• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.58 no.1
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• pp.65-74
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• 2015

X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) analysis using X-ray absorption spectroscopy is being applied as a state-of-the-art method in a wide range of disciplines. This review article summarizes the overall procedure of XAFS analysis from the preparation of soil samples to the analysis of data in X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) region and extended Xray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) region. The previous studies on application of XANES and EXAFS techniques in environmental soil science field are discussed and classified them according to metal(loid)s (As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn). A significant number of previous studies of XAFS application in the environmental soil science field have focused on the identification of Pb chemical species in soil. Moreover, XANES and EXAFS techniques have been widely used to investigate the contamination source via identification of metal species. Similarly, these techniques were applied to identify the mechanisms of metal stabilization in soil after application of various amendments, phytoremediation, etc.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.389-404
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• 2003

VOCs were detected in the 21 groundwaters out of 37 groundwaters sampled from around the Hanam Industrial Complex and the Gwangju stream. Ten components of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons of VOCs were detected in the 18 groundwater samples. Among them, total trihalomethanes (TTHM) concentration is in the range of $0.1~36.2{\;}\mu\textrm{g}/L$, CECs concentration is $2.3~190{\;}\mu\textrm{g}/L$, and chlorinated solvents concentration containing PCE, TCE, etc. is $0.1~124.2{\;}\mu\textrm{g}/L$ respectively. Ten components of the aromatic hydrocarbons of VOCs were detected in the 5 groundwater samples, but their concentration are less than $1{\;}\mu\textrm{g}/L$. Detection frequency and concentration of the chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons components from the groundwaters in the Hanam Industrial Complex are higher than those of nearby downtown Gwangju stream. VOCs components except for TCE are lower than the MCL of USGS drinking water standard. TCE concentration of the 2 groundwater samples is over MCL, whose concentrations are 5 and 25 times higher than MCL, respectively. TCE is detected from the H8 and H10 groundwater samples and CFCs is detected H8 and H11 groundwater samples in the Hanam Industrial Complex. TTHM in study area is estimated from leakage of the main waters or sewage waters. Because most of the studied groundwater is under an aerobic condition, aromatic hydrocarbons are well degraded. But chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons are degraded very slowly.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.23-34
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• 2017

As the electrical property of fully saturated soils is dependent on the pore water, it has been commonly used for the detection of the contamination into the ground. The objective of this study is to investigate the electrical characteristics according to the salinity and the lead concentration in fully saturated soils. Fresh water and saline water with the salinity of 1%, 2% and 3%, which are mixed with 6 different lead solutions with the range of 0~10 mg/L, are prepared in the cylindrical cell incorporated with sensors for measuring electrical resistance and time domain reflectometry signal. Then, the dried sands are water-pluviated into the cell. The electrical resistance and the time domain reflectometry signal are used to estimate the electrical conductivity. Test results show that electrical conductivity determined from electrical resistance at the frequency of 1 kHz continuously increases with an increase in the lead concentration, thus it may be used for the estimation of the contaminant level. In addition, the electrical conductivity estimated by the time domain reflectometry changes even at very low concentration of lead, the variation rate decreases as the lead concentration increases. Thus, the time domain reflectometry can be used for the investigation of the heavy metal leakage. This study demonstrates that complementary characteristics of electrical resistance and time domain reflectometry may be used for the detection of the leakage and contamination of heavy metal in coastal and marine environments.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.213-222
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• 2009

In order to investigate contamination of heavy metal in seawater and cultured oyster, samples were collected November 2003 to July 2004 from 12 sites (13 sites for seawater) along the coast of Tongyeong, Korea. The mean concentrations of metal in oyster tissues were as follows: 0.09 (0.01-0.3) ${\mu}g/l$ for Cd, 0.47 (0.01-1.4) ${\mu}g/l$ for Cr, 0.59 (0.2-2.3) ${\mu}g/l$ for Ni, 1.02 (0.1-4.2) ${\mu}g/l$ for Pb and 0.48 (0.01-3.9) ${\mu}g/l$ for Hg in the seawater, whereas 2.45 (0-5.47) mg/kgDW for Cd, 3.63 (0.10-12.91) mg/kgDW for Cr, 3.2 (0.01-15.73) mg/kgDW for Ni, 3.51 (0.01-6.47) mg/kgDW for Pb and 0.39 (0.004-0.74) mg/kgDW for Hg, respectively. Most metal concentration values were below the permissible range for the related regulations. Mean bioconcentration factors (BCF) for each metal were as follows: 38,964 (1,771-207, 171) for Cd, 9,583 (1,231-80, 162) for Cr, 191 (3-20, 980) for Ni, 1,416 (245-5, 207) for Pb and 180 (5-716) for Hg, respectively. The BCF values from this study corresponded to the transitional phase from the pristine to the contaminated waters. Notably, Cd showed the highest BCF, which suggest that the Pacific oyster could be utilized as a useful biomarker for Cd contamination in sea water. The multidimensional scaling analysis suggested that the metal contaminants are mainly originated from combustion of fossil fuel and accumulated to oyster through food web.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.171-184
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• 2016

In order to assess the level of contamination and identify the priority contaminants in the Busan coast, intensive sediment sampling was conducted and persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals were analyzed. The Sediment Quality Index (SQI) was derived based on the contaminant data by comparing with Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQGs) established in Korea, Canada, and Australia/New Zealand. Toxic contaminants were found to be widely distributed across the coast. Among organic contaminants, PAHs showed the highest concentration, followed by butyltins, nonylphenols, PBDEs, DDTs, PCBs, HCHs and CHLs. Heavy metals were also abundantly detected with the highest concentration of Zn followed by Cu > Cr > Pb > Ni > As > Cd > Hg. Compared to organic contaminants, most heavy metals, except for Cu and Hg, were homogeneously distributed along the coast in a good relationship with total organic carbon of sediment particles. In general, the concentrations of organic compounds and heavy metals were highest at the inner part of harbor areas with a tendency to decline from inside areas to the outside, indicating the high loading of pollutants from harbors. A high exceedance for low-SQGs and high-SQGs was found for TBT, p'-DDT, p,p'-DDD, Cu and Zn. The SQI scores calculated from low-SQGs and high-SQGs were in the range of 18-100 and 54-100, respectively. The inner part of Busan Harbor, Dadaepo Harbor, and Gamcheon Harbor were observed as being regions of concern. Overall, TBT, Cu, and p,p'-DDT were the chemicals most frequently exceeding SQGs and influencing SQI scores.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2018

Passive microwave sea surface temperatures (SST) were validated in the Northwest Pacific using a total of 102,294 collocated matchup data between Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) / GPM Microwave Sensor(GMI) data and oceanic in-situ temperature measurements from March 2014 to December 2016. A root-mean-square (RMS) error and a bias error of the GMI SST measurements were evaluated to $0.93^{\circ}C$ and $0.05^{\circ}C$, respectively. The SST differences between GMI and in-situ measurements were caused by various factors such as wind speed, columnar atmospheric water vapor, land contamination near coastline or islands. The GMI SSTs were found to be higher than the in-situ temperature measurements at low wind speed (<6 m/s) during the daytime. As the wind speed increased at night, SST errors showed positive bias. In addition, other factors, coming from atmospheric water vapor, sensitivity degradation at a low temperature range, and land contamination, also contributed to the errors. One of remarkable characteristics of the errors was their latitudinal dependence with large errors at high latitudes above $30^{\circ}N$. Seasonal characteristics revealed that the errors were most frequently observed in winter with a significant positive deviation. This implies that SST errors tend to be large under conditions of high wind speeds and low SSTs. Understanding of microwave SST errors in this study is anticipated to compensate less temporal capability of Infrared SSTs and to contribute to increase a satellite observation rate with time, especially in SST composite process.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.37 no.6 s.169
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• pp.613-629
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• 2004

Contamination of groundwater by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was investigated for 168 groundwater wells in Ulsan area to study the natural attenuation of organic compounds in the aquifers. As groundwater contamination by VOCs is closely related to land use, 168 groundwater samples were classified into 4 different groups; agricultural, forestry, industrial, and residential & business. From analysis 65 out of 168 groundwater samples contained more than one VOC. Analysis of samples were performed fir 36 halogenated aliphatic hydrocarbons and 25 petroleum hydrocarbons set up by NAWQA of US geological survey. Twelve petroleum hydrocarbons were detected in 26 groundwater wells, but their concentrations were less than 1.5 g/L except for MTBE. Twenty three chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons, composed of 11 methanes, 6 ethanes and 6 ethenes, were detected in 63 groundwater samples. The range of methanes concentration was $ND\~330\;/gL,\;ethanes\;ND\~84\;gL$, and PCE and their derivatives $ND\~62\;g/L$. As the study area was comprised of the aerobic/denitrification zones and $Fe^{+3}$ redox condition, most of petroleum hydrocarbons were degraded well, while halogenated hydrocarbons were slowly biodegradation.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.143-147
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• 2009

A survey of food preservatives, sulfur dioxide and microbial contamination levels was conducted on 73 seasoned dried fishes(41 squids, 17 filleted fish, 6 Alaska pollack, 9 others) collected from domestic markets and internet. Among preservatives, only sorbic acid was detected in 25 samples including 23 seasoned dried squids, 1 seasoned filleted fish and 1 seasoned dried Alaska pollack with a range $0.01{\sim}0.92g/kg$. Sulfur dioxide was detected from one sample(seasoned dried squid) and its content was 10.5 mg/kg. All samples were contaminated by total aerobic bacteria, and the degree was $3.00{\sim}6.45\;log_{10}$ CFU/g(average level was $5.09\;log_{10}$ CFU/g). Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp. and Staphylococcus aureus were not detected in all samples. On the basis of the results above, most of the seasoned dried fishes were appropriate for Korea food standard, yet biological hygiene control will be needed constantly.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.260-269
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• 2021

BACKGROUND: Diquat dibromide is a fast-acting nonselective herbicide and plant growth regulator. In this study, in order to understand the possibility of unintentional pesticide contamination in the following crops, the phytotoxicity and transition of diquat dibromide residue in soil into the following crops such as pepper, radish, lettuce and corn have been assessed through phytotoxicity trial and residual evaluation in the unintentional contamination of the higher residual diquat dibromide. METHODS AND RESULTS: The pepper, radish, lettuce and corn were cultivated in the sandy soil and loam soil where the 35 mg/kg and 90 mg/kg diquat dibromide were applied, respectively. Mild growth inhibition symptoms were observed in radish, lettuce and corn crops at the 90 mg/kg- diquat dibromide treatment on the 30 day of cultivation. Diquat dibromide was analyzed using liquid chromatography QTRAP (LC-MS/MS). The recovery rates of diquat dibromide from soil and crop were determined within range from 89.1 to 116.4% with relative standard deviation less than 14.7%. Diquat dibromide residues in soil were found to be 23.90-30.22 and 69.59-82.57 mg/kg from the 35 mg/kg and 90 mg/kg of diquat dibromide-treated soil, respectively after 30 days of crop cultivation. This result implicates that diquat dibromide did not convert to metabolites and remained mostly in the soil, even though it was partially decomposed during crop cultivation. In addition, the diquat dibromide in pepper and radish that were grown for 47 days, and lettuce and corn that were cultivated for 30 days were detected to be 0.01 mg/kg or less in the sandy loam and loam soil where the 90 mg/kg diquat dibromide was applied. CONCLUSION(S): Diquat dibromide did not cause severe phytotoxicity in the following crops as well as it did not uptake and distribute to the following crops, even though it was considered to be residual in the soil.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.259-266
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• 2015

Observed trends in climate change, globalization and an aging population have an effect on public health conditions in Korea, prompting a reevaluation of current environmental regulations. In this study, we evaluated the performance of the total coliform (TC) standard, which is the only microbiological standard in the current regulation regime for hot spring water, by estimating correlation with the presence/absence of Legionella, a non-fecal opportunistic pathogen with heat-tolerance. Microbiological data in 7 studies that surveyed Legionella in hot spring waters were subjected to meta-analyses with the odds ratio (OR) as the effect size. The presence/absence of Legionella was significantly correlated to TC levels [OR = 3.1(1.5–6.4, 95% CI), p = 0.002]. Due to there being no direct explanation as to the reason for the occurrence of TC, mesophilic fecal bacteria, being coupled with Legionella presence, the mechanism of the correlation between the two kinds of bacteria was further investigated. Legionella presence was more prevalent with a high heterotrophic plate count [HPC; 4.0(2.2–7.2); p < 0.001] and water temperature [4.3(1.4–13.6), p = 0.011] when the temperature range was <40℃. However, it was reverse-correlated with water temperature when the temperature was >50℃ [0.2(0.1–0.4), p < 0.001]. Therefore, bacterial standing crops in hot spring waters appear to be determined by water temperature in general, and this forces TC and Legionella levels be correlated. In accordance with this relationship, HPC rather than TC reflect the levels of non-fecal contamination better. Therefore, employing HPC as the sole microbiological standard, or adding HPC into the current standard of hot spring water assessment, is suggested as a proactive measure to prevent health issues arising from contamination.