• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.207-214
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• 2005

Many Japanese today are suffering from health disorders related to their living environment, such as allergies and hypersensitivity to chemical substances. The Sick House/Building Syndrome has been a serious problem since 1996, due to low level exposure to hazardous chemicals such as formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted in airtight houses. This paper aims to show current status of the syndrome in Japan and practical researches to promote prevention of, and improvement to indoor air pollution due to chemicals.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.31 no.4 s.85
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• pp.309-315
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• 2005

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and odor materials are major sources of air pollution in Ulsan city, where much chemical plants are located. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a new reactor which can remove VOCs and odor materials effectively and be equipped at the end of pipe easily. A modified reactor (bioscrubber trickling filter, BSTF), which have both characteristics of biofilter and bioscrubber, was developed and tested on its reactivity with several VOCs using two types of media, fiber and activated carbon 4- ceramic(A/C). It was observed that the removal efficiencies of several types of VOCs such as acetaldehyde, ethylalcohol, butanol, diethylamine and triethylamine were up to $95\%$ when they had about 100 ppm of initial concentration and 80 seconds of residence time. Good attachment of microorganisms to both media, where it is thought the reaction efficiency can be determined according to the amount of microorganisms attachment, observed with scanning electron microscopy(SEM). Initial pressure drops of the packed bed with both media were 229 $mmH_2O/m$ at A/C column and 670 $mmH_2O/m$, respectively. However, maximum pressure drop of fiber column during the operation was over 1,647 $mmH_2O/m$. Therefore, it was thought that the fiber material would not suitable to use in the local plant as a packed bed media.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.332-340
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• 1999

Homemade cryogenic preconcentration system is constructed to preconcentrate the VOCs in the ambient air collected in canister. Homemade preconcentrator equipped with GC-MS was used for analysis of air sample containing VOCs at ppb level identified in EPA TO-14 method. The system was evaluated for analytical performance by comparison with the results of adsorption tube method widely used in the past, and shows good agreement for concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.77-86
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• 2017

Globally, use of affordable fuels such as briquettes, woods and wood pellets has increased. Organic pollutants emitted from non-point sources using solid fuels may have contributed to air pollution in urban environment. In this study, we utilized simulated incinerator proposed by U.S. EPA and investigated concentrations of PM, $PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$, OC/EC, CO, $SO_x$, $NO_x$, VOCs and PAHs emitted while cooking meat and fish using briquettes, woods and wood pellets, and developed emission factors. As a result, wood combustion produced more air pollutants than the others. Particulate matter emission factors for woods and wood pellets were 13.54 g/kg and 9.15 g/kg, respectively. Total VOCs emission factors for briquettes, woods and wood pellets were 36.12mg/kg, 46.13mg/kg and 18.26mg/kg, respectively. Additionally, total PAHs emission factors for briquette, woods and wood pellets were 0.44 mg/kg, 18.84mg/kg and 101.62mg/kg, respectively.

• Proceedings of the SAREK Conference
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• 2008.06a
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• pp.708-713
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• 2008

Various kinds of contaminant are generated from many kinds of interior construction materials, furniture and life articles. People of today living indoor most of the time are exposed to these kinds of contaminant. In this connection, people are exerting their efforts to reduce the occurrence of contaminant from the interior finish materials. And it is the actual condition that research is being actively made on the method of reducing contaminant by performing bake-out for newly constructed housings. Bake-out is the method of temporarily increasing the generation of the harmful contaminant quantity including VOCs and Formaldehyde emitting from construction materials or finish materials by increasing the interior temperature of the newly constructed buildings or improved or repaired buildings, and then removing it by mobilizing ventilation system. In this study, the researcher measured the effect of reduced concentration according to ventilation or non-ventilation of the newly constructed but not yet resident public housings during the bake-out in order to grasp the effect of reduced interior air contaminant according to the elapse of timeat the time of bake-out.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.36-42
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• 2024

Background: The use of scented candles and incense sticks, both of which are household products that are burned for indoor deodorization and calming effects, is increasing. Fine dust has been designated as a group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) affect air pollution and can cause diseases. Objectives: This study aims to determine the effect on indoor air quality by measuring PM_2.5 and VOCs generated when burning scented candles and incense sticks. Methods: Scented candles and incense sticks were selected as household products to burn. As for the target sample, top-selling products (five types of scented candles, five types of incense sticks) were purchased online. The PM_2.5 concentration according to time was measured immediately next to the sample and three meters away from each other in an enclosed space using a real-time aerosol photometer. VOCs were collected as samples under the same conditions using Tenax tubes and were quantitatively analyzed by TD-GC/MS. Results: In the case of scented candles, the concentration of PM_2.5 did not increase during combustion and after being extinguished by placing a cover on the candle. For the incense sticks, the concentration of PM_2.5 averaged 1,901.27 ㎍/m³. After burning scented candles and incense sticks, some VOCs concentrations were increased such as ethyl acetate and BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene). Conclusions: Therefore, when using scented candles, extinguishment by placing a cover on the candle can be expected to reduce PM_2.5. It is advisable to avoid using incense sticks because PM_2.5 concentration increases from the start of combustion.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.513-527
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• 2013

Recently, hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) have been of great concern in Korea, largely due to public awareness on the importance of their impacts on environmental health. A group of HAPs includes a large number of various chemicals such as VOCs, PAHs, PCBs, dioxines, furans, organochlorinated pesticides, and some heavy metals. These groups of pollutants are generally known to have genetic toxicity and to be persistent in the environment. In addition, most of chemicals belong to the category of HAPs are widely distributed not only in air, but also in water and soil environments, and has therefore undergone considerable scrutiny for the last three decades. In this article, environmental implications and management of HAPs in Korea will be reviewed, with a particular emphasis on the monitoring of HAPs in the ambient air. A number of field studies will be introduced, which were recently conducted in large urban and industrial areas. Based on the filed studies, eight pollutants have been suggested to be intensively managed as higher priority pollutants, which are benzene, 1,3-butadiene, formaldehyde, acrolein, trichloroethylene, benzo(a)pyrene, hexa-valent Cr, and $PM_{2.5}$. Finally, future directions for a mega scale project for comprehensive monitoring of ambient atmosphere in large urban areas will be suggested. Such an innovative project is believed to provide more realistic information on the nature of the population exposure, which can not be simply identified by emission inventories or source investigations. Therefore, any strategy for the management of HAPs should be developed by not only emission-based approaches, but also observation-based approaches.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.380-386
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• 2015

In this study, the spatial and temporal distribution of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in an industrial shipbuilding complex was monitored, and the local characteristics estimated. The major VOC component measured at all of the sampling sites were almost the same as those found at an indoor painting facility, indicating that painting works conducted in the shipyards were a significant source of VOCs in the vicinity of shipbuilding areas. The main parameters affecting the VOCs distribution were the distance between the sampling site and painting work place, and the intensity of the painting works. A quite broad range of VOC concentrations were observed in all of the sampling sites, depending on the intensity of painting works in nearby areas suppressing the typical seasonal and temporal variation trends in VOCs observed in urban areas.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.11 no.10
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• pp.1109-1116
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• 2002

This study analyzed concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced from incineration of papers at $600^{\circ}C$. The papers used in this study included A4 papers (new, printed with ink-jet, printed with carbon), newspapers (printed with bean oil, printed with a general newspaper ink), packaging box, document envelope, single-use paper cup, and cosmetic tissue. Papers were heated from room temperature upto $600^{\circ}C$ providing air inside of the electric furnace and then they were oxidized for 80 minutes at $600^{\circ}C$ maintaining the same air supply. VOCs emitted from the incineration process were sampled using an air sampling pump and bags for 160 minutes and then the components and concentrations of the VOCs were analyzed by a CC-MS. The most prominent chemical structure of the Vous identified from incineration of the papers was furans and then furans were followed by aromatics and aliphatic alkenes. About 40% of the identified VOCs contained double bonds, which have relatively a high ozone (ground level) formation potential, within their molecular structure. Also, some cancer suspecting compounds like benzene, dichlorormethane and chloroform were identified.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.45-51
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• 2008

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) have been shown to cause nervous system disorders through skin contact or respiration, and also cause foul odors even at low densities in most cases. Also, as a compound itself, VOCs are directly harmful to the environment and to the human body, and may participate in photochemical reactions in air to create secondary pollutants. In this study, HL-60 cells were treated with volatile organic compounds, including ethylbenzene and trichloroethylene, at a value of $IC_50$. Then, the in house-prepared Human HazChem arrayer was utilized in order to compare the gene expression between the two VOCs. After hybridization, 8 upregulated genes and 8 downregulated genes were discovered in the HazChem array. The upregulated genes were identified as SG15, TNFSF10, PRNP, ME1, NCOA4, SRXN1, TXNRD1, and XBP1. The downregulated genes were identified as MME, NRF1, PRARBP, CALCA, CRP, BAX, C7 or f40, and FGFR1. Such results were highly correlated with the quantitative RT-PCR results. The majority of the 16 genes were related with the characteristics of VOCs, including respiratory mechanism, apoptosis, and carcinogenesis-associated genes. Our data showed that our human HazChem array can be used to monitor hazardous materials via gene expression profiling.