• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.24-35
• /
• 2003

Recent epidemiologic studies revealed that the concentration of air pollutants and fine particulated matter have some effects on health status and are associated with increased mortality and morbidity. The purpose of this study was to characterize background mass concentration of fine particle (PM2.5) and metallic composition from September 2001 to August 2002 in comparison with a medium city, Asan and metropolitan city, Seoul. Conclusively, proper management for fine particles was required in a medium city, Asan, considering the concentrations of metallic elements in fine particles in Asan were relatively higher than those in Seoul. The results were as followed. 1. Average mass concentrations of fine particles in Asan and Seoul were 37.70(${\pm}18.41{\;}{\mu}g/\textrm{m}^3$) and 5.83(${\pm}38.50$) ${\mu}g/\textrm{m}^3$, respectively. When the weather conditions were classified as normal and yellow-sand, measured average mass concentrations of fine particles in yellow-sand weather condition was significantly higher than those of normal weather condition in both cities (p<0.05). 2. Depending on seasons, measured average mass concentrations of fine particles in Asan and Seoul in spring were 47.76(${\pm}19.07$) ${\mu}g/\textrm{m}^3$m and 61.53 (${\pm}4.37$) ${\mu}g/\textrm{m}^3$, respectively. In summer, the average mass concentrations of fine particles in Asan and Seoul were 29.44(${\pm}9.85$) ${\mu}g/\textrm{m}^3$ and 25.42(${\pm}8.10$) ${\mu}g/\textrm{m}^3$, respectively. Especially, the concentration was the highest in spring and the lowest in summer among four seasons. 3. Average concentrations of manganese(Mn), iron(Fe), chromium(Cr), cadmium(Cd), lead(Pb) and silicon(Si) in fine particles in Asan were significantly higher in Seoul (p<0.05). Average concentration of Si in fine particle in Asan was statistically higher than that of Seoul during yellow -sand condition (p<0.05). 4. Considering the characterization of four seasons, average Pb concentration of fine particle in Asan is significantly higher than that of Seoul in spring(p<0.01). In summer, average Mn and Cr concentrations of fine particle in Asan is higher than those of Seoul (p<0.05). Average Mn, Fe. Cr and Si concentrations in fall (p<0.05), and average Mn, Fe, Cr, Pb, and Si concentrations in winter (p<0.05) in Asan were higher than those of Seoul, respectively. 5. Mass concentrations of each Mn, Fe, Cd and Si in fine particles were significantly correlated with both cities. In normal weather condition, Mn, Cu and Si concentrations are statistically significant in Asan, while Mn, Fe, Cu and Si concentrations are statistically significant in Seoul. Mn, Fe and Si concentrations in both cities were statistically significant during yellow-sand weather.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.297-305
• /
• 1996

Aerosol measurements were carried out at Kosan, Cheju Island, Korea for the period from July 20 to August 10, 1994. Total suspended particles were collected by high volume samplers and PM 2.5 particles with gaseous volatile species were collected by a filter pack sampler and their ionic composition are analyzed. The average mass concentration of PM 2.5 particles was comparable to that of PM 3 particles collected during March, 1994 at the same site but the average non sea-salt sulfate concentration was higher that that of PM 3 particles, implying the fraction of anthropogenic air apllutants during this period is higher than that during March, 1994. During the measurement period, two distincitive patterns were observed, high concentrations of mass and water soluble ions were observed between July 20 and August 1 while those during after August 2 were low. Back trajectory analysis results show that air masses arriving at Kosan during the earlier period were mainly from Korea and Japan while those during the later period were from the North Pacific Ocean. It is suggested that the particle ion concentrations during the later period are marine background concentrations at Kosan during the summertime.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.7-15
• /
• 2013

Aerosol characterization study for individual particle in Busan metropolitan industrial complex was carried out from December 2010 to August 2011. SEM(scanning electron microscope)-EDX(energy dispersive x-ray) analysis was used for the analysis of 600 single particles during the sampling periods to identify non-metallic aerosol particle sources. Average $PM_{10}$ concentration was 65.5 ${\mu}g/m^3$ in summer, 104.1 ${\mu}g/m^3$ in winter during the sample periods. And Average $PM_{2.5}$ concentration was 24.5 ${\mu}g/m^3$ in summer, 64.5 ${\mu}g/m^3$ in winter individually. Particle density, enrichment factor, correlation analysis, principle component analysis were performed based on chemical composition data. Particle density distribution was measured to 2~4 $g/cm^3$, and the density of $PM_{2.5}$ was measured above 3 $g/cm^3$. In general, the elements Si, Ca, Fe and Al concentrations were higher in all samples of individual particles. The non-ferrous elements Zn, Br, Pb, Cu concentrations were higher in summer than in winter. The concentrations were not changed with the seasons because of non-ferrous industry emission pattern.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.33 no.5
• /
• pp.497-514
• /
• 2017

This study quantitatively analyzes the effects of emission inventory choices on the simulated particulate matter (PM) concentrations and the domestic/foreign contributions in the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA) with an air quality forecasting system. The forecasting system is composed of Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)-Sparse Matrix Operator Kernel Emissions (SMOKE)-Community Multi-Scale Air Quality (CMAQ). Different domestic and foreign emission inventories were selectively adopted to set up four sets of emissions inputs for air quality simulations in this study. All modeling cases showed that model performance statistics satisfied the criteria levels (correlation coefficient >0.7, fractional error <50%) suggested by previous studies. Notwithstanding the apparently good model performance of total PM concentrations by all emission cases, annual average concentrations of simulated total PM concentrations varied up to $20{\mu}g/m^3$ (160%) depending on the combination of emission inventories. In detail, the difference in simulated annual average concentrations of the primary PM coarse (PMC) was up to $25.2{\mu}g/m^3$ (6.5 times) compared with other cases. Furthermore, model performance analyses on PM species showed that the difference in the simulated primary PMC led to gross model overestimation in general, which indicates that the primary PMC emissions need to be improved. The contribution analysis using model direct outputs indicated that the domestic contributions to the annual average PM concentrations in the SMA vary from 44% to 67%. To account for the uncertainty of the simulated concentration, the contribution correction factor method proposed by Bae et al. (2017) was applied, which resulted in converged contributions(from 48% to 57%). We believe this study shows that it is necessary to improve the simulated concentrations of PM components in order to enhance the accuracy of the forecasting model. It is deemed that these improvements will provide more accurate contribution results.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.13 no.6
• /
• pp.439-450
• /
• 1997

Atmospheric fine particles $(PM_{2.5})$ were collected at the background sites, Kangwha, Taean, and Kosan and characterized to understand their behaviors at the sites. Daily samples of $PM_{2.5}$ mass were measured and ionic species, carbonaceous species, and gaseous species were analyzed. Four-day backward trajectory analysis was also carried out. The mean concentrations of anthropogenic species were highest at Kangwha among three sites, while contributions from sea salts wree highest at Taean during the measurement period due to higher wind speed at Taean. Major chemical components in fine particles were sulfate, organic carbon, nitrate, and ammoniu. Most of the non-sea-salt (nss) sulfates in $PM_{2.5}$ might be present as ammonium sulfates at these sites. Most air parcels arriving at Kangwha and Taean were from northern China. Therefore, both sites were thought to be affected by the same air parcel. At Kosan, during the measurement period, air parcels were from either northern China or sourthern China. The nss sulfate concentration in the air parcels from southern China was higher, while the nss calcium, nitrate, and ammonium concentrations were higher when the air parcels were from northern China.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.7 no.3
• /
• pp.169-175
• /
• 2013

Measurement of the phosphorus concentration in aerosols in Beijing, which was a representative East Asian mega-city, was carried out. The optimum procedure for analyzing phosphorus in aerosols was found in this study. Recovery of phosphorus in environmental samples through the improved method was almost 100%. The concentration of phosphorus in TSP was $145{\pm}47\;ng/m^3$, with a seasonal variation showing high concentrations in winter and low concentrations in summer. The concentrations of phosphorus in $PM_{2.5}$ accounted for $35{\pm}6%$ of those in TSP, with no seasonal variations. The major source of phosphorus in aerosols in Beijing was soil dust, and additional sources of phosphorus in fine particles could be coal combustion and biomass burning.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.47 no.6
• /
• pp.521-529
• /
• 2021

Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has caused changes in human activity, and these changes may possibly increase or decrease exposure to fine dust (PM_2.5). Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the exposure to PM_2.5 in relation to the outbreak of COVID-19. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare and evaluate the exposure to PM_2.5 concentrations by the variation of dynamic populations before and after the outbreak of COVID-19. Methods: This study evaluated exposure to PM_2.5 concentrations by changes in the dynamic population distribution in Guro-gu, Seoul, before and after the outbreak of COVID-19 between Jan and Feb, 2020. Gurogu was divided into 2,204 scale standard grids of 100 m×100 m. Hourly PM_2.5 concentrations were modeled by the inverse distance weight method using 24 sensor-based air monitoring instruments. Hourly dynamic population distribution was evaluated according to gender and age using mobile phone network data and time-activity patterns. Results: Compared to before, the population exposure to PM_2.5 decreased after the outbreak of COVID-19. The concentration of PM_2.5 after the outbreak of COVID-19 decreased by about 41% on average. The variation of dynamic population before and after the outbreak of COVID-19 decreased by about 18% on average. Conclusions: Comparing before and after the outbreak of COVID-19, the population exposures to PM_2.5 decreased by about 40%. This can be explained to suggest that changes in people's activity patterns due to the outbreak of COVID-19 resulted in a decrease in exposure to PM_2.5.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.49 no.4
• /
• pp.218-227
• /
• 2023

Background: Since 2019, the Ministry of Environment has implemented a seasonal fine dust management system from December to March, targeting high PM_2.5 levels with the aim of reducing PM_2.5 concentrations and protecting public health. The focus of improving the seasonal management system lies in the atmospheric PM_2.5 levels. Considering the primary goal of protecting public health, it is necessary to analyze the policy effects from an exposure perspective rather than a concentration-based approach. Objectives: This study aims to quantitatively assess the improvement of indoor PM_2.5 levels and the health impacts of the seasonal management system by comparing the periods before and during its implementation in residential environments. Methods: PM_2.5 concentrations within residential environments in a metropolitan area were measured using an optical particle counter (IAQ-C7, K-weather, Ltd, Korea) at one-minute intervals during the pre-implementation period (November 21~25, 2022) and during the implementation period (December 19~23, 2022). Based on the measured PM_2.5 concentrations, a quantitative evaluation of cancer and mortality risks was conducted according to age and gender. Results: The results of comparing indoor and outdoor PM_2.5 concentrations before and during the implementation of the seasonal management system showed a decrease of approximately 56.6% and 47.9%, respectively. Health risk assessments revealed that both the safety-limit-based and safety-target-based Hazard Quotients (HQ) exceeded the threshold of 0.1 for children under 19 years of age, both before and after the implementation. The mortality risk decreased by approximately 47.9% after the implementation, with children aged 0-9 showing the highest mortality risk at 0.9%. Conclusions: The findings of this study confirmed the positive health impacts of the seasonal management system across all age groups, particularly children under 19 who are more vulnerable to fine dust exposure.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.289-304
• /
• 2016

The $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$ aerosols were collected at the Gosan site of Jeju Island in 2013 and analyzed, in order to examine the variation characteristics of the chemical compositions in relation to the haze, Asian dust, and mixed haze-Asian dust episodes. Volume concentrations obtained from the Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (APS) were high in the range of $0.6{\sim}1.0{\mu}m$ particles for haze event, and in the range of $2.0{\sim}10.0{\mu}m$ particles for Asian dust event. For the haze event, nitrate concentrations increased highly as 8.8 and 25.1 times for $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$, respectively, possibly caused by the inflow of air mass stagnated in eastern parts of China into Jeju area. For the Asian dust event, the concentrations of nss-$Ca^{2+}$, $NO_3{^-}$ and nss-$SO_4{^{2-}}$ increased 6.0, 1.5, 1.8 times for $PM_{10}$, and 2.3, 1.3, 1.6 times for $PM_{2.5}$, respectively. Meanwhile, for the mixed haze-Asian dust event, the concentrations of nss-$Ca^{2+}$ and $NO_3{^-}$ increased 13.4 and 3.2 times for $PM_{10}$, and 1.8 and 3.4 times for $PM_{2.5}$, respectively. The $NH_4NO_3$ content was higher than that of $(NH_4)_2SO_4$ during the haze event, however it was relatively low during the mixed haze-Asian dust event. The aerosols were acidified mostly by inorganic acids, and especially the nitric acid contributed highly to the acidification during both the haze and the mixed haze-Asian dust events. Meanwhile, the neutralization by ammonia was noticeably high during haze event when the stagnated air mass moved from China.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.21-35
• /
• 2009

The Asian dust storms which originated in the deserts of Mongolia and China transported particles to Korea and led to a high concentration of atmospheric particulate matters (PM) of more than $1000{\mu}g/m^3$ throughout the country in the spring, of 2007. Public concern, in Korea, about the possible adverse effects of these dust events has increased, as these dust storms can contain various air pollutants emitted from heavily industrialized eastern China. The objectives of this study were to understand the concentration characteristics of PM as a function of particle size between the Asian dust storm episodes and non-Asian dust period and to consider the mass size distribution of PM in the Asian dust storms and their water soluble ion species on the potential, possible effects on deposition levels in the three regions (nasopharyngeal, tracheobronchial, and alveolar) of the human respiratory system. The size distribution of PM mass concentration during the Asian dust storms showed a peak in the coarse particle region due to the long-range transport of soil particles from the deserts of Mongolia and China, which was identified by HYSPLIT-4 model for backward trajectory analysis of air arriving in the sampling site of Iksan. During the non-Asian dust period, there were two different types in PM size distribution: bimodal distribution when low concentrations of $PM_{2.5}$ were observed, while unimodal distribution having a peak in fine particle region when high concentrations of $PM_{2.5}$ were showed. This unimodal distribution with high concentrations of fine particulate and secondary air pollutants such as ${SO_4}^{2-}$, ${NO_3}^-$, ${NH_4}^+$ was found to be due to the long-range transport of air pollutants from industrialized eastern China. During the Asian dust storms, the mean concentrations of PM that can be deposited in the nasopharyngeal, tracheobronchial, and alveolar region were $128.8{\mu}g/m^3$, $216.5{\mu}g/m^3$, and $89.6{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively. During the non-Asian dust period, the mean concentrations of PM that can be deposited in the nasopharyngeal, tracheobronchial, and alveolar region were $8.4{\mu}g/m^3$, $9.5{\mu}g/m^3$ and $38.5{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively.