• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.43-49
• /
• 1993

Concentrations of sulfate and 6-values of sulfate, $({\delta}^{34}SO_4_){pw}$, dissolved In pore waters were measured from the sediment cores of the two different marine environments : deep northeast Pacific (57-1) and coastal Kyunggi Bay of Yellow Sea (57-2) . Sulfate concentration in pore waters decreases with depth at both cores, reflecting sulfate reduction in the sediment columns. However, much higher gradient of pore water sulfate at 57-2 than 57-1 indicates more rapid sulfate reduction at 57-2, because of high sedimentation rate at the coastal area compared to the deep-sea. The measured 6-values, $({\delta}^{34}SO_4_){pw}$, follow extremely well the predicted trend of the Rayleigh fractionation equation. The range of 26.756 to 61.35% at the coastal core 57-2 is not so great as that of 32.4$\textperthousand$ to 97.8$\textperthousand$ at the deep-sea core 57-1. Despite greater graclient of pore water sulfate at 57-2, the 6-values become lower than those of the deep- sea core 57-1. This inverse relation between the 6-values and the gradients of pore water sulfate could be explained by the combination of the two subsequent factors : the kinetic effect by which the residual pore water sulfate becomes progressively enriched with respect to the heavy isotope of $^{34}S$ as sulfate reduction proceeds, and the intrinsic formulation effect of the Rayleigh fractionation equation in which the greater becomes the fractionation factor, the more diminished values of $({\delta}^{34}SO_4_){pw}$ are predicted.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.33 no.5
• /
• pp.480-496
• /
• 2017

CMAQ (Community Multiscale Air Quality)-HDDM (High-order Direct Decoupled Method) simulations with MICS-Asia 2010 and INTEX-B 2006 emissions inventories were performed to investigate the impact of Chinese $NO_x$ and VOC emissions on 1-hr ozone concentrations over South Korea during May to July in 2014. Chinese $NO_x$ and VOC emissions in MICS-Asia 2010 were 60% higher and 100% lower than those in INTEX-B 2006 during the simulation period. It makes the ratio of Chinese VOC to $NO_x$ emissions in INTEX-B 2006 (Case 1) is 3.2 times higher than that in MICS-Asia 2010 (Case 2). When the observed period mean 1-hr ozone concentration averaged across 106 air monitoring sites in the SMA (Seoul Metropolitan Area) was 37.6 ppb, the modeled values were similar to each other; 37.3 ppb for Case 1, and 40.4 ppb for Case 2. Both cases show that daily maximum 1-hr ZOC (Zero-Out Contribution) of Chinese $NO_x$ and VOC emissions were as high as 55 ppb and 35 ppb for the episode respectively. Correlation coefficients between ZOC of Chinese $NO_x$ and VOC emissions and the SMA daily maximum 1-hr ozone were 0.49~0.69. It indicates that Chinese emissions occasionally affect the SMA daily ozone peaks. On the other hand, Case 2 predicted 7 ppb and 1 ppb higher ZOC of Chinese $NO_x$ and VOC emissions than Case 1, when simulated ozone in the SMA is over 80 ppb. It implies that upwind $NO_x$ emissions would be more important than upwind VOC emissions for the long-range transport of ozone in Northeast Asia.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.34 no.9
• /
• pp.597-603
• /
• 2012

To investigate the effects of weir construction on sediment characteristics of river bed, we conducted sediments sampling on the 9 locations near the weir, Kangchun, Yuju and Ipo in Namhan-River. Physical and chemical characteristics of sediments were analyzed by measuring particle size distribution, water content, Ignition loss, COD (Chemical Oxyzen Demand), TOC (Total Organic Carbon), TP (Total Phosphorus), SRP (Soluble Reactive Phosphorus) and TN (Total Nitrogen). Particle classification of all three weir sediments showed sandy loam that was caused by the river bed dredging. Due to the presence of weir, Ignition loss, COD, TOC, TP, SRP and TN showed similar trend such as the concentrations of upward weir had higher than those of downward weir. For the case of SRP concentration and C/N ratio, however, there is not much difference in the sediment characteristics compared to the those of sediments before weir construction. Therefore, It can be predicted that there are little effects of weir construction on sediment characteristics. However, weir construction could influence water quality of the river by controlling the transport and the accumulation of suspended materials from rainfall. Therefore, more intensive monitoring is required to examine the magnitude and patterns of sediment accumulation which could influence overlying water quality.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.56 no.4
• /
• pp.479-495
• /
• 2018

This study was carried out to research the multimedia fate modeling, concentration distribution and impact assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) emitted from automobiles, which are known as carcinogenic and mutation chemicals. The amount of emissions of PAHs was determined based on the census data of automobiles at a target S-city and emission factors of PAHs, where multimedia fugacity modeling was conducted by the restriction of PAHs transfer between air-soil at the impervious area. PAHs' Concentrations and their distributions at several environmental media were predicted by multimedia fugacity model (level III). The residual amounts and the distributions of PAHs through mass transfer of PAHs between environment media were used to assess the health risk of PAHs at unsteady state (level IV), where the sensitivity analyses of the model parameter of each variable were conducted based on Monte Carlo simulation. The experimental result at S-city showed that Fluoranthene among PAHs substances are the highest residual concentrations (60%, 53%, 32% and 34%) at all mediums (atmospheric, water, soil, sediment), respectively, where most of the PAHs were highly accumulated in the sediment media (more than 80%). A result of PAHs concentration changes in S-city over the past 34 years identified that PAHs emissions from all environmental media increased from 1983 to 2005 and decreased until 2016, where the emission of heavy-duty vehicle including truck revealed the largest contribution to the automotive emissions of PAHs at all environment media. The PAHs concentrations in soil and water for the last 34 years showed the less value than the legal standards of PAHs, but the PAHs in air exceeded the air quality standards from 1996 to 2016. The result of this study is expected to contribute the effective management and monitoring of toxic chemicals of PAHs at various environment media of Metropolitan city.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.308-315
• /
• 2006

Since sewage characteristics are the most important factors that can affect the biological reactions in wastewater treatment plants, a detailed understanding on the characteristics and on-line measurement techniques of the influent sewage would play an important role in determining the appropriate control strategies. In this study, samples were taken at two hour intervals during 51 days from $1^{st}$ October to $21^{st}$ November 2005 from the influent gate of sewage treatment plant. Then the characteristics of sewage were investigated. It was found that the daily values of flow rate and concentrations of sewage components showed a defined profile. The highest and lowest peak values were observed during $11:00{\sim}13:00$ hours and $05:00{\sim}07:00$ hours, respectively. Also, it was shown that the concentrations of sewage components were strongly correlated with the absorbance measured at 300 nm of UV. Therefore, the objective of the paper is to develop on-line estimation technique of the concentration of each component in the sewage using accumulated profiles of sewage, absorbance, and flow rate which can be measured in real time. As a first step, regression analysis was performed using the absorbance and component concentration data. Then a neural network trained with the input of influent flow rate, absorbance, and inflow duration was used. Both methods showed remarkable accuracy in predicting the resulting concentrations of the individual components of the sewage. In case of using the neural network, the predicted value md of the measurement were 19.3 and 14.4 for TSS, 26.7 and 25.1 for TCOD, 5.4 and 4.1 for TN, and for TP, 0.45 to 0.39, respectively.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 2014

Coastal water including estuaries has distinctive environmental characteristics where sediments are transported and deposited by flowing river water, providing an environment in which fluid mud layers can be formed. Acoustic method is mostly used to detect or monitor the fluid mud layer. However, since sound propagating in this layer suffers severe attenuation, it is important to estimate the accurate attenuation coefficient for various concentrations of fluid mud layer for the successful use of the acoustic method. In this paper, measurement results of attenuation coefficient for 3.5, 5, and 7.5 MHz ultrasounds were presented. The measurements were made in a small-size water tank in which suspended sediment samples with various sediment concentrations were formed using kaolinite powder. The results were compared to the model predictions obtained by attenuation coefficient model in which the mean grain size (called as Mass-median-diameter, D50) was used as input parameter. There were reasonable agreements between measured attenuation coefficients and model outputs predicted using the particle range of D50 ${\pm}20%$. The comparison results imply that although the suspended sediments consist of various-sized particles, sound attenuation might be greatly influenced by amount of particle with a size which has a larger attenuation than that of any particle in the suspended sediments for the frequency used.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
• /
• v.35 no.5
• /
• pp.343-349
• /
• 2010

Rapid on-site sensing of nitrate-nitrogen and potassium ions in hydroponic solution would increase the efficiency of nutrient use for greenhouse crops cultivated in closed hydroponic systems while reducing the potential for environmental pollution in water and soil. Ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) are a promising approach because of their small size, rapid response, and the ability to directly measure the analyte. The capabilities of the ISEs for sensing nitrate and potassium in hydroponic solution can be affected by the presence of other ions such as calcium, magnesium, sulfate, sodium, and chloride in the solution itself. This study was conducted to investigate the applicability of two ISEs consisting of TDDA-NPOE and valinomycin-DOS PVC membranes for quantitative determinations of $NO_3$-N and K in hydroponic solution. Nine hydroponic solutions were prepared by diluting highly concentrated paprika hydroponic solution to provide a concentration range of 3 to 400 mg/L for $NO_3$-N and K. Two of the calibration curves relating membrane response and nutrient concentration provided coefficients of determination ($R^2$) > 0.98 and standard errors of calibration (SEC) of < 3.79 mV. The use of the direct potentiometry method, in conjunction with an one-point EMF compensation technique, was feasible for measuring $NO_3$-N and K in paprika hydroponic solution due to almost 1:1 relationships and high coefficients of determination ($R^2$ > 0.97) between the levels of $NO_3$-N and K obtained with the ion-selective electrodes and standard instruments. However, even though there were strong linear relationships ($R^2$ > 0.94) between the $NO_3$-N and K concentrations determined by the Gran's plot-based multiple standard addition method and by standard instruments, hydroponic $NO_3$-N concentrations measured with the ISEs, on average, were about 10% higher than those obtained with the automated analyzer whereas the K ISE predicted about 59% lower K than did the ICP spectrometer, probably due to no compensation for a difference between actual and expected concentrations of standard solutions directly prepared.

• Toxicological Research
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.205-213
• /
• 1990

The regulation of neurotoxicants has usually been based upon setting reference doses by dividing a no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) by uncertainty factors that theoretically account for interspecies and intraspecies extraploation of experimental results in animals to humans. Recently, we have proposed a four-step alternative procedure which provides quantitative estimates of risk as a function of dose. The first step is to establish a mathematical relationship between a biological effect or biomarker and the dose of chemical administered. The second step is to determine the distribution (variability) of individual measurements of biological effects or their biomarkers about the dose response curve. The third step is to define an adverse or abnormal level of a biological effect or biomarker in an untreated population. The fourth and final step is to combine the information from the first three steps to estimate the risk (proportion of individuals exceeding on adverse or abnormal level of a biological effect or biomarker) as a function of dose. The primary purpose of this report is to enhance the certainty of the first step of this procedure by improving our understanding of the relationship between a biomarker and dose of administered chemical. Several factors which need to be considered include: 1) the pharmacokinetics of the parent chemical, 2) the target tissue concentrations of the parent chemical or its bioactivated proximate toxicant, 3) the uptake kinetics of the parent chemical or metabolite into the target cell(s) and/or membrane interactions, and 4) the interaction of the chemical or metabolite with presumed receptor site(s). Because these theoretical factors each contain a saturable step due to definitive amounts of required enzyme, reuptake or receptor site(s), a nonlinear, saturable dose-response curve would be predicted. In order to exemplify this process, effects of the neurotoxicant, methlenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), were reviewed and analyzed. Our results and those of others indicate that: 1) peak concentrations of MDMA and metabolites are ochieved in rat brain by 30 min and are negligible by 24 hr, 2) a metabolite of MDMA is probably responsible for its neurotoxic effects, and 3) pretreatment with monoamine uptake blockers prevents MDMA neurotoxicity. When data generated from rats administerde MDMA were plotted as bilolgical effect (decreases in hippocampal serotonin concentrations) versus dose, a saturation curve best described the observed relationship. These results support the hypothesis that at least one saturable step is involved in MDMA neurotoxicity. We conclude that the mathematical relationship between biological effect and dose of MDMA, the first step of our quantitative neurotoxicity risk assessment procedure, should reflect this biological model information generated from the whole of the dose-response curve.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.49 no.6
• /
• pp.362-371
• /
• 2023

Background: PM_2.5 pollution has been a persistent problem in South Korea, with concentrations consistently exceeding World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The aging of the population in the country further exacerbates the health impacts of PM_2.5 since older adults are more susceptible to the adverse effects of air pollution. Objectives: This study aims to evaluate how the health impact (premature death) due to long-term exposure to PM_2.5 in South Korea could change in the future according to the trend of change in the country's population structure. Methods: The study employs a relative risk function, which accounts for age-specific relative risks, to assess the changes in premature deaths by age and region at the average annual PM_2.5 concentration for 2022 and at PM_2.5 concentration improvement levels. Premature deaths were estimated using the Global Exposure Mortality Model (GEMM). Results: The findings indicate that the increase in premature deaths resulting from the projected population structure changes up to 2050 would significantly outweigh the health benefits (reduction in premature deaths) compared to 2012. This is primarily attributed to the rising number of premature deaths among the elderly due to population aging. Furthermore, the study suggests that the effectiveness of the current domestic PM_2.5 standard would be halved by 2050 due to the increasing impact of population aging on PM_2.5-related mortality. Conclusions: The study highlights the importance of considering trends in population structure when evaluating the health benefits of air pollution reduction measures. By comparing and evaluating the health benefits in reflection of changes in population structure to the predicted PM_2.5 concentration improvements at the provincial level, a more comprehensive assessment of regional air quality management strategies can be achieved.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.44 no.2
• /
• pp.135-152
• /
• 2011

Nitrate concentrations in springs at the southern slope of Jeju Island were predicted using multiple linear regression (MLR) of spatial variables including hydrogeological parameters and land use characteristics. Springs showed wide range of nitrate concentrations from <0.02 to 86 mg/L with a mean of 20 mg/L. Spatial variables were generated for the circular buffer when the optimal buffer radius was assigned as 400 m. Selected regression models were tested using the p values and Durbin-Watson statistics. Explanatory variables were selected using the adjusted $R^2$, Cp (total squared error) and AIC (Akaike's Information Criterion), and significance. In addition, mutual linear relations between variables were also considered. Small portion of springs, usually <10% of total samples, were identified as outliers indicating limitations of MLR using circular buffers. Adjusted $R^2$ of the proposed models was improved from 0.75 to 0.87 when outliers were eliminated. In particular, the areal proportion of natural area had the greatest influence on the nitrate concentrations in springs. Among anthropogenic land uses, the influence of nitrate contamination is diminishing in the following order of orchard, residential area, and dry farmland. It is apparent quality of springs in the study area is likely to be controlled by land uses instead of hydrogeological parameters. Most of all, it is worth highlighting that the contamination susceptibility of springs is highly sensitive to nearby land uses, in particular, orchard.