Gi Beum Kim

Distribution and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments from Kyeonggi Bay, Korea

Abstract Sixty-six sediment samples were collected from Kyeonggi Bay, Korea, in December 1995 and analysed for a suite of 2–6 ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Sediments were collected in the Han River estuary, Incheon Harbour, from nearshore locations adjacent to large industrial complexes south of Incheon, and along transects toward the open sea. Concentrations of PAHs (9.1–1400 ng g −1 dry wt with an average of 120 ng g −1 ) were positively correlated with organic carbon (OC) content and negatively correlated with mean sediment grain size. The highest PAH concentrations were in samples from inner Incheon Harbour basins; these levels decreased within a short distance from these heavily industrialised waterways. The sources of PAHs were determined to be primarily combustion in nature based on the distribution of alkylated homologs to parent compounds. Overall, sediment PAHs in Kyeonggi Bay were lower than those in the United States and Europe. The potential for biological effects due to PAHs alone is expected to be low based on comparisons of individual and ΣPAH concentrations with effects-based and equilibrium partitioning-based sediment quality guidelines/criteria.

Specific accumulation and distribution of butyltin compounds in various organs and tissues of the Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus): comparison with organochlorine accumulation pattern

The present study was conducted to elucidate the specific distribution of butyltin (BT) compounds in various tissues and organs of Steller sea lions collected from coastal waters of Hokkaido, Japan. BT concentrations were an order of magnitude higher in the liver than in other tissues and organs except hair, whereas organochlorine (OC) compounds accumulated at two to three orders of magnitude higher in blubber than in other tissues. No relationship was observed between BT concentrations and the lipid content in tissues, while the levels of OCs were positively associated with the lipid content. The levels of BTs in hair (1500 ng g−1 on a wet weight basis) were the highest of all the tissues analysed. Results also suggested that 26% of the total BT burden in the body was eliminated through shedding. Selective accumulation of BTs in liver and hair is attributed to its protein-binding capacity rather than lipophilicity. The discovery of high concentrations of BTs in hair implies their excretion by shedding in piliferous animals.

In vitro inhibition of hepatic cytochrome P450 and enzyme activity by butyltin compounds in marine mammals

The present study attempted to examine the in-vitro inhibition of hepatic microsomal P450 content and activity by butyltins in marine mammals and discussed on their possible effects in animals in the wild. Decreases in P450 content and the activities of ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD, catalyzed by CYPIA subfamily) and penthoxyresorufin O-depentylase (PROD, catalyzed by CYP2B subfamily) by tributyltin (TBT) were observed in in-vitro experiments using hepatic microsomes of a pinniped and a cetacean. Among P450 family, EROD activity is more sensitive to TBT than P450 content and PROD activity, indicating a specific mode of action of TBT on different P450 forms. On the other hand, dibutyltin and monobutyltin have no inhibitory effect on EROD activity at concentrations less than 0.5 mM, indicating that the inhibition of enzyme activity in hepatic microsome of marine mammal is mainly by TBT. TBT concentrations that affect P450 contents and activities are above 10 times higher than the values found in the liver of various marine mammals.

Temporal and geographical trends in the genotoxic effects of marine sediments after accidental oil spill on the blood cells of striped beakperch (Oplegnathus fasciatus)

To determine the impact of genetic toxicity caused by the Hebei Spirit oil spill on December 7, 2007, we measured DNA damage in the blood cells of striped beakperch in vitro after exposure to extracts from sediments in the Taean area. The objective of this study was to investigate temporal changes of toxic effects caused by residual PAHs in the sediments up to 18 months after an oil spill. In conclusion, DNA damage had reduced over this 18-month period; that is, the sediments recovered quickly from the oil pollution. In addition, statistically significant correlations between PAHs and DNA damage were observed. Because the comet assay is sensitive to DNA damage induced by genotoxic substances from the polluted sediments, the comet assay can be considered a useful tool as a biomarker in investigating genetic toxicity in environmental monitoring and elucidating the recovery of oil pollution after oil spill as well.

Application of P450RGS (reporter gene system) as a bioindicator of sediment PAH contamination in the vicinity of Incheon Harbor, Korea

Sixty seven sediment samples were collected from Kyeonggi Bay, Korea, including the mouth of Han River, Incheon Harbor, the Namdong industrial complex, and the open sea. Collections were conducted in December, 1995 and samples were maintained frozen (-20 °C) until analysis. Dichloromethane extracts were analysed for their content of CYP1A1-inducing compounds with a P450RGS (reporter gene system) assay, and for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Sediment samples were also analysed for organic carbon (OC) content and grain size, to aid in evaluating the relationship between contamination and physical nature of the sediments. The responses of the P450RGS assay to the sediment extracts were expressed as μg of benzo[a]pyrene toxic equivalents per g dry weight (μg g-1 BaPTEQ), and these values correlated well (r2 = 0.624 with total PAHs. BaPTEQ values were also highly correlated with the OC content of the sediments. The determination of P450RGS BaPTEQ is a useful tool, because it is both a rapid and inexp...Sixty seven sediment samples were collected from Kyeonggi Bay, Korea, including the mouth of Han River, Incheon Harbor, the Namdong industrial complex, and the open sea. Collections were conducted in December, 1995 and samples were maintained frozen (-20 °C) until analysis. Dichloromethane extracts were analysed for their content of CYP1A1-inducing compounds with a P450RGS (reporter gene system) assay, and for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Sediment samples were also analysed for organic carbon (OC) content and grain size, to aid in evaluating the relationship between contamination and physical nature of the sediments. The responses of the P450RGS assay to the sediment extracts were expressed as μg of benzo[a]pyrene toxic equivalents per g dry weight (μg g(-1) BaPTEQ), and these values correlated well (r(2) = 0.624 with total PAHs. BaPTEQ values were also highly correlated with the OC content of the sediments. The determination of P450RGS BaPTEQ is a useful tool, because it is both a rapid and inexpensive means of assessing the potential toxicity of organic compounds in environmental sediment samples. These values represent an estimate of the levels of compounds in the sediment that are potentially available to organisms through chronic exposure to pore water or ingestion of benthic species. We believe BaPTEQ values are more useful than tables of specific PAH concentrations, if the purpose of the investigation is to either obtain a rapid screening of an area or to develop some form of ecological or human health risk assessment.

Marine Environmental Characteristics in the Coastal Area Surrounding Tongyeong Cage-Fish Farms

To assess environmental characteristics of the aquaculture area in Tongyeong, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), dissolved inorganic phosphorous (DIP) and chemical oxygen demand (COD), and acid volatile sulfur (AVS) were measured in seawater and sediment samples collected from 10 loca- tions of Tongyeong coastal area from July to December in 2013. The quality of the seawater may be affected by seasonal variation rather than the distance from fish farm. However, sediment was contrary to seawater; the dis- tance from fish farm may be a main factor to affect COD and AVS in sediment than season and other parameters. It is expected that contaminated organic sediments of fishery located in semi-closed bay are rapidly dispersed into surrounding waters due to fast current.

Identification of Major Crude Oils Imported into Korea using Molecular and Stable Carbon Isotopic Compositions

Stable carbon isotope ratio of oil components are known to be unaffected by weathering processes and thus has been widely used to determine the origin of spilled oil. In this study, molecular index and composition of stable carbon isotope in 15 crude oils and petroleum product were analyzed and used as oil fingerprints to determine the discriminating power of each fingerprinting method among target crude oils. Through the fingerprints of alkane distribution only Bintulu and B-C(1%) were distinguishable from other crude oils. The pristane/phytane ratio can classify the crude oils into three groups but differentiation of crude oils within a group was impossible using the ratio. The crude oils of A.L., A.S.L., Foroozan and B-C(1%) were differentiated from the other oils using PAH source recognition indexes of C2D/C2P and C3D/C3P. The usage of 4-mD/1-mD and 2/3-mD/1-mD ratio was able to distinguish A.S.L., Bintulu and Oman from the other crude oils. However the PAH source recognition ratios in the other crude oils were similar and thus they were impractical to be used for source identification among the target crude oils. Stable carbon isotope ratios of alkanes were able to uniquely specify each crude oil in the plot of and except A.L., A.M., Qatar-Marine, B-C(1%). The oil fingerprinting method using stable carbon isotope ratios of individual alkane compounds showed more discriminating power among the target crude oils than the conventional source recognition indexes of PAHs or alkanes.

Effects of Evaporation on the Weathering Rate and Chemical Composition of Iranian Heavy Crude Oil

Abstract − Once oil is spilled into marine environment, it experiences various weathering processes amongwhich evaporation is the most dominant process in the initial stage of weathering. This study aimed to elucidatethe effects of evaporation on the physicochemical properties of spilled oil using standardized laboratory exper-iments. Laboratory evaporation process was successfully reproduced using controlled rotary evaporationmethod. In case of Iranian Heavy crude (IHC), evaporation rate after 48 hours was 29.3±0.4% (n=40, p <0.001).Evaporation was simulated using ADIOS2 weathering model and the result was in agreement with laboratoryexperiment. Chemical composition changes of petroleum hydrocarbons including alkanes, polycyclic aromatichydrocarbons (PAHs) and biomarkers by evaporation rate were also analyzed. As oil evaporated, low molecularweight alkanes and PAHs decreased, while biomakers showed conservative characteristics. Among biomarkers,17 α (H), 21 β (H)-hopane was used for calculation of weathering rates, which matched with evaporative masslosses. Weathering rate calculation using hopane showed that stranded oils of weathering stage I (28.9%) andmesocosm oil weathering experiment till 5 days (26.5%) were mainly affected by evaporation process.Keywords: Iranian Heavy Crude oil(이란산중질원유 ), Evaporation(증발), Rotary evaporation method(회전증발법), Weathering rate(풍화율), Biomarker(바이오마커 )

Proposal of Standard Method for the Analysis of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Marine Sediments

Abstract − Though polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds (PAHs) in marine sediment has been pro-duced by many colleges and institution in Korea, it is difficult to compare PAHs data in a study area with thosein other areas due to the lack of confidence for the quality of data from the other organization. Therefore, wesuggested the protocol for PAHs analysis in marine sediment through examining the method of PAHs analysisdescribed in over twenty scientific papers and reports. When a known amount of 23 PAHs were spiked into asediment and anlyzed following this new protocol, very good recoveries were obtained. In addition, for collegeand institution with their own method to analyze PAHs can keep producing PAHs data without exchanging tothis new PAHs protocol, the method to get a full confidence through the QA/QC for the PAHs data producedby these organization is included to the protocol.Keywords: PAHs(다환방향족탄화수소), Sediment(퇴적물), Standard reference material(표준인증시료),Internal standard(내부표준물질 ), Quality assurance/quality control(정도보증 /정도관리)