• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.42-51
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• 2009

Saturated n-dicarboxylic acids ($C_2-C_7$, $C_9$), unsaturated dicarboxylic acids (maleic, fumaric, phthalic acid), ketocarboxylic acids (pyruvic, glyoxylic acid), and dicarbonyls (glyoxal, methylglyoxal) were determined in size-segregated samples with a high-volume Andersen air sampler at a suburban site in Saitama, Japan, May 12-17 and July 24-27, 2007 and January 22-31, 2008. The seasonal average concentrations of these detected organic acids were 670 $ng/m^3$, accounting for about 4.4-5.7% (C/C) of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) and 2.3-3.6% (C/C) of organic carbon (OC). The most abundant species of dicarboxylic acids was oxalic acid, followed by malonic, phthalic, or succinic acids. Glyoxylic acid and methyglyoxal were most abundant ketocarboxylic acid and dicarbonyl, respectively. Seasonal differences, size-segregated concentrations, and the correlations of these acids with ambient temperatures, oxidants, elemental carbon (EC), OC, WSOC, and ionic components were also discussed in terms of their corresponding sources and possible secondary formation pathways. The results suggested that photochemical reactions contributed more to the formation of particulate organic acids in Saitama suburban areas than did direct emissions from anthropogenic and natural sources. However, direct emissions of vehicles were also important sources of several organic acids in particles, such as phthalic and adipic acids, especially in winter.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.147-162
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• 2020

The main objective of this study is to estimate the levels of pollution to which the community is presently exposed and to model the regimes of local air quality. Diurnal, daily, and monthly variations of NO, NO₂, SO₂, and O₃ were thoroughly investigated in three areas; namely, residential, industrial, and terminal in Ras Al-Khafji. There is obvious diurnal variation in the concentration of these pollutants that clearly follows the diurnal variation of atmospheric temperature and main anthropogenic and industrial activities. Correlation analysis showed that meteorological conditions play a vital role in shaping the pattern and transportation of air pollutants and photochemical processes affecting O₃ formation and destruction. Bivariate polar plots, an effective graphical tool that utilizes air pollutant concentrations' dependence on wind speed and wind direction, were used to identify prevailing emission sources. Non-buoyant ground-level sources like domestic heating and street transport emissions, various industrial stacks, and airport-related activities were considered dominant emission sources in observatory sites. This study offers valuable and detailed information on the status of air quality, which has considerable, quantifiable, and important public health benefits.

• 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.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.19 no.4 s.54
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• pp.9-18
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• 2004

In this study, the observation data for the yellow sandy dust phenomena from the year 1999 to 2003 at background sites in Korea were collected at Global Atmospheric Observatory at An-Myeon island and its temporal variation were analyzed. The chemical characteristics of the fine particles were also analyzed in order to evaluate sources of the yellow sandy dust particles. The results showed that the monthly average mass concentration of the fine particles was the highest in springtime and the lowest in summertime in general. The magnitude of its variation was also the highest in March in which the occurrence of yellow sandy dust was the most frequent and thus the number of samples was the largest, while the lowest in June through September. The yearly variation of ion components contributions to the total mass concentration of the fine particles was slowly decreasing, showing that $63\%$ in 1999, $59\%$ in 2000 and $56\%$ in 2003. The most prevalent ion components in the fine particles were found to be $NO_3$ and $SO_4^{2-}$, which are known to be source materials of acidic precipitation, and $NH_4^+$, a neutralizing material of the acid precipitation. Relative proportion of metal components in the fine particles was calculated as $14\%$ in average, and their concentrations are in an order of Fe > Al > Na > Ca > Zn > Pb > Cu > Mn > Ni > Cd > Cr > Co > U. The results indicated that main sources of the metals was soil-originated Fe, Al, Ca, and Mg, and the contribution of anthropogenic air Pollution-originated Zn, Pb, Cu, Mn were also high and keep slightly increasing. Statistical analysis showed that the chemical components could be divided into soil-originated group of Mg, Al, Ca, Fe, and Mn and air pollution-originated group of $NO_3$, Zn, Pb, and they are occupying more than $60\%$of all the components in the dusty sand. The results explain that An-Myeon island is more influenced by soil-originated source than ocean-originated one and also the influencing strength of anthropogenic poilution-originated source is less than $50\%$ of that of soil-originated sources. Compared to non-yellow sandy period, the yellow sandy dust period showed that the amounts of soil-originated $Mg^{2+}$ and $Ca^{2+}$ and ocean-originated $Na^+$ and $Cl^-$ were increased to more than double and the metals of Mg, Al, Ca, Fe were also highly increased, while micro metal components such as Pb, Cd, Zn, which have a tendency of concentrating in air, were either decreased or maintained at nearly constant level. In the period of yellow sandy dust, a strong positive correlation was observed between water soluble ions and between metals in terms of its concentration, respectively. Factor analysis showed that the first group being comprised of about $43\%$ of the total inorganic components was affected by soil and they are ions of $Na^+,\;Mg^{2+}\;and\;Ca^{2+}$ and metals of Na, Fe, Mn and Ni. The result also showed that the metals of Mg and Cr were classified as second group and they were also highly affected by soil sources.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.472-472
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• 2004

Numerous studies on urban groundwater have been carried out in many other countries. Urban groundwater shows a unique hydrologic system because of complex urban characteristics such as road pavement, sewers and public water supply systems. These urban facilities may change the characteristics of groundwater recharge but contaminate its quality as well. There have been several researches on urban groundwater in Seoul. Seoul has been industrialized very rapidly so that the city has large population. The recent population in Seoul amounts to more than ten millions, corresponding to a very high density of about 17, 000 people/km$^2$. Therefore, many factors affect the groundwater quality and quantity in Seoul. Nowadays, groundwater in Seoul is being extracted for construction, industrial use, and drinking and so on. There are 15, 714 wells in Seoul and its annual usage is 41, 425, 977m$^3$(in 2001). Therefore, systematic studies are needed to properly manage and use the groundwater in Seoul. The purposes of this study in progress are to identify geochemical characteristics of groundwater in Seoul and to determine the extent of groundwater contamination and its relationship with urban characteristics. For this study, groundwater was sampled from more than 400 preexisting wells that were randomly selected throughout the Seoul area. For all samples, major cations together with Si, Al, Fe, Pb, Hg For 200 samples among them, TCE, PCE, BTEX were also analyzed by GC. Our study shows that groundwater types of Seoul are distributed broadly from Ca-HCO$_3$ type to Ca-Cl＋NO$_3$ type. The latter type indicates anthropogenic contamination. Among cations, Ca is generally high in most samples. In some samples, Na and K are dominant. The dominant anions change widely from HCO$_3$ to Cl＋NO$_3$. The anion composition is considered to effectively indicate the contribution of distinct anthropogenic sources. In addition, major ions are positively proportional to total dissolved solid (TDS) except K and NO$_3$. Thus, we consider that TDS may be used as an effective indicator of the extent of pollution. However, the increase of TDS may result from increased water-rock interaction. To determine the extent of groundwater contamination, it is needed to figure out the baseline water quality in Seoul. Furthermore, detailed geochemical studies are required to find out pollution sources and their corresponding hydrochemical parameters.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.1255-1266
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• 2017

Phosphorus (P) is an essential and major nutrient for both plants and animals. However, anthropogenic P in the environment may cause severe problems such as the deterioration of water quality. Therefore, it is essential for the Korean government to manage P in the agricultural sector. The annual P budget for Korea was 46 kg P ha-1 in 2013, placing Korea in second among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. P surplus and deficiency in agricultural lands can be estimated according to the P budget, which is one of the OECD agri-environment indicators. In the P budget, it is important to ensure consistency in the input-output data sources, in order to apply national and regional policies for the environmentally sound management of agricultural P. This study examines the impacts on the input-output data sources in the regional P budget in Korea. P budgets were between 99-145 kg-P/ha, depending on different data sources. We suggest two recommended data combinations (DC 1 and DC 2) for reliability of the data. P budgets calculated using DC 1 and DC 2 were 128 kg-P/ha and 97 kg-P/ha, respectively. According to the results, one of the core factors affecting P budgets was crop production. In this study, DC 2 was recommended rather than DC 1 in order to consider the cultivated areas for various crops. It is also necessary to analyze the sensitivity of the coefficients used in P budget in the future.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
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• 2004.06a
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• pp.92-106
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• 2004

Elemental dry deposition fluxes were measured using dry deposition plates from March to June 1998 in Seoul, Korea. During this spring sampling period several yellow sand events characterized by long-range transport from China and Mongolia impacted the area. Understanding the impact of yellow-sand events on atmospheric dry deposition is critical to managing the heavy metal levels in the environment in Korea. In this study, the measured flux of a primarily crustal metal, Al and an anthropogenic metal, Pb was used with two hybrid receptor models, potential source contribution function (PSCF) and residence time weighted concentration (RTWC) for locating sources of heavy metals associated with atmospheric dry deposition fluxes during the yellow-sand events in Seoul, Korea. The PSCF using a criterion value of the 75th percentile of the measured dry deposition fluxes and RTWC results using the measured elemental dry deposition fluxes agreed well and consistently showed that there were large potential source areas in the Gobi Desert in China and Mongolia and industrial areas near Tianjin, Tangshan, and Shenyang in China. Major industrial areas of Shenyang, Fushun, and Anshan, the Central China loess plateau, the Gobi Desert, and the Alaskan semi-desert in China were identified to be major source areas for the measured Pb flux in Seoul, Korea. For Al, the main industrial areas of Tangshan, Tianjin and Beijing, the Gobi Desert, the Alashan semi-desert, and the Central China loess plateau were found to be the major source areas. These results indicate that both anthropogenic sources such as industrial areas and natural sources such as deserts contribute to the high dry deposition fluxes of both Pb and Al in Seoul, Korea during yellow-sand events. RTWC resolved several high potential source areas. Modeling results indicated that the long-range transport of Al and Pb from China during yellow-sand events as well as non yellow-sand spring daytimes increased atmospheric dry deposition of heavy metals in Korea.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.24 no.E1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2008

Mercury (Hg), which is mainly emitted from coal-fired power plants, remains one of the most toxic compounds to both humans and ecosystems. Hg pollution is not a local or regional issue, but a global issue. Hg compounds emitted from anthropogenic sources such as coal-fired power plants, incinerators, and boilers, can be transported over long distances. Since the last decade, many European countries, Canada, and especially the United States, have focused on technology to control Hg emissions. Korea has also recently showed an interest in managing Hg pollution from various combustion sources. Previous studies indicate that coal-fired power plants are one of the major sources of Hg in Korea. However, lack of Hg emission data and feasible emission controls have been major obstacles in Hg study. In order to achieve effective Hg control, understanding the characteristics of current Hg sampling methods and control technologies is essential. There is no one proven technology that fits all Hg emission sources, because Hg emission and control efficiency depend on fuel type, configuration of air pollution control devices, flue gas composition, among others. Therefore, a broad knowledge of Hg sampling and control technologies is necessary to select the most suitable method for each Hg-emitting source. In this paper, various Hg sampling methods, including wet chemistry, dry sorbents trap, field, and laboratory demonstrated control technologies, and international regulations, are introduced, with a focus on coal-fired power plants.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
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• 2004.06a
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• pp.142-145
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• 2004

The purpose of this study was to characterize background mass concentration of fine particle PM10 and metallic composition from September 2001 to August 2002 in comparison with a medium-sized city, Asan and a metropolitan city, Seoul. Annual mean PM10 concentrations in Asan and Seoul were 47.98 and $75.33\;{\mu}g\;/\;m^3$, respectively. The concentrations of PM10 were highest in spring season in both cities. The concentrations of measured metals except As and Pb in Asan were higher than those in Seoul. Yellow dust could affect the mass and metals concentrations of measured PM10 in Asan and Seoul. Relationship between measured metals concentrations showed that Si and Fe were associated with natural sources such as soil. Pb, Cu and Zn were closely related to urban anthropogenic sources such as fuel combustion. Especially, relationship between metals showed different association during yellow dust. Proper management for fine particles is warranted in Asan, considering the concentrations of metallic elements in fine particles in Asan were relatively higher than those in Seoul.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.179-192
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• 2001

In order to characterize the distribution patterns of PAHs between Yellow Sand (YS) and non-Yellow Sand(NYS) periods, we collected and analyzed aerosol samples for PAHs for the periods covering 28 March through 24 April 2000. The concentrations of TSP measured during the YS periods were approximately two times higher than the NYS periods. By contrast, the concentrations of PAHs during YS were higher than those of NYS by 140%. In ad-dition, their concentrations in PM 10 were larger than those TSP by 120% . Detailed inspections of our data indi-catd that three species including chrysene. benzo(b)fluoranthene, and benzo(k)fluoranthene were effeciently ad-sorbed by particles less than 10${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ diameter and that there were dominating the distribution characterstics of PAHs during the YS periods. Results of correlation analysis also indicated that PAHs exhibited strong correlations with those pollutants originating from combustion sources. It is thus concluded that pollutants such as toxic PAHs that originate from diverse anthropogenic sources of China should be contributing to the degradation of the ambient air quality in Seoul.