• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.195-201
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• 2009

To identify relationship between the airborne concentrations of formaldehyde and the causal factors in the endoscope unit of hospitals, a total of 48 workers selected from 4 hospitals (3 university hospitals and 1 national hospital) were investigated. Airborne formaldehyde samples were collected using passive samplers and subsequently analyzed by HPLC according to the OSHA method 1007. The geometric mean(GM) of airborne formaldehyde concentrations was 0.056 ppm (range: 0.003~0.923 ppm). The rates of exceeding exposure limits of OSHA PEL-TWA and NIOSH REL-TWA were 4.2 % and 83.3%, respectively. The STEL GM concentration was 1.428 ppm(range: 0.103~14.773 ppm). Ventilation condition (p=0.001) and temperature (p=0.017) were statistically significant causal factors for the airborne exposure concentration of formaldehyde in the endoscope unit of hospitals. In conclusion, the workers in the endoscope unit of hospitals were highly exposed to formaldehyde, and adequate controls such as appropriate management of ventilation and temperature are recommended to reduce over exposure to formaldehyde.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.134-141
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• 2000

The person' spending time in underground s[aces within indoor environment show a tendency to increase every year, but in Korea, levels and sources of pollutant in underground spaces have not been well-characterized. Therefore, as part or a larger indoor environmental study, conducted at subway station in Seoul, nitrogen dioxide was measured using passive samplers in 16 subway stations, 2 tunnels and 70 workers of subway station. The mean concentrations of nitrogen dioxide in subway stations were $27.87{\pm}7.15$ ppb at station office, $35.76{\pm}8.35$ ppb at platform, $52.60{\pm}13.04$ ppb at outdoor, respectively, and the Indoor/Outdoor ratio were 0.49~0.93. The mean concentrations of nitrogen dioxide in tunnels were $44.91{\pm}4.67$ ppb in Chunggye-Nowon tunnel with a single track, $42.55{\pm}3.33$ ppb in Mokkol-Taenung tunnel with double track, respectively, and as a result of t-test, a single track levels were higher than double track levels(p<0.05). The mean personal exposure of the subject of station workers was $29.40{\pm}9.75$ ppb.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.100-107
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• 2001

On the planning for the systematic management and control of the air pollution display methods were used to evaluate the spatial pollutant concentration status. This study were conducted to investigate the practical using of Geographic Information System(GIS) technology on the air pollution control and management which were computer-based systems that were used to store and manipulate geographic information in the macro city. In this study 137 samples were corrected by passive samplers and analysed by GC/MSD for 16 VOCs in Seoul (25 distincts) distributed by TM-coordinate(2 km$\times$2km), and finally displayed by Arciew program(version 3.2, ESRI Inc, USA) for windows. The concentration of benzene and toluene showed high level in whole area of seoul area of Seoul and distribution of butylbenzen, trothroloetylene, stylen showed high level in whole area of Seoul except a few distincts and the distribution of isopropylbenzene, 1,2-dichroloethane showed higher level in core area than that of Kangnam and Kangbuk area. In conclusion, products of this study of using GIS technology apply on the spatial distribution of VOCs concentration was very effective than that of other methods(e.g., contouring concentration method, pie or column chart, graduated symbols), especially in mapping and symbolization of pollution status evaluation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.61-68
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• 2010

In this study, we investigated the concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in Shiwha area and compared the characteristics of both industrial area and residential area. The passive samplers were set 6 times each for a month in 21 locations at industrial and residential area to obtain 6 VOCs including benzene, trichlorobenzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, xylene and stylene. Above all, toluene was the most abundant VOCs in the ambient air both in industrial and residential area. Average TVOC concentration of industrial area was 1.86 times higher than that of residential area, and it was greatly reduced in winter compared with summer. Furthermore, the average BTEX concentrations showed that all concentrations of industrial area were 1.94~5.39 times higher than those of residential area except benzene which were similar to each other. In winter, the concentration of ethyl benzene and xylene were significantly decreased by comparing with summer: but benzene concentrations were increased. Also, BTEX relative ratio was as follows: toluene>benzene>ethylbenzene>xylene. Correlation coefficients among VOCs were confirmed that VOCs in ambient air of industrial area were generally more related to each other than that of residential area. On the whole, the concentrations of VOCs in industrial area were higher, and it seems to be potential that industrial area affects the distribution of VOCs to residential area.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.12 no.9
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• pp.967-976
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• 2003

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are present in essentially all natural and synthetic materials from petrol to flowers. In this study, indoor and outdoor VOCs concentrations of houses, offices and internet-cafes were measured and compared simultaneously with personal exposures of each 50 participants in Asan and Seoul, respectively. Also, factors that influence personal VOCs exposure were statistically analyzed using questionnaires in relation to house characteristics, time activities, and health effects. All VOCs concentrations were measured by OVM passive samplers (3M) and analyzed with GC/MS. Target pollutants among VOCs were Toluene, o-Xylene, m/p-Xylene, Ethylbenzene, MIBK, n-Octane, Styrene, Trichloroethylene, and 1,2-Dichlorobenzene. Indoor and outdoor VOCs concentrations measured in Seoul were significantly higher than those in Asan except Ethylbenzene. Residential indoor/outdoor (I/O) ratios for all target compounds ranged from 0.94 to 1.51 and I/O ratios of Asan were a little higher than those of Seoul. Relationship between personal VOCs exposure, and indoor and outdoor VOCs concentrations suggested that time-activity pattern could affect the high exposure to air pollutant. Factors that influence indoor VOCs level and personal exposure with regard to house characteristics in houses were building age, inside smoking and house type. In addition insecticide and cosmetics interestingly affected the VOCs personal exposure. Higher exposure to VOCs might be caused to be exciting increase and memory reduction, considering the relationship between measured VOCs concentrations and questionnaire (p<0.05).

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.81-89
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• 2008

The numerical simulation of wind and ozone ($O_3$) transport in mountainous regions was performed with a computational fluid dynamics technique. A dry deposition model for $O_3$ was designed to estimate $O_3$ deposition in complex terrain, and the qualitative validity of the predicted $O_3$ concentration field was confirmed by comparison with observed data collected with passive samplers. The simulation revealed that wind velocity increases around ridge lines and peaks of mountains. The areas with strong wind corresponded well with the sites of tree decline at high altitudes, suggesting that it is an important factor in the localization of tree/forest decline. On the other hand, there is no direct relationship between forest decline and $O_3$ concentration. The $O_3$ concentration, however, tends to increase as wind velocity becomes higher, thus the $O_3$ concentration itself may be a potential secondary factor in the localized decline phenomena. While the diffusion flux of $O_3$ is not related to localized tree decline, the pattern of advection flux is related to those of high wind velocity and localized tree decline. These results suggest that strong wind with large advection flux of $O_3$ may play a key role in the promotion of tree/forest decline at high mountain ridges and peaks.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.78-88
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• 2023

Background: Exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can have acute and chronic health effects on human beings in general and in working environments. In particular, VOCs are often emitted in large quantities in industrial settings. In such circumstances, there is a need to improve the indoor air quality at workplaces. Objectives: The purposes of this study were to verify the effectiveness of air cleaning devices in workplaces and provide alternative solutions for improving working environments. Methods: Personal exposure and area level of VOCs for workers were evaluated in a car-part adhesive process before and after installing an air cleaning device with a TiO₂-coated filter. Passive samplers and direct reading instruments were used to collect and analyze the VOCs, and the removal efficiency and improvement of air quality were evaluated. We also calculated the exposure index (EI) to assess the risk level in the workplace. Results: The removal efficiency for VOCs through the installation of the air cleaning device was approximately 26.9~69.0% as determined by the concentration levels before and after installation. The measured substances did not exceed the exposure limits for the work environment and the EI was less than 1. However, carcinogenic substances such as benzene, formaldehyde, carbon tetrachloride, and trichloroethylene were detected. Conclusions: The application of an air cleaning device can be a solution for controlling the indoor air quality in a workplace, particularly in cases where ventilation systems cannot be installed due to process limitations.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.324-333
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• 2017

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the correlation relationship between personal exposure and urinary hippuric acid in biological monitoring for airborne toluene in an industrial complex and in general environments. Methods: Personal exposure to toluene and its metabolite, hippuric acid, in urine were simultaneously measured in occupational environments area near an industrial complex and in general environments. The study subjects were divided into three types: 137 workers who use organic solvents in the workplace, 210 residents living near a dyeing industrial complex, and 379 residents living in general environments. The toluene exposures of workers and residents were measured by a passive sampler for four days. The urine of participants was sampled when the passive samplers of personal exposure were collected. Results: The toluene and hippuric acid concentrations of workers were the highest, followed by the concentrations of residents living near a dyeing industrial complex and residents living in general environments. The coefficient of correlation between the concentrations of toluene and hippuric acid among workers was 0.749 (p<0.01) in the workplace. On the contrary, correlations between the concentrations of toluene and hippuric acid among residents living near a dyeing industrial complex and residents living in general environments were all not significant. The relationship between the concentrations of hippuric acid and toluene in three types could be described by the exponential growth model. Conclusions: This study analyzed the relationships between toluene exposure and the concentrations of hippuric acid in urine in high, middle, and low exposure environments, and could be described by the exponential growth model.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.165-170
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• 2011

The ambient concentrations of nitrogen dioxide ($NO_2$) at 65 forest areas were measured every month using passive diffusive samplers from 2002 to 2009 and were compared to those at urban areas in order to investigate the characteristics of temporal and spatial distributions of $NO_2$ from the forest and urban areas. The annually averaged concentrations of $NO_2$ gradually decreased for both areas. The average concentration of $NO_2$ in the forest areas was 8.0 ppb, which was lower than that in the urban areas (i.e., 19.4 ppb) and the ecological standard level of the European Union (i.e., 14.6 ppb). The monthly average of $NO_2$ concentration depicted seasonal variations particularly in the urban areas, showing higher concentration in winter and lower concentration in summer. Strong locality of $NO_2$ concentration distribution illustrates that the locations near the metropolitan areas (e.g., Gyeonggi and Chungnam provinces) had the highest concentration during the measurement period. A significant positive correlation between $NO_x$ emissions and $NO_2$ concentration was observed, suggesting that the magnitude and proximity to sources of atmospheric nitrogen oxides would be important controlling factors.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.1035-1039
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• 2010

For 65 national forest areas in 1993 to 2008, the ambient sulfur dioxide ($SO_2$) concentrations were measured monthly using passive samplers and compared to the those of urban areas in order to investigate the characteristics of temporal and spatial distribution. In the forest areas, annual average concentration of sulfur dioxide gradually decreased from the beginning year of monitoring to 1997 and then had no significant change, such as the annual trend in urban areas monitored by Ministry of Environment. For the monitoring term, average concentration of sulfur dioxide in the forest areas was 5.6ppb, which was lower than the 10.1ppb in the urban areas and the EC ecological standard level (7.6 ppb). Seasonally, both in forest areas and urban areas the monthly average concentrations were much higher in winter and spring due to much more heating fuel consumption, and lowest in summer. Regional comparison to other regions of Gyeongbuk and Gyeonggi province showed that the concentration of sulfur dioxide was the highest during year. A significant positive correlation between sulfur oxides' emissions and sulfur dioxide concentration by province was observed, reflecting that the size and proximity of sources of atmospheric sulfur oxides could be important factors in determination.