Seung-Kyu Kim

• PhD
• Professor (Full) at Incheon National University

Concentrations of perfluorinated acids (PFAs) were measured in various environmental matrices (air, rain, snow, surface runoff water, and lake water) in an urban area, to enable identification of sources and pathways of PFAs to urban water bodies. Total PFA concentrations ranged from 8.28 to 16.0 pg/ m3 (mean 11.3) in bulk air (sum of vapor and par...

Fluoropolymer dispersions are used for coating certain cookware products and food-contact packaging to impart oil and water repellency. Since salts of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are used as a processing aid in the manufacture of many fluoropolymers, it is necessary to determine if these compounds are still present as residuals after the process...

Concentrations of perfluorinated alkyl compounds (PFAs), including perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorohexanesulfonate, perfluorobutanesulfonate, perfluorooctanesulfonamide, perfluorodecanoate, perfluorononanoic acid, perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), perfluoroheptanoate, and perfluorohexanoate, were measured in the streams of the Shihwa and Banweo...

With no confident emission information, a dynamic multimedia model (POPsME) was evaluated by comparing predicted and measured relative concentrations (defined as the ratio of concentration in a medium to that in soil) for 12 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, chrysene, benz[a]anthracene, benzo[b...

As a part of Mussel Watch Program in Korea, the contamination levels and accumulation features of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were assessed for 82 bivalve samples collected from 66 sites along the entire coast of Korea. The dry weight based sigmaPCBs and sigmaOCPs ranged from 4.4 ng g(-1) to 422.0 ng g(-1)...

In this study, we investigate the current accuracy of widely used microplastic (MP) detection methods through an interlaboratory comparison (ILC) involving ISO-approved techniques. The ILC was organized under the prestandardization platform of VAMAS (Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards) and gathered a large number (84) of analyti...

A Gram-stain-negative, facultatively anaerobic, non-motile, rod-shaped bacterial strain, designated HL-MP18T, was isolated from Arctic seawater after a prolonged incubation employing polypropylene as the sole carbon source. Phylogenetic analyses of the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strain HL-MP18T was affiliated to the genus Roseovarius with...

To better understand unexpectedly low plastic loads at the ocean's surface compared with inputs, unidentified sinks must be located. Here, we present the microplastic (MP) budget for multi-compartments in the western Arctic Ocean (WAO) and demonstrate that Arctic sediments serve as important current and future sinks for MPs missing from the global...

Microplastics (MPs) are found in every ocean and are frequently ingested by marine animals. This study analyzed MPs in the stomachs and intestines of 12 large marine animals comprising one fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), seven finless porpoises (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis), two loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta), one Indo-Pacific bottlenose d...

Conspicuous amounts of microplastics have been discovered in bays near Antarctic research stations, including several types of microplastics in the water columns of Marian Cove. This study proposes an efficient operating strategy for a wastewater treatment plant to mitigate microplastic accumulations in the bay by assessing the transport and accumu...

Through a literature survey and meta-data analysis, monitoring methods and contamination levels of marine micro- and macroplastics in seawater were compared between the North Pacific and the world's other ocean basins. The minimum cut-off size in sampling and/or analysis of microplastics was crucial to the comparison of monitoring data. The North P...

Biokinetic information on microplastics in bivalves is required to reduce the human exposure, but little is known about the time-course and size effect on tissue absorption and clearance. The biokinetics of fluorophore-labeled polystyrene microbeads with diameters 10 µm (PL10) and 90 µm (PL90) in Mytilus galloprovincialis marine mussels was investi...

The Amundsen Sea is the most rapidly melting part of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, due to increased heat transport by Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW). Tracing CDW and resulting glacial meltwater is important since glacial meltwater may change the water mass properties, leading to the change of the biogeochemical cycles. In this study, in order to inve...

Arctic sea ice entraps microplastics (MP) from seawater and atmosphere and is recognized as sink and transport vector of MPs. However, ice-trapped fraction in the global MP budget, contribution of atmospheric input, and linkage among Arctic basins remain unclear. To assess them, we investigated the number- and mass-based data separated by size and...

Despite intensive use of plastics in agriculture, little is known about the occurrence of microplastics (MPs) in agro-environment. To identify the effect of internal sources and environmental fate on MP appearance in farmland, we examined four soil types with different agricultural practices representing either direct application of polyethylene (P...

Microplastics (MPs) are classified to hazardous materials threatening human health. Though growing edible salt MP data, reliable human MP intakes via salt consumption are still lack due to methodological differences between studies. Unlike previous reviews, this study focuses the uncertainty and variability of size-associated MP concentration and c...

Increasing concern of human exposure to microplastics (MPs) necessitates an assessment of the quality of MP data relevant to human exposure. In this literature review for table salt, we addressed the variability and uncertainty of MP data caused by different analytical methods among studies. Additionally, validation experiment was conducted to iden...

Effects of zinc pyrithione (ZnPT) and inorganic Zn (ZnCl 2) were evaluated on a marine polychaete at sublethal concentrations for 14 days. ZnPT decreased the burrowing activity and AChE activity with higher acute toxi-cities, implying its cholinergic effect. Both ZnPT and ZnCl 2 increased MDA levels at higher concentrations, suggesting lipid peroxi...

Environmental fate of ionizable organic pollutants such as perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are of increasing interest but has not been well understood because of uncertain values for parameters related with atmospheric interphase partitioning behavior. In the present study, not only the values for air-water partition coefficient (KAW) and dissociation...

Despite growing concerns regarding plastic additives, their environmental fate coupled with leaching from source materials are not well known. Styrene oligomers (SOs), which are unintended additives in expanded polystyrene (EPS), are estrogenic micropollutants. Here, we identified the effects of their potential sources (i.e., EPS buoy and its leach...

Phthalate acid esters (PAEs) are commonly used as plasticizers in numerous plastic applications. Owing to their high leachability, the occurrence of PAEs can be used to trace plastic pollution. The northwest Pacific marginal seas, including the East China Sea, are suspected not only to be the area that receives the most plastic waste globally but a...

The present study was designed to characterize the bioaccumulation of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in marine organisms (zooplankton, oyster, crab, and goby) on different trophic level. In the present study, sedentary bivalve (oyster) showed strong correlations in OCPs levels with surface sediment in the study area. This indicates the two compar...

The bioaccumulation potential (“B”) of compounds is one of the major considerations in assessing chemical hazards. A variety of metrics, including hydrophobicity (KOW), bioconcentration factor (BCF), bioaccumulation factor (BAF), and to an increasing degree biomagnification factor (BMF) and trophic magnification factor (TMF), are widely used to cha...

Although it is known that there are gender differences in the energetic requirements for the reproductive strategies of euphausiids, sufficient information about differences in the feeding ecology is still lacking. In this study, we investigated the resource utilization of Euphausia pacifica within the epipelagic zone (0–200 m depth) in the East Se...

Previous studies have identified microplastics (MPs) in commercial table salts but could not exactly address the origin of the MPs because of several limitations. The present study is based on the hypothesis that commercial sea salts can act as an indicator of MP pollution in the surrounding environment unless the MPs are filtered out during the ma...

Styrene oligomers (SOs) as global contaminants are an environmental concern. However, little is known on the distribution of SOs in the ocean. Here, we show the distribution of anthropogenic SOs generated from discarded polystyrene (PS) plastic monitored from the coastal ocean surface waters (horizontal distribution) and deep seawaters (vertical di...

Recently, the accumulation of plastic debris in the marine environment has become a great concern worldwide. Although plastics are biologically and chemically inert, plastic debris has been suspected of causing adverse effects on ecosystems due to the increase in reactivity by size reduction and/or micropollutants associated with plastics. Because...

Human exposure studies to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have reached different results about the relative importance of diet intake and house dust ingestion. In the present study, concentrations of PBDEs in Korean house dust (n=15) from geographically different cities were measured, which were in agreement with a previous result, and compa...

A wide range of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), including fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs), perfluorooctane sulfonamidoethanols (FOSEs), perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs), and perfluoroalkane sulfonic acids (PFSAs), were measured in fifteen house dust and two nonresidential indoor dust of Korea. Total concentrations of PFASs in hou...

Seasonal variation in the abundance and distribution of microplastics (MPs) in beach sediments was investigated for the Daebu island, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. Beach surface sediments were sampled at five stations along the high strandline of the island beach in July and November 2013 and March 2014 to represent the summer , winter, and spring seas...

Microplastics in marine environments are of emerging concern due to their widespread distribution, their ingestion by various marine organisms, and their roles as a source and transfer vector of toxic chemicals. However, our understanding of their abundance and distribution characteristics in surface seawater (SSW) remains limited. We investigated...

There is limited evidence whether environmental exposure to perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) affects insulin resistance (IR) and whether vitamin C intake protects against the adverse effect of PFCs. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of PFCs on IR through oxidative stress, and the effects of a 4-week consumption of vitamin C supple...

The presence and distribution characteristics of microplastics become a big issue due to the adverse effects on marine organisms caused by not only microplastics but any incorporated and/or adsorbed pollutants. Distribution of microplastics (50- to 5000-μm size) was determined for three sandy beaches on an isolated island in a high-tidal costal reg...

The potent anthropogenic perfluorocarbon greenhouse gases tetrafluoromethane (CF4) and hexafluoroethane (C2F6) are emitted to the atmosphere mainly by the aluminum and semiconductor industries. Global emissions of these perfluorocarbons (PFCs) calculated from atmospheric measurements are significantly greater than expected from reported national an...

Despite remarkable achievements with r some chemicals, a field-measurement technique has not been advanced for volatile hydrophobic organic chemicals (HOCs) that are the subjects of international concern. This study assesses the applicability of passive air sampling (PAS) by comparing PUF-PAS and its modified SIP-PAS which was made by impregnating...

Despite of emerging and increasing concerns to microplastics, no standard methodology has not been proposed for determination of microplastics. This study aims to develop the analysis method for microplastics in seawater by overviewing methodologies proposed by previous studies and by assessing some processes in those methodologies which possibly c...

In this study, we investigated adsorption characteristics of nine selected micropollutants (six pharmaceuticals, two pesticides, and one endocrine disruptor) in water using an activated carbon. The effects of carbon dosage, contact time, pH, DOM (dissolved organic matter), and temperature on the adsorption removal of micropollutants were examined....

While emissions of halogenated compounds in East Asia have been known to make up a significant fraction of the total global emissions, both with respect to ozone depletion potential (ODP) and global warming potential (GWP), the actual sources of these emissions are relatively poorly understood. High-precision in situ measurements of 18 halogenated...

Despite the first comprehensive reviewing on POPs status in Korea, a previous review chapter (Departments in Environmental Science, Volume 7, Chapter 2) could not discuss and evaluate the temporal trends and the effect of the efforts and policies invested in POPs control and management, since most data were based on individual research results of a...

An efficient extraction method was developed for the analysis of 16 perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in fish samples. We compared the recoveries from the Ion-Pairing Extraction (IPE), Liquid-Liquid Extraction (LLE), Solid-Phase Extraction (SPE), IPE + SPE method with varying the injection time of the internal standard. As a result, IPE method with t...

In the northwestern Pacific marginal seas, there has been a rapid temporal increase and spatial variability in the relative abundance of dissolved inorganic nitrogen over dissolved inorganic phosphate. The cause and mechanisms of this temporal and spatial variation is under debate. Recently, atmospheric deposition of nitrogen has been shown to be t...

With increased economic growth in East Asia, regional emissions of many anthropogenic halogenated compounds now constitute a substantial fraction of the global totals. Here, we summarize recently reported findings from measurements of a wide range of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluoroc...

The goal of the present study was to determine if coherence was maintained among the maximum permissible concentrations (MPCs) of 15 PAHs in air, soil, water, and sediment proposed in Korea. Coherence was tested for each of the five medium pairs (soil/air, water/air, water/soil, sediment/soil, and water/sediment) using concurrently measured data of...

This study used an ozone/ultraviolet/hydrogen peroxide (O3/UV/H2O2) system to remove carbamazepine (CBZ) from water using a second-order response surface methodology (RSM) experiment with a five-level full-factorial central composite design (CCD) for optimization. The effects of both the primary and secondary interactions of the photocatalytic reac...

The discharge of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) was investigated for 15 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), comprising 25% of total domestic wastewater and 23% of total industrial wastewater produced in Korea. PFCs concentrations in influent, effluent, and sludge were greater in industrial wastewater than in the majority of domestic wastewater. I...

High-frequency in situ measurements at Gosan (Jeju Island, Korea) during November 2007 to December 2008 have been combined with interspecies correlation analysis to estimate national emissions of halogenated compounds (HCs) in East Asia, including the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), p...

The proximity of PAHs distribution to the equilibrium states among air, soil, water, and bottom sediment was assessed for future risk management and coherence test among environmental quality objectives (EQOs) in these media. Concurrently measured concentration data in the four media were used. In the study areas (Seoul, Shihwa/Banwol, and Taegu),...

The levels of six perfluorocarboxylates (PFCAs), four perfloroalkylsulfonates (PFASs), and one sulfonamide were measured in paired samples of maternal serum, umbilical cord serum, and breast milk. The maternal and cord sera were strongly correlated with each other for all measured compounds (r>0.5 and p<0.01). Nevertheless, there was a significant...

1] High‐frequency in‐situ measurements of a wide range of halogenated compounds including chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF 6), and other chlorinated and brominated compounds have been made at Gosan (Jeju Island, Korea). Regional...

Fetal and maternal exposure levels of two emerging pollutants, polybrominated diephenyl ethers (PBDEs) and synthetic musks, were measured in Korean general population to assess prenatal and postnatal exposures in infants. For this purpose, paired samples of breast milk, maternal and cord blood were collected from 20 Korean women in 2007. In compari...

The present study aimed to understand the distribution characteristics of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in wetlands experiencing high tides and the manner in which these characteristics are affected by various factors, in particular, two distinct physical and topographical features (i.e., sub- and intertidal zones). For all OCPs except HCHs, the...

Interrelationships between pyrogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were assessed in air, soil, water, sediment, and tree leaves by using multi-media monitoring data. Concurrent concentration measurements were taken bimonthly for a year for the multi-media at urban and suburban sites. PAH level correlations between air and other media were...

This study compared the contamination levels and compositional characteristics of PAHs in soil, SS and sediment to understand the cross media characteristics among the three solid media and ecological risk implications for the purpose to help manage in a more integrated manner the environmental quality objectives or the ecological risk in the media...

Passive air samplers with polyurethane foam (PUF) disks were employed to determine seasonal gas phase variation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in ambient air on Anmyeon island from March 2007 to January 2008. Sum of 13 PAHs ranged between and . Total PAHs during the heating season was 6.2 times higher than non-heating season. The domina...

Concentrations of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAs) were measured in egg yolks of three species of birds, the little egret (Egretta garzetta), little ringed plover (Charadrius dubius), and parrot bill (Paradoxornis webbiana), collected in and around Lake Shihwa, Korea, which receives wastewaters from an adjacent industrial complex. Mean concentrations of...

Cited By (since 1996): 6, Export Date: 7 February 2013, Source: Scopus

Dietary intake is the most important source of exposure to dioxins for the general population. This pathway contributes more than 90% of the daily intake for the general population of Korea. The objective of this study was to assess current exposure to dioxin-like compounds in fish and shellfish consumed by the general population in Korea. Residues...

The trophic transfer of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was characterized for zooplankton (primarily Paracalanus spp. and Acartia spp.), pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas), shore crab (Hemigrapsus penicillatus), and goby (Acanthogobius hasta) in the aquatic system of Incheon North Harbor, Korea. The congener pattern in the species was clearly divi...

The trophic transfer of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was characterized for zooplankton (primarily Paracalanus spp. and Acartia spp.), pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas), shore crab (Hemigrapsus penicillatus), and goby (Acanthogobius hasta) in the aquatic system of Incheon North Harbor, Korea. The congener pattern in the species was clearly divi...

This study investigated the influence of the high tidal range on the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) levels and the compositional characteristics in the sediments of the North Incheon Harbor basin, Korea. The results indicated that the high tidal range could induce complicated effects on the distribution and the compositional characteristics of PCBs...

Imposex was measured in the rock shell, Thais clavigera, from the coast of the Korean peninsula. Frequency of imposex was 0% at two reference sites, but at 47 out of 61 sites, frequency of imposex was recorded as 100%. The degree of imposex was relatively high at the sites near a harbor and a shipyard. Tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPT) conce...