• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2012

Selection of appropriate liner type would be the most important factor to prevent groundwater contamination by leachate from waste management site. This report introduces the IWEM (Industrial Waste Management Evaluation Model) developed by US EPA to evaluate the potential pollution of groundwater under the waste management unit and to suggest an appropriate type of liner, and provides with the results of IWEM application to a coal-ash landfill site in Korea as a case study. IWEM uses a standard method using a database, a decision-making process based on site characteristics, and the user-friendly input-and-output system. Authors evaluate this model to be applicable in Korea provided that the database is replaced into local data.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.368-371
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• 2003

Accidental release of petroleum products from underground storage tank(USTs) is one of the most common causes of groundwater contamination. BTEX is the major components of fuel oils, which are hazardous substances regulated by many nations. In addition to BTEX, other gasoline consituents such as MTBE(methyl-t-buthyl ether), anphthalene are also toxic to humans. Natual attenuation processes include physic, chemical, and biological trasformation. Aerobic and anaerobic biodegradation are believed to be the major processes that account for both containment of the petroleum-hydrocarbon plum and reduction of the contaminant concentrations. Aerobic bioremediation has been highly effective in the remediation of many fuel releases. However, Bioremediation of aromatic hydrocarbons in groundwater and sediments is ofen limited by the inability to provide sufficient oxygen to the contaminated zones due to the low water solubility of oxygen. Anaerobic processes refer to a variety of biodegradation mechanisms that use nitrate, ferric iron, sulfate, and carbon dioxide as terminal electron accepters. The objectives of this study was to conduct laboratory-scale microcosm studies in assessing enhanced bioremediation potential of BTEX and MTBE under various electron accepters(aerobic, nitrate, ferric iron, sulfate) in contaminated Soil. these results suggest that, presents evidence and a variety pattern of the biological removal of aromatic compounds under enhanced nitrate-, Fe(III)-, sulfate-reducing conditions.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2019

This study presents a technical perspective to the fate characteristics of phenol and m-cresol, which represent some of the most common organic chemicals found in chemical spill accidents, and likely to persist in soil and groundwater due to their highly stable physicochemical properties. Some cases of domestic and foreign chemical accidents linked to phenol and m-cresol contamination were compiled. Due to their low organic carbon-water partitioning coefficient (Koc), phenol and m-cresol tend to migrate into groundwater and remained as dissolved phase. On the other hands, phenol and m-cresol can be readily decomposed by microbes in soil and groundwater under appropriate conditions. Therefore, the fate characteristics of these chemicals are highly contingent on environmental conditions. Thus, if a great quantity of leakage is occurred by chemical accidents, the up-to-date and correct information about fate characteristics taking into account both the chemical and environmental conditions is greatly needed to minimized the potential hazards from these chemicals.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.83-95
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• 2001

In this study, the contaminated status of groundwater under Ponchon Basin, Kwangju-city was analyzed by hydrogeological survey. Though the distribution of groundwater hydraulic head was similar with the ground elevation, the flow system of groundwater was changed due to overpumping in the industrial area. Paddy field and residential area which were located in the north part of the basin had relatively high concentrations of Cl, N $a^{+}$ and N $O_3$$^{[-10]}$ in the groundwater. Southern part of the basin which most industrial area occupied had relatively high concentrations of HC $O_3$, $Ca^{2+}$, $Mg^{2+}$ and Zn. Groundwater was contaminated by C $l^{[-10]}$ and N $O_3$$^{[-10]}$ due to the infiltration of domestic sewage and factory wastewater. In the Cl case, C $l^{[-10]}$ had a tendency of distribution over the water shed along with the contaminated source. The drawdown of groundwater due to overpumping caused more vertical movement of contaminant than lateral movement. If the overpumping continues in the industrial area, the groundwater flow system will be more affected and the groundwater will be lowered in the north part of basin. It is clear that contamination by C $l^{[-10]}$ and N $O_3$$^{[-10]}$ due to domestic sewage and factory wastewater will spread through the whole basin area.rea.

• Mycobiology
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.345-356
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• 2022

The fungal distribution, diversity, and load were analyzed in the geographically segregated island groundwater systems in Korea. A total of 79 fungal isolates were secured from seven islands and identified based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences. They belonged to three phyla (Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Chlorophyta), five classes, sixteen orders, twenty-two families, and thirty-one genera. The dominant phylum was Ascomycota (91.1%), with most fungi belonging to the Cladosporium (21.5%), Aspergillus (15.2%), and Stachybotrys (8.9%) genera. Cladosporium showed higher dominance and diversity, being widely distributed throughout the geographically segregated groundwater systems. Based on the diversity indices, the genera richness (4.821) and diversity (2.550) were the highest in the groundwater system of the largest scale. As turbidity (0.064-0.462) increased, the overall fungal count increased and the residual chlorine (0.089-0.308) had low relevance compared with the total count and fungal diversity. Cladosporium showed normal mycelial growth in de-chlorinated sterilized samples. Overall, if turbidity increases under higher fungal diversity, bio-deterioration in groundwater-supplying facilities and public health problems could be intensified, regardless of chlorine treatment. In addition to fungal indicators and analyzing methods, physical hydrostatic treatment is necessary for monitoring and controlling fungal contamination.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.107-110
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• 2003

Reduction of nitrate by zero valent iron (Fe$^{0}$ ) has been previously studied, but the proper treatment for the by-product of ammonium has not been reported. However, in terms of nitrogen contamination, ammonium may be regarded as another form of nitrogen contaminants since it can be oxidized to nitrate again under aerobic conditions. This study is focused on simultaneous removal of nitrate and its by-product of ammonium, with the ZanF (Zeolite anchored Fe), a product derived from zeolite modified by Fe(II) chloride followed by reduction with sodium borohydride. Batch experiments were performed without buffer at two different pH condition with ZanF, iron filing, Fe(II)-sorbed zeolite, and pure zeolite to estimate the nitrate reduction and the ammonium production. At higher pH, removal rate of nitrate was reduced in both ZanF and iron filings. ZnF removed 60 % of nitrate at initial pH of 3.3 with no production of ammonium, while iron filing showed equivalent production of ammonium to the reduced amount of nitrate. In terms of nitrogen contamination, ZanF removed about 60 % and 40 % at initial pH of 3.3 and 6, respectively, while iron filing presented negligible removal against total nitrogen including nitrate and ammonium.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.1-8
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• 2009

The groundwater dependent ecosystem associated with a natural stream is the area where mixing and exchange of surface water and groundwater occurs due to large chemical and hydraulic gradients. Surface-groundwater interactions play an important role in biogeochemical processes in groundwater dependent ecosystems and make this area a hydro-ecological hot spot. The objective of this study is to characterize the groundwater dependent ecosystem in a natural stream where nitrate contamination of stream water is observed by means of hydrogeological, chemical, and biological methods. In this study, vertical flow exchange(hyporheic flow) rates between stream and groundwater were estimated based on vertical hydraulic gradients measured at mini-piezometers of various depths. To investigate the biological natural attenuation potential, biological analyses using polymerase chain reaction(PCR)-cloning methods were performed in this study. Results show that the veritical hyporheic water fluxes affect nitrate concentrations and bacterial densities in groundwater dependent ecosystems to some degree. Also, denitrifying bacteria were identified in hyporheic soils, which may support the biodegradation potential of the groundwater dependent ecosystems under certain conditions.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.392-396
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• 2003

Leaking underground storage tanks are a major source of groundwater contamination by petroleum hydrocarbons. Aerobic bioremediation has been highly effective in the remediation of many fuel releases. Bioremediation of aromatic hydrocarbons in groundwater and sediments is ofen limited by the inability to provide sufficient oxygen to the contaminated zones due to the low water solubility of oxygen. Nitrate can also serve as an electron acceptor And nitrate is less expensive and more soluble than oxygen. it may be more economical to restore fuel-contaminated aquifers using nitrate rather than oxygen. And denitrifying bacteria are commonly found in the subsurface and in association with contaminated aquifer materials. These studies have shown that BTEX and MTBE can be degraded by the nitrate-amended microcosms under aerobic and anaerobic conditons. Biodegradation of the toluene and ethylbenzne compounds occurred very quickly under denitrifying conditions. MTBE, benzene and p-xylene were recalcitrant under denitrifying conditions in this study.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.389-404
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• 2003

VOCs were detected in the 21 groundwaters out of 37 groundwaters sampled from around the Hanam Industrial Complex and the Gwangju stream. Ten components of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons of VOCs were detected in the 18 groundwater samples. Among them, total trihalomethanes (TTHM) concentration is in the range of $0.1~36.2{\;}\mu\textrm{g}/L$, CECs concentration is $2.3~190{\;}\mu\textrm{g}/L$, and chlorinated solvents concentration containing PCE, TCE, etc. is $0.1~124.2{\;}\mu\textrm{g}/L$ respectively. Ten components of the aromatic hydrocarbons of VOCs were detected in the 5 groundwater samples, but their concentration are less than $1{\;}\mu\textrm{g}/L$. Detection frequency and concentration of the chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons components from the groundwaters in the Hanam Industrial Complex are higher than those of nearby downtown Gwangju stream. VOCs components except for TCE are lower than the MCL of USGS drinking water standard. TCE concentration of the 2 groundwater samples is over MCL, whose concentrations are 5 and 25 times higher than MCL, respectively. TCE is detected from the H8 and H10 groundwater samples and CFCs is detected H8 and H11 groundwater samples in the Hanam Industrial Complex. TTHM in study area is estimated from leakage of the main waters or sewage waters. Because most of the studied groundwater is under an aerobic condition, aromatic hydrocarbons are well degraded. But chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons are degraded very slowly.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.1647-1654
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• 2008

The characteristics of arsenic(As) contamination were investigated on soils of 3 abandoned metal mine sites in Gangwon-do, Korea. Total forty nine soils were sampled to conduct standard methods(extraction by 1HCl), sequential extraction and column leaching test. Concentration of As extracted by 1N HCl was ordered as follows: A mine > B mine > C mine, and the concentration of arsenic in the soils of A mine was significantly greater than that at any other cases and all samples of A mine were exceeded the national regulation of $6mg \;kg^{-1}$. In the results of sequential extraction, the potential contamination risk for groundwater and plants was ordered as follows: C mine > B mine > A mine because the C mine showed the relatively greater mobility and bioavailability of fraction than any other mines. And, in colume test, concentration of As was ordered as follows: C mine > B mine > A mine, and it was expected that these results were connected with fraction characteristics of the mine sites. Therefore adequate leaching investigations should be used to simulate the effect of natural leaching conditions, and to predict both the potential mobility of metals to groundwater and their bioavailability to plants under natural conditions.