• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.567-575
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• 2021

Residents in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, in which large-scale emissions facilities such as coal-fired power plants and steel mills are concentrated, are very much concerned about their health despite the local government's aggressive efforts to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gases. To understand the impact of coal-fired power plants and external factors on local air pollution, the origins of local pollutants were investigated using stable carbon isotopes that are generally used as tracers of the provenance of fine or ultrafine dust. The origins of the pollutants were analyzed with the data library, built using the seasonally measured data for the two separate locations selected considering the distance from the coal-fired power plant and the analysis of previous studies, and with the back trajectory analysis. As a result of analyzing stable isotope ratios, the tendency of high concentration was found in the order of winter > spring > fall > summer. According to the data matching with the library, the mobile pollutants and open-air incineration had a relatively higher impact on the local air pollution. It is believed that this study, as a pilot study, should focus on securing the reliability of the study results through continuous monitoring and data accumulation.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.37 no.7
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• pp.434-447
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• 2016

This study analyzed mass concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5, as measured at Tae-ahn and Gang-nae, Cheongju in central Korea over the period from 2011 to 2015. Higher mass concentrations of PM10, with the exception of dustfall cases during the period of winter and spring, reflected the influence of a prevailing westerly airflow, while the level of PM10 stayed at a low level in summer, reflecting the influence of North Pacific air mass and frequent rainfall. Accordingly, cases where a daily PM10 average of $81{\mu}gm^{-3}$ or over (exceeding the status of fine dust particles being 'a little bit bad') were often observed during the period of winter and spring, with more cases occurring in parts of Tae-ahn that are located close to the sources of pollutant emission in eastern China. Dustfall usually originated from dust storms made up of particles $2.5{\mu}m$ or over in diameter. However, anthropogenic haze displayed a high composition ratio of particulate less than $2.5{\mu}m$ in diameter. Accordingly, brightness temperature difference (BTD) values from the Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite (COMS) were $-0.5^{\circ}K$ or over in haze with fine particulate. PM10 mass concentrations and NOAA 19 satellite BTD for haze cases were analyzed. Though PM10 mass concentrations were found to be lower than $200{\mu}g\;m^{-3}$, the mass concentration ratio of PM2.5/PM10 was measured as higher than 0.4 and BTD was found to be distributed in the range from -0.3 to $0.5^{\circ}K$. However, the BTD of dustfall cases exceeding $190{\mu}g\;m^{-3}$, were found to be less than 0.4 and BTD was found to be distributed in the range less than $-0.7^{\circ}K$. The result of applying BTD threshold values of the large-scale transport of haze proved to fall into line with the range over which aerosols of MODIS AOD and OMI AI were distributed.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.302-313
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• 2008

The purposes of this study are to investigate the concentration levels of fine particles, so called PM$_{2.5}$, to identify the affecting sources, and to estimate quantitatively the source contributions of PM$_{2.5}$. Ambient air sampling was seasonally carried out at two sites in Pohang(a residential and an industrial area) during the period of March to December 2003. PM$_{2.5}$ samples were collected by high volume air samplers with a PM$_{10}$ Inlet and an impactor for particle size segregation, and then determined by gravimetric method. The chemical species associated with PM$_{2.5}$ were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma spectrophotometery(ICP) and ion chromatography(IC). The results showed that the most significant season for PM$_{2.5}$ mass concentrations appeared to be spring, followed by winter, fall, and summer. The annual mean concentrations of PM$_{2.5}$ were 36.6 $\mu$g/m$^3$ in the industrial and 30.6 $\mu$g/m$^3$ in the residential area, respectively. The major components associated with PM$_{2.5}$ were the secondary aerosols such as nitrates and sulfates, which were respectively 4.2 and 8.6 $\mu$g/m$^3$ in the industrial area and 3.7 and 6.9 $\mu$g/m$^3$ in the residential area. The concentrations of chemical component in relation to natural emission sources such as Al, Ca, Mg, K were generally higher at both sampling sites than other sources. However, the concentrations of Fe, Mn, Cr in the industrial area were higher than those in the residential area. Based on the principal component analysis and stepwise multiple linear regression analysis for both areas, it was found that soil/road dust and secondary aerosols are the most significant factors affecting the variations of PM$_{2.5}$ in the ambient air of Pohang. The source apportionments of PM$_{2.5}$ were conducted by chemical mass balance(CMB) modeling. The contributions of PM$_{2.5}$ emission sources were estimated using the CMB8.0 receptor model, resulting that soil/road dust was the major contributor to PM$_{2.5}$, followed by secondary aerosols, vehicle emissions, marine aerosols, metallurgy industry. Finally, the application and its limitations of chemical mass balance modeling for PM$_{2.5}$ was discussed.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.727-736
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• 2022

Ice wedges are subsurface ice mass structures that formed mainly by freezing precipitation with airborne dust and surrounding soil particles flowed through the active layer into the cracks growing by repeating thermal contractions in the deeper permafrost layer over time. These ice masses characteristically contain high concentrations of solutes and solids. Because of their unique properties and distribution, the possibility of harnessing ice wedges as an alternative archive for reconstructing paleoclimate and paleoenvironment has been recently suggested despite limited studies. It is imperative to preserve the physicochemical properties of the ice wedge (e.g., solute concentration, mineral particles) without any potential alteration to use it as a proxy for reconstructing the paleo-information. Thawing the ice wedge samples is prerequisite for the assessment of their physicochemical properties, during which the paleo-information could be unintentionally altered by any methodological artifact. This study examined the effect of thawing conditions and procedures on the physicochemical properties of solutes and solid particles in ice wedge samples collected from Cyuie, East Siberia. Four different thawing conditions with varying temperatures (4 and 23℃) and oxygen exposures (oxic and anoxic) for the ice wedge sample treatment were examined. Ice wedge samples thawed at 4℃ under anoxic conditions, wherein biological activity and oxidation were kept to a minimum, were set as the standard thawing conditions to which the effects of temperature and oxygen were compared. The results indicate that temperature and oxygen exposure have negligible effects on the physicochemical characteristics of the solid particles. However, the chemical features of the solution (e.g., pH, electric conductivity, alkalinity, and concentration of major cations and trace elements) at 4℃ under oxic conditions were considerably altered, compared to those measured under the standard thawing conditions. This study shows that the thawing condition of ice wedge samples can affect their chemical features and thereby the geochemical information therein for the reconstruction of the paleoclimate and/or paleoenvironment.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.945-953
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• 1996

Background : Many acute and chronic lung diseases including pneumoconiosis are characterized by the presence of increased numbers of activated macrophages. These macrophages generate several inflammatory cell chemoattractants, by which neutrophil migrate from vascular compartment to the alveolar space. Recruited neutrophils secrete toxic oxygen radicals or proteolytic enzymes and induce inflammatory response. Continuing inflammatory response results in alteration of the pulmonary structure and irreversible fibrosis. Recently, a polypeptide with specific neutrophil chemotactic activity, interleukin-8(IL-8), has been cloned and isolated from a number of cells including : monocytes, macrophages and fibroblasts. IL-1 and/or TNF-${\alpha}$ preceded for the synthesis of IL-8, and we already observed high level of IL-1 and TNF-${\alpha}$ in the pneumoconioses. So we hypothesized that IL-8 may be a central role in the pathogenesis of pneumoconiosis. In order to evaluate the clinical utility of IL-8 as a biomarker in the early diagnosis of pneumoconiosis, we investigated the increase of IL-8 in the pneumoconiotic patient and the correlation between IL-8 level and progression of pneumoconiosis. Method : We measured IL-8 in the serum of 48 patients with pneumoconiosis and 16 persons without dust exposure history as a control group. Pneumoconiotic cases were divided into 3 groups according to ILO Classification : suspicious group(n=16), small opacity group(n=16) and large opacity group(n=16). IL-8 was measured by a sandwich enzytne immunoassay technique. All data were expressed as the $mean{\pm}standard$ deviation. Results: 1) The mean value of age was higher in the small opacity and large opacity group than comparison group, but smoking history was even. Duration of dust exposure was not different among 3 pneumoconiosis groups. 2) IL-8 level was $70.50{\pm}53.63pg/m{\ell}$ in the suspicious group, $107.50{\pm}45.88pg/m{\ell}$ in the small opacity group, $132.50{\pm}73.47pg/m{\ell}$ in the large opacity group and $17.85{\pm}33.85pg/m{\ell}$ in the comparison group. IL-8 concentration in all pneumoconiosis group was significant higher than that in the comparison group(p<0.001). 3) IL-8 level tended to increase with the progression of pneumoconiosis. Multiple comparison test using Anova/Scheffe analysis showed a significant difference between suspicious group and large opacity group(p<0.05). 4) The level of IL-8 was correlated with the progression of pneumoconiosis(r=0.4199, p<0.05). Conclusion : IL-8 is thought to be a good biomarker for the early diagnosis of pneumoconiosis.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.616-625
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• 2016

This research was conducted to investigate the optimum level of nitrogen incorporated during formulation of root media as pre-plant fertilizer on the growth of plug seedlings of 'Bool-am No.3' Chinese cabbage. A root medium was formulated by blending peatmoss:coir dust:perlite at a ratio of 3.5:3.5:3.0 (v/v/v). The nitrogen was incorporated in the seven treatments at a rate of 0, 100, 250, 500, 750, 1,000, and $1,500mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ during the root medium formulation. The concentrations of other essential nutrients except nitrogen were controlled to equal in all treatments. Then, the root medium was packed into 72-cell plug trays and seeds were sown. The growth measurements as well as tissue and soil solution analysis for nutrients were conducted 2 and 4 weeks after seed sowing. As seedlings grew, the pH in the extracted solution of all treatments tended to decrease. The decreases in the treatments of high N concentrations were more severe than those with low N, but the differences among treatments were not statistically significant. The differences of EC in extracted solution of root media among treatments were sizable until week 3, but the differences began to lessen and the EC decreased in all treatments after week 4. Growth of the aerial parts of plug seedlings at 2 weeks after sowing were highest in the $100mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ and lowest in the $1,500mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ treatments, but those at 4 weeks after sowing were highest in the $500mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ and lowest in the $0mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ treatments among all treatments tested. The tissue N content was highest and lowest in the treatments of 250 and $1,000mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$, respectively, when tissues were harvested at 4 weeks after sowing and analysed based on the dry weight of above-ground tissue. The contents of micronutrients were the highest in the 1,000 and $1,500mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ treatments among all treatments. The results shown above indicate that the $250mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ of pre-plant N and elevation of post-plant N concentration to above $100mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ are suitable for raising plug seedlings of Chinese cabbage using inert media.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.31-38
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• 2008

Ammonia gas is one of the malodorous gases from swine production facilities, such as manure storage tank, manure fermentation facilities, and livestock houses, etc. Ammonia gas from swine house is being emitted at relatively low concentrations throughout the year. Therefore, livestock facilities were continuously ventilated to supply fresh air for respiration of the animals internal the livestock facilities. The swine facilities need very high ventilation rate to control the inside environmental conditions. The deodorization system of the livestock facilities must be developed considering the ventilation rates. The odor abatement system was installed in order to improve the internal environment of the naturally ventilated growing-finishing pig house. The system which distributes the deodorized air into inner space of the swine house by using plastic duct was installed. Since the internal environment, effected by the operation of the odor abatement system, is monitored by closing the winch curtain installed on the side wall of the pig house, the experiment was practiced at the season when the internal environment becomes aggravated, winter. The effects on the improvement in the internal environment of swine house by operating the odor abatement system are as follows ; 1. By re-distributing the air which was deodorized by the odor abatement system installed in the pig house, the result showed that the concentration of ammonia gas is decreased approximately 33.3% compared with that before operating odor abatement system. 2. The effect on the pig house's ammonia gas reduction was found that the ventilation rate was less than $0.5m^3$/min head. The effect of the operation of the odor abatement system showed to be scarce when the ventilation rate increases because of the influx of external fresh air makes the quantity of diluted air more than those of the odor abatement system. 3. The perishment rate of the pigs which were brooded until slaughtering decreased about 3.8% by operating the odor abatement system in the growing-finishing pig house. Also, after operating the odor abatement system, the stinging of the eyes, suspension dust, etc were decreased when going into swine house for management.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.330-344
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• 2015

Semi-continuous measurements of $PM_{2.5}$ mass, organic and elemental carbon were made for the period of January to October 2014, at six national air monitoring stations in Korea. OC and EC concentrations showed a clear seasonal variation with the highest in winter (January) and the lowest in summer (August). In winter, the high carbonaceous concentrations were likely influenced by increased fuel combustion from residential heating. OC and EC concentrations varied by monitoring stations with 5.9 and $1.7{\mu}g/m^3$ in Joongbu area, 4.2 and $1.2{\mu}g/m^3$ in Honam area, 4.0 and $1.3{\mu}g/m^3$ in Yeongnam area, 3.7 and $1.6{\mu}g/m^3$ in Seoul Metropolitan area, 3.0 and $0.8{\mu}g/m^3$ in Jeju Island, 2.9 and $0.7{\mu}g/m^3$ in Baengnyeong Island respectively. The concentrations of OC and EC comprised 9.6~ 15.5% and 2.4~ 4.7% of $PM_{2.5}$. Urban Joongbu area located adjacent to the intersection of several main roads showed the highest carbon concentration among six national air monitoring station. On the other hand, background Baengnyeong Island showed the lowest carbon concentration and the highest OC/EC ratio (4.5). During the haze episode, OC and EC were enhanced with increase in $PM_{2.5}$ about 1.3~ 3 and 1.3~ 4.0 times respectively. The concentrations of OC, EC in the Asian dust case are about 1~ 2.4 times greater than in the nondust case. The origins of air mass pathways arriving at Seoul, using the backward trajectory analysis, can be mostly classified into 6 groups (Sector I Northern Korea including the sea of Okhotsk, Sector II Northern China including Mongolia, Sector III Southern China, Sector IV South Pacific area, Sector V Japan, Sector VI Southern Korea area). When an air mass originating from northern China and Mongolia, the OC concentrations were the most elevated, with a higher OC/EC ratio (2.4~ 3.3), and accounting for 17% of $PM_{2.5}$ mass on average.

• Proceedings of the KOR-BRONCHOESO Conference
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• 1972.03a
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• pp.6-7
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• 1972

The air pollutants can be classified into the irritant gas and the asphixation gas, and the irritant gas is closely related to the otorhinolaryngological diseases. The common irritant gases are nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, hydrogen carbon compounds, and the potent and irritating PAN (peroxy acyl nitrate) which is secondarily liberated from photosynthesis. Those gases adhers to the mucous membrane to result in ulceration and secondary infection due to their potent oxidizing power. 1. Sulfur dioxide gas Sulfur dioxide gas has the typical characteristics of the air pollutants. Because of its high solubility it gets easily absorbed in the respiratory tract, when the symptoms and signs by irritation become manifested initially and later the resistance in the respiratory tract brings central about pulmonary edema and respiratory paralysis of origin. Chronic exposure to the gas leads to rhinitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis, and olfactory or gustatory disturbances. 2. Carbon monoxide Toxicity of carbon monoxide is due to its deprivation of the oxygen carrying capacity of the hemoglobin. The degree of the carbon monoxide intoxication varies according to its concentration and the duration of inhalation. It starts with headache, vertigo, nausea, vomiting and tinnitus, which can progress to respiratory difficulty, muscular laxity, syncope, and coma leading to death. 3. Nitrogen dioxide Nitrogen dioxide causes respiratory disturbances by formation of methemoglobin. In acute poisoning, it can cause pulmonary congestion, pulmonary edema, bronchitis, and pneumonia due to its strong irritation on the eyes and the nose. In chronic poisoning, it causes chronic pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary edema. 4. Ozone It has offending irritating odor, and causes dryness of na sopharyngolaryngeal mucosa, headache and depressed pulmonary function which may eventually lead to pulmonary congestion or edema. 5. Smog The most outstanding incident of the smog occurred in London from December 5 through 8, 1952, because of which the mortality of the respiratory diseases increased fourfold. The smog was thought to be due to the smoke produced by incomplete combustion and its byproduct the sulfur oxides, and the dust was thought to play the secondary role. In new sense, hazardous is the photochemical smog which is produced by combination of light energy and the hydrocarbons and oxidant in the air. The Yonsei University Institute for Environmental :pollution Research launched a project to determine the relationship between the pollution and the medical, ophthalmological and rhinopharyngological disorders. The students (469) of the "S" Technical School in the most heavily polluted area in Pusan (Uham Dong district) were compared with those (345) of "K" High School in the less polluted area. The investigated group had those with subjective symptoms twice as much as the control group, 22.6% (106) in investigated group and 11.3% (39) in the control group. Among those symptomatic students of the investigated group. There were 29 with respiratory symptoms (29%), 22 with eye symptoms (21%), 50 with stuffy nose and rhinorrhea (47%), and 5 with sore thorat (5%), which revealed that more than half the students (52%) had subjective symptoms of the rhinopharyngological aspects. Physical examination revealed that the investigated group had more number of students with signs than those of the control group by 10%, 180 (38.4%) versus 99 (28.8%). Among the preceding 180 students of the investigated group, there were 8 with eye diseases (44%), 1 with respiratory disease (0.6%), 97 with rhinitis (54%), and 74 with pharyngotonsillitis (41%) which means that 95% of them had rharygoical diseases. The preceding data revealed that the otolaryngological diseases are conspicuously outnumbered in the heavily polluted area, and that there must be very close relationship between the air pollution and the otolaryngological diseases, and the anti-pollution measure is urgently needed.