• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.351-358
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• 2005

The research in this paper was carried out to examine the BTEX(Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Xylene) concentrations in Seongseo Industrial Complex. These compounds are the major constituents, more than $60\%$ in composition of total VOCs, mainly charging in ambient air. BTEX samples were collected from the 38 sites, 10 for the source points and 18 for the boundary sites, and were analyzed by canister-GC/MS. The mean concentrations of BTEX were 33 ppbv for benzene, 214 ppbv for toluene, 89 ppbv for ethyl benzene, 77 ppbv for xylene. Among the BTEX, toluene had the highest concentration in the source points and boundary sites. In the source points, BTEX concentration of incineration facility for hazardous wastewater appeared highly in the range of 220­350 ppbv. BTEX concentrations in source boundary sites appeared in the order of toluene>ethylbenzene>xylene>benzene. As a result of the correlation analysis, the concentration of the source points was related to those of the boundary sites. Correlation of ethylbenzene and xylene was presented to 0.7991(P<0.0 1),\;0.6329(P<0.05) as the correlation coefficient, respectively.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.58-73
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• 2000

Objectives : This study was performed to evaluate BTEX exposure to gas station service attendants and the critical affect of benzene and MtBE airborne concentration. Methods : the degree of exposure to airborne BTEX and MtBE was examined in the service attendants at seven gas stations across the country during a summer season. The TWAs(time-weighted averages) of atmospheric concentration of substances in personal and area samples, were calculated. The component ratio of BTEX and MtBE in the samples of bulk gasoline from each station studied was also measured. Results : The airborne concentrations of BTEX and MtBE showed a lognormal distribution and The TWA concentrations of benzene in personal samples from each station were 0.089 ppm - 0.18 ppm, and those of toluene were 0.097 ppm - 0.2 ppm. The average TWA concentrations of xylene and ethyl benzene was 0.03 ppm and 0.001 ppm, respectively. The TWA concentrations of MtBE were 0.4 ppm - 1.3 ppm. The volume concentrations of MtBE, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene in the bulk gasoline samples were 3 - 7.4 %, 3 - 12 %, 0.64 % and 1.5 - 10 %, respectively. Conclusions : The benzene concentration was detected to exceed the ACGIH threshold benzene level of 0.5 ppm, in one of 74 personal and area samples. MtBE, a substitute for aromatic compounds such as benzene in gasoline, was found to bring about a greater chance of exposure to carcinogen, due to its high vapor pressure and carcinogenicity.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.491-502
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• 2003

In the present work, the distribution characteristics of ambient volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were investigated at high temporal resolution from a monitoring station located in a mid-eastern area of Seoul. A total number of 587 samples were collected during December 2002 to January 2003. The measurements of VOC were conducted by a combination of on-line air sampling and thermal desorption unit (TDU) coupled with capillary GC/FID analysis. A total of five aromatic compounds (BTEX: benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m, p-xylene, and o-xylene) were measured routinely at hourly intervals during the whole study period. The mean concentrations of BTEX measured in our study period were found in the order: toluene (8.99 $\pm$5.38 ppb) > benzene (0.92$\pm$0.52 ppb) > m, p-xylene (0.51$\pm$0.34 ppb) > 0- xylene (0.48$\pm$0.35 ppb) > ethyl benzene (0.43$\pm$ 0.32 ppb). The BTEX concentrations were generally higher during the daytime than the nighttime, exhibiting certain patterns on a weekly basis. Results of our analysis indicate that the unusually high concentrations of toluene, while showing good correlations with other VOCs, can be a good indicator of air pollution in the study area.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.156-165
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• 2015

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible effects of a gasoline vapor recovery system on personal exposure levels of gasoline vapor constituents including benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, xylene(BTEX), and methyl tert-butyl ether(MTBE) among gas station workers in a metropolitan area. Methods: Thirty-one gas station workers at ten gas stations in a metropolitan area were selected as subjects for this study. Test method PV2028 as recommended in the OSHA process was used for sampling and analysis. Results: The personal exposure levels of benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, xylene, MTBE and gasoline vapor in the gas station workers were $0.0018{\pm}0.0069ppm$, $0.0077{\pm}0.0137ppm$, $0.0002{\pm}0.0008ppm$, $0.0016{\pm}0.0084ppm$, $0.2619{\pm}0.3340ppm$, and $1.4940{\pm}1.7984ppm$, respectively. After adjustment for refueling frequency and volume, personal exposure levelswere higher in the gas stations where gasoline vapor recovery systems(Stage II) were not installed, but the results were not statistically significant. Gasoline vapor concentrations showed a positive correlation to the level of MTBE, a gasoline additive. Conclusions: Vapor recovery systems(Stage II) were effective not only in reducing emissions of air pollutants, but also in reducing exposure to hazardous substances among gas station workers. In addition, acorrelation between gasoline vapors and MTBE concentration was confirmed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.238-239
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• 2005

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.88-94
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• 2016

The simultaneous biodegradation between MTBE (Gasoline additives) and BTEX (Benzene, Toluene, Ethyl-benzene, o-Xylene, m-Xylene, p-Xylene) was achieved within a competitive inter-relationship, with not only electron accepters such as nitrate, sulfate, and iron(III) without oxygen, but also with electron donors such as MTBE and BTEX. Preexisting indigenous microorganisms from a domestic sample of gasoline contaminated soil was used for a lab-scale batch test. The result of the test showed that the biodegradation rate of MTBE decreased when there was co-existing MTBE and BTEX, compared to having just MTBE present. The growth of indigenous microorganisms was not affected in the case of the MTBE treatment, whereas the growth of the microorganisms was decreased in combined MTBE and BTEX sample. This may indicate that an inhibitor related to biodegradation when BTEX and MTBE are mixed will be found. This inhibitor may be found to retard the anaerobic conditions needed for efficient breakdown of these complex carbon chain molecules in-situ. Moreover, it is also possible that an unknown competitive reaction is being imposed on the interactions between MTBE and BTEX dependent on conditions, ratios of mixture, etc.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.61-68
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• 2010

In this study, we investigated the concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in Shiwha area and compared the characteristics of both industrial area and residential area. The passive samplers were set 6 times each for a month in 21 locations at industrial and residential area to obtain 6 VOCs including benzene, trichlorobenzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, xylene and stylene. Above all, toluene was the most abundant VOCs in the ambient air both in industrial and residential area. Average TVOC concentration of industrial area was 1.86 times higher than that of residential area, and it was greatly reduced in winter compared with summer. Furthermore, the average BTEX concentrations showed that all concentrations of industrial area were 1.94~5.39 times higher than those of residential area except benzene which were similar to each other. In winter, the concentration of ethyl benzene and xylene were significantly decreased by comparing with summer: but benzene concentrations were increased. Also, BTEX relative ratio was as follows: toluene>benzene>ethylbenzene>xylene. Correlation coefficients among VOCs were confirmed that VOCs in ambient air of industrial area were generally more related to each other than that of residential area. On the whole, the concentrations of VOCs in industrial area were higher, and it seems to be potential that industrial area affects the distribution of VOCs to residential area.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.373-381
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• 2002

Benzene, Ethyl-benzene, Toluene and Xylene (BTEX) can be released to a groundwater in case of the oil leakage from underground storage tank of a gas station. These chemicals are found to contribute to the total inhalation risk from contaminated indoor air. This study presents the assessment of a human exposure to such chemicals released from the groundwater into indoor air. At first, a 2-compartment model is developed to describe the transfer and distribution of the chemicals released from groundwater in a house through showering, washing clothes, and flushing toilets. The model is used to estimate a daily human exposure through inhalation of such BTEX for adults based on two sets of exposure scenarios. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is used to identify important parameters. The results obtained from the study would help to increase the understanding of risk assessment issues associated with the indoor pollution by BTEX released from contaminated groundwater.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.263-268
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• 2017

The significance of maintaining the soil environment is gradually increasing owing to soil and underground water contamination by petroleum leak accidents. However, the purification of soil is an expensive and more time-consuming process than the purification of contaminated water and air. Moreover, determining the source and people responsible for soil pollution gets often embroiled in legal conflicts, further delaying the cleanup process of the contaminate site. Generally, TPH (total petroleum hydrocarbon) pattern analysis is used to determine the petroleum species and polluter responsible for soil contamination. However, this process has limited application for petroleum products with a similar TPH pattern. In this study, we analyze the TPH pattern and specific sectional ratio (${\sim}C_{10}$, $C_{10}-C_{12}$, $C_{12}-C_{36}$, and $C_{36}{\sim}$) of various domestic petroleum products to identify the petroleum product responsible for soil contamination. Also, we perform BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, xylene) quantitative analysis and determine B:T:E:X ratio using GC-MS. The results show that gasoline grade 1 and 2 have a similar TPH pattern but different BTEX values and ratios. This means that BTEX analysis can be used as a new method to purify soil pollution. This complementary TPH and BTEX method proposed in this study can be used to identify the petroleum species and polluters present in the contaminated soil.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.30 no.12
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• pp.3049-3052
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• 2009

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is added to gasoline to enhance the octane number of gasoline, tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) is major degradation intermediate of MTBE in environment, and benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene (BTEX) are also major constituents of gasoline. In this study, a simplified headspace analysis method was adapted for simultaneous determination of MTBE, TBA and BTEX in ground water samples. The sample 5.0 mL and 2 g NaCl were placed in a 10 mL vial and the solution was spiked with fluorobenzene as an internal standard and sealed with a cap. The vial was placed in a heating block at 85 $^{\circ}C$ for 30 min. The detection limits of the assay were 0.01 ${\mu}$g/L for MTBE and BTEX, and 0.02 ${\mu}$g/L for TBA. The method was used to analyze 110 ground water samples from various regions in Korea, and to survey the their background concentration in ground water in Korea. The samples revealed MTBE concentrations in the range of 0.01 - 0.45 ${\mu}$g/L (detection frequency of 57.3%), TBA concentrations in the range of 0.02 - 0.08 ${\mu}$g/L (detection frequency of 5.5%), and total BTEX concentrations in the range of 0.01 - 2.09 ${\mu}$g/L (detection frequency of 87.3%). The developed method may be used when simultaneously determining the amount of MTBE, TBA and BTEX in water.