• Proceedings of the Korea Air Pollution Research Association Conference
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• 2010.04a
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• pp.528-529
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• 2010

• Proceedings of the Korea Air Pollution Research Association Conference
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• 2009.10a
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• pp.484-485
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• 2009

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.30-37
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• 2016

Objectives: This study was performed to measure and evaluate the concentration, size distribution and fugitive emission of particulate matter from process operations at foundries. Methods: Particle matter was collected from three foundries, and samples were also collected from a background site for calculating the fugitive emission concentration of the foundries. For the collection of the samples, a Nanosampler cascade impactor was used. Results: The concentration of TSP in the samples collected from the three foundries was $0.675{\sim}1.222mg/m^3$, $PM_{10}$ was $0.525{\sim}1.018mg/m^3$ and $PM_{2.5}$ was $0.192{\sim}0.615mg/m^3$. The mass size distribution was bimodal or monomodal with maximum peak at two stage(size $2.5{\sim}10{\mu}m$). The mass median aerodynamic diameter(MMAD) was $1.80{\sim}3.98{\mu}m$. The fugitive emission concentration of TSP varies in the range of 0.65 to $1.21mg/m^3$, which exceeds the emission standard of fugitive dust($0.5mg/m^3$). Conclusions: Particle concentration and size is an important industrial hygiene factor to protect foundry workers. Furthermore, the presence of high emission of particulate pollutants has a significant negative impact on the ambient air of the study area. Therefore, it is important to improve both the process and prevention facility in oder to reduce particulate pollutants in foundries.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.651-658
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• 2018

Particulate matter (PM) emitted from fossil fuel-combustion facilities can be classified as either filterable or condensable PM. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defined condensable PM as material that is in the phase of vapor at the stack temperature of the sampling location which condenses, reacts upon cooling and dilution in the ambient air to form solid or liquid in a few second after the discharge from the stack. Condensable PM passed through the filter media and it is typically ignored. But condensable PM was defined as a component of primary PM. This study investigates the change of condensable PM according to the variation in the sulfur dioxide of combustion gas. Domestic oil boilers were used as the source of emission ($SO_2$) and the level of $SO_2$ concentration (0, 50, 80, and 120 ppm) was adjusted by diluting general light oil and marine gas oil (MGO) that contains sulfur less than 0.5%. Condensable PM was measured as 2.72, 6.10, 8.38, and $13.34mg/m^3$ when $SO_2$ concentration in combustion gas were 0, 50, 80, and 120 ppm respectively. The condensable PM tended to increase as the concentration of $SO_2$ increased. Some of the gaseous air pollutants emitted from the stack should be considered precursors of condensable PM. The gas phase pollutants which converted into condensable PM should reduced for condensable PM control.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.64 no.1
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• pp.1-4
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• 2021

Ambient air pollution, in particular, particulate matter (PM) pollution imposes serious health concerns such as hospitalization and premature deaths, worldwide. While commercial breathing masks are in use for protection against this hazardous issue, yet their efficiency in filtering PM was not up to the par, besides several other discomforts such as poor breathability due to reduced air flow, sweat production etc. In this study, commercial face mask coated with β-glucan, a high molecular weight polymer is tested for its efficacy in filtering PM. Quantification of PM before and after filtration and microscopic observation (using scanning electron microscopy (SEM)) of the fabric used in filtering the dust pollutants (generated from wood chips and cigarette) showed that β-glucan coated fabric were significantly efficient in capturing PM (size of 10 and 2.5 ㎛ in diameter) than that of the untreated control fabric, wherein the former had filtration efficacy with fold increase of 11.6 and 2.6 towards capturing PM2.5 and PM10 respectively than the latter. Thus, β-glucan coated fabric was found to be effective in filtering PM.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.165-177
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• 2018

Particulate matter (PM) measurements are important in air quality, public health, epidemiological studies and decision making for short and long-term policies implementation. However, only few cities in the word have advance air quality-monitoring networks able to provide reliable information of PM leaves in the ambient air, trends and extent of the pollution. In Colombia, only major cities measure PM concentrations. Available measurements from Bogota, Medellin and Bucaramanga show that PM concentration are well above World Health Organization guidelines, but up to now levels and trends of PM in other cities and regions of the country are not well known. Satellite measurements serve as an alternative approach to study air quality in regions were surface measurements are not available. The aim of this study is to perform a spatial and temporal assessment of PM in the ambient air of Colombia. We used Aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrieved by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite of NASA and surface measurements from the air quality networks of Bogota, Medellin and Bucaramanga. In a first step, we estimated the correlation between MODIS-AOD and monthly average surface measurements (2000 to 2015) from these three cities, obtaining correlation coefficient R values over 0.4 for the cities under study. After, we used AOD and $PM_{10}$ measurements to study the temporal evolution of PM in different cities and regions. Finally, we used AOD measurements to identify cities and regions with the highest AOD levels in Colombia. All the methods presented in this paper may serve as an example for other countries or regions to identify and prioritize locations that require the implementation of more accurate air quality measurements.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.149-158
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• 2023

Background: Injury is one of the major health problems in South Korea. Few studies have evaluated both intentional and unintentional injury when investigating the association between exposure to air pollutants and injury. Objectives: We aimed to explore the association between short-term exposure to ambient air pollution and years of life lost (YLLs) due to injury. Methods: Data on daily YLLs for 2002~2019 were obtained from the the Death Statistics Database of the Korean National Statistical Office. This study estimated short-term exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of <10 ㎛ (PM₁₀), particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of <2.5 ㎛ (PM_2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O₃). This time series study was conducted using a generalized additive model (GAM) assuming a Gaussian distribution. We also evaluated a delayed effect of ambient air pollution by constructing a lag structure up to seven days. The best-fitting lag was selected based on smallest generalized cross validation (GCV) value. To explore effect modification by intentionality of injury (i.e., intentional injury [self-harm, assault] and unintentional injury), we conducted stratified subgroup analyses. Additionally, we stratified unintentional injury by mechanism (traffic accident, fall, etc.). Results: During the study period, the average daily YLLs due to injury was 307.5 years. In the intentional injury, YLLs due to self-harm and assault showed positive association with air pollutants. In the unintentional injury, YLLs due to fall, electric current, fire and poisoning showed positive association with air pollutants, whereas YLLs due to traffic accident, mechanical force and drowning/submersion showed negative associations with air pollutants. Conclusions: Injury is recognized as preventable, and effective strategies to create a safe society are important. Therefore, we need to establish strategies to prevent injury and consider air pollutants in this regard.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.1-9
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• 1994

In order to investigate the regional level of air pollutants at Kangwha island situated on the western coast in Korea, the suspended particulate matter samples were collected by using the low volume air sampler on ten interval from March 1992 to February 1993 and the mass concentration of suspended particulate matter (SPM) and the chemical composition of water-soluble major ionic components in SPM samples were measured. During the sampling period, the average concentration of SPM under diameter 10 $\mu$m was found to be 48 $\mu$g/m$^3$ (+ 12). The seasonal concentration of SPM was showed in order of spring>fall>winter>summer. It was considered that higher concentration on spring than other season was affected by the long-range transport of Yellow sand particulate from China continent and lower concentration on summer by the washout and rainout effect of large rainfall. The content of water-soluble component in SPM samples was founded to be about 31% (14.69 $\mu$g/m$^3$) and 65% was unknown or unanalyzed. The content of cationic component showed in order of NH$_4^+$ (44.6%)>Na$^+$ (21.2%)>K$^+$ (14.7%)>Ca$^{2+}$ (13.6%)>Mg$^{2+}$ (5.9 %) and the content of anionic component SO$_4^{2-}$ (62.5%)>NO$_3^-$ (22.3%)>Cl$^-$ (15.2%), respectively. This fact indicates that ammonium and sulfate ion of water-soluble component in SPM sample were dominant in this region. From the chemical composition of water-soluble component, the most of Na$^+$, Mg$^{2+}$ and Cl$^-$ were originated from seawater source but K$^+$, Ca$^{2+}$ and SO$_4^{2-}$ were originated from other non-marine source. The contribution of seasalt to the composition of precipitation was 23%.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.269-281
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• 2017

Background: Small particles increase airway inflammation upon reaching the alveoli. Here, we investigated the protective or therapeutic effects of Salvia plebeia R. Br. (SP_R) extracts on airway inflammation. Methods and Results: To investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of SP_R extracts, we measured their inhibitory effect on the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) expression of inflammatory mediators, and immune cell infiltration in MH-S alveolar macrophage cells and in the ambient particulate matter (APM)-exposed airway inflammation mice model. The SP_R extracts inhibited the production of ROS and expression of IL-4, IL-10, IL-15, and IL-17A mRNA in APM-stimulated MH-S cells. Oral administration of SP_R extracts suppressed APM-induced inflammatory symptoms, such as high alveolar wall thickness, excess collagen fibers, decreased mRNA expression of chemokines (Ccr9, Ccl5, Ccr3), inflammatory cytokines (IL-15, TNF-${\alpha}$), and IL-4 Th2 cytokine in the lung. The SP_R extracts also inhibited ROS production, granulocyte ($CD11b^+Gr-1^+$) infiltration, IL-17A, TNF-${\alpha}$, macrophage inflammatory protein (Mip-2), and chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 1 (Cxcl-1) production in the airway. The specific compounds in the SR-R extracts that mediate the anti-inflammatory effects were identified. Conclusions: In this study, SP_R extracts effectively inhibited airway inflammatory responses, such as ROS production and granulocyte infiltration into the airway, by regulating the expression of chemokines and inflammatory cytokines.

• Proceedings of the Korea Air Pollution Research Association Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.98-99
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• 2008