• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.21 no.1 s.52
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• pp.45-56
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• 2006

This study was conducted to investigate seasonal distributions of fine particles ($PM_{2.5}$) and associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at three cities. $PM_{2.5}$ samples were collected on glass fiber filters at urban (Chuncheon), metropolitan (Seoul), and industrial complex sites (Ulsan) from September, 2002 to February, 2004 using the Andersen FH 95 Particulate Sampler. About five 24-hour samples were collected from each site per season. The filters were analyzed for mass and six selected PAHs concentrations. $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations were the highest either in winter or spring, which could be attributed to the increase of fossil fuel combustion in winter or the transport of yellow sand to the Korean peninsula from China in spring, respectively. Regional $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations were higher in the order of Seoul>Chuncheon>Ulsan without statistical difference among cities. The filters were extracted using dichloromethane in an ultrasonicator and analyzed for six PAHs (anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene, chrysene, and benzo[a]pyrene) with HPLC. Total PAHs concentrations were statistically different among seasons in each site, and the highest concentrations were observed in winter at each sampling site. For total samples collected, the median total PAHs concentrations in Chuncheon ($4.6ng/m^3$) and Seoul ($4.4ng/m^3$) were approximately two times higher than that in Ulsan ($2.1ng/m^3$). Chrysene was a component found in the highest proportion among total PAHs at each site. Carcinogenic risks calculated based on the BaP toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) over the whole sampling period were higher in the order of Chuncheon>Seoul>Ulsan. This study suggests that the atmosphere of Chuncheon is contaminated with particulate matter and PAHs at the levels equivalent to those of Seoul and that an appropriate measure needs to be taken to mitigate human health risks from inhalation exposure to airborne fine particles.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.72-82
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• 2008

Benzene is a very harmful and toxic compound known as human carcinogen by all routes of exposure. Owing to the risky feature of benzene, several countries such as Japan, UK and EU have established the ambient air quality standard and protect from that risk of it. Korea also has designated it as one of the criteria air pollutants and established the concentration limit ($5\;{\mu}g/m^3$) in the air and is going to apply the standard from 2010. Benzene is emitted from various sources such as combustion plants, production processes, waste treatment facilities and also automobiles. Mobile source is known as one of the major emission sources of benzene. In this study, we estimated the domestic emissions of benzene from mobile source and compared the results with those of advanced countries. Mobile source was divided into 2 categories, Le., on-road source and non-road source. The total emissions of benzene from mobile source were estimated as 3,106 tons/yr and 1,612 tons/yr was emitted from on-road source and 1,494 tons/yr was from non-road source. Emission ratio of benzene from on-road source showed that 80.0% was from passenger cars, 10.1% was from taxis, 7.2% was from light-duty vehicles, 2.5% was from heavy-duty vehicles and 0.2% was from buses. In the case of non-road source, the distribution showed that 66.3% was from construction machineries, 14.5% was from locomotives, 11.7% was from ships, 7.1% was from agriculture equipments and 0.5% was from aircrafts. The cold-start emissions were estimated as 942 tons/yr and this value was almost 1.5 times greater than that for hot engine emissions (608 tons/yr). In addition, the fuel-based distribution was 65.9%, 31.1% and 2.8% from gasoline, LPG and diesel vehicles, respectively. The emission ratio from mobile source occupied 65% and 30% of total benzene emissions in USA and UK, respectively. In case of Korea, the emission ratio of benzene from mobile source occupied 29% (15% from on-road source, 14% from non-road source) which showed similar value with UK.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.37 no.6_2
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• pp.1881-1890
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• 2021

Particulate matter (PM) affects the human, ecosystems, and weather. Motorized vehicles and combustion generate fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), which can contain toxic substances and, therefore, requires systematic management. Consequently, it is important to monitor and predict PM_2.5 concentrations, especially in large cities with dense populations and infrastructures. This study aimed to predict PM_2.5 concentrations in large cities using meteorological and chemical variables as well as satellite-based aerosol optical depth. For PM_2.5 concentrations prediction, a random forest (RF) model showing excellent performance in PM concentrations prediction among machine learning models was selected. Based on the performance indicators R², RMSE, MAE, and MAPE with training accuracies of 0.97, 3.09, 2.18, and 13.31 and testing accuracies of 0.82, 6.03, 4.36, and 25.79 for R², RMSE, MAE, and MAPE, respectively. The variables used in this study showed high correlation to PM_2.5 concentrations. Therefore, we conclude that these variables can be used in a random forest model to generate reliable PM_2.5 concentrations predictions, which can then be used to assess the vulnerability of schools to PM_2.5.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.27-38
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• 2021

We devised the system to automatically shutdown the boiler and to fundamentally block the harmful gases, including carbon monoxide, into the indoor when the exhaust system swerves: (1) The discharge pressure of the exhaust gas decreases when the exhaust pipe is disconnected. The monitoring system of the exhaust pipe is implemented by measuring the output voltage of APS(Air Pressure Sensor) installed to control the amount of combustion air. (2) The operating software was modified so that when the system recognizes the fault condition of a flue pipe, the boiler control unit displays the fault status on the indoor regulator while shutting down the boiler. In accordance with the ventilation facility standards in the "Rules for Building Equipment Standards" by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, experiments were conducted to ventilate indoor air. When carbon monoxide leaked in worst-case scenario, it was possible to prevent poisoning accidents. However, since 2013, the number of indoor air exchange times has been mitigated from 0.7 to 0.5 times per hour. We observed the concentration exceeding TWA 30 ppm occasionally and thus recommend to reinforce this criterion. In conclusion, if the flue pipe fault detection and the indoor air ventilation system are introduced, carbon monoxide poisoning accidents are expected to decrease significantly. Also when the manufacturing and inspection steps, the correct installation and repair are supplemented with the user's attention in missing flue, it will be served to prevent human casualties from carbon monoxide poisoning.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.145-156
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• 2021

Forest fires have frequently occurred around the world, and the damages are increasing. In Korea, most forest fires are initiated by human activities, but climate factors such as temperature, humidity, and wind speed have a great impact on combustion environment of forest fires. In this study, therefore, based on statistics of forest fires in Gyeonggi-do over the past five years, meteorological and hydrological factors (i.e., temperature, humidity, wind speed, precipitation, and drought) were selected in order to quantitatively investigate causal relationships with forest fire. We applied a partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM), which is suitable for analyzing causality and predicting latent variables. The overall results indicated that the measurement and structural models of the PLS-SEM were statistically significant for all evaluation criteria, and meteorological factors such as humidity, temperature, and wind speed affected by amount of -0.42, 0.23 and 0.15 of standardized path coefficient, respectively, on forest fires, whereas hydrological factor such as drought had an effect of 0.23 on forest fires. Therefore, as a practical method, the suggested model can be used for analyzing and evaluating influencing factors of forest fire and also for planning response and preparation of forest fire disasters.

• Journal of Environmental Analysis, Health and Toxicology
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.252-263
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• 2018

Distributions of 15 PAHs and 82 PCBs were investigated in sediment and fish samples collected from the Suyoung Estuary of Busan, one of the most urbanized and newly contaminated areas in Busan. The concentrations of $S_{15}PAH$ in sediments ranged from 17.9 to 777 ng/g-dry and were mainly originated from combustion processes. The concentrations of $S_{82}PCB$ in sediments ranged from 0.55 to 12.5 ng/g-dry and were significantly correlated with those of 12 dioxin-like PCBs and 6 non-dioxin like PCBs. Higher concentrations of PAHs and PCBs were found in the upper river and the inner Suyoung Bay than in marina and the outer Suyoung Bay. No sites exceeded the ecotoxicological values of PAHs and PCBs in marine sediments. Benzo[a]-pyrene was not detected in fish samples and the concentrations of $S_4PAH$ (0.15~0.45 ng/g-wet) were lower than the maximum level set by EU. The levels of PCBs in fish samples were at less than 1% of the Korean maximum level and 2% of the EU maximum level. The concentrations of dioxin-like PCBs were $0.01{\sim}0.32pg-TEQ_{WHO-2005}/g-wet$, and the highest concentration was found in eels, which were at less than 5% of the EU maximum level. Dietary intakes of PAHs and PCBs through fish consumption were estimated, and their lifetime cancer risk and non-cancer risk were much lower.

• Journal of Korea Society of Waste Management
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• v.35 no.8
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• pp.744-753
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• 2018

The Stockholm Convention, which was adopted in Sweden in 2001 to protect human health and the environment, includes regulations for Persistent Organic Pollutant Rotors such as toxic and bioaccumulatives. Currently, there are 28 types of materials. This prohibits and limits the production, use, and manufacture of products. Korea is a member of the Convention, and it is necessary to prepare management and treatment plans to address the POP trends. Thus, we experimentally investigate whether the environmentally stable incineration is achieved when the sample is thermally treated using the Lab-scale (1 kg/hr). The target samples is pesticides in liquid phase and solid phase. In this study, organic chlorinated pesticides and their thermal characteristics were analyzed. We calculated the theoretical air volume based on the element analysis results. Because the interior of the reactor is small, more than 10 times of the air ratio was injected. The retention time was set to at least 4 seconds using a margin. The incineration temperature was $850^{\circ}C$ and $1100^{\circ}C$. Thus, we experimentally investigated whether the environmentally stable incineration was achieved when the sample was thermally treated using the Lab-scale (1 kg/hr). We analyzed five types of exhaust gas; the 02 concentration was high, but the CO amount decreased. Complete combustion is difficult because of the small size of the furnace due to the nature of Lab-scale. The organic chlorine-containing pesticide had an average decomposition rate of 99.9935%. Considering the decomposition rates of organic chlorine-containing pesticide in this study, the incineration treatment at over 2 ton/hour, which is typical for a conventional incinerator, is possible. Considering the occurrence of dioxins and unintentional persistent organic pollutants, it can operate at more than $1,100^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.1-6
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• 2021

Mercury, once released, is not destroyed but accumulates and circulates in the natural environment, causing serious harm to ecosystems and human health. In the United States, sulfur-impregnated activated carbon is being considered for the removal of vapor mercury from the flue gas of coal-fired power plants, which accounts for about 32 % of the anthropogenic emissions of mercury. In this study, a high-efficiency porous mercury adsorption material was developed to reduce the mercury vapor in the exhaust gas of coal combustion facilities, and the mercury adsorption characteristics of the material were investigated. As a result of the investigation of the vapor mercury adsorption capacity at 30℃, the silica nanotube MCM-41 was only about 35 % compared to the activated carbon Darco FGD commercially used for mercury adsorption, but it increased to 133 % when impregnated with 1.5 % sulfur. In addition, the furnace fly ash recovered from the waste copper regeneration process showed an efficiency of 523 %. Furthermore, the adsorption capacity was investigated at temperatures of 30 ℃, 80 ℃, and 120 ℃, and the best adsorption performance was found to be 80 ℃. MCM-41 is a silica nanotube that can be reused many times due to its rigid structure and has additional advantages, including no possibility of fire due to the formation of hot spots, which is a concern when using activated carbon.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.605-612
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• 2021

Amid growing global damage due to abnormal weather caused by global warming, the introduction of eco-friendly cars is accelerating to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from internal combustion engines. Accordingly, many studies are being conducted in each country to prepare for the explosion of hydrogen fuel in semi-closed spaces such as tunnels and underground parking lots to ensure the safety of hydrogen-electric vehicles. As a result of predicting the explosion pressure of the hydrogen tank using the equivalent TNT model, it was found to be about 1.12 times and 2.30 times higher at a height of 1.5 meters, respectively, based on the case of 52 liters of hydrogen capacity. A review of the impact on the human body and buildings by converting the predicted maximum explosive pressure into the amount of impact predicted that all predicted values would result in lung damage or severe partial destruction. The predicted degree of damage was applied only by converting the amount of impact caused by the explosion, and considering the additional damage caused by the explosion, it is believed that the actual damage will increase further and safety and disaster prevention measures should be taken.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.685-698
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• 2010

Acrolein is a highly toxic, reactive mutagenic aldehyde. Humans are exposed to acrolein vapors from overheated cooking oil, cigarette smoke, and combustion of organic products. In this study, we investigated elementary and middle school students' consumption of foods cooked at high heat, such as fried, direct fire, and indirect fire cooked foods. The subjects of this survey study were 265 fifth grade students and 396 middle school students nationwide. According to the results of the frequency test, broiled fish was the most frequently consumed, followed by fried fish, indirect cooked samgyebsal, and other fried foods, which were eaten more than three times per month. The total intake of foods cooked at high heat per child over 1 year was in the following order: Fried chicken(7.50 kg) > Samgeybsal(6.57 kg) > Broiled pork ribs(4.18 kg) > Broiled fish(4.12 kg) > Bulgogi(3.31 kg) > Fried dish(3.18 kg) > Pork cuttlet(3.17 kg) > Jeyukbockeum(3.13 kg) > Charcoal-broiled beef ribs(2.74 kg) > Roasted whole chicken(2.05 kg) > Dackochi(1.87 kg) > Tangsuyuk(1.87 kg) > Fried fish(1.83 kg) > Hamburger patties(1.21 kg) > Fried potato(1.01 kg) > Barbecue(0.95 kg) > Doughnut(0.80 kg) > Corn dog(0.66 kg) > Croquette(0.51 kg). The favorite cooking method was indirect fire cooking for beef, pork, and fish, whereas frying was preferred for chicken. The results of this study provide important data for assessment of acrolein exposure via foods cooked at high heat temperature. The results also indicate that children might be exposed to acrolein through consumption of foods cooked at high heat temperature, suggesting the need to promote education of proper food consumption behavior.