• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.329-341
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• 2016

Objectives: The goal of this study was to investigate the short-term effect of ambient air pollution on emergency department (ED) visits in Seoul for asthma according to patients' prior history of allergic diseases. Methods: Data on ED visits from 2005 to 2009 were obtained from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. To evaluate the risk of ED visits for asthma related to ambient air pollutants (carbon monoxide [CO], nitrogen dioxide [$NO_2$], ozone [$O_3$], sulfur dioxide [$SO_2$], and particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <$10{\mu}m$ [$PM_{10}$]), a generalized additive model with a Poisson distribution was used; a single-lag model and a cumulative-effect model (average concentration over the previous 1-7 days) were also explored. The percent increase and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated for each interquartile range (IQR) increment in the concentration of each air pollutant. Subgroup analyses were done by age, gender, the presence of allergic disease, and season. Results: A total of 33 751 asthma attack cases were observed during the study period. The strongest association was a 9.6% increase (95% CI, 6.9% to 12.3%) in the risk of ED visits for asthma per IQR increase in $O_3$ concentration. IQR changes in $NO_2$ and $PM_{10}$ concentrations were also significantly associated with ED visits in the cumulative lag 7 model. Among patients with a prior history of allergic rhinitis or atopic dermatitis, the risk of ED visits for asthma per IQR increase in $PM_{10}$ concentration was higher (3.9%; 95% CI, 1.2% to 6.7%) than in patients with no such history. Conclusions: Ambient air pollutants were positively associated with ED visits for asthma, especially among subjects with a prior history of allergic rhinitis or atopic dermatitis.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.38 no.7
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• pp.371-376
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• 2016

In this study, the survey of bisphenol-A in indoor water service pipes rehabilitated with epoxy resin was conducted and the risk assessment was done to investigate the effect on the human health to drink tap water. Bisphenol-A in raw water was detected in a range of 50~118 ng/L in all samples, where the limit of quantification was 10 ng/L. This is caused by inflow of the sewage effluent or the tributaries of the surrounding area containing bisphenol-A. Bisphenol-A was not detected in finished water after the advanced water treatment process. It was achieved by its removal from the processes of flocculation-precipitation and oxidation of ozone and chlorine and by being changed to other by-product materials. For the indoor water service pipe, bisphenol-A was not detected in all cases which was not coated with epoxy resin. However, when epoxy resin is lined within the indoor water service pipe, bisphenol-A was identified at maximum level of 521 ng/L and was detected above the limit of quantitation at 68 percentages of all samples. The Hazard Quotient (HQ) at the maximum level (521 ng/L) of the detected bisphenol-A is 0.004, which is less than the reference value of 0.1 for the tap water intake. Therefore, it is considered that the detected levels of bisphenol-A in this study would be safe to drink tap water.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.447-456
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• 2008

Limonene, pinene, and isoprene are abundant and ubiquitous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which are found in various natural products and also produced from various manufacture processes. Limonene and pinene are major components of food additives and household products for enrichment of good flavors and elimination of malodors, and isoprene is a basal motif of monoterpenes such as limonene and pinene. They have shown many beneficial effects such as chemopreventive, chemotherapeutic, and antioxidant activities. Upon certain conditions, however, adverse effects of these compounds on human health have also been reported. Although they do not seem to have acute and severe toxicity to human, they can easily generate secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) when they react with oxygen and/or ozone, which have shown certain toxic effects on experimental animal models as well as on humans. Numerous household and scented products containing limonene, pinene, and isoprene are widely used in these days. However, biological consequences upon exposure to these products are largely unknown. The aim of this review is to summarize and analyze the current understanding on the biological effects of VOCs, in particular limonene, pinene, and isoprene, as well as their SOAs.

• Food Engineering Progress
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.316-321
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• 2010

The efficacy of the ozonated water (0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 1.0 ppm) in reducing the risk of food-borne disease was investigated in this study. After inoculation of Listeria monocytogenes (ATCC 19112), Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica biovar Typhimurium (ATCC 12598), Escherichia coli O157:H7 (ATCC 43890) to lettuce, spinach, and beef, inhibition effect with different washing concentrations, time, and methods with ozonated and tap water were evaluated. As a result, there were 2.16 to 3.85 log CFU/mL reduction in different foods and 7 log CFU/mL reduction on cutting boards after watering with ozonated water. Higher than 0.2 ppm of ozonated water treatment reduced the growth of food-borne disease bacteria with increasing washing time and ozone concentration. These results suggested that the ozonated water treatment effectively improved the microbiological quality and food safety.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.211-218
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• 2021

BACKGROUND: Fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) is produced by chemical reactions between various precursors. PM_2.5 has been found to create greater human risk than particulate matter (PM₁₀), with diameters that are generally 10 micrometers and smaller. Ammonia (NH₃) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) are the sources of secondary generation of PM_2.5. These substances generate PM_2.5 through some chemical reactions in the atmosphere. Through chemical reactions in the atmosphere, NH₃ generates PM_2.5. It is the causative agent of PM_2.5. In 2017 the annual ammonia emission recorded from the agricultural sector was 244,335 tons, which accounted for about 79.3% of the total ammonia emission in Korea in that year. To address this issue, the agricultural sector announced the inclusion of reducing fine particulate matter and ammonia emissions by 30% in its targets for the year 2022. This may be achieved through analyses of its emission characteristics by monitoring the PM_2.5 and NH₃. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study, the PM_2.5 concentration was measured real-time (every 1 hour) by using beta radiation from the particle dust measuring device (Spirant BAM). NH₃ concentration was analyzed real-time by Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CRDS). The concentrations of ozone (O₃) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) were continuously measured and analyzed for the masses collected on filter papers by ultraviolet photometry and chemiluminescence. CONCLUSION: This study established air pollutant monitoring system in agricultural areas to analyze the NH₃ emission characteristics. The amount of PM_2.5 and NH₃ emission in agriculture was measured. Scientific evidence in agricultural areas was obtained by identifying the emission concentration and characteristics per season (monthly) and per hour.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.424-433
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• 2017

Antioxidants are used in the manufacturing of commercial food packages made of polyolefin plastic such as polyethylene and polypropylene for the purpose to delay the oxidation reaction of the polymer due to oxygen or traces of ozone in the atmosphere. Additives in plastics may be migrated from the packaging materials into foods, thereby presenting a potential health risk to the consumer. Therefore, it is necessary to determine migration level of antioxidants from food packaging materials to foodstuffs in order to take proactive management. In this study, we have developed a method for the analysis of 10 antioxidants, which are butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), Cyanox 2246, 425 and 1790, Irgafos 168, and Irganox 1010, 1330, 3114 and 1076, migrated from the food packaging materials into four food simulants for aqueous, acidic, alcoholic and fatty foods. The antioxidants were determined by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatograph-ultraviolet detector with 276 nm after solid-phase extraction with a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) cartridge or dilution with isopropanol. The analytical method showed a good linearity of coefficient ($R^2{\geq}0.99$), limits of detection (0.11~0.41 mg/L), and limits of quantification (0.34~1.24 mg/L). The recoveries of antioxidants spiked to four food simulants ranged from 71.3% to 109.4%. The migrated antioxidants in this study were within the safety levels that resulted from the safety assessment by the estimated daily intake to the tolerable daily intake.