Coupling of the AQUATOX and EFDC Models for Ecological Impact Assessment of Chemical Spill Scenarios in the Jeonju River, Korea

Abstract

In this study, an ecological impact was assessed for the short-term leak scenario through the AQUATOX-EFDC model, which combines the proven ecological model AQUATOX with the hydrodynamic model EFDC. A case study of the coupled AQUATOX-EFDC model was conducted for 30–30,000 kg toluene leak scenarios in the Jeonju River in South Korea. A 21-day scenario simulation was conducted, and the impact of the toluene spill accident was evaluated by comparing the biomass between the control simulation and the perturbed simulation. As a result of the simulation, it was found that in the scenario in which 3000 kg of toluene was leaked for a day, a substantial change was expected in the range of 0–640 m from the accident site. Additionally, for a 30,000 kg leak, a substantial change was expected in the range of 0–2300 m from the accident site, and the greatest damage was observed for the fish species group, the top predators. As a result, the AQUATOX-EFDC simulation showed a significant ecological impact, and the proposed model will be helpful to understand the ecological impact and establish the management strategy for the ecological risk of the chemical spill.

Comparison of Optimal Machine Learning Algorithms for Early Detection of Unknown Hazardous Chemicals in Rivers Using Sensor Monitoring Data

“…Studies on the transport and diffusion of oil spills have been performed using leakedpollutant prediction [21][22][23], scenario simulation, and concentration prediction of chemical spills [24][25][26][27]. Additionally, data mining has been applied in several recent studies on leaked pollutants.…”

Experimental Study on the Detection of Hazardous Chemicals Using Alternative Sensors in the Water Environment

“…During the leakage of benzene and nitrobenzene in the Songhua River, China, in 2005, models were used to predict the arrival time of pollutants and their maximum concentrations [ 21 ]. A mock scenario was also created with AQUATOX-EFDC involving the leakage of 30–30,000 kg of toluene into the Jeonju River in Korea [ 22 ]. Laboratory analysis using analytical equipment, such as gas chromatography/mass spectrometry equipment, needs to be conducted when sample collection is involved.…”