• Advances in environmental research
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• 제2권3호
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• pp.179-202
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• 2013

Bisphenol A and other alkylphenols are widely used in plastic and other industrial consumer products. Release of these compounds into the aquatic environment during their manufacture, use and disposal has been a great scientific and public concern due to their toxicity at high concentrations and endocrine disrupting effects at low concentration on aquatic wildlife and human beings. This paper reviews the published data and researches on the environmental occurrence, distribution, health effects and analytical techniques of bisphenol A and alkylphenols. The aim is to provide an overview of the current understanding about bisphenol A and alkylphenols in the environment and the difficulties faced today in order to establish standard and systematic environmental analysis and assessment process for these endocrine disruptor compounds.

• 한국환경농학회지
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• 제16권1호
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• pp.80-93
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• 1997

Pesticide residues in soil could be affected to the growth of micro organisms and the activity of enzymes directly, and successively to the soil properties as pH, Eh and nitrogen metabolism. However, residues are diminished by degradation of soil microorganisms, run-off, leaching, volatilization, photodecomposition and uptake through crops. In this paper research results published in Korea were summarized about translocation of soil residues into crops, fates of residues in soil, effects to the activity of soil microorganisms and metabolic pathways of some pesticides. Generally speaking, pesticide residues in soil were not much affected to the agro-ecosystem except few chemicals. So it should be needed more further researches in this field, continuously.

• 대한환경공학회지
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• 제34권4호
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• pp.288-294
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• 2012

나노산업의 발달로 인해 나노제품의 제조, 소비, 폐기 과정에서 나노물질이 직 간접적인 경로를 통해 수생태 및 토양생태계로 유입되고 있다. 나노물질은 벌크물질과는 다른 특성을 가지고 있으며 나노물질의 다양한 물리화학적 변화는 환경내 나노물질의 거동 및 무생물적 생물적 상호작용에 영향을 미친다. 나노물질의 생태 독성 연구는 꾸준하게 증가하는 추세이며 특히 나노물질의 마이크로코즘 연구가 최근 보고되고 있다. 마이크로코즘(Microcosm)은 통제된 실험 조건 하에서 생태계의 일부분을 모사하여 자연 현상을 연구하기 위한 기법으로서, 마이크로코즘 연구는 생태계 내 나노물질의 거동과 통합적인 독성영향 평가를 가능하게 한다. 본 연구는 수생태 및 토양생태계에서 나노물질을 이용한 마이크로코즘 및 메조코즘(Mesocosm) 선행연구를 국제 학술 논문을 중심으로 조사하였다. 현재까지 마이크로코즘 연구는 총 12건의 논문이 발표되었고 단 1건의 메조코즘 연구가 보고되었는데, 대부분의 연구들이 미생물 군집 수준에서 나노물질의 영향을 제한적으로 평가하였다. 나노물질의 통합적 독성 영향을 평가하기 위해서 좀 더 다양한 생물종을 대상으로 그들의 상호작용을 연구할 필요가 있다. 본 연구에서는 수생태 및 토양생태계에서 나노물질의 마이크로코즘 연구동향을 분석하고 중금속, 유기물질과 같은 일반 화학물질 이용한 마이크로코즘 독성 연구를 바탕으로 향후 나노물질의 마이크로코즘 연구방향을 제시하였다.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• 제14권1호
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• pp.63-67
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• 2009

Escherichia coli K-12 (E. coli K-12) is a representative indicator globally used for distinguishing and monitoring dynamic fates of pathogenic microorganisms in the environment. This study investigated how to most critically quantify lacZ ($\beta$-galactosidase) gene in E. coli K-12 by two different real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) in association with three different DNA extraction practices. Three DNA extractions, i.e., sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)/proteinase K, magnetic beads and guanidium thiocyanate (GTC)/silica matrix were each compared for extracting total genomic DNA from E. coli K-12. Among them, GTC/silica matrix and magnetic beads beating similarly worked out to have the highest (22-23 ng/${\mu}L$) concentration of DNA extracted, but employing SDS/proteinase K had the lowest (10 ng/${\mu}L$) concentration of DNA retrieved. There were no significant differences in the quantification of the copy numbers of lacZ gene between SYBR Green I qPCR and QProbe-qPCR. However, SYBR Green I qPCR obtained somewhat higher copy number as $1{\times}10^8$ copies. It was decided that GTC/silica matrix extraction or magnetic beads beating in combination with SYBR Green I qPCR can be preferably applied for more effectively quantifying specific gene from a pure culture of microorganism.

• 한국환경과학회지
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• 제18권12호
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• pp.1325-1330
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• 2009

The fumigant 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) was recently proposed as a direct replacement for methyl bromide ($CH_3Br$) in soil fumigation. This study was conducted to better understand behavior phase partitioning, diffusion and volatilization of 1,3-D as affected by isomer. The Henry's law constant(KH) of cis-1,3-D and trans-1,3-D was 0.058 and 0.037 at $20^{\circ}C$, respectively. $K_H$ of cis form of 1,3-D was higher than that of trans form of 1,3-D. To compare with volatilization of 1,3-D isomer, soil column [70 cm (length)${\times}$12 cm (i.d.)] included a shank injection at 30 cm with 300 kg $ha^{-1}$. Maximum cis-1,3-D and trans-1,3-D concentration reached 57 mg $L^{-1}$ and 39 mg $L^{-1}$ at 30 cm depth at 1h after application. Cumulatively, after 10 days, 51.8% and 43.57% of applied cis-1,3-D and trans-1,3-D was emitted via volatilization, respectively. The total losses of cis-1,3-D were significantly greater than that of trans-1,3-D. Finally, cis-1,3-D and trans-1,3-D, such as isomer are dominant of 1,3-D fates in soil.

• 한국대기환경학회지
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• 제21권5호
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• pp.481-494
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• 2005

The monitoring of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the atmosphere is a basis for the study of the fate of POPs in multimedia environments. Recently, passive air samplers (PASs) for POPs have been developed. In this paper, we deal with the principle, properties, and applications of the PAS. The principle of PAS, which has no pump, is physical sorption of semi-volatile organic chemicals on various sorbent materials. The PAS is much smaller than a high-volume air sampler and does not need electricity. These properties of the PAS make it possible to conduct various-scaled environmental monitoring all over the world including the Arctic and Antarctic, but the major disadvantage of PAS is its long sampling periods up to 2 years. To date, four kinds of PAS have been developed: polyurethane foam (PUF), polymer-coated glass (POG), semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs), and XAD resin-based PAS. Among them, SPMDs have been commercialized and are most widely used now. Meanwhile, the POPs emitted from China have a large potential to influence the levels and fates of POPs in Korea. Since characteristics of PAS are quite useful to monitor long-range transport of POPs, the use of PAS is highly recommended.

• 한국환경독성학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국환경독성학회 2003년도 춘계학술대회
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• pp.149-149
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• 2003

To understand environmental paths of the transport and accumulation of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), a single cell multimedia fate model has been constructed and evaluated. The EDCs of concern were PAHs, Organochlorine Pesticides (OCPs), PCBs, Alkyl phenols, and phthalates. An evaluation model was designed for the multimedia distribution, including air, water, soil, sediment and vegetation. This model was verified using reported values and via monitoring data. Based on collected data, the distribution trends of EDCs with respect to environmental media were analyzed. Those results have applied to the model for the prediction of the spatial and temporal distribution of EDCs in Seoul. Especially, phenol compound, phthalates, PAHs, PCBs and organochlorine pesticides were estimated and the model was verified. This model was successfully conducted to environmental media, such as air (vapor and suspended particles), soils (forest soil, bare soil, and cement-concrete covered soil), water (dissolved and suspended solids), sediment, trees (deciduous and coniferous). The discrepancies between the model prediction and the measured data are approximately within or near a factor of 10 for the PAHs of three rings through that of six rings, implying that multimedia distribution of the PAHs could be predicted with a factor of 10. Concerning about the air equilibrium may be assumed, a fugacity at steady state is similar in all environmental media. Considering the uncertainties of this model, the use of equilibrium models may be sufficient for assessing chemical fates. In this study, a suggestion was made that modeling and estimation of chemicals in environmental multimedia be rigorously evaluated using the measured flux data. In addition, these data should be obtained, for example, from the precise and standardized inventory of the target chemicals. The model (EDC Seoul) will be refined in an on-going research effort and will be used to support decision-making concerning the management of EDCs.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제39권5호
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• pp.391-407
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• 2013

Micropollutants emerge in surface water through untreated discharge from sewage and wastewater treatment plants (STPs and WWTPs). Most micropollutants resist the conventional systems in place at water treatment plants (WTPs) and survive the production of tap water. In particular, pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors (ECDs) are micropollutants frequently detected in drinking water. In this review, we summarized the distribution of micropollutants at WTPs and also scrutinized the effectiveness and mechanisms for their removal at each stage of drinking water production. Micropollutants demonstrated clear concentrations in the final effluents of WTPs. Although chronic exposure to micropollutants in drinking water has unclear adverse effects on humans, peer reviews have argued that continuous accumulation in water environments and inappropriate removal at WTPs has the potential to eventually affect human health. Among the available removal mechanisms for micropollutants at WTPs, coagulation alone is unlikely to eliminate the pollutants, but ionized compounds can be adsorbed to natural particles (e.g. clay and colloidal particles) and metal salts in coagulants. Hydrophobicities of micropollutants are a critical factor in adsorption removal using activated carbon. Disinfection can reduce contaminants through oxidation by disinfectants (e.g. ozone, chlorine and ultraviolet light), but unidentified toxic byproducts may result from such treatments. Overall, the persistence of micropollutants in a treatment system is based on the physico-chemical properties of chemicals and the operating conditions of the processes involved. Therefore, monitoring of WTPs and effective elimination process studies for pharmaceuticals and ECDs are required to control micropollutant contamination of drinking water.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• 제31권3호
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• pp.167-176
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• 2008

Atmospheric N deposition has far-reaching impacts on forest ecosystems, including on-site impacts such as soil acidification, fertilization, and nutrient imbalances, and off-site environmental impacts such as nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide emission. Although chronic N deposition has been believed to lead to forest N saturation, recent evidence suggests that N retention capacity, particularly in the forest floor, can be surprisingly high even under high N deposition. This review aims to provide an overview of N retention processes in the forest floor and the implications of changing C-N interactions for C sequestration. The fate of available N in forest soils has been explained by the competitive balance between tree roots, soil heterotrophs, and nitrifiers. However, high rates of N retention have been observed in numerous N addition experiments without noticeable increases in tree growth and soil respiration. Alternative hypotheses have been proposed to explain the gap between the input and loss of N in N-enriched, C-limited systems, including abiotic immobilization and mycorrhizal assimilation, both of which do not require additional C sources to incorporate N in soil N pools. Different fates of N in the forest floor have different implications for C sequestration. N-induced tree growth can enhance C accumulation in tree biomass as observed across temperate regions. C loss from forests can amount to or outweigh C gain in N-saturated, declining forests, while another type of 'C-N decoupling' can have positive or neutral effects on soil C sequestration through hampered organic matter decomposition or abiotic N immobilization, respectively.

• Advances in environmental research
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• 제1권1호
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• pp.15-35
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• 2012

Mercury (Hg) is a global environmental pollutant that has been the cause of many public concerns. One particular concern about Hg in aquatic systems is its trophic transfer and biomagnification in food chains. For example, the Hg concentration increases with the increase of food chain level. Fish at the top of food chain can accumulate high concentrations of Hg (especially the toxic form, methylmercury, MeHg), which is then transferred to humans through seafood consumption. Various biological and physiochemical conditions can significantly affect the bioaccumulation of Hg-including both its inorganic (Hg(II)) and organic (MeHg) forms-in fish. There have been numerous measurements of Hg concentrations in marine and freshwater fish worldwide. Many of these studies have attempted to identify the processes leading to variations of Hg concentrations in fish species from different habitats. The development of a biokinetic model over the past decade has helped improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the bioaccumulation processes of Hg in aquatic animals. In this review, I will discuss how the biokinetic modeling approach can be used to reveal the interesting biodynamics of Hg in fish, such as the trophic transfer and exposure route of Hg(II) and MeHg, as well as growth enrichment (the increases in Hg concentration with fish size) and biomass dilution (the decreases in Hg concentration with increasing phytoplankton biomass). I will also discuss the relevance of studying the subcellular fates of Hg to predict the Hg bioaccessibility and detoxification in fish. Future challenges will be to understand the inter- and intra-species differences in Hg accumulation and the management/mitigation of Hg pollution in both marine and freshwater fish based on our knowledge of Hg biodynamics.