• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.257-266
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• 2018

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate asphalt fumes and PAHs exposure among asphalt road paving workers. Methods: Task-based personal air samplings(n=41) were carried out in 3 asphalt road paving construction sites using PTFE (polytetrafluorethylene) filters for asphalt fume and XAD-2 with glass fiber filters for PAHs. The concentration of fumes and PAHs were showed by four different job(paver finisher operator, paving laborer(raker), macadam roller operator and tire roller operator). Results: The geometric mean(GM) concentration of asphalt fumes as benzene soluble aerosol was highest at paving laborers($42.32{\mu}g/m^3$), followed by in order, paver finisher operators($41.57{\mu}g/m^3$), macadam roller operators($31.9{\mu}g/m^3$), and tire roller operators($30.31{\mu}g/m^3$). The GM of total PAHs concentration was highest at paver finisher operators($37.5{\mu}g/m^3$), followed by in order, paving laborers($20.13{\mu}g/m^3$), tire roller operators($8.66{\mu}g/m^3$), and macadam roller operators($6.23{\mu}g/m^3$). The results of the evaluation of 16 compounds of PAHs showed that the concentrations of naphthalene, achenaphthylene, achenaphthene, pyrene, fluorene and benz (a) anthracene was higher than those of other PAHs compounds and as the carcinogenic substances, benzo(a)pyrene, and debenz(a,h) anthracene were detected. The benzo(a)pyrene equivalent concentration(BaPeq) was $2.81{\mu}g/m^3$ at paver finisher operators, $2.07{\mu}g/m^3$ at paving laborers, $0.41{\mu}g/m^3$ at tire roller operators and $0.22{\mu}g/m^3$ at macadam roller operators. Asphalt road paving workers have higher benzo(a)pyrene equivalent(BaPeq) values even though at lower total PAHs concentration than workers in steel pipe coating and tar industry. Conclusions: Asphalt road paving workers were found to have risk of carcinogen exposure due to higher Benzo(a)pyrene equivalent concentration(BaPeq) than other PAHs exposure occupations. This study confirmed the carcinogenic hazards among asphalt paving workers.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.20 no.3 s.50
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• pp.209-213
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• 2005

Due to steady increase of childhood asthma, exposure to air toxics including PAHs have been thought as an etiology for the asthma. PAHs -involvement in airway inflammation, such as IgE production, is the potential mechanism of the PAHs-induced asthma. Cytochrome P450s (CYPs), particularly CYP1A1 is known enzyme to metabolite PAHs and to be induced by PAHs. The CYP1A1 expression has been emphasized as an biomarker for PAHs - exposure. The present study was performed to clarify the etiology of childhood asthma with PAHs-exposure using mRNA expression of CYP1A1 . The study Objects were Korean children who were asthma patients (cases) or other hospital controls (N=20; age,3 $\~$ 16; boys,56$\%$). As result, we detected expression of the CYP1A1 in all peripheral blood specimens which were collected from the subjects. Moreover, we found approx. 300 fold-higher expression of the CYP1A1 in the cases than that in the controls (p(<)0.01). When we considered age which was related to Asthma, the above significant trend was somewhat diluted, however, the relation between asthma and the Cypih i expression waL stronger than that between asthma and age (chi square,7.99 vs. 3.34). Therefore, our study supports that PAHs induce or worse childhood asthma and suggests application of expression of the CYP1A1 as an initiation or progress biomarker for PAHs - induced childhood asthma.

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.284.1-284.1
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• 2002

In previous studies, we demonstrated that ambient PM collected from urban site of Korea air could induce DNA damage, Various mutagens and carcinogens present in the urban air differ according to the source of the pollutants. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their nitrated compound are produced in the combustion of fossil fuels as diesel emission exhausts. In recent, PAH and nitro-PAH have been identified in urban air particulate matter (PM). and some of them were found to be tumorigenic in experimental animals and humans. (omitted)

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.7
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• pp.735-742
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• 2008

In order to evaluate the levels and distribution patterns, the concentrations of PAHs and chlorophenols were investigated in sludge samples discharged from 6 WWTPs located along Nak-dong river and 7 STPs in Busan, Korea. Levels of 16 PAHs and 19 chlorophenols in sludge samples ranged from 1.28 to 44.9 mg/kg dry wt. and from 213 to 3,850 $\mu$g/kg dry wt., respectively. Levels of PAHs in sludge samples except I5 and S4 were detected lower than those of previous studies. The distribution patterns of PAHs and chlorophenols varied with industrial wastewater sludge samples because industrial wastewater sludge had different industrial input sources. However, the distribution patterns of PAHs and chlorophenols in sewage sludge were pretty similar. Phenanthrene, fluoranthene and pyrene were dominant and the fractions of these 3 PAHs relative to 16 PAHs in sewage sludge ranged from 30.8 to 50.7%. 2-chlorophenol is dominated in most sewage sludge samples and the fraction ranged from 36.0 to 66.8%.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.947-956
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• 2018

Trains have been a major means of transport in Korea during these past decades. However, train facilities such as stations and repair shops are contaminated with organic and inorganic substances. There is a high probability of train facility contamination with polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). This study evaluated the PAH and heavy metal contamination of soil near railroads in the Kyungpook area. A total of 18 soil samples were collected from the railroads and analyzed for 16 PAHs and 6 heavy metal species. The contamination level of the top soil was found to be slightly higher than that of the subsoil for contamination with PAHs. The ratio of carcinogenic PAH concentration to the total PAH concentration was relatively high, with a maximum of 0.9. The toxicity equivalent (TEQ) of the PAHs were 500.6 ng/kg in the topsoil and 355.5 ng/kg in the subsoil. The ratio of low molecular PAHs (LPAHs) to high molecular PAHs (LPAHs) ranged from 6.7 to 29.5; this shows that contamination is primarily due to combustion of fuel rather than due to petroleum. The ratio of phenanthrene to anthracene and the ratio of fluoranthene to pyrene also show that contamination occurred due to combustion for transportation. The heavy metal contamination level was lower than the Korean standard, but higher than the background concentration; this indicates that the soil was affected by the operation of the railways.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.37-48
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• 2021

A new high speed rotation type-passive sampling device (HSR-PSD), which can rotate seawater at high speed and absorb easily and quickly the freely dissolved hydrophobic organic contaminants from seawater, was developed and then applied around the Korean Peninsula. Freely dissolved concentrations (Cfree) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined using the HSR-PSD with low density polyethylene (LDPE) sheets as a passive sampler. Furthermore, dissolved concentrations (Cdissolved) of PAHs in seawater were also obtained from high volume water sampling as a conventional method to account for actual bioavailability. When the LDPE sheets were rotated in the HSR-PSD at 900 rpm, PAHs with log KOW 3.4 ~ 5.2 were equilibrated between the LDPE and water in 5 hours. Although the high molecular weight PAHs with log KOW 5.6 ~ 6.8 was expected to be 2 to 30 days to reach the equilibrium, the Cfree of the PAHs at equilibrium could be corrected using performance reference compounds in 5 hours. Meanwhile, the total Cfree of PAHs were from 0.32 to 1.2 ng/L, which were higher than reported values in other oceans, but lower than in coastal water such as estuary, harbor, or shore. A bioavailability from the detected PAHs was highest at the sampling line near the dumping site of the Yellow Sea. Predicted residual concentrations in biota were relatively higher in offshore including the dumping site than in coastal regions.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.96-103
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• 2012

Ambient particulate matter (PM) and particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations were measured continuously for 70 days at a Korean elementary school located near a highway. The $PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$, and $PM_1$ values were measured with a light-scattering, multi-channel, aerosol spectrometer (Grimm, Model 1.107). The number concentrations of the particles were measured using a scanning mobility particle sizer and counter (SMPS+C) which counted particles from 11.1 to 1083.3 nm classified in 44 channels. Particle-bound PAHs were measured with a direct reading, photoelectric aerosol sensor. The daily $NO_2$, $SO_2$, and CO concentrations were obtained from a national air-monitoring station located near the school. The average concentrations of $PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$, and $PM_1$ were 75.3, 59.3, and $52.1{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively. The average number concentration of the ultrafine particles (UFPs) was $46,307/cm^3$, and the averaged particle-bound PAHs concentration was $17.9ng/cm^3$ during the study period. The ambient UFP variation was strongly associated with traffic intensity, particularly peak concentrations during the traffic rush hours. Particles <100 nm corresponded to traffic-related pollutants, including PAHs. Additional longterm monitoring of ambient UFPs and high-resolution traffic measurements should be carried out in future studies. In addition, transient variations in the ambient particle concentration should be taken into consideration in epidemiology studies in order to examine the short-term health effects of urban UFPs.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.59 no.2
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• pp.181-187
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• 2014

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of ubiquitous hazardous pollutants derived from fossil fuel, various combustion sources and pyrolysis of a wide range of plastics. Because PAHs can be uptake into crop plants, the inhibitory effects on rice and soybean plants were examined in greenhouse and growth chamber experiment. Soil-applied PAHs (phenanthrene of 0, 10, 30, 100 ppm) slightly reduced the plant height and dry weight both in transplanted rice and soybean plant. The inhibitory effect on growth was greater in soybean than rice. Plant height of soybean plants treated by 100 ppm was 58.9 cm and this value was 87.2% of untreated plant. In rice plant, the plant height was less inhibited (96.0% of untreated plant) by 100 ppm at 80 days after treatment (DAT). However, leaf chlorophyll content and chlorophyll fluorescence were less inhibited by PAHs at late growth stage (after heading) although the photosynthesis-related parameters were slightly inhibited from 20 DAT to 70 DAT. In agar medium experiment with infant seedlings, inhibition of seedling length and fresh weight by phenanthrene at 100 ppm were greater as compared to the experiment with adult plant in pot. Seedling length and fresh weight were reduced by 54.2% and 33.3% for rice and 27.9% and 13.2% for soybean, respectively. The results reflected that PAHs were more inhibitory during juvenile stage than adult stage and more inhibitory to rice plant than soybean for juvenile stage.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.688-691
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• 2004

Concentrations of PAHs [benzo(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene, dibenzo(a,h)anthracene, benzo(g,h,i)perylene, indeno(1,2,3-c,d)pyrene] in vegetable oils and fats available in Korean market were estimated. Involved methodology were liquid-liquid partition, purification on Sep-Pak Florisil Cartridges, and high performance liquid chromatography using fluorescence detector. Overall recoveries for eight PAHs spiked into vegetable oils and fats ranged from 68.2 to 101.5%, averaging 85.4%. Mean levels of benzo(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene, dibenzo(a,h)anthracene, benzo(g,h,i)perylene, and indeno(1,2,3-c,d)pyrene in vegetable oils and fats were 0.53, 0.82, 0.50, 0.18, 0.35, 0.16, 0.31, and $0.44{\mu}g/kg$, respectively.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2006.04a
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• pp.415-418
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• 2006

회동저수지를 중심으로 수영강 일대 하상퇴적물에 대한 PAHs(Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) 오염특성 연구가 진행되었다. 하상퇴적물의 화학분석결과, 16 EPA PAHs 중 naphthalene 등 총 15개 성분이 검출되었으며, benzo(a)anthracene과 chrysene의 검출빈도가 가장 높고, 총 PAHs는 최대 7,116 ppb가 검출되었다. 한편 퇴적물 내 PAHs의 심도별 함량 변화는, 대체로 하부 시료에 비해 상부 시료에 PAHs 함량이 높게 나타나며, 특히 상부의 점토질 토양과 하부의 현지 토양이 함께 산출되는 시료의 경우, 하부 현지 토양에서의 PAHs 함량에 비해 상부 점토질 토양에서의 PAHs 함량이 높으며, 이는 PAHs가 수영강 으로부터 유입되어 주로 상부 점토질 퇴적물에 축적된 결과로 판단된다. PAHs의 기원은 전반적으로 수영강 상류지역에서는 연소 기원을 보이며, 수영강 하류에서는 교량 및 도심지역에서의 차량통행과 관련이 있는 석유류의 특징을 나타내며, 회동저수지의 경우 석유류와 연소 기원의 특징을 복합적으로 보여주고 있다.