• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.36 no.9
• /
• pp.641-647
• /
• 2014

In this study, sludge waste which has a difficulty in treating it was used to manufacture a fiber type of biosorbent. To solve the problems such as the release of organic pollutants and the difficulty in separating solid from treated water, entrapment method using Ca-alginate was used to immobilize sludge waste. Considering ease of manufacture as well as improvement of adsorptive ability, the biosorbent was manufactured in the form of fiber type. Optimum immobilization condition for minimizing the amount of alginate used and maximizing the performance of biosorbent was determined to be 10 g/L alginate concentration, 40 g/L sludge concentration, and 0.3-0.4 mm fiber diameter. The maximum Cd(II) uptake of the biosorbent was 60.73 mg/g. Pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model adequately described the dynamic and equilibrium behaviors of Cd(II) biosorption onto the biosorbent, respectively. In conclusion, sludge waste generated from wastewater treatment process is a cheap raw material for the manufacture of biosorbent which can be used to remove toxic heavy metals from industrial wastewaters efficiently.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.38 no.8
• /
• pp.459-467
• /
• 2016

In order to assess the pollution status and distribution characteristics of PM and PM-bound species, PM10 samples were collected using mini-volume air sampler at the subway cabin in Daejeon city. Measurements of about 24 elements including toxic metals (e.g., As, Cr, Mn, V, Zn) in PM10 were made by instrumental neutron activation analysis and X-ray fluorescence. The average PM10 concentration was $59.3{\pm}14.5{\mu}g/m^3$ in the subway cabin with a range of 42.2 to $97.4{\mu}g/m^3$, while the associated elemental concentrations were varied in the range of $10^{-3}$ to $10^5ng/m^3$. It was found that the concentration of Fe ($12.5{\mu}g/m^3$) was substantially higher than any other element. The Fe concentration was apportioned by about 20% of the PM10 concentration. The results of factor analysis indicate that there are no more than six sources in the cabin (e.g., brake-nonferrous metal particle, resuspended rail dust, fuel combustion, vehicle exhaust, black carbon, Cr-related).

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.40 no.4
• /
• pp.274-279
• /
• 2007

The toxicitiy of organic sludge such as municipal sewage sludge (MSS), industrial sewage sludge (ISS), alcohol fermentation processing sludge (AFPS) and leather processing sludge (LPS) were evaluated with three environmental biomarkers as acetylcholinesterase, cytochrome P450, and heat shock protein 70 extracted from earthworm (Eisenia fetida). Their toxicities were compared with those of pig manure compost (PMC). MSS, ISS, LPS, and AFPS did not significantly affect the acetylcolinesterase activity, whereas only the elutriate of PMC slightly was increased the activity. MSS, AFPS, and PMC tended to slightly inhibit the cytochrome $P_{450}$ activity, but ISS and LPS showed significantly the inhibitory effect on cytochrome $P_{450}$. The hsp70 expression began to increase after treatments and showed high induction at 6 hour, followed by zero level at around 12 hour. The quantity of the hsp70 expressed by elutriate treatments of PMC, AFPS, MSS, ISS, and LPS was 1.9, 3.0, 3.3, 4.4, and 4.7 fold higher than that of distilled water. These results indicate that in toxicity tests of five organic waste materials, four kinds of sludge materials appeared more toxic than PMC. Results of AChE, P450, and hsp70 of earthworm might be useful for expecting or assessing an effect by exposure of organic wastes to earthworms in soil.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.233-244
• /
• 2006

Of many volatile organic detergents for metals, benzine(CAS No. 8030-30-6), of which the toxicity has not yet been proven, has been used as an alternative of the halide compounds in the consideration of toxic effects, global warming and the destruction of ozone layer. In order to evaluate the effects of the benzine on human body by investigating the subchronic inhalation toxicity, to obtain the basic data for establishing the criteria of exposure in working environments and to classify the hazardousness in compliance with the Industrial Safety and Health Act by evaluating the hazardousness, repeated inhalation exposure test was carried with SD rats. The rats were grouped by 10 females and males each. The repetitive inhalation exposures were carried out at 4 levels of concentration of 0 ppm, 60 ppm, 300 ppm, and 1,500 ppm, for 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 13 weeks. The results are described hereunder. 1. No death of the animals of the exposed and controlled groups in the test period. Not any specific clinical symptoms, change in feed intake quantity, abnormality in eye test, or change in activity were observed. 2. In the 300 ppm and 1,500 ppm groups, weight reduction in the female groups and weight increase of liver and kidney in the male groups compared with control group were observed with statistical significance(p<0.05). 3. In the blood test, the HCT increased in the male 300 ppm group and the number of hematocyte increased, MCV and MCH decreased in the male 1,500 ppm group. In the female 1,500 ppm group, the HB decreased and the distribution width of the hematocyte particle size increased. In the blood biochemistry test, the TP in the male 1,500 ppm group and the LDH in the female 1,500 ppm group were increased with statistical significance(p<0.05). 4. Under the test conditions of the present study with SD rats, the NOEL was evaluated to be from 60 ppm to 300 ppm for both male and female groups. By extrapolation, the NOEL for human who work 8 hours a day was evaluated to be from 128 ppm to 640 ppm 5. Since the NOEL evaluated in this study do not exceed 60ppm(0.184 mg/L) the test material does not belong to the classification of the hazardous substance "NOEL${\leq}$0.5mg/L/6hr/90day(rat), for continuous inhalation of 6hours a day for 90 days" nor to the basic hazardous chemical substance class 1(0.2 mg/L/6hr/90day(rat) defined by the GHS which is a criteria of classification and identification of chemical compounds. However, considering the boiling point($30-204^{\circ}C$), flashing point($-40^{\circ}C$), vapor pressure(40 mmHg), and the inflammable range(1.0 - 6.0 %), sufficient care should be taken for handling in the safety aspects including fire or explosion.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.254-263
• /
• 2006

Manganese has a role as both toxic and essential in humans. Manganese is also an essential component in the welding because it increases the hardness and strength, prevents steel from cracking of welding part and acts as a deoxidizing agent to form a stable weld. In this study, manganese generation rate and its content was determined in flux cored arc welding on stainless steel. Domestic two products and foreign four products of flux cored wires were tested in the well designed fume generation chamber as a function of input power. Welding fume was measured by gravimetric method and metal manganese was determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrophotometer. The outer shell of the flux cored wire tube and inner flux were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy to determine their metal compositions. Manganese generation rate($FGR_{mn}$) was increased as the input power increased. It was 16.3 mg/min at the low input power, 38.1 mg/min at the optimal input power, and up to 55.4 mg/min at the high input power. This means that $FGR_{mn}$ is increased at the work place if welder raise the current and/or voltage for the high productivity. The slope coefficient of $FGR_{mn}$ was smaller than that of the generation rate of total fume(FGR). Also, the correlation coefficient of $FGR_{mn}$ was 0.65 whereas that of FGR is 0.91. $FGR_{mn}$ was equal or higher in the domestic products than that of the foreign products although FGR was similar. From the electron microscopic analytical data, we concluded that outer shell of the wire was composed mainly of iron, chromium, nickel and less than 1.2 % of manganese. There are many metal ingredients such as iron, silica, manganese, zirconium, titanium, nickel, potassium, and aluminum in the inner flux but they were not homogeneous. It was found that both $FGR_{mn}$ and content of manganese was higher and more varied in domestic flux cored wires than those of foreign products. To reduce worker exposure to fumes and hazardous component at the source, further research is needed to develop new welding filler materials that improve the quality of flux cored wire in respect to these points. Welder should keep in mind that the FGR, $FGR_{mn}$ and probably the generation rate of other hazardous metals were increased as the input power increase for the high productivity.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
• /
• 2017.06a
• /
• pp.24-24
• /
• 2017

Heavy metals at toxic levels have the capability to interact with several vital cellular biomolecules such as nuclear proteins and DNA, leading to oxidative stress in plants. The present study was performed to explore the metal tolerance mechanism in Sorghum seedling. Morpho-physiological and metal ions uptake changes were observed prominently in the seedlings when the plants were subjected to different concentrations of $CuSO_4$ and $CdCl_2$. The observed morphological changes revealed that the plants treated with Cu and Cd displayed dramatically altered shoot lengths, fresh weights, and relative water content. In addition, the concentration of Cu and Cd was markedly increased by treatment with Cu and Cd, and the amount of interacting ions taken up by the shoots and roots was significantly and directly correlated with the applied level of Cu and Cd. Using the 2-DE method, a total of 24 and 21 differentially expressed protein spots from sorghum leaves and roots respectively, 33 protein spots from sorghum leaves under Cd stress were analyzed using MALDI-TOF/TOF MS. However, the over-expression of GAPDH plays a significant role in assisting Sorghum bicolor to attenuate the adverse effects of oxidative stress caused by Cu, and the proteins involved in resistance to stress helped the sorghum plants to tolerate high levels of Cu. Significant changes were absorbed in the levels of proteins known to be involved in carbohydrate metabolism, transcriptional regulation, translation and stress responses. In addition, the up-regulation of glutathione S-transferase and cytochrome P450 may play a significant role in Cd-related toxicity and stress responses. The results obtained from the present study may provide insights into the tolerance mechanism of seedling leaves and roots in Sorghum under heavy metal stress.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.61-65
• /
• 1997

Cadmium occurs as a minor element in sphalerite ((Zn, Fe)S) from the Boseong-Jangheung gold-silver mine district. We analyzed the abundance of cadmium in sphalerite using an electron probe micro analyzer (EPMA) and discussed the natural sources of cadmium in terms of bedrock geochemistry, in order to preliminarily reconnoiter the potential cadmium contamination in mine districts. Cadmium contents of sphalerites from the Au-Ag mines (Bodeok, Mundeok, Jeonbo, Boknae, Keumsan) in the Boseong-Jangheung district are considerably high, compared with cadmium contents of sphalerites (average = 0.5 wt.% Cd, maximum = 4.4 wt.% Cd) in the world. Sphalerites from the Keumsan mine (average = 9.49 wt.% Cd, maximum=11.22 wt. Cd) are highly enriched in cadmium. Our data suggest that the Boseong-Jangheung area is an important potential site of cadmium contamination in Korea. Based on bedrock geochemistry, natural causes of cadmium enrichment in sphalerite from the mine district are thought to be the mixing of cadmium leached from organic-rich, metasedimentary rocks (including coal) and/or black shales. From this study, we propose that the pinpointing of potential sites of pollution by toxic heavy metals can be done effectively through detailed reconnaisance study on mineralogical compositions of ore minerals such as sphalerite from the mine area.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.321-330
• /
• 2020

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of copper (II) chloride (CuCl₂) on zebrafish. Zebrafish were exposed to various CuCl₂ concentrations and subjected to different exposure times to determine the median lethal concentration (LC₅₀) values. To evaluate stress responses, we measured whole-body cortisol levels and behavioral parameters using the open field test (OFT) or the novel tank test (NTT). The zebrafish were exposed to CuCl₂ solution at concentrations of 1.5-150 ㎍/l or a vehicle for 1 hr before behavioral tests or sample collection for whole-body cortisol. The LC₅₀ values were 30.3, 25.3, and 14.8 ㎍/l at 24, 48, and 96 hr, respectively. The NTT showed that mobility, velocity, and distance covered were significantly lower in zebrafish exposed to CuCl₂ than in the control group (p<0.05), while the turn angle was significantly higher in zebrafish exposed to a CuCl₂ concentration of 150 ㎍/l than in the control group (p<0.05). The OFT also showed that mobility, velocity, and distance covered were significantly lower and the turn angle and meandering were significantly higher in zebrafish exposed to all concentrations of CuCl₂ than in the control group (p<0.05). The whole-body cortisol levels were significantly higher in zebrafish exposed to CuCl₂ than in the control group (p<0.05). These results suggest that exposure to lethal CuCl₂ concentrations induces an intense toxic and stress response in zebrafish, causing behavioral changes and increasing whole-body cortisol levels.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.19 no.12
• /
• pp.1685-1689
• /
• 2009

Phytochelatins (PCs) are small polypeptides synthesized by PC synthase (PCS). They are present in various living organisms including plants, fission yeast, and some animals. The presumed function of PCs is the sequestration of cytosolic toxic heavy metals like cadmium (Cd) into the vacuoles via vacuolar membrane localized heavy metal tolerance factor 1 (HMT-1). HMT-1 was first identified in fission yeast (SpHMT-1), and later in Caenorhabdtis (CeHMT-1). Recently, its homolog has also been found in PC-deficient Drosophila (DmHMT-1), and this homolog has been shown to be involved in Cd detoxification, as confirmed by the heterologous expression of DmHMT-1 in fission yeast. Therefore, the dependence of HMT-1 on PC in Cd detoxification should be re-evaluated. I heterologously expressed SpHMT-1 in cytosolic PC-deficient yeast, Saccharomycea cerevisiae, to understand the dependence of HMT-1 on PC. Yeast cells expressing SpHMT-1 showed increased tolerance to Cd compared with control cells. This result indicates that SpHMT-1 is not strictly correlated with PC production on its function. Moreover, yeast cells expressing SpHMT-1 showed increased tolerance to exogenously applied glutathione (GSH) compared with control cells, and the tolerance to Cd was further increased by exogenously applied GSH, while tolerance in control cells was not. These results indicate that the function of SpHMT-1 in Cd detoxification does not depend on PCs only, and suggest that SpHMT-1 may sequester cytosolic GSH-Cd complexes into the vacuole.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.223-232
• /
• 1998

The Okmyong Waste Landfill which is one of major industrial waste landfills in Korea has been used for 10 years since January, 1988. The groundwater in range of 2∼3 km from the landfill is a little acidic and has high concentrations of EC, NO$_3$, and SO$_4$ because of acidic rain in Pohang. The groundwater pattern in Piper's trilinear diagram belongs to Ca-SO$_4$and Na-SO$_4$types, but Ca-SO$_4$type is more predominant. The groundwater of five monitoring wells at the landfill area is a litle alkaline and has high concentrations of TS, COD, Na, Cl, SO$_4$, Alkalinity and F because of the effect of the leachates. They also have high heavy metals of Mn, Zn, Pb, Cr and Ni but toxic organic compounds are not detected. Their groundwater pattern is Na-SO$_4$type and distinguished from the groundwater pattern Na-Cl types of the Nanjido and the Seokdae Municipal Waste Landfills. The range of groundwater contamination which is validated up to now is about 120m west from the entrance of the Okmyong Waste Landfill. To prevent the dispersion of the leachates to the outside, cutoff walls should be constructed at the boundary of the landfill. Several pumping wells should also be developed at the landfill so that the contaminated groundwater can be pumped and treated at a leachate-treatment plant in the landfill.