• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.251-257
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• 2022

Monitoring and assessing aquatic ecosystems using the behavior of organisms is essential for sustainable ecosystem management. Oligochaetes, which inhabit various freshwater ecosystems, are frequently used to evaluate the environmental conditions of freshwater ecosystems. Tubifex tubifex (Müller, 1774) (Oligochaeta, Tubificidae) is tolerant to organic pollution and has been used to evaluate the toxicity of toxicants, including heavy metals. We studied the behavioral responses of T. tubifex to three different copper concentrations (0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 mg L^-1). The specimens were exposed to copper in an observation cage containing 150 mL of dechlorinated water. Movement behavior (diameter, speed, acceleration, meander, and turning rate) was continuously observed for two hours before and after the copper treatments. After the treatments, the diameter shrank and showed rapid twisting movement under all the copper conditions. The turning rate had a positive correlation with meander and acceleration both before and after treatment at all three concentrations, whereas speed and meander had a negative correlation. Length and turning rate also showed a negative correlation. The correlation coefficient between speed and acceleration in the highest copper concentration changed from positive before treatment (r=0.64) to negative (r= -0.52) after treatment. Our results present the possibility of using behavioral parameters to detect copper contamination in freshwater ecosystems.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.16-22
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• 1993

Contamination of heavy metals in water and sediments along Mangyeong Gang(river) has reached up to critical level The object of the study is to elucidate somed molluscs which inhabit along the river on respect to the modulatory role in reducing the pollution. For the purpose, molluscs which are common in numbers and biomass in the area were collected, and Cadmim(Cd) was subjected as a reference metal in the experiment. The corresponding species were; Cipango;aludina chinensis (muddy snail) and Scapharca subcrenata (seashell). As methods, sample species were kept in laboratory under the natural condition as possible. Soil were brought from the site of the collection, dried autoclaved and wetted with ordinary water. It wad utilized as media to maintain the collected species in vitro all the way of the experiment. CdCI$^{2}$ was mixe in the medium according to experimental design. On the result obtained in the study, it is summarized that molluscs which inhabit along Mangyeong Gang(river)consume heavy mital-containing matters, so far Cd is concerned in the study. The amout of Cd concentration in tissues of the benthic natured invertebrates were dose and time related, and MT-Cd was also similar trend. Thus, Cd may eventually combine with low molecular protein forming metalloprotein, then reduce the toxicity of the heavy metal.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.281-299
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• 2017

Single (0.005 M DTPA), sequential (six-step) and kinetic (0.05 M EDTA) extractions were performed to assess Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn mobilization and their potential ecological risks in Abuja (Nigeria) water (WTS) and wastewater (WWTS) treatment sludges. Total metal levels (mg/kg) in WTS and WWTS, respectively were: Cd(3.67 and 5.03), Cr(5.70 and 9.03), Cu(183.59 and 231.53), Ni(1.33 and 3.23), Pb(13.43 and 17.87), Zn(243.45 and 421.29). DTPA furnished metal extraction yields (%) in WTS and WWTS, respectively as: Cd(11 and 6), Cr (15 and 7), Cu(17 and 13), Ni(23 and 3), Pb(11 and 12), and Zn(37 and 33). The metals were associated with the soluble/exchangeable, carbonate, Mn/Fe-oxide, organic matter and residual forms to varying degrees. Kinetic extractions cumulatively leached metal concentrations akin to the mobilizable fractions extracted sequentially and the leaching data fitted well into the Elovich model. Metal mobilities were concordant for the three leaching procedures and varied in the order:WTS>WWTS. Calculated ecological risk indices suggested moderate and considerable metal toxicity in WTS and WWTS, respectively with Cd as the worst culprit. The findings may be useful in predicting heavy metals bioavailability and risks in the sludges to guide their disposal and use in land applications.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.77-83
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• 2010

In this study, we tried to determine any detrimental effects on water quality when bottom ash obtained from a coal-fired power plant intended to be used as a fill material in construction sites. Physical-chemical properties of bottom ash were determined using proximate analysis, elemental analysis, XRD, and XRF. Classification of bottom ash as a waste material and soil contamination due to the use of bottom ash were performed by Korea waste standard leaching test and soil toxicity test, respectively. Results of leaching tests were compared to the regulations for water quality and groundwater quality and no harmful effects on water quality were found. Most of heavy metals in leachate were below detection limits but trace amount of $Cr^{6+}$ was found. However, concentration of $Cr^{6+}$ was below the regulation criteria. Column leaching tests indicated that concentrations of Pb and Zn were slightly higher than regulations but below regulations within 1 PVE, but concentrations of sulfate were 10 times higher than regulation and thus, the required time to reach regulation was almost 8 PVE.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.11-18
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• 2010

The contamination of a suite of heavy metals were evaluated in water and sediments of urban stream, Tancheon down the stream. Tancheon is a urban stream which goes all the way across the urban area where various pollution sources are present. The sixteen study sites from seven different areas were designated down the stream. The heavy metal levels of the streams were detected in the order of Zn>Cu>Ni>Pb>Cd>Cr>Sb. There was a difference in the relative order of the concentration ranking in lake sediments. There is a trend that the heavy metal levels are higher at the sites where the construction causes inflow of soil particles to stream. Toxicity tests using pore-water in sediments were conducted for samples collected in some study sites, and pore-water in one site was proven to be toxic to Japanes medaka (Oryzias latipes). The reason may be the fecal pollution rather than heavy metal effect. Strong odor was detected in the sediment whose pore-water samples showed ecotoxicity. We did not observed the increasing concentration of heavy metals down to stream since the soil texture varied in the stream area of our study. Further study is needed to find quantitative relations between the level of contamination and its eco-effect.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.8
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• pp.2889-2896
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• 2023

The waste acceptance criteria for heavy metals in mixed waste should be developed by reflecting the leaching behaviors that could highly depend on the repository design and environment surrounding the waste. The current standards widely used to evaluate the leaching characteristics of heavy metals would not be appropriate for the silo-type repository since they are developed for landfills, which are more common than a silo-type repository. This research aimed to explore the leaching behaviors of cementitious waste with Pb, Cd, and Sb metallic and oxide powders in an environment simulating a silo-type radioactive waste repository. The Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) and the ANS 16.1 standard were employed with standard and two modified solutions: concrete-saturated deionized and underground water. The compositions and elemental distribution of leachates and specimens were analyzed using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy combined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS). Lead and antimony demonstrated high leaching levels in the modified leaching solutions, while cadmium exhibited minimal leaching behavior and remained mainly within the cement matrix. The results emphasize the significance of understanding heavy metals' leaching behavior in the repository's geochemical environment, which could accelerate or mitigate the reaction.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.33 no.2 s.95
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• pp.123-131
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• 2007

Many environmental contaminants including several metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and pharmaceuticals, have been identified to be phototoxic in the water environment. Concerns regarding photo-enhancement of toxicity of several environmental contaminants have been increasing because of the increased level of ultraviolet irradiation on the earth surface. However, there exist arguments that there might be certain defense mechanisms taking place in the aquatic ecosystem, which may include behavioral characteristics or genetic acclimation. This study was conducted to understand the potential responses of aquatic receptors to several phototoxic metals in the real environment, where long-term acclimation of such organisms to low dose UV-B may take place. For this purpose, water flea Daphnia magna was acclimated to environmentally relevant dose of UV-B (12 to $18uW/cm^2$) for >11 generations. The differences in developmental and life history characteristics, and toxicity responses were evaluated. Acclimation did not affect the daphnids' growth, longevity, and reproduction characteristics such as time to first brood, and brood size: After 21 d, survival of D. magna was not influenced by UV-B acclimation. When the number of young per female was compared. the daphnids acclimated for 11 generations tend to produce less number of neonates than the un-acclimated individuals but with no statistical significance (p>0.05). Four metals that were reported to be phototoxic elsewhere were employed in this evaluation, that include As, Cd. Cu, and Ni. UV-B level being applied in acclimation did increase the toxicity of Cd and Cu, significantly (p<0.05). However, the toxicities of As and Ni were not affected by irradiation of UV-B. Phototoxic responses were evaluated between the acclimated and the un-acclimated daphnids. For Cu, UV-B acclimation led to reduction of the photo-induced toxicity $(p\approx0.1)$ in daphnids. Non-acclimated Daphnia were affected by 50% at 4.18 ug/l Cu. but UV-B acclimated individuals exhibited $EC_{50}$ of 5.89 ug/l. With Cd, UV-B acclimation appeared to increase phototoxicity (p>0.05). With As and Ni, UV-B acclimation did not influence photo-induced toxicity. This observation may be in part explained by the type of reactive oxygen species that were generated by each metal. Similar to UV-B light, Cu is known to generate superoxide anion by acting as redox cycling toxicant. This is one of the first studies that employed_laboratory based UV-B acclimated test species for photoenhanced toxicity evaluation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.33 no.9
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• pp.670-676
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• 2011

Artificially metal-contaminated soils have been widely used for lab-scale soil washing and soil toxicity experiments. The artificial soil contamination methods consist of 1) first equilibrating soils with heavy metal solution, 2) filtrating or centrifuging soils from the mixture and 3) finally drying the soils. However, some of those artificially contaminated soil experiments have not clearly shown that the soils were thoroughly rinsed with water prior to conducting experiments. This study investigated the amount of heavy metal release from the artificially metal-contaminated soil by pre-water-rinsing. Three different artificially metal-contaminated soil preparation methods were first evaluated with Cd and Pb concentrations of soil. Then, this study investigated the effect of pre-water-rinsing on the Cd and Pb concentration of the artificially contaminated soil. Heavy metal concentrations of the soil produced by equilibrating and drying the metal solution-soil were significantly reduced by pre-water-rinsing. The results of the study implied that experimental results would be significantly distorted when the artificially heavy metal-contaminated soils were not thoroughly water-rinsed prior to conducting experiments. Therefore, the initial heavy metal concentration of the artificially contaminated soil should be determined after thoroughly rinsing the soil that was previously obtained through the adsorption and dry stages.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.574-579
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• 2010

In this study the enzyme inhibition method using dehydrogenase which has been popularly used to estimate ecotoxicity was optimized. When three bacterial strains, Escherichia coli HB101, Enterobacter asburiae KCAD-4, and Aeromonas media KCAD-13, were compared, KCAD-4 was considered as the adequate strain to estimate toxicity because of its sensitivity and reproducibility. The optimal bacterial density was estimated as $5.4{\times}10^9CFU/mL$, at which the maximum sensitivity was observed. The phosphate buffer was suitable for the reaction solution. When the reaction times required for inhibition of enzyme activity by contact of toxicants and for reaction of damaged bacteria and substrate were tested, the optimal value was estimated as 20 min and 2 hrs, respectively. It is expected that the optimized conditions can be used to develop the standardized kits to estimate ecotoxicity of heavy metals in effluent from the industrial wastewater treatment facilities.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.691-702
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• 2013

This review paper summarizes the theory, application, and potential drawbacks of diffusive gradient in thin film (DGT) probe which is a widely used in-situ passive sampling technique for monitoring inorganic contaminants in aquatic environments. The DGT probe employs a series of layers including a filter membrane, a diffusive hydrogel, and an ionic exchange resin gel in a plastic unit. The filter side is exposed to an aquatic environment after which dissolved inorganic contaminants, such as heavy metals and nuclides, diffuse through the hydrogel and are accumulated in the resin gel. After retrieval, the contaminants in the resin gel are extracted by strong acid or base and the concentrations are determined by analytical instruments. Then aqueous concentrations of the inorganic contaminants can be estimated from a mathematical equation. The DGT has also been used to monitor nutrients, such as ${PO_4}^{3-}$, in lakes, streams, and estuaries, which might be helpful in assessing eutrophic potential in aquatic environments. DGT is a robust in-situ passive sampling techniques for investigating bioavailability, toxicity, and speciation of inorganic contaminants in aquatic environments, and can be an effective monitoring tool for risk assessment.