• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.437-448
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to present the source contribution of the fine particles ($PM_{2.5}$) in Chungju area using the CMB (chemical mass balance) method throughout the four seasons in Korea. The Chungju's annual average level of $PM_{2.5}$ was $48.2{\mu}g/m^3$, which exceeded two times higher than standard air quality. Among these particles, the soluble ionic compounds represent 54.2% of fine particle mass. Additionally, the OC concentration in Chungju stayed similar to other domestic cities, while the EC concentration decreased significantly compared to other domestic/international cities. The concentration of sulfur represented the highest composition (8%) among the fine particle compounds. According to the CMB results, the general trend of the $PM_{2.5}$ mass contributors was the following: secondary aerosols (50.5%: ammonium sulfate 26.5% and ammonium nitrate 24.0%) > gasoline vehicle (18.3%) > biomass burning (11.0%) > industrial boiler (6.0%) > diesel vehicles (4.4%). The contribution of the secondary aerosols was the main cause than others. This impact is assumed to be emitted from air pollutants of urban cities or neighbor countries such as China.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.504-512
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• 2020

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the indoor to outdoor ratio (I/O ratio) of time activity patterns affecting PM_2.5 concentrations in homes in Korea through a simulation. Methods: The time activity patterns of homemakers were analyzed based on the 'Time-Use Survey' data of the National Statistical Office in 2014. From September 30 to October 2, 2019, the experimenter lived in multifamily housing located in Guro-gu, Seoul. The I/O ratio of PM_2.5 concentration was measured by installing sensor-based instruments. Results: The average indoor and outdoor PM_2.5 concentrations during the three days were 33.1±48.9 and 45.9±25.3 ㎍/㎥, respectively. The average I/O ratio was 0.75±0.60. The indoor concentration tended to increase when PM_2.5 source activity such cooking and cleaning was present and outdoor PM_2.5 was supplied through ventilation. Conclusions: This study could be used as basic data for estimating indoor PM_2.5 concentrations with personal activity pattern and weather conditions using outdoor concentrations.

• Particle and aerosol research
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.31-47
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• 2020

Although interest in air quality has increased due to the frequent occurrence of high-concentration fine particulate matter recently, the official fine particulate matter measuring network has failed to provide spatial detailed air quality information. This is because current measurement equipment has a high cost of installation and maintenance, which limits the composition of the measuring network at high resolution. To compensate for the limitations of the current official measuring network, this study constructed a spatial high density measuring network using the fine particulate matter simple measuring device developed by Observer, W-Station. W-Station installed 48 units on Jeju Island and measured PM_2.5 for six months. The data collected in W-Station were corrected by applying the first regression equation for each section, and these measurements were compared and analyzed based on the official measurements installed in Jeju Island. As a result, the time series of PM_2.5 concentrations measured in W-Station showed concentration characteristics similar to those of the environmental pollution measuring network. In particular, the results of comparing the measurements of W-Station within a 2 km radius of the reference station and the reference station showed that the coefficient of determination (R²) was 0.79, 0.81, 0.67, respectively. In addition, for W-Station within a 1 km radius, the coefficient of determination was 0.85, 0.82, 0.68, respectively, showing slightly higher correlation. In addition, the local concentration deviation of some regions could be confirmed through 48 high density measuring networks. These results show that if a network of measurements is constructed with adequate spatial distribution using a number of simple meters with a certain degree of proven performance, the measurements are effective in monitoring local air quality and can be fully utilized to supplement or replace formal measurements.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.181-190
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• 2024

Background: Air pollutants have been reported to have harmful effects on human health. Busan is a vulnerable area in terms of air quality due to the installation of various industrial complexes, particularly the port industry. However there is limited research data on the ambient air quality of residential areas near ports and industrial complexes. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the quarterly levels of air pollutants near industrial complexes and ports and to identify trends and characteristics of air pollutant exceedances. Methods: Air measurements were conducted quarterly. The measured air pollutants included O₃, SO₂, CO, NO₂, PM₁₀, and PM_2.5. PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 were measured using BAM-1020 equipment, while O₃, SO₂, CO, and NO₂ were measured using AP-370 Series equipment. The quarterly concentration levels of air pollutants were determined, and the influence of precipitation and commuting hours on fine particulate matter was examined. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to determine if there was significance between the concentrations of fine particulate matter during commuting hours and non-commuting hours. Results: The concentrations of air pollutants were generally higher in the first and second quarters. Furthermore, the concentrations of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 tended to decrease continuously following consecutive rainfall, with concentrations at the end of rainfall periods lower than those observed at the beginning. The frequency of exceeding average concentrations of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 was higher on weekdays. Moreover, the average concentrations of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 during weekday commuting hours were higher compared to non-commuting hours. Conclusions: The concentrations of air pollutants in the survey area were found to be higher than the overall average in Busan. Based on this study, continuous air quality monitoring is necessary for residential areas near industrial complexes and ports. For further research, health biomonitoring of residents in these areas should be conducted to assess their exposure levels.

• The Transactions of the Korea Information Processing Society
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.251-259
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• 2024

Fine particulate matter, especially PM2.5 with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, poses significant health and economic risks. This study focuses on the Seoul region of South Korea, aiming to analyze PM2.5 data and trends from 2017 to 2022 and develop a mid-term prediction model for PM2.5 concentrations. Utilizing collected and produced air quality and weather data, reanalysis data, and numerical model prediction data, this research proposes an ensemble evaluation method capable of adapting to trend changes. The ensemble method proposed in this study demonstrated superior performance in predicting PM2.5 concentrations, outperforming existing models by an average F1 Score of approximately 42.16% in 2019, 58.92% in 2021, and 34.79% in 2022 for future 3 to 6-day predictions. The model maintains performance under changing environmental conditions, offering stable predictions and presenting a mid-term prediction model that extends beyond the capabilities of existing deep learning-based short-term PM2.5 forecasts.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.41-55
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• 2022

Social interest in the fine particulate matter has increased significantly since the 2010s, and various efforts have been made to reduce it through environmental plans and policies. To support such environmental planning, in this study, spatial cluster characteristics of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations were analyzed in the metropolitan area to identify high-risk areas spatially, and the correlation with local environmental characteristics was also confirmed. The PM2.5 concentration for the recent 5 years (2016-2020) was targeted, and representative spatial statistical methods Getis-Ord Gi^* and Local Moran's I were applied. As a result of the analysis, the cluster form was different in Getis-Ord Gi^* and Local Moran's I, but they show high similarity in direction, therefore complementary results could be obtained. In the high concentration period, the hotspot concentration of the Getis-Ord Gi* method increased, but in Local Moran's I, the HH region, the high concentration cluster, showed a decreasing trend. Hotspots of the Getis-Ord Gi^* technique were prominent in the Pyeongtaek-Hwaseong and Yeoju-Icheon regions, and the HH cluster of Local Moran's I was located in the southwest, and the LL cluster was located in the northeast. As in the case of the metropolitan area, in the results of Seoul, there was a phenomenon of division between the northeast and southwest regions. The PM2.5 concentration showed a high correlation with the elevation, vegetation greenness and the industrial area ratio. During the high concentration period, the relation with vegetation greenness increased, and the elevation and industrial area ratio increased in the case of the annual average. This suggests that the function of vegetation can be maximized at a high concentration period, and the influence of topography and industrial areas is large on average. This characteristic was also confirmed in the basic statistics for each major cluster. The spatial clustering characteristics of PM2.5 can be considered in the national land and environmental plan at the metropolitan level. In particular, it will be effective to utilize the clustering characteristics based on the annual average concentration, which contributes to domestic emissions.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2020

In this study, we compared efficiency of different aquatic plants in removing indoor pollutants and examined their potential to purify indoor air. Two liter of water in chamber was used as the control, while the other chambers containing water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes), water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), and water coin (Hydrocotyle umbellata) were used as treatment groups. Temperatures inside all the chambers were maintained between 20 ℃ and 23 ℃. Humidity in the chambers with aquatic plants increased by 30% and 50% control respectively. The removal of formaldehyde per unit leaf area was examined in each aquatic plant. It turned out that water hyacinth removed the highest amount of formaldehyde, followed by water lettuce and water coin. Both water hyacinth and water lettuce increased the amount of removal of formaldehyde until the end of the experiment. In the case of airborne dust (PM 10) and fine dust (PM 2.5), water coin, which had the highest number of leaves, removed more PM 10 and PM 2.5 than the other aquatic plants, with statistically significant difference. In addition, both water coin and water hyacinth smoothly opened and closed stomata before and after the experiment. Consequently, as the aquatic plants were effective in controlling humidity and removing pollutants, they can be used as air purifying plants.

• Proceedings of the Korea Air Pollution Research Association Conference
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• 2006.04a
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• pp.436-437
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• 2006

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.907-914
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• 2019

Ammonia (NH₃) that reacts with nitric or sulfuric acid in the air is the major culprit contributing to the formation of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5). NH₃ volatilization mainly originates from nitrogen fertilizer and livestock manure applied to arable soil. Cation exchange capacity (CEC) of peat moss (PM) and zeolite (ZL) is high enough to adsorb ammonium (NH₄⁺) in soil. Therefore, they might inhibit volatilization of NH₃. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of PM and ZL on NH₃ volatilization from upland soil. For this, a laboratory experiment was carried out, and NH₃ volatilization from the soil was monitored for 12 days. PM and ZL were added at the rate of 0, 1, 2, and 4% (wt wt^-1) with 354 N g m^-2 of urea. Cumulative NH₃-N volatilization decreased with increasing addition rate of both materials. Mean value of cumulative NH₃-N volatilization across application rate with PM was lower than that with ZL. CEC increased with increasing addition rate of both materials. While the soil pH increased with ZL, it decreased with PM. Increase in CEC resulted in NH₄⁺ adsorption on the negative charge of the external surface of both materials. In addition, decrease in soil pH hinders the conversion of NH₄⁺ to NH₃. Based on the above results, the addition of PM or ZL could be an optimum management to reduce NH₃ volatilization from the soil. However, PM was more effective in decreasing NH₃ volatilization than ZL due to the combined effect of CEC and pH.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.338-352
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• 2023

As of 2019, Korea's fine dust is the most severe among 38 OECD countries, and in the same year, 「the Framework on Disaster and Safety Management」 was revised to define fine dust as a social disaster. Currently, the government is working to achieve its emission reduction goals by preparing a comprehensive fine dust management plan (2022-2023) consisting of a total of five areas, 42 tasks, and 177 detailed tasks. However, it is necessary to come up with measures in consideration of the various spatial characteristics of the city, not just as a source of emission. Therefore, in this study, the shape of the city was classified using the LCZ (Local Climate Zone) classification system into 17 types by building type and land cover type in Busan, and the average annual PM10 and PM2.5 concentration were mapped using the IDW technique. In addition, Fragstats and Moving Window were used to quantify the LCZ classification system. Finally, correlation analysis and regression analysis were conducted to analyze the relationship between the LCZ classification system and PM10 and PM2.5. As a result, it was confirmed that the type of low height of the building and the type of green space with trees had a positive effect on the concentration of PM10 and PM2.5. Therefore, this study is expected to be used as basic data to establish fine dust reduction policies based on efficient spatial planning.