• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.7-17
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the operational status and current management of Sub-Health Centers in Limpio, Paraguay. Second, understanding the use of Sub-Health Centers and Perceptions of Sub-Health Centers in Limpio, Paraguay. Third, Providing policy implications for strengthening the Health Delivery System in Paraguay. Methods: The survey of the current status of sub-health centers in Limpio was conducted with observation and interview. Utilization of Sub-Health centers was analyzed in the 2018 Paraguay Community Health Survey. A face to face interview was conducted to complete a questionnaire and 831 samples were collected for the study. Results: In order to perform the normal function of the sub-health center, it will be necessary to allocate manpower that meets the standard. A common problem with sub-health centers in Limpio is that they have an environment vulnerable to rain. Currently, there are no health promotion and communicable disease management programs in sub-health center. Satisfaction of users about treatment, equipment, medicines and cleanleness of rooms. Implications: First, it is necessary to allocate human resources and organize spaces according to the standard. Second, there was a problem caused by moisture, and continuous maintenance and repair are required. Third, water and sewage related facilities must be safely improved to prevent contamination of groundwater. Forth, it is necessary to implement a program that fits the role of the sub-health center. Fifth, it is necessary to form a health delivery system considering the accessibility of residents. Finally, it is necessary to discuss the location of sub-health center considering travel time of Limpio residents.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.116-124
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• 2020

This study aims to identify the characteristics of organic matter and pollutant sources using water quality and stable isotope ratios (δ¹⁵N, δ¹³C) of the two inflow tributaries (Gulpo (GP) and Anyang (AY) streams). Water samples were analyzed in June and September 2018, and the results showed that the concentrations of nutrients, such as TN and NO₃-N, were increased at GP4, which is located at the downstream of sewage treatment facilities(STFs). TOC and TN ratios showed a strong positive correlation (R² = 0.77, p<0.01) at all points except for GP4. The results of GP's stable isotope ratio analysis do not appear to be a constant cluster compared to AY because GPs with large amounts of pollutants from the industry (metal processing companies, etc.) have less tributary, shorter waterway and significantly different external sources. This could be attributed to different sources of external inflow despite its smaller number of tributaries and shorter waterways than AY. In the first half of the year, the δ¹⁵5N of GP4 was affected by discharge of STFs, while AY3 seemed to have an influence of tributary than the discharge of STFs. Consequently, using water quality, stable isotope ratio and C/N, the sources of contamination in two streams with different contaminants were identified and origin was estimated.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.240-248
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• 2006

In this study, a retrofitting BNR process that was modified for the economical applicability was proposed and evaluated in the pilot plant($50m^3/d$). At the same time the bacterial community structure was investigated in the pilot plant by using FISH(fluorescent in situ hybridization) method. Economically 16% of the initial construction cost for the proposed process(introduction of a biological nutrient removal process of $60,000m^3/d$ scale basis) was reduced due to the absence of a bioreactor. Water treatment efficiencies and maintenance facilities of the modified process were satisfied with the strengthened discharge permits in Korea throughout a long term pilot plant operating including a winter season. Bacterial populations in the pilot plant and in the control plant(A2/O process, B SIP(Sewage Treatment Plant)) were remained uniformly during the test period, but bacterial structure in the bioreactor was changed drastically. Proportions of ${\beta}$-proteobacteria group including soil bacteria which play a important role in wastewater treatment increased $25{\sim}607%$ in population.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.315-333
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• 2009

In this study, the hydrochemical and the isotopic characteristics of major streams in the Daejeon area were investigated during rainy and dry seasons. The stream water shows the electrical conductivity of the range of $37{\sim}527{\mu}s$/cm, and pH $6.21{\sim}9.83$. The chemical composition of stream waters can be grouped as three types: the upper streams of Ca(Mg)-$HCO_3$ type, Ca(Mg)-$SO_4(Cl)$ type of middle streams flowing through urban area, and Na(Ca)-$HCO_3$(Cl, $SO_4$) type of the down streams. Based on in-situ investigation, the high pH of stream waters flowing through urban area is likely to be caused by the inflow of a synthetic detergent discharging from the apartment complex. The electrical conductivity of stream waters at a dry season is higher than those of at a rainy season. We suggest that the hydro-chemical composition of stream waters in the Daejeon area was affected by the discharging water from the sewage treatment facilities and anthropogenic contaminants as well as the interaction with soil and rocks. ${\delta}D$ and ${\delta}^{18}O$ values of the stream waters show the relationship of ${\delta}D=6.45{\delta}^{18}O-7.4$, which is plotted at a lower area than global meteoric water line(GMWL) of Craig(1961). It is likely that this isotopic range results from the evaporation effect of stram waters and the change of an air mass. The isotope value shows an increasing trend from upper stream to lower stream, that reflects the isotopic altitude effect. The relationship between ${\delta}^{13}C$ and $EpCO_2$ indicates that the carbon as bicarbonate in stream water is mainly originated from $CO_2$ in the air and organic materials. The increasing trend of ${\delta}^{13}C$ value from upper stream waters to lower stream waters can be attributed to the following reasons: (1) an increasing dissolution of $CO_2$ gas from a contaminated air in downtown area of the Daejeon, and (2) the increment of an inorganic carbon of groundwater inflowed into stream by base flow. Based on the relationship between ${\delta}^{34}S$ and $SO_4$ of stream waters, the stream waters can be divided into four groups. $SO_4$ content increases as a following order: upper and middle Gab stream${\delta}^{34}S$ value decreases as above order. ${\delta}^{34}S$ value indicates that sulfur of stream waters is mainly originated from atmosphere, and is additionally supplied by pyrite source according to the increase of sulfate content. The sulfur isotope analysis of a synthetic detergent and sewage water as a potential source of the sulfur in stream waters is furtherly needed.

• Clean Technology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.379-389
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• 2012

Environmental issues are being paid more attention due to income growth, urban overcrowding, and population growth in Korea. Among the various environmental problems, odor damage is the one of the serious factors. To take example for food waste combination treatment in Su-young wastewater treatment plant in Busan, many complaints occurred because this plant locate around residential areas. The purpose of this work is not only to analyze odorous elements and their contributions but also to evaluate odor quotient (OQ), sum of odor quotient (SOQ), and treatment efficiency of bio-filter. The results of dilution sensory test of complex odor, grinder, leachate, hopper indicated higher order complex odors happen in July and August. The main odorous elements consisted of hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, methly mercaptan and acetaldehyde, which were analyzed by instrumental detection method, and methyl mercaptan was exceeded over 3,571 times of threshold. In addition, result of contribution of odor was methyl mercaptan (49.95 to 59.08%), hydrogen sulfide (20.43 to 29.27%), trimethylamine (8.82 to 13.42%) and acetaldehyde (9.17 to 11.35%). Other facilities were compared with the contribution of the odor using OQ and SOQ during the process. Sulfur compounds, acetaldehyde, and trimethylamine are high contribution of odor using OQ as well as odor intensity of grinding process is highest. As a result, sulfur compounds (e.g., methyl mercaptan and hydrogen sulfide) are highest for OQ and SOQ of grinding process is highest as 7,067. The removal efficiency of deodorization equipment was more than 90.00% in ammonia and amines, but the average efficiency of sulfur compounds was 53.51%. Thus, this facility is more higher contribution of acetaldehyde and trimethylamine than other treatment facilities. And food waste treatment in environmental area needs to consider appropriate capacity and refers to other bio-filter operating conditions.

• Clean Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.31-38
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• 2023

Due to water shortages caused by water pollution and climate change, total organic carbon (TOC) standards have been implemented for wastewater discharged from public sewage treatment facilities. Furthermore, there is a growing interest and body of research pertaining to the reuse of sewage treatment water as a secure alternative water resource. The membrane bio-reactor (MBR) method is commonly used for advanced wastewater treatment because it can remove organic and inorganic ions and it does not require or emit any chemicals. However, the MBR process uses a separation membrane (MF), which requires frequent film cleaning due to fouling caused by a high concentration of mixed liquor suspended solid (MLSS). In this study, process improvement and microbubble cleaning efficiency were evaluated to improve the differential pressure, water flow, and MF fouling, which are the biggest disadvantages of operating the MF. The existing MBR method was improved by installing a precipitation tank between the air tank and the MBR tank in which raw water was introduced. Microbubbles were injected into a separation membrane tank into which the supernatant water from the precipitation tank was introduced. The microbubble generator was operated with a 15 day on, 15 day off cycle for 5 months to collect discharged water samples (4L) and measure TOC. As the supernatant water from the precipitation tank flowed into the separation membrane tank, about 95% of the supernatant water MLSS was removed so the MF fouling from biological contamination was prevented. Due to the application of microbubbles to supernatant water from the precipitation tank, the differential pressure of the separation membrane tank decreased by 1.6 to 2.3 times and the water flow increased by 1.4 times. Applying microbubbles increased the TOC removal rate by more than 58%. This study showed that separately operating the air tank and the separation membrane tank can reduce fouling, and suggested that applying additional microbubbles could improve the differential pressure, water flow, and fouling to provide a more efficient advanced treatment method.

• Clean Technology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2021

Demand for lithium-based secondary batteries is greatly increasing with the explosive growth of related industries, such as mobile devices and electric vehicles. In Korea, there are several top-rated global lithium-ion battery manufacturers accounting for 40% of the global secondary battery business. Most discarded lithium secondary batteries are recycled as scrap to recover valuable metals, such as Nickel and Cobalt, but residual wastes are disposed of according to the residual lithium-ion concentration. Furthermore, there has not been an attempt on the possibility of water discharge system contamination due to the concentration of lithium ions, and the effluent water quality standards of public sewage treatment facilities are becoming stricter year after year. In this study, the as-received waste water generated from the cathode electrode coating process in the manufacturing of high-nickel-based NCM cathode material used for high-performance and long-term purposes was analyzed. We suggested a facile recycling process chart for waste water treatment. We revealed a correlation between lithium-ion concentration and pH effect according to the proposed waste water of each recycling process through analyzing standard water quality tests and daphnia ecological toxicity. We proposed a realistic waste water treatment plan for lithium electrode manufacturing plants via comparison with other industries' ecotoxicology.

• Clean Technology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.151-157
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• 2020

Rapid urbanization has elevated the risk of urban flooding due to the increase in the impervious surface, causing environmental disasters and environmental pollution problems, such as lowering the groundwater level and increasing water pollution. In Korea, low impact development (LID) techniques have been introduced to minimize these environmental impacts and maintain the water cycle soundness. However, most small-scale development projects are in blind spots because there is no legal basis for rainfall runoff management. Small-scale development projects that increase the surface runoff of rainwater are required to mandate the application of LID facilities in accordance with the polluters' responsibility principle. Therefore, it is necessary to implement a preliminary consultation system for water cycle recovery. This study focuses on the cost-benefit analysis on the application of LID techniques for small-scale development projects. The scale of nationwide small-scale development projects used for cost-benefit analysis were defined as buildings with a land area of more than 1,000 ㎡ or a total floor area of 1,500 ㎡. As a result of analyzing the cost-benefits from the installation of LID facilities, they were found to be much lower than the economic standard value of 1. This might be due to the high cost of facilities compared to the scale of the project. However, considering the overall environmental value of improving the water environment and air quality by the installation of LID facilities and the publicity of reducing the operating cost of sewage treatment facilities, the introduction of a prior consultation for small-scale development projects is inevitable. In the future, institutional and financial support from local governments is required to improve the cost-benefits with the introduction of a prior consultation for small-scale development projects.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.99-110
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• 2023

Non-point source (NP) pollutants in an agricultural landuse are discharged from a large area compared to those in other land uses, and thus effective source control measures are needed. To develop appropriate control measures, it is necessary to quantify discharge load of each source and evaluate the degree of water quality improvement by implementing different options of the control measures. This study used Hydrological Simulation Program-FORTRAN (HSPF) to quantify pollutant discharge loads from different sources and effects of different control measures on water quality improvements, thereby supporting decision making in developing appropirate pollutant control strategies. The study area is the Gyeseong river watershed in Changnyeong county, Gyeongsangnam-do, with agricultural areas occupying the largest proportion (26.13%) of the total area except for the forest area. The main pollutant sources include chemical and liquid fertilizers for agricultural activities, and manure produced from small scale livestock facilities and applied to agriculture lands or stacked near the facilities. Source loads of chemical fertilizers, liquid fertilizers and livestock manure of small scale livestock facilities, and point sources such as municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), community WWTPs, private sewage treament plants were considered in the HSPF model setup. Especially, NITR and PHOS modules were used to simulate detailed fate and transport processes including vegitation uptake, nutrient deposition, adsorption/desorption, and loss by deep percolation. The HSPF model was calibrated and validated based on the observed data from 2015 to 2020 at the outlet of the watershed. The calibrated model showed reasonably good performance in simulating the flow and water quality. Five Pollutants control scenarios were established from three sectors: agriculture pollution management (drainge outlet control, and replacement of controlled release fertilizers), livestock pollution management (liquid fertilizer reduction, and 'manure management of small scale livestock facilities) and private STP management. Each pollutant control measure was further divided into short-term, mid-term, and long-term scenarios based on the potential achievement period. The simulation results showed that the most effective control measure is the replacement of controlled release fertilizers followed by the drainge outlet control and the manure management of small scale livestock facilities. Furthermore, the simulation showed that application of all the control measures in the entire watershed can decrease the annual TN and TP loads at the outlet by 40.6% and 41.1%, respectively, and the annual average concentrations of TN and TP at the outlet by 35.1% and 29.2%, respectively. This study supports decision makers in priotizing different pollutant control measures based on their predicted performance on the water quality improvements in an agriculturally dominated watershed.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.448-455
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• 2016

Diffuse pollution management in Korea initiated by the Ministry of Environment (MOE) resulted to the construction of pilot facilities termed Best Management Practices (BMPs). Twelve BMPs installed for the diffuse pollution management in the Kyung-An Stream were monitored since 2006. Data on the mass loading, removal efficiency, maintenance activities, etc. were gathered and utilized to conduct the evaluation of long-term performance of BMPs. The financial data such as actual construction, design and maintenance cost were also collected to evaluate the lifecycle cost (LCC) of BMPs. In this study, most of the maintenance activity was focused in the aesthetic maintenance that resulted to the annual maintenance cost of the four BMP types was closely similar ranging from 8,483 $/yr for retention pond to 8,888 $/yr infiltration system. The highest LCC were observed in constructed wetland ($418,324) while vegetated system had the lowest LCC ($210,418). LCC of BMPs was not so high as compared with the conventional treatment facility and sewage treatment plant. On the other hand, the relationship of removal efficiency on unit cost for TSS and TN was significant. This study will be used to design the cost effective BMP for diffuse pollution management and become models for LCC analysis.