최근 웰빙 시대를 맞이하여 먹거리에 관심이 높아짐에 따라 과수나 작물에 대한 친환경 재배의 중요성이 증대되고 있다. 페로몬은 생물농약 중 생화학 농약으로 분류되는 친환경농자재로서 친환경농업을 위한 필수적인 해충 방제수단이다. 1959년 Butenent 등이 누에의 성페로몬 (E,Z)-10, 12-hexadecadienol을 최초로 보고한 이래 지금까지 수천 종의 곤충 페로몬이 보고되었다. 페로몬은 대부분 둘 또는 그 이상의 복합성분으로 구성되어있다. 곤충의 통신수단인 페로몬이 산업적인 측면에서 해충을 방제하는 수단으로 이용될 수 있다. 예를 들면, 페로몬을 이용하여 해충을 유인함으로서 집단의 최초 발생 시기, 개체군의 밀도 등을 예찰하여 살충제 투약 시기를 조절할 수 있으며, 혹은 직접적인 방제 목적으로 포획용 페로몬 덫을 응용할 수도 있다. 또 다른 응용으로 페로몬의 농도를 높여 자연에서 암수가 만나는 교미를 교란함으로서 2세대 이후의 개체 밀도를 줄일 수 있다. 페로몬이 해충방제 수단으로 수요 농가에 보급되어 화학농약을 대체하기 위해서는 몇 가지 필수적인 조건이 충족되어야 한다. 첫째 : 해충 유인력이 우수해야 한다. 따라서 95% 이상의 순도가 요구된다. 둘째 : 페로몬을 안정하게 지속적으로 휘발시킬 수 있는 적당한 담채 혹은 루어가 개발되어야 한다. 셋째 : 수요에 따른 대량 합성이 가능해야 하며, 적절한 합성단가를 유지해야 한다. 현재 합성법이 개발되어 우리나라 농가에 보급되고 있는 페로몬은 톱다리개미허리 노린재페로몬 등 10여종이며, 이미 개발되었거나 개발 중인 것은 은무늬굴나방페로몬 등 20여종이다. 페로몬은 천연물 중 그 구조가 대체로 간단하기 때문에 의약품 등과 비교하여 합성법을 개발하는 것이 어렵지 않다.

Practical disposal of transformer insulation oil laden with PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) by a chemical treatment has been studied in field work. The transformer insulation oil containing PCBs was treated by the required amounts of PEG (polyethylene glycol) and KOH, along with different reaction conditions such as temperatures and times. The reaction of PEG with PCBs under basic condition produces arylpolyglycols, the products of nucleophilic aromatic substitution. Removal efficiencies of PCBs in insulation oil before and after chemical treatment were examined. The removal efficiency of PCBs was very low at lower temperatures of 25 and 50℃. Under the reaction condition of PEG 600/KOH/100℃/2hr, removal efficiency of PCBs was approximately 70%, showing completely removal of PCBs containing 7~9 chlorines on biphenyl frame which appear later than PCB IUPAC Number 183 (2,2',3,4,4',5',6-heptaCB) in retention time of GC/ECD. However, when increasing the reaction temperature and time to 150℃ and 4 hours, removal efficiency of PCBs reached 99.99% without any formation of PCDDS/PCDFs during the process. Such reaction conditions were verified by several official analytical institutions. In studying the reaction of PEG with PCBs, it confirmed that the process of chemical treatment led to less chlorinated PCBs through a stepwise process with the successive elimination of chlorines.

A practical and efficient disposal method for chemical dechlorination of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) in transformer oil was evaluated. The transformer oil containing PCBs was treated by the PEG 600 (polyethylene glycol 600) and potassium hydroxide (KOH) along with different reaction temperatures(25, 50, 100 and 150oC) and times(30, 60, 240 and 480 min). The best disposal efficiency of PCBs in transformer oil was attained under the experimental conditions of PEG 600 (2.5 w/w%)/KOH (2.5 w/w%)/150oC/4 hrs, showing completely removal of all PCBs containing 3-9 chlorines on two rings of biphenyl. In studying the reaction of PEG/KOH with PCBs, it confirmed that the process led to less chlorinated PCBs through a stepwise process with the successive elimination of chlorines.

A comprehensive quality survey for heavy metals, organophosphorous and organochlorine residual pesticides, and coplanar PCBs in samples such as water, sediments and soils as well as spiders has been implemented. The samples were undertaken at nine stream sites and their vicinity in August 2006, representing different surrounding environments. The levels of PCBs were expressed as concentrations and WHO-TEFs. Among 12 coplanar PCBs as target compounds in this study, 2,3',4,4',5-PentaCB (IUPAC # 118) was the congener with the highest concentration. The total concentrations and TEF values of coplanar PCBs in Siheung stream sediment (heavy industrial complex site located in Ansan city) were 3915.50 pg/g and 0.8366 pg-TEQ/g on a dry weight basis, respectively. Such levels were around 40 times higher compared to sediment from Gapyung stream (green site located in the upper of Myunggi mountain). It is probably due to the direct input of PCBs from PCBs treatment materials. Organophosphorous (EPN, dementon-s-methyl, diazinon, parathion, and phenthoate) and organochlorine (alpha-BHC, aldrin, 4,4'-DDT, 4,4'-DDE, endosulfan alpha and etc.) pesticides were not detected above 5 ppb of detection limits. The concentrations of Cu and Cd in water and sediment samples from Siheung stream were 44.11 and 0.17 ug/㎖ and 713.42 ㎍/g and 3.73 ㎍/g, respectively, which contained 20～40 times higher concentrations than those from Gapyung stream. In addition to the water and sediment samples, the levels of heavy metals in spider from designated sampling sites were also determined. Heavy metals in spider collected near Siheung stream was appeared to be equivalent and/or a little higher levels with respect to other spiders. Furthermore, the ratio of relative heavy metals (Cu, Cd, and Pb) in spider from each stream site showed a correlation as similar as that of heavy metals in soil samples.

Samples of water, soil, and sediment were taken from 10 streams of Andong city in Gyeongbuk province in October 2004. To assess the degree of environmental pollution for each stream site, the chemical analyses of pollutants such as T-N, T-P, COD, heavy metal, organophosphorous and organochlorine pesticides, and dioxin-like PCB congeners were implemented using the standard process tests or the U. S. EPA methods. In addition, biological assessment using insect immune biomarkers was conducted on the same environmental samples to complement the chemical assessment. Except Waya stream (T-N; 2.91 mg/L, T-P; 0.16 mg/L, COD; 14.0 mg/L) with above the environmental quality standards, the T-P and COD concentrations of 9 sites are relatively low. The contents of Pb and Cd in samples taken from each stream were much lower than environmental quality standards. However, in comparison with soil samples of other streams, several times higher concentrations of Pb and Cd were found in locations at Mi, Gilan, Yeonha, and Waya stream sites. Dementon-S-methyl, diazinon, parathion, and phenthoate compounds among organophosphorous pesticides were detected as concentrations of ppb levels, respectively, from soil samples collected in the vicinity of Gilan, Mi, Norim, and Waya stream. On the other hand, 16 organochlorine pesticides and 12 dioxin-like PCB congeners selected in this study were not found in all samples. In particular, considering significant disrupting effects of Waya stream's samples on insect immune capacity, this stream seems to be contaminated with investigated and/or uninvestigated pollutants in this study.