Visibility trends in Korea during the past two decades

Temporal trends and spatial distributions of visibility measured by the human eye over 60 stations in Korea between 1980 and 2000 are analyzed and discussed. Generally, visibility is lowest on winter mornings and highest on summer afternoons throughout Korea. Visibility in Seoul is now in an increasing trend while it has decreased nationwide, especially in clean coastal areas. Spatial distribution of visibility in the 1990s was related negatively to that of relative humidity (RH). However, visibility generally decreased despite an overall decrease in RH throughout the country. Air pollutants should have played a role in this dissonant variation, particularly in relatively clean areas and on summer afternoons. It was interpreted that the visibility increase in major metropolitan areas, including the greater Seoul area, in the 1990s was caused mainly by the reduction in pollutant emissions by rigorous government policy. But the effect of the emission reduction was manifested with decreasing RH.     

Factors affecting oxygen-transfer rates in headspace-gas respirometers.

Satisfactory measures of the biological-oxygen-uptake rate in headspace-gas respirometers can only be achieved if the rate of oxygen transfer from the headspace gas to liquid is greater than the rate of oxygen uptake by microorganisms. In the authors' study, factors potentially affecting oxygen-transfer limitations in headspace-gas respirometers were evaluated quantitatively. Tests were conducted to measure maximum-oxygen-uptake rates by operating a respirometer under various test conditions. Analysis of respirometric data indicated that limiting oxygen-transfer rates were related to mixing intensity, length of magnetic stirring bar, volume of sample, and oxygen content in the headspace gas. A multivariable model was developed to describe the overall contribution of these factors to the limiting oxygen-transfer rate. This model should be useful for estimating maximum-oxygen-transfer rates for essentially all headspace-gas respirometers.     

Adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol A using TiO2 and its separation by submerged hollowfiber ultrafiltration membrane

This study evaluates the adsorption ability ofbisphenol A（BPA） on titanium dioxide（TiO2） and its effect on the photocatalysis by advanced oxidation process using UV radiation and TiO2 photocatalyst. Degradation of BPA was also evaluated for the system without adsorption prior to photocatalytic reaction. The separation of TiO2 from BPA solution treated by pilot-scale photocatalytic reactor （capacity 0.16 m^3） was studied using submerged ultrafiltration （UF） membrane. It was found that although adsorption capacity of BPA was not high, adsorption played an important role in improving the efficiency ofphotocatalysis. On the other hand, during the separation of TiO2 particles from aqueous suspension, the permeate flux of the membrane was strongly affected by transmembrane pressure and TiO2 dose. The permeate turbidity was decreased below 1 NTU.     

Amorphous oxides of manganese as new sorbents of strontium ions

Samples with the best adsorption properties are selected as a result of investigations conducted on synthesis of manganese-dioxide-based materials and study of their physicochemical properties. Materials were selected on the basis of their low cost and the simplicity of their production technology. In the laboratory the synthesis and analyses of materials was carried out for selected samples. The sorption of a series of elements is studied for a more detailed investigation of materials obtained. The results obtained will promote the synthesis of materials with improved adsorption properties with the aim of their application for purification of water from strontium. It is shown that the most promising way for amendment of manganese oxide is modification of this material using acid-resistant oxides. These oxides are also less expensive than existing sorbents for strontium.     

Modification of mutagenic activity of benzo[a]pyrene by trace elements in the Ames assay

Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is one of the most ubiquitous environmental contaminants and exerts potent carcinogenicity and mutagenicity. In the presence of rat liver S9 mix, four trace elements, germanium (Ge), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), and molybdenium (Mo), were included in the Ames Salmonella microsome/mutagenic assay to test their inhibitory effects on BaP-induced mutations. All trace elements were found to exert an inhibitory effect in tester TA98 and TA100 strains; Fe was the most potent among the elements tested, whereas Zn was weakly inhibitory to prevent mutations. The present findings demonstrate that the antimutagenic potential of trace elements, notably Fe, may be attributed to its modulatory effect on the bioactivation and detoxification processes of BaP.     

Large-eddy simulation of turbulent flow and dispersion over a complex urban street canyon

Turbulent flow and dispersion characteristics over a complex urban street canyon are investigated by large-eddy simulation using a modified version of the Fire Dynamics Simulator. Two kinds of subgrid scale (SGS) models, the constant coefficient Smagorinsky model and the Vreman model, are assessed. Turbulent statistics, particularly turbulent stresses and wake patterns, are compared between the two SGS models for three different wind directions. We found that while the role of the SGS model is small on average, the local or instantaneous contribution to total stress near the surface or edge of the buildings is not negligible. By yielding a smaller eddy viscosity near solid surfaces, the Vreman model appears to be more appropriate for the simulation of a flow in a complex urban street canyon. Depending on wind direction, wind fields, turbulence statistics, and dispersion patterns show very different characteristics. Particularly, tall buildings near the street canyon predominantly generate turbulence, leading to homogenization of the mean flow inside the street canyon. Furthermore, the release position of pollutants sensitively determines subsequent dispersion characteristics.     

Physicochemical and mineralogical characterization of soil-saprolite cores from a field research site, Tennessee

Site characterization is an essential initial step in determining the feasibility of remedial alternatives at hazardous waste sites. Physicochemical and mineralogical characterization of U-contaminated soils in deeply weathered saprolite at Area 2 of the DOE Field Research Center (FRC) site, Oak Ridge, TN, was accomplished to examine the feasibility of bioremediation. Concentrations of U in soil-saprolite (up to 291 mg kg(-1) in oxalate-extractable U(o)) were closely related to low pH (ca. 4-5), high effective cation exchange capacity without Ca (64.7-83.2 cmol(c) kg(-1)), amorphous Mn content (up to 9910 mg kg(-1)), and the decreased presence of relative clay mineral contents in the bulk samples (i.e., illite 2.5-12 wt. %, average 32 wt. %). The pH of the fill material ranged from 7.0 to 10.5, whereas the pH of the saprolite ranged from 4.5 to 8. Uranium concentration was highest (about 300 mg kg(-1)) at around 6 m below land surface near the saprolite-fill interface. The pH of ground water at Area 2 tended to be between 6 and 7 with U concentrations of about 0.9 to 1.7 mg L(-1). These site specific characteristics of Area 2, which has lower U and nitrate contamination levels and more neutral ground water pH compared with FRC Areas 1 and 3 (ca. 5.5 and <4, respectively), indicate that with appropriate addition of electron donors and nutrients bioremediation of U by metal reducing microorganisms may be possible.     

Simulation modelling for sustainability: a review of the literature

This article is a review of work published in various journals and conference proceedings on the topics of Simulation Modelling for Sustainability between January 2000 and May 2015. A total of 192 papers are reviewed. The article intends to serve three goals. First, it will be useful to researchers who wish to know what kinds of questions have been raised and how they have been addressed in the areas of simulation modelling for sustainability. Second, the article will be a useful resource for searching research topics. Third, it will serve as a comprehensive bibliography of the papers published during the period. The literature is analysed for application areas, simulation methods and dimensions of the triple bottom line model of sustainable development.     

Levels and regional trends of persistent organochlorines and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in Asian breast milk demonstrate POPs signatures unique to individual countries

Human breast milk samples collected in 2007–2008 from four countries, Vietnam (Hanoi), China (Beijing), Korea (Seoul) and Japan (Sendai, Kyoto and Takayama), were analyzed for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs), chlordane-related compounds (CHLs), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Comparing with previous surveys, the present study indicates that the DDTs in breast milk from China and Vietnam had gradually decreased during the last decade, but were still 5–10 times higher than those in other nations. The ratios of p,p′-DDE/p,p′-DDT and o,p′-DDT/p,p′-DDT were higher in Beijing than in the other countries, suggesting that there is less fresh intake of commercial DDT products and a possible exposure to dicofol in China. CHL and PCB levels were relatively higher in mothers from Japan, whereas β-HCH and HCB were more common in Chinese women. In Japan, it is suspected that mothers in the urban/coastal area (Sendai) were more continuously exposed to organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) than mothers in the rural/inland area (Takayama). In addition, OCP levels in primiparae were significantly higher than those in multiparae from Japan and Korea. These indicate that both parity and regional factors are major determinants of the levels of OCPs and PCBs in human milk. On the other hand, higher concentrations of PBDEs were observed in mothers' milk from Korea. The congener was dominated by BDE-47 (43–54%), followed by BDE-153 (23–33%) in all regions except for Beijing where BDE-28 (23%) was relatively abundant. In Japanese breast milk, regional and parity-dependent distributions were not observed for PBDEs. Among PBDE congeners, age-dependency was observed for BDE-153, which was negatively correlated (p < 0.05) to the age of mothers in Kyoto (17 participants were housewives), while it increased with age in Sendai (10 participants were clerks). No such correlation was seen for BDE-47, indicating that BDE-47 was ingested and assimilated via different kinetics or routes from BDE-153 in Japan.     

Environmental indicators for communication of life cycle impact assessment results and their applications

Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) is performed to quantitatively evaluate all environmental impacts from products, systems, processes and services. However, LCIA does not always provide valuable information for choosing among alternatives with different specifications, functionalities and lifetimes. The objectives of this study are (1) to propose environmental indicators to evaluate environmental efficiency and value qualitatively and quantitatively on the basis of analogies to financial and economic indicators, and (2) to present the application of the indicators. Incremental evaluation using a reference is employed to obtain the environmental indicators. The environmental efficiency indicators are conceptually based on the ratios of reduced environmental burdens returned to environmental burdens required: environmental return on investment, environmental payback period and environmental internal rate of return. The environmental value indicator is the sum of all reduced and required environmental burdens: i.e., environmental net present value. All the environmental indicators can be used to compare and rank the environmental efficiencies or values of alternatives. The environmental efficiency indicators can be applied to a new environmental labeling. The concept of eco-efficiency labeling is developed by combining the environmental efficiency indicators with financial indicators. A case study is performed to illustrate the necessity and importance of the environmental indicators. These environmental indicators can help easily communicate LCIA results in the field of environmental management.