• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.19 no.E1
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• pp.11-20
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• 2003

To characterize airborne particulate carbon and its temporal variation in the heavily industrialized metropolitan city, Seoul in South Korea, aerosol sampling was performed from 1986 to 1996. Correlation coefficients of elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) with mass concentration of fine particles ($\underline{\leq}$2.1 ${\mu}m$) are 0.73 and 0.51, respectively. EC concentrations of the fine particle mode are 10.1, 5.9, 4.5, and 7.4 ${\mu}g\;m^{-3}$ in winter, spring, summer, and autumn, respectively. On the other hand, OC concentration shows maximum value in winter and followed by autumn, summer, and spring. A seasonal peak in the ratio of OC to EC in fine particles was observed during the summer photochemical season from June to August. Concentrations of EC and OC in Asian dust storm events are generally higher than in non- Asian dust storm events except in 1990. The difference of EC concentrations between Asian dust storm periods and non-Asian dust storm periods are much larger than those of OC concentrations. There are slight increases of EC concentration between 1987 and 1990 and a gradual decrease between 1990 and 1996.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.115-124
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• 2024

Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess indoor air quality within and around buildings and evaluate the health risks associated with exposure to indoor air pollution. The study compares IAQ standards established by the World Health Organization with those set by South Korea's Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Education. Methods: The study utilized an Anderson Sampler and DustTrak^TM II to collect samples of total airborne bacteria and PM in indoor and outdoor environments. Collected samples were analyzed using biological and biochemical methods. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS to examine the correlation between airborne bacteria and PM. Results: The study revealed that the concentration of total airborne bacteria in indoor air generally remained below the Ministry of Environment's standard of 800 CFU/m³, although it surpassed this threshold in certain instances. PM concentrations did not exceed the standards. Indoor fine dust concentration was higher when there were people (P<0.05). There was no difference in total floating bacterial concentrations between indoor and outdoor environments (P=0.184). Finally, there was a correlation between fine dust and airborne bacteria concentrations. Conclusion: The study evaluated the concentrations of total airborne bacteria and PM in indoor air, emphasizing the importance of managing IAQ. Further research in various environments is essential to ensure a healthy indoor environment. The findings underscore the need for ongoing research and management to enhance IAQ and create safer and healthier living environments.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.55-62
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• 2015

The international concern on the inhalable fine dust is continuing to increase. In addition to the toxic properties of the fine dust itself, it can be more dangerous than other environmental factors since the dust pollution is hard to be detected by human sense. Although the information on outdoor air condition can be acquired easily, the indoor dust concentration is another problem because the indoor air condition is influenced by the architectural environment and human activity. It means occupants may be exposed to indoor dust pollution over a long period without being aware. Therefore the indoor dust concentration should be measured separately and visualized as an intuitive information. By visualizing, the indoor dust concentration in each space can be recognized practically in compare with the degree of pollution in adjacent spaces. Besides the visualization outcome can be used as base data for related research such as an analysis of the relation between indoor dust concentration and architectural environment. Meanwhile, with the development of network and micro sensing devices, it became possible to collect wide range of indoor environment data. In this regards, this paper suggests a system for visualization of indoor dust concentration and demonstrates it on an actual space.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.630-637
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• 2019

Objectives: This study was performed to evaluate the secular changes in indoor airborne dust or endotoxin levels in the dust from swine confinement buildings. Indoor levels were compared with the level at the exhaust outlet in order to examine the contribution potential of indoor dust to nearby ambient air dust. Methods: Comparisons were made on inhalable and respirable dust levels reported in 2002, 2012, and 2017 from 14, 10, and 36 swine fattening confinement buildings in Korea, respectively. This data was produced by the same research group. Levels of endotoxin adsorbed into inhalable or respirable dust were also compared. Samples of inhalable or respirable dust were collected indoors and at exhaust outlets from 17 swine fattening confinement buildings in 2019, and dust levels were compared between the indoor and the outlet. Results: The outlet inhalable dust level (0.111 mg/㎥) was approximately 19% of that from indoors, and the respirable dust level (0.033 mg/㎥) was approximately 74% of that from indoors. The outlet respirable dust levels were lower than the airborne fine dust levels in the towns where those farms are located. No significant difference was observed in the inhalable dust levels among the years examined, but the respirable dust level in 2017 (0.143 mg/㎥) was significantly lower than in 2002 (0.328 mg/㎥). The level of endotoxin in inhalable dust was significantly higher in 2017 (722 EU/㎥) than in both 2002 (75 EU/㎥) and 2012 (171 EU/㎥). Conclusion: Even though no apparent contribution from swine farm indoor dust to nearby ambient air dust was observed in terms of amount, a certain control strategy to reduce the production of airborne dust and endotoxin from swine farms is merited.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.294-299
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• 2002

PM (Particulate Matter) samples contained fungal spores were collected in the ambient air of Seosan, west Korea, in springtime of 2000 and 2001. PM concentrations were $199.8\mu{g}\;m^{-3}$ in the 1st Asian Dust Storm period (March, 23 ~ 24) and $249.4\mu{g}\;m^{-3}$ in the 2nd period (April, 7~9), 2000. Compared with the concentrations in 2000, relatively low PM concentration ($157.3\mu{g}\;m^{-3}$ ) was measured in the Asian Dust Storm period (April, 24 ~ 20) of 2001. Although there were somewhat differences for the total PM concentrations among the three periods, majorities of the PM were composed of coarse particles sized about 5 ~ 6 $\mu{m}$ over the periods of the two years. Diverse molds grown from fungal aerosols were observed in the PM samples and identified at the genus level. All the genera, Fusarium, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Basipetospora, Epicoccum and Monotospora are hyphomycetes in the division Fungi imperfecti (Deuteromycota). Especially, morphologically more diversified mycelia of hyphomycetes were grown on the fine PM sample (1.1 ~ 2.1 $\mu{m}$) than coarse PM samples in the periods of 2000. Furthermore, some molds were grown on even the background PM sample less than 0.43 $\mu{m}$ in the period of 2001. It was thought that some kinds of ultra fine sized fungal spores were transported by the Asian Dust Storm and suspended in the ambient air of study area during the events.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.833-838
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• 2004

The analysis of Pb in both PM$_{2.5}$ and PM$_{10}$ fraction of aerosols was made consecutively for every spring season during four year period of 2001 through 2004. To diagnose the impact of the Asian Dust (AD) on metal concentration levels, we compared our Pb measurement data after dividing the whole data sets into AD and NAD period. The results of our analysis indicated that the concentrations of coarse particles increased significantly during the AD period, whereas an increase in the fine counterpart was of moderate degree. However, when Pb concentrations between AD and NAD were compared, the patterns were quite different. From all particle fractions, the Pb concentrations of NAD were slightly or moderately higher than those of AD. The overall results of our study suggest that an increase in particle concentrations during the AD period can cause a rather slight reduction in Pb concentration levels; this can be explained by the dilution effect associated with the increase of Pb-depleted coarse particles.s.s.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.9-19
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• 2010

The size distribution of airborne particulate matter (PM) and the concentrations of associated metallic elements were investigated in a busy urban region of a typical Korean industrial city. The PM concentrations measured during the spring, except for those in the size range of 1.1 to 2.1 ${\mu}m$, were slightly higher than the PM concentrations in the summer. Coarse particles contributed greatly to the variation in PM concentrations in the spring, while fine and submicron particles contributed largely to the variation in PM concentrations in the summer. The difference in size modes of the PM concentrations between spring and summer may be explained by the Asian dust effect and its accompanying wind direction and speed. Extremely high enrichment factors (EFs) values (6,971 to 60,966) for all of the size distributions in PM were identified for cadmium (Cd). High EFs values (12 to 907) were also identified for other heavy metals including Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn and Mn. Low EF values (0.29 to 8.61) were identified for Ca, K, Mg and Na. These results support the common hypothesis that most heavy metals in ambient PM have anthropogenic sources and most light metals have crustal sources. The results of principal components analyses and cluster analyses for heavy metals indicate that the principal sources of PM and metals were emissions from non-ferrous metal smelters, oil combustion, incinerators, vehicular traffic and road dust.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.1204-1210
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• 2014

New control methods are proposed for indoor air quality by removing fine airborne dust-particles. As suspended fine dust-particles contain inorganic dust as well as fine organic bacteria, studies for simultaneous control of these contaminants are required. In this study, photocatalytic disinfection of indoor suspended microorganisms such as E. coli and Bacillus subtilis is performed by three types of photocatalysts with UVA irradiation. The UVA irradiation strength was controlled to the minimum $3{\mu}W/cm^2$, and ZnO, $TiO_2$, and ZnO/Laponite ball were used as the catalysts. The results indicate that E. coli was removed over 80 % after about 2 hours of reaction with UVA and all three types of photocatalysts, whereas only with UVA, around 50 % E. coli removal was obtained. Among the catalysts, ZnO/Laponite composite ball was found to have similar sterilizing capacity to $TiO_2$. However, in case of B. subtilis, which has thick cell wall in its spore state, disinfection was not effective under the low UVA irradiation condition, even with the catalysts. Further studies need to figure out the optimal UVA irradiation ranges as well as photocatalysts doses to control airborne dust, to provide healthy clean air environment.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.6610-6617
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• 2013

This study examined the current and future Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) control device markets and analyzed the recent studies on indoor air pollutantr emoval to develop a new technology for fine dust control. Currently, the mechanical filter technique occupies the bulk of the IAQ control market but the electronic technique is emerging as an alternative to control fine dust efficiently. Among the gaseous VOCs and fine dust particles contaminating the indoor air quality, fine dust particles are more problematic because they threaten human health by penetrating deep into the body and producing secondary contaminants by chemical reaction with VOCs. The electronic IAQ control device using dielectrophoretic and electrostatic forces is a good option for public spaces where many people pass, and at the same time, it needs to consider temperature, humidity, and the particle properties of specific areas to highlight the control efficiency. Electronic-related technology is expected to be used widely in many public/private spaces wherever a dust-free environment is required.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.652-663
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• 2019

To identify daily and annual changes in outdoor airborne fungi, it is necessary to shorten the collection cycle and increase the number of measurements. In this study, measurements were performed by employing an air sampler and potato dextrose agar media on the rooftop of National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage during a period of one year (August 2018 to July 2019). The collection cycle spanned the twenty-four seasonal divisions and the collection time was 2 p.m. and 11 p.m.. Meteorological elements were collected at intervals of one hour. Furthermore, the concentration of airborne fungi was monitored and correlation analysis with meteorological elements was subsequently conducted. Obtained results indicate that the concentration of airborne fungi is found to be highest in November, autumn, night, followed by autumn, summer, winter, and spring. The concentration, type, and dominant species of airborne fungi can vary depending on factors such as rainfall, typhoons, and yellow dust (fine dust). The concentration of airborne fungi indicates a strong positive linear relationship between precipitation, number of precipitation days, and relative humidity. The concentration of airborne fungi was related to the period of increase of dead plants in terms of nutrition source, and to the high relative humidity conditions including rainfall in terms of meteorological elements.