Abundance of diet-derived polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans in the bodies and nests of the yellow-legged hornet Vespa velutina nigrithorax and risks to human health in South Korea.

Detecting polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in an organism's environment is ecologically significant. In particular, the detection of PCDD/Fs in organisms consumed as food suggests the possibility of human health risks. In South Korea, there is a unique custom in which social wasps, such as hornets, have been used as ingredients in traditional liquor.

Spatial distribution and source identification of indicator polychlorinated biphenyls in soil collected from the coastal multi-industrial city of Ulsan, South Korea for three consecutive years.

The concentrations, profiles, and source-receptor relationships of seven indicator polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (#28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153, and 180) found in soil at 25 rural, urban, and industrial sites in Ulsan, South Korea were investigated. For this study, 75 soil samples were collected, 25 each in January of 2011, 2012, and 2013. Principal component analysis was used to evaluate the influence of the emission sources on the soil samples.

Influence of non-detect data-handling on toxic equivalency quantities of PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs: A case study of major fish species purchased in Korea.

It has been known that substitution is not a suitable method to address non-detect (ND) data and can result in significant errors. However, reports of reliable statistical methods for handling ND data of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin/furans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) in fish are rare. This work examines US-EPA's recommended statistical methods and traditional substitution-based methods for handling ND data in PCDD/F and DL-PCB datasets obtained from 240 fish samples.

Improving the spatial resolution of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using passive air samplers in a multi-industrial city.

The source-receptor relationship of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the industrial city has been generally investigated using active air samplers (AAS), but they only provide low spatial resolution data. In this study, the spatial resolution of PAHs was improved by the use of polyurethane foam based passive air samplers (PUF-PAS). We deployed 40 passive air samplers in duplicate at 20 sites in the largest industrial city of Ulsan, South Korea during winter (January 7-February 25, 2011).