The purpose of this study is to analyze the correlation between ecotoxicity and water quality items using Daphnia magna in public sewage treatment plant process and to obtain operational data to control ecotoxicity through research on removal efficiency. The average value of ecotoxicity was 1.39 TU in the influent, 1.50 TU in the grit chamber, and 0.84 TU in the primary settling tank and it was found that most organic matters, nitrogen, and phosphorus were removed through biological treatment in the bioreactor. Using Pearson’s correlation analysis, the positive correlation was confirmed in the order of ecotoxicity and water quality items TOC, BOD, T-N, NH3-N, SS, EC, and Cu. As a result of conducting a multilinear regression analysis with items representing positive correlation as independent variables, the regression model was found to be statistically significant, and the explanatory power of the regression model was about 81.6%. TOC was found to have a significant effect on ecotoxicity with B=0.009 (p<.001) and Cu with B=16.670 (p<.001), and since the B sign is positive (+), an increase of 1 in TOC increases the value of ecotoxicity by 0.009 and an increase in Cu by 1 increases the value of ecotoxicity by 16.670. TOC (β=0.789, p<.001) and Cu (β=0.209, p<.001) were found to have a significant positive effect on ecotoxicity. TOC and Cu have a great effect on ecotoxicity in the sewage treatment plant process, and it is judged that TOC and Cu should be considered preferentially and controlled in order to efficiently control ecotoxicity.

The present study was performed to investigate the effects of NH3-N and nitrifying microorganisms on the increased BOD of downstream of the Yeongsan river in Gwangju. Water samples were collected periodically from the 13 sampling sites of rivers from April to October 2021 to monitor water qualities. In addition, the trends of nitrogenous biochemical oxygen demand (NBOD) and microbial clusters were analyzed by adding different NH3-N concentrations to the water samples. The monitoring results showed that NH3-N concentration in the Yeongsan river was 22 times increased after the inflow of discharged water from the Gwangju 1st public sewage treatment plant (G-1-PSTP). Increased NH3-N elevated NBOD levels through the nitrification process in the river, consequently, it would attribute to the increase of BOD in the Yeongsan river. Meanwhile, there was no proportional relation between NBOD and NH3-N concentrations. However, there was a significant difference in NBOD occurrence by sampling sites. Specifically, when 5 mg/L NH3-N was added, NBOD of the river sample showed 2-4 times higher values after the inflow of discharged water from G-1-PSTP. Therefore, it could be thought other factors such as microorganisms influence the elevated NBOD levels. Through next-generation sequencing analysis, nitrifying microorganisms such as Nitrosomonas, Nitroga, and Nitrospira (Genus) were detected in rivers samples, especially, the proportion of them was the highest in river samples after the inflow of discharged water from G-1-PSTP. These results indicated the effects of nitrifying microorganisms and NH3-N concentrations as important limiting factors on the increased NBOD levels in the rivers. Taken together, comprehensive strategies are needed not only to reduce the NH3-N concentration of discharged water but also to control discharged nitrifying microorganisms to effectively reduce the NBOD levels in the downstream of the Yeongsan river where discharged water from G-1-PSTP flows.

Cyanobacteria have been used as pollution indicator species in freshwater ecosystems, and identifying their fluctuations can be an important part about management of surface waters globally. Cyanotoxins produced by cyanobacteria are directly or indirectly a threat to human and environmental health. In order to confirm the potential risk of these cyanotoxins, the fluctuations of phytoplankton and phylogenetic analysis of cyanotoxin synthetase genes were conducted at each point in the Yeongsan River water system in Gwangju from November 2021 to October 2022. Diatoms which grow well in winter were dominant at 99.4 ~ 99.5%, and diatoms and green algae were dominant from the spring to autumn when the water temperature rises. Stephanodiscus spp. were dominant at 92.7 to 97.5 % at all sites in the winter, and Aulacoseira spp., which grow in warm water temperatures, were dominant in summer and autumn. Microcystis aeruginosa was dominant at 25.2% in summer only at site 5. mcyB and anaC have been detected as cyanotoxin synthetase genes. The phylogenetic tree of anaC could be divided into two groups (Group 1 & Group 2). Group 1 contained Aphanizomenon sp. and Cuspidothrix issatschenkoi. It is combined with Aphanizomenon sp. and Cuspidothrix issatschenkoi, which are known to produce cyanotoxins.

This study was conducted to propose a way to increase the accuracy and precision of β-ray measurement equipment. Statistical processing results of equivalent evaluation data from 2016 to 2021 confirmed that the concentration of micro dust measured by β-ray measurement equipment was higher than that of micro dust sampler. According to quarterly data, it was confirmed that the data from the third quarter (July to September) showed a different trend from other periods, which is assumed to be due to weather conditions. This study indicates that automatic micro-dust measurement equipment evaluation at air pollution measuring stations during the third quarter should be excluded. The evaluation cycle should be changed from once every two years to quarterly. In addition, when the criterion for determining equivalence evaluation falls within the range of the slope and intercept values of the existing trend line, it is necessary to evaluate the R2 value together and reduce the slope from 0.9-1.1 to 0.9-1.0.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship of fine dust PM10 and heavy metals in PM10 in Asian dust flowing into Gwangju from 2013 to 2018. The migration pathways of Asian dust was analyzed by backward trajectory analysis using HYSPLIT (Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory) model, and the change of heavy metal concentration and heavy metal content per 1 μg/m3 of fine dust PM10 in Gwangju area were analyzed. Also, the characteristics of the heavy metals were analyzed using the correlation between the heavy metals in PM10. As a result of analyzing Asian dust entering the Gwangju region for 6 years, the average concentration of PM10 measured in Asian dust was 148 μg/m3, which was about 4.5 times higher than in non-Asian dust, 33 μg/m3. A total of 13 Asian dust flowed into the Gwangju during 6 years, and high concentration of PM10 and heavy metals in that were analyzed in the C path flowing through the Gobi/Loess Plateau-Korean Peninsula. As a result of the correlation analysis, in case of Asian dust, there was a high correlation between soil components in heavy metals, so Asian dust seems to have a large external inflow. On the other hand, in case of non-Asian dust, the correlation between find dust PM10 and artificial heavy metal components was high, indicating that the influence of industrial activities in Gwangju area was high.