• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.113-128
• /
• 2019

The concentration and coating thickness of black carbon (BC) were measured along with fine dust in the fall of 2018, at the Seoul Metropolitan Area Intensive Monitoring Station (SIMS). In fall, the concentration of $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$ was $23{\pm}12.6{\mu}g/m^3$ and $12{\pm}5.8{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively, lower than that in other seasons. The BC level, measured using an Aethalometer, was $0.73{\pm}0.43{\mu}g/m^3$, while the levels of elemental carbon (EC) and refractory-BC (rBC), measured by semi-continuous carbon analyzer (SOCEC) and single particle soot photometer (SP2), were $0.34{\pm}0.18{\mu}g/m^3$ and $0.32{\pm}0.18{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively. As such, the concentration level differed according to the measurement method, but its time-series distribution and diurnal variation showed the same trends. The BC concentration at SIMS was primarily affected by automobiles with higher levels of BC during morning and evening commuting times due to increased traffic congestion. rBC, measured by SP2, had a peak concentration and coating thickness of 84 nm and 43 nm, respectively. Notably, the coating thickness had an inverse relationship with particle size.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.32 no.5
• /
• pp.536-546
• /
• 2016

The diurnal variations of $O_3$ and $NO_2$ in an urban park and the effects of air temperature and wind speed on the diurnal variations are investigated. $O_3$ and $NO_2$ concentrations were observed at a site in an urban park of Seoul from 27 July 2015 to 9 August 2015. The $O_3$ and $NO_2$ concentrations observed in the urban park are compared to those observed at the Gangnam air quality monitoring station (AQMS). The $O_3$ concentration is higher in the urban park than at the Gangnam AQMS in the daytime because the amount of $O_3$ dissociated by NO is smaller as well as partly because the amount of $O_3$ produced in the oxidation process of biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is larger in the urban park than at the Gangnam AQMS. The $NO_2$ concentration is lower in the urban park than at the Gangnam AQMS during day and night because the observation site in the urban park is relatively far from roads where $NO_x$ is freshly emitted from vehicles. The difference in $NO_2$ concentration is larger in the daytime than in the nighttime. To examine the effects of air temperature and wind speed on the diurnal variations of $O_3$ and $NO_2$, the observed $O_3$ and $NO_2$ concentrations are classified into high or low air temperature and high or low wind speed days. The high $O_3$ and $NO_2$ concentrations in the daytime appear for the high air temperature and low wind speed days. This is because the daytime photochemical processes are favorable when the air temperature is high and the wind speed is low. The scatter plots of the daytime maximum $O_3$ and minimum $NO_2$ concentrations versus the daytime averages of air temperature and wind speed show that the daytime maximum $O_3$ and minimum $NO_2$ concentrations tend to increase as the air temperature increases or the wind speed decreases. The daytime maximum $O_3$ concentration is more sensitive to the changes in air temperature and wind speed in the urban park than at the Gangnam AQMS.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.387-396
• /
• 2003

A field study was conducted during the summer time of 2002 to determine compositions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from vehicles and to develop source emission profiles that is applied to CMB model to estimate the source contribution of certain area. Source emission profile is widely used for the estimation of source contribution by the chemical mass balance model and have to be developed applicable for the target area of estimation. This study was aimed to develop source emission profile and estimation of source contribution of VOCs after application of the chemical mass balance (CMB) receptor model. After considering the emission inventory and other research results for the VOCs in Seoul, Korea, the sources like vehicle emission (tunnel), gas station (gasoline, diesel), solvent usage (painting operation, dry cleaning, graphic art), and gas fuels were selected for the major VOCs sources. Furthermore, ambient air samples were simultaneously collected from 09:00 to 11:00 for four days at eight different official air quality monitoring sites as receptors in Seoul during summer of 2001. Source samples were collected by canisters, and then about seventy volatile organic compounds were analyzed by gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC/FID). Based on both the developed source profiles and the database of the receptors, CMB model was intensively applied to estimate mass contribution of VOCs sources. Examining the source profile from the vehicle, the portion of alkanes of VOCs was highest, and then the portion of aromatics such toluene, m/p-xylene were followed. In case of gas fuel. they have their own components; the content of butane, propane, ethane was higher than any other component according to the fuel usage. The average of the source apportionment on VOCs for 8 sites showed that the major sources were vehicle emission and gas fuels. The vehicle emission source was revealed as having the highest contribution with an average of 49.6%, and followed by solvent with 21.3%, gas fuel with 16.1%, gasoline with 13.1%.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.57-68
• /
• 2017

Continuous monitoring of spatial and temporal changes in key marine environmental parameters such as SST (sea surface temperature) near IORS (Ieodo Ocean Research Station) is demanded to investigate the ocean ecosystem, climate change, and sea-air interaction processes. In this study, we aimed to develop the system for continuously measuring SST using a TIR (thermal infrared) sensor mounted at the IORS. New SST algorithm is developed to provide SST of better quality that includes automatic atmospheric correction and emissivity calculation for different oceanic conditions. Then, the TIR-based SST products were validated against in-situ water temperature measurements during May 17-26, 2015 and July 15-18, 2015 at the IORS, yielding the accuracy of 0.72-0.85 R-square, and $0.37-0.90^{\circ}C$ RMSE. This TIR-based SST observing system can be installed easily at similar Ocean Research Stations such as Sinan Gageocho and Ongjin Socheongcho, which provide a vision to be utilized as calibration site for SST remotely sensed from satellites to be launched in future.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.403-415
• /
• 1999

To properly assess air pollution levels, application of quality assurance and quality control(QA/QC) is believed to be an essential step. In order to cope with such scientific principle, a field study was designed with an aim of comparing: 1) the methods of calibration for airborne pollutants and 2) the protocols developed for their measurements. Measurements were made at Han Yang University, Seoul during 29 May through 1 June 1998 under the management of the Division of Measurements and Analysis(DMA) of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment(KOSAE). In this work, we report our results of intercomparative measurements on several gaseous criteria pollutants that were investigated mainly by the two institutes-Seoul National University(SNU) and the Korean Research Institute for Standards and Science(KRISS). Although measurements of major gaseous pollutants had been made routinely by many scientific institutes and organizations in Korea, most scientists involved in those studieswere obliged to do their experiments on the basis of their own procedural steps spaning from the preparation of gaseous standards to the methodological selections for the calibration. Hence, this campaign offered a unique opportunity to examine many important aspects on the measurements of these important gaseous pollutants. In the course of our study, we investigated the compatibility of data sets obtained by the two institutes in concert with reference data sets collected concurrently from a government-managed monitoring station. On the basis of our study, we conclude that different data sets made by different participants during this campaign agree well within the reasonable range of uncertainties.low, which indicated that during this period the potential acidity of precipitation was high but the neutralizing capacity was low. For Spring, pAi was very low but pH was slightly high. This was likely due to the large amount of $CaCO_3$ in the soil particles transported over a long range from the Chinese continent that were incorporated into the precipitation, and then neutralized the acidifying species with its high concentraton.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.169-182
• /
• 2007

To evaluate the possibly potent role of Asian Dust (AD) on the long range transport of Hg, statistical analyses were carried out using the hourly concentration data of gaseous elemental mercury (Hg) along with relevant environmental parameters. For the purpose of this study, Hg data were collected from Yang-Jae monitoring station in Seoul, Korea during Sept. 1997 to June 2002. During the study period, Hg concentrations in non-AD period ranged from $0.03\;to\;32.70\;ng\;m^{-3}$ with a mean $5.27{\pm}3.06\;ng\;m^{-3}$, while those in AD period from $1.79\;to\;32.60\;ng\;m^{-3}$ with a mean $5.20{\pm}3.06\;ng\;m^{-3}$. The air quality during AD were typically deteriorated by enhanced PM10 mass concentration (by $2{\sim}5$ times) compared to non-AD period, however comparison of the Hg concentration data indicates that they are not critically distinguished between events of AD and non-AD, except for the high minimum level of Hg during AD. The results of correlation and factor analysis also indicated somewhat complex patterns; in the case of AD events, Hg and $SO_{2}$ were assorted concurrently into a same factor. Evidence collected from this study thus suggests that long-range transport of Hg, if occurring, is unlikely to raise statistically Hg concentration levels such as seen during AD event. However, in nighttime of winter season, Hg concentrations are higher during AD (along with PM10 levels) than non-AD period. Although such observations suggest the effect of long range transport on the enhancement of Hg concentrations, more deliberate analysis may be required to track down the effect of such mechanism in relation with various factors including the air mass transport route.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.26 no.5
• /
• pp.533-542
• /
• 2010

The $PM_{10}$ concentrations in the underground should be monitored for the health of commuters on the underground subway system. Seoul Metro and Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation are measuring several air pollutants regularly. As for the measurement of $PM_{10}$ concentrations, instruments based on $\beta$-ray absorption method and gravimetric methods are being used. But the instruments using gravimetric method give us 20-hour-average data and the $\beta$-ray instruments can measure the $PM_{10}$ concentration every one hour. In order to keep the $PM_{10}$ concentrations under a healthy condition, the air quality of the underground platform and tunnels should be monitored and controlled continuously. The $PM_{10}$ instruments using light scattering method can measure the $PM_{10}$ concentrations every less than one minute. However, the reliability of the instruments using light scattering method is still not proved. The purpose of this work is to study the reliability of the instruments using light scattering method to measure the $PM_{10}$ concentrations continuously in the underground platforms. One instrument using $\beta$-ray absorption method and two different instruments using light scattering method (LSM1, LSM2) were placed at the platform of the Jegi station of Seoul metro line Number 1 for 10 days. The correlation between the $\beta$-ray instrument and the LSM2 ($r^2$=0.732) was higher than that between the $\beta$-ray instrument and the LSM1 ($r^2$=0.393). Thus the LSM2 was chosen for further analysis. Three different regression analysis methods were tested: Linear regression analysis, Nonlinear regression analysis and Orthogonal regression analysis. When the instruments using light scattering method were used, the data measured these instruments have to be converted to actual $PM_{10}$ concentrations using some factors. With these analyses, the factors could be calculated successfully as linear and nonlinear forms with respect to the data. And the orthogonal regression analysis was performed better than the ordinary least squares method by 28.45% reduction of RMSE. These findings propose that the instruments using light scattering method light scattering method can be used to measure and control the $PM_{10}$ concentrations of the underground subway stations.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.642-652
• /
• 2006

In order to understand the characteristics of surface ozone concentration and high $O_3$ concentration days, regional data from seven air quality monitoring stations which were operated by local governments were analyzed Regional characteristics of $O_3$ concentration were analyzed with the data of $O_3$ concentration and the characteristics of $O_3$ generation and weather conditions by the selection of the days in which the concentration was higher than 80 ppb. In the case of daily variation, the lowest $O_3$ concentration was shown in all regions from 7am to 8am and the highest around at 4 pm. The monthly variation of mean $O_3$ concentration and ${\Delta}O_3$ values revealed a reducing pattern in July and August following the peak in June, and again a gradual increasing trend in September and October. The result shows that the amount of ozone is dependent on photochemical reaction. The days of $O_3$ generated more than 80 ppb in the region of Gwangyang-bay were 544 days(1,760 hrs). The frequency of occurrence in the region revealed a strong pattern with the order of Samil-dong, Jinsang, and Gwangmu-dong stations in the Gwangyang region. However, Tein-dong, which is the nearest station to air pollution material generation source, showed the lowest frequency in the study area. Consequently, the meteorological parameters which can easily generate the high concentration of $O_3$ in the region of Gwangyang-bay are characterized as follows; atmospheric temperature which is higher than $19^{\circ}C$, relative humidity with the range of $60{\sim}85%$, the less average wind velocity than 5 m/s, cloud cover which is less than 5/10, and the more duration of sunshine than 8 hours.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.380-391
• /
• 2015

Objectives: The objective of this study is to assess airborne particulate matter pollution and its effect on health of residents living near Ansim Briquette Fuel Complex and its vicinities. Also, this study measured and analyzed the concentration of TSP, $PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$, and heavy metals which influences on the environmental and respiratory disease in Ansim Briquette Fuel Complex, Daegu, Korea. Methods: In this study, we analyzed various environmental pollutants such as particulate matter and heavy metals from Ansim Briquette Fuel Complex that adversely affected local residents's health. In particular, we verified the concentration distribution and characteristics of exposure for TSP, $PM_{10}$, and $PM_{2.5}$ among particulate matters, and heavy metals(Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Fe, Zn, and Mg). In that regard, the official test method on air pollution in Korea for analysis of particulate matter and heavy metal in atmosphere were conducted. The large capacity air sampling method by the official test method on air pollution in Korea were applied for sampling of heavy metals in atmosphere. In addition, we evaluated the concentration of seasonal environmental pollutants for each point of residence in Ansim Briquette Fuel Complex and surrounding area. The sampling measured periods for air pollutants were from August 11, 2013 to February 21, 2014. Furthermore, we measured and analyzed the seasonal concentrations(summer, autumn and winter). Results: The average concentration for TSP, $PM_{10}$, and $PM_{2.5}$ by direct influence area at Ansim Briquette Fuel Complex were 1.7, 1.4 and 1.9 times higher than reference region. In analysis results of seasonal concentrations for particulate matter in four direct influence and reference area, concentration levels for winter were generally somewhat higher than concentrations for summer and autumn. The average concentrations for Cd, Cr, Mn, Ni, Pb, Fe, and Zn in direct influence area at Ansim Briquette Fuel Complex were $0.0008{\pm}0.0004{\mu}g/Sm^3$, $0.0141{\pm}0.0163{\mu}g/Sm^3$, $0.0248{\pm}0.0059{\mu}g/Sm^3$, $0.0026{\pm}0.0011{\mu}g/Sm^3$, $0.0272{\pm}0.0084{\mu}g/Sm^3$, $0.4855{\pm}0.1862{\mu}g/Sm^3$, and $0.3068{\pm}0.0631{\mu}g/Sm^3$, respectively. In particularly, the average concentrations for Cd, Cr, Mn, Ni, Pb, Fe, and Zn in direct influence area at Ansim Briquette Fuel Complex were 1.9, 3.6, 2.1, 1.9, 1.4, 2.6, and 1.2 times higher than reference area, respectively. The continuous monitoring and management were required for some heavy metals such as Cr and Ni. Moreover, the average concentration in winter for particulate matter in direct influence area at Ansim Briquette Fuel Complex were generally higher than concentrations in summer and autumn. Also, average concentrations for TSP, $PM_{10}$, and $PM_{2.5}$ were from 1.5 to 2.0 times, 1.2 to 1.8 times, and 1.1 to 2.3 times higher than reference area, respectively. In results for seasonal atmospheric environment, TSP, $PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$, and heavy metal concentrations in direct influence area were higher than reference area. Especially, the concentrations in C station were a high level in comparison with other area. Conclusions: In the results, some particulate matters and heavy metals were relatively high concentration, in order to understand the environmental pollution level and health effect in surrounding area at Ansim Briquette Fuel Complex. The concentration of some heavy metals emitted from direct influence area at Ansim Briquette Fuel Complex were relatively higher than reference area. In particular, average concentration for heavy metals in this study were higher than average concentrations in air quality monitoring station for heavy metal for 7 years in Deagu metropolitan region. Especially, the residents near Ansim Briquette Fuel Complex may be exposed to the pollutants(TSP, $PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$, and heavy metals, etc) emitted from the factories in Ansim Briquette Fuel Complex.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.177-182
• /
• 1999

Objectives: To reexamine the association between air pollution and daily mortality in Seoul, Korea using a method of meta-analysis with the data filed for 1991 through 1995. Methods: A separate Poisson regression analysis on each district within the metropolitan area of Seoul was conducted to regress daily death counts on levels of each ambient air pollutant, such as total suspended particulates (TSP), sulfur dioxide $(SO_2)$, and ozone $(O_3)$, controlling for variability in the weather condition. We calculated a weighted mean as a meta-analysis summary of the estimates and its standard error. Results: We found that the p value from each pollutant model to test the homogeneity assumption was small (p<0.01) because of the large disparity among district-specific estimates. Therefore, all results reported here were estimated from the random effect model. Using the weighted mean that we calculated, the mortality at a $100{\mu}g/m^3$ increment in a 3-day moving average of TSP levels was 1.034 (95% Cl 1.009-1.059). The mortality was estimated to increase 6% (95% Cl 3-10%) and 3% (95% Cl 0-6%) with each 50 ppb increase for 9-day moving average of SO2 and 1-hr maximum O3, respectively. Conclusions: Like most of air pollution epidemiologic studies, this meta-analysis cannot avoid fleeing from measurement misclassification since no personal measurement was taken. However, we can expect that a measurement bias be reduced in a district-specific estimate since a monitoring station is hefter representative cf air quality of the matched district. The similar results to those from the previous studios indicated existence of health effect of air pollution at current levels in many industrialized countries, including Korea.