• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.277-283
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• 1995

Purpose : This study was performed to measure dose alteration at the air-tissue interface resulting from rebuild-up to the loss of charged particle equilibrium in the tissues around the air-tissue interfaces. Materials and Methods : The 6 and 10-MV photon beam in dual energy linear accelerator were used to measure the surface dose at the air-tissue interface The polystyrene phantom sized $25{\times}25{\times}5\;cm^3$ and a water phantom sized $29{\times}29{\times}48\;cm^3$ which incorporates a parallel-plate ionization chamber in the distal side of air gap were used in this study. The treatment field sizes were $5{\times}5\;cm^2,\;10{\times}10\;cm^2\;and\;20{\times}20\;cm^2$. Air cavity thickness was variable from 10 mm to 50 mm. The observed-expected ratio (OER) was defined as the ratio of dose measured at the distal junction that is air-tissue interface to the dose measured at the same point in a homogeneous phantom. Results : In this experiment, the result of OER was close or slightly over than 1.0 for the large field size but much less (about 0.565) than 1.0 for the small field size in both photon energy. The factors to affect the dose distribution at the air-tissue interface were the field size, the thickness of air cavity. and the photon energy. Conclusion : Thus, the radiation oncologist should take into account dose reduction at the air-tissue interface when planning the head and neck cancer especially pharynx and laryngeal lesions, because the dose can be less nearly $29{\%}$ than predicted value.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.310-319
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• 1993

A pilot study was conducted in order to investigate the concentrations of indoor and outdoor VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) at ten homes and four building offices in Seoul during March-April, 1993. The five components of VOCs(Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, o-Xylene, m/p-Xylene) were collected using charcoal tube and were analysed using Gas Chromatography(GC) with a Flame Ionization Detector(FID). The mean concentations of indoor VOCs were shown as Benzene of 38.9 .mu.g/m$^{3}$. Toluene of 165.0 .mu.g/m$^{3}$, Ethylbenzene of 21.7 .mu.g/m$^{3}$, o-Xylene of 11.6 .mu.g/m$^{3}$ and m/p-Xylene of 29.3 .mu.g/m$^{3}$, but those corresponding that indoor levels of VOCs were higher than corresponding outdoor levels. The ratio of indoor and outdoor VOCs were higher than corresponding outdoor levels. The ratio of indoor and outdoor VOCs concentrations was 0.99 for Benzene, 1.23 for Toluene, 5.86 for Ethylbenzene, 5.23 for o-Xylene, 2.41 for m/p-Xylene in homes, while 2.02 for Benzene, 1.15 for Toulene, 0.96 for Ethylbenzene, 1.41 for o-Xylene, 1.38 for m/p-Xylene in offices, respectively. The mean concentrations of VOCs in homes were higher than those levels in offices, while the mean concentration of VOCs during active hour of occupants in a day were higher 1-3 times than the levels during non-active hour. Comparing VOCs levels by building's age, the mean concentrations of Benzene, o-Xylene and m/p-Xylene were higher in new building than old building, but the mean concentrations of Toluene and Etylbenzene in new building were lower than old building. The mean concentrations in all components of VOCs in smoking area were higher than non-smoking area. These results suggested that the VOC levels were affected by various indoor characteristics and behavioral activity of occupants.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.169-176
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• 2013

The present study was designed to examine the concentrations, emission rates, and source characteristics of a variety of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in 30 newly-constructed apartment buildings by measuring indoor and outdoor VOC concentrations over a 2-year period. For comparison, seven villa-type houses were also surveyed for indoor and outdoor VOC concentrations over a 3-month period. Indoor and outdoor air samples were collected on Tenax-TA adsorbent and analyzed using a gas chromatograph (GC)/mass spectrometer system or a GC/flame ionization detector system coupled to a thermal desorption system. The long-term change in indoor VOC concentrations depended on the type of VOCs. Generally, aromatic (except for naphthalene), aliphatic, and terpene compounds exhibited a gradual deceasing trend over the 2-year follow-up period. However, the indoor concentrations of the six halogenated VOCs did not significantly vary with time changes. Similar to these halogenated VOCs, the indoor naphthalene concentrations did not vary significantly with time changes over the 2-year period. Unlike the halogenated VOCs, the indoor naphthalene concentrations were much higher than the outdoor concentrations. The indoor concentrations of aliphatic and aromatic compounds were higher for the villa-type houses when compared to those of apartment buildings. In addition, four source groups (floor coverings and interior painting, household products, wood paneling and furniture, moth repellents) and three source groups (floor coverings and interior painting, household products, and moth repellents) were considered as potential VOC sources inside apartment buildings for the first- and second-year post-occupancy stages, respectively.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.220-225
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• 2017

Background: Benzene is a known occupational and environmental pollutant. Its urinary metabolite trans, trans-muconic acid (tt-MA) has been introduced by some environmental and occupational health regulatory associations as a biological index for the assessment of benzene exposure; however, recently, doubts have been raised about the specificity of tt-MA for low-level benzene exposures. In the present study, we investigated the association between urinary levels of tt-MA and inhalational exposure to benzene in different exposure groups. Methods: Benzene exposure was assessed by personal air sampling. Collected benzene on charcoal tube was extracted by carbon disulfide and determined by a gas chromatograph (gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector). Urinary tt-MA was extracted by a strong anion-exchange column and determined with high-performance liquid chromatography-UV. Results: Urinary levels of tt-MA in intensive benzene exposure groups (chemical workers and police officers) were significantly higher than other groups (urban and rural residents), but its levels in the last two groups with significant different exposure levels (mean = 0.081 ppm and 0.019 ppm, respectively) showed no significant difference (mean = $388{\mu}g/g$ creatinine and $282{\mu}g/g$, respectively; p < 0.05). Before work shift, urine samples of workers and police officers showed a high amount of tt-MA and its levels in rural residents' samples were not zero. Conclusion: Our results suggest that tt-MA may not be a reliable biomarker for monitoring low-level (below 0.5 ppm) benzene exposures.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 1998.04a
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• pp.99-101
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• 1998

1. Introduction : The conventional grafting polymerization technique requires chemically reactive groups on the surface as well as on the polymer chains. For this reason, a series of prefunctionalization steps are necessary for covalent grafting. The surface prefunctionalizational technique for grafting can be used to ionization radiation, UV, plasma, ion beam or chemical initiators. Of these techniques, radiation method is one of the useful methods because of uniform and rapid creation of active radical sites without catalytic contamination in grafted samples. If the diffusion of monomer into polymer is large enough to come to the inside of polymer substrate, a homogeneous and uniform grafting reaction can be carried out throughout the whole polymer substrate. Radiation-induced grafting method may attach specific functional moieties to a polymeric substrate, such as preirradiation and simultaneous irradiation. The former is irradiated at backbone polymer in vacuum or nitrogen gas and air, and then subsequent monomer grafting by trapped or peroxy radicals, while the latter is irradiated at backbone polymer in the presence of the monomer. Therefore, radiation-induced polymerization can be used to modification of the chemical and physical properties of the polymeric materials and has attracted considerable interest because it imparts desirable properties such as blood compatibility. membrane quality, ion excahnge, dyeability, protein adsorption, and immobilization of bioactive materials. Synthesizing biocompatible materials by radiation method such as preirradiation or simultaneous irradiation has often used $\gamma$-rays to graft hydrophilic monomers onto hydrophobic polymer substrates. In this work, in attempt to produce surfaces that show low levels of anti-fouling of bovine serum albumin(BSA) solutions, hydroxyethyl methacrylate(HEMA) was grafted polypropylene membrane surfaces by preirradiation technique. The anti-fouling effect of the polypropylene membrane after grafting was examined by permeation BSA solution.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.156-161
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• 2011

Objectives: Tetrahydrofuran (THF) is a colorless, water-miscible organic liquid with low viscosity at standard temperature and pressure. THF has been used as a solvent and a precursor for various syntheses of polymers. However, THF is known to irritate to the eyes, skin and mucus membranes. Overexposure by inhalation, ingestion or skin contact may produce nausea, dizziness, headaches, respiratory irritation and possible skin burns. The purpose of this study is to evaluate of the worker exposure and characteristics of workers in the workplaces that use or manufacture THF. Methods: Sixteen factories in Korea, which manufacture or use THF, were selected for this study and a total of 130 air samples including 104 time-weighted average (TWA) samples and 26 short-term exposure limit (STEL) samples, were collected. Air samples were collected with charcoal tube (100mg/50mg) and analyzed by gas chromatograph/flame ionization detector(GC/FID). Results: The TWA concentration of THF was 16.05ppm (GM) at PS script printing, 2.32ppm (GM) at PVC stabilizer, 1.03ppm (GM) at Lithium triethylborohydride, 0.63ppm (GM) at Polytetramethylene ether glycol(PTMEG), 0.42ppm (GM) at Manufacturing THF, 0.13ppm (GM) at Glue and 0.12ppm (GM) at synthetic rubber/resins. Two out of sampes for PS script printing exceeded 50ppm as 8-hour exposure limit of MOEL. The short term exposure to THF was 54.77ppm (GM) at PS script printing, 17.10ppm (GM) at PTMEG, 13.76ppm (GM) at Manufacturing THF, 2.86ppm (GM) at Lithium triethylborohydride, 0.87ppm (GM) at synthetic rubber/resins and 0.13ppm (GM) Glue. We found that the highest exposure process for both the TWA and STEL samples was PS script process. Two samples exceeded 100ppm as short term exposure limit of Ministry of Employment and Labor(MOEL). Conclusions: Characteristic of STEL concentration for THF is considerably different from TWA concentration in workplaces because workers could exposure high concentration of THF in a moment when they work irregularly schedule. So exposure controls for momentary works have to be prepared, and considered the skin absorption and inhale of THF.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.321-327
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• 2009

1,3-butadiene is classified as suspected human carcinogen, group A2(American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, ACGIH). In Korea, 1,3-butadiene has been used as a raw material; monomer, homopolymer, polybutadiene latex, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene(ABS) and styrene-butadiene rubber(SBR), in the petrochemistry and precision chemistry industry. As petrochemistry industry in Korea has been developed, the potential exposure possibility of 1,3-butadiene to workers can be increased. Therefore the purpose of this study is to evaluate airborne 1,3-butadiene concentration and workers' exposure levels in the workplace using 1,3-butadiene. Air samples were collected with 4-tert-butyl catechol(TBC) charcoal tube(100 mg/50 mg) and were analyzed by gas chromatograph/flame ionization detector(GC/FID) according to the Choi's method(2002). Geometric mean (GM) and arithmetic mean (AM) of total 59 workers' exposure concentrations to airborne 1.3-butadiene were 0.042 ppm and 1.51 ppm, respectively. Although most samples were lower than 1ppm, 2 samples(21.5ppm and 33.1ppm as 8hr-TWA) were exceeded the Korean standard(2ppm) over 10 times at the repair process in synthetic rubber and resin manufacture industry. 14 samples(41%) of total 34 short-term air samples were exceeded the Korean standard(10ppm as STEL) of Ministry Labor. 1,3-butadiene concentration(GM) in the synthetic rubber and resin manufacture industry(7.87ppm) was significantly higher than that in the monomer manufacure industry (0.35ppm)(p<0.05). Also in the sampling and repair process, each GM(range) was 1.39ppm(N.D.-469.6ppm) and 7.85ppm(N.D.-410.2ppm). In conclusion, it depends on the industry and process, 1,3-butadiene can be exposed to workers as high concentration for short-term.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.229-236
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• 1998

In order to establish a testing system for personnel dosimetry performance, the radiation fields from photons, beta particles and neutrons are required, in recent, Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety(KINS) established the reference radation fields except neutrons and tested a variety of their properties. As a result of the test, the reference beams were shown to meet satisfactorily not only the standards of the International Organization for Standardization(ISO), but also the standard levels of the developed countries which are intercomparable with the international traceability. This paper describes the reference beam of gamma radiation. The self-designed and established reference radiation fields were investigated and analyzed by ISO and other international standards. The secondary photon contribution and the beam uniformity of the gamma radiation field were measured and evaluated to fulfill those requirements suggested by the ISO-4037. The measured air kerma rate for the $^{137}$Cs and $^{60}$Co gamma fields was 0.1891 $\sim$ 23.4967 $\mu$Gy/s sand 0.5844 $\sim$ 15.9954 $\mu$Gy/s respectively. The uncertainty with 95 % confidence level of the measured air kerma rate was determined to be less than 2.5 % which is comparable to the international reference gamma radiation fields. It was found that the evaluated air kerma calibration factors of Exradin ionization chamber were in good agreement within 0.9 % and 0.03 % with those given by PTB and NIST, respectively. The gamma radiation fields installed at KINS can maintain traceability systems in Korea, Germany and United State.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.453-460
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to determine the dose distribution and image quality according to slice thickness and BC(beam collimation) in the gantry aperture. CT scans were performed with a 64-slice MDCT(Brilliance 64, Philips, Cleveland, USA) scanner. To determine the dose distribution according to BC, a ionization chamber was placed at isocenter and 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 cm positions from the isocenter in the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock directions. The dose distribution for phantom scan was also measured using CT head and body dose phantom with five holes at the center of the phantom and the positions of the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock directions. The image noise measurement for different BCs was performed using an AAPM CT phantom. Water-filled block of the phantom was moved by 5 cm or 10 cm to the 12 o'clock direction, and the image noise was measured at the center of the phantom, and the points of 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock direction respectively. Some points were placed beyond the scan field of view (SFOV), so that measurement was not possible at that points. The results are as follows: The CTDIw showed a larger decrease as the source goes farther from the iso-center or the BC became wider. The CTDIw depends on the BC width more than the number of the channel of a detector array. The value of CTDIW decreased with increasing BC, but the value decreased 16.6~31.9% in the head phantom scan in air scan and 51.0~64.5% in the body phantom scan. The value of the noise was 3.9~5.9 in the head and 5.3~7.4 in the body except for BC of $2{\times}0.5\;mm$, regardless of the degree of deviation from the iso-center. When a subject was located within the SFOV, the position did not significantly affect image quality even if the subject was out of the center.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.217-226
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• 2024

This study aimed to investigate the influence of anions in the air on the purification of fine dust (PM10 and PM2.5) and to evaluate the effects of plants on the generation of anions in the air and the purification of fine dust. Subsequently, the fine dust reduction models were compared according to each factor and plant volume. The characteristics of anion generation by each factor were observed to be in the order of Type N.I (negative ion generator; 204,133.33 ea/cm³) > Type P₃₀ (plant vol. 30%; 362.55 ea/cm³) > Type C (control; 46.22 ea/cm³), indicating that the amount of anion generation in the anion generator treatment group and the plant arrangement group were approximately 4,417 times and 7 times higher, respectively, than that in the untreated group. Consequently, the fine dust reduction characteristics by anion generation source showed that for PM10, Type NI had a purification efficiency 2.52 times higher than Type C, and Type P₃₀ was 1.46 times higher, while for PM2.5, Type NI had a purification efficiency 2.26 times higher than Type C, and Type P₃₀ was 1.31 times higher. The efficiency of fine dust purification by plant volume was in the order of Type P₂₀ (84.60 minutes) > Type P₃₀ (106.50 minutes) = Type P₂₅ (115.50 minutes) = Type P₁₅ (117.60 minutes) > Type P₅ (125.25 minutes) = Type P₁₀ (129.75 minutes), and for ultrafine dust, Type P₂₀ (104.00 minutes) > Type P₃₀ (133.20 minutes) = Type P₂₅ (144.00 minutes) = Type P₁₅ (147.60 minutes) > Type P₅ (161.25 minutes) = Type P₁₀ (168.00 minutes). Thus, a quantitative analysis of the anions and plants for purifying fine dust and suggested matters to be considered for future green space planning and plant planting considering fine dust purification.