Seasonal characteristics of water and sediment qualities and potential effects of the freshwater discharge from a small tide embankment interior in a coastal area in Goheung county were investigated from May to September in 2012. Chemical oxygen demand values (COD) were mostly higher than 2 mg/L in summer ebb tide, which exceed the standard value of water quality criteria II of acceptable level for aquaculture activities. Nitrogen and phosphorus were found as the limiting nutrients for algae growth in summer and fall and in spring, respectively. Nitrogen was the limiting nutrient for diatom growth in the whole studied period. The sudden high values of COD, ammonia, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) were found in water sample collected from station 5 which located in front of the tide embankment sluice gate during spring ebb tide. The freshwater discharge form the tide embankment interior maybe affected the survey areas during a short time interval. Mean values of eutrophication index of the surveyed coastal region in spring, summer and fall were all bigger than 1. Water quality was mostly considered at level II which acceptable for aquaculture activities. Sediment quality in this study was generally in the range of standard for fisheries environment.

In this study, the Comet assay (evaluation of DNA damage) used the fish hepatocellular carinoma cell, PLHC-1, was tried to the sediment extract obtained from freshwater to understand its applicability as a tool for monitoring sediment toxicity. In paralle

Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA)-treated wood has been widely used in Korea since 1980s, but the release of chromium, copper, and arsenic from the wood has been reported to cause environmental contamination. This study was aimed at investigating the environmental impact of brook water and sediment from the construction of cylindrical wood piles around a brook (partially immersed in the water) and wood bridge structures over the brook. Ten water and ten composite sediment samples (including one control for each) were collected from sites where a large number of treated wood structures were installed. Samples were analyzed for total chromium, copper, and arsenic using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Water contamination was not observed in all samples, but metal concentrations in the sediment samples were elevated at most sites, indicating the accumulation of metals in the sediment. This study suggested that the use of CCA-treated wood by continuos contact with water can lead to marked leaching of metal components and may ultimately cause health effects on aquatic organisms living on or in the sediment.

Sediment microcosm experiments were conducted for 14 and 28 days using Zn spiked sediment to examine chronic toxicity (mortality) of Diporeia spp. as a function of density and time. Mean cumulative Diporeia mortality in 28 day sediment microcosms was 25%

In Korea, the chemical oxygen demand(CODsed) in freshwater sediments has been measured by the potassium permanganate method used for marine sediment because of the absence of authorized analytical method. However, this method has not been fully verified for the freshwater sediment. Therefore, the use or modification of the potassium permanganate method or the development of the new CODsed analytical method may be necessary. In this study, two modified CODsed analytical methods such as the modified potassium permanganate method for CODMn and the modified closed reflux method using potassium dichromate for CODCr were compared. In the preliminary experiment to estimate the capability of the two oxidants for glucose oxidation, CODMn and CODCr were about 70% and 100% of theoretical oxygen demand(ThOD), respectively, indicating that CODCr was very close to the ThOD. The effective titration ranges in CODMn and CODCr were 3.2 to 7.5 mL and 1.0 to 5.0 mL for glucose, 4.3 to 7.5 mL and 1.4 to 4.3 mL for lake sediment, and 2.5 to 5.8 mL and 3.6 to 4.5 mL for river sediment, respectively, within 10% errors. For estimating CODsed recovery(%) in glucose-spiked sediment after aging for 1 day, the mass balances of the CODMn and CODCr among glucose, sediments and glucose-spiked sediments were compared. The recoveries of CODMn and CODCr were 78% and 78% in glucose-spiked river sediments, 91% and 86% in glucose-spiked lake sediments, 97% and 104% in glucose-spiked sand, and 134% and 107% in glucose-spiked clay, respectively. In conclusion, both methods have high confidence levels in terms of analytical methodology but show significant different CODsed concentrations due to difference in the oxidation powers of the oxidants.