TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of land use on the spatial distribution of trace metals and volatile organic compounds in urban groundwater, Seoul, Korea
AU - Park, Seong Sook
AU - Kim, Soon Oh
AU - Yun, Seong Taek
AU - Chae, Gi Tak
AU - Yu, Soon Young
AU - Kim, Seungki
AU - Kim, Young
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements This research was supported by the Environmental Geosphere Research Lab (EGRL) of Korea University. The authors should acknowledge many graduate students of Korea University who contributed to the field work for this study. Thoughtful comments by anonymous referees and Dr. P.E. LaMoreaux (journal editor) were helpful to improve the manuscript.
PY - 2005/10
Y1 - 2005/10
N2 - To investigate the urban groundwater contamination by eight trace metals and 69 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in relation to land use in Seoul, a total of 57 groundwater samples collected from wells were examined using a non-parametric statistical analysis. Land use was classified into five categories: less-developed, residential, agricultural, traffic, and industrial. A comparison of analyzed data with US EPA and Korean standards for drinking water showed that some metals and VOCs exceeded the standards in a few localities, such as Fe (N=5), Mn (N=6), Cu (N=1), TCE (N=6), PCE (N=8), 1,2-DCA (N=1), and 1,2-dichloropropane (N=1). Among the 69 investigated VOCs, 19 compounds such as some gasoline-related compounds (e.g., toluene) and chlorinated compounds (e.g., chloroform, PCE, TCE) were detected in groundwater. Non-parametric statistical analysis showed that the concentrations of most trace metals (Fe, Mn, As, Cr, Pb, Cd) and some VOCs (especially, TCE, PCE, chloroform; toluene, carbon tetrachloride, bromodichloromethane, CFC113) are significantly higher in the industrial, residential, and traffic areas (P<0.05), indicating that anthropogenic contamination of urban groundwater by those chemicals is growing. Those chemicals can be used as effective indicators of anthropogenic contamination of groundwater in urban areas and therefore a special attention is warranted for a safe water supply in those areas. The results of this study suggest that urban groundwater quality in urban areas is closely related with land use.
AB - To investigate the urban groundwater contamination by eight trace metals and 69 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in relation to land use in Seoul, a total of 57 groundwater samples collected from wells were examined using a non-parametric statistical analysis. Land use was classified into five categories: less-developed, residential, agricultural, traffic, and industrial. A comparison of analyzed data with US EPA and Korean standards for drinking water showed that some metals and VOCs exceeded the standards in a few localities, such as Fe (N=5), Mn (N=6), Cu (N=1), TCE (N=6), PCE (N=8), 1,2-DCA (N=1), and 1,2-dichloropropane (N=1). Among the 69 investigated VOCs, 19 compounds such as some gasoline-related compounds (e.g., toluene) and chlorinated compounds (e.g., chloroform, PCE, TCE) were detected in groundwater. Non-parametric statistical analysis showed that the concentrations of most trace metals (Fe, Mn, As, Cr, Pb, Cd) and some VOCs (especially, TCE, PCE, chloroform; toluene, carbon tetrachloride, bromodichloromethane, CFC113) are significantly higher in the industrial, residential, and traffic areas (P<0.05), indicating that anthropogenic contamination of urban groundwater by those chemicals is growing. Those chemicals can be used as effective indicators of anthropogenic contamination of groundwater in urban areas and therefore a special attention is warranted for a safe water supply in those areas. The results of this study suggest that urban groundwater quality in urban areas is closely related with land use.
KW - Land use
KW - Non-parametric statistical analysis
KW - Seoul
KW - Trace metals
KW - Urban groundwater
KW - Volatile organic compounds
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=28344439052&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00254-005-0053-8
DO - 10.1007/s00254-005-0053-8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:28344439052
SN - 1866-6280
VL - 48
SP - 1116
EP - 1131
JO - Environmental Earth Sciences
JF - Environmental Earth Sciences
IS - 8
ER -