• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.654-661
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• 2019

This study assessed the stabilization of fluorine (F)-contaminated soil using calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)₂) and the consequent changes in human health risk. The bioavailable F decreased to 3.5%, (i.e., 57.9 ± 1.27 mg/kg in 6% Ca(OH)₂-treated soil sample) from 43.0%, (i.e., 711 ± 23.4 mg/kg in control soil sample). This resulted from the conversion of water-soluble F to stable calcium fluoride, which was confirmed by XRD spectrometry. Soil ingestion, inhalation of fugitive dust from soil, and water ingestion were selected as exposure pathways for human health risk assessment. Non-carcinogenic risks of F in soils reduced to less than 1.0 after stabilization, ranging from 4.2 to 0.34 for child and from 3.0 to 0.25 for adult. Contaminated water ingestion owing to the leaching of F from soil to groundwater was considered as a major exposure pathway. The risks through soil ingestion and inhalation of fugitive dust from soil were insignificant both before and after stabilization, although F concentration exceeded the Korean soil regulatory level before stabilization. Our data suggested that substantial risk to human health owing to various potential exposure pathways could be addressed by managing F present in soil.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.221-227
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• 2013

A risk assessment of environmental media was performed for the inhabitants in the area of the abandoned Nokdong metal mine. Soil, groundwater, and crop samples were collected from September to October 2008 around the mine. After pretreatment of these samples, metal concentrations were measured, and a risk assessment was performed using the Korean soil-contamination risk assessment guidelines. Lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) intake rates were the highest for inhalation of soil dust. The cancer risks from ingestion of As-contaminated groundwater, inhalation of As-, Cd-, and Pb-contaminated soils, and contact of As-contaminated soils exceeded the acceptable risk. The sum of all carcinogenic risks was $9.29{\times}10^{-3}$. The non-carcinogenic risk was highest for ingestion of As-contaminated water (11.0), followed, in descending order, by inhalation of Hg-contaminated soil and ingestion of Pb-contaminated water. Most of the risks were associated with As, Cd, Pb, and Hg contamination, and therefore, these metals were considered to be potential toxic carcinogens and non-carcinogens for humans in this area. In this study, the non-carcinogenic risks of ingestion of contaminated water or crops, as well as those associated with the inhalation of soil dust were observed.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.181-188
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• 2004

The contaminative influence of beef due to the inhalation of air and the ingestion of soil of livestock, both of which are dealt with as minor contaminative pathways in most radioecological models but may not be neglected, was comprehensively investigated with the improvement of the Korean food chain model DYNACON. As the results, it was found that both pathways can not be neglected at all in the contamination of beef in the case of an accidental release during the non-grazing period of livestock. The ingestion of soil was more influential in the contamination of beef than the inhalation of air over most time following an release. If precipitation is encountered during an accidental release, contaminative influence due to the ingestion of soil was far greater compared with the cases of no precipitation. This fact was more distinct for a long-lived radionuclide $^{l37}Cs$ than a short-lived radionuclide $^{131}I$ (elemental iodine). Compared with the results for milk performed prior to this study, the contaminative pathways due to the inhalation of air and the ingestion of soil were more important in beef because of longer biological half-lives. On the other hand, in the case of an accidental release during the grazing period of livestock, radioactive contamination due to the ingestion of pasture was dominant irrespective of the existence of precipitation during an accidental release. It means that contaminative influence due to the inhalation of air and the ingestion of soil is negligible, like the cases of milk.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.8-14
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• 2019

Background: Management of an agricultural food product system following a nuclear accident is indispensable for reducing radiation exposure due to ingestion of contaminated food. The present study analyzes the effect of agricultural countermeasures on ingestion dose following a nuclear accident. Materials and Methods: Agricultural countermeasures suitable for domestic farming environments were selected by referring to the countermeasures applied after the Fukushima accident in Japan. The avertable ingestion doses that could be obtained by implementing the selected countermeasures were calculated using the Korean Agricultural Countermeasure Analysis Program (K-ACAP) to investigate the efficiency of each countermeasure. Results and Discussion: Of the selected countermeasures, the management of crops was effective when radionuclide deposition occurred during the growing season of plants. Treatment by soil additive and topsoil removal was effective when deposition occurred during the nongrowing season of plants. The disposal of milk was not effective owing to the small contribution of milk to the overall ingestion dose. Clean feeding of livestock was effective when deposition occurred during the growing season of fodder plants such as pasture and rice-straw. Finally, the effect of food restriction increased with the soil deposition density of radionuclide. The practical effect of countermeasures was very small when the avertable ingestion dose was absolutely low. Conclusion: The agricultural countermeasures selected to reduce the radionuclide ingestion dose after a nuclear accident must be made appropriate by considering the accident situation, such as the soil deposition density of the radionuclide and the deposition date in relation to farming cycles.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.38-47
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• 2011

This study focused on health risk assessment via multi-routes of As exposure to establish a target cleanup level (TCL) in abandoned mines. Soil, ground water, and rice samples were collected near ten abandoned mines in November 2009. The As contaminations measured in all samples were used for determining the probabilistic health risk by Monte-Carlo simulation techniques. The human exposure to As compound was attributed to ground water ingestion. Cancer risk probability (R) via ground water and rice intake exceeded the acceptable risk range of $10^{-6}{\sim}10^{-4}$ in all selected mines. In particular, the MB mine showed the higher R value than other mines. The non-carcinogenic effects, estimated by comparing the average As exposure with corresponding reference dose were determined by hazard quotient (HQ) values, which were less than 1.0 via ground water and rice intake in SD, NS, and MB mines. This implied that the non-carcinogenic toxic effects, due to this exposure pathway had a greater possibility to occur than those in other mines. Besides, hazard index (HI) values, representing overall toxic effects by summed the HQ values were also greater than 1.0 in SD, NS, JA, and IA mines. This revealed that non-carcinogenic toxic effects were generally occurred. The As contaminants in all selected mines exceeded the TCL values for target cancer risk ($10^{-6}$) through ground water ingestion and rice intake. However, the As level in soil was greater than TCL value for target cancer risk via inadvertent soil ingestion pathway, except for KK mine. In TCL values for target hazard quotient (THQ), the As contaminants in soil did not exceed such TCL value. On the contrary, the As levels in ground water and polished rice in SD, NS, IA, and MB mines were also beyond the TCL values via ground water and rice intake. This study concluded that the health risks through ground water and rice intake were greater than those though soil inadvertent ingestion and dermal contact. In addition, it suggests that the abandoned mines to exceed the risk-based TCL values are carefully necessary to monitor for soil remediation.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.299-309
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• 2003

In an accidental release of radioactive materials to the environment the contaminative influence of animal products due to the inhalation of air and the ingestion of soil of livestock, both of which are dealt with as minor contaminative pathways in most radioecological models but may not be neglected, was investigated with the improvement of the Korean dynamic food chain model DYNACON Although mathematical models for both contaminative pathways have been established for considering all animal products and incorporated into the model, investigation was limited to milk. As a result, it was found that both pathways are influential in the contamination of milk in the case of an accidental release during the non-grazing period of dairy cows. In the case of an accidental release during the non-grazing period, the inhalation of air was more influential than the ingestion of soil in the early days following an accidental release. While, it was the opposite with the lapse of time. If precipitation is encountered during an accidental release, contaminative influence due to the ingestion of soil was greater compared with the cases of no precipitation, in general, because of a stealer deposition of radionuclides onto the ground. Precipitation during an accidental release was a less influential factor in $^{131}I$ (elemental iodine) contamination compared with the $^{137}Cs\;and\;^{90}Sr$ contaminations. In the case of an accidental release during the grazing period of dairy cows, the contaminative influence due to the inhalation of air was negligible.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.12-29
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• 2011

Risk-based screening levels (RBSLs) of some pollutants for residential adults were derived with risk assessment tools developed by United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), and Korea Ministry of Environment (KMOE) and compared each other. To make the comparison simple, ingestion of soil, dermal contact with soil, outdoor inhalation of vapors, indoor inhalation of vapors, and inhalation of soil particulates were chosen as exposure pathways. The results showed that the derived RBSLs varied for every exposure pathway. For direct exposure pathways (i.e., ingestion of soil and dermal contact with soil), the derived RBSLs varied mainly due to the different default values for exposure factors and toxicity data. When identical default values for the parameters were used, the same RBSLs could be derived regardless of the assessment tools used. For inhalation of vapors and inhalation of soil particulates, however, different analysis methods for cross-media transfer rates were used and different assumptions were established for each tool, identical RBSLs could not be obtained even if the same default values for exposure factors were used. Especially for inhalation of soil particulates pathway, screening level derived using KMOE approach (most conservative) was approximately 5000~10000 times lower than the screening level derived using ASTM approach (least conservative). Our results suggest that, when deriving RBSL using a specific tool, it is a prerequisite to technically review the analysis methods for cross-media transfer rates as well as to understand how the assessment tool derives the default values for exposure factors.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.15-23
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• 1992

Transport behaviors of Cs-137 and Sr-90 were analyzed and ingestion doses were calculated using dynamic model for rice field-rice-man pathway. Cs-137 binding strongly to soil remain longer in rice field than Sr-90. Foliar deposition on rice plant during growing period is the main contamination mechanism.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.1460-1467
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• 2023

A robust approach was conducted to determining the absolute oral bioavailable (f_ab) fractions of ²³⁸U and ²³²Th in rats exposed to contaminated soil along with their hematotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. The soil sample is the International Atomic Energy Agency-312 (IAEA-312) certified reference material, whereas blood, bones, and kidneys of in vivo female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats estimate ²³⁸U- and ²³²Th-f_ab fractions post-exposure. We predict the bioavailable concentration (C_ab) and f_ab values of ²³⁸U and ²³²Th after acute soil ingestion. The blood ²³⁸U (0.750%) and ²³²Th (0.028%) reach their maximum f_ab values after 48 h. The ²³⁸U (f_ab: 0.169-0.652%) accumulates mostly in the kidney, whereas the ²³²Th (f_ab: 0.004-0.021%) accumulates primarily in the bone. Additionally, ²³⁸U is more bioavailable than ²³²Th. Post 48 h acute ingestion demonstrates noticeable histopathological and hematological alterations, implying that intake of ²³⁸U in co-contaminated soil can lead to erythrocytes and proximal tubules damage, whereas, ²³²Th intake can harm erythrocytes. Our study provides new directions for future research into the health implications of acute oral exposures to ²³⁸U and ²³²Th in co-contaminated soils. The findings offer significant insight into the utilization of in vivo SD rat testing to estimate ²³⁸U and ²³²Th bioavailability and toxicity in exposure assessment.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.444.2-444.2
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• 2003