomaly map shows maximum variation of 3.1 mgals on the landfill and its general appearance has close relation with the thickness of waste filled. The local variation of anomaly, however, reflect the degree of compactness of waste materials which may be affected by the nature of waste and dumping time. In the case of area A, where dumping process was terminated at the very last stage, most part show negative anomaly compared to other areas. We think that the composition of the waste materials in the area A is high in leftover food and paper trash and they are still in uncompacted condition. In area B, the general trend of variation of gravity anomaly is appeared to be high anomaly in northern part and decrease to the southern part. This is well matched with the prelandfill topography of the landfill site. The southern part of area B is located in the center of valley and its present surface is comparatively rugged, which may be due to the differential settlement of deep burried waste. The thickness of waste in area C is relatively thin, but the gravity anomaly appears to be low. Considering the present condition of surface, it can be inferred that low density wastes such as leftover food were mainly filled in this area. Area D, as in the case of area B, shows gravity anomaly that has close relation with the prelandfill topography. Magnetic data show the variation of total field intensity varies in the range of 46600~51000 nT, and reach maximum anomaly of 4400 nT. The overall pattern of magnetic anomaly well reflects the distribution of magnetic materials in the landfill. The result of VLF survey reveals several low resistivity zones, which may serve as underground passages for contaminant flow, in the area C located near the small Village.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.257-260
• /
• 2012

Sundried salt was recently registered in food category in Korea in 2008, and food hygiene regulation only applied to several heavy metals and a few inorganic ions. In this report, we investigated the residual amounts of tricyclazole, a highly concerned contaminant from agricultural activity, and estimated their daily intake and hazard index. All 60 sundried salts were collected by region, and qualitatively and quantitatively were analyzed with GC-NPD. In this investigation, only three samples were confirmed the residual tricyclazole in sundried salts. Their maximum residue was $1.7{\mu}g/kg$, and their estimated average daily intake was $2.40{\times}10^{-8}{\sim}6.22{\times}10^{-8}mg/kg-day$. From these results, HI of tricyclazole for sundried salts was $7.53{\times}10^{-7}{\sim}2.07{\times}10^{-6}$ for Koreans, and the values were not considered as serious risk issues currently.

• Food Science and Preservation
• /
• v.15 no.5
• /
• pp.774-781
• /
• 2008

was performed and Staphylococcus sciuri, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, and Enterococcus faecalis were identified. No Salmonella strain, a typical contaminant of eggs, was found. The radiation sensitivities of isolated bacteria and Salmonella typhimurium, in an inoculated model system, were expressed in $D_{10}$ values. The ranges of $D_{10}$ values shown by S. typhimurium, S. sciuri, B. cereus, E. coli, P. mirabilis, and E. faecalis were 0.365-0.399 kGy, 0.418-0.471 kGy, 1.075-1.119 kGy, 0.280-0.304 kGy, 1.132-1.330 kGy, and 0.993-1.290 kGy, respectively. The growth of all six test bacteria in eggs (inoculated at $10^6-10^7\;CFU/g$) during 3 days of post-irradiation storage at ambient conditions ($25^{\circ}C$) was recorded. S. typhimurium was eliminated by irradiation at 3 kGy, and E. coli and S. sciuri were eliminated by irradiation at 5 kGy. The viable cell counts of B. cereus, P. mirabilis, and E. faecalis in eggs showed 4-6 log reductions after irradiation with 5 kGy.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.52 no.6
• /
• pp.565-572
• /
• 2020

The 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) is a contaminant that occurs in foodstuffs in its free form as well as in its bound form. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of emulsifier, frying temperature, and the amounts of salt and oil on the formation of bound 3-MCPD in a fried snack model. Emulsifier affected the formation of bound 3-MCPD; furthermore, it was observed that the largest amount of bound 3-MCPD was detected in the fried snack model when glycerin esters of fatty acids were used as emulsifiers. Frying temperature also affected the formation of bound 3-MCPD, which increased significantly as the frying temperature increased from 145 to 190℃. In addition, salt affected the formation of bound 3-MCPD. As the amount of salt increased, the amount of bound 3-MCPD also increased significantly. Moreover, it was observed that the amount of oil did not affect the formation of bound 3-MCPD. These results will aid in the reduction of bound 3-MCPD in fried snacks.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.57 no.3
• /
• pp.189-196
• /
• 2014

In Korea, over 4,700 animal carcass disposal sites were installed until 2011 due to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. Due to the putrefaction of buried animals, the leachate containing veterinary antibiotics may release into surrounding environments. Antibiotic residues in the environment cause the formation of antibiotic resistance bacteria threatening human and ecosystem health. This study reports the concentrations of five antibiotics, including tetracycline (TC), chlortetracycline (CTC), oxytetracycline (OTC), sulfamethazine (SMZ), and sulfamethoxazole (SMX), in soils from animal carcass disposal site and adjacent agricultural field. Concentrations of antibiotics at animal carcass disposal sites (TC: $144.26-350.73{\mu}g/kg$, SMZ: $17.72-44.94{\mu}g/kg$) were higher than those at agricultural field (TC: $134.16-320.73{\mu}g/kg$, SMZ: $6.48-8.85{\mu}g/kg$) whereas the concentrations of CTC, OTC, and SMX were below detection limit in both sites. Results showed that the antibiotics in animal carcass site might leach to the soil and possibly contaminating the groundwater. Future studies will focus on the transfer of antibiotics residues into food crops.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.174-179
• /
• 2006

Bacterium capable of using biphenyl as a sole source of carbon and energy were isolated from soil, and based on the results of 16S rDNA sequence, strain BK10 identified as a Sphingobium yanoiktiyae. The optimum cultural conditions were as follows; $NH_4NO_3$ 1g, $K_2HPO_4$ 1g, $MgSO_4{\cdot}7H_2O$ 0.5g, $CaCO_3$ 0.2 g per 1 liter of distilled water. The Sphingobium yanoikuyae BK10 strain was completely utilized biphenyl in mineral salt media containing biphenyl at concentration 500 $\mu$g/ml of biphenyl as a sole carbon and energy source within 48 hours. Optimumal pH and temperature for biphenyl degradation and cell growth of strains were 6.0$\sim$8.0 and 20$\sim$50$^{\circ}C$, respectively. Especially, at 30$^{\circ}C$, cell-growth were higher than other temperature. Cell grown on biphenyl has been shown to have a higher removal rate for biphenyl than grown on sucrose. This study shows that Sphingobium yanoikuyae BK10 strain had a high biodegradation capability of biphenyl and can be simulate a candidate compounds the bioremediation of PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyl) contaminant soil and water.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.63-68
• /
• 2013

Ethyl carbamate (EC) is a contaminant generated in the fermentation processes of various fermented foods. In this study, residue levels of EC in 95 alcoholic beverage samples were determined by using Gas Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS/MS). All the samples were purified by a liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method using dichloromethane. The LLE method enables an improvement in time and cost to detection and specificity over the conventional extraction methods. The limits of detection and quantification (LOD and LOQ) to analyze EC were 1.3 and 4.0 ng/mL, respectively. The recovery rates of EC were ranged from 90.0 to 97.5% at the levels of 50, 100, and 500 ug/L. Among traditional grain-based alcoholic beverage samples (n = 34), the average residue levels of EC in takju, yakju, and cheongju were 0.63, 7.01, and 14.11 ug/L, respectively. Among fruit-based alcoholic beverage samples (n = 48), those of EC in japanese apricot spirits, bokbunjaju, grape wines, and other fruit wines were 79.18, 1.66, 2.64, and 2.39 ug/L, respectively. Among distilled or diluted alcoholic beverage samples (n = 13), those of EC in soju (distilled or diluted), general distillates, liquors, and brandies were 0, 3.30, 8.20, and 8.52 ug/L, respectively. Therefore, this study reports that the residue levels of EC in the alcoholic beverages, distributed in the current domestic markets, did not reach its maximum allowed levels of 30 and 400 ug/L established for grape and fruit wines in Canada, respectively.