• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.24-31
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• 2007

Global fates of polychlorinated biphenyl(PCB) were investigated with a fugacity based multimedia transport and fate model, Globe-POP(persistent organic pollutant). The accumulation of PCB was directly affected by the emission patterns of PCB into the atmosphere and surface areas of environmental compartments. Partition coefficients and reaction rates also influenced on the accumulation patterns of PCB. The emission patterns of PCB in 10 climate zones were consistent for the past 70 years, while the contribution of PCB in high-latitude zones to the globe has increased by cold condensation. Considering the amounts of emission and accumulation of PCB, the North temperature zone is regarded as an important source and sink of PCB. Meanwhile, in spite of no significant sources, POPs accumulate in Antarctic environments mainly due to extremely low temperature. Finally we suggested that a global water balance accounting for snow/ice should be incorporated into multimedia environmental models for high-latitude zones and polar regions with the seasonal snow pack and/or permanent ice caps. The modified model will be useful to evaluate the influence of climate change on the fate of POPs.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.469-490
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• 2003

Atmospheric concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were measured at Gosan, Jeju in November 2001 and spring 2002, each time for two weeks. Primary target pollutants were organochlorine pesticides, coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (co- PCBs), and dioxin/furans listed in the Stockholm Convention adopted in May 2001. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were also measured in order to understand the overall characteristics of the POPs distribution as well as PM$_{2.5}$, a potent carrier of POPs. In the latter part of the measurement period of November 2001, almost every pollutant of combustion origin including dioxin/furans went high probably due to influence of emissions in the nearby area. The characteristics of atmospheric environment at Gosan in this period were rather close to urban areas far from those of a background area. A severe dust storm swept for three days at the end of the measurement period of spring 2002. However, changes in pollutant concentrations were relatively small except PM$_{10}$. Nevertheless, increases in particulate PAHs and OCDD (octachlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins), mostly present in fine particles, were observed. Trends in organochlorine pesticide variations were mixed although possible volatilization of DDT residues from soil was inferred from the measurements of spring 2002.2.2.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.179-186
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• 2009

Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) is a bioaccumulative, persistent, and toxic pollutant. HCB is one of the 12 priority of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) intended for global action by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Governing Council. POPs are organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes. Some of HCB is ubiquitous in air, water, soil, and biological matrices, as well as in major environmental compartments. HCB has effects on various organs such as thyroid, bone, skin, kidneys and blood cells and especially, revealed strong toxicity to liver. In this study, we identified genes related to hepatotoxiciy induced by HCB in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells using microarray and gene ontology (GO) analysis. Through microarray analysis, we identified 96 up- and 617 down-regulated genes changed by more than 1.5-fold by HCB. And after GO analysis, we determined several key pathways which known as related to hepatotoxicity such as metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome P450, complement and coagulation cascades, and tight junction. Thus, our present study suggests that genes expressed by HCB may provide a clue for hepatotoxic mechanism of HCB and gene expression profiling by toxicogenomic analysis also affords promising opportunities to reveal potential new mechanistic markers of toxicity.

• 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.

• Ocean Science Journal
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.91-100
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• 2005

Bioassay using the marine bacteria, Vibrio fischeri and rotifer, Brachionus plicatilis, and chemical analyses were conducted to assess the toxicity of the various sewage sludges, one of the major ocean dumped materials in the Yellow Sea of Korea. Sludge elutriates extracted by filtered seawater were used to estimate the ecotoxicity of the sludge. Chemical characterization included the analyses of organic contents, heavy metals, and persistent organic pollutants in sludge. Bacterial bioluminescent inhibition (15 min), rotifer mortality (24 hr) and rotifer population growth inhibition (48 hr) assay were conducted to estimate the sludge toxicity. EC50 15 min (inhibition concentration of bioluminescence after 15 minutes exposed) values by Microtox(R) bioassay clearly revealed different toxicity levels depending on the sludge sources. Highest toxicity for the bacteria was found with the sludge extract from dyeing waste and followed by industrial waste, livestock waste, and leather processing waste. Clear toxic effects on the bacteria were not found in the sludge extract from filtration bed sludge and rural sewage sludge. Consistent with Microtox(R) results, rotifer neonate mortality and population growth inhibition test also showed highest toxicity in dyeing waste and low in filtration bed and rural sewage sludge. High concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals were measured in the samples from the industrial wastes, leather processing plant waste sludge, and urban sewage sludge. However, there was no significant correlation between pollutant concentration levels and the toxicity values of the sludge. This suggests that the ecotoxicity in addition to the chemical analyses of various sludge samples must be estimated before release of potential harmful waste in the natural environment as part of an ecological risk assessment.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.23-37
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• 2008

The vertical distribution of dioxins and hexachlorobenzene(HCB) in a sediment core was investigated to elucidate historical trends of dioxins and HCB deposited into Upo wetland. The total concentration of dioxin ranged from 8.7 to 66.27 pg/g-dw in Upo sediments deposited, and from 17.64 to 97.03 pg/g-dw in Mokpo. Dioxin fluxes increased from the first-1990s and then reached a maximum in the mid-1990s. The major source of dioxin by comparing the congeners pattern was pentachlorophenol(PCP) used of agrochemicals. The HCB concentration in most of samples was detected below the MDL(Method Detection Limit of 0.5ng/g), except a few samples.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.331-346
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• 2010

Perfluorinated compounds have characteristics of resistance to heat, acidic, basic conditions and also resist water, oil, grease, pollutant. Futhermore they are used by various industrial material, nowadays, they produced in large scale for indutrial and commercial areas. However, they also resist metabolizing and degrading in environmental system (plant, animal, even human body). Moreover, in animal's bodies, PFCs can be accumulated in organ (eg; liver) and lead to liver cell necrosis even oncogenesis. Perfluorinated compounds are newly registered as new persistent organic pollutants (POPs) on Stockholm convention in 2009. Therefore necessity for analytical methodology for determination of PFCs in various environmental samples is even more increased. This study discussed sample preparation and instrumental conditions for the analysis of PFCs in environmental and biota samples.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.747-754
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• 2009

In this study, adsorption isotherms of o-DCB(ortho-dichlorobenzene) on an activated carbon heated at $1000^{\circ}C$ for 24 hours were obtained by experiment and were predicted by using molecular simulation. The initial molecular structure of the activated carbon was designed on the basis of its molecular formula and functional groups ratio measured experimentally. Then, the molecular structure was optimized using the COMPASS(condensed-phase optimized molecular potentials for atomistic simulation studies) force field. The particle porosity, specific surface area, and particle density obtained from the optimized molecular structure of activated carbon were compared with those experimental data. The errors between experimental data and simulation results of the particle porosity, specific surface area, and particle density were shown as 7.6, 3.8, and 2.8%, respectively. Adsorption isotherms constants of o-DCB are calculated by the GCMC(grand canonical Monte Carlo) method in the optimized molecular structure of activated carbon. The simulation result of the adsorption isotherms showed an error of under 3%, compared to that of experimental data. Adsorption isotherms, adsorption heat and pore diffusivity of 2,3,7,8-TCDD(tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin) was finally obtained in the same molecular structure of the activated carbon as used for o-DCB. Thus, adsorption characteristics of persistent organic pollutants on activated carbon, which are not easy to experimentally evaluate, are predicted by the molecular simulation.

• Journal of Korea Society of Waste Management
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• v.35 no.8
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• pp.744-753
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• 2018

The Stockholm Convention, which was adopted in Sweden in 2001 to protect human health and the environment, includes regulations for Persistent Organic Pollutant Rotors such as toxic and bioaccumulatives. Currently, there are 28 types of materials. This prohibits and limits the production, use, and manufacture of products. Korea is a member of the Convention, and it is necessary to prepare management and treatment plans to address the POP trends. Thus, we experimentally investigate whether the environmentally stable incineration is achieved when the sample is thermally treated using the Lab-scale (1 kg/hr). The target samples is pesticides in liquid phase and solid phase. In this study, organic chlorinated pesticides and their thermal characteristics were analyzed. We calculated the theoretical air volume based on the element analysis results. Because the interior of the reactor is small, more than 10 times of the air ratio was injected. The retention time was set to at least 4 seconds using a margin. The incineration temperature was $850^{\circ}C$ and $1100^{\circ}C$. Thus, we experimentally investigated whether the environmentally stable incineration was achieved when the sample was thermally treated using the Lab-scale (1 kg/hr). We analyzed five types of exhaust gas; the 02 concentration was high, but the CO amount decreased. Complete combustion is difficult because of the small size of the furnace due to the nature of Lab-scale. The organic chlorine-containing pesticide had an average decomposition rate of 99.9935%. Considering the decomposition rates of organic chlorine-containing pesticide in this study, the incineration treatment at over 2 ton/hour, which is typical for a conventional incinerator, is possible. Considering the occurrence of dioxins and unintentional persistent organic pollutants, it can operate at more than $1,100^{\circ}C$.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.3535-3541
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• 2014

Bisphenol A is considered as pollutant, because it is toxic and hazardous to living organisms even at very low concentrations. Biological oxidation used for removing this organic from waste water is not suitable and consequently application of catalytic wet oxidation has been considered as one of the best options for treating bisphenol A. We have developed Fe/SBA-15, Ni/SBA-15 and Fe-Ni/SBA-15 as heterogeneous catalysts using the advanced impregnation method for oxidation of bisphenol A in water. The catalysts were characterized with physico-chemical characterization methods such as, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), FT-IR measurements, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm, thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) analysis. This work illustrates activity of the catalysts for heterogeneous catalytic degradation reaction revealed with excellent conversion and recyclability. The degradation products identified were not persistent pollutants. GC-MS analysis identified the products: 2,4-hexadienedioic acid, 2,4-pentadienic acid and isopropanol or acetic acid. The leachability study indicated that the catalysts release very little metals to water. Therefore, the possibility of water contamination through metal leaching was almost negligible.