THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIMEN BANK:
ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Myungjin Kim, Kyohong Song, Jangho Lee, Taeyoung Choi
Areum Han, Heesun Yang
Ecosystem Assessment Division, Environmental Resources Research
Department
National Institute of Environmental Research, Korea
ABSTRACT
The basic role of environmental specimen bank (ESB) is to collect, analyze,
document, and preserve evidence of changes in specimen pollutants and
quality for purposes of environmental monitoring. Such evidence provides a
basis for retrospective analysis of environmental change and for assessing
the effectiveness of previous environmental policies and development
programs and projects.
ESBs were launched in Germany, USA, and Japan in 1979. Currently, they
are being operated at 21 institutes in 17 countries. Korea’s National
Environmental Specimen Bank (NESB) was established in 2009 at National
Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) to detect and track long-term
changes in anthropogenic and natural pollutant loadings and their impact on
natural and human ecosystems.
To this end the NESB has prepared guidelines for sampling and sample
treatment of seven environmental specimens representing the main types of
ecosystems: shoots of red pine (Pinus densiflora), Korean pine (Pinus
koraiensis), Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica), Zelkova tree (Zelkova
serrata), domestic pigeon (Columba livia var. domestica), common carp
(Cyprinus carpio) and freshwater mussel (Unio (Nodularia) douglasiae).
These specimens will be sampled from rivers, agricultural land, managed
forests, urban areas and natural environment conservation areas. Samples
are immediately subjected to cryogenic conditions then transported, milled
and stored maintaining that condition. The specimens represent links in the
food chain of the ecosystems for use as baseline indicators in assessing
long-term environmental effects including climate change.
In addition, previously collected human specimens from NIER’s other
projects, including blood, urine, and plasma will also be stored using the
cryogenic facilities.
NESB will also be expected to bring an insight to environmental impact
assessment which will eventually improve the reliability of environmental
monitoring and impact assessment.
Key Words: National Environmental Specimen Bank (NESB), environmental
monitoring, impact assessment
1. NESB Establishment and Environmental Monitoring
The National Environmental Specimen Bank (NESB) at National
Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) was established in 2009 as an
essential part of Korean environmental monitoring to detect and track longterm changes in anthropogenic and natural pollutant loadings. NESB budget
from 2007 to 2011 was approximately 9 billion won (8 US million) with ESB
building construction, storage facilities including cryogenic freezers and
electric freezers, vibration cryomill, and a vertical liquid nitrogen storage
tank. In 2010 instruments such as ultra pressure liquid chromatographs
(UPLC) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometers (ICP-MS) were
installed for organic and inorganic analysis.
The cryogenic liquid nitrogen freezer (LN tank) room area is capable of
storing 74 cryogenic LN freezers, of which 13 have already been installed. All
are connected to a liquid nitrogen in-line piping system as a part of a backup system with an 11,495L vertical LN storage tank. The LN piping system
ensures that the entire pipeline is kept at cryogenic temperatures. Five or six
more freezers will be added on an annual base. Four electric freezers were
used for temporary storage of specimens and raw samples.
ESB will be applied not only for environmental monitoring and EIA but
also
for
purposes of environmental
policy formulation and analysis.
Environmental specimens in ESB contain a scientific history of environmental
pollution impacts which can be retrieved and by retrospective assessment
(Kim, 2007). ESB will play an important role in preserving the historical
record of natural and human ecosystem impacted by environmental
pollutants and climate change.
Figure 1. NESB Building and LN freezers.
2. Development of Standard Operating Procedures
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) specify the frequency and
quantity of specimen collections. Most sampling will take place annually, at
the same time of year. Representative species will be collected over a long
period of time so that comparisons among the samples reflect the different
environmental impacts on different sampling areas.
The first seven selected specimens are red and Korean pine shoots,
Mongolian oak and zelkova tree leaves, domestic pigeon eggs, common carp
muscles and livers, and freshwater mussel soft tissue. In addition, soil and
earthworms in terrestrial ecosystems; sediment in riverine ecosystems; blue
mussel, mullet, black-tailed gull, and sea lettuce in marine ecosystems are
being considered for possible sampling (Kim et al., 2009) (Figure 2).
The selection of sampling sites follows the procedures of stratified
random sampling within ecosystem types yielding representative area
samples. Specimen data sheets for recording sample data have been
developed since the 2008 pilot study. Following are some notes on SOPs for
the initial seven species sampled.
Figure 2. Kinds of national ESB specimen
2.1 One year old shoot of red and Korean Pine (Pinus densiflora and
Pinus koraiensis)
Red and Korean pines are representative evergreen conifer in Korea.
They have a particular significance as bioindicators because of their
relatively wide distribution. Sampling sites and the age of the trees sampled
for red pine and Korean pine are based on the national forestry physiognomy
(Kim et al., 2008b). Shoots of pines are sorted according to needle age
groups. Low volatile substances adhere to particulate matter and condense
in the bark of young shoots. Sampling takes place between March and May
depending on altitude and atmospheric conditions.
2.2
Leaf of Mongolian oak and zelkova tree (Quercus mongolica and
Zelkova serrata)
Mongolian oak is representative specimen in deciduous trees in
general, while the zelkova tree is suitable specimen for urban area of Korea.
In contrast to the evergreen conifer, the leaves of the summer-green
deciduous trees are exposed to different environmental influences only
during the growing season. Hence, they are generally used as indicators for
the characterization of air-borne pollution during one vegetation period. The
leaves without their petioles are collected between August and September
(Kim et al., 2008b).
2.3 Eggs of domestic pigeon (Columba livia var. domestica)
Domestic pigeon occurs in all regions of Korea. As a representative of
the herbivorous tropic level, the domestic pigeon is used as an accumulation
indicator. Eggs constitute an important pathway for the excretion of
chlorinated hydrocarbons and some heavy metals (German ESB, 2003a).
The sampling takes place during the incubation period, from March to
August.
2.4 Muscle and liver of common carp (Cyprinus carpio)
In limnic ecosystems, carps occupy trophic level of the carnivorous
food chain. Muscle and liver tissues are analyzed for the presence of toxic
substances. Carps have a high degree of resistance to pollutant exposure. As
bottom feeders they are exposed to sediments as well as water column
(German ESB, 2003c). Samples collected should range between three and
eight year old. The sampling is conducted between the middle of September
and the end of November.
2.5 Soft body of freshwater mussel (Unio (Nodularia) douglasiae)
Unio (Nodularia) douglasiae has a wide distribution within Korean
estuaries and generally occurs in large population densities. Their soft
tissues are suitable both for active monitoring and for toxicity and impact
tests (German ESB, 2003b). Mussels live up to an age of 4-5 years. The size
should range between 60 to 90 mm shell-length and the random sample
should comprise at least 20 individuals. The sampling is conducted between
the middle of September and the end of November.
3. Specimen Handling under Cryogenic Condition
3.1. Transportation of environmental samples
The samples will be handled and packaged usually under strict hygienic
conditions (German ESB, 2009). The specimens are deep-frozen using liquid
nitrogen to below -150 throughout the process of transportation to longterm storage or directly to chemical analysis (Kim, 2007). The transport
containers should be cooled down to the required temperature at least two
days before the transport operation (Figure 3).
3.2. Milling of environmental samples
Planetary mill should be used for the homogenization of smaller sample
quantities less than 1 kg (Figure 4). The milling bowls and balls are cooled
overnight in a cryostorage container in the gas phase above liquid nitrogen.
The milling operation takes place for 1-2 minutes at 400 rpm. The NESB
plans to introduce the large scale cryomill this year.
Figure 3. Potable cryogenic container and sample treatment.
Figure 4. Planetary mill and balls.
3.3 Storage of environmental samples
The sample materials are stored in the gas phase over liquid nitrogen.
Storage under cryogenic conditions is advisable particularly when the
samples are being analyzed for non-persistent organic compounds (German
ESB, 2008).
The
overall
annual
NEBS
acquisition
capacity
of
environmental
specimens will amount to 15,600 sub-specimens. One 1,400L cryogenic
freezer can store either 1,600 (100 g vial) or 8,000 (10 g) sub-specimens
(Kim et al., 2008a). Human specimens collected from NIER’s other projects,
including blood, urine, plasma, etc., will also be stored using the cryogenic
facilities beginning this year. The storage capacity for the NESB will be
reviewed and readjusted according to future SOP and storage requirements.
Currently samples for the NEBS are stored in cryogenic and electronic
freezers (Fig. 5). Stored specimens will be partly milled and stored at LN
tanks.
Figure 5. Cryogenic freezer (-150℃) and electronic freezer (-80℃).
3.4 Documentation
All important and unusual events will be recorded in a storage log book
and reported to the person responsible for the storage of samples. The
alarms of the LN tanks are also saved electronically (German ESB, 2008).
The samples in storage must also be documented at regular intervals. All
stock vials identification numbers will be documented in a data base, by
means of which the stock reports can be displayed.
4. Conclusion
The NESB will contribute to both environmental monitoring and impact
assessment. For successful operation, SOPs for environmental specimen
collection, handling, and storage have been studied since 2008. SOPs will be
developed and amended through pilot project. The NESB will begin full
operation this year with the initial banking of representative environmental
specimens.
The NESB will enhance the quality of environmental assessment based
on
real-time
and
retrospective
analysis
but
also
monitoring.
These
contributions will strengthen Korean environmental policy and will bring new
insight to effective environmental management.
REFERENCES
[1] German Environmental Specimen Bank, 2003a, Guideline for sampling
and sample treatment of feral pigeon.
[2] German Environmental Specimen Bank, 2003b, Guideline for sampling
and sample treatment of Zebra Mussel.
[3] German Environmental Specimen Bank, 2003c, Guideline for sampling
and sample treatment of Bream.
[4] German Environmental Specimen Bank, 2008, Guideline for storage of
environmental samples under cryogenic conditions.
[5] German Environmental Specimen Bank, 2009, Guideline for transporting
environmental samples under cryogenic conditions.
[6] Kim, M., 2007, Establishment and Applications of National Environmental
Specimen Bank in Korea, Proceedings of NIER International Seminar:
35-54.
[7] Kim, M., Kim, J., Cho, J. and Yoo, B., 2009, Environmental specimen
bank and ecosystem assessment, J. of Environmental Impact Assessment
18(6), 429-434.
[8] Kim, M., Yoo, B., Lee, S., Lee, J., and Lee, C., 2008a, International trends
of environmental specimen bank and our response. J. of Environmental
Impact Assessment 17(4), 225-233.
[9]
Kim,
M.
et
al.,
2008b,
SOPs
(Standard
Operating
Procedures)
Development and Documentation of National Environmental Specimen
Bank (II), NIER, P. 16-24.