• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.493-500
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• 2011

This study investigates the relationship between Asian dust and asthma disease in Seoul, using data of Asian dust occurrences and the number of treatments for asthma between 2005 and 2008. The data include the number of treatments for asthma on the basic day paired with the average number of treatments for asthma on the compared days. The compared day is defined by the day of no Asian dust in same month and day of the week as the basic day, when Asian dust occurs. Also, the basic day is expanded to the day after three days from the day of Asian dust. The paired two sample t-test for the number of treatments for asthma on the basic day and the compared days revealed that the Asian dust occurrences are correlated with the asthma disease. The number of treatments for asthma is significantly increased on the one and two days after Asian dust occurs. On the other hand, there's no significant difference in the number of treatments for asthma between the days of Asian dust occurrence and the days of no Asian dust, which implies that people usually try not to go out when Asian dust occurs.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.581-591
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to analyze the characteristics of fine particles concentration and meteorological parameters, and long range transport of wintertime Asian dust at Busan. Also we studied occurrence frequency and tendency of wintertime Asian dust from 1961 to 2010 in Korea. Asian dust occurred most frequently in the spring, the next to winter in Korea. Wintertime Asian dust is steadily increasing recently. Asian dust in Busan was the most occurred in 2001 with 21 days, followed by 12 days in 2002, and 10 days in 2006. The annual mean frequency during the past 12 years(1999~2010) was 7.5 days, and it was two times more than that during the past 50 years(3.8 days). Wintertime Asian dust in Busan has occurred 6 episodes since 2008, and it all occurred in December except for 20 Feb. 2009. The highest concentration of wintertime Asian dust was recorded mostly at Hakjangdong and Jangrimdong which are industrial area. Maintenance time of Asian dust at Busan was from 1hr 30min to 9hr 20min, it was shorter than in the spring. It took from 10 to 15 hours move to Busan after Asian dust was first detected in Korea. Wintertime Asian dust originated from Gobi desert in Mongolia and inner Mongolia near China, except for 9 Dec. 2008 at Busan.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.675-690
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• 2009

This paper aims to analyze number of Asian dust days and their controlling factors in Korea. Asian dust days, Arctic oscillation index, Antarctic oscillation index and Eurasian snow cover data were used in this study. The number of Asian dust days was increasing after the middle 1980s. The number of Asian dust days was concentrated in April. The number of Asian dust days was increased second half (5.1 days) than first half (3.2 days) of the study period. The number of Asian dust days had positive relationship with winter Arctic oscillation index and Antarctic oscillation index. When the Arctic oscillation index and Antarctic oscillation index is positive, the Asian dust days will be increased. The number of Asian dust days had negative relationship with the Eurasian snow cover. When the Eurasian snow cover will be decreased, the Asian dust days will be increased.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.167-183
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• 2013

This paper aimed to investigate the Asian dust source region and climatic condition of source region by the case of Asian dust in south Korea. In order to analyze the weather condition of source region, observed the Asian dust days data and weather data in China were used. The Asian dust days originating from inner-Mongolia were the most frequent. The Asian dust days originating from all the source regions except Loess plateau were increased recently and occurred over the country. In case of Loess plateau, the frequency of the Asian dust days in 1960s was the highest and only the southern region of the south Korea was mostly affected. The relationship between the Asian dust days of Korea and climatic factors of spring and April of source region was significant. The relationship between the Asian dust days originating from the inner Mongolia and sea level pressure of April and relative humidity of spring was negative. The Asian dust days from Gobi had positive relationship with wind gust days and negative relationship with sea level pressure in April. The Asian dust days from Manchuria had negative relationship with precipitation and sea level pressure in April. The Asian dust days from Loess plateau had positive relationship with maximum wind speed and negative relationship with sea level pressure in April.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.111-120
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• 2002

Asian dust(or yellow sand) occurs mainly in spring and occasionally in winter in east Asia, when the weather conditions are under an upper trough/cut-off low and surface high/low pressure system during blocking episode days associated with the stationary patterns of the upper level jet stream. The transport mechanism for Asian dust during the blocking episode days in spring 2001 was analyzed using the TOMS aerosol index and meteorological mesoscale model 5(MM5). Based on the E vector, an extension of an Eliassen-Palm flux, the blocking episode days were found to be associated with the development of an upper cut-off low and surface cyclones. Concurrently, the occurrence of dust storms was also determined by strong cold advection at the rear of a jet streak, which exhibited a maximum wind speed within the upper jet stream. As such, the transport mechanism for Asian dust from China was due to advection of the isentropic potential vorticity(IPV) and isentropic surfaces associated with tropopause folding. The transport heights for Asian dust during the blocking episode days were found to be associated with the distribution of the isentropes below the IPV At the same time, lee waves propagated by topography affected the downward motion and blocking of Asian dust in China. The Asian dust transported from the dust source regions was deposited by fallout and rain-out with a reinforcing frontogenesis within a surface cyclone, as determined from satellite images using TOMS and GMS5. Accordingly, these results emphasize the importance of forecasting jet streaks, the IPV, and isentropes with geopotential heights in east Asia.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.197-202
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• 2005

Objectives: During the spring of 2002, an unprecedented 2 Asian dust events were experienced in Seoul. On those days, the $PM_{10}$ was surprisingly increased, with daily $PM_{10}$ averages exceeding $600\;and\;700{\mu}g/m^3$ on March 21 and April 8, respectively. Accordingly, public concern relating to the possible adverse health effects of these dust events has increased, as the dust arrives in Korea after having flown over heavily industrialized eastern China. We investigated the effects of these Asian dust events on the mortality during the spring of 2002, in Seoul, Korea. Methods: The total number of deaths per day during the spring of 2002 in Seoul was extracted form the mortality records of the National Statistical Office. We constructed 14 Asian dust days (March 17-March 23, April 7-April 13) and 42 control days during the 56 day study period (March 3-April 27) with respect to the days of the week. The daily average numbers of deaths between the Asian dust and control days were analyzed, with adjustment for meteorological variables and pollutants. Results: The daily PM10 average during the Asian dust weeks was $295.2{\mu}g/m^3$, which was significantly higher than during the control days (p<0.001). The daily average number of deaths from all causes during the Asian dust days was 109.9; 65.6 for those aged 65 years and older, 6.7 from respiratory causes (J00-J99) and 25.6 from cardiovascular causes (I00-I99). The estimated percentage increases in the rate of deaths were 2.5% (95% CI=-5.0-10.6) from all causes; 2.2% (95% CI=-7.4-12.8) for those aged 65 years and older, and 36.5% (95% CI=0.7-85.0) from respiratory causes, but with a 6.1% (95% CI=-19.7-9.7) decrease in deaths from cardiovascular causes. Conclusion: The Asian dust events were found to be weakly associated with the risk of death from all causes. However, the association between dust events and deaths from respiratory causes was stronger. This suggests that persons with advanced respiratory diseases may be susceptible to Asian dust events.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.532-538
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• 2020

Objectives: The study evaluated correlations among monthly PM_2.5, PM₁₀, Cd, Pb concentrations and the number of Asian dust days. Methods: Based on data from 'The annual report on air quality in Korea from 1999 to 2017', concentrations of PM₁₀, PM_2.5, Cd, Pb, and the number of Asian dust days were recalculated to mean, standard deviation, minimum, and maximum. Correlation coefficients were calculated among PM_2.5, PM₁₀, Cd, Pb, and Asian dust days. Results: Asian dust days were correlated only with PM₁₀ among the four factors of PM₁₀, PM_2.5, Cd, and Pb. The four factors of PM₁₀, PM_2.5, Cd, and Pb were very significantly correlated with each other (p<0.01). Their correlation coefficients for PM₁₀ were 0.800 for PM_2.5, 0.823 for Cd, and 0.892 for Pb. PM_2.5 was also correlated strongly with Cd (0.845) and Pb (0.830). Cd had a correlation with Pb of 0.971. The maximums of PM_2.5, PM₁₀, and Pb were shown to exceed the atmospheric environmental standard of Korea, which necessitates national continuous exposure control. Based on exposure data, Asian dust days were thought to be an exposure factor for Cd and Pb. Conclusion: Asian dust might be a factor in Cd and Pb exposure. National exposure controls are required for exposure to PM_2.5, PM₁₀, Cd, and Pb.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.249-258
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• 2009

The objectives of this study were to compare the relative risk of all-cause mortality and cause-specific mortality associated with Asian dust events, and especially to investigate the effects on the susceptible population such as the elderly and children, which were based on the data in Seoul from 2000 to 2006. Both of the study periods with/without Asian dust days, respiratory-cause mortality was the highest, followed by cardiovascular-cause mortality and all-cause mortality in sequence among mortality related to air pollution for all-aged group. As to susceptible group, the relative risk of mortality is the highest for +65 yrs group among all-cause mortality. According to comparison of mortality with/without Asian dust days, the relative risk of all-cause mortality is larger in the model with Asian dust days than the one in the model without Asian dust days among all age group (except for under 15 yrs group) and all air pollutants. The relative risk of cause-specific mortality (except for ozone in under 15 yrs group in case of respiratory-cause mortality, and ozone in all age group and over 65 yrs group in case of cardiovascular-cause mortality) per IQR increase of each pollutant is larger in the model without Asian dust days.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.751-765
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• 2017

This research investigates the characteristics of meteorological variation and fine particles ($PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$) for case related to the haze occurrence (Asian dust, long range transport, stationary) in Busan. Haze occurrence day was 559 days for 20 years (from 1996 to 2015), haze occurrence frequency was 82 days (14.7%) in March, followed by 67 days (12.0%) in February and 56 days (10.0%) in May. Asian dust occurred most frequently in spring and least in winter, whereas haze occurrence frequency was 31.5% in spring, 29.7% in winter, 21.1% in fall, and 17.7% in summer. $PM_{10}$ concentration was highest in the occurrence of Asian dust, followed by haze and haze + mist, whereas $PM_{2.5}$ concentration was highest in the occurrence of haze. These results indicate that understanding the relation between meteorological phenomena and fine particle concentration can provide insight into establishing a strategy to control urban air quality.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.78 no.4
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• pp.326-335
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• 2015

Background: Asian dust is known to have harmful effects on the respiratory system. Respiratory conditions are also influenced by environmental conditions regardless of the presence of pollutants. The same pollutant can have different effects on the airway when the air is dry compared with when it is humid. We investigated hospital visits for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma in relation to the environmental conditions. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study using the Korean National Health Insurance Service claims database of patients who visited hospitals in Chuncheon between January 2006 and April 2012. Asian dust, haze, mist, and fog days were determined using reports from the Korea Meteorological Administration. Hospital visits for asthma or COPD on the index days were compared with the comparison days. We used two-way case-crossover techniques with one to two matching. Results: The mean hospital visits for asthma and COPD were $59.37{\pm}34.01$ and $10.04{\pm}6.18$ per day, respectively. Hospital visits for asthma significantly increased at lag0 and lag1 for Asian dust (relative risk [RR], 1.10; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.19; p<0.05) and haze (RR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.06-1.22; p<0.05), but were significantly lower on misty (RR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.80-0.99; p<0.05) and foggy (RR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.84-0.93; p<0.05) days than on control days. The hospital visits for COPD also significantly increased on days with Asian dust (RR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.05-1.59; p<0.05), and were significantly lower at lag4 for foggy days, compared with days without fog (RR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.75-0.97; p<0.05). Conclusion: Asian dust showed an association with airway diseases and had effects for several days after the exposure. In contrast to Asian dust, mist and fog, which occur in humid air conditions, showed the opposite effects on airway diseases, after adjusting to the pollutants. It would require more research to investigate the effects of various air conditions on airway diseases.