Establishment of geochemical thresholds for vanadium throughout Korea and at potential development sites using geochemical map data

Geochemical maps can be used for a variety of purposes, one of which is to establish regional or local geochemical thresholds for the analyzed elements. In the case of vanadium, as industrial demand and use increase, it is necessary to expand the development of vanadium in Korea. However, the environmental management standards are insufficient. Therefore, in this study, using geochemical data, we derived geochemical threshold values for the entire country and areas with potential for the development of vanadium deposits. The regional (country-wide) threshold value was derived using logarithmic transformation of raw data ( N = 23,548) of the first- and second-order stream sediments collected across the country in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. The median + 2 median absolute deviation (MAD) and Tukey inner fence (TIF) values were 116 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg, respectively. Of these, the TIF standard, which showed 0.6% of data exceeding the threshold, was judged to be appropriate for distinguishing clear enrichment or contamination of vanadium. In the case of the Geumsan and Pocheon, areas with potential for vanadium development, the TIF and median + 2 MAD values of 259 mg/kg and 218 mg/kg, respectively, can be used as the criteria for evaluating the impact of environmental pollution before and after deposit development. Likewise, by deriving threshold values of the target elements using geochemical map data, it is possible to provide basic environmental information for geochemical evaluation and follow-up management in advance during large-scale site development.