• Title/Summary/Keyword: building environmental quality

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Evaluation of Indoor Air Quality in a Department of Radiation Oncology Located Underground (지하에 위치한 방사선종양학과에서의 실내공기 질 평가)

  • Kim, Won-Taek;Shin, Yong-Chul;Kang, Dong-Mug;Ki, Yong-Kan;Kim, Dong-Won;Kwon, Byung-Hyun
    • Radiation Oncology Journal
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    • v.23 no.4
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    • pp.243-252
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    • 2005
  • Purpose: Indoor air quality (IAQ) in the radiation treatment center which is generally located underground is important to the health of hospital workers and patients treated over a long period of time. this study was conducted to measure and analyze the factors related to IAQ and subjective symptoms of sick building syndrome, and to establish the causes influencing IAQ and find a solution to the problems. Methods and Materials : Self administrated questionnaire was conducted to check the workers' symptoms and understanding of the work environment. Based on a preliminary investigation, the factors related to IAQ such as temperature, humidity, fine particulate. carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), and radon gas were selected and measured for a certain period of time in specific sites where hospital workers stay long in a day. And we also evaluated the surrounding environment and the efficiency of the ventilating system simultaneously, and measured the same factors at the first floor (outdoor) to compare with outdoor all quality, All collected data were assessed by the recommended standard for IAQ of the domestic and international environmental organizations. Results: Hospital workers were discontented with foul odors, humidity and particulate. They complained symptoms related to musculo-skeletal system, neurologic system, and mucosal-irritatation. Most of the factors were not greater than the recommended standard, but the level of TVOC was third or fourth times as much as the measuring level of some offices in the United States. The frequency and the amount of the ventilating system were adequate, however, the problem arising in the position of outdoor-air inlets and indoor-air outlets involved a risk of the indraft of contaminated air. A careful attention was a requirement in handling and keeping chemical substances including a developing solution which has a risk of TVOC emissions, and repositioning the ventilating system was needed to solve the contaminated-air circulation immediately Conclusion We verified that some IAQ-related factors and inadequate ventilating system could cause subjective symptoms in hospital workers. The evaluation of IAQ was surely needed to improve the underground working environments for hospital workers and patients. On the basis of these data, from now on, we should actively engage in designs of the department of radiation oncology or improvement in environments of the existing facilities.

An Investigation on the Airborne Asbestos Concentrations using PCM and TEM in the Public Buildings in Seoul (PCM과 TEM을 이용한 서울지역 일부 공공 건축물의 실내공기 중 석면농도 조사)

  • Chung, Sook-Nye;Nam, Eun-Jung;Hwang, Soon-Yong;Oh, Seok-Ryul;Shin, Jin-Ho;Eom, Seok Won;Chae, Young-Zoo
    • Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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    • v.21 no.3
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    • pp.139-145
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    • 2011
  • Objectives: This investigation is purposed to evaluate the airborne asbestos concentrations in the public buildings having asbestos containing materials(ACMs) in Seoul. Methods: The Seoul Metropolitan Government carried out an asbestos survey to the city-owned public buildings to identify the level of risk exposure, classified into low, moderate and high risk. To evaluate the airborne concentration of asbestos, 11 sampling sites in ten buildings based on the survey were selected. The air samples from the eleven sites were analyzed by Phase Contrast Microscopy(PCM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and compared the analytical results from the both. Results: 1. The airborne fiber concentrations by PCM were less than the detection limit($7f/mm^2$) in 9(82%) out of 11 sampling sites. The highest concentration was 0.0043 f/cc, but it was below the guideline value for indoor air quality(0.01 f/cc), proposed by the Ministry of Environment, Korea. 2. In two sampling sites, having moderate risk level, the chrysotile was identified and showed it's concentrations of 0.0102 s/cc and 0.0058 s/cc, less than $5{\mu}m$ lengths. 3. The ACMs identified in the two sampling sites were a packing material(65% of chrysotile) in mechanical area and a thermal system insulation(5% of chrysotile) in a boiler room. Having more possibility of asbestos emission in the mechanical area, it would be required to set up and carry out the asbestos management plan. Conclusions: Based on the result of this study, the airborne asbestos concentrations in the public buildings with ACMs were generally lower than the guideline value for indoor air quality. There are widespread concerns about the possible health risk resulting from the presence of airborne asbestos fibers in the public buildings. Most of the previous studies about airborne asbestos analysis in Korea were performed based on PCM method that asbestos and non-asbestos fibers are counted together. In the public and commercial buildings, having ACMs, it is suggested that the asbestos be analyzed by TEM method to identify asbestos due to concerns about asbestos exposure to workers and unspecified people.

Love : A Concept Analysis for Nursing Theory Development (간호이론 개발을 위한 개념분석 : 사랑)

  • 이옥자
    • Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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    • v.23 no.3
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    • pp.369-376
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    • 1993
  • Since nursing has come of age both as a profession and as a scholarly discipline, there has been increasing concern with delineating its theory base. In 1978 Chinn and Jacobs asserted that “the development of theory is the most crucial task facing nursing today.” The basic building blocks of theories are concepts. Concept formation begins in infancy, for concepts help us to categorize and organize our environmental stimuli. Concepts help us to identify how our experiences are similar or equivalent by categorizing all the things that are alike about them. concepts can be primitive, concrete, or abstract. Concept Analysis is a strategy that examines the attributes or characteristics of a concept. It is a formal, linguistic exercise to determine those defining attributes. It encourages communication. Its basic purpose is to distinguish between the defining and irrelevant attributes of a concept similarities. It is a process of determining the differences between concepts and it is useful for several reasons. It is an excellent way to begin examining information in preparation for research or theory construction and results in an operational definition and a list of defining attributes and antecedents. It provides the scientist with an excellent beginning for a new tool, is an excellent way of evaluating an old one and is useful in evaluating existing instruments. The steps of concept analysis are : 1. Select a concept, 2. Determine the aims or purposes of the analysis, 3. Identify all uses of the concept that you can discover, 4. Determine the defining attributes, 5. Construct a model case, 6. Construct borderline, re-lated, contrary, invented, and illegitimate cases, 7. Identify antecedents and consequences, 8. Define empirical referents. In this paper, the concept selected for analysis was Love. The concept of love is of great interest to nursing because loving care is considered vital to the nursing care of patients. The aims of the concept analysis of love were to clarify the meaning of love, to develop an operational definition for it and to contribute to existing nursing theory. Love influences the quality of life which is the goal of nursing according to Parse in her Human Becoming Theory. Lived experiences are the entities for study in Parse's Research Methodology. Human caring, human understanding, and human becoming are the most important issues in lived experiences. In this research, dictionaries and literature from nursing philosophy and other human disciplines were used to identify the concept of love. As many different instances of the concept as could be found were examinned. The model case was a real life example of the use of the concept. Next borderline, related, invented, and contrary cases were constructed for the purpose of providing examples of “not the concept” and for promoting further understanding of the concept being discussed. The defining attributes of the concept of love were concern, responsibility, respect, understanding and dedication. Love was defined as showing concern and understanding. relating with mutual respect and dedicating oneself responsibly to others. Concept analysis is a highly creative activity and may add significant new information to a given area of interest. It is a strategy for developing a concept based on observation or other forms of empirical evidence. The purpose of concept analysis is to generate new ideas. It provides a method of examining data for new insights that contribute to theoretical development. This concept analysis suggests that a nurse’s love for patients is shown in the process of giving oneself in mutual relationships of responsibility and respect and in continuously providing understanding and quality human care for them.

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Evaluation of Freeze-Thaw Damage on Concrete Using Nonlinear Ultrasound (초음파의 비선형 특성을 이용한 콘크리트 동결융해 손상 평가)

  • Choi, Ha-Jin;Kim, Ryul-Ri;Lee, Jong-Suk;Min, Ji-Young
    • Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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    • v.25 no.4
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    • pp.56-64
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    • 2021
  • Leakage due to deterioration and damage is one of the major causes of volume change by freezing and thawing, and it leads micro-cracking and surface scaling in concrete structures. The deterioration of damaged concrete accelerates with the chloride attack. Thus, in the detailed guidelines for facility performance evaluation (2020), the quality of cover concrete and the freeze-thaw (FT) repetition cycle were newly suggested for concrete durability assessment. The quality of cover concrete should be evaluated by the rebound hammer test and the FT repetition cycle should be also considered in the deterioration environmental assessment. This study suggested the application of fast dynamic based nonlinear ultrasound method to monitor initial micro-scale damage under freezing and thawing environment. Concrete specimens were fabricated with different water-cement ratios (40%, 60%) and air contents (1.5% and 3.0%). The compressive strength, rebound number, relative dynamic modulus, and nonlinear ultrasound were measured with different FT cycles. The scanning electron microscopy was also performed to investigate the micro-scale FT damage. As a result, both the rebound number and the relative dynamic modulus had difficulty to detect early damage but the proposed method showed a potential to detect initial micro-scale damage and predict the FT resistance performance of concrete.

The Simultaneous Absorption Rate of CO2/SO2/NO2 from Flue Gas with Aqueous Alkanolamine Solutions (알카놀아민 수용액을 이용한 연소배가스 중의 CO2/SO2/NO2 동시 흡수속도에 관한 연구)

  • Seo, Jong-Beom;Choi, Won-Joon;Kim, Jae-Won;Choi, Bong-Wook;Oh, Kwang-Joong
    • Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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    • v.47 no.5
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    • pp.639-645
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    • 2009
  • In this study, alkanolamine was used to achieve high absorption rates for $CO_2$ as suggested at several literatures. The absorption rates of aqueous AMP and MEA solutions with $CO_2$, $SO_2$, $NO_2$ were measured using a stirredcell reactor. The reaction rate constants were determined from the measured absorption rates. The performances were evaluated under various operating conditions. As a result, the reactions with $SO_2$, $NO_2$ into aqueous AMP and MEA solutions were classified as an instantaneous reaction respectively. The absorption rates increased with increase of the reaction temperature and the concentration of absorbents. The simultaneous absorption rate of $CO_2/SO_2/NO_2$ into 3, 5, 10 wt.% MEA at various pressure of $CO_2/SO_2/NO_2$, was more increased 14~20% than AMP solution. We investigated the effect of $SO_2$ and $NO_2$ on the simultaneous absorption of $CO_2/SO_2/NO_2$ from a flue gas. The performances were evaluated under various operating conditions in order to investigate the absorption characteristic.

Indicators for the Quantitative Assessment of Tree Vigor Condition and Its Theoretical Implications : A Case Study of Japanese Flowering-cherry Trees in Urban Park (도시공원에 식재된 왕벚나무 수종을 중심으로 한 수목활력도의 정량평가지표 개발 및 이론적 고찰에 관한 연구)

  • Song, Youngkeun
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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    • v.17 no.4
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    • pp.57-67
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    • 2014
  • The vigor condition of trees is an important indicator for the management of urban forested area. But difficulties in how to assess the tree vigor condition still remain. Previous efforts were limited in the 1) measurement of single indicator rather than using multiple indices, 2) purpose-oriented measurement such as for air-pollution effect or specific pathological symptom, and 3) ordinal-scale evaluations by field crews 4) despite human errors based on his/her experiences or prior knowledge. Therefore, this study attempted to develop a quantitative and objective methodology for assessing tree vigor condition, by measuring multiple modules and building the profile inventory. Furthermore, the possibility and limitations were discussed in terms of schematic frames describing tree vigor condition. The vigor condition of 56 flowering cherry plants in urban park were assessed by in-situ measurements of following eight items; growth of crown(Gc), growth of shoots, individual tree volume(Vol), plant area index, woody area index, leaf area index, leaf chlorophyll content(Lc) and leaf water content(Lw). For validation, these measurements were compared with the ranks of holistic tree vigor condition, which were visually assessed using a 4-point grading scale based on the expert's knowledge. As a result, the measures of each evaluation item successfully highlighted a variety of aspects in tree vigor condition, including the states of both photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic parts. The variation in the results depending on evaluated parts was shown within an individual tree, even though the broad agreement among the results was found. The result of correlation analysis between the tested measurements and 4-point visual assessment, demonstrated that the state of water-stressed foliage of the season (Lw) or the development of plant materials since sapling phase (Vol) could be better viewed from the outer appearance of trees than other symptoms. But only based on the visual assessment, it may be difficult to detect the quality of photosynthesis (Lc) or the recent trend in growth of trees (Gc). To make this methodology simplified for the broad-scale application, the tested eight measurements could be integrated into two components by principal component analysis, which was labelled with 'the amount of plant materials' and 'vigor trend', respectively. In addition, the use of these quantitative and multi-scale indicators underlies the importance of assessing various aspects of tree vigor condition, taking into account the response(s) on different time and spatial scale of pressure(s) shown in each evaluated module. Future study should be advanced for various species at diverse developing stages and environment, and the application to wide areas at a periodic manner.

Study on Hydration Heat of Blended Belite Binder (벨라이트계 혼합 결합재의 수화열 특성에 관한 연구)

  • Lee, Kewn-Chu;Cho, Jae-Woo;Jung, Sang-Hwa;Kim, Jang-Ho Jay
    • Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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    • v.23 no.2
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    • pp.145-150
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    • 2011
  • Presently, mass concrete structures are being built in federal and private projects of civil infrastructures and building structures. The hydration heat of mass concrete structures is the most important factor in the quality of concrete matrix and construction period. Moreover, internal cracks caused by hydration heat degrades durability, water tightness, and strength of concrete. To reduce hydration heat, it is necessary to blend belite cement (${\beta}-C_2S$) with industrial by-products (i.e. granulated slag and fly ash). In this experiment, 14 levels of binary binders and 4 levels of ternary binders were used to understand the effect of different replacement ratio on hydration heat, strength and microstructure (i.e. SEM and XRD) of mortar. Cumulative hydration heat at 28 days for the binary and ternary binders was affected by replacement ratio of fly ash and/or granulated slag. As fly ash content increased, hydration heat decreased. As granulated slag content increased, reduction rate of the hydration heat was lower than when fly ash was used. Especially, the hydration heat of ternary binder blended with 40% flyash and 30% granulated slag showed about 50% of hydration heat from using belite cement (P). The study results showed that the temperature rise of concrete matrix can be decreased by using blended belite binders producing low hydration heat and reasonable strength.

Analyses on Environment-friendliness of Waterproof Materials Based on Fish Toxicity Test (어독성 실험에 따른 방수재 친환경 특성 분석)

  • Kim, Sung-Kyun;Woo, Ji-Keun;Lee, Im-Gyu;Yoo, Hy-Ein;Jeong, Jae-Wook
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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    • v.13 no.1
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    • pp.57-68
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    • 2010
  • The purpose of this study is to analyze the characteristics of environment-friendliness of waterproof materials based on comprehensive experiments on waterproofness in terms of coefficients of permeability, harmfulness of waterproof materials and fish toxicity of Oryzias latipes mortality to verify eco-toxicity of each method of construction and waterproof material, which are to be applied by taking eco-toxicity into account when building ecological flows in upper areas on natural and artificial grounds. As a result, the following conclusions have been reached in this study: 1. In regard of the harmfulness analyzed, each material showed a different result of analytical value in each lab tank. Compared to input water, pH, COD, SS, T-P, and T-N values increased a little, but DO value decreased. The value of turbidity analyzed independent of the water quality standard of aquatic ecosystem set forth by the Ministry of Environment increased a little compared to the value in input water. 2. In the experiment of fish toxicity, compacted quicklime, cement fluid waterproof material, cement mortar waterproof material and bentonite powder were found to have 100% of fish mortality, respectively, and membrane waterproof material showed 83.3% of mortality, indicating strong fish toxicity. Improved asphalt sheet (63.3%) and synthetic rubber sheet (53.3%) were analyzed to have medium fish toxicity, while bentonite sheet (6.7%), Hwang-toh (6.7%) and clay (3.3%) showed relatively lower mortality and fish toxicity. 3. Regarding the analysis on waterproofness in terms of the coefficient of permeability of each waterproof material, improved asphalt sheet, synthetic rubber sheet, membrane waterproof material, cement fluid and mortar waterproof material and bentonite sheet were found impervious in case no leakage takes place in construction. Bentonite powder was found practically impervious based on the analytical results from the experiment done in compliance with weight ratios. So were the clay and Hwang-toh from the experimental results. To sum up such results as found in the experiment mentioned so far, the values of harmfulness and waterproofness analyzed were different in each lab tank, but there was absolutely little correlation with the mortality gained from the experiment on fish toxicity. In the experiment of fish toxicity, environment-friendly waterproof materials were analyzed, and it was found that clay, Hwang-toh and bentonite sheet are highly environment-friendly. In contrast, synthetic rubber and improved asphalt sheets were found to have medium-level environment-friendliness. Also, membrane water-proof materials, compacted quicklime, cement fluid and mortar waterproof material and bentonite powder were analyzed to have low environment-friendliness.

Implementation of Greenhouse Environmental Control Systems using Intelligence (지능을 이용한 온실 제어 시스템)

  • Yang, J.;Chung, C.D.;Hong, You-Sik;Ahn, B.I;Hwang, S.I.;Choi, Y.H.
    • Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea CI
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    • v.49 no.2
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    • pp.29-37
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    • 2012
  • An experiment for an optimized automatic greenhouse environment in a flower farming greenhouse by building a ubiquitous sensor network with various sensors was conducted and the results were evaluated. And various culturing environmental information and data in the greenhouse were collected and analyzed. Then, the greenhouse was designed to maintain the best culturing environment on the basis of existing recommended optimized figures. By measuring the growth of the crops in the greenhouse, A system which controls facilities in the greenhouse to maintain the best culturing environment in accordance with change in the environment was analyzed.Computer simulation result proced that we discovered that controlling the facilities and the artificial light source increased production, enhanced quality, reduced labor and heating cost immensely. The experiment has proved that the u-flower farming system can maximize the income of farm families by sending warning messages to users of this system when weather suddenly changes so that users may cope with such changes and maintain the best culturing environment.

Carbon Emission Study of Transplanting Large Trees from Gangwon Province to Seoul (강원지역 대형 조경수 서울 이식에 따른 탄소 배출 연구)

  • Choi, Yoo;Ahn, Tong-Mahn;Lee, Jae-Won
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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    • v.41 no.4
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    • pp.10-16
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    • 2013
  • Korean housing developers are in a very competitive market and their way of attracting buyers is landscaping better than competing firms do. Thus, transplanting larger pine trees(Pinus densiflora S. et. Z.) is in vogue. A typical case is a pine tree about 30-year old, 35 diameters at breast height, transplanted 223 km afar from the Gangwon Province to Seoul. We estimated and compared carbon emissions during the whole transplanting works, and carbon intake by the tree if it survives 50 more years on site. Findings are; first, a large tree will take up and sequestrate approximately 90 kgC if it survives 50 more years. Second, transplanting works emit approximately 113.69 kgC, which is about 1.26 times of its possible future intake of carbon. Landscaping is a legal requirement for the purposes not only of aesthetics but also of environmental quality. Transplanting larger trees that came from a dam or a road building site may be inevitable and acceptable. However, transplanting larger trees long distance was evaluated to be harmful to the environment. It is strongly recommended to prohibit transplanting large trees. Landscape professionals need to guide clients to have desirable consumer attitude.