• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.163-171
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• 2022

Objectives: Fit performance may vary depending on the ambient aerosol number and ratio in respective test environment. Although several instrument can measure it, they differ with respect to the measurement principle and the range of ambient aerosols collected to calculate the fit factor. Methods: In this study, the fit performance between a condensation nuclei counter(CNC) and an optical particle counter(OPC) was compared according to ambient aerosol number concentration, and evaluated consistency. One type respirators(N95 masks) was worn by 50 participants PortaCount®(Pro+ 8038) and MT®(05U) were connected with one probe to one mask, and Fit Factors(FFs) were measured simultaneously. Results: The interclass correlation coefficient of the fit factor and ambient aerosol number, as measured by the two instrument, was 0.82 and 0.79, respectively, indicating a high consistency level. On the other hand there was a significant correlation between the successful test performance of the OPC instrument and the ambient aerosol number. Conclusions: The test was passed with the CNC and OPC instruments when the ambient aerosol number was 635-3,332 particles/cm³ and 368-1,976 particles/cm³, respectively. Thus, the ideal ambient aerosol number of particles differed between the two instrument.

• Proceedings of the Korea Committee for Ocean Resources and Engineering Conference
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.307-310
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• 2006

Underwater ambient noise originating from the geophysical, biological, and man-made acoustic sources contains much information on the sources and the ocean environment affecting the performance of the sonar equipments. In this paper, a set of feature vectors of the ambient noises using MFCC is proposed and extracted to form a data base for the purpose of identifying the noise sources. The developed algorithm for the pattern recognition is applied to the observed ocean data, and the initial results are presented and discussed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.425-448
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• 2012

In this paper, a new damage detection and quantification method has been presented to perform detection and quantification of structural damage under ambient vibration loadings. To extract modal properties of the structural system under ambient excitation, natural excitation technique (NExT) and eigensystem realization algorithm (ERA) are employed. Sensitivity matrices of the dynamic residual force vector have been derived and used in the parameter subset selection method to identify multiple damaged locations. In the sequel, the steady state genetic algorithm (SSGA) is used to determine quantified levels of the identified damage by minimizing errors in the modal flexibility matrix. In this study, performance of the proposed damage detection and quantification methodology is evaluated using a finite element model of a truss structure with considerations of possible experimental errors and noises. A series of numerical examples with five different damage scenarios including a challengingly small damage level demonstrates that the proposed methodology can efficaciously detect and quantify damage under noisy ambient vibrations.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.87-94
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• 2009

Surfactant-enhanced air sparging (SEAS) was developed to suppress the surface tension of groundwater prior to air sparging resulting in higher air saturation and larger contact area between NAPL and gas during air sparging. Larger contacting interface between NAPL and gas means faster mass transfer of contaminants from NAPL to gas phase. This new technique, however, is limited to relatively volatile contaminants because vaporization is its basic mechanism of mass transfer. In this study, SEAS was tested at an elevated temperature for a semi-volatile n-decane, which is expected not to be a good candidate of SEAS application due to its low vapor pressure at ambient temperature. Three sparging experiments were conducted using 1-dimensional column (5 cm id, 80 cm length) packed with sand; (1) ambient temperature ($23^{\circ}C$), column saturated with distilled water, (2) SEAS at ambient temperature ($23^{\circ}C$), for n-decane contaminated sand, (3) SEAS at elevated temperature ($73^{\circ}C$), for n-decane contaminated sand. Higher air saturation was achieved by SEAS compared to that by air sparging without surfactant application. The n-decane removal efficiency of SEAS at elevated temperature was significantly higher(> 10 times) than that of ambient SEAS. The n-decane concentrations in the gas effluent from column during SEAS at $73^{\circ}C$ are found to be 10 times of those measured at ambient temperature. Thus, SEAS technique can be applied for removal of semi-volatile contaminants provided that an appropriate technique for elevating aquifer temperature is available.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.513-527
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• 2013

Recently, hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) have been of great concern in Korea, largely due to public awareness on the importance of their impacts on environmental health. A group of HAPs includes a large number of various chemicals such as VOCs, PAHs, PCBs, dioxines, furans, organochlorinated pesticides, and some heavy metals. These groups of pollutants are generally known to have genetic toxicity and to be persistent in the environment. In addition, most of chemicals belong to the category of HAPs are widely distributed not only in air, but also in water and soil environments, and has therefore undergone considerable scrutiny for the last three decades. In this article, environmental implications and management of HAPs in Korea will be reviewed, with a particular emphasis on the monitoring of HAPs in the ambient air. A number of field studies will be introduced, which were recently conducted in large urban and industrial areas. Based on the filed studies, eight pollutants have been suggested to be intensively managed as higher priority pollutants, which are benzene, 1,3-butadiene, formaldehyde, acrolein, trichloroethylene, benzo(a)pyrene, hexa-valent Cr, and $PM_{2.5}$. Finally, future directions for a mega scale project for comprehensive monitoring of ambient atmosphere in large urban areas will be suggested. Such an innovative project is believed to provide more realistic information on the nature of the population exposure, which can not be simply identified by emission inventories or source investigations. Therefore, any strategy for the management of HAPs should be developed by not only emission-based approaches, but also observation-based approaches.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.108-117
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• 2010

In this study, ambient particulate matter ($PM_{2.5}$ and $PM_{10}$) levels were measured and their chemical and physical properties were characterized. Two sites in Gwangju were sampled once a month from December 2008 to November 2009. The annual mean concentrations of $PM_{2.5}$ and $PM_{10}$ were $26.9\;{\mu}g/m^3$ and $46.3\;{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively, in Nongseongdong and $26.1\;{\mu}g/m^3$ and $44.8\;{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively, in Duam-dong. $PM_{2.5}$ levels were 1.8 times higher than the USA Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) national ambient air quality standard for $PM_{2.5}$ ($15\;{\mu}g/m^3$). The average $PM_{2.5}/PM_{10}$ ratio of 0.58 suggested that $PM_{2.5}$ is a significant component of the ambient particle pollution. The order of concentration of metallic elements in $PM_{2.5}$ and $PM_{10}$ was Si > Al > Fe > Zn > Pb > Cu > Mn. Cd was not detected. The earth crustal enrichment factors for Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn in $PM_{2.5}$ were higher than those in $PM_{10}$. When the earth crustal enrichment factors for Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn were higher than 10, this suggested influence from anthropogenic sources. The soil contribution ratios for $PM_{2.5}$ and $PM_{10}$ were 11.3% and 16.4%, respectively, and were higher in the fall and winter. Anions (${SO_4}^{-2}$, ${NO_3}^-$, and $Cl^-$) comprise 28.7% of $PM_{2.5}$ and 21.4% of $PM_{10}$. The correlation coefficient of Zn-Fe, Mn-Cu, Fe-Cu and Fe-Mn in $PM_{2.5}$ was high in the sampling sites, and metallic elements were primarily from anthropogenic sources such as fuel combustion and vehicle emissions.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.96-103
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• 2012

Ambient particulate matter (PM) and particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations were measured continuously for 70 days at a Korean elementary school located near a highway. The $PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$, and $PM_1$ values were measured with a light-scattering, multi-channel, aerosol spectrometer (Grimm, Model 1.107). The number concentrations of the particles were measured using a scanning mobility particle sizer and counter (SMPS+C) which counted particles from 11.1 to 1083.3 nm classified in 44 channels. Particle-bound PAHs were measured with a direct reading, photoelectric aerosol sensor. The daily $NO_2$, $SO_2$, and CO concentrations were obtained from a national air-monitoring station located near the school. The average concentrations of $PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$, and $PM_1$ were 75.3, 59.3, and $52.1{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively. The average number concentration of the ultrafine particles (UFPs) was $46,307/cm^3$, and the averaged particle-bound PAHs concentration was $17.9ng/cm^3$ during the study period. The ambient UFP variation was strongly associated with traffic intensity, particularly peak concentrations during the traffic rush hours. Particles <100 nm corresponded to traffic-related pollutants, including PAHs. Additional longterm monitoring of ambient UFPs and high-resolution traffic measurements should be carried out in future studies. In addition, transient variations in the ambient particle concentration should be taken into consideration in epidemiology studies in order to examine the short-term health effects of urban UFPs.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.322-329
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• 2017

Perturbation in ambient particulate matter ($PM_1$, $PM_{2.5}$, $PM_{10}$) and black carbon (BC) concentrations was studied during a firecracker bursting episode in Diwali (Festival of Lights) celebrations in Nagpur, India. Firecracker bursting resulted in greater escalation in fine particulates over coarse particulates while $PM_{2.5}$ was found to be dominated by $PM_1$ concentration. On the Diwali day, daily mean concentration of $PM_{2.5}$ and $PM_{10}$ exceeded Indian National Ambient Air Quality Standards by over 1.8 and 1.5 times, respectively, while daily mean BC concentration on the same day was almost two times higher than the previous day. The BC/$PM_1$ ratio reduced remarkably from about 0.26 recorded before fire-cracker bursting activity to about 0.09 during fire-cracker bursting on Diwali night in spite of simultaneous escalation in ambient BC concentration. Such aberration in BC/$PM_1$ was evidently a result of much higher escalation in $PM_1$ than BC in ambient air during firecracker bursting. The study highlighted strong perturbations in ambient $PM_1$, $PM_{2.5}$, $PM_{10}$ concentrations and BC/$PM_1$ during the firecracker bursting episode. Altered atmospheric BC/$PM_1$ ratios could serve as indicators of firecracker-polluted air and similar BC/$PM_1$ ratios in local and regional air masses might be used as diagnostic ratios for firecracker smoke.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.534-544
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• 2011

The secondary aerosol forming potential of ambient air was first measured with the Potential Aerosol Mass(PAM) chamber at Gosan supersite on Jeju island from October 22 to November 5, 2010. PAM chamber is a small flowthrough photo-oxidation chamber with extremely high OH and $O_3$ levels. The OH exposure in the PAM chamber was $(2{\pm}0.4){\times}10^{11}{\sim}(6{\pm}1.2){\times}10^{11}$ molecules $cm^{-3}$ s and was similar to 2 to 5 days of aging in the atmosphere. By periodically turning on and off UV lamps in the PAM chamber, ambient aerosol and newly formed aerosol (e.g. called as PAM aerosol) was alternately measured. Aerosol number and mass concentration in the range of 10~487 nm in diameter was measured by SMPS 3034. With UV lamps on, the nucleation mode particles smaller than 50 nm in diameters were formed. Their number concentration was greater than 105 $cm^{-3}$, leading to increase in aerosol mass by 0~8 ${\mu}gm^{-3}$. The variations of PAM and ambient aerosols were greatly dependent on characteristics of air masses such as precursor concentrations and degree of aging. This preliminary results suggests that PAM chamber is useful to assess the aerosol formation potential of air mass and its impact on the air quality. The further analysis of data with gaseous and particulate measurements will be done.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.364-368
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• 2006

This experiment was carried out to figure out the $CO_2$ biomass and the growth response of Chinese cabbage and radish grown under the condition of high temperature and high $CO_2$ concentration to provide the information for the coming climatic change. Chinese cabbage and radish were cultivated in spring and autumn seasons under 4 treatments, 'ambient temp.+ambient $CO_2$ conc.', 'ambient temp.+elevated $CO_2$ conc.', 'elevated temp.+ ambient $CO_2$ conc.', and 'elevated temp. +elevated $CO_2$ conc.'. The 'elevated temp,' plot was maintained at 5 higher than 'ambient temp. (outside temperature)'and the 'elevated $CO_2$ cone.' plot was done in 650 ppm $CO_2$. The growth of spring-sown Chinese cabbage was worse than autumn-sown one, and was affected more by high temperature than high $CO_2$. concentration. The $CO_2$ biomass of Chinese cabbage was lower as 25.1-39.1 g/plant in spring-sown one than 54.8-63.4 g/plant of autumn-sown one. Daily $CO_2$2 fixation ability was not significantly different between spring- and autumn-sown Chinese cabbage as 1.9-2.9, 2.7-3.1 kg/10a/day, respectively. The $CO_2$ biomass of radish were 87.4-104.6 /plant in spring-sown one and 51.3$\sim$76.4 g/plant in autumn-sown one. Daily $CO_2$ fixation ability of radish were 6.2-10.1 kg/10a/day in spring-sown one and 4.6-6.9 kg/10a/day in autumn-sown one.