• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.1959-1965
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• 2023

The objective of this study was the establishment of clearance method that can ensure radiological safety and reasonably minimize radioactive waste when demolishing contaminated buildings at KRR-1&2. By reviewing Korean and international laws related to decommissioning, the method for clearance of contaminated buildings presented in this study is to first decontaminate the building and then conduct a radiological safety assessment, such as measuring residual radioactivity, to determine whether the radiation dose criteria for clearance are satisfied. The measurement results meet the radiation dose criteria, the contaminated buildings are regarded as clearance and can be converted into the general buildings. The demolition of the cleared buildings is carried out using conventional demolition methods. The waste generated during the demolition is classified as general construction waste and is disposed of according to relevant laws. The proposed method significantly optimized the number of samples analyzed and reduced the time and cost associated with the decommissioning. The established method will be applied to the ongoing decommissioning of contaminated buildings at KRR-1&2, and its application will be verified by regulatory bodies. The study suggests that this method could be used for the decommissioning of contaminated buildings at other Korean nuclear facilities in the future.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.137-146
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• 1995

Twenty(20) large commercial buildings located in Seoul with friable sprayed-on surface insulation material on ceilings were investigated for asbestos content in bulk material by polarized light microscopy and for airborne fiber concentrations in buildings by phase contrast microscopy. In addition, such building-related variables as building age, numbers of traffic, airflow, surface conditions of the ceiling, temperature, and humidity were studied for any correlation with airborne fiber concentrations. The results were as follows: 1. Chrysotile asbestos was found in two bulk samples with 3-5% content and with <1%in one sample out of total 20 bulk samples collected. Glass fiber and mineral wool were the two major constituents of the bulk samples. 2. The ceiling surfaces were very friable in 16 buildings and were relatively hard in 4 buildings. The friability of the surface material was dependent upon the type and the amount of binder that had been mixed with the sprayed-on surface material. 3. Airborne fiber concentrations were log-normally distributed and the geometric mean(geometric standard deviation) fiber concentrations in the underground parking lots, inside buildings, and outdoor ambient air were 0.0063(1.97)f/cc, 0.0068(2.29)f/cc, and 0.0033(2.36)f/cc, respectively. 4. No significant relationship of airborne fiber concentrations and all building-related variables studied except humidity was found. The results of this study suggest that the sprayed-on surface insulation material found in some commercial buildings may possibly be contaminated with asbestos. Since most of the ceiling surfaces surveyed were very friable and poorly maintained and the airborne fiber concentrations were relatively high, there is a possibility of asbestos fiber contamination in these buildings, particularly at those buildings with asbestos-contaminated surface material. Since poorly maintained surface conditions were thought to be a source of high airborne fiber concentrations, there is a urgent need of a systematic operation and maintenance program. Further study of non-occupational asbestos exposure in general population utilizing advanced analytical technique such as transmission electron microscopy is highly recommended.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.58 no.2
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• pp.191-194
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• 2020

Free-living amoebas (FLAs) can cause severe disease in humans and animals when they become infected. However, there are no accurate survey reports on the prevalence of FLAs in Korea. In this study, we collected 163 tap water samples from buildings, apartments, and restrooms of highway service areas in 7 Korean provinces with high population density. All these buildings and facilities have water storage tanks in common. The survey was separated into categories of buildings, apartments, and highway service areas. Five hundred milliliters of tap water from each building was collected and filtered with 0.2 ㎛ pore filter paper. The filters were incubated in agar plates with heated E. coli at 25℃. After axenization, genomic DNA was collected from each FLA, and species classification was performed using partial 18S-rDNA PCR-sequencing analysis. We found that 12.9% of tap water from buildings with storage tanks in Korea was contaminated with FLAs. The highway service areas had the highest contamination rate at 33.3%. All of the FLAs, except one, were genetically similar to Vermamoeba vermiformis (Hartmannella vermiformis). The remaining FLA (KFA21) was very similar to Acanthamoeba lugdunensis (KA/E26). Although cases of human infection by V. vermiformis are very rare, we must pay attention to the fact that one-third of tap water supplies in highway service areas have been contaminated.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.8
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• pp.1951-1956
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• 2019

As a part of the preliminary decommissioning plan of KEPCO-NF fuel fabrication facility, DCGLs of three target radionuclides, ²³⁴U, ²³⁵U, and ²³⁸U, were derived using RESRAD-BUILD code and contaminated areas of the facility were classified based on contamination levels from the derived DCGLs. From code simulations, one-room modeling results showed that the grinding room in building #2 was the most restrictive (DCGL_gross = 10493.01 Bq/㎡). The DCGL_gross results in contaminated areas from one-room modeling were slightly more conservative than three-room modeling. Prior to the code simulation, field survey and measurements conducted by each survey unit. For a conservative approach, the most restrictive DCGL_gross in each survey unit was taken as a reference to classify the contaminated areas of the facility. Accordingly, seven rooms and 37 rooms in the nuclear-fuel buildings were classified as Class 1 and Class 2, respectively. As expected, fuel material handling and processing rooms such as the grinding room, sintering room, compressing room, and powder collecting room were included in the Class 1 area.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.11
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• pp.3798-3807
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• 2021

Tritium extraction from radioactively contaminated cement mortar samples was performed using heating and liquid scintillation counting methods. Tritiated water molecules (HTO) can be present in contaminated water along with water molecules (H₂O). Water is one of the primary constituents of cement mortar dough. Therefore, if tritium is present in cement mortar, the buildings and structures using this cement mortar would be contaminated by tritium. The radioactivity level of the materials in the environment exposed to tritium contamination should be determined for their disposal in accordance with the criteria of low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. For our experiments, the cement mortar samples were heated at different temperature conditions using a high-temperature combustion furnace, and the extracted tritium was collected into a 0.1 M nitric acid solution, which was then mixed with a liquid scintillator to be analyzed in a liquid scintillation counter (LSC). The tritium extraction rate from the cement mortar sample was calculated to be 90.91% and 98.54% corresponding to 9 h of heating at temperatures of 200 ℃ and 400 ℃, respectively. The tritium extraction rate was close to 100% at 400 ℃, although the bulk of cement mortar sample was contaminated by tritium.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.591-601
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• 2021

Recently it is trend to increase wood use as carbon neutral materials, there is recognized to need necessarily durability improvement of wooden building. It is very rare to report existing on the identification of isolates causing discoloration in domestic weathered wooden building used for long period. The objective of this study was identification of fungi that cause discoloration on the exteriors of weathered domestic wooden buildings in the southern part of South Korea. Our findings can be helpful to establish protection technology for weather deterioration of domestic wooden buildings. Wood chip samples presumed to be contaminated with sapstain fungi were collected from the surface of wooden members used in wooden buildings at Jangheung, Jeollanam-do (two locations, #13 and #14), and Jeju Island (two locations, #31 and #33). The growth of microorganisms was confirmed by performing culture tests for the collected samples, and fungi were isolated, purified, and identified. The results indicated that the fungal strains isolated from wooden buildings #13 and #14 at Jangheung, Jeollanam-do, were 99.83% and 100% homologous to Aureobasidium melanogenum, respectively. For wooden building #31 at Jeju Island (two locations), the fungal strain isolated was 100% homologous to A. melanogenum, which is the same species isolated from the wooden buildings at Jangheung. The fungal strain isolated from wooden building #33 (Jeju Island) had 99.83% homology with A. pullulans, which is commonly found in wood degraded by weather or ultraviolet rays. Our findings can be utilized as a basis for establishing protection technology in domestic wooden buildings.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.165-175
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• 1996

Fourteen(14) large commercial buildings located in Seoul with friable sprayed-on surface insulation material on ceiling were investigated for fiber types in bulk material and for airborne fiber concentrations in buildings by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in order to compare the results with those by polarized light microscopy (PLM) and phase contrast microscopy (PCM). The results were as follows: 1. Chrysotile asbestos was found in one bulk sample out of total 14 bulk samples collected. Glass fiber and mineral wool were the two major constituents of the bulk samples. 2. The Na-Mg-Si-Ca-Fe-Al ratios of the EDX spectra which were normalized with the Si peak were 0-1.0-10-8.3-4.0-4.0 in mineral wool and 0-5-10-21-0-0 in chrysotile asbestos, respectively. 3. Airborne fiber concentrations were log-normalcy distributed and the geometric mean (geometric standard deviation) fiber concentrations by TEM in the underground parking lots and inside buildings were 0.0048 f/cc(1.93) and 0.0040 f/cc(2.27), respectively with no statistical difference. In the outdoor ambient air, statistically significantly lower concentration of 0.0018 f/cc(2.04) was measured. 4. The TEM/PCM ratios of airborne fiber concentrations ranged 0.5 - 2.0 for 80 % of airborne samples analyzed, end the regression equation between TEM and PCM was PCM=-0.2724+1.1355(TEM) with the coefficient of determination $R^2=0.52$. The results of this study confirmed that the sprayed-on surface insulation material found in some commercial buildings may possibly be contaminated with asbestos fiber. Since statistically significant relationship of fiber concentrations measured by PCM and TEM inside buildings and ambient air was found, previous results by PCM in ambient air could be used to estimate the ambient fiber concentrations in knowing the ratio of TEM/PCM.

• Proceedings of the SAREK Conference
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• 2006.06a
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• pp.944-949
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• 2006

An infiltration was realized as an important part of ventilation to change fresh air with contaminated air in a house. In this study, it was measured the infiltration in new apartment buildings according to Seasons, height etc. We measured the infiltration by using tracer gas method and did for 24hours. To quantify the infiltration, Sulfur Hexafluoride($SF_6$) gas was used. The Constant Concentration was conducted during experimental process and the concentration of the gas was measured with a gas monitor. In the results of the measurement, the infiltration were appeared over 0.6 ACH in winter and about 0.2 ACH in summer and autumn. Also the infiltration were measured more highly at high and low stories than middle stories in winter.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.183-188
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• 1984

This paper was concerned with the investigation on the species of fungi detected in indoor environments. Mycological survey on the wall of buildings and houses in Seoul was performed from December 26, 1983 to February 11, 1984. The collected fungi with the sterilized cotton rod were caltivated and isolated in the Potato-Detrose Agar medium with chloramphenicol. The fungi detected in hospital were Cladosporium sp., Penicillium sp., Alternaria sp., Chaetomium sp. and others. The fungi detected in household were Penicillium sp., Alternaria sp., Aspergillus sp., Cladosporium sp., Rhizopus sp., Trichoderma sp. and others. The kitchen of household was more contaminated by fungi than the living room and others. In hospital, it was much contaminated by the same species of the aboves on the wall of lobby and refectory. As the above results were recognized, the higher humidity and the more poor ventilation, the more species and amount of fungi were contaminated. Further studies on the identification of pathogenic fungi should be continued. The proper regulation for the hygienic maintenance of indoor environment in household, hospital and other public buildings should be recommended as well.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.752-758
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• 2006

A GPS receiver provides much information such as calculated position, speed, heading, status of satellites, current time errors, etc. It is well-known that GPS signals from GPS receiver mounted on moving vehicle are often distorted, contaminated by various noises, and blocked by tunnel or tall buildings. The phenomenon often obstructs correct navigation especially when a vehicle keeps stopping or is moving in low speed. Therefore it is needed to pre-process the signals to adapt it to various applications. In this paper, an algorithm to pre-process the signals is proposed. For this, GPS data obtaining from uNAV GPS receiver are analyzed and classified based on dynamic characteristic. Then, the proposed algorithm is applied to the data and some test results are shown to verify the usefulness of the algorithm.