• Title/Summary/Keyword: Toxic metals

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Screening of Zero-Valent Metal for the Removal of High Concentration PCE and 1,1,1 TCA (고농도 PCE 및 1,1,1 TCA 제거를 위한 영가금속 선정)

  • Kwon, Soo-Youl;Kim, Young
    • Journal of Wetlands Research
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    • v.12 no.1
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    • pp.23-31
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    • 2010
  • Chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons (CAHs) such as tetrachloroethylene (PCE), 1,1,1-trichloroethane (1,1,1-TCA) are the contaminants most frequently found in soil and groundwater. They have a potential to be toxic to and persistent in environment. This study is focused on selection of zero-valent metal and ores for the removal of high concentration PCE or 1,1,1-TCA and mixture of two compound. For the screening of suitable metals, we measured dechlorination rate, removal capacities and economics by using batch reactor test. This results suggest that removal rate and dechlorination of high quality iron and zinc are higher than slag and nature ores like zinc and manganese. Among nature ores, zinc ores(64% purity) have highest removal capacities. And in economics zinc ores is 10 times better than high quality metal tested. We conclude zinc ore is most suitable metal for the removal of PCE or 1,1,1-TCA.

Phytotoxic effects of mercury on seed germination and seedling growth of Albizia lebbeck (L.) Benth. (Leguminosae)

  • Iqbal, Muhammad Zafar;Shafiq, Muhammad;Athar, Mohammad
    • Advances in environmental research
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    • v.3 no.3
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    • pp.207-216
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    • 2014
  • A study was conducted to determine the phytotoxic effect of mercury on seed germination and seedling growth of an important arid legume tree Albizia lebbeck. The seeds germination and seedling growth performance of A. lebbeck responded differently to mercuric chloride treatment (1 mM, 3 mM, 5 mM and 7 mM) as compared to control. Seed germination of A. lebbeck was significantly (p < 0.05) affected by mercury treatment at 1 mM. Root growth of A. lebbeck was not significantly affected by mercury treatment at 1 mM, and 3 mM. Shoot and root length of A. lebbeck were significantly (p < 0.05) affected by 5 mM concentration of mercury treatment. Increase in concentration of mercury treatment at 5 mM and 7 mM significantly (p < 0.05) reduced seedling dry weight of A. lebbeck. The treatment of mercury at 1 mM decreased high percentage of seed germination (22%), seedling length (10%), root length (21.85%) and seedling dry weight (9%). Highest decrease in seed germination (51%), seedling (34%), root length (48%) and seedling dry weight (41%) of A. lebbeck occurred at 7 mM mercury treatment. A. lebbeck showed high percentage of tolerance (78.14%) to mercury at 1 mM. However, 7 mM concentration of mercury produced lowest percentage of tolerance (51.65%) in A. lebbeck. The seed germination potential and seedling vigor index (SVI) clearly decreased with the higher level of mercury. Plantation of A. lebbeck in mercury-polluted area will help in reducing the burden of mercury pollution. A. lebbeck can serve better in coordinating in land management programs in metal contaminated areas. The identification of the toxic concentration of metals and tolerance indices of A. lebbeck would also be helpful for the establishment of air quality standard.

Evaluation of contamination for the Andong-dam sediment and a magnetic separation for reducing the contamination level

  • Hong, H.P.;Kwon, H.W.;Kim, J.J.;Ha, D.W.;Kim, Young-Hun
    • Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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    • v.21 no.2
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    • pp.31-35
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    • 2019
  • Andong-dam was built up in 1967 and it is one of the biggest dams in Korea. Previous studies showed that the sediments are highly contaminated with heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, and lead. Many research projects are going on to find out the source of the contamination, to evaluate the toxicities to ecosystem, to estimate the volume of sediment to be treated and to find out a good remediation method. Reports show that the sediment is highly contaminated and the main contamination source is supposed to be abandoned mines and a zinc refinery located upper stream of the river. A magnetic separation has been tested as a treatment method for the dredged sediment. Lab scale test showed that the magnetically captured portion is about 10% in weight but the contamination of heavy metal is much higher than the contamination of the passed portion. This indicates that a magnetic separation could be applied for the purpose of reduction of sediment to be treated and for increasing the volume of low toxic sediments which can be dumped as general waste. A magnetic separation using a HGMS has been tested for the sediment with variable magnetic field and the results showed the higher magnetic field increase the captured portion but the concentrating effect of heavy metal was weakened. Further study is needed to establish a useful technology and optimization between decontamination and reduction of sediment volume.

Development of the Engineered Filter Media for Reducing Pollutants in Urban Runoff (도시지역 불투수면의 오염물질 유출저감을 위한 여재 개발 및 처리 특성 평가)

  • Kang, Sung Won;Lee, Jai Young;Kim, Seog Ku
    • Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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    • v.27 no.4
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    • pp.391-396
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    • 2011
  • Recently it revealed that urban runoff was one of the major source that contaminates the river, lake and estuary because it contains toxic compounds such as heavy metals and Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) as well as suspended solids, organic compounds and nutrients. The engineered polymetric media in this research were developed for reducing pollutants in urban runoff and would be used to be charged in the storm water treatment equipment. The engineered media that were composed of the polypropylene was foamed to have the buoyancy and then shattered by mechanical for the efficient filtration. In this study, Spherical Expanded Polypropylene Media (SEPM), Crushed Polypropylene Media (CPM), Large Crushed Expanded Polypropylene Media (LCEPM), Small Crushed Expanded Polypropylene Media (SCEPM) were made from polypropylene. Surface characteristics of the developed media were determined by scanning electron microscopy analyses. Also, removal efficiencies of SS, $COD_{Cr}$ in the artificial road runoff and the bed headloss by media and particle pollutants captured by media were examined. Results on the surface characteristics of media indicated that SCEPM had the largest specific surface area, $0.80m^2/g$, the lowest specific gravity, 0.091, and the biggest porosity, 0.63, because of crushing the media at the process of manufacturing. And the SCEPM's removal efficiencies of TSS and $COD_{Cr}$ in the artificial road runoff were 92.9% and 83.6%, respectively and the headloss of SCEPM was the least of them.

Quality Control of Majoon-e-Nisyan and its Acute Oral Toxicity Study in Experimental Rats

  • Shaikh, Masud;Husain, Gulam M.;Naikodi, Mohammed Abdul Rasheed;Kazmi, Munawwar H.;Viquar, Uzma
    • CELLMED
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    • v.11 no.1
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    • pp.2.1-2.8
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    • 2021
  • The clinical condition Amnesia causes difficulty in learning new information and the inability to recall past events. It is primarily concerned with recent memory loss. Majoon-e-Nisyan (MJN) is a polyherbal Unani formulation, present in a semi-solid form. It is widely used potent drug of the Unani System of Medicine (USM) for treating Nisyan (amnesia). In the present study polyherbal Unani formulation, MJN has been studied for its quality control and acute toxicity. Standardization (quality control) of drugs deals with drug identity, drug quality and purity determination. Standardization of MJN had been done as per the Unani pharmacopoeial parameters approved by World Health Organization (WHO) - Pharmacognostical parameters, Physico-chemical parameters, high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC), microbial load, aflatoxin, and heavy metals. Solvents and chemicals used in the study were of analytical grade and used instrument were calibrated. By conducting an acute oral toxicity study in rats, the safety of MJN was assessed. The limit test method of OECD guideline 425 was followed in the study. Results of standardization and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for preparation of MJN may serve as the standard reference in the future. The data generated in the study for the quality control of MJN proved the quality of formulation and shows that MJN is not toxic in rats following acute dosing up to 2000 mg/kg bw. The data obtained in the paper for MJN may be used as a standard guideline for preparation of the formulation which can save time, cost, and resources for future research endeavours.

Geochemical and S isotopic studies of pollutant evolution in groundwater after acid in situ leaching in a uranium mine area in Xinjiang

  • Zhenzhong Liu;Kaixuan Tan;Chunguang Li;Yongmei Li;Chong Zhang;Jing Song;Longcheng Liu
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.55 no.4
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    • pp.1476-1484
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    • 2023
  • Laboratory experiments and point monitoring of reservoir sediments have proven that stable sulfate reduction (SSR) can lower the concentrations of toxic metals and sulfate in acidic groundwater for a long time. Here, we hypothesize that SSR occurred during in situ leaching after uranium mining, which can impact the fate of acid groundwater in an entire region. To test this, we applied a sulfur isotope fractionation method to analyze the mechanism for natural attenuation of contaminated groundwater produced by acid in situ leaching of uranium (Xinjiang, China). The results showed that δ34S increased over time after the cessation of uranium mining, and natural attenuation caused considerable, area-scale immobilization of sulfur corresponding to retention levels of 5.3%-48.3% while simultaneously decreasing the concentration of uranium. Isotopic evidence for SSR in the area, together with evidence for changes of pollutant concentrations, suggest that area-scale SSR is most likely also important at other acid mining sites for uranium, where retention of acid groundwater may be strengthened through natural attenuation. To recapitulate, the sulfur isotope fractionation method constitutes a relatively accurate tool for quantification of spatiotemporal trends for groundwater during migration and transformation resulting from acid in situ leaching of uranium in northern China.

Characterization of Microbial Diversity of Metal-Reducing Bacteria Enriched from Groundwater and Reduction/Biomineralization of Iron and Manganese (KURT 지하심부 지하수 내 토착 금속환원미생물의 종 다양성 및 철/망간의 환원과 생광물화작용)

  • Kim, Yumi;Oh, Jong-Min;Jung, Hea-Yeon;Lee, Seung Yeop;Roh, Yul
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.47 no.4
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    • pp.431-439
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    • 2014
  • The purposes of this research were to investigate the enrichment of metal-reducing bacteria from KURT groundwater and the identification of the microbial diversity by 16S rRNA as well as to examine microbial Fe(III)/Mn(IV) reduction and to analyze morphological features of interactions between microbes and precipitates and their mineralogical composition. To cultivate metal-reducing bacteria from groundwater sampled at the KURT in S. Korea, different electron donors such as glucose, acetate, lactate, formate, pyruvate and Fe(III)-citrate as an electron accepter were added into growth media. The enriched culture was identified by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis for the diversity of microbial species. The effect of electron donors (i.e., glucose, acetate, lactate, formate, pyruvate) and electron acceptors (i.e., akaganeite, manganese oxide) on microbial iron/manganese reduction and biomineralization were examined using the 1st enriched culture, respectively. SEM, EDX, and XRD analyses were used to determine morphological features, chemical composition of microbes and mineralogical characteristics of the iron and manganese minerals. Based on 16S rRNA gene analysis, the four species, Fusibacter, Desulfuromonas, Actinobacteria, Pseudomonas sp., from KURT groundwater were identified as anaerobic metal reducers and these microbes precipitated metals outside of cells in common. XRD and EDX analyses showed that Fe(III)-containing mineral, akaganeite (${\beta}$-FeOOH), reduced into Fe(II)/Fe(III)-containing magnetite ($Fe_3O_4$) and Mn(IV)-containing manganese oxide (${\lambda}-MnO_2$) into Mn(II)-containing rhodochrosite ($MnCO_3$) by the microbes. These results implicate that microbial metabolism and respiratory activities under anaerobic condition result in reduction and biomineralization of iron and manganese minerals. Therefore, the microbes cultivated from groundwater in KURT might play a major role to reduce various metals from highly toxic, mobile to less toxic, immobile.

Mineral Contents in Scalp Hair in Patients with Non-insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (두발중(頭髮中) 일부(一部) 금속(金屬) 농도(濃度)와 인슐린비의존형(非依存形) 당뇨병(糖尿病)과의 관련성(關聯性))

  • Chung, Kyeong-Dong;Kwon, Sam;Kim, Doo-Hee
    • Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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    • v.22 no.2
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    • pp.215-223
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    • 1997
  • To estimate association of minerals relating to non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus(NIDDM) the contents of essential minerals and toxic heavy metals in the scalp hair were measured during the period from March 1993 to June 1993. The cases were selected 69 (32 male, 37 female) from the patients who visited Kyungpook University Hospital during the period from March 1993 to June 1993 and 74 controls (47 male 27 female) from normal population. zinc, copper, manganese, lead, cadmium and aluminum were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer(IL. 551). The results were summarized as follows. In NIDDM group, mean contents of zinc and copper were $132.99{\pm}19.66$ ppm, $8.58{\pm}5.07$ ppm respectively; where as $152.51{\pm}46.15$ ppm, $12.48{\pm}6.56$ ppm in control group. The mean of above two mineral content showed significant difference statistically (p<0.01). But, in manganese the content of NIDDM group; $0.44{\pm}0.27$ ppm were significantly higher than the control group; $0.34{\pm}0.18$ ppm(p<0.05). A thesis submitted to the Council of the Graduate School of Kyungpook National University in partial fulfillment of the require ements for the degree of Ph.D. in Medical Science in June 1994. The mean contents of toxic metals - lead, cadmium, aluminum - in NIDDM group were $10.04{\pm}4.60$ ppm, $0.57{\pm}0.12$ ppm, $11.31{\pm}3.98$ ppm; whereas $8.10{\pm}2.45$ ppm, $0.41{\pm}0.23$ ppm, $7.61{\pm}4.16$ ppm in control group. The mean of above three mineral showed significant difference statistically(p<0.01). Cadmium, zinc and copper were selected statistically significant variables with presence of the NIDDM by multiple logistic regression analysis; copper, zinc and cadmium may be associated with NIDDM.

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Environmental Leachability of Electric Arc Furnace Dust for Applying as Hazardous Material Treatment (제강분진을 이용한 유해물질 처리기술 적용을 위한 안전성 평가)

  • Lee, Sang-Hoon;Kang, Sung-Ho;Kim, Jee-Hoon;Chang, Yoon-Seok
    • Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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    • v.28 no.3
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    • pp.329-336
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    • 2006
  • Iron manufacturing process involves production of various by-product including slag, sludge, sintering and EAF(Electric Arc furnace dust). Some of the by-products such as EAF and sintering dust are disposed of as waste due to their high heavy metal contents. It has been notice for many years that the EAF dust also contain about 65% of Fe(0) and Fe(II) and then the possible utilization of the iron. One possibility is to apply the EAF as a lining material in conjunction with clay or HDPE liners, in waste landfill. The probable reaction between the leachate containing toxic elements such as TCE, PCE dioxine and $Cr^{6+}$ is reduction of the toxic materials in corresponding to the oxidation of the reduced iron and therefore diminishing the toxicity of the leachate. It is, however, prerequisite to evaluate the leaching characteristics of the EAF dust before application. Amelioration of the leachate would be archived only when the level of toxic elements in the treated leachate is less than that of in the untreated leachate. Several leaching techniques were selected to cover different conditions and variable environments including time, pH and contact method. The testing methods include availability test, pH-stat test and continuous column test. Cr and Zn are potentially leachable elements among the trace metals. The pH of the EAF dust is highly alkaline, recording around 12 and Zn is unlikely to be leached under the condition. On the contrary Cr is more leachable under alkaline environment. However, the released Cr should be reduced to $Cr^{3+}$ and then removed as $Cr(OH)_3$. Removal of the Cr is observed in the column test and further study on the specific reaction of Cr and EAF dust is underway.

Effects of Inorganic Nutrients and Heavy Metals on Growth and Pigmentation of the Green Alga, Ulva pertusa Kjellman (녹조 구멍갈파래(Ulva pertusa Kjellman)의 생장 및 색소조성에 미치는 무기 영양염류 및 중금속의 영향)

  • 김장균;한태준
    • Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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    • v.17 no.4
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    • pp.427-438
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    • 1999
  • Differential growth of Ulva pertusa Kjellman was observed in response to different photon irradiances and seawater. Growth rate of U. pertusa cultivated in the seawater collected from the East Sea was significantly higher than that in the seawater collected from the Yellow Sea. Optimal growth was found at $100{\mu} molm^{-2} s^{-1}$ in both cases. Chlorophyll contents of U. pertusa grown in the east sea water were higher than that cultivated in the west sea water at irradiances lower than $60{\mu} molm^{-2} s^{-1}$. At irradiances higher than $100{\mu} molm^{-2} s^{-1}$, there was no difference in chlorophyll content in between the two different sea waters with tendency that pigmentation decreased with increasing photon irradiances. Nitrate concentration in the west sea water was 2-fold higher than that in the east sea water, while phosphorus concentrations (0.03 ppm) were similar. Concentrations of $Cu^{2+}$ and $Pb^{2+}$ were 0.004 and 0.003 ppm respectively which are far below environmental standard concentrations (0.02 ppm for $Cu^{2+}$ and 0.1 ppm for $Pb^{2+}$). Taking those data into account, we have done laboratory investigations into the effects of inorganic nutrients and heavy metals on U. pertusa. As nitrate concentration increased from 0.5 to 5 ppm, growth rate of U. pertusa increased, but different concentrations of phosphorus did not cause any differential effect. On the other hand, chlorophyll contents increased with increasing phosphorus concentrations. Copper of U. pertusa be toxic decreased the growth and pigmentation as the concentration increased, whereas lead showed no such effect. Concentrations of $Cu^{2+}$ employed in the present study were much higher than those in ambient seawater. Intermittent soaring of $Cu^{2+}$ level as observed in natural seawater could, however, seriously damage the growth behaviour of U. pertusa.

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