• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.12 no.2 s.31
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• pp.49-56
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• 2006

The application of domestic wastewater on rice paddies results in the accumulation of sodium(Na$^+$) to the soil. Excessive concentration of sodium may cause the deterioration of the physical characteristics of the soil, change in the osmosis of the soil, destruction of soil aggregates as well as ion toxicity due to sodium accumulation. Using domestic wastewater as irrigation water should be preceded by measures to prevent or control the soil salinization caused by sodium. Agricultural reuse of domestic wastewater were found not to cause serious problems with food safety due to heavy metals. However, pre-treatment using ultraviolet or ozone is recommended to reduce the number of bacteria and gem and for public health reasons. Using domestic wastewater has shown that reducing the standard application of chemical fertilizers by as much as 50% reduced the harvesting index by only 10%. This study has shown that it is feasible to reuse domestic wastewater on rice paddies. In order to facilitate the application, it is deemed necessary to establish wastewater treatment technologies in the future, to review criteria for recycling domestic wastewater for agricultural purposes such as conditions of soil and cropping system and to resolve conflicts with farmers and public health issues.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.548-554
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• 2016

Optimal range of soil physical quality to enhance crop productivity or to improve environmental health is still in dispute for the upland soil. We hypothesized that the optimal range might be established by comparing soil physical parameters and their interactions inhibiting crop growth. The parameter identifying optimal range covered favorable conditions of aeration, permeability and root extension. To establish soil physical standard two experiments were conducted as follows; 1) investigating interactions of bulk density and aeration porosity in the laboratory test and 2) determining effects of soil compaction and deep & conventional tillage on physical properties and crop growth in the field test. The crops were Perilla frutescens, Zea mays L., Solanum tuberosum L. and Secale cereael. The saturated hydraulic conductivity, bulk density from the root depth, root growth and stem length were obtained. Higher bulk density showed lower aeration porosity and hydraulic conductivity, and finer texture had lower threshold bulk density at 10% aeration bulk density. Reduced crop growth by subsoil compaction was higher in silt clay loam compared to other textures. Loam soil had better physical improvement in deep rotary tillage plot. Combined with results of the present studies, the soil physical quality was possibly assessed by bulk density index. Threshold subsoil bulk density as the upper value were $1.55Mg\;m^{-3}$ in sandy loam, $1.50Mg\;m^{-3}$ in loam and $1.45Mg\;m^{-3}$ in silty clay loam for optimal soil physical quality in upland.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.348-355
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• 2017

Human activities have resulted in soil pollution problems to us. Human and ecological risk assessment have been suggested as an efficient environmental management strategy for protecting human and ecosystems from soil pollution. However, Korean environmental policy is currently focused on human protection, and fundamental researches for ecology protection are required for institutional frameworks. In this study, we developed a schematic frame of Korean soil ecological risk assessment, and suggested the basic information for its application. This study suggested a soil ecological risk assessment scheme consisting of 4 steps for derivation of Predicted-No-Effect-Concentration (PNEC): 1) ecotoxicity data collection and reliability determination, 2) data standardization, 3) evaluation of data completeness for PNEC calculation, and 4) determination of ecological-risk. The reliability determination of ecotoxicity data was performed using Reliability Index (RI), and the classification of domestic species, acute/chronic, toxicity endpoint, and soil properties was used for data cataloging. The PNEC calculation methodology was determined as low-reliability, middle-reliability, and high-reliability according to their quantitative and qualitative levels of ecotoxicity data. This study would be the introductory plan research for establishment of Korean soil ecological risk assessment, and it can be a fundamental framework to further develop guidelines of Korean environmental regulation.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.79-94
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• 2016

In order to evaluate the contamination and health risk, levels of six hazardous elements i.e., Cr, Ni, Cu, As, Cd and Pb in soils of 12 different land-uses were measured. The average concentration of Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, As and Cd in soils were 267, 239, 206, 195, 58 and 16 mg/kg, respectively. Levels of each metal exceeded the environmental action level for soils, which could pose significant risk to human. The metal concentrations were subsequently used to establish hazard indices (for adults and children) where the 5th and 95th percentile values were used to derive the hazard index through different exposure pathways (ingestion, dermal contact and inhalation). Considering the total exposure through each of the three pathways, the hazard index elucidates that there was a potency of non-cancer risk at most of the sites for both the adults and children. The findings of this study suggested that different land-use soils were severely contaminated with hazardous elements and attention is needed on the potential health risks to the exposed inhabitants.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.1653-1660
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• 2016

Drought is a reoccurring worldwide natural hazard that affects not only food production but also economics, health, and infrastructure. Drought monitoring is usually performed with precipitation-based indices without consideration of the actual state and amount of the land surface properties. A drought index based on the actual evapotranspiration can overcome these shortcomings. The severity of a drought can be quantified by making a spatial map. The procedure for estimating actual evapotranspiration is costly and complicated, and requires land surface information. The possibility of utilizing drone-driven remotely sensed data for actual evapotranspiration estimation was analyzed in this study. A drone collected data was used to calculate the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and soil-adjusted vegetation index (SAVI). The spatial resolution was 10 m with a grid of $404{\times}395$. The collected data were applied and parameterized to an actual evapotranspiration estimation. The result shows that drone-based data is useful for estimating actual evapotranspiration and the corresponding drought indices.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.456-464
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• 2010

Recently, heavy metals contamination of the agricultural soil and crops surrounding mining areas has been identified as one of the most serious environmental problems in South Korea. The Ministry of the Environment in Korea conducted a Preliminary National Environmental Health Survey (PNEHS) in abandoned metal mines in 2007. The priority for a subsequent detailed examination was ranked from the results of PNEHS. The studied mine which was ranked as being of the highest priority is located in the midwestern part of Korea and was operated from 1911 to 1985. In this study, the contamination levels of the heavy metals in the abandoned metal mine were investigated. From the results, the average daily dose (ADD), target hazard quotient (THQ) and target cancer risk of the heavy metals were evaluated. The concentration of arsenic (As) in all of the tailings from the mine was higher than its countermeasure standard of Korea. In particular, the highest concentration of As, 330 mg/kg, was up to 15 times higher than its countermeasure standard. The average concentration of As in agricultural soils was higher than the warning standard of Korea, and higher than its countermeasure standard at six sites. The average concentrations of the analyzed heavy metals in agricultural soil were below the warning standard, but concentrations of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) at 4 sites were higher than its warning standard. The average concentration of As in surface water exceeded the warning standard of Korea. The value of the THQ of As for the tailings was higher than the health protection standard 1. The value of THQ of As for the farmlands was lower than the standard, while the hazard index (HI) of As was higher than the standard. The value of target cancer risk (TCR) of As, $6.44{\times}10^{-4}$, were higher than the health protection standard of a lifetime risk for TCR at $1{\times}10^{-6}$. This suggests that the residents around the metal mines are exposed to As pollution with a carcinogenic risk.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.239-243
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• 2001

One of the most important justifications of conservation of ecosystem and biodiversity is that diversity begets stability. Impact of biodiversity on community and ecosystem function has long been debated in science. Here we report the stability analysis of soil oribatid mite communities from environmentally stressed habitat(Namsan) and relatively well preserved habitat (Kwangreung) with the perspective of consistency as a primary criteria of stability. Stability of oribatid mite communities were evaluated with turnover rate, constancy analysis, b diversity index, and absolute abundance, abundance ranking, and the presence or absence of species over time. Out of 6 criteria, three consented that oribatid community from Kwangreung was more stable than that from Namsan. Those are turnover rate in litter layer, constancy analysis, and absolute abundance. Feasibility of stability analysis using oribatid mites was further discussed, rendering further study.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.1289-1296
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• 2020

The estimation of radioactivity level is vital for population health risk assessment and geological point of view and can be evaluated as rate of exhalation and source concentration (²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K). The present study deals with the soil samples for investigation of radionuclides content and exhalation rates of radon -thoron gas from different sites in northern Haryana, India. Absorbed dose and associated index estimated in the present study are the measures of environmental radioactivity to inhalation dose. Effective doses received by different tissues and organs by considering different occupancy and conditions are also measured. Exhalation rates of radon and thoron are measured with active scintillation monitors based on alpha spectroscopy namely scintillation radon (SRM) and thoron (STM) monitors respectively. Sample height was optimized before measurement of thoron exhalation rate using STM. Average values of radon and thoron exhalation are found 16.6 ± 0.7 mBqkg^-1h^-1 and 132.1 ± 2.6 mBqm^-2s^-1 respectively. Also, a simple approach was also adopted, to evaluate the thoron exhalation which accomplished a lot of challenges, the results are compared with the data obtained experimentally. The study is useful in the nationwide mapping of radon and thoron exhalation rates for understanding the environmental radioactivity status.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.626-634
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• 2005

The objectives of this study was to assess pollution level and contamination status on tailings and soil in the vicinity of four disused metal mines in Kangwon province. As the result of total metal concentrations analysis, the pollution degree of tailings and soil decreased in the order of Wondong > Second Yeonhwa > Sinyemi ${\fallingdotseq}$ Sangdong mines. Total metal concentrations of mine tailings in this study were $1.2{\sim}78.2$ and $1.1{\sim}80.6$ times higher than those in the background soil and the tolerable levels suggested by Kloke, respectively. From these results, we found that tailings served as contamination source of nearby soil. According to sequential extraction of metals, large proportion of heavy metals in all mine tailings existed in the form of a residual fraction, and heavy metals in non-residual form was mainly associated with Fe-Mn oxide fraction and sulfidic-organic fraction. Fe-Mn oxide fraction and sulfidic-organic fraction of heavy metals may be released into and contaminated the nearby environment under the oxidation or reduction condition in long-term. In particular, the proportions of the exchangeable and carbonate fraction of Cd in mine tailings from Second Yeonhwa mine were relatively high. This suggests that Cd may be easily released into and contaminated the nearby environment in the near time. Concentrations of heavy metals in mine tailings and the nearby soil exceeded the standard (agricultural area) of Soil Environment Conservation Law. So it was thought that remediation for mine tailings and the nearby soil is needed. The pollution indices of the samples in this study were for higher than 1.0 and the pollution degree was very serious. Priority remediation site for these mines was Wondong. As Results of danger indices, it was showed that exchangeable form in Wondong and Fe-Mn oxide form in the rest mines should be removed preferentially.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.153-160
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• 1993

Health complaints among vinylhouse workers in Sungjoo county, Kyungpook province led to the investigation of heavy metal levels of air, soil and humans as well as physical conditions of the vinylhouse. The average temperature and humidity inside the vinylhouse were 8 higher and 10% point lower, respectively, as compared to the outside. While discomfort index(D. I.) outside was pleasant level(69.2), D. I. inside was 82 at which point 100% of people feels discomfort. Cadmium concentration of soils inside the vinylhouse(0.116 mg/kg) was 1.8 times higher than the soils outside. Arsenic concentration of soils inside the vinylhouse(4.882 mg/kg) was only slightly higher than the soils outside(4.182 ng/kg). However, both heavy metal concentrations detected in soils inside or outside the vinylhouse were within the normal range. Analysis of 10 air samples taken inside the vinylhouse showed that only one sample had a cadmium concentration above the detectable level and the rest of samples were below the detectable levels. While there were no difference of arsenic concentrations in urine between male and female, cadmium concentrations in urine samples of female (3.31 ug/l) was slightly higher than male(2.38 ug/l). Age-dependent increases of cadmium concentrations in urine samples were also observed. However, there was no concentration difference of these heavy metals in urine between vinylhouse workers and non-vinylhouse workers. Urine concentrations of cadmium and arsenic detected from vinylhouse workers or non-vinylhouse workers were within the normal range. The present study represents a first attempt to evaluate physical and environmental risk factors of the vinylhouse affecting the vinylhouse farmer's health. The study revealed that, while physical conditions of the vinylhouse such as temperature and humidity are the possible factors associated with the farmer's complaints, environmental contamination as judged from heavy metal levels in soil, air and humans is not a risk factor contributing to the vinylhouse farmer's health problem.