Radon concentrations in the raw water and treated water used for 59 brands of bottled water produced in South Korea were analysed. The radon levels in 59 raw water samples ranged from 3.7 to 476.8 Bq/L, with a geometric mean of 49.0 Bq/L. The mean radon levels in raw water samples were high in Jurassic granite aquifers and low in volcanic rock aquifers. However, the maximum radon levels were observed in metamorphic rock aquifers. The concentrations in 55 treated water samples ranged from 0.1 to 239.4 Bq/L, with a geometric mean of 7.7 Bq/L. In treated water, radon levels decreased by 16.0–98.9% (average, 74.9%) due mainly to storage in water tanks and treatment with granular activated carbon (GAC) filters. The radon levels in raw water and treated water samples exceeded the US EPA alternative maximum contaminant level (AMCL) of 148 Bq/L by 16.9% and 1.8%, respectively. Considering the radon reduction rate, it is anticipated that the radon concentrations in bottled water in stores will not exceed 148 Bq/L because it takes about 1–2 weeks for treated water to reach the customer as bottled water.

Uranium and radon concentrations in groundwater from the Goesan area of the Ogcheon Metamorphic Belt (OMB), central Korea, whose bedrock is known to contain the highest uranium levels in Korea, were analyzed from 200 wells. We also measured the uranium concentrations in the bedrock near the investigated wells to infer a relationship between the bedrock geology and the groundwater. The five geologic bedrock units in the Goesan area consist of Cretaceous granite (Kgr), Jurassic granite (Jgr) and three types of metasedimentary rocks (og1, og2, and og3). The percentages of the groundwater samples over 30 μg/L (maximum contaminant level, MCL of US EPA) were 2.0% of the 200 groundwater samples; 12% of Kgr and 1.8% of Jgr exceeded the MCL, respectively. Overall, 16.5% of the 200 groundwater samples exceeded 148 Bq/L (alternative maximum contaminant level, AMCL of US EPA); 60.0% of Kgr and 25.0% of Jgr exceeded the AMCL, but only 0% of og1, 7.9% of og2, and 2.6% of og3 exceeded the value, respectively. No direct correlation was found between uranium concentration and radon concentration in water samples. Radon has a slightly linear correlation with Na (0.31), Mg (−0.30), and F (0.36). However, uranium behavior in groundwater was independent of other components. Based on thermodynamic calculation, uranium chemical speciation was dominated by carbonate complexes, namely the Ca₂UO₂(CO₃)_3(aq) and CaUO₂(CO₃)₃²⁻ species. Although uraniferous mineral phases designated as saturation indices were greatly undersaturated, uranium hydroxides such as schoepite, UO₂(OH)₂ and U(OH)₃ became possible phases. Uranium-containing bedrock in OMB did not significantly affect radioactive levels in the groundwater, possibly due to adsorption effects related to organic matter and geochemical reduction. Nevertheless, oxidation prevention of uranium-containing bedrock needs to be systematically managed for monitoring the possible migration of uranium into groundwater.

In this study, the state of the production, market, and integrated management of mineral water in South Korea was assessed and a strategy was established to improve the competitiveness of mineral water with respect to foreign brands. Diverse data, including a number of mineral water manufacturers, daily permitted volume, daily production amounts, sales volume, and sales amounts, were used to clarify the state of mineral water and establish a strategy. Real-time data transmitted from the mineral water manufacturers were analyzed and managed in an integrated management system (IMS). Chemical characteristics of mineral water were analyzed to assess water quality and identify problems related to contamination. This study shows that specialization plans according to geological characteristics should be established, rather than focusing on quantitative growth by a low-cost sales method. The establishment of contamination management plans was found to be needed for wells with potential pollution due to sub-surface inflow into the wells. We suggest that an independent editing system of the attribute information needs to be designed based on the analysis and management of the IMS.

Information-retrieval services can provide users with personalized services about various information that they want on their current location using a variety of mobile devices. The screens of mobile devices are smaller than those of desktop computers. To provide accurate search results that are appropriate for the small screens of mobile devices, we propose a geosemantic information-retrieval method for the mobile environment to provide specific information appropriate for a given user’s requirements by combining context and ontology. To evaluate the performance of the system, we performed experiments to analyse the run time, memory usage, frequency of items and accuracy of the ontology database, and compared it with an existing relational database. The ontology database provided better retrieval than the relational database in terms of accuracy of the data and computational expense.

Kim, H.C.; Baek, S.K., and Hwang, J.H., 2019. GIS analysis and evaluation on the geothermal reserves of the costal area of Jeju island and Ulleung island, volcanic islands in South Korea. In: Jung, H.-S.; Lee, S.; Ryu, J.-H., and Cui, T. (eds.), Advances in Remote Sensing and Geoscience Information Systems of Coastal Environments. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 90, pp. 377-385. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.South Korea has the greatest growth in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. To reduce emissions through voluntary GHG reduction measures, at the 21st Summit of the Conference on Climate Change in France, geothermal energy was selected as a key technology for the achievement of 50 % reduction in national GHG emissions by 2020. To meet this challenge, selection of the most suitable (reasonable and efficient) geothermal energy development site is necessary. The development of economical geothermal power through the efficient execution of the state budget for future geothermal energy development is also necessary. In other countries, geothermal power is being developed using the heat around active volcanoes. In Korea, geothermal abnormalities are related mostly to the geothermal heat produced by the radioactive decay of elements. The research area selected for this study comprised Korea's representative volcanic islands, Jeju Island and Ulleung Island. The geothermal investigation on Jeju Island was assessed through several boreholes, revealing generally lesser heat flow than that of inland of South Korea. On the other hand, a high temperature gradient was found through recent drilling on Ulleung Island. To determine the cause of this high gradient, rock thermal properties and borehole irradiation data from the coastal areas of Jeju and Ulleung islands were compared. It need to be calculated the geothermal reserve and constructed geothermal parameter maps of the volcanic Jeju and Ulleung islands in South Korea for regional analysis and evaluation. As a result, the average thermal conductivity of rocks is 1.69 W/mK (Ulleung) and 1.76 W/mK (Jeju), lower than inland. In the case of geothermal gradient, heat flow, and heat production rate, Ulleung island is average 86.55 °C/km, 127.06 mW/m2, 3.75 µW/m3 and Jeju island is average 24.65 °C/km, 40.13 mW/m2, 0.76 µWm3. It is the value significantly higher Ulleung island than inland, but Jeju island is lower than inland. It seems to be the reason related to the occurrence origin of the volcanic island.