• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.167-174
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• 2004

Several metalliferous and coal mines, including Myungjin, Seojin and Okdong located at the upper watershed of Okdong stream, were abandoned or closed since 1988 due to the mining industry promotion policy and thus disposed an enormous amount of mining wastes without a proper treatment facilities, resulting in water pollution in the downstream areas. AMD and waste effluents from the closed coal mines were very strongly acidic showing pH ranges of 2.7 to 4.5 and had a high level of total dissolved solid (TDS) showing the ranges of 1,030 to 1,947 mg/L. Also heavy metal concentrations in these samples such as Fe, Cu, Cd and anion such as sulfate were very high. These parameters of AMD and effluents were considered to be highly polluted as compared to those in the main stream area of the Okdong river and be major pollutants for water and soil in tile downstream area. Pollution indices of the surface water at the upper stream of Okdong river where AMD of the abandoned coal mines was flowed into main stream were in the ranges of 16.3 to 47.1. On the other hand, those at the mid stream where effluents from tailing dams and coal mines flowed into main stream were in tile ranges of 10.6 to 19.5. However, those at the lower stream were ranged from 10.6 to 14.9 These results indicated that mining wastes such as AMD and effluents from the closed mines were tile major source to water pollution at the Okdong stream areas.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.900-903
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• 2012

Cadmium is known to be very toxic to human health and can be relative easily translocated from soils in plants. Therefore, a rapid method for screening Cd in soils and crops has become more and more important. For this reason, we examined a rapid immunochromatograpy (ICG) test kit which uses antigen-antibody reaction based on immunoassay and chromatography. Soils and rice grains collected from mine waste-contaminated sites were determined for their Cd contents using this kit. For comparison purposes, 0.1 M HCl and ICP-OES were employed as a conventional extraction and determination method. Cadmium contents in rice grains determined using ICG technique were $0.46{\sim}2.39mg\;kg^{-1}$ and Cd contents determined using 0.1 M HCl and ICP-OES were $0.52{\sim}1.97mg\;kg^{-1}$. The correlation between these two Cd contents were statistically significant ($r^2$=0.930). The results of Cd contents in soils also showed a statistically significant relationship between these two methods ($r^2$=0.975). On the basis of these results, ICG technique can be applied to rapidly quantify Cd in crops and soils. However, further research is necessary to apply ICG technique for the field screening.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.205-213
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• 2010

A hydrochemical comparative study of groundwater in uraniferous sedimentary rock of the Ogcheon belt was carried out to investigate the genetic relationship between uraniferous groundwater of Daejeon area and uraniferous sedimentary rocks of the Ogcheon zone. The groundwater shows weak alkaline pH values rangingfrom 6.4 to 8.1 and low Eh values ranging from -50 to 225 mV. The groundwaters to Ca-$HCO_3$ type that shows high concentration of $Ca^{2+}$ and $HCO_3^_$ due to the dissolution of carbonate mineral in limestone. The concentration of uranium in the groundwater was measured very low below $3.2{\mu}g/L$, while it was detected as much as $1165{\mu}g/L$ in the mine waste water. The low Eh value of groundwater is one of the main causes of low uranium concentration of groundwater in uraniferous sedimentary rocks in the Ogcheon belt. It is suggested that the uranium of groundwater in granitic region of Daejeon area was not mainly provided from uraniferous sedimentary rocks in the Ogcheon belt.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.252-257
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• 1994

A new hydrogen sulfide-oxidation bacterium, Thiobacillus sp. was isolated from waste coal mine water around Hawsun in Chunnam province. The isolate was motile gram-negative rod shape, formed spore and grew up to be aerobically facultative chemolithotroph by using energy released from the oxidation of reduced inorganic sulfur compounds. It could assimilate various kinds of organic compounds and grew well upon thiosulfate-supplemented basal medium. To the lelvel of 32 mM in thiosulfate concentration, thiosulfate in itself was utilized as energy source for growth. However, from those of the higher concentration than 32 mM, thiosulfate functioned specifically as the substrate inhibitor rather than as the energy source. It was found that the optimum thiosulfate concentration for growth was 32 mM. The G+C content of the DNA was 65.0 mol%. The isolate had 16 : 1 + 17$_{cyc}$, 16 : 0 as their major non-hydroxylated cellular fatty acids, 3-OH 12 : 0 as a hydroxylated fatty acid and also contained unidentified $C_{18}$ branched fatty acid. The ubiquinone system in the respiratory chain was Q-9. Based on the physiological and biochemical characteristics, the isolate was assigned to a novel species of the genus Thiobacillus sp. iw.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2011

Arsenic is one of the most abundant contaminant found in waste mine tailings and soil around refinery, Because of its carcinogenic property, the countries like United States of America and Europe have made stringent regulations which govern the concentration of arsenic in soil. The study focuses on solidification/stabilization for removal of arsenic from soil. Cement was used to solidify/stabilize the abandoned soil primarily contaminated with arsenic (up to 68.92 mg/kg) in and around refinery. Solidified/stabilized (s/s) forms in the range of cement contents 5-30 wt % were evaluated to determine the optimal binder content. Revised Korean standard leaching tests (KSLT), toxicity characteristic leaching procedures (TCLP), Old Korea standard leaching test and revised Korea standard leaching test were used for chemical characterization of the S/S forms. The addition of 10 % cement remarkably reduced the leachability of arsenic in contaminated soil. The concentration of As in leachate of TCLP, KSLT, and old KSLT for soil are below the standard. However that in leachate of revised KSLT is above the standard. Because of extraction fluid used in revised KSLT is very strong acid. It is arsenic in s/s with binder should be exhaustingly leached. Therefore S/S process would not be available for As treatment in soil in Korea.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.1476-1484
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• 2023

Laboratory experiments and point monitoring of reservoir sediments have proven that stable sulfate reduction (SSR) can lower the concentrations of toxic metals and sulfate in acidic groundwater for a long time. Here, we hypothesize that SSR occurred during in situ leaching after uranium mining, which can impact the fate of acid groundwater in an entire region. To test this, we applied a sulfur isotope fractionation method to analyze the mechanism for natural attenuation of contaminated groundwater produced by acid in situ leaching of uranium (Xinjiang, China). The results showed that δ³⁴S increased over time after the cessation of uranium mining, and natural attenuation caused considerable, area-scale immobilization of sulfur corresponding to retention levels of 5.3%-48.3% while simultaneously decreasing the concentration of uranium. Isotopic evidence for SSR in the area, together with evidence for changes of pollutant concentrations, suggest that area-scale SSR is most likely also important at other acid mining sites for uranium, where retention of acid groundwater may be strengthened through natural attenuation. To recapitulate, the sulfur isotope fractionation method constitutes a relatively accurate tool for quantification of spatiotemporal trends for groundwater during migration and transformation resulting from acid in situ leaching of uranium in northern China.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.23-31
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• 2014

In this study, the method to measure effectively the ground surface displacement of slope was proposed using the Laser Distance Measurer (LDM). Applying the proposed technique is more simple and easier than the complicated and high-priced instrument to measure the ground surface displacement. LDM is an instrument that the red laser aimed at the target and then the reflected laser used for calculating the distance. The advantages of LDM are easy operating method, high measurement precision and lower in price. To check the feasibility, the proposed method applied to the real site that the ground surface displacement of slope was occurred continuously. The ground surface displacements were occurred in various points of the natural and cut slopes located at the lower part of coal mine waste heap due to the load of waste heap. To measure directly the ground surface displacement in this site, 6 measurement sections and 26 measurement points were selected. As the result of the displacement measured by the proposed technique within a certain period time, the accumulative ground surface displacement could be measured as well as the velocity of displacement could be estimated. Also, the progress direction of ground surface displacement can be confirmed and predicted through the analysis of all measured result.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.109-121
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• 2010

The bioleaching experiment under $42^{\circ}C$ was effectively carried out to leach the more valuable element ions from the pyrite in the Gangyang mine waste. Bacteria can survive at this temperature, as indigenous acidophilic bacteria were collected in the Hatchobaru acidic hot spring, in Japan. To enhance the bacterial activity, yeast extract was added to the pyrite-leaching medium. The indigenous acidophilic bacteria appeared to be rod-shaped in the growth-medium which contained elemental sulfur and yeast extract. The rod-shaped bacteria ($0.7\times2.6\;{\mu}m$, $0.6\times7\;{\mu}m$, $0.8\times5\;{\mu}m$ and $0.7\times8.4\;{\mu}m$) were attached to the pyrite surface. The colonies of the rod-shaped bacteria were selectively attached to the surroundings of a hexagonal cavity and the inner wall of the hexagonal cavity, which developed on a pyrite surface. Filament-shaped bacteria ranging from $4.92\;{\mu}m$ to $10.0\;{\mu}m$ in length were subsequently attached to the surrounding cracks and inner wall of the cracks on the pyrite surface. In the XRD analysis, the intensity of (111), (311), (222) and (320) plane on the bacteria pyrite sample relatively decreased in plane on the control pyrite sample, whereas the intensity of (200), (210) and (211) increased in these samples. The microbiological leaching content of Fe ions was found to be 3.4 times higher than that of the chemical leaching content. As for the Zn, microbiological leaching content, it was 2 times higher than the chemical leaching content. The results of XRD analysis for the bioleaching of pyrite indicated that the indigenous acidophilic bacteria are selectively attacked on the pyrite specific plane. It is expected that the more valuable element ions can be leached out from the mine waste, if the temperature is increased in future bioleaching experiments.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.290-298
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• 2021

This study was conducted to evaluate the possibility of applying phytoremediation technology by investigating soil and native plants in waste coal landfills exposed to heavy metal contamination for a long period of time. The ability of native plants to accumulate heavy metals using greenhouse cultivation experiments was alse evaluated. Plants were investigated at an abandoned coal mine in Hwajeolyeong, Jeongseon, Gangwon-do. Two species of native plants (Carex breviculmis. R. B. and Salix koriyanagi Kimura ex Goerz.) located in the study area and three Korean native plants (Artemisia japonica Thunb. Hemerocallis hakuunensis Nakai., and Saussurea pulchella (Fisch.) Fisch.) were cultivated in a greenhouse for 12 weeks in artificially contaminated soil. Soils contaminated with arsenic and lead were generated with arsenic concentration gradients of 25, 62.5, 125, and 250 mg kg^-1 and lead concentration gradients of 200, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg kg^-1, respectively. Results showed that none of the five plants could survive at high arsenic concentration treatment (125 and 250 mg kg^-1) and some plants died in 2000 mg kg^-1 lead concentration treatment soil. The plant translocation factor (TF) was highest in H. hakuunensis in arsenic treatments, and A. japonica in lead treatments, respectively. The bioaccumulation factor (BF) of plants was more than 1 in all species in arsenic treatment, whereas it was highest in H. hakuunensis. BF for all species was less than 1 in lead treatment. Particularly, in 2000 mg kg^-1 concentration lead treatment, A. japonica accumulated more than 1000 mg kg^-1 lead and was expected to be a lead hyperaccumulator. In conclusion, A. japonica and H. hakuunensis were excellent in the accumulation of arsenic heavy metals, and S. koriyanagi was excellent in lead accumulation ability. Therefore, the above mentioned three plants are considered to be strong contenders for application of the phytoremediation technology.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.320-327
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• 2011

In this study, for stemming effect in blast of the mortar block body, the crushed granite sand as fine aggregate, which is waste rock obtained at the ○○ limestone mine, was investigated to compare with stemming materials such as sea sand, river sand, clayed soil and water can be acquired easily at the field. The mortar block body was manufactured with the dimensions of 50 cm width, 50 cm length and 70 cm height. The direct shear and sieve separator test were performed, and the properties of friction resistance were analyzed by the extrusion test for five stemming materials. Axial strain of steel bar and ejection velocity of stemming materials due to the explosive shock pressure in blasthole with the stemming length of 10 cm and 20 cm in the mortar blast test were measured by the dynamic data acquisition system. Among stemming materials, axial strain showed the largest value at the crushed granite sand as fine aggregate, and the ejection velocity was the smallest value at the stemming of water. The results has shown correlate with harden unit weight in blasthole, particle size distribution, shear resistance, and extrusion strength of stemming materials. The ejection velocity of stemming material at the mouth of blasthole and the axial strain of steel bar in the inside of blasthole tend to be inversely proportional to each other, represent exponentially.