• Title/Summary/Keyword: Toxic metals

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Acid Mine Drainage and Heavy Metal Contamination of Stream Sediments in the Okdongcheon Stream, Sangdong Area, South Korea (강원도 상동지역 옥동천의 광산 산성수 및 하상퇴적물의 중금속 오염)

  • Cheong, Young Wook;Thornton, Iain
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.27 no.1
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    • pp.101-113
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    • 1994
  • Geochemical investigations based on measurements of water parameters and sampling of stream sediments have been carried out, in the Okdongcheon stream and its tributaries in the Sangdong area of South Korea. There are two main problems occurring in the Okdongcheon stream: an acid mine drainage in the upper reaches and toxic trace metal contamination of the stream sediments mainly in the lower reaches. Acid mine water originating from coal mining was neutralized at the confluence of the Cheonpyongcheon stream whilst suspended solids due to flocculation of iron in water caused turbidity which was undesirable. Sediments in the Okdongcheon stream have been contaminated by mining activites. Iron was heavily concentrated in sediments in the upper Okdongcheon whilst toxic trace metals including Pb, Cu, Zn, Co, Cd, As and Bi were accumulated in sediments at stations draining metallic mining areas and near the tailings dam. There is now a requrement to neutralise the acid mine drainage and to use site-specific analysis of biological communities to ensure the conservation and preservation of aquatic organisms.

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Indoor Air Quality Pollution of PM2.5 and Associated Trace Elements Affected by Environmental Tobacco Smoke (환경담배연기로 인한 실내공기 중 PM2.5 및 미량성분 오염 특성)

  • Lim, Jong-Myoung;Lee, Jin-Hong
    • Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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    • v.36 no.5
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    • pp.317-324
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    • 2014
  • Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) samples were collected separately in mainstream and side-stream smoke using a self-designed smoking machine, and a total 40 of PM2.5 was collected with low volume air sampler at indoor environments with and without ETS in Daejeon, Korea. About 20 trace elements including toxic metals like As, Cr, Mn, Se, V, and Zn were determined in PM2.5 and ETS samples by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). It is found that the emission factors of K, Cl, Na, and Al were much higher than those of toxic elements for both mainstream and side-stream smoke. The average concentration of PM2.5 was enriched by 1.5 times at smoking area ($58.7{\pm}18.1{\mu}g/m^3$) than at smoking free area ($38.6{\pm}12.7{\mu}g/m^3$). The concentration ratio of each element between smoking and smoking free area were ranged from 1.1 to 6.0 except Cu (1.0); especially, Ce (6.0), La (5.2), K (2.3), and Co (2.0) showed higher ratio, which suggests that the ETS is one of the possible increasing factors of PM2.5 and elemental concentration at indoor environment.

Analysis of adsorption behavior of lead ion on to surface modified AlPO4 materials (표면처리된 AlPO4에 대한 납 이온의 흡착 거동 분석)

  • Kim, Young-Ho;Kil, Hyun-Suk;Kang, Kwang-Cheol;Choi, Suk-Nam;Rhee, Seog-Woo
    • Analytical Science and Technology
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    • v.24 no.4
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    • pp.275-281
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    • 2011
  • $AlPO_4$-type material was synthesized by a reaction of $Al(OH)_3$ and H3PO4 with organic templates from wastewater of detergent manufacturer. The surface of material was coated with carboxylate groups by the reaction of succinic anhydride with surface amino groups which were formed by treatment of the material with APTMS. Powder XRD patterns showed the characteristic patterns of $AlPO_4$. Morphology of the material was examined using a SEM and the functional groups were investigated by FT-IR analysis. The surface charge of a aqueous suspension was analyzed: $AlPO_4-NH_2$ has positively charged surface while $AlPO_4$-COOH has negatively charged one. They were used for the removal of toxic metals from aqueous solution. The lead ions were adsorbed on the surface by the formation of complexes with carboxylate of surface and $K_d$ was 91.1 mL/g. In conclusion, the $AlPO_4$-COOH might be applicable in the removal of toxic metal ions from aqueous system.

A Study on the Damage Degree of Hair Dye Treatments and the Impact of Heavy Metals (트리트먼트(Treatment)를 이용한 모발 염색이 손상도와 중금속 함량에 미치는 영향)

  • Lee, Tae-Sook;Kim, Younghee
    • Journal of Digital Convergence
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    • v.15 no.10
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    • pp.551-557
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    • 2017
  • Hair beauty treatments that can express individuality have increased and diversified. However, their repetitive use has also brought about hair damage. To reduce such damage, the importance of hair treatments when receiving chemotherapy has magnified greatly. In this study, the hair (normal hair, NH) of 5 people in their 20s has been collected and observed with SEM before dyeing (NH), after dyeing (DH) and after dyed and treated (DTH) to measure the hair's morphological damage and mineral content. SEM observation results revealed that, in DTH, a cuticle-like arrangement appears almost uniformly, the hair settles, the lines are smooth, and the damage degree is low. Regarding mineral content, the concentration of minerals was generally balanced. However, in the observation of toxic minerals and minerals found in large amounts, the concentration of Ba, Na, Ca, and Mg was higher than the balance range in NH, DH, and DTH.

Comparison of Heavy Metal Contents in Women's Hair Collected from Residental and Factory Areas in Pusan (부산시 주거지역과 공업지역 여성모발에서 검출된 중금속 농도에 대한 비교 연구)

  • 민병윤;안희정;윤명희
    • Biomedical Science Letters
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    • v.3 no.1
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    • pp.37-42
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    • 1997
  • The concentrations in women's hair of essential and toxic elements such as Zn, Ni, Fe, Mn, Cu, Cr, Pb and Cd in residential and factory areas in Pusan were determined, and all the elements were detected from all the samples. It was apparent that employees working in factory areas in Pusan were exposed directly to the essential and toxic heavy matals. This is based on the fact that average concentrations of Ni, Fe, Mn, Cu, Cr, Pb, and Cd in hair samples from women aged 10 to 29 in factory area, who were considered to be main members among women employees, were much higher than those of residential areas. That is, the highest concentrations found in the hair samples taken from women 10 to 29 years old living in factory areas were 110 times higher in Cr (in the women in their 20's), 92 times higher in Pb (in the women in their teens) and 23 times higher in Cd (in the women in their 20's) than those living in residential areas. Furthermore, it was suggested that the heavy metals may be accumulated gradually in human bodies as humans get older, based on the fact that the concentrations of Cr, Pb, and Cd in women living in residential areas were higher in older age groups, although the average contents of these elements in residents from residential areas were similar with those of several foreign countries.

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Conditions for Stable light Production of Recombinant Escherichia coli Containing Lux Operon and Sensitivity to Toxic Chemicals (Lux operon을 함유한 유전자 재조합 Escherichia coli의 발광 안정화 조건 및 독성물질에 대한 민감성)

  • 배희경;이상민;정윤철;송방호;신평균
    • KSBB Journal
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    • v.17 no.6
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    • pp.571-576
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    • 2002
  • Recombinant E. coli DH5 ${\alpha}$/pSB311 was made by cloning the genes encoding bacterial luciferase and aldehyde substrate proteins from Photohabdus luminescense, to complement defects of Lumistox, which is normally used in bioassays to monitor toxic substances in water environmental systems. The conditions for stable light production by the recombinant strains were investigated with respect to cell growth stage, cell number, and buffer conditions. The optimum growth stage was a middle-exponential stage with an OD$_{660nm}$ value of 0.6-0.7. ADout 10$^{6}$-10$^{7}$ cells per test tube was optimum for stable light emission. The effect of buffer was not significant if an optimum viable cell number was maintained. The bioluminescence of the recombinant E. coli harboring the lux operon of Photohabdus luminescense was not affected by temperature, while the bioluminescence of Lumistox was temperature sensitive. The recombinant E. coli was more sensitive to heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Hg, Zn) than Lumistox, because it does not require high concentrations of NaCl in the buffer.

Chemical characteristics and sources of fine ambient particulate matter from the third and fourth industrial complex area of Daejeon city, Korea (대전 3, 4 공단지역의 미세분진에 대한 화학적 특성과 오염원 연구)

  • Lim, Jong-Myoung;Lee, Jin-Hong;Chung, Yong-Sam
    • Analytical Science and Technology
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    • v.20 no.1
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    • pp.33-40
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    • 2007
  • This study centered on the quantitative analysis of about 27 trace elements including toxic ones using instrumental neutron activation analysis of fine ambient particulate matter in the third and fourth industrial complex area of Daejeon city, Korea. For analytical quality control, the certified reference material (NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S.A., SRM 2783, air particulate on filter media) was used. The errors relative to SRM values of Sb, Mn, V, Mg, Na, K, Ti, Co, Zn, and Sm fell below 5%, while those of Cr, Fe, Ba, Th, Ce, Al, and Cu were less than 10%. From the results of the quantitative analysis, the concentration of toxic metals such as As, Mn, Se, V, and Zn were $3.26{\pm}2.72$, $9.86{\pm}4.71$, $2.18{\pm}1.25$, $4.91{\pm}2.41$, $158{\pm}78ng/m^3$, respectively. And the results of factor analysis indicated that there are no more than six factors of sources of fine ambient particulate with statistical significance in the study area.

A Recombinant Microbial Biosensor for Cadmium and Lead Detection (카드뮴 및 납 검출을 위한 재조합 미생물 바이오센서)

  • Shin, Hae Ja
    • Journal of Life Science
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    • v.26 no.5
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    • pp.503-508
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    • 2016
  • Biosensors have been used as first-step monitoring tools to detect on-site samples in a simple and cost-effective manner. Numerous recombinant microbial biosensors have been exploited for monitoring on-site toxic chemicals and biological signals. Herein, a recombinant microbial biosensor was constructed for monitoring cadmium. The cadmium responding cadC regulatory gene and it’s promoter from Staphylococcus aureus was amplified through PCR, fused with the lacZ gene, and transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) cells. In the presence of cadmium, the biosensor cells express β-galactosidase showing red color development with chlorophenol red β-galactopyranoside (CPRG) as the enzymatic substrate. The biosensor cells showed the best β-galactosidase activity after 3 hr induction with cadmium at pH 5 and a detection range from 0.01 μM to 10 mM cadmium with a linearity from 0.01 to 0.1 μM cadmium (y = 0.98 x + 0.142, R2 = 0.98). Among the heavy metals, cadmium and lead showed good responses, tin and cobalt showed medium responses, and mercury and copper showed no responses. The biosensor cells showed good responses to several waste waters similar to buffer solution, all spiked with cadmium. The biosensor described herein could be applied for on-site cadmium monitoring in a simple and cost-effective manner without sample pretreatments.

Characterization of inorganic materials in industrial waste and RDF using SEM-EDS (SEM-EDS를 이용한 산업단지폐기물과 고형연료의 무기 성분 규명)

  • Jeong, Moon-Heon;Lee, Ju-Ho;Yoo, Jeong-Kun;Lee, Gang-Woo;Shon, Byung-Hyun
    • Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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    • v.10 no.10
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    • pp.2786-2793
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    • 2009
  • Recently, the development and spread of the new recyclable energy becomes urgent because of the depletion of fossil fuel and strengthening the environmental regulation. To recovery from the waste out of the many new recyclable energies has been proved as the most favorable when the potential value of energy source is compared. The RDF from the waste has been approved as the most economical method out of the other methods. However, the toxic gases (HCl, Dioxin etc) and heavy metals generated during the burning of the industrial wastes have been pointed out as problems. The PVC, alkali metal chloride, and alkaline earth metal chloride are major materials for emitting the chlorine and chlorine compounds have the problem such as the erosion on the heat collection device. This research has analyzed the heavy metal components containing in the industrial waste, and the concentration of Cl and S in the industrial waste generated in B industrial complex are slightly high than that of the A industrial complex. The results can be used to discuss the origin of inorganic components in industrial waste and utilized as a base data to improve the performance of the RDF as fuel.

The Relation between Blood Lead Concentration, Epidemiologyic Factors and Body Iron Status (혈중 납 농도와 역학적 요인 및 체내 철 수준과의 관련성)

  • Park Sang-Woo;Kim Ki-Young;Kim Dong-Won;Choi Seong-Jin;Kim Hyun-Sook;Choi Byung-Sun;Choi Mi-Kyeong;Park Jung-Duck
    • Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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    • v.21 no.2 s.53
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    • pp.153-163
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    • 2006
  • Essential metals have been known to interact with non-essential toxic metals in the aspects of absorption, transport and deposition in the body. Iron deficiency has been reported to increase lead and/or cadmium absorption. The relation between iron and lead has been understood well in children but not in adults. Two hundred seventy adults (118 males and 152 females) were recruited from 3 different residental areas (rural, coastal and urban) to investigate the effects of environmental lead exposure on body iron status. The subjects were interviewed for life-style and diet of the last 24 hours, and measured for blood lead and body iron. The lead concentration in the whole blood was determined by a flameless method using an atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The body iron was evaluated with values of hemoglobin, hematocrit, RBCs, serum total iron, unsaturated iron binding capacity, total iron binding capacity and ferritin. The mean concentration of blood lead in adult was $3.31{\mu}g/dL$. The concentration was higher in male ($3.97{\mu}g/dL$) than in female ($2.86{\mu}g/dL$). The blood lead was influenced by residental area, life-style, smoking and drinking, occupation and diet habit of subjects, but not by age. A positive correlation was observed between the blood lead level and the serum iron or ferritin. These results suggest that environmental lead exposure in Korean adult may not be higher than other developed and developing countries. It is further indicated that blood lead in adult could be influenced by life-style, and environmental and genetic factors but no inverse relation with body iron as shown in children.