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Heavy Metal Contamination around the Abandoned Au-Ag and Base Metal Mine Sites in Korea (국내 전형적 금은 및 비(base)금속 폐광산지역의 중금속 오염특성)

  • Chon Hyo-Taek;Ahn Joo Sung;Jung Myung Chae
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.38 no.2 s.171
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    • pp.101-111
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    • 2005
  • The objectives of this study we to assess the extent and degree of environmental contamination and to draw general conclusions on the fate of toxic elements derived from mining activities in Korea. 인t abandoned mines with four base-metal mines and four Au-Ag mines were selected and the results of environmental surveys in those areas were discussed. In the base-metal mining areas, the Sambo Pb-Zn-barite, the Shinyemi Pb-Zn-Fe, the Geodo Cu-Fe and the Shiheung Cu-Pb-Zn mine, significant levels of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn were found in mine dump soils developed over mine waste materials, tailings and slag. Furthermore, agricultural soils, stream sediments and stream water near the mines were severely contaminated by the metals mainly due to the continuing dispersion downstream and downslope from the sites, which was controlled by the feature of geography, prevailing wind directions and the distance from the mine. In e Au-Ag mining areas, the Kubong, the Samkwang, the Keumwang and the Kilkok mines, elevated levels of As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn were found in tailings and mine dump soils. These levels may have caused increased concentrations of those elements in stream sediments and waters due to direct dis-charge downstream from tailings and mine dumps. In the Au-Ag mines, As would be the most characteristic contaminant in the nearby environment. Arsenic and heavy metals were found to be mainly associated with sulfide gangue minerals, and mobility of these metals would be enhanced by the effect of oxidation. According to sequential extraction of metals in soils, most heavy metals were identified as non-residual chemical forms, and those are very susceptible to the change of ambient conditions of a nearby environment. As application of pollution index (PI), giving data on multi-element contamination in soils, over 1.0 value of the PI was found in soils sampled at and around the mining areas.

Proving Causation With Epidemiological Evidence in Tobacco Lawsuits (담배소송에서 역학적 증거에 의한 인과관계의 증명에 관한 소고)

  • Lee, Sun Goo
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.49 no.2
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    • pp.80-96
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    • 2016
  • Recently, a series of lawsuits were filed in Korea claiming tort liability against tobacco companies. The Supreme Court has already issued decisions in some cases, while others are still pending. The primary issue in these cases is whether the epidemiological evidence submitted by the plaintiffs clearly proves the causal relationship between smoking and disease as required by civil law. Proving causation is difficult in tobacco lawsuits because factors other than smoking are involved in the development of a disease, and also because of the lapse of time between smoking and the manifestation of the disease. The Supreme Court (Supreme Court Decision, 2011Da22092, April 10, 2014) has imposed some limitations on using epidemiological evidence to prove causation in tobacco lawsuits filed by smokers and their family members, but these limitations should be reconsidered. First, the Court stated that a disease can be categorized as specific or non-specific, and for each disease type, causation can be proven by different types of evidence. However, the concept of specific diseases is not compatible with multifactor theory, which is generally accepted in the field of public health. Second, when the epidemiological association between the disease and the risk factor is proven to be significant, imposing additional burdens of proof on the plaintiff may considerably limit the plaintiff's right to recovery, but the Court required the plaintiffs to provide additional information such as health condition and lifestyle. Third, the Supreme Court is not giving greater weight to the evidential value of epidemiological study results because the Court focuses on the fact that these studies were group-level, not individual-level. However, group-level studies could still offer valuable information about individual members of the group, e.g., probability of causation.

Paddy Rice Growth Yield as Affedted by Incorporation of Green Barley and Chinese Milkvetch (자운영 및 보리 재배 혼입처리에 따른 벼의 생육과 수량)

  • Sohn, Bo-Kyoon;Cho, Ju-Sik;Lee, Do-Jin;Kim, Young-Ju;Jin, Seo-Young;Cha, Gyu-Seok
    • Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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    • v.37 no.3
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    • pp.156-164
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    • 2004
  • This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of the application of green manure in the form of either green barley and Chinese milkvetch in reducing the amounts of N fertilizers and conventional fertilizers needed for paddy rice. Prior to rice transplanting, the green barley and Chinese milkvetch as a green manure produced respectively $668kg\;10a^{-1}$ and 3,492kg\;$10a^{-1}$ in fresh shoot weight basis. Calculated nitrogen content from harvested green manures was 3.9 and $17.8kg\;10a^{-1}$, respectively. Plant height and tiller number of rice increased when two kinds of green manure incorporated into soil. Above mentioned parameters also increased with increasing amounts of N fertilizers at both ear formation and heading stage of rice. Rice grain number was not affected by green manures treatment but increased when N fertilizers were applied. Although rice panicle and grain number increased with green manure treatments and fertilizer applications, whereas the percentage of ripened grain decreased. Chinese milkvetch with additional N fertilizer applications increased brown rice yield from 1 to 5% compared to rice yields in plots where non-green manure with the conventional amount of fertilizer application was applied. Rice treated with Chinese milkvetch and 30% of the conventional N fertilizer rate yielded the same as rice fertilized conventionally. During the rice growing season, $NH_4-N$ content of paddy soil was higher in green manures treatment than non-green manure one. Average $NH_4-N$ content in paddy soil drastically decreased after heading stage below $5.7mg\;kg^{-1}$ in non-green manure treated plots. While on the other, $NH_4-N$ content in soil slowly decreased in plots those were treated with green manures at harvesting stage, average $NH_4-N$ content was still greater than $5.5mg\;kg^{-1}$. Nitrogen content of rice shoot and brown rice seed was higher in green manure treatment.

Three-Dimensional Limit Equilibrium Stability Analysis of Spile-Reinforced Shallow Tunnel

    • Geotechnical Engineering
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    • v.13 no.3
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    • pp.101-122
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    • 1997
  • A spiting reinforcement system is composed of a series of radially installed reinforcing spites along the perimeter of the tunnel opening ahead of excavation. The reinforcing spill network is extended into the in-situ soil mass both radially and longitudinally The sailing reinforcement system has been successfully used for the construction of underground openings to reinforce weak rock formations on several occasions. The application of this spiting reinforcement system is currently extended to soft ground tunneling in limited occasions because of lack of reliable analysis and design methods. A method of threetimensional limit equilibrium stability analysis of the smile-reinforced shallow tunnel in soft ground is presented. The shape of the potential failure wedge for the case of smile-reinforced shallow tunnel is assumed on the basis of the results of three dimensional finite element analyses. A criterion to differentiate the spill-reinforced shallow tunnel from the smile-reinforced deep tunnel is also formulated, where the tunnel depth, soil type, geometry of the tunnel and reinforcing spites, together with soil arching effects, are considered. To examine the suitability of the proposed method of threedimensional stability analysis in practice, overall stability of the spill-reinforced shallow tunnel at facing is evaluated, and the predicted safety factors are compared with results from twotimensional analyses. Using the proposed method of threetimensional limit equilibrium stability analysis of the smile-reinforced shallow tunnel in soft ground, a parametric study is also made to investigate the effects of various design parameters such as tunnel depth, smile length and wadial spill spacing. With slight modifications the analytical method of threeiimensional stability analysis proposed may also be extended for the analysis and design of steel pipe reinforced multi -step grouting technique frequently used as a supplementary reinforcing method in soft ground tunnel construction.

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Some Considerations on Aviation Insurance : With a focus on coverage of aviation insurance (항공보험에 대한 약간의 고찰 -항공보험의 담보범위를 중심으로)

  • Kim, Sun-Ihee;Jung, Da-Eun
    • The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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    • v.25 no.2
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    • pp.43-77
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    • 2010
  • The development of the aviation industry has exponentially increased the volume of passengers and cargo and gradually expanded the damage scope of all kinds of accidents in the process of transportation. As a result, the need for aviation insurance has accordingly grown bigger and bigger every day. That is why most nations have a law to force mandatory insurance on the aviation industry. However, the Montreal Convention of 1999, which Korea also signed and today has the most extensive effect in the international civil aviation community, offers no clear interpretations about the coverage of aviation insurance along with the Air Transport Business Promotion Act of Korea. The advanced nations of air transport business such as EU, the U. S. A. and Canada prescribe the coverage of aviation insurance and have a law that makes it mandatory for all the passengers and third parties to cover air carrier's liability. EU requires them to include cargo and baggage in scope of coverage, and the U. S. A. and Canada recommend insuring by having a shipper receive a written notice containing information about whether the concerned cargo is insured or not. Making the scope of coverage of aviation insurance clear by law serves several purposes including diversifying risks for air transport companies, providing the victims with enough protection, observing the international accountability required in the air transport industry, and promoting the productive and sustainable growth of the aviation industry. Thus problems with Korea's aviation insurance should be resolved by clearly stating the coverage of aviation insurance that the Korean air carriers and operators need to insure according to the current state of Korea's air transport by consulting the legislations of the advanced nations in air transports. and enacting a law to comprehensively govern Korea's aviation insurance.

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A study on the status of the Dental Health of Adults (일 지역 성인의 구강건강실태에 관한 조사연구)

  • 정영숙
    • Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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    • v.17 no.1
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    • pp.95-113
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    • 2000
  • The purpose of this study is to investigate the state of the dental health of adults, used self-reporting qestionnaire as objects of 923 residents living in nine districts at random among the sites of eleven town located in a County. The level of knowledge on dental health of adults in a County was 65.6 points out of 100 points, comparatively low. Accodingly, it is necessary for entire adults to have a dental health-related education and get high standard of knowledge. Especially, educational approach should be performed for groups of 40-49 years old, 50-59 years old, above 60 years old, male, no educational background, having only elementary and middle school education, not having any jobs, engaging in agriculture, doing business on their own and so on. When planning the contents of health education, one actually has to include the habit of amalgam, the factor in influencing on dental health as well as show an example such as how to brush teeth, checking point of proper brushing, how to grip toothbrush. The attitude score related to dental heath was 71.2 points out of 100 points, relatively low. Consequently, the change of attitude related the dental health among entire adults is necessary, particularily, the strategical approach is essential to change dental health connected to attitude positively for groups of male, having high school education background, office workers and the civil service. Besides, among dental health related symtoms, more that 30-40% of objects showed negative attitude toward as the following cases; in case that plaque or food debris are attached to the teeth (40.8%), upper and lower teeth do not fit together(40.3%), you cannot sleep well because of toothache(31.0%), more than one tooth fall out(31.0%), you have loosing teeth(30.6%), the approach should be conducted to form attitude that dental care is necessry. The state of dental health through dental health related symtoms was 33.3 points out of 100 points, which was fairly satisfactory. However, dental treatment for the state of dental health should be executed in case of comparison of the dental health state according to general characteristics, the group who are above 60 years old, have elementary school education background, engage in aggriculture who are not good in dental health state as opposed to other groups. Furthermore, there should be dental care needs according to dental health related symtoms, particularly, more than 60-70% of objects have experienced symtoms that plaque or food debris attached to the teeth, tartar is on the teeth so dental treatment should be peformed for a large number of adults. In addition, for the people who have indications that there was a cavity, more than one tooth loss, chilled teeth, toothache when chewing, loose teeth, upper and lower teeth do not fit together, you cannnt sleep well due to the toothach, etc, there should be care through dental treatment. The actual conditions of the hygine of the mouth was relatively good and the difference of the actual state of dental health care in terms of general characteristics showed in only gender; female was more careful in dental health. Comparing the state of oral health synthetically, when they have symtoms, only 34.8% of objects go to a dentist, 60.7% are using passive or negative care such as gargling, tolerating or ignoring. There was many symtoms to care through dental therapy such as plaque or food debris get in between the teeth, tartar on the teeth, teeth are very cold, more than one tooth fallout, loose teeth, there is wrong amalgam, and so on, among symtoms to care passively or negatively. Therefore the education for proper treatment program should be performed. As a result of dental health-related knowlege, attitude, health state, verification of correlation between the actual condition of care, the higher the dental heath-related knowldege becomes, the more positive the dental health-related attitude is, and the state of dental health, that is, the standard of the symtom of dental health diminishes. the care for dental health executed through more active method and the more positive dental health-related attitude is, the more active means they performed. Consequently, the high level of dental health-related knowledge should be necessary, the more positive the dental health-related attitude was, the more active method they adopted, therefore, the program is needed to form attitude related to the dental health positively. As the knowledge on dental health is increasing, the attitude is also positive, after all, the plan to increase the standard of knowledge on dental health should be contrived through education program related to dental health.

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A Study on Implementation of Primary Health Care Delivery System meet to Rural Area in Korea -Village Health Voluntary Worker Development- (우리 나라 농촌지역(農村地域)에 부합하는 1차(次) 보건의료전달체계(保健醫療傳達體系) 정착구현(定着具現)에 관한 연구(硏究) -마을 보건임원(保健任員) 개발(開發)-)

  • Koo, Y.C.;Wie, J.H.;Hwang, S.J.;Choi, S.S.
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.12 no.1
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    • pp.13-23
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    • 1979
  • A study was carried out from October 1977 to September 1978 in order to develope health care delively system which will meet to rural area in Korea. For the study objective a model of health care delivery system of Myun (township) area was developed which is adopted the net-work of village health voluntary worker who will play the role of bridge for communication related with health and illness between families or village people and health subcenter, and :he model health care delivery system net-work was set in the area of Soodong Myun, Yangju Gun. which is the rural health demonstration area of Ewha Womans University since 1972. The activities and attitude of 22 village health voluntary workers were observed and analized. during the study period. The results are as follows; 1. For the field activities of village health voluntary workers. a guide line which is described with specific behavioral objectives was developed and used for not only training of the workers but also evaluation of their field activities. 2. During the study period, the number of 971 village people were served primary health care service by village health voluntary worker and the service was classified largely into symptomatic medications (92%) and preventive measures (8%). 3. Comparative percentage of the number of 894 symptomatic cases cared by village health voluntary workers to 5,695 cases of patient treated by Soodong Health Subcenter during the same period was 15.7%. 4. Annual utility rate of village health voluntary worker by Myun total people was 16.1% but utility rate by Rie was varied from 38.2% to 2.8% which shown there were considerable differences in each Rie. In order to settle the village health care service, the obstructive factors of utility should be detected and their counter measure must be taken. 5. As the health need of village people increases, it is expected that the supplement of drug excluding present sit basic drugs is inevitable, but considering the ability of village health voluntary worker, the selection of additional drugs and education, plan should be carefully studied. 6. It is desirable that a financial resource for supplementary purchase of first aid kit, drugs and materials whould be alloted from village public fund like Saemaeul Women's Club fund, which has already practiced in a few villages in the study area. 7. As pointed out by village health voluntary workers, in order to improve the village health, village leaders should be in the center of it and the cooperation of whole village people is a core of healthful village development, and it is reasonable that the health subcenter backs up these voluntary health activities by village people in techniques. 8. It seems effective that a supplementary education for village health voluntary worker be accomplished by a planned education through regular meetings like worker's monthly meeting and irregular post guide when Myun Health Workers can handle the problems found during the round trip of villages. 9. It is desirable that village health voluntary workers, who are recommended by a civil voluntary organization like Saemael Woman's Club, are charged by natural villagc unit, are given a function of village health care service and used through basic education at health subcenter. 10. It is advisable that the village health voluntary worker's service is compensated not by a form of money, but by other way such as an exemption of medical fee of worker herself or her families in health subcenter can be one method. 11. Daily health activities of each village health voluntary worker should be reported to health subcenter by biweekly or monthly in order to get not only for basic data of the program but also for evaluation the program. It is recomandable that the report form should be simple and clear enough for village health voluntary worker to fill it effectively. 12. Village health care service should be developed into a Saemaeul Movement in which village people actively participate. For this, the appointed function of village health voluntary worker should be absorbed into those of living Environment Betterment Section or Family Planning Section of Saemaeul Women's Club or it is desirable that establish a new section, Village Health Promoting Section and make it involve the appointed functions of those sections mentioned above.

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Ttrosine Hydroxylase in Japanese Medaka (Oryzias latipes): cDNA Cloning and Molecular Monitoring of TH Gene Expression As a Biomarker (송사리 Tyrosine Hydroxylase: cDNA 클로닝 및 생물지표로서의 TH 유전자 발현의 분자생물학적 추적)

  • Shin, Sung-Woo;Kim, Jung-Sang;Chon, Tae-Soo;Lee, Sung-Kyu;Koh, Sung-Cheol
    • Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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    • v.15 no.4
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    • pp.131-137
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    • 2000
  • The release of hazardous waste materials into the environment poses serious risks in humans and ecosystems. The risk assessment of environmental pollutants including hazardous chemicals requires a comprehensive measurement of hazard and exposure of the chemicals that can be achieved by toxicity evaluation using a biological system such as biomarkers. In this report we have tried to develop a biomarker used to elucidate a molecular basis of, and to monitor abnormal behaviors caused by diazinon in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) as a model organism. First, an attempt was made to clone tyrosine hydroxylase gene from Japanese medaka that would be a candidate for a biomarker for neuronal modulations and behaviors. For monitoring experiments at behavioral and molecular biological levels, the fish were treated under different sublethal conditions of diazinon and their behavioral responses were observed . In this study we have successfully cloned a partial TH gene from the medaka fish through PCR screening of an ovary cDNA library. DNA sequencing analysis revealed that the amplified fragment was 327 bp encoding 109 amino acids. Comparing the DNA sequence of medaka TH with other species, TH gene revealed the DNA sequence was completely identical to that of rat TH. In the RT-PCR, 330 Up of mRNA was consistently amplified in all the treated samples including control There were no significant differences in the TH expression level regardless of treating concentrations (1∼5,000 ppb) and time (0∼48 hr) The reason appeared to be that RT-PCR was not performed using through a quantitative analysis normalized against an actin gene expression. Organ or tissue - specific detection of TH activity and mRNA as biomarkers will be a useful monitoring tool for neurobehavioral changes in fish influenced by toxic chemicals. Furthermore, quantitative analysis of locomotive patterns and its correlation with the neurochemical and molecular data would be highly useful in measuring toxicity and hazard ofvarious environmental pollutants.

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Numerical study for Application of H-Pile Connection Plastic Sheet Pile Retaining Wall (HCS) (H-Pile과 Plastic Sheet Pile을 결합한 토류벽체에 대한 수치해석적 연구)

  • Lee, Kyou-Nam;Lim, Hee-Dae
    • The Journal of Engineering Geology
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    • v.27 no.3
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    • pp.331-343
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    • 2017
  • In this study to improve stability, workability and economics of the H-Pile+Earth plate or H-Pile+Earth plate+Cutoff grouting currently in use, we had developed HCS method belonging to the retaining wall which is consisting of a combination H-Pile, Plastic Sheet Pile and Steel Square Pipe for gap maintenance and reinforcement of flexible plastic Sheet Pile, and the behavior of each member composing HCS method is investigated by three-dimensional finite element analysis. To numerically analyze the behavior of the HCS method, we have performed extensive three-dimentional finite element analysis for three kinds of plastic Sheet Pile size, two kinds of H-Pile size and three kinds of H-Pile installation interval, one kinds of Steel Square Pipe and three kinds of Steel Square Pipe installation interval. After analyzing the numerical results, we found that the combinations of $P.S.P-460{\times}131.5{\times}7t$ (PS7) and H-Pile $250{\times}250{\times}9{\times}14$ (H250), $P.S.P473{\times}133.5{\times}9t$ (PS9) and H-Pile $300{\times}200{\times}9{\times}14$ (H300) is the most economical because these combinations are considered to have a stress ratio (=applied stress/allowable stress) close to that as the stiffness of H-Pile, plastic Sheet Pile and Steel Square Pipe composite increased, the horizontal displacement of the retaining wall and the vertical displacement of the upper ground decreased. Especially, due to the arching effects caused by the difference in stiffness between H-Pile and plastic Sheet Pile, a large part of the earth pressure acting on plastic Sheet Pile caused a stress transfer to H-Pile, and the stress and displacement of plastic Sheet Pile were small. Through this study, we can confirm the behavior of each member constituting the HCS method, and based on the confirmed results of this study, it can be used to apply HCS method in reasonable, stable and economical way in the future.

Assessment of the Cause and Pathway of Contamination and Sustainability in an Abandoned Mine (폐광산 오염원인 분석 및 오염경로, 향후 지속가능성에 대한 평가)

  • Kim, Min Gyu;Kim, Ki-Joon;Jeong, Gyo-Cheol
    • The Journal of Engineering Geology
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    • v.28 no.3
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    • pp.411-429
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    • 2018
  • Daeyoung mine (also called "Daema mine") produced gold and silver from mainly gold- and silver-bearing quartz veins. The mine tailings are a waste hazard, but most of the tailings were swept away or dispersed throughout the area around the mine long before the tailing dump areas were transformed into agricultural land. Soil liner and protection facilities, such as retaining walls, were constructed in the mine area to prevent the loss of tailings. The content of the tailings is 3,424.41~3,803.61 mg/kg, which exceeds the safety standard by a factor of 45. In addition, contamination was detected near agricultural areas and in the sediments in downstream drainage channels. A high level of As contamination was concentrated near the waste tailings yard; comparaable levels were detected in agricultural areas close to streams that ran through the waste dump yard, whereas the levels were much lower in areas far from the streams. The contamination in stream sediments showed a gradual decrease with distance from the mine waste yard. Based on these contamination patterns, we concluded that there are two main paths that affect the spread of contaminants: (1) loss of mine waste, and (2) the introduction of mine waste into agricultural areas by floods after transportation by streams. The agricultural areas contaminated by mass inflow of mine waste can act as contamination sources themselves, affecting other agricultural areas through the diffusion of contaminants. At present, although the measured effect in minimal, sediments in streams are contaminated by exposed mine waste and surface liners. It is possible for contaminants to diffuse or spread into nearby areas if heavy elements trapped in soil grains in contaminated agricultural areas leach out as soil solution or contaminant particles during diffusion into the water supply.