• Proceedings of the Korean Sanitation Conference
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• 2005.12a
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• pp.29-30
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• 2005

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.177-184
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to compare the performance characteristics of Andersen and total suspended particulate (TSP) samplers in terms of particle size distribution (PSD) and mass sampling efficiency. In the present study, two Andersen and four TSP samplers were selected and tested to quantitatively estimate human exposure to fly ash representing industrial particulate matter (PM) in a carefully controlled chamber. The PSD characteristics, a mass median aerodynamic diameter and a geometric standard deviation, were found from the sampled PM of airborne samplers in the chamber. An Andersen sampler was compared with a TSP sampler quantified by a coulter counter multisizer, as a reference sampler, to describe the correlation of mass sampling efficiencies between two types of samplers. Overall results indicate that Andersen samplers overestimated small PM due to particle bounce phenomena between impaction stages. There was reasonably good correlation ($R^2$ = 0.89 and 0.91) between the mass sampling efficiencies of Andersen and TSP samplers during the two tests. However, the lower values of slope (0.71 and 0.72) in two tests showed that the Andersen sampler underestimated PM (> AD $10.1\;{\mu}m$) with sufficient inertia due to a relatively lower Andersen inlet velocity at 0.8 m/s comparing with the operating air velocity at 2.1 m/s in the sampling zone of a chamber.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.19 no.E1
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• pp.11-20
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• 2003

To characterize airborne particulate carbon and its temporal variation in the heavily industrialized metropolitan city, Seoul in South Korea, aerosol sampling was performed from 1986 to 1996. Correlation coefficients of elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) with mass concentration of fine particles ($\underline{\leq}$2.1 ${\mu}m$) are 0.73 and 0.51, respectively. EC concentrations of the fine particle mode are 10.1, 5.9, 4.5, and 7.4 ${\mu}g\;m^{-3}$ in winter, spring, summer, and autumn, respectively. On the other hand, OC concentration shows maximum value in winter and followed by autumn, summer, and spring. A seasonal peak in the ratio of OC to EC in fine particles was observed during the summer photochemical season from June to August. Concentrations of EC and OC in Asian dust storm events are generally higher than in non- Asian dust storm events except in 1990. The difference of EC concentrations between Asian dust storm periods and non-Asian dust storm periods are much larger than those of OC concentrations. There are slight increases of EC concentration between 1987 and 1990 and a gradual decrease between 1990 and 1996.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2011.10a
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• pp.1303-1308
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• 2011

In the modern society various types of transportation mode are utilized, among them the subway system is the one of the main transportation mode which more than 7.21 million people ride a day. Because of interests on the indoor air quality (IAQ) of underground public facilities, concerns on IAQ of subway system by many people are increasing. There are several approach to improve IAQ of subway station, such as installing platform screen door (PSD), frequent tunnel washing-out, and etc, however there has not been any attempt to improve IAQ of subway cabin inside. Most technologies for removing airborne particulate matters are known to be difficult to adopt on the subway cabin since the problem of maintenance cost. Therefore, the ultimate object of this study is a practical development of cabin air cleaning system which can reduce the concentration of airborne particles and harmful gases at the same time. The subway cabin air purifier (SCAP) was developed for removing particulate matters and gases pollutants inside a cabin. The whole system was designed and the roll-filter device was manufactured based on numerical prediction results. It is expected that SCAP could reduce indoor air pollutants in the subway cabin practically and it can be applied to other part of transportation vehicles.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.34-44
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• 1986

Particle size distribution of airborne suspended particulate concentrations according to particle size in the events of yellow sand phenomena, have been measured and analyzed by using Andersen air sampler for four years, January 1982 through December 1985. The conclusions are as follows: 1. Yellow sand phenomena, generally, occur between March and May. 2. The frequent occurrences of yellow sand were observed during March and April and airborne suspended particulate concentrations in the cases of yellow sand appeared to be 2 $\sim$ 3.4 times higher than those of normal conditions. 3. Geometric mean particle diameter and its geometric mean standard deviation by logarithmic normal distribution sheet, were quite close to each other and log-distribution curves showed similar shapes. 4. Analysis by particle size distribution curve showed bi-modal distribution. 5. Concentrations of coarse particles in normal conditions were 1.2 $\sim$ 2 times higher than those of fine particles and, similarly, coarse particle concentrations in yellow sand cases were 1.3 $\sim$ 2.5 times higher than those of fine particles. 6. Concentrations of coarse particles in yellow sand cases were 2 $\sim$ 3.6 times higher than those in normal conditions and those of fine particles were 1.7 $\sim$ 3.5 times higher.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.9-19
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• 2010

The size distribution of airborne particulate matter (PM) and the concentrations of associated metallic elements were investigated in a busy urban region of a typical Korean industrial city. The PM concentrations measured during the spring, except for those in the size range of 1.1 to 2.1 ${\mu}m$, were slightly higher than the PM concentrations in the summer. Coarse particles contributed greatly to the variation in PM concentrations in the spring, while fine and submicron particles contributed largely to the variation in PM concentrations in the summer. The difference in size modes of the PM concentrations between spring and summer may be explained by the Asian dust effect and its accompanying wind direction and speed. Extremely high enrichment factors (EFs) values (6,971 to 60,966) for all of the size distributions in PM were identified for cadmium (Cd). High EFs values (12 to 907) were also identified for other heavy metals including Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn and Mn. Low EF values (0.29 to 8.61) were identified for Ca, K, Mg and Na. These results support the common hypothesis that most heavy metals in ambient PM have anthropogenic sources and most light metals have crustal sources. The results of principal components analyses and cluster analyses for heavy metals indicate that the principal sources of PM and metals were emissions from non-ferrous metal smelters, oil combustion, incinerators, vehicular traffic and road dust.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.165-192
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• 2022

The microbial metagenome characteristics of bioaerosols and particulate matter (PM) in the outdoor atmospheric environment and the effects of climate and environmental factors on the metagenome were analyzed. The concentrations of bacteria and fungi in bioaerosols and PM were determined by sampling different regions with different environmental properties. A variety of culture-independent methods were used to analyze the microbial metagenome in aerosols and PM samples. In addition, the effects of meteorological and environmental factors on the diversity and metagenomes of bacteria and fungi were investigated. The survival, growth, and dispersal of the microorganisms in the atmosphere were markedly affected by local weather conditions and the air pollutant concentration. The concentration of airborne microorganisms increased as the temperature increased, but their concentration decreased in summer, due to the effects of high temperatures and strong ultraviolet rays. Humidity and microbial concentration were positively correlated, but when the humidity was too high, the dispersion of airborne microorganisms was inhibited. These comprehensive data on the microbial metagenome in bioaerosols and PM may be used to understand the roles and functions of microorganisms in the atmosphere, and to develop strategies and abatement techniques to address the environmental and public health problems caused by these microorganisms.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.65-71
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• 2013

Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) pollinosis is the most popular pollinosis in Japan. It has been reported that Cryptomeria japonica pollen allergenic species are suspended as fine particles in the urban atmosphere. These allergenic fine particles are responsible for inducing asthma by breaking into the lower respiratory tract. It has also been found that pollinosis symptoms on the sufferers appear mainly at night-time by the results from epidemiological studies. However, the exact reason for these phenomena is not yet clarified. In this study, the diurnal and nocturnal behaviours of Cryptomeria japonica pollen grains and their allergenic species in the urban area of Saitama city of Kanto Plain were investigated. Airborne pollen grains and allergenic Cry j 1 concentrations in total suspended particulate matter (TSP) were investigated at two sampling sites, a heavy traffic road (roadside site) and at the balcony of the $10^{th}$ floor of the Building of Research and Project of Saitama University (general urban site). The latter sampling site where located about 300 m away from the roadside site was used as a general urban site unaffected by automobile traffic. The airborne pollen counts were measured with a real-time pollen monitor. Cry j 1 particles were collected with two high volume air samplers, and these concentrations were measured by surface plasmon resonance method with a Biacore J system. The diurnal variation of the airborne pollen counts was similar to the trends of temperature and wind speed during the day-time; whereas its tendency with wind speed trend was not observed during the night-time. Airborne pollen counts were lower with northern wind than with southern wind because the pollen comes from the mountainous areas, and the mountains in the south are closer, about half the distance to the northern mountains. It is suggested that the peaks of airborne pollen counts during night-time in the sampling site occurred by transport of pollen grains released during day-time in the mountainous forest areas, located c.a. 100 km away from the sampling site. On the roadside site the allergenic Cry j 1 concentrations were higher than at the general urban site, nevertheless pollen grains counts were lower. These results suggested that worsening of pollinosis symptoms during night-time in urban area was caused by transport of pollen grains during day-time in the mountainous forest areas. Moreover, pollen allergenic species become different morphology from pollen grain at roadside site, and the subsequent pollen grains re-suspension by automobile traffic.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.115-124
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• 2024

Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess indoor air quality within and around buildings and evaluate the health risks associated with exposure to indoor air pollution. The study compares IAQ standards established by the World Health Organization with those set by South Korea's Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Education. Methods: The study utilized an Anderson Sampler and DustTrak^TM II to collect samples of total airborne bacteria and PM in indoor and outdoor environments. Collected samples were analyzed using biological and biochemical methods. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS to examine the correlation between airborne bacteria and PM. Results: The study revealed that the concentration of total airborne bacteria in indoor air generally remained below the Ministry of Environment's standard of 800 CFU/m³, although it surpassed this threshold in certain instances. PM concentrations did not exceed the standards. Indoor fine dust concentration was higher when there were people (P<0.05). There was no difference in total floating bacterial concentrations between indoor and outdoor environments (P=0.184). Finally, there was a correlation between fine dust and airborne bacteria concentrations. Conclusion: The study evaluated the concentrations of total airborne bacteria and PM in indoor air, emphasizing the importance of managing IAQ. Further research in various environments is essential to ensure a healthy indoor environment. The findings underscore the need for ongoing research and management to enhance IAQ and create safer and healthier living environments.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.623-631
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• 2020

This study analyzes the effect of negative air ions on the concentration of airborne particulate matter and evaluates the expected purification efficiency of open spaces for particulate matter by investigating the amount of negative air ions generated by plants. This study establishes a negative air ion generation treatment environment, plant environment, and control environment to measure the purification efficiency of particulate matter under the conditions of each, analyzing the expected purification efficiency by designing a particulate matter purification model. Results show that the amount of generated negative air ion according to environment was negative air ion generation treatment environment > plant environment > control environment; this order also applies to the particulate matter purification efficiency. Moreover, it took 65 min for the negative ion generation treatment environment, 90 min for the plant environment, and 240 min for the control environment to reach the standard expected purification efficiency of particulate matter concentration of 960 mg/㎥ for PM₁₀. For PM_2.5, with the designated maximum concentration of 700 mg/㎥, it took 60 min for the negative ion generation treatment environment, 80 min for the plant environment, and more than 240 min for the control environment. Based on these results, the expected purification efficiency compared to the control environment was quadrupled in the negative ion generation treatment environment and tripled in the plant environment on average.