• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.205-212
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• 2006

Objectives: In spite of the recent increased concern for Asian dust storms, there are few studies concerning how dangerous the general public recognizes these dust storms to be. This study examined the public's perceptions of the risk of the Asian dust storms and also the source of the information concerning the risk. Methods: A telephone interview survey using a standardized questionnaire was done for the adults living in Seoul and its metropolitan area from May 15th, 2003 to May 16th, 2003. The contents of the questionnaire were the sociodemographic characteristics, the perceptions of risk to the Asian dust storms, and the coping strategy of the study participants. Results: The study participants get their information on Asian dust storms mainly from TV newscasts and they have a good knowledge of them. They regard it as one of the most dangerous health risks, along with dioxin. They think that it is associated with allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis and bronchial asthma, etc. Of the 500 study participants, 201 (40.2%) persons suffered bodily discomforts during the Asian dust storm period. Conclusions: Although there are uncertainties about the health risks of Asian dust storms, the public thinks these dust storms are very dangerous to health in many ways This negative perception will not disappear easily. To fill the gap of the public's perceptions of the risk and the objective evidence of its health effects, more studies about its health effects and the methods to reduce exposure are required.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.21-35
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• 2009

The Asian dust storms which originated in the deserts of Mongolia and China transported particles to Korea and led to a high concentration of atmospheric particulate matters (PM) of more than $1000{\mu}g/m^3$ throughout the country in the spring, of 2007. Public concern, in Korea, about the possible adverse effects of these dust events has increased, as these dust storms can contain various air pollutants emitted from heavily industrialized eastern China. The objectives of this study were to understand the concentration characteristics of PM as a function of particle size between the Asian dust storm episodes and non-Asian dust period and to consider the mass size distribution of PM in the Asian dust storms and their water soluble ion species on the potential, possible effects on deposition levels in the three regions (nasopharyngeal, tracheobronchial, and alveolar) of the human respiratory system. The size distribution of PM mass concentration during the Asian dust storms showed a peak in the coarse particle region due to the long-range transport of soil particles from the deserts of Mongolia and China, which was identified by HYSPLIT-4 model for backward trajectory analysis of air arriving in the sampling site of Iksan. During the non-Asian dust period, there were two different types in PM size distribution: bimodal distribution when low concentrations of $PM_{2.5}$ were observed, while unimodal distribution having a peak in fine particle region when high concentrations of $PM_{2.5}$ were showed. This unimodal distribution with high concentrations of fine particulate and secondary air pollutants such as ${SO_4}^{2-}$, ${NO_3}^-$, ${NH_4}^+$ was found to be due to the long-range transport of air pollutants from industrialized eastern China. During the Asian dust storms, the mean concentrations of PM that can be deposited in the nasopharyngeal, tracheobronchial, and alveolar region were $128.8{\mu}g/m^3$, $216.5{\mu}g/m^3$, and $89.6{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively. During the non-Asian dust period, the mean concentrations of PM that can be deposited in the nasopharyngeal, tracheobronchial, and alveolar region were $8.4{\mu}g/m^3$, $9.5{\mu}g/m^3$ and $38.5{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.15-25
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• 2005

Purpose: Recently there are scientific evidences for the health effects of Asian dust-storms. Particularly in 2002, the daily average of $PM_10$ exceeded 600 and 700 $\mu{g}/m^3$ in March and April respectively. We examined the effects of Asian dust‐storms on perceived symptoms and preventive behaviors among children, adults, and elders. Method: The subjects of this study were 425 children, 444 adults and 60 elders. A questionnaire survey was carried out on the children and the adults by teachers and on the elders by interviewers to obtain information on demographic variables, perceived symptoms and preventive behaviors, previous respiratory disease, environmental tobacco smoke, and proximity between the house and the road during Asian dust-storms. We analyzed using descriptive statistics, $X^2$ test and multiple logistic regression models. After adjustment for potential confounders, we estimated the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of the children and the elders for perceived symptoms and preventive behaviors. Result: The elders had a significantly higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms than the other groups. The children had a significantly higher prevalence than the adults in getting URI (1.51), coughing (1.68), rhinorrhea (1.46), fever (2.39) and medication for allergy or asthma (1.90). The children had better behaviors than the elders in closing windows (3.57), taking less outdoor recreational activity (2.59) and staying home (2.60). Conclusion: This study suggested that children and elders are susceptible to the effects of Asian dust on health. Health educators should inform these populations about the influence of Asian dust and provide health education for preventive behaviors.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.69-76
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• 2004

Asian Dust samples were collected in the ambient air of Seosan, Western Korea, in spring of 2000∼2002. PM (Particulate Matter) concentrations were 199,8$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥ in the first Asian Dust period (March, 23∼24) and 249.4$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥ in the second period (April, 7∼9) of 2000. Compared with the concentrations in 2000, relatively low PM concentrations, 157.3$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥ were measured in the periods of 2001 (April, 24∼26). Especially high PM concentration 953.1$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥ were measured in the periods of 2002 (March, 21∼22). The variation in the PM concentration was observed according to the time for the formation of Asian dust. Considering the particle size distributions of Asian dust, a high concentration was also observed in coarse particle region. The results of backward trajectory model showed the route of the dust storms from northern area of Mongol and Gobi desert. Various mycelia grown from fungal spores were observed on the PM samples and identified at the genus level. All the genera from the three years (2000∼2002), Fusarium, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Basipetospora, Epicoccum and Monotospora are hyphomycetes in the division Fungi imperfecti (Deuteromycota). Fungal composition on the dust sample in March, 2000 was similar to the result of March, 2002. However, the result of April, 2001 was obviously different from the other dust periods. The variations of fungal compositions between the dust periods could be caused by the trajectories of the dust storms.

• Proceedings of the Korea Air Pollution Research Association Conference
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• 2002.04a
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• pp.159-160
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• 2002

Soil dust particles transported from loess regions of the Asian continent, called Asian dust, highly influences the air quality of north-eastern Asia and the northern Pacific Ocean. The effects of these dust storms, on the chemical composition of atmospheric aerosol particles with different size, was investigated. Measurements of size distributions of total aerosol and major ion species were carried out on Jeju Island, Korea. (omitted)

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.277-284
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• 2004

The chemical composition and properties of soil were determined at selected sites, such as Loess plateau, Gobi and sand deserts in northern China, where most dust storms occur. Although the transport of this sort of dust storms to Korean peninsula is a well-documented phenomenon, there is not enough information about the very source regions. In this reason, this study tried to measure the chemical composition, including soil elements, anthropogenic elements and ions for soil samples so that certain properties of some major source regions of Asian Dust can be provided. Furthermore, the results are classified into four types of soil like Loess, Loess & sand, Gobi, and sand in order to identify the characteristics and difference among the types. $(X/Al)_{crust}$ values for each soil type were also calculated in this study and compared with those of other references including Asian Dust material(ADM). The results indicated that Ca contribution was higher than Al in all the soil types of this study including ADM and, compared with the values of urban area, contribution of anthropogenic elements such as Cr, Pb, Zn was quite low. However, it must be noted that there is such a variation in the result of soil composition, but it is also certain that the very source region soil composition resolved from this study could support the enhanced study on Asian Dust phenomenon in Korea.

• Korean Management Science Review
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.91-102
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• 2013

This study has an aim to analyze the effects of ADS on conjunctivitis patients among the residents of Seoul, Korea, between 2005 and 2008. For this purpose, the number of medical services provided to conjunctivitis patients on the days of windblown dust storms and the days without any windblown dust storms were analyzed by conducting paired t-test. The interactive effects of the ADS density and the accuracy of ADS forecast on the fluctuation of conjunctivitis cases were also investigated. The results showed that, even with an accurate forecast issued 24 hours prior to the event, the average number of medical services provided for conjunctivitis was higher on the index days than the comparison days. On the other hand, in cases of failure to provide an accurate forecast 24 hours prior to the ADS event, the number of conjunctivitis attacks reported was statistically significantly higher on the index days for 3~5 days after the occurrence of a dust storm in relation to the comparison days. We also found that the rate of increase in asthma treatments on the index days with low level of $PM_{10}$ concentration rather than high $PM_{10}$ level was more significant for all lag days. This study provides evidence that ADS events are significantly associated with conjunctivitis symptoms and the failure to forecast ADS events with low $PM_{10}$ level might aggravate conjunctivitis disease.

• 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.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2007.03a
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• pp.243-246
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• 2007

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.73 no.2
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• pp.84-92
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• 2012

Background: Asian dust storms can be transported across eastern Asia. In vitro, Asian dust particle-induced inflammation and enhancement of the allergic reaction have been observed. However, the fibrotic effects of Asian dust particles are not clear. Production of transforming growth factor ${\beta}_1$ (TGF-${\beta}_1$) and fibronectin were investigated in the bronchial epithelial cells after exposure to Asian dust particulate matter (AD-PM10). Methods: During Asian dust storm periods, air samples were collected. The bronchial epithelial cells were exposed to AD-PM10 with and without the antioxidant, N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC). Then TGF-${\beta}_1$ and fibronectin were detected by Western blotting. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) was detected by the measurement of dicholorodihydrofluorescin (DCF), using a FACScan, and visualized by a confocal microscopy. Results: The expression of TGF-${\beta}_1$, fibronectin and ROS was high after being exposed to AD-PM10, compared to the control. NAC attenuated both TGF-${\beta}_1$ and fibronectin expression in the AD-PM10-exposed the bronchial epithelial cells. Conclusion: AD-PM10 may have fibrotic potential in the bronchial epithelial cells and the possible mechanism is AD-PM10-induced intracellular ROS.