• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.571-577
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• 2006

Health benefits from implementing air quality control measures were assessed using the Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program (BenMAP). BenMAP developed by US EPA is a GIS-based software tool that estimates the health impacts and associated economic values connected with changes in ambient air pollution. Once a set of BenMAP-required data was collected, the health benefits from implementing Seoul Air Quality Management Plan (SAQMP), an official AQ improvement plan for Seoul Metropolitan Area, was assessed using BenMAP. The PM10 concentrations assuming the SAQMP implemented successfully were predicted with the MM5 (Mesoscale Meteorological model version 5)/CMAQ (Community Multiscale Air Quality) model. A PM 10 exposure related premature mortality function was adopted trom a well-known epidemiology study. Economic valuation functions driven from benefit transfer methods were utilized. Through the SAQMP, PM10 concentrations were estimated to be lowered by $15{\mu}g/m^3\;to\;75{\mu}g/m^3$ depending on air quality modeling grids. 5,569 premature deaths (95% CI $3,264{\sim}7,809$ deaths) could be avoided in the Seoul Metropolitan Area. The economic value of the deaths avoided was estimated to $13.2 billion $(95%\;CI\;$890\;million{\sim}$28.2\;billion)$ using the benefit transfer value. BenMAP could be a useful tool for developing effective air quality improvement policy, enabling the policy makers to anticipate the effects of regulatory changes on people's health and the economy.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.18-26
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• 1987

In order to investigate the character of air pollution by heavy metals and to elucidate the possible sources in Seoul city, this study was performed to measure the concentrations of heavy metals of total suspended particulate and air pollutants such as $SO_2, NO_2, CO, CH_4$, Non-methane hydrocarbon, ozone at the residential-traffic area (shinchon dong) in January and February, 1986. The results are as follows: 1. $SO_2$ and TSP concentration were 135ppb and 167 $\mug/m^3$ in average, respectively. 2. While concentrations of heavy metals such as Fe, Cu, Pb in the ambient air seems gradually decreasing annually, Ni compound has been shown the tendency of increasing. 3. Among heavy metals in TSP analysed, the iron was detected at the highest level, 0.905% and the cadimium was the lowest 0.004% in average, respectively. 4. V, Fe and Zn compounds in air were observed to be highly correlated with their correlation coefficients(r) higher than 0.7. Pb compound was highly correlated to the levels of Zn and Fe, however relatively less correlated to V compound. 5. Among concentrations of heavy metals in the particulates, V and Ni compounds were highly correlated with coefficient(r) of 0.8587; the cause might be imagined by the fact of releasing from combustion of fuel oil. Fe, Pb and Zn compounds were highly correlated $SO_2$ concentration. It might be explained that they were released by combustion of coal. 6. The level of $SO_2$ was highly correlated to most of heavy metals: especially correlation coefficient(r) to Pb compound was 0.9081. Pb compound was also highly correlated to NO, CO and TSP. TSP showed higher correlation to Pb and Cd compounds than to V and Ni compounds. It might be assumed that particulate was mainly produced by combusting coal from space heating and by exhausting gasoline and diesel oil from transportation rather than by burning fuel oil.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.30-38
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• 2018

CALPUFF is one of the recommended air pollution models by EPA with AERMOD. It has been used to simulate the ambient concentration of critical air pollutants as well as non-critical pollutants such as persistent organic matters and the organic materials causing odor. In this model, the air pollutants go through dispersion, transportation, chemical reaction, and deposition process. These mechanisms are significantly influenced by meteorological condition. This study produces the meteorological field in three different methods for the simulation of $SO_2$ using CALPUFF: 1) CALMET model by using both ground-level and aerological observation, 2) CALMET model by using MM5 results with NCEP/NCAR reanalyzed data, 3) CALMET model by using MM5 results in which FDDA is applied with NCEP/NCAR reanalyzed data as well as the meteorological data of Korea Meteorological Administration. As a result of CALPUFF model, the resolved concentration of $SO_2$ showed different behaviors in three cases. For the first case, the fluctuation of SO2 concentration was frequently observed while the fluctuation is reduced in the second and third cases. In addition, the maximum concentration of $SO_2$ in the first case was about 2~3 times higher than the second case, and about 4~6 times higher than the third case. These results can be caused by the accuracy of the resolved meteorological field. It is inferred that the meteorological field of the first case could be less accurate than other two cases. These results show that the use of correct meteorological data can improve the result of dispersion model. Moreover, the contribution of various sources such as point, line, and area sources on the ambient concentration of air pollutant can be roughly estimated from the sensitivity analysis.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.306-312
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• 2000

Background : Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are well known environmental pollutants. The measurement of PAH in ambient air is not commonly used, because it is quite difficult to perform and is unreliable. Using biomarkers of PAH can be an alternative approach to this problem. The PAH in ambient air is absorbed in particulate matter. Total suspended particulate(TSP) or particulate matter of less than $10{\mu}m$ in diameter (PM10) can be easily measured. Therefore, TSP or PM10 can be used as a surrogate measurements of ambient air PAH. Objectives : We investigated whether the urinary concentration of two biomarkers of PAH, 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) and 2-naphthol, could reflect the total suspended particulate in the general population. Methods : In order to exclude the effects of occupational exposure and smoking, first grade middle school students were included in this study. Four middle schools within a one kilometer boundary of ambient air monitoring stations were selected. Total suspended particulate was regarded as the marker of airborne PAH. Diet and smoking data were collected by self administered questionnaires, and spot urine samples were collected. Urinary 1-OHP and 2-naphthol were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. Results : The correlation between urinary 1-OHP, 2-naphthol and passive smoking was not statistically significant. The correlation between urinary 1-OHP and TSP indices was not statistically significant. The correlations between urinary 2-naphthol and TSP of two lag days, one lag day, and zero lag days were statistically significant. The statistical significance of two lag days was the strongest (p=0.001), one lag day was the next (p=0.0275), and zero lag days was the weakest (p=0.0349). Conclusion : Our results imply that the urinary concentration of 2-naphthol can be applied as a PAH exposure marker for the general population with low PAH exposure.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.64 no.1
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• pp.1-4
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• 2021

Ambient air pollution, in particular, particulate matter (PM) pollution imposes serious health concerns such as hospitalization and premature deaths, worldwide. While commercial breathing masks are in use for protection against this hazardous issue, yet their efficiency in filtering PM was not up to the par, besides several other discomforts such as poor breathability due to reduced air flow, sweat production etc. In this study, commercial face mask coated with β-glucan, a high molecular weight polymer is tested for its efficacy in filtering PM. Quantification of PM before and after filtration and microscopic observation (using scanning electron microscopy (SEM)) of the fabric used in filtering the dust pollutants (generated from wood chips and cigarette) showed that β-glucan coated fabric were significantly efficient in capturing PM (size of 10 and 2.5 ㎛ in diameter) than that of the untreated control fabric, wherein the former had filtration efficacy with fold increase of 11.6 and 2.6 towards capturing PM2.5 and PM10 respectively than the latter. Thus, β-glucan coated fabric was found to be effective in filtering PM.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.81-86
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• 2006

Background: A number of studies have reported associations between the ambient air pollution concentrations and various health outcomes. Especially, ozone is well known for primary risk factor of asthma attacks. The results of a recent study indicate that the size of the effect on health outcomes due to air pollution varied according to several conditions, including age, gender, race and the socioeconomic status. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the associations of ozone with the childhood asthma hospitalizations as stratified by the socioeconomic status (SES) at the community level in Seoul, Korea, 2002. Methods: SES at aggregated levels was measured on the basis of average regional health-insurance rate per citizen in the area. We applied the generalized additive model to analyze the effect of ozone on asthma after controlling for the potential confounding variables that were capable of influencing the results. Results: Our analysis showed that the number of children who were hospitalized for asthma increased as the SES of the residence area decreased. The estimated relative risks of hospitalization for asthma, as stratified by the SES of the community level, were 1.12 (95% confidence interval 1.00-1.25) in districts with the highest SES levels, 1.24 (95% CI=1.08-1.43) within the moderate SES levels, and 1.32 (95% CI=1.11-1.58) in the districts with the lowest SES levels. Conclusions: Our analysis showed that exposure to air pollution did not equally affect the health status of individuals. This suggests that not only the biological-sensitivity markers, but also the SES of the subjects should be considered as potentially confounding factors.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.14 no.1_2
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• pp.21-33
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• 1999

A large number of studies have indicated associations between the impairment of respiratory health and exposure to ambient air pollutants such as ozone (O$_3$) , nitrogen dioxide (NO$_2$) , sulfur dioxide(SO$_2$) , particulate matters (PM$\_$10/). To evaluate this associations, we used the pulmonary function tests (peak expiratory flow rate : PEFR) by mini-wright peak flow meter and counting neutrophils in the nasal lavage (NL) as biomarker. From 15 June to 16 July 1998, for the workers in the highway tollgates, PEFR and NL were measured three times daily and twice per week. and association between the level of air pollutants and PEFR and NL were analyzed using the multiple regression model and the poisson regression model respectively. The results indicated that the effects of all measured air pollutants (SO$_2$, NO$_2$, O$_3$, PM$\_$10/) were not significantly associated with the value of PEFR. On the other side, SO$_2$, NO$_2$, PM$\_$10/ were significantly associated with the number of neutrophils in NL. The increase in SO$_2$, NO$_2$of 10ppb and in PM$\_$10/ of 10$\mu\textrm{g}$/m$^3$was associated with 24%, 21%, 35% increases in neutrophil counts. But the ozone exposure was not associated with NL.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.663-677
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• 2003

The concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the ambient air were measured at three sites (Samil-dong, SRO and EFMC) in Yeosu industrial complex during September 2000 to August 2001. Air samples were collected for 24 hours in Silicocan canister (6l) with constant flow samplers every 6 days and analyzed using a cryogenic preconcentration system and a GC/MS. At each site, we identified 35 species known as on both the carcinogenic and mutagenicity by the EPA US (TO-14 manual). No relationship was found between YOCs concentration at three sampling points. Furthermore, the result shows that there appears to be a variety distribution of the concentration. BTX, vinyl chloride and high concentrations of 1,2-dichloroethane were observed at the sampling sites. Especially, high concentration of toxic VOCs, such as vinyl chloride, chloroform, 1,2-dichloroethane and benzene were shown at environmental facilities management cooperation (EMFC) site. They seem to be emitted from the facility of wastewater treatment in Yeosu industrial complex. It was difficult to tell the seasonal variation of total VOCs concentration. Nevertheless, the concentration in winter was typically higher than in summer The concentrations of toxic VOCs contents in Yeosu industrial complex were generally lower than those in Ulsan complex, although those were similar or less than in Seoul and Daegu. Whereas, toluene and styrene emitted from Yeosu industrial complex were higher than those of Edmonton industrial complex in Canada. Especially, toluene was third times higher than those observed from Texas, USA.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.18 no.E2
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• pp.69-77
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• 2002

The nationwide NO$_2$monitoring program has been carried out using the passive sampler in Korea since 1993. During the sixteenth periods of measurement, total 26,474 sites of data were collected through eight years. In this paper, the roadside NO$_2$concentration of six major cities were analyzed. As results, the most frequent NO$_2$concentration of Seoul, Incheon, and Daegu ranged from 40 to 60 ppb, and that of Pusan, Kwanju, and Daejeon was from 20 to 40 ppd. Despite that the automobile number of Incheon was less than that of Daegu and Pusan, the exceedence rate of Korean national ambient air quality standard and ninetieth percentile concentration of Incheon were almost the same level as Seoul. In addition, the mean and standard deviation of roadside NO$_2$concentration of Seoul and Incheon was also appeared to be higher than that of other cities. These results indicates that NO$_2$concentration on roadside was affected by the traffic volumes and the traffic flow conditions.

• Proceedings of the Korea Air Pollution Research Association Conference
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• 2003.05b
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• pp.267-268
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• 2003

환경매계(environmental matrices)에 존재하는 오염물질의 농도측정과 관련된 측정의 객관성을 확보하기 위하여 가장 중요한 기준은 측정농도의 신뢰도를 확보하는 것을 들 수 있으며, 특히 토양이나 물과 달리 비정형화 된 매개인 대기 중에 존재하는 오염물질을 채취ㆍ분석하고 비교할 때, 분석화학적인 관점에서 객관성을 확보하고 유지하기 위해서는, 연구를 주관하는 모든 연구주체들이 기존 측정방식에 대한 철저한 검증을 시도하고, 이를 바탕으로 새로운 분석방식의 개발을 추진하는 것이 중요하다. (김기현 et al., 1999) (중략)