1999년 9월부터 2000년 7월까지 서울시 한남동과 경기도 과천시 두 지역을 중심으로 대기 중 수은의 농도를 시간대별로 관측하였다. 두 지역의 여러 가지 여건 차이에도 불구하고, 양 지역의 농도는 각각 5.34(N=2576), 5.25ngm-3(N=1992)를 기록하였다. 본 자료를 이용하여 양 지역의 농도 분포 특성을 비교하였다. 24시간 주기로 볼 때, 한남동 지역은 야간대에 그리고 과천 지역은 주간대에 높은 강도를 띠는 것으로 나타났다. 계절적으로는 한남동 지역에서 겨울 그리고 과천 지역에서는 여름에 최고농도를 기록하였다. 양 지역에서 수은의 농도를 조절하는 요인을 여러 가지 통계적 기법으로 고찰하였다. 본연구의 결과에 의하면, 연구 지역의 대기중의 수은 분포는 지역적 발생원의 차이에 의해 크게 영향을 받는 것으로 나타났다.

Mercury distribution and hazardous characteristics of major components from SCFLs (Spent compact fluorescent lamps)for 3 lamp manufactures (A, B, C) are estimated by the analysis of mercury concentration and leaching tests such asKorean Extraction Test (KET) and Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP). SCFLs can be separated into glasstube, phosphor powder, metals, ballast, plastics, and binder. Through the analysis of mercury in major components forSCFL, mercury concentration in phosphor powder is much higher than that in other components regardless manufacturesof lamp. Also, mercury concentration in phosphor powder is dependent of the manufactures of lamp. From the leachingtests, all components except phosphor powder from 3 lamp manufactures are verified to be non-hazardous waste becauseall leaching concentrations are below the regulatory level. However, the leaching concentration of mercury in phosphorpowder of SCFLs is higher than the regulatory level in both KET and TCLP regardless manufactures of lamp. Hence,phosphor powder should be managed as a hazardous waste and should be separately managed to control mercury.

Linear type SFL (spent fluorescent lamp) can be classified by 3-banded lamp and general lamp. Linear type SFL is separated by the end-cutting technique to examine the distribution of mercury in the major components such as base cap, glass part and phosphor powder. In this study, the concentration of mercury is analyzed by DMA (Direct Mercury Analysis) method for major components in linear type SFL. From the results of mercury distribution for 3 companies, the concentration of mercury in 3-banded lamp is less than that in general lamp. And phosphor powder has greater than 80% of total mercury amount in SFL and the mercury concentration in phosphor powder is measured between 1,250 ppm and 1,740 ppm. The mercury concentration in phosphor powder can be changed by the type of lamp, company, and period of usage. KET and TCLP are carried out for phosphor powder, glass, and base cap to estimate the hazardous characteristic. From the results of KET and TCLP test for general lamp and 3-banded lamp, phosphor powder from general lamp and 3-banded lamp should be controlled separately by stabilization or other methods to reuse as a renewable material because the phosphor powder is determined as a hazardous waste.

The inhibitory effects of mercury ions on the growth of barley seedlings were studied and the distribution of metal elements in the organs of treated plants was investigated by using synchrotron radiation induced X-ray emission (SRIXE). Although the treatment of mercury ions caused growth inhibition, the mercury-specific increase in variable fluorescence and the abolishment of energy-dependent quenching in broken barley chloroplasts as shown by Moon et al. (1992) were not observed in the leaves of growth-inhibited seedlings. Instead the treatment of mercury decreased Fmax and Fo values. However, Fmax/Fo ratio and photochemical and nonphotochemical quenching coefficients were not affected significantly. By SRIXE analysis of 10μM mercury chloride treated seedlings, accumulation of mercury in roots was observed after 1 hour of treatment and similar concentration was sustained for 48 hours. Relative contents of mercury was high in roots and underground nodes where seeds were attached, but was very low in leaves. Iron and zinc were also distributed mainly in the lower parts of the seedlings. However after 72 hours of treatment the contents of these metals in roots decreased and their distribution became more uniform, which may lead to death of the plants. These results suggest that the observed inhibitory effects on barley seedlings upto 48 hours after the treatment is not due to direct damages in the photosynthetic apparatus, but due to its accumulation in roots and the consequent retardation of the growth of barley seedlings. The decrease in Fmax and Fo is probably due to the decrease in chlorophyll and protein contents caused by the retardation of growth. The observed slow expansion of primary leaves could be also explained by the retardation of growth, but the fluorescence induction pattern from the leaves did not show characteristic symptoms of leaves under water stress.