• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.3-8
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• 2013

Collision cell technology-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (CCT-ICP-MS) was used to measure the concentrations of approximately 19 elements associated with airborne PM2.5 samples that were collected from a roadside sampling station in Daejeon, Korea. Standard reference material (SRM 2783, air particulate on filter media) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology was used for the quality assurance of CCT-ICP-MS. The elemental concentrations were compared statistically with the certified (or recommended) values. The patterns of distribution were clearly distinguished between elements with their concentrations ranging over four orders of magnitude. If compared in terms of enrichment factors, it was found that toxic trace elements (e.g., Sb, Se, Cd, As, Zn, Pb, and Cu) of anthropogenic origin are much more enriched in PM2.5 samples of the study site. To the contrary, the results of the correlation analysis showed that PM2.5 concentrations can exhibit more enhanced correlations with the elements (e.g., Fe, K, Si, and Ti) arising from earth's crust. The findings of strong correlations between PM2.5 and the elements of crustal origin may be directly comparable with the dominant role of those species by constituting a major fraction of even PM2.5 as well as PM10 at the roadside area.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.126-132
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• 2015

Objectives: The Korean government implemented a smoke-free regulation for pubs with a net indoor area of ${\geq}100m^2$ on January 1, 2014. The purpose of this study was to determine the indoor levels of concentrations of particulate matter smaller than $2.5{\mu}m$ ($PM_{2.5}$) in implemented and non-implemented pubs in Seoul and Changwon. Methods: $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations in fifty-two $100-150m^2$ (implemented) and fifty-seven < $100m^2$ (non-implemented) pubs were measured. A real-time aerosol monitor was used to measure $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations. Field technicians recorded characteristics of the pubs including net indoor area, indoor volume and presence of smoking rooms and counted the number of burning cigarettes, patrons and vents. Results: Differences between indoor and outdoor $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations in $100-150m^2$ and < $100m^2$ pubs were not significantly different in each city. Smoking was observed in 33% of $100-150m^2$ pubs and 51% of < $100m^2$ pubs. Average differences between indoor and outdoor $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations in the $100-150m^2$ and < $100m^2$ pubs were $79.2{\mu}g/m^3$ and $155.6{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively. When smokers were not observed, differences between indoor and outdoor $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations ware $12.4{\mu}g/m^3$ in $100-150m^2$ pubs and $24.5{\mu}g/m^3$ in < $100m^2$ pubs. Conclusion: Although the regulation was implemented only in ${\geq}100m^2$ pubs, a higher difference between indoor and outdoor $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations was observed in implemented and non-implemented pubs with smokers. Strict implementation of the regulation in all pubs is needed for better indoor air quality.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.23 no.7
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• pp.1241-1251
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• 2014

The study investigates weekday/weekend characteristics of $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations and meteorological elements in Busan. The $PM_{10}$ concentration is highest on Wednesday and Thursday, and lowest on Sunday. On the other hand, the $PM_{2.5}$ concentration is highest on Wednesday and lowest on Sunday. The location where concentrations of weekdays and weekend differ the most is Hwakjang-dong, the industrial area, and where they differ the least is Gijang-up and Joa-dong, the residential area. Fine particle concentration in the industrial area was consistent at dawn and in the morning, but varied in the afternoon and at night. The visibility of Sunday was 0.49 km higher than that of weekdays, and the solar radiation of Sunday was $0.11MJ/m^2$ higher than that of weekdays. These results indicate that the concentration of fine particles had influence on the change of visibility and solar radiation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 1995

The exposure levels of chromium and nickel for chromeplating workers were evaluated. Chromium and nickel concentrations in urine and serum from 82 exposed workers and 69 controls, who were not exposed occupationally to metals, were analyzed by flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results were as follows: 1. Chromium concentrations in urine of exposed group and control were $3.49{\pm}1.83g/g$ of creatinine, $5.59{\pm}2.83g/g$ of creatinine, and in serum were $0.69{\pm}0.30g/l$, $2.31{\pm}1.16g/l$ respectively. There were significant difference of concentrations for chromium in urine and serum by group respectively. 2. Nickel concentrations in urine of exposed group and control were $0.92{\pm}0.23g/g$ of creatinine, $2.20{\pm}1.93g/g$ of creatinine, and serum concentrations were $0.52{\pm}0.34g/l$, $1.41{\pm}0.74g/l$ respectively. There were significant difference of concentrations for nickel in serum by groups statistically. 3. Chromium and nickel concentrations in urine and serum of exposed groups were not significant by workplaces(grinding, electroplants, packaging).

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.22-29
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• 2000

This study was performed to investigate the concentrations of TSP, PM10 and heavy metals(Pb, Cd,Hg, Ni, Zn) of underground parking lots in Taegu city. The samples were collected from 3 department stores and 1 central park in the winter and the summer, 1997. The samples of 3 department stores were divided into sale period and non-sale period in the winter and the summer. The concentrations of TSP and PM10 were 109.6±1.5㎍/㎥ and 93.3±1.5㎍/㎥. In TSP, the zinc was the highest level, 287.16±1.5ng/㎥ and the cadmium was the lowest, 2.4±2.1ng/㎥ and in PM10, the zinc was the highest level, 193.6±1.5ng/㎥ and the cadmium was the lowest, 0.6±3.9ng/㎥. The correlation coefficient between the concentration of TSP and PM10 was 0.982(p<0.05). The correlation coefficients of corresponding heavy metal in TSP and PM10 were 0.863 for lead, 0.617 for mercury, 0.890 for nickel and 0.850 for zinc(p<0.05). The concentrations of TSP, PM10 and cadmium of PM10 in the winter were higher than those of the summer. However, the concentration of Hg of PM10 in the summer was higher than that of the winter. The concentrations of TSP and PM10 in sale period was higher than those of non-sale period and the concentrations of heavy metal in TSP and PM10 were not significantly different between sale and non-sale period. The proportions of PM10 to TSP were above 60% in dust, lead, nickel, and zinc and less than 40% in cadmium and mercury. The concentrations of TSP, PM10 and heavy metal in the underground parking lots were comparatively lower than those of general atmosphere. However, this kind of research to PM10 in the underground parking lots must be continued because it is very important particulate matter that affects human beng's health.

• 산업보건소식
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• no.48
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• pp.9-18
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• 1987

The results of this study which had been investigated to analyse heavy metal levels and to compare lead, cadmium, copper and zinc concentration in urine of children who lived around the industrial area and the agricultural area. Samples were collected and analyzed from September to December 1986 from 7-9 years old children living in Seoul (4 7 cases), lri ( 64 cases) industrial area and Chinan (56 cases) agricultural area. The summarized results were as follows: 1) The concentrations of lead were Seoul 28.7 $\pm$17.7 ug/l, lri 25.3 $\pm$7.5 ug/l and Chinan 19.3 $\pm$5.2 ug/l 2) The concentrations of cadmium were Seoul 1.5 $\pm$0.8 ug/l, Iri 1.4 $\pm$0.5 ug/l and chinan 0.9 $\pm$0.3 ug/l 3) The concentrations of copper were Seoul 12.8 $\pm$7.0 ug/l, Iri 10.5 $\pm$8.4 ug/l and Chinan 10.0 $\pm$4.5 ug/l 4) The concentrations of zinc were Seoul 383 $\pm$279 ug/l, Iri 329 $\pm$133 ug/l and Chinan 267 $\pm$181 ug/l 5) In lead, cadmium and zinc concentration of children, there were statistical difference between the industrial area and the agricultural area 6) There were no indicated significantly levels by the Sex

• Atmosphere
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.221-228
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• 2010

Aerosol particles with different size-cuts ($PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$, and $PM_{1.0}$) were collected at Gosan Superstation on Jeju Island from August 2007 to June 2008. Mean concentrations of $PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$ and $PM_{1.0}$ were $29.28{\mu}gm^{-3}$, $17.83{\mu}gm^{-3}$, and $14.30{\mu}gm^{-3}$, respectively. Soluble ions comprised 45.7%, 53.9%, and 60.3% of the total mass of $PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$, and $PM_{1.0}$, respectively. While sulfate was the most dominant species of fine mode ($PM_{1.0}$), nitrate was enriched in coarse mode ($PM_{1.0-10}$). When the concentrations of coarse mode particles were greatly increased, nitrate tended to be enhanced in coarse mode with high calcium but low sulfate concentrations. During the high $PM_{1.0}$ events, however, nitrate was increased with sulfate at fine mode. Particularly, nitrate concentrations were substantially enhanced during high particle episodes, leading high ratios of nitrate to sulfate in air under northwest wind during wintertime. On the other hand, the levels of nitrate were lower than those of sulfate at average particle concentrations. The backward air mass trajectories indicated that nitrate concentrations were elevated in air arriving Gosan passing through Santung peninsula or near South Korea.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.543-554
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• 2018

From November 2013 to December 2016, ambient fine particulate matter ($PM_{2.5}$) was sampled in the downtown area of Jeju City, South Korea, which has seen rapid urbanization. The atmospheric concentrations of elements were measured in the $PM_{2.5}$ samples. This study focused on Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, As, Sb, Sn, V, and Zn. The concentrations of Al, Na, K, Fe, Ca, Mg, Sr, and La were also obtained for reference. The objectives of this study were to examine the contributions of these elements to $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations in downtown Jeju City, and to investigate the inter-element relationships and the elemental sources by using enrichment factors and principal components analysis (PCA). A composition analysis showed that the 19 elements constituted 6.65 % of the $PM_{2.5}$ mass, and Na, K, Al, Fe, Ca, Mg, and Zn constituted 98 % of the total ion mass. Seasonal trend analysis for the sampling period indicated that the concentrations of the elements increased from November to April. However, no substantial seasonal variations were found in the concentrations of the elements. The composition ratios of some elements (Cu/Zn, Cu/Cd, Cu/Pb, V/Ni, and V/La) were found to be out of range when compared to the literature from other urban areas. The ratios between the elements and the PCA results showed that local contaminant sources in Jeju City rarely influence the composition of $PM_{2.5}$. This suggests that the major sources of $PM_{2.5}$ in Jeju City may include long-range transport of fine particulate matter produced in other areas.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.532-538
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• 2020

Objectives: The study evaluated correlations among monthly PM_2.5, PM₁₀, Cd, Pb concentrations and the number of Asian dust days. Methods: Based on data from 'The annual report on air quality in Korea from 1999 to 2017', concentrations of PM₁₀, PM_2.5, Cd, Pb, and the number of Asian dust days were recalculated to mean, standard deviation, minimum, and maximum. Correlation coefficients were calculated among PM_2.5, PM₁₀, Cd, Pb, and Asian dust days. Results: Asian dust days were correlated only with PM₁₀ among the four factors of PM₁₀, PM_2.5, Cd, and Pb. The four factors of PM₁₀, PM_2.5, Cd, and Pb were very significantly correlated with each other (p<0.01). Their correlation coefficients for PM₁₀ were 0.800 for PM_2.5, 0.823 for Cd, and 0.892 for Pb. PM_2.5 was also correlated strongly with Cd (0.845) and Pb (0.830). Cd had a correlation with Pb of 0.971. The maximums of PM_2.5, PM₁₀, and Pb were shown to exceed the atmospheric environmental standard of Korea, which necessitates national continuous exposure control. Based on exposure data, Asian dust days were thought to be an exposure factor for Cd and Pb. Conclusion: Asian dust might be a factor in Cd and Pb exposure. National exposure controls are required for exposure to PM_2.5, PM₁₀, Cd, and Pb.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.356-366
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• 2013

Objectives: This study was conducted in order to evaluate $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations at 20 offices connected to the manufacturing industry from the beginning of September to the end of November 2012. Methods: A total of 20 samples were collected from 20 office buildings. Each $PM_{2.5}$ sample was collected by a 37 mm PTFE filter attached to a Personal Environment Monitor. Results: The geometric mean concentrations of $PM_{2.5}$ in the offices was $23.47{\mu}g/m^3$, and the mean $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations measured in smoking offices were much higher than those of measured in non-smoking offices($24.83{\mu}g/m^3$ and $21.55{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively). $PM_{2.5}$ was revealed to be higher in small offices($39.52{\mu}g/m^3$) than in medium or large offices($22.69{\mu}g/m^3$ and $11.04{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively). The mean $PM_{2.5}$ concentration of offices located on the 1st floor was higher than that of those on the 2nd floor, and those of offices located in the workplace were higher than those out of the workplace. The multiple regression model showed that concentration of $PM_{2.5}$ was positively associated with the method of ventilation. Conclusions: Smoking, ventilation method, location, and inflow of outdoor particulate matter are the most important factors for office $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations.