• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.203-208
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• 2024

Fifteen cultured frozen abalone Haliotis discus hannai samples were purchased from supermarkets, traditional markets, online markets, and processing factories throughout Korea for the safety assessment of microbiological and chemical hazards. Sanitary-indicative (total viable bacteria, coliforms, and Escherichia coli) and pathogenic (Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Clostridium perfringens, and Enterohemorrhagic E. coli) bacterial contamination levels were assessed quantitatively or qualitatively. Additionally, heavy metal content (lead, cadmium, and total mercury) and radioactivity (¹³⁴CS+¹³⁷CS, ¹³¹I) were quantitatively assessed. The total viable bacterial count was 4.3×10² CFU/g, while coliform count was 50 CFU/g. E. coli was not detected in any of the samples (count < 10 CFU/g). All six pathogenic bacteria tested negative qualitatively. The average lead, cadmium, and total mercury contamination levels in the cultured frozen abalone were 0.100±0.057, 0.145±0.061, and 0.015±0.001 mg/kg, respectively. Moreover, none of the samples were radioactive. According to the results of this study, cultured frozen abalones distributed in all types of markets were safe from all microbiological and chemical hazards.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.91-97
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• 2015

BACKGROUND: Earthworms are essential detritus feeders that play a vital role in the process of decomposition of organic matter and soil metabolism. The complex process of partial breakdown of organic matter and mixing with mucous and gut microbial flora in the form of earthworm cast results in the reduction of the toxicity. This study focused on the change of cast amount and pollutant contents before and after the eating of the organic waste and upland soil with the two species of earthworm. METHODS AND RESULTS: The two species of earthworms were compared to the cast production. In the upland soil material, the daily amount of worm's cast was 1.42 g in E. andrei and 0.40 g in A. agrestis. In the organic waste material, the cast of E. andrei was 0.78~0.83 g and the cast of A. agrestis. have not been collected because all earthworms died after the treatment. The heavy metals treated in the upland soil were evaluated the impact of the worm excretion. With the E. andrei, the cast production was decreased 0.1~0.8 times in zinc, 0.2~0.5 times in copper, and 0.1~0.7 times in cadmium compared to the control treatment according to the levels of concentration. With A. agrestis, the cast amount was decreased 0.3~1.1 times in zinc, 0.2~0.3 times in copper, and 0.1~2.1 times in cadmium, respectively. The changes of pollutant contents before and after the eating of the organic wastes with E. andrei were studied. In the treatment of the Alcohol Fermentation Processing Sludge and the Fruit Juice Processing Sludge, heavy metal content of the cast was increased 0.7~53.3% compared to the sludge materials. PAHs contents were decreased 50.1% in the cast of the Alcohol Fermentation Processing Sludge and 36.6% in the cast of the Fruit Juice Processing Sludge, respectively. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, although the A. agrestis was bigger than E. andrei in size and weight, the cast amount of A. agrestis was small. The two species of earthworm was less excretion with high concentration of heavy metals. While the heavy metals such as zinc, copper, and cadmium were considerably accumulated in the cast, the total compounds, PAHs were fairly decomposed. There results would provide us for restoring contaminated soil and cleaning organic wastes.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.504-513
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• 2009

In this study, the safety of commercial herbal medicines was evaluated by determining concentration of hazardous heavy metals. 3,152 samples (244 types) purchased by individual packing unit from market in Seoul, were analyzed using ICP-MS and mercury analyzer. As a result, the content (mg $kg^{-1}$) of Pb was higher in the above-ground part (0.92) than underground part (0.43). But in case of As and Cd contents, there is slightly higher in the underground-parts (0.26, 0.13) than the above-ground parts (0.18, 0.08). There were many herbal medicines exceeding regulatory limits of Cd comparing with other metals. The levels of Hg seemed to be different between above-ground part(0.009) and underground part (0.008) but there was no sample exceeding tolerance limits. In the comparison of imported samples with domestic herbal medicines, it was shown that Pb, As, and Hg were measured highly in the imported ones, Cd was not significantly different (t-test, p<0.05). The significant correlation was observed between Pb and As (r=0.386, p<0.01) but there was no difference in other parts. The heavy metal contamination of herbal medicines measured in total amount of respective heavy metals (mg $kg^{-1}$) was high in Flos (6.241) and Caulis (2.238), and decreased in the order of Cortex (1.634), Herba (1.154), Perithecium (0.861), Rhizoma (0.828), Radix (0.825), Fructus (0.475), and was low in Semen (0.422) (ANOVA-test, p<0.05).

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.267-280
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• 2023

This study investigated the contents of Pb, Cd, As, and Hg for 4333 samples with 2 09 types of herbal medicines distributed in Seoul area from 2019 to 2021, and evaluated risk assessment according to medicinal part used and origin. The contents of heavy metals were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and mercury analyzer. The average contents (mg/kg) of heavy metals by medicinal parts were 0.123 to 1.290 for Pb, 0.018 to 0.131 for Cd, 0.034 to 0.290 for As, and 0.003 to 0.015 for Hg. The contents of Pb were higher in Leaves and Whole Herbs (above-ground part) than underground part (Radix & Rhizoma) (ANOVA-test, p < 0.05). The contents of Cd were high in Leaves, Radix & Rhizoma, and Stems & Woods (ANOVA-test, p <0 .05), and exceeded regulatory limits in various types. Levels of Pb, Cd concentrations exceeding regulatory limits were observed in 8, 22 samples (8, 14 types). No sample exceeded regulatory limits of As and Hg. In the comparison between countries of origin, the contents of Cd, As, and Hg were high in imported herbal medicines (t-test, p < 0.05). As a result of the risk assessment, except for Thujae Orientalis Folium and Spirodelae Herba, the MOE values of Pb were all 1 or more, and most samples were safe. The Hazard Index (HI) for Cd, As, and Hg were evaluated to be less than 100 % even if the risk (%) of each heavy metal was added, and the risk from taking herbal medicines was evaluated to be safe.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.26 no.4 s.44
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• pp.628-649
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• 1993

This study was conducted to investigate the factors related to the poor school performance of the elementary school children. Two schools in Taegu, one in the affluent area and the other in the poor area, were selected and a total of 175 children whose school performance was within low 10 percentile (poor performers) and 97 children whose school performance were within high 5 percentile (good performers) in each class of 2nd, 4th and 6th grades were tested for the physical health, behavioral problem and family background. Each child had gone through a battery of tests including visual and hearing acuity, anthropometry (body weight, height, head circumference), intelligence (Kodae Stanford-Binet test), test anxiety (TAI-K), neurologic examination by a developmental pediatrician and heavy metal content (Pb, Cd, Zn) in hair by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. A questionnaire was administered to the mothers for prenatal and prenatal courses of the child, family environment, child's developmental history, and child's behavioral and learning problems. Another questionnaire was administered to the teachers of the children for the child's family background, arithmatic & language abilities and behavioral problem. The poor school performance had a significant correlation with male gender, high birth order, broken home, low educational and occupational levels of parents, visual problem, high test anxiety score, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), poor physical growth (weight, height, head circumference) and low I.Q. score. The factors that had a significant correlation with the poor school performance in multiple logistic regression analysis were child's birth order (odds ratio=2.06), male gender(odds ratio=5.91), broken home(odds ratio=9.29), test anxiety score(odds ratio=1.07), ADHD (odds ratio=9.67), I.Q. score (odds ratio=0.85) and height less than Korean standard mean-1S.D.(odds ratio=11.12). The heavy metal contents in hair did not show any significant correlation with poor school performance. However the lead and cadmium contents were high in males than in females. The lead content was negatively correlated with child's grade(P<0.05) and zinc was positively correlated with grade (P<0.05). among the factors that showed a significant correlation with the poor school performance, high birth order, short stature and ADHD may be modified by a good family planning, good feeding practice for infant and child, and early detection and treatment of ADHD. Also, teacher and parents should restrain themselves from inducing excessive test anxiety by forcing the child to study and over-expecting beyond the child's intellectual capability.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.77-84
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• 2006

This study was conducted to find a system for screening organic resources with 16 species, 62 samples which were selected to randomizing point from city, province and industrial areas in the whole country. Content of organic matters were $65.3%{\sim}98.0%$ in all samples so that they were largely over than 60%, raw material regulation of compost. Concentrations of total nitrogen and total phosphorus were $0.7{\sim}4.8%\;and\;0.8{\sim}5.0$, they could look for effect of the nitrogen and phosphorus supply as a raw material of compost. In case of 8 elements concentrations of heavy metal, they were too high to use as raw materials of compost which were over to regulation limit in Cu, Cr, Ni, and As from fiber industry, Ni from food company and leather industry, and the others are adapt to limit levels. HEM contents fro the highest to $113mg\;kg^{-1}$ from liber industry and PAHs content were the highest to $3,462ug\;kg^{-1}$ from paper-mill manufacture. Distribution of PAHs concentiations were naphthalene>phenanthrene>pyrene>fluoroanthene>acenaphthene. $Microtox{(R)}\;EC_{50}$ values for bioassay were pharmaceutical company>paper-mill manufacture>industrial area sewage sludge>fiber industry>urban sewage sludge>metropolitan sewage sludge. HEM between Zn, Cu, and Ni was significant at the 99% and between Cd was significant at the 95%, Microtox between Hg and BEM significant at the 95%.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.525-531
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• 2011

This study was conducted to examine the contents of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), and mercury (Hg) in meat and meat products in Korea. The contents of Pb, Cd, As, and Hg in 466 samples of beef, pork, chicken, duck, ham, and sausage were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry or a mercury analyzer. Wet ashing and microwave method were compared, and the recovery and reproducibility of the microwave method were better than those of wet ashing for meat and meat products. The recovery of the microwave method was 98.1% for Pb, 104.6% for Cd, and 103.4% for As, respectively. The best result was obtained through digestion using an acid mixture ($HNO_3$/$H_2O_2$, 6:2). Hg content was measured using a mercury analyzer. As a result, the contents of Hg and Cd in samples were lower than those of Pb and As. The average contents of Pb were 0.009 mg/kg in beef, 0.010 mg/kg in pork, 0.006 mg/kg in chicken, 0.007 mg/kg in duck, 0.005 mg/kg in ham, and 0.009 mg/kg in sausage. The average Cd contents were 0.0004 mg/kg in beef, 0.0004 mg/kg in pork, 0.0005 mg/kg in chicken, 0.0012 mg/kg in duck, 0.0015 mg/kg in ham, and 0.0019 mg/kg in sausage. The average As contents were 0.016 mg/kg in beef, 0.004 mg/kg in pork, 0.021 mg/kg in chicken, 0.010 mg/kg in duck, 0.014 mg/kg in ham, and 0.018 mg/kg in sausage. The average Hg contents were 0.713 ${\mu}g/kg$ in beef, 0.902 ${\mu}g/kg$ in pork, 0.710 ${\mu}g/kg$ in chicken, 0.796 ${\mu}g/kg$ in duck, 1.141 ${\mu}g/kg$ in ham, and 1.052 ${\mu}g/kg$ in sausage. Based on the results of the National Health and Nutrition Survey 2005, the levels of dietary exposure to heavy metal contaminants in meat and meat products were compared with the provisional tolerable weekly intake(PTWI) established by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. The average dietary exposure of the general population from meat and meat products was 0.03-0.2% of PTWI for Pb, Cd, As, and Hg, which indicates a safe level for public health at present.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.42 no.8
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• pp.1270-1276
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• 2013

Laver, a red algae belonging to the genus Porphyra tenera, is one of the most widely consumed edible seaweeds in Korea, China, and Japan. Lavers are usually consumed in dried, roasted, and seasoned forms to improve their palatability. We evaluated the composition of amino acids, minerals, and trace heavy metals in these three differently cooked forms of laver. The moisture and ash contents of three differently cooked lavers ranged from 1.49~9.69% and 6.07~10.31%, respectively. The crude protein and lipid content ranged from 17.24~36.88% and 0.52~42.42%, respectively. Dried laver was found to be a good source of amino acids such as taurine, alanine, and glutamic acid (871.10 mg, 833.53 mg, and 719.77 mg per 100 g dry weight, respectively). Laver was a good source of macro and micro minerals such as K, Ca, Mg, Na, P, I, and Fe, although laver more extensively cooked (roasted and seasoned) contained less minerals compared to the dried form. Mercury levels in the three differently cooked forms of laver were all less than 100 ng/g dry weight (the limit of detection with our methodology). The levels of arsenic were the most abundant elements in the differently cooked laver. There was a clear variation, depending on the cooking process, in terms of amino acid, mineral, and trace metal contents of laver.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.150-157
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• 1996

This study was conducted to observe the heavy matal contents of paddy soil and brown rice under long term fertilization with different soil amelioration materials. The contents of 0.1N HCl extractable Cu and Zn of surface soil increased in the plots of long term application with urea, ammonium sulfate, compost, lime and silicate fertilizers. The Cu and Zn contents of brown rice showed decreasing trends in same treatments of fertilizers and soil amelioration materials. But the contents of Cd and Pb in soil and brown rice were not affected in long term fertilization with soil amelioration materials.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.3-9
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• 2008

The total amount of fluidized bed incinerator ash, i.e. incombustion materials generated from the municipal solid waste incineration(MSWI) in Korea was approximately 14,000 tons in 2006. Most of the ash after ferrous metal separation is finally discard to the landfill sites. In the present work, possibility for recycling of the ash is studied to utilize the ash as raw materials for ceramic products. Incombustion materials obtained from the two different incinerators were used to recover the raw materials by applying the magnetic separation and screening process to remove metallic particles. The raw materials show relatively low heavy metals content obtained from the KSLP leaching tests. The ceramic products were prepared by mixing the clay with the various amounts of the raw material. The physical properties, i.e. shrinkage rate, absorbancy and compressive strength of the ceramic products sintered at $1,000^{\circ}C$ and $1,050^{\circ}C$, respectively were improved by increasing the addition amounts of the incinerator ash. Based on the leaching tests the ceramic products also be satisfied with the standard limits on the leachability of heavy metals because most of the metallic materials are effectively removed from the incombustion materials by appling the separation processes.