• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.45-64
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• 2020

Objectives: Limited information is available on the presence and associated ecological risks of pharmaceutical residues in aquatic environments near pharmaceutical manufacturing areas in Korea. In this study, we investigated the current state of pharmaceutical contamination and its associated ecological risks in streams near a pharmaceutical manufacturing complex. Methods: Seven pharmaceuticals (acetaminophen, clarithromycin, diclofenac, diphenhydramine, ibuprofen, mefenamic acid and roxithromycin) were measured in water samples collected from the streams near a pharmaceutical manufacturing complex. A predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) was derived using either the assessment factor method or species sensitivity distribution method. In addition, a hazard quotient for each pharmaceutical was calculated by dividing its measured environmental concentration by its PNEC. Results: Samples collected downstream from the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) had higher concentrations of pharmaceuticals than those collected from the reference site (upstream). Moreover, pharmaceutical concentrations were greater in ambient water than in the final effluent from the WWTP, which suggested that non-point sources were contributing to the contamination of the ambient water environment. Some of the target pharmaceuticals exhibited a hazard quotient >1, indicating that their potential ecological effects on the aquatic environment near the pharmaceutical industrial area should not be ignored. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the pharmaceutical manufacturing area was contaminated with residual drugs, and that there was a possible non-point source near the WWTP effluent discharge area. The results of this study will aid in the development of management plans for pharmaceuticals, particularly in hotspots such as pharmaceutical industrial sites and their vicinities.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.237-244
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• 2019

Background: Street vendors spend relatively more time near roadways and are vulnerable to air pollution related health disorders. However, there is limited information on the quality of the air they breathe. The objectives of this present study were to calculate the mass concentration of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) in eight size fractions ($PM_{0.4-0.7}$, $PM_{0.7-1.1}$, $PM_{1.1-2.1}$, $PM_{2.1-3.3}$, $PM_{3.3-4.7}$, $PM_{4.7-5.8}$, $PM_{5.8-9.0}$, and $PM_{9.0--0{\mu}m}$) at commercial (CML) and residential site (RSL) in Dehradun city from November 2015 to May 2016. To estimate the corresponding respiratory deposition dose (RDDs) in alveolar (AL), tracheobronchial (TB), and head airway (HD) region on street vendors working at CML and RSL. To find the association of atmospheric PM with RDDs and the incidence of respiratory related disorders among street vendors. Methods: Andersen cascade impactor was employed for calculating the PM mass concentration. Questionnaire based health survey among street vendors were carried out through personal interview. Results: A significant difference (p < 0.05; t-test) between the mean $PM_{0.4-10{\mu}m}$ mass concentration at CML and RSL was observed with ($mean{\pm}SD$) $84.05{\pm}14.5$ and $77.23{\pm}11.7{\mu}g\;m^{-3}$, respectively. RDDs in AL, TB and HD region at CML was observed to be 9.9, 7.8, and 7.3% higher than at RSL, respectively. Health survey revealed 1.62, 0.96, 0.04, and 0.57 times higher incidence of cold, cough, breathlessness, and chest pain, respectively with street vendors at CML compared to RSL. Conclusion: The site characteristics plays a major role in the respiratory health status of street vendors at Dehradun.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.215-224
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• 2021

In this study, to investigate the effect of stabilization of Pb-contaminated soil near a smelter site for the reduction of environmental risk of Pb leaching, commercial stabilizers were amended with the Pb-contaminated soil and evaluated leaching characteristics of Pb in soil by TCLP and SPLP leaching test. Also, performing sequential extraction procedure speciation of Pb in the amended soil was investigated. Limestone, AC-2 (Amron), Metafix (Peroxychem) that possess stabilization performance towards heavy metal in soil and mass production is available were selected as candidates. AC-2 contained a CaCO₃ and MgO crystalline phase, while Metafix had a Fe₇S₈ crystalline phase, according to XRD studies. Pb content in SPLP extract was lower than the South Korean drinking water standard for Pb in groundwater at 4% AC-2 and Metafix treatment soil, and TCLP-based stabilization effectiveness was more than 90%. The findings of the sequential extraction method of soil treated with Metafix revealed that fractions 1 and 2 of Pb, which correspond to relatively high mobility and bioavailable fractions, were lowered, while the residual fraction (fraction 5) was raised. As a consequence, the order of performance for Pb stabilization in polluted soil was Metafix>AC-2>limestone.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.487-500
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• 2021

To evaluate the geochemical characteristics and assess the pollution in surface sediments of the Nakdong River estuary, two sites adjacent to the estuary bank (Hh1 and Hh2) and one site at the upper part of the estuary bank (Hh3) were investigated. The surface sediments were analyzed for their contents of metals (Cu, Pb, Ni, Cr, Zn, and Al), organic matter (IL, COD, TOC, and TN), and grain size from 2018 to 2020. As a result of the pollution assessment, there was little anthropogenic contamination by most of the metals. The surface sediments in Hh2 had comparatively abundant silt and clay, whereas the other sites were mainly composed of sand. The organic index and contents of organic matter were highest at Hh2. Multivariate statistical analyses (cluster analysis and Pearson correlation analysis) showed that the contents of organic matter and pollution were associated with fine sediment. These results suggest that the geochemical characteristics were changed by the estuary bank built in the research area and that the increase in fine sediment attributable to the low-energy environment resulted in an increase in organic matter pollution.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.243-249
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• 2013

Objectives: This study assessed the status of domestic industrial hygiene laboratories using data from on-site investigation for revision of quality control systems in 2012-2013. Methods: The target laboratories were 60 industrial hygiene laboratories chosen by random selection and nationwide distribution which had participated in on-site investigations for revision of quality control systems from March 2012 to August 2013. The investigation was performed on-site following standard quality control procedures. The score between each group was compared using Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests, and the correlation between analytical career, sex, academic major of analyst and score of analytical performance was expressed as Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. Results: The assessment revealed that the items to be improved, in sequence, were effort at staff training (score 65.5), ability to calculate data (score 73.4), establishment of internal quality control guidelines (score 75.7), laboratory facilities (score 77.1), degree of understanding and skill at gas chromatography (score 77.1). Analysis performance showed a positive correlation with career of analyst (r=0.56, p<0.01). Conclusions: The practice of on-site investigation for quality control systems showed the current status of industrial hygiene laboratories in the first trial. There were many laboratories which needed improvement and development of analytical systems. This assessment can provide information for the systematic operation and improvement of facilities at each laboratory. Further practice of this investigation will lead to a proficiency testing and accreditation system for autonomous quality control as is the practice in many countries, rather than mandatory practice by legal regulation.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.36-44
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• 2013

The objectives of this study were to identify the characteristics of shallow groundwater from the oil-contaminated site for a long period and to evaluate the applicability of biopile technology to treat the soil excavated from it. The eight monitoring wells were installed in the contaminated site and pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP), Temperature and the concentrations of major ions and pollutants were measured. The VOCs in soil gas were monitored during biopile operation and TPH concentration was analyzed at the termination of the experiment. The pH was 6.62 considered subacid and EC was 886.19 ${\mu}S/cm$. DO was measured to be 2.06 mg/L showing the similar characteristic of deep groundwater. ORP was 119.02 mV indicating oxidation state. The temperature of groundwater was measured to be $16.97^{\circ}C$. The piper diagram showed that groundwater was classified as Ca-$HCO_3$ type considered deep groundwater. The ground water concentration for TPH, Benzene, Toluene, Xylene of the first round was slightly higher than that of the second round. The concentration of carbon dioxide of soil gas was increased to 1.3% and the concentration of VOCs was completely eliminated after the 40 days. The TPH concentration showed 98% remediation efficiency after the 90 days biopile operation.

• Journal of Korean Society for Geospatial Information Science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.75-83
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• 2016

There are various types of disasters now, and accordingly it is practically difficult to manage all types of disasters effectively. If we are able to reconstruct the disaster event and investigate the cause, it may be possible to prepare the recurrence of similar patterns of disasters. The vehicle-based system equipped with state-of-the-art sensors has been proposed in order to reconstruct the disaster site as much as possible and help the disaster investigator to analyze the cause of the disaster by providing high-quality information. However, the data quality obtained from the sensors can be lowered due to unpredictable circumstances of disaster site. In this aspect it is essential to provide practical procedures that assess and analyze the performance of the equipment on site. In this paper, we selected critical elements of performance that can evaluate the vehicle-based image acquisition system, since it is the most critical piece of information in the disaster sites. The quality of the images obtained from vehicle-based image system was analyzed and verified on the test site. From the results of spatial resolution based on GRD(Ground Resolved Distance), we were able to identify maximum 5mm of spatial resolution at a distance of 70m distance. The result of field test is expected to be used for data acquisition plan in future disaster situations.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.311-316
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• 2008

It is needed to assess the impact of the road traffic noise for city planning. In Korea, the current noise impact assessment h3s not yet considered the impacts of the multiple reflection, the deflection and the ground attenuation caused by buildings and other obstacles. A noise map is useful tool to solve this problems. But before everything else, suitability of noise map must be assessed for variety of geometry conditions. In this study, we assessed suitability of road traffic noise map by compared measured noise levels with predicted noise levels from each road traffic noise map for Site A, B and C.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.87-101
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• 2010

This research has a significance on providing basic material of landscape ecological planning and open space planning of the future site by selecting Sinseo innovative city area, large residential land development district in rural area, by classifying biotope types and implementing recreational value assessment in the level of area. First of all, as a result of classification of biotope types in research site, total 11 biotope type groups including stream biotope and its subordinate 51 biotope types. Also, as a result of the first value assessment of classified biotopes, there are total 5 types such as vegetation-full natural river, fallow ground in I grade. In addition, it is analyzed that grade II have 18 types, III are 10, IV are 12, the least valuable V are 6. Especially, grassland biotope(GD) was classified into grade II, which is one grade raised, because it is analyzed that it has high value in terms of normal access and availability although it was assessed as grade ill in terms of natural experience quality. Lastly, as a result of the second assessment, special areas for natural experience and recreation(1a, 1b) are 15, areas for natural experience and recreation(2a, 2b, 2c) are 47. Especially, the 52th drawing mark space was grade II in the first assessment but its value grade was upgraded because of its high value in terms of use evidence, size of the area, accessibility with housing area, history and cultural character and so on.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.395-404
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• 2022

Purpose: Small-scale construction sites have insufficient systematic safety management activities, and due to the characteristics of the construction site, the production structure is complex due to external environmental factors, and the risk of construction equipment is very high. We would like to propose a checklist method among practical risk assessment techniques that can derive risk factors for disaster prevention at small construction sites and reduce disasters. Method: Risk factors were derived by analyzing literature research and disaster cases, and detailed work for a checklist of risk assessment suitable for small-scale construction sites was classified based on risk factor items. Result: Hazard factors were divided into 6 major categories, and 29 detailed types of work were classified based on actual work types, and 80 detailed works were classified accordingly. Conclusion: By arranging risk factors suitable for small-scale construction sites according to the classification system, the lack of expertise in the construction site can be supplemented, and risk factors can be derived more easily and disaster reduction can be expected through establishment of safety measures.