• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.29
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• pp.11.1-11.7
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• 2014

Objectives South Korea's air quality standards are insufficient in terms of establishing a procedure for their management. The current system lacks a proper decision-making process and prior evidence is not considered. The purpose of this study is to propose a measure for establishing atmospheric environmental standards in South Korea that will take into consideration the health of its residents. Methods In this paper, the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) of the US was examined in order to suggest ways, which consider health effects, to establish air quality standards in South Korea. Up-to-date research on the health effects of air pollution was then reviewed, and tools were proposed to utilize the key results. This was done in an effort to ensure the reliability of the standards with regard to public health. Results This study showed that scientific research on the health effects of air pollution and the methodology used in the research have contributed significantly to establishing air quality standards. However, as the standards are legally binding, the procedure should take into account the effects on other sectors. Realistically speaking, it is impossible to establish standards that protect an entire population from air pollution. Instead, it is necessary to find a balance between what should be done and what can be done. Conclusions Therefore, establishing air quality standards should be done as part of an evidence-based policy that identifies the health effects of air pollution and takes into consideration political, economic, and social contexts.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.64 no.1
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• pp.3-11
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• 2021

There is a growing body of literature on the adverse health effects of ambient air pollution. Children are more adversely affected by air pollution due to their biological susceptibility and exposure patterns. This review summarized the accumulated epidemiologic evidence with emphasis on studies conducted in Korea and heterogeneity in the literature. Based on systematic reviews and meta-analyses, there is consistent evidence on the association between exposure to ambient air pollution and children's health, especially respiratory health and adverse birth outcomes, and growing evidence on neurodevelopmental outcomes. Despite these existing studies, the mechanism of the adverse health effects of air pollution and the critical window of susceptibility remain unclear. There is also a need to identify causes of heterogeneity between studies in terms of measurement of exposure/outcome, study design, and the differential characteristics of air pollutants and population.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.357-365
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• 1994

Air pollution characteristics and the influence of sea breeze on air pollution concentration were studied using the data measured at 7 air quality continuous monitoring stations in Pusan, 1993. Maximum air pollution concentration in Pusan was Gamjeondong for $SO_2$, Sinpyeongdong for TSP, Daeyeondong for $O_3, Kwangbokdong for $NO_2$, Beomcheondong for CO and all substances were under annual ambient air quality standards. Increased rate of concentration for sea breeze was 24.4% for 502, 31.5% for TSP, 8.0% fort $O_3, 26.7% for $NO_2$, 15.7% for CO. Frequencies distribution of $SO_2$, TSP, $O_3$, $NO_2$, and CO concentration for sea breeze moved toward high concentration class.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.57-68
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• 2012

Recent studies showed that air pollution is a risk factor for hospitalization for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, there is limited evidence to suggest which subpopulations are at higher risk from air pollution. This study was undertaken to examine the modifying effect of specific secondary diagnosis (including hypertension, diabetes, pneumonia, congestive heart failure) on the relationship between hospital admissions for COPD and ambient air pollutants concentrations. Hospital admissions for COPD and ambient air pollution data for Taipei were obtained for the period from 1999-2009. The relative risk of hospital admissions for COPD was estimated using a case-crossover approach. None of the secondary diagnosis we examined showed much evidence of effect modification.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.119-126
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• 2001

Air pollution epidemiologic studies are intrinsically difficult because the expected effect size at general environmental levels is small, exposure and misclassification of exposure are common, and exposure is not selective to a specific pollutant. In this review paper, epidemiologic study designs and analytic methods are described, and two nationwide projects on air pollution epidemiology are introduced. This paper also demonstrates that possible confounding issues in time-series analysis can be resolved and the impact on the use of data from ambient monitoring stations may not be critical. In this paper we provide a basic understanding of the types of air pollution epidemiologic study designs that be subdivided by the mode of air pollution effects on human health (acute or chronic). With the improvements in the area of air pollution epidemiologic studies, we should emphasize that elaborate models and statistical techniques cannot compensate for inadequate study design or poor data collection.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.265-274
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• 2018

Objectives: A positive association between air pollution and both the incidence and prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) has been reported in some epidemiologic and animal studies, but little research has evaluated the relationship between air pollution and diabetic coma. Diabetic coma is an acute complication of DM caused by diabetic ketoacidosis or hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state, which is characterized by extreme hyperglycemia accompanied by coma. We conducted a time-series study with a generalized additive model using a distributed-lag non-linear model to assess the association between ambient air pollution (particulate matter less than $10{\mu}m$ in aerodynamic diameter, nitrogen dioxide [$NO_2$], sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and ozone) and emergency department (ED) visits for DM with coma in Seoul, Korea from 2005 to 2009. Methods: The ED data and medical records from the 3 years previous to each diabetic coma event were obtained from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service to examine the relationship with air pollutants. Results: Overall, the adjusted relative risks (RRs) for an interquartile range (IQR) increment of $NO_2$ was statistically significant at lag 1 (RR, 1.125; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.039 to 1.219) in a single-lag model and both lag 0-1 (RR, 1.120; 95% CI, 1.028 to 1.219) and lag 0-3 (RR, 1.092; 95% CI, 1.005 to 1.186) in a cumulative-lag model. In a subgroup analysis, significant positive RRs were found for females for per-IQR increments of $NO_2$ at cumulative lag 0-3 (RR, 1.149; 95% CI, 1.022 to 1.291). Conclusions: The results of our study suggest that ambient air pollution, specifically $NO_2$, is associated with ED visits for diabetic coma.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.227-233
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• 2013

Scientific evidence shows that ambient air quality is one of the major environmental issues related to human health. The aim of this paper was to provide quantitative data on the short-term impact of air pollution on the mortality and morbidity of people living in Suwon city. There are some studies that have conducted health impacts of the air pollution in Seoul, Korea. However, there are few studies of the health effects on air pollution conducted in satellite cities of the Seoul Metropolitan area. For this reason, we investigated the health effects of air pollution in Suwon city, one of the highly populated satellite cities of Seoul. In order to estimate the short-term mortality impact of air pollution, this study applied the approach suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO), using AirQ2.2.3 software. Daily concentrations of $PM_{10}$, $O_3$, $NO_2$, and $SO_2$ were used to assess human exposure and health effects, in terms of attributable proportion of the health outcome, annual number of excess cases of mortality for all causes, and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Among the four considered air pollutants, $PM_{10}$ had the highest health impact on the 1,118,000 inhabitants of Suwon city, causing an excess of total mortality of 105 out of 4,254 in a year. Sulfur dioxide had the least health impact. Ozone and nitrogen dioxide each caused 42.7 and 81.3 excess cases of total mortality in a year. The results are also in line with those of other international studies that apply AirQ software.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.85 no.4
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• pp.313-319
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• 2022

Environmental exposure to air pollution is known to have adverse effects on various organs. Air pollution has greater effects on the pulmonary system as the lungs are directly exposed to contaminants in the air. Here, we review the associations of air pollution with the development, morbidity, and mortality of pulmonary diseases. Short-and long-term exposure to air pollution have been shown to increase mortality risk even at concentrations below the current national guidelines. Ambient air pollution has been shown to be associated with lung cancer. Particularly long-term exposure to particulate matter with a diameter <2.5 ㎛ (PM_2.5) has been reported to be associated with lung cancer even at low concentrations. In addition, exposure to air pollution has been shown to increase the incidence risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and has been correlated with exacerbation and mortality of COPD. Air pollution has also been linked to exacerbation, mortality, and development of asthma. Exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) has been demonstrated to be related to increased mortality in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Additionally, air pollution increases the incidence of infectious diseases, such as pneumonia, bronchitis, and tuberculosis. Furthermore, emerging evidence supports a link between air pollution and coronavirus disease 2019 transmission, susceptibility, severity and mortality. In conclusion, the stringency of air quality guidelines should be increased and further therapeutic trials are required in patients at high risk of adverse health effects of air pollution.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.83-117
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• 2004

This study investigates the spatial distributions of the ambient levels of air pollutants ($SO_2$, $NO_2$, $O_3$, CO, and PM) in Seoul metropolitan area using the data obtained by the air pollution observation stations. This study estimated a non-parametric kernel density function and two types of inequality indices, Gini and Entropy. Our estimation results show that the degree of inequality in spatial distribution of air pollution, in general, tends to be stable or slightly decreasing for the period of 1990~2001. In addition, we found that there are significant dynamics of air pollution levels in terms of spatial ranking.

• Proceedings of the Korea Air Pollution Research Association Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.443-445
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• 2005