• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.1-7
• /
• 2020

As of 2018, Steel slag was generated approximately 24.23 million tons. Howeve, except blast furnace slag, steel slag is a typical by-product which does not have a clearly defined purpose in recycling. Thus, countries around the world are putting great efforts into developing a purpose for the recycling of steel slag. The vast habitat foundation of marine life has been destroyed due to recent reckless marine development and environment pollution, resulting in intensification of the decline of marine resources, and a solution to this issue is imperative. In order to propose a method to recycle large amounts of by-product slag into a material that can serve as an alternative to natural aggregate, the engineering properties and applicability for each mixing factor of environment friendly porous concrete as a material for the composition of seawater purification were in this study. Regarding the nutrient elution properties, it was clear that the nutrients continuously flowed out up to an immersion time by 8 months in natural seawater; the nitrogenous fertilizer displayed excellent elution properties in this regard.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Urban Environment
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.455-463
• /
• 2018

This study was carried out to assess the distribution and pollution level of organic matters and nutrients in surface sediments of the Yeongsan River Basin. The surface sediments were collected from the mainstream (12) and tributaries sites (4) for two years from 2015 to 2016, and the particle sizes, organic matters (Ignition Loss, COD, TOC) and nutrients (TN, TP, SRP) were analyzed. The distribution of particle sizes was dominated by sand in the upstream sites (MS1-MS7) and by silt loam in the downstream sites (MS8-MS12), but MS3 and MS6, located slightly upstream of the two weirs, were found to be mostly loamy sand and silt loam, respectively. As a results of the correlation assessment, the organic matters (IL, COD, TOC) were strongly correlated with particle sizes, while the nutrients (TP, SRP) were weak except for TN. The concentrations of organic matter and nutrient were higher at the downstream and the sites nearby the two weirs (MS3, MS6). In particular, the TP concentration at the MS3 site sampled in the second half period of the years was higher than that in the first half periods. Comparing of sediments criteria, the organic matters and nutrients were evaluated to have almost no toxic effects at all sites.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.76-82
• /
• 2019

BACKGROUND: For sustainable agriculture, there are various agricultural practices including low input. Over the last few decades high input of chemical fertilizer and compounds results in environmental pollution and deterioration of soil fertility. Soybean (Glycine max L.) is well known eco-friendly crop due to their symbionts. Soybean has a relationship with nitrogen fixation bacteria called rhizobia. In this research work, we investigated effects of soybean cultivation on soil microorganism activities. METHODS AND RESULTS: Experiments were conducted in pots and potato cultivation was used as reference. Soil chemical properties were analyzed considering soil nutrient over cropping period. For the soil microbial community analysis, dehydrogenase activity analysis (DHA) analyzed along with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. The results showed that higher soil organic matter in the soybean cultivation soil than in the potato cultivation soil. Available $P_2O_5$ concentration increased gradually in both pots but showed higher value in the potato cultivation soil. DHA value implying microbial activities showed higher value in the soybean cultivation soil over all cropping period. CONCLUSION: The cause of high microbial activity in the soybean cultivation soil was considered to the effects of some specific microorganisms related to soybean cultivation. Therefore, the availability of soybean cultivation for sustainable agriculture should be encouraged in terms of microorganism community activity in soil.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.391-405
• /
• 2020

Leaching chracteristics of Andong-dam sediment was conducted for heavy metal and nutrients. Five mixed sediment samples were prepared and leaching was conducted under aerobic and anaerobic condition for 60 days. Cd, Cu, Pb, Cr, Zn, Hg, As, Fe, Mn, phosphorus, and nitrogen were analyzed at each sampling time. The leaching rate of phosphorus was higher in anaerobic condition comparing with that of under aerobic condition. Some samples showed higher than the water-quality level IV. In case of As and Cd which showed highest contamination level in the sediment, leached concentration were 0.028 mg/L and 0.003 mg/L in maximum, respectively. The leached concentration is below than the lake water quality standard of Korea. Other heavy metals including Cu, Pb, and Cr also showed similar trend. Five step sequential extraction showed that easily extractable 1-2 step portion such as ion-exchangeable and adsorbed one was less than 10% and the most of the portion was residual. For As and Cd, the residual portion were 80% and 95% respectively indicating the risk by the heavy metal leaching into the lake for a short period was not high in comparing with the contamination levels.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
• /
• v.55 no.8
• /
• pp.577-588
• /
• 2022

This study aims to identify the limiting nutrient for algal growth in the Geum River and the significant pollutant sources from the tributaries affecting the water quality and to provide a management alternative for an improvement of water quality. An eight-year of daily data (2013~2020) were collected from the Water Environment Information System (water.nier.go.kr) and Water Resources Management Information System (wamis.go.kr). 14 water quality variables were analyzed at five water quality monitoring stations in the Geum River (WQ1-WQ5). In the Geum River, the water quality variables, especially Chl-a vary greatly in downstream of the river. In the open weir gate operation, TP (total phosphorus) and water temperature greatly influence the growth of algae in downstream of the river. A correlation analysis was used to identify the relationship between variables and investigate the factor affecting algal growth in the Geum River. At the downstream station (WQ5), TP and Temp have shown a strong correlation with Chl-a, indicating they significantly influence the algal bloom. The principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to identify and prioritize the major pollutant sources of the two major tributaries of the river, Gab-cheon and Miho-cheon. PCA identifies three major pollutant sources for Gab-cheon and Miho-cheon, respectively. For Gab-cheon, wastewater treatment plant, urban, and agricultural pollutions pollution are identified as significant pollutant sources. For Miho-cheon, agricultural, urban, and forest land are identified as major pollutant sources. PCA seems to be effective in identifying water pollutant sources for the Geum River and its tributaries in detail and thus can be used to develop water quality management strategies.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.112-122
• /
• 2023

To restore the ecological function of contaminated soil and maximize the ecological services provided by the soil, besides the toxicity orrisk caused by pollutants, the functional aspects of the soil ecosystem should be considered. In this study, a method for evaluating the health of cleaned soil was presented, and the applicability of the proposed evaluation method was examined by applying it to soil treated with washing and landfarming. Productivity, habitat, water retention capacity, nutrient cycling, carbon retention capacity, and buffering capacity were used as soil health evaluation indicators. The results showed that the soil health was not completely recovered after remediation, and even in the case of the washed soil, the health was lower than before remediation. On the other hand, there was no significant change in soil quality due to oil pollution, but soil health deteriorated. Unlike the slightly improved soil quality after landfarming treatment, soil health was not completely restored. Therefore, the results of this study indicate that it is desirable to consider both soil quality and health when evaluating the remediation effect. The soil health evaluation method proposed in this study can be usefully utilized for the sustainable use of cleaned soil and to promote ecosystem services.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.204-212
• /
• 2005

Recognition has emerged that nutrient inputs from the submarine discharge of fresh, brackish, and marine groundwaters into the coastal ocean are comparable to the inputs via river discharge. The coastal areas of the Korea peninsula and adjacent seas exhibit particular importance in the role of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD), in terms of the magnitude of SGD and associated continental material fluxes. For example, in the southern sea of Korea, SGD transports excess nutrients into the coastal regions and thus appears to influence ecosystem changes such as the outbreak of red tides. Around volcanic island, Jeju, which is composed of high permeability rocks, the amount of SGD is higher by orders of magnitude relative to the eastern coast of North America where extensive SGD studies have been conducted. In particular, nutrient discharge through SGD exerts a significant control on coastal ecosystem changes and results in benthic eutrophication in semi-enclosed Bang-du bay, Jeju. In the entire area of the Yellow Sea, tile submarine discharge of brackish groundwater and associated nutrients are found to rival the river discharges into the Yellow Sea, including those through Yangtze River, Han River, etc. In the eastern coast of the Korea peninsula, SGD is significantly higher during summer than winter due to high hydraulic gradients and due to wide distribution of high permeability sandy zones, faults, and fractures. On the other hand, in the estuarine water, downstream construction of the dam in the Nakdong River, SGD was highest when the river discharge was lowest (but water level of the dam was highest). This suggests that even though there is no visible freshwater discharge into this estuary, the discharge of chemical species is significant through SGD. On the basis of the results obtained from the coastal areas of the Korea peninsula, SGD is considered to be an important pathway of continental contaminants influencing tidal-flat ecosystems, red tides, and coral ecology. Thus, future costal management should pay great attention to the impact of SGD on coastal pollution and eutrophication.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.43 no.5
• /
• pp.578-583
• /
• 2010

Acid rain and its problem to environment such as acid precipitation and environmental problems related to the air pollution in East Asia has been emerging. To evaluate the acidity and chemical characteristics of rainwater precipitated in western Korea, Suwon and Taean, its pH and ion concentrations were investigated during farming season (April to November) in 2009. Also, ion composition and cation-affected neutralization were determined to evaluate the contribution of cations on the acidity of rainwater. Ion and electrical conductivity between the measured and the estimated showed high correlation. The $Na^+$ in rainwater was the main cation followed by ${NH_4}^+>Ca^{2+}>H^+>Mg^{2+}>K^+$. Sum of $Na^+$ and ${NH_4}^+$ contents was over 65% of total cations contents. In the case of anions, the concentration was in order of ${SO_4}^{2-}>{NO_3}^->Cl^-$. The ${SO_4}^{2-}$ among anions in rainwater composed about 61%, which showed on average 130.2 ${\mu}eq\;L^{-1}$ and 121.3 ${\mu}eq\;L^{-1}$ during monitoring at Suwon and Taean, respectively. Also, 89.6 and 88.6% of soluble sulfate in rainwater at Suwon and Taean area was NSS-${SO_4}^{2-}$ (Non-Sea Salt sulfate). Especially, ${NH_4}^+$ and $Ca^{2+}$ contributed greatly in neutralizing the acid rain in dry season. Total nitrogen content flowed into soil from rain was around 1~2 kg $ha^{-1}$ in each month, but in July at Suwon, it reached 6 kg $ha^{-1}$ due to heavy rain (over 7.3 mm).

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.36-46
• /
• 2015

Integration of crop-livestock farming has been a problem-solving mode for abatement of environmental pollution and recovery of resources in recent years. The objectives of this study were 1) to suggest the customized integration of crop-livestock farming model reflecting the regional characteristics through in-depth analysis of case study and 2) to analyze the livestock nutrients flow in terms of three primary elements as nitrogen(N), phosphorous(P), and potassium(K). The personal interview and survey were carried out in 2012 for a total of 161 farms from four different regions(NS, NW, JJ, YC) in South Korea. The mass balance analysis was used to suggest and evaluate the models for two sites(JJ and YC). The results showed that NS and NW sites produced relatively more livestock manure than the sites of YC and JJ because of the regional differences in livestock numbers and urbanization. The models were suggested for the site JJ and site YC, and 'two track model(energy and resource recovery)' and 'dispersal type model' were assigned respectively. For the nutrient flows, the releasing P and K with new models had increased up to 7%, while N release had decreased down to 15% in both YC and JJ sites compared to the present treatment system. Estimated value showed that there was oversupply of N (719 ton/yr) and $P_2O_5$ (1,269 ton/yr) in YC and deficiency of N (671 ton/yr) and excessive $P_2O_5$ (32 ton/yr) in JJ respectively. Therefore, P runoff has to be considered an eutrophication occurs in rural small stream when an integration of crop-livestock farm system is applied into both sites.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.249-256
• /
• 2009

The amount of nutrients from the effluents of rice culture - free-range ducks (RCFD) paddy fields and the effects of natural wetlands located at downstream of RCFD on water quality and aquatic plants was evaluated. This was carried out in a 61.9 ha paddy fields in Ulsan, Gyeongnam, where downstream is a 5.9 ha natural wetland, 61% of which was covered with well-developed aquatic plants. The amounts of T-N and T-P in the effluent from paddy field with RCFD were 13.7 and $2.5kg\;ha^{-1}$, respectively, which is 1.2~2.5 times higher than those observed in conventional rice culture practice. The amount of runoff from the RCFD area, calculated using the revised TANK model, was $543mm\;ha^{-1}$ with 808 kg of T-N and 130 kg of T-P during rice cultivation period. The dominant aquatic plants in the wetland includes Phragmites communis, Zizania latifolia, Persicaria thunbergii. etc. The nutrient contents of the aquatic plants which amounted to 761 kg of T-N and 103 kg of T-P were almost equivalent to 94% and 79% of the T-N and T-P in RCFD and CRC effluent. Therefore, the use and maintenance of wetlands in RCFDs area could be a good solution to management the non-point pollution from duck feces in RCFD paddy fields.