• Title/Summary/Keyword: Ambient particulate matter

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Secondhand Smoke Exposure in Commercial Personal Computer Rooms (PC 방 금연구역의 간접흡연 노출)

  • Sohn, Hong-Ji;Oh, Ae-Ri;Kim, Ok-Gum;Lee, Ki-Young
    • Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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    • v.36 no.4
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    • pp.288-293
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    • 2010
  • In this study, exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) was evaluated in commercial personal computer (PC) rooms with different separation types of non-smoking areas. The particulate matter less than 2.5 ${\mu}m$ ($PM_{2.5}$) level was simultaneously measured by aerosol spectrometers in the non-smoking and smoking areas of these commercial PC rooms. Average $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations in non-smoking and smoking areas were $75\;{\mu}g/m^3$ and $136\;{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively. Although the $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations in non-smoking areas were significantly less than those in smoking areas (p<0.01), the levels still exceeded the US National Ambient Air Quality Standard of $35\;{\mu}g/m^3$. Average $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations in non-smoking areas were not significantly different with regard to area separation type, with $73\;{\mu}g/m^3$ in the no-wall type, $83\;{\mu}g/m^3$ in the wall-type, and $39\;{\mu}g/m^3$ in the separated-floor-type areas (p>0.1). Separation of the non-smoking area thus did not eliminate SHS exposure in commercial PC rooms, regardless of the type of area separation. This study demonstrates that simple separation of non-smoking areas in commercial PC rooms does not protect users from SHS.

Effects of Reduced Ambient PM10 Levels on the Health of Children in Lower-income Families (대기질 개선과 저소득계층 어린이 건강보호 효과)

  • Bae, Hyun-Joo
    • Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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    • v.36 no.3
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    • pp.182-190
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    • 2010
  • We examined the association of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter < $10\;{\mu}m$ ($PM_{10}$) with asthma-related hospitalization, stratified by socioeconomic status (SES), among children less than 15 years of age in Seoul, Korea, between 2003 and 2005. In addition, we estimated the reduction in the number of asthma-related hospitalizations that would result from implementing the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline. SES was defined based on data concerning health insurance premium grades, and grouped into two levels: lower-income group and control group. The lower-income group was classified as having an accumulated income which did not exceed the 50th percentile of the median income. Time-series analysis was performed to evaluate the association between $PM_{10}$ and asthma-related hospitalization. The Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program was used to analyze the impact on children's health. Based upon an increase of $10\;{\mu}g/m^3$ of $PM_{10}$, the asthma-related hospitalization risk for the lower-income group was increased by 1.78% (95% confidence intervals (CI) = 0.79-2.78%), while the risk for the control group was increased by 0.83% (95% CI = 0.34-1.32%). Attaining the WHO guideline, relative to the concentration in 2007, would result in a reduction in asthma-related hospitalizations of 18 cases per 100,000 of the children population in the lower-income group, and 7 cases in the control group. The health benefits of improved air quality for children in the lower-income group were thus 2.5 times greater than for children in the control group. Our results show that the lower-income group is disproportionately burdened with asthma-related hospitalization arising from air pollution. Therefore, biologically- and socioeconomically-disadvantaged populations should be considered in public health interventions in order to protect the children's health.

Changes in Brain Activity of Rats due to Exposure to Fine Dust Using 18F-FDG PET (18F-FDG PET를 이용한 미세먼지 노출에 따른 쥐(rat)의 뇌 활성도 변화)

  • Cho, Yun-Ho;Cho, Kyu-Sang;Lee, Wang-Hui;Choi, Jea-Ho
    • Journal of radiological science and technology
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    • v.45 no.3
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    • pp.225-232
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    • 2022
  • Fine dust threatens human health in various forms, depending on the particle size, such as by causing respiratory, cardiovascular, and brain diseases, after entering the body via the lungs. The aim of this study was to correlate fine dust exposure with changes in brain blood flow in Sprague Dawley rats by using micro-positron emission tomography and elucidate the possibility of developing cerebrovascular diseases caused by fine dust. The subjects were exposured to an average fine dust (particulate matter 2.5) of 206.2 ± 7.74 to ten rats four times a day, twice a day for 90 min. Before the experiment, they were maintained at NPO to the maximize the intake of 18F-fluorodeoxy glucose(18F-FDG) and minimize changes in the 18F-FDG biomass depending on the ambient environment and body temperature of the rats. PET images were acquired in the list mode 40 min after injecting 18F-FDG 44.4 MBq into the rats tail vein using a micro-PET scanner pre and post exposure to fine dust. We found that the whole brain level of 18F-FDG standardized uptake value in rats averaged 5.21 ± 0.52 g/mL pre and 4.22 ± 0.48 g/mL post exposure to fine dust, resulting in a statistically significant difference. Fine dust was able to alter brain activity after entering the body via the lungs in various forms depending on the particle size.

A case study on monitoring the ambient ammonia concentration in paddy soil using a passive ammonia diffusive sampler (논 토양에서 암모니아 배출 특성 모니터링을 위한 수동식 암모니아 확산형 포집기 이용 사례 연구)

  • Kim, Min-Suk;Park, Minseok;Min, Hyun-Gi;Chae, Eunji;Hyun, Seunghun;Kim, Jeong-Gyu;Koo, Namin
    • Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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    • v.39 no.1
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    • pp.100-107
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    • 2021
  • Along with an increase in the frequency of high-concentration fine particulate matter in Korea, interest and research on ammonia (NH3) are actively increasing. It is obvious that agriculture has contributed significantly to NH3 emissions. However, studies on the long-term effect of fertilizer use on the ambient NH3 concentration of agricultural land are insufficient. Therefore, in this study, NH3 concentration in the atmosphere of agricultural land was monitored for 11 months using a passive sampler. The average ambient NH3 concentration during the total study period was 2.02 ㎍ m-3 and it was found that the effect of fertilizer application on the ambient NH3 concentration was greatest in the month immediately following fertilizer application (highest ambient NH3 concentration as 11.36㎍ m-3). After that, it was expected that the NH3 volatilization was promoted by increases in summer temperature and the concentration in the atmosphere was expected to increase. However, high NH3 concentrations in the atmosphere were not observed due to strong rainfall that lasted for a long period. After that, the ambient NH3 concentration gradually decreased through autumn and winter. In summary, when studying the contribution of fertilizer to the rate of domestic NH3 emissions, it is necessary to look intensively for at least one month immediately after fertilizer application, and weather information such as precipitation and no-rain days should be considered in the field study.

A Meta-Analysis of Air Pollution in Relation to Daily Mortality in Seven Major Cities of Korea, 1998-2001 (메타분석을 적용한 전국 7개 대도시의 대기오염과 일일사망발생의 상관성 연구(1998년$\sim$2001년))

  • Cho, Yong-Sung;Lee, Jong-Tae;Son, Ji-Young;Kim, Yoon-Shin
    • Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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    • v.32 no.4 s.91
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    • pp.304-315
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    • 2006
  • This study is performed to reexamine the association between ambient air pollution and daily mortality in seven major cities of Korea using a method of meta-analysis with the data filed for the period 1998-2001. These cities account for half of the Korean population (about 23 million). The observed concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO, mean=1.08 ppm), ozone ($O_3$, mean=33.97 ppb), particulate matter less than 10 ${\mu}m$ ($PM_{10},\;mean=57.11\;{\mu}g/m^3$), nitrogen dioxide ($NO_2$, mean=25.09 ppb), and sulfur dioxide ($SO_2$, mean=9.14 ppb) during the study period were at levels below Korea's current ambient air quality standards. Generalized additive models were applied to allow for the highly flexible fitting of seasonal and long-term time trends in air pollution as well as nonlinear associations with weather variables, such as air temperature and relative humidity. Also, we calculated a weighted mean as a meta-analysis summary of the estimates and its standard error. In city-specific analyses, an increase of $41.17{\mu}g/m^3(IQR)\;of\;PM_{10}$ corresponded to $1{\sim}12%$ more deaths, given constant weather conditions. Like most of air pollution epidemiologic studies, this meta-analysis cannot avoid fleeing from measurement misclassification since no personal measurement was taken. However, we can expect that a measurement bias be reduced in district-specific estimate since a monitoring station is better representative of air quality of the matched district. Significant heterogeneity was found for the effect of all pollutants. The estimated relative risks from meta-like analysis increased compared to those relative risks from pooled analysis. The similar results to those from the previous studies indicated existence of health effect of air pollution at current levels in many industrialized countries, including Korea.

Secular Trend in Indoor Dust Levels with a Comparison of Indoor and Exhaust Outlet Dust Levels in Swine Confinement Buildings (비육돈사 공기중 분진 수준에 대한 시계열적 분석 및 돈사내외부 분진 수준 비교분석)

  • Kim, HyoungAh;Kim, ChangYul;Gautam, Ravi;Yang, SuJeong;Acharya, Manju;Jo, JiHoon;Maharjan, Anju;Sin, SoJung;Song, EunSeob;Lee, YoonBum;Kim, Hyocher;Kim, Kyung-ran;Lee, Kyung-suk;Heo, Yong
    • Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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    • v.45 no.6
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    • pp.630-637
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    • 2019
  • Objectives: This study was performed to evaluate the secular changes in indoor airborne dust or endotoxin levels in the dust from swine confinement buildings. Indoor levels were compared with the level at the exhaust outlet in order to examine the contribution potential of indoor dust to nearby ambient air dust. Methods: Comparisons were made on inhalable and respirable dust levels reported in 2002, 2012, and 2017 from 14, 10, and 36 swine fattening confinement buildings in Korea, respectively. This data was produced by the same research group. Levels of endotoxin adsorbed into inhalable or respirable dust were also compared. Samples of inhalable or respirable dust were collected indoors and at exhaust outlets from 17 swine fattening confinement buildings in 2019, and dust levels were compared between the indoor and the outlet. Results: The outlet inhalable dust level (0.111 mg/㎥) was approximately 19% of that from indoors, and the respirable dust level (0.033 mg/㎥) was approximately 74% of that from indoors. The outlet respirable dust levels were lower than the airborne fine dust levels in the towns where those farms are located. No significant difference was observed in the inhalable dust levels among the years examined, but the respirable dust level in 2017 (0.143 mg/㎥) was significantly lower than in 2002 (0.328 mg/㎥). The level of endotoxin in inhalable dust was significantly higher in 2017 (722 EU/㎥) than in both 2002 (75 EU/㎥) and 2012 (171 EU/㎥). Conclusion: Even though no apparent contribution from swine farm indoor dust to nearby ambient air dust was observed in terms of amount, a certain control strategy to reduce the production of airborne dust and endotoxin from swine farms is merited.

Estimation of PM2.5 Correction Factor for Optical Particle Counter in Ambient Air (대기환경에서 광산란 미세먼지 측정기의 PM2.5 보정계수 산정)

  • Kim, Jong Bum;Kim, Danbi;Noh, Sujin;Yoon, Kwan Hoon;Park, Duckshin;Lee, Jeong Joo;Kim, Jeongho
    • Particle and aerosol research
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    • v.16 no.2
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    • pp.49-59
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    • 2020
  • Various devices have been developed to the measurement of particulate matter pollutants, and Optical Particle Counter (OPC) that can be easily and quickly measured is widely used lately. The measured value by OPC is converted to weight concentration using the correction factor (CF). The calculation of CF is very important to improve the reliability and accuracy of OPC. In this study, the CF calculation study of light scattering laser photometer (model 8533, TSI) was carried out to measure in the atmospheric environment using 2 gravimetric devices and 3 light scattering laser photometer devices. Regression analysis and Tukey tests were used to significance the test of measurement devices. Measurements were carried out twice. There was a comparative analysis of measurement data between light scattering laser photometer and gravimetric devices in 1st measurement, and then the Evaluation of PM2.5 concentration corrected by CF performed in 2nd measurement. As a result of the significance analysis between light scattering laser photometer and gravimetric devices, the correlation between the same method was high, but the correlation between different methods was low. CF was calculated as 0.4258 based on the measurement results, and it is a similar level to previous studies at home and abroad. It is expected that these results can be used as basic data in the future study for air quality measurement research using light scattering laser photometer. Also, in order to improve the accuracy of the measurement techniques and the development of technology in the atmospheric environment, CF calculation research should be conducted continuously.

Monitoring of Ambient Air Particles and Inorganic Elements in China and Korea during an Asian Dust Storm

  • Park, Eun-Jung;Kim, Dae-Seon;Park, Chung-Hee;Song, Sang-Whan;Lee, Byung-Hoon;Hong, Yun-Chul;Pan, Xiaochuan;Wang, Jin-Gyu;Zhang, Yi-Xiang;Park, Kwang-Sik
    • Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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    • v.36 no.5
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    • pp.360-372
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    • 2010
  • Concentrations of ambient air particles such as total suspended particulates (TSP), particulate matter $(PM)_{10}$, and $PM_{2.5}$, were monitored simultaneously from May to June, 2007, at four locations at Alashan and Beijing in China, and Seoul and Gosan in South Korea. These monitoring sites are in the pathway of Asian dust (AD) storms traveling from China to the Korean peninsula. An AD event was observed in the Korean peninsula on May 25-26. During the sampling period, the average concentrations of TSP and PM10 were each higher than $150\;{\mu}g/m^3$ in Alashan and Beijing, but not in Seoul and Gosan. The concentration of TSP in Alashan (where the dust storm originated) on the day of the AD event reached $1824.7\;{\mu}g/m^3$, this being the highest concentration of air particles observed during the sampling period. The level was decreased to 15% of this ($274.7\;{\mu}g/m^3$) in Seoul and to 8.7% ($159.0\;{\mu}g/m^3$) in Gosan when the AD was observed two days later in Korea. Gosan, a representative background site in East Asia, displayed the lowest concentration of particles, with this maximal TSP concentration of $159\;{\mu}g/m^3$. Inorganic element contents in the air particles were also measured, and the concentrations in the four different regions compared. Concentrations of anthropogenically-enriched heavy metals in $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$, such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury, were higher in the metropolitan cities of Beijing and Seoul compared to non-industrialized regions of Alashan and Gosan. However, the concentrations of inorganic soil elements including iron, magnesium, aluminum sodium, and manganese, were higher in Alashan compared to those in other sampling sites.

High Loading for Air Pollution in the Byunsan Peninsula of Korea by an Interplay of the Saemangeum Project and Winter Monsoon

  • Ma, Chang-Jin;Kang, Gong-Unn;Kim, Ki-Hyun
    • Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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    • v.6 no.3
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    • pp.234-243
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    • 2012
  • The wintertime high loading for atmospheric pollutants is certainly expected in the Byunsan Peninsula of Korea because of a great-scale reclamation project having construction of 33 km tidal sea dike impounding an area of over 40,000 ha and long-range transport. The goal of this study is to trace the origin of this wintertime burden for ambient particulate matter (hereafter called "PM") in the Byunsan Peninsula of Korea. The size-segregated (i.e., cutoff size from 0.01 ${\mu}m$ to 4.7 ${\mu}m$) PM sampling was conducted at a ground-based site of Byunsan Peninsula located in the west coast of Korean Peninsula during the height of dike constructing. Data archived in this study are the mass concentrations of ionic, elemental, and carbonic components in size-fractioned PM. The elemental mass of individual submicrometer particles was also analyzed. The sum of 5-source (i.e., elemental carbon, organic materials, inorganic secondary pollutants, crustal matter, and sea-salts) concentrations shows the bimodal distribution (major and minor peaks formed around $D_p$, 0.65 ${\mu}m$ and $D_p$, 4.7 ${\mu}m$, respectively) by border with 0.19 ${\mu}m$ of cutoff size. The concentrations of EC in $PM_{1.1-0.01}$ in winter and spring times were 4.62 ${\mu}g\;m^{-3}$ and 3.74 ${\mu}g\;m^{-3}$, respectively. Elemental masses of submicron individual particles are classified into two groups, i.e., the major elements (Cl, Al, Si, S, and P) and the minor trace elements. Cluster analysis differentiated the elements in submicron individual particles into 4-cluster. Among them, three clusters are in agreement with the major (Al, Si, S, and P), minor (Fe, Ca, and K), and trace compositions of coal burning. Meanwhile, Cl classified as an independent cluster has different source profile which was mainly due to the Saemangeum seawall project. Some highly toxic elements (e.g., Cr, Mn, and As (and/or Pb)) were also detected in some part of submicron individual PM. As a consequence, the combination of the Saemangeum project and winter monsoon played a considerable part in the double aggravation of wintertime air pollution in the Byunsan Peninsular.

Wind-and Rain-induced Variations of Water Column Structures and Dispersal Pattern of Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) in Marian Cove, the South Shetland Islands, West Antarctica during the Austral Summer 2000 (서남극 남 쉐틀랜드 군도 마리안 소만에서 바람 및 강수에 의한 여름철 수층 구조의 변화와 부유물질 분산)

  • 유규철;윤호일;오재경;강천윤;김예동;배성호
    • The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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    • v.8 no.4
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    • pp.357-368
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    • 2003
  • Time-series CTDT (Conductivity/Temperature/Depth/Transmissivity) were obtained at one point near tidewater glacier of Marian Cove (King George Islands, Antarctica) to present water column properties and SPM (suspended particulate matter) dispersal pattern in relation with tide, current, meteorological data, and SPM concentration. Four layers were divided from the water column characteristics measured in the interval of an hour for about 2 days: 1) cold, fresh, and turbid surface mixed layer between 0-20 m in water depth, 2) warm, saline, and relatively clean Maxwell Bay inflow between 20-40 m in water depth, 3) turbid/cold tongue of subglacial discharges compared with the ambient waters between 40-70 m in water depth, and 4) cold, saline, and clean bottom water beneath 70 m in water depth. Surface plume, turbid freshwater at coastal/cliff area in late summer (early February), had the characteristic temperature and SPM concentration according to morphology, glacial condition, and composition of sediments. The restrict dispersion only over the input source of meltwater discharges was due to calm wether condition. Due to strong wind-induced surface turbulence, fresh and turbid surface plume, englacial upwelling cold water, glacier-contact meltwater, and Maxwell Bay inflow was mixing at ice-proximal zone and the consequent mixed layer deepened at the surface. Large amount of precipitation, the major controlling factor for increasing short-term glacial discharges, was accompanied by the apparent development of subglacial discharge that resulted in the rapid drop of salinity below the mid depth. Although amount of subglacial discharge and englacial upwelling may be large, however, their low SPM concentration would have small influence on bottom deposition of terrigenous sediments.