Risk Assessment of Volatile Organic Compounds for Vapor Intrusion Pathway Using Various Estimation Methodology of Indoor Air Concentration

Indoor inhalation of vapors intruded into buildings is an important exposure pathway in volatile organic compoundscontaminated sites. Site-specifically measured indoor air concentration is preferentially used for risk assessment. However, when indoor air concentration of VOC is not measured, the indoor air concentration needs to be estimated from soil concentration or measured soil gas concentration of the VOC. Some risk assessment guidance (e.g., Korea Ministry of Environment (KMOE) and American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International guidance) estimate the indoor air concentration from soil concentration while other guidances (e.g., United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and Dutch National Institute for Public Health (RIVM)) estimate it from measured soil gas concentration. This study derived indoor inhalation risks of intruded benzene in two benzene-contaminated residential areas with four different risk assessment guidances (i.e., KMOE, USEPA, ASTM, and Dutch RIVM) and compared the derived risks. The risk assessment results revealed that indoor air estimation approach from soil concentration could either underestimate (when the contaminant is not detected in soil) or overestimate (when the contaminant is detected in soil even at negligible concentration) the indoor air inhalation risk. Hence, this paper recommends to estimate indoor air concentration from soil gas concentration, rather than soil concentration. Discussions about the various indoor air concentration estimation approaches are provided.N

Effect of Basic Oxygen Furnace Slag used as Structural Filling Materials on the Subsurface Environment

The effect of blast oxygen furnace (BOF) slag used as filling materials on the soil environment was studied using column tests that simulated the flow of the BOF slag leachate through the soil layer. The Cu, Mn, Zn, Ni, and F contents of the leachate affected soil were similar to that of the controls (i.e., soils that were not affected by the leachate). The As, Cd, and Pb contents were lower in the leachate affected soils than the controls. The changes in these contaminants contents can be attributed to the interactions between anions such as alkalinity generating anions (e.g., CO3 2−, HCO3 −, OH−) or calcium ions with heavy metals or F, which consequently affected the fate of heavy metals and F in the leachate affected soils. The germination and growth of Spinapis alba in the soils affected by the leachate and the controls were also similar. However, the proportion of alkalophilic bacteria in the soils affected by the leachate significantly increased, and this can be explained by the increased soil pH due to the alkaline leachate. Overall, this study shows that the alkalinity of the BOF slag leachate, rather than the presence of heavy metals and F in the leachate, needs to be considered when the BOF slag is to be reused as structural filling materials.N

Transformation of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) by Manganese(Ⅳ) Oxide

생물체내에 내분비계 기능을 방해하고 생식능력 감소, 암 등을 유발하는 내분비계장애물질이 상수나 폐수, 지표수, 토양 등에서 검출이 증가하는 추세이다. 본 연구에서는 토양 내 내분비계장애물질을 산화공유결합반응을 유도, 토양 유기물화 시켜 제거하기 위하여 망간 산화물인 버네사이트를 촉매로 이용하였다. 수산화 작용기를 갖는 내분비계장애물질인 bisphenol A, 2,4-dichlorophenol 및 17β-estradiol을 각각 50, 100, 1.5 mg/L의 농도로 하여 수용액 상에서의 버네사이트 촉매 반응을 관찰한 결과, 모두 60분 이내에 99% 이상 제거되었다. 특히 bisphenol A는 5분 내에 96% 이상 제거되는 등 가장 높은 제거효율을 나타냈다. 또한 산화공유결합반응은 버네사이트 표면에서 일어나는 반응으로 버네사이트의 양, 즉 반응 표면적이 넓어질수록 일차반응속도상수가 선형적으로 증가함을 확인하였다. 토양 슬러리 상에서의 각 물질의 반응성을 확인한 결과, 수용액상보다 빠르게 변환되었는데, 이는 버네사이트에 의해 생성된 페녹시 라디칼이 토양유기물과 교차결합하여 더욱 빠르게 제거되었기 때문으로 판단된다. 이러한 수용액 및 토양에서의 빠른 반응으로 비추어 볼 때, 버네사이트를 이용한 유기물화 기술은 수용액 상태뿐만 아니라 토양 내 내분비계장애물질의 효과적인 처리 방법이 될 것으로 보인다.N

Development of Korean Risk-Based Corrective Action (K-RBCA) Software

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Transformation of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals(EDCs) by Managanese(Ⅳ) Oxide

생물체내에 내분비계 기능을 방해하고 생식능력 감소, 암 등을 유발하는 내분비계장애물질이 상수나 폐수, 지표수, 토양 등에서 검출이 증가하는 추세이다. 본 연구에서는 토양 내 내분비계장애물질을 산화공유결합반응을 유도, 토양 유기물화 시켜 제거하기 위하여 망간 산화물인 버네사이트를 촉매로 이용하였다. 수산화 작용기를 갖는 내분비게장애물질인 bisphenol A, 2,4-dichlorophenol 및 17β-estradiol을 각각 50, 100, 1.5mg/L의 농도로하여 수용액 상에서의 버네사이트 촉매 반응을 관찰한 결과, 모두 60분이내에 99%이상 제거되었다. 특히 bisphenol A는 5분 내에 96%이상 제거되는 등 가장 높은 제거효율을 나타냈다. 또한 산화공유결합반응은 버네사이트 표면에서 일어나는 반응으로 버네사이트의 양, 즉 반응 표면적이 넓어질수록 일차반응속도상수가 선형적으로 증가함을 확인하엿다. 토양 슬러리 상에서의 각 물질의 반응성을 확인한 결과, 수용액상보다 빠르게 변환되었는데, 이는 버네사이트에 의해 생성된 페녹시 라디칼이 토양유기물과 교차결합하여 더욱 빠르게 제거되었기 때문으로 판단된다. 이러한 수용액 및 토양에서의 빠른 반응으로 비추어 볼 때, 버네사이트를 이용한 유기물화 기술은 수용액 상태뿐만 아니라 토양 내 내분비계장애물질의 효과적인 처리 방법이 될 것으로 보인다.본 연구는 서울시 산학연 협력사업(과제번호 10676)과 한국과학재단 지정 포항공과대학교 차세대바이오환경기술연구센터(AEBRC)의 지원으로 수행되었습니다

Human Risk Assessment of a Contaminated Site Using Korean Risk-Based Corrective Action (K-RBCA) Software

By using a newly developed Korean risk-based corrective action (K-RBCA) software (K-RBCA) and the RBCA Tool Kit,risk assessment was performed on a site that was contaminated with aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals. Eight chemicals including benzene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, naphthalene, benz(a) anthracene, benzo(b) fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene, and arsenic that exceeded the US EPA Soil Screening Level were chosen as the target pollutants. A conceptual site model was constructed based on the site-specific effective exposure pathways. According to the RBCA Tool Kit the carcinogenic risk of arsenic was larger than 10^(?6), which is the generally acceptable carcinogenic risk level. The K-RBCA estimated the same level of carcinogenic risk for arsenic. With the RBCA Tool Kit, the carcinogenic risk of benzo(a)pyrene was estimated to be about 1.3 × 10(?6). However, with the K-RBCA benzo(a) pyrene did not exhibit any risk. The inconsistency between the softwares was attributed to the different fundamental settings (i.e., medium division) between the two softwares. While the K-RBCA divides medium into surface soil, subsurface soil, and groundwater, the RBCA Tool Kit divides medium into only soil and groundwater. These differences lead to the different exposure pathways used by the two softwares. The K-RBCA considers the exposure pathways in surface soil and subsurface soil separately to estimate risk, however, the RBCA Tool Kit considers the surface soil and subsurface soil as one and uses the integrated exposure pathways to estimate risk. Thus the resulting risk is higher when the RBCA Tool Kit is used than when the KRBCA is used. The results from this study show that there is no significant difference in the risks estimated by the two softwares, thus, it is reasonable to use the K-RBCA we developed in risk assessment of soil and groundwater. In addition,the present study demonstrates that the assessor should be familiar with the characteristics of a contaminated site and the assumptions used by a risk assessment software when carrying out risk assessment.N