• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.1001-1010
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• 2005

Bacillus megaterium KL39, an antibiotic-producing plant growth promoting rhizobacterium (PGPR), was selected from soil. The antifungal antibiotic, denoted KL39, was purified from culture filtrate by column chromatography using Dion HP-20, Silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, and prep-HPLC. Thin layer chromatography, employing the solvent system of ethanol:ammonia:water=8:1:1, showed the $R_{f}$. value of 0.32. The antibiotic KL39 showed a negative reaction with ninhydrin solution, positive with iodine vapor, and also positive with Ehrlich reagent. It was soluble in methanol, ethanol, butanol, and acetonitrile, but insoluble in chloroform, toluene, hexane, ethyl ether, or acetone. Its UV spectrum had the maximum absorption at 208 nm. Amino acid composition, FAB-mass, $^{1}H-NMR,\;^{13}C-NMR$, and atomic analyses showed that the antibiotic KL39 (MW=1,071) has a structure very similar to iturin E. The antibiotic KL39 has a broad antifungal spectrum against a variety of plant pathogenic fungi including Rhizoctonia solani, Pyricularia oryzae, Monilinia froeticola, Botrytis cinenea, Altenaria kikuchiana, Fusarium oxysporum, and F. solani. An MIC value of $10\;{\mu}g/ml$ was determined for Phytophthora capsici. Macromolecular incorporation studies with P. capsici using radioactive [$^{3}H-adenine$] as the precursor, indicated that the antibiotic KL39 strongly inhibits the DNA biosynthesis of the fungal cell. Microscopic observation of the antifungal action showed abnormal hyphal swelling of P. capsici. The purified antibiotic KL39 was very effective for the biocontrol of in vivo Phytophthora-blight disease of pepper.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.538-550
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• 2008

Radon is an invisible, odorless, and radioactive gas. It is formed by the disintegration of radium, which is a decay product of uranium. Some amounts of radon gas and its products are present ubiquitously in the soil, water, and air. Particularly high radon levels occur in regions of high uranium content. Although radon is permeable into indoor environment not only through geological features (bed rock and permeability) but also through the construction materials and underground water, the radiation from the geological features is generally main exposure factor. So there can be a problem in a certain space such as the underground and/or relatively poor ventilation condition. In this study, a GIS technique was used in order to investigate spatial distribution of radon measured from sub- way stations of 1 thru 8 in Seoul, Korea in 1991, 1998, 2001, and 2006. Spatial analysis was applied to reproduce the radon distribution. We utilized spatial analysis techniques such as inverse distance weighted averaging (IDW) and kriging techniques which are widely used to relate between different spatial points. To validate the results from the analyses, the jackknife technique for an uncertainty test was performed. When the number of measuring sites was less than 100 and also when the number of omitted sites increased, the kriging technique was better than IDW. On the other hand, when the number of sites was over 100, IDW technique was better than kriging technique. Thus the selection of analytical tool was affected sensitives by the analysis based on the number of measuring sites.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.319-328
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• 2005

This paper describes a compartment dynamic model for evaluating the contamination level of kritium in agricultural plants exposed by accidentally released tritium. The present model uses a time-dependent growth equation of plant so that it can predict the effect of growth stage of plant during the exposure time. The model including atmosphere, soil and plant compartments is described by a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations, and is able to predict time-dependent concentrations of tritium in the compartments. To validate the model, a series of exposure experiments of HTO vapor on Chinese cabbage and radish was carried out at the different growth stage of each plant. At the end of exposure, the tissue free water(TFWT) and the organically bound tritium(OBT) were measured. The measured concentrations were agreed well with model predictions.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.189-200
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• 2016

The Republic of Tajikistan has ten former uranium mining sites. The total volume of all tailings is approximately 55 million tonnes, and the covered area is more than 200 hectares. The safe management of legacy uranium mining and tailing sites has become an issue of concern. Depending on the performance requirements and site-specific conditions (location in an arid, semiarid or humid region), a cover system for uranium tailings sites could be constructed using several material layers using both natural and man-made materials. The purpose of this study is to find a feasible cost-effective cover system design for the Degmay uranium tailings site which could provide a long period (100 years) of protection. The HELP computer code was used in the evaluation of potential Degmay cover system designs. As a result of this study, a cover system with 70 cm thick percolation layer, 30 cm thick drainage layer, geomembrane liner and 60 cm thick barrier soil layer is recommended because it minimizes cover thickness and would be the most cost-effective design.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.55-69
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• 2011

The importance of unsaturated state in various geo-engineering problems has led to the advance of mechanical constitutive model emulating behavior of unsaturated soils in response to thermo-hydro-mechanical loading. Elasto-plastic mechanical constitutive model for unsaturated soil is formulated based on Bishop's effective stress. Effective stress and temperature are main variables in constitutive equation, and incremental formulation of constitutive relationship is derived to compute stress update and stiffness tensor. Numerical simulations involving coupled THM processes are conducted to discuss numerical stability and applicability of developed constitutive model: one-dimensional test, tri-axial compression test, and clay-buffering at high level radioactive waste disposal. Numerical results demonstrated that developed model can predict very complex behavior of coupled THM phenomena and is applicable to geo-engineering problems under various environmental conditions, as well as interpret typical behavior of unsaturated soils.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.20 no.1 s.26
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• pp.28-38
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• 2006

Since the radioactivity of U was discovered by Becquerel in 1896, a number of radiometric dating techniques based on radioactive decay have been developed with the help of precise and accurate instruments. Among them, radiocarbon dating was introduced as the most effective method in archeology in Korea. However, though the radiocarbon methods have contributed greatly to the development of archeology in Korea, it is limited to organics in a matrix of soil and sediment, including organic carbon, charcoal, bone and so on. If there are no organics in some paleolitic sites, other methods are required for dating. Therefore, we introduced OSL (Optically Stimulated Luminescence) dating method in this paper. The method is mainly based on quartz grains or other particles. The aim of this paper is to discuss about sampling method and the limitation of its application in archeology.

• Advanced Industrial SCIence
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.1-7
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• 2023

Recently, it is increasing that a issue of concern about radiation exposure. It affects soil, water, air, crops, etc., and in the long term, environmental pollution and food pollution occur, and it is considered to cause social problems and economic damage. Radiation exposure causes diseases and health problems, but as a method for diagnosing diseases, nuclear medicine tests such as X-ray imaging, CT, and PET-CT are conducted, and radiation isotopes are exposed for the purpose of cancer treatment. A Hungarian case study on radiation in water, particularly drinking water, following the release of radioactive waste from Fukushima, and an examination of the Larsemann Hills area in Antarctica, found that it was within the prescribed radioactivity limits of drinking water recommended by the World Health Organization. We looked at radioprotective agents, focusing on DNA damage, cell and organ damage, and cancer, and also investigated various literatures on ACE inhibitors, antioxidants, and natural substances among restoration materials. Although exposed to radiation in everyday life, the reason why it can be safe is probably because there is a radiation protection material and a recovery material for radiation exposure, so we are trying to find possible materials.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.7
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• pp.2447-2453
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• 2023

The radioactivity concentrations of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) i.e., ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴K in various chemical fertilizers being used in the agricultural soil of Pakistan were determined utilizing gamma spectrometry by employing a High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector. The radioactivity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴K extended from 2.58 ± 0.8-265.7 ± 8.8 Bq kg^-1, 1.53 ± 0.14-76.6 ± 1.07 Bq kg^-1 and 36.5 ± 1.34-15606.7 ± 30.2 Bq kg^-1 respectively. The radiological hazard parameters such as internal and external indices and annual effective dose rates were calculated, while excessive lifetime cancer risk factors for the indoor and outdoor areas were found in the range from 0.3×10^-3 to 10.723×10^-3 and 0.03×10^-3 to 2.7948×10^-3 of most fertilizers, however, some values were slightly higher than the UNSCEAR (The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation) recommended values for potash-containing fertilizers such as MOP (Muriate of Potash).

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.183-190
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• 2023

The global problem of handling radioactive materials is facing limitations. Eco-friendly bioremediation methods using microorganisms are being studied. This study was conducted to screen cesium-resistant microbial strains. M1 strain was selected from the soil sample by enriched culture in R2A medium containing 100 mM CsCl. In liquid medium containing above 40 mM of CsCl, the growth of M1 was inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner. Otherwise, M1 can survive up to 80mM CsCl in solid medium although the growth rate was slow and colony size was small. M1 strain was genetically identified as a strain of the genus Acinetobacter through 16S rRNA sequencing, and radiation resistance (D10 value) of M1 was found to be 0.307 kGy. These results showed that M1 strain is highly resistant to cesium and can grow in radiation environment. It was considered that M1 strain is useful in the field of biological decontamination of cesium.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.48-54
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• 1986

Because of the drastic development of nuclear industries, the contamination of natural environments by the disposal of radioactive materials which are released from nuclear facilities have aroused a considerable concern in relation to agricultural practices. Therefore the present investigation, through pot experiment, was performed to find out the aspect of the uptake of $Sr^{90}$ by rice plants and its distribution in them in five different types(physicochemical and minerallogical properties) of paddy soils. The results obtained were as follows; 1) Visual toxic symptoms on the growth of rice plant due to treatment of $Sr^{90}$ up to $40{\mu}Ci/10㎏$ in a pot were not observed even though uptake of $Sr^{90}$ by rice plant was proportionally increased with the $Sr^{90}$ treatment. 2) Distribution of $Sr^{90}$ in the rice plant was the highest in the leaves (84.5%) followed in the order by stems (13.5%) and rough grain (2.0%). The ratio of $Sr^{90}$ to Ca was higher in the leaves (872) and stems (667) than in the rice grain (89). 3) $Sr^{90}$ absorption in the rice plant ranged $0.15{\sim}0.30%$ at harvesting time. Uptake of $Sr^{90}$ by rice plants decreased by the increase of soil pH and exchangeable canons in the soils, but $Sr^{90}$ uptake increased when nitrogen, organic matter and clay content in soil was high, and uptake of this nuclide in the rice plant was higher with low Illite and Vermiculite content in the soils.