• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.107-123
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• 2019

The aerosol chemical components in $PM_{2.5}$ in several regions (Seoul, Busan, Daejeon, and Jeju Island) were investigated with regard to their concentration characteristics and optical properties. The optical properties of the various aerosol components (e.g., water-soluble, insoluble, Black Carbon (BC), and sea-salt) were estimated using hourly and daily aerosol sampling data from the study area via a modeling approach. Overall, the water-soluble component was predominant over all other components in terms of concentration and impact on optical properties (except for the absorption coefficient of BC). The annual mean concentration and Aerosol Optical Ddepth (AOD) of the water-soluble component were highest in Seoul (at the Gwangjin site) ($26{\mu}g/m^3$ and 0.29 in 2013, respectively). Further, despite relatively moderate BC concentrations, the annual mean absorption coefficient of BC ($21.7Mm^{-1}$) was highest in Busan (at the Yeonsan site) in 2013, due to the strong light absorbing ability of BC. In addition, high AODs for the water-soluble component were observed most frequently in spring and/or winter at most of the study sites, while low values were noted in summer and/or early fall. The diurnal variation in the AOD of each component in Seoul (at the Gwangjin site) was slightly high in the morning and low in the afternoon during the study period; however, such distinctions were not apparent in Jeju Island (at the Aweol site), except for a slightly high AOD of the water-soluble component in the morning (08:00 LST). The monthly and diurnal differences in the AOD values for each component could be attributed to the differences in their mass concentrations and Relative Humidities (RH). In a sensitivity test, the AODs estimated under RH conditions of 80 and 90% were factors of 1.2 and 1.7 higher, respectively, than the values estimated using the observed RH.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.38-47
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• 2016

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the exposure levels of forklift operators to diesel engine exhaust(DEE) using black carbon(BC), elemental carbon(EC), and nitrogen dioxide($NO_2$) as indicators. Methods: A total of eight forklift operators in six collection companies were assessed over a period of two months from July to September 2015. BC was measured using a real-time monitor and respirable EC samples were analyzed using the NIOSH method 5040. $NO_2$ samples were collected using a passive badge-type sampler. Results: The geometric mean of BC, EC and $NO_2$ were $3.1-19.1{\mu}g/m^3$, $2.1-23.8{\mu}g/m^3$, and 12.5-166.6 ppb at all companies. When forklifts were operating both outside and inside, BC concentrations increased 2.0-5.6 times. The highest increase was observed when forklifts were operating indoors. The increase in BC concentrations varied by company(company A: 2.0 times, B: 3.2 times, C: 5.6 times, D: 2.1 times, E: 5.1 times, F: 2.6 times). The geometric mean of BC, EC, and $NO_2$ for the forklift operators was $9.6{\mu}g/m^3$, $7.9{\mu}g/m^3$, and 48.9 ppb, respectively. The geometric mean of BC, EC, and $NO_2$ for manufacturing workers was $9.3{\mu}g/m^3$, $0.9{\mu}g/m^3$, and 85.2 ppb, respectively. The mean BC and EC exposure levels for the forklift operators were slightly higher than those for manufacturing workers, but $NO_2$ levels for manufacturing workers were higher than those for the forklift operators(p>0.05). Multiple regression analysis revealed that diesel exhaust emissions standard, forklift weight and forklift manufacturer were the most influential factors in determining worker exposure. Conclusions: In the DEE work environment, workers who perform tasks within the workplace as well as inside forklifts as operators are likely to be exposed to a lack of ventilation. Further study of forklift operators' exposure to DEE indicators should be conducted to include a wider range of occupational and environmental situations, such as collection procedures, seasonal situations, types of fuel used, and number of forklifts.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2007

Vehicle exhaust is a dominant source of air pollutants in urban areas. Since people are easily exposed to vehicle exhaust particles while driving a car and/or traveling via public transportation, air pollution near traffic has been extensively studied in developed countries. In this paper, investigations on vehicle-related fine particulate air pollution at roadsides and on roads in Seoul, Korea were reviewed to understand air pollution near traffic. Comparison of $PM_{10}$ concentrations in Seoul showed that roadside air is more contaminated than urban air, implying that exposure levels near vehicular emissions are more critical to sensitive persons. Concentrations of ultrafine particles and BC (black carbon) at roadsides of Seoul fluctuate highly for short durations, responding to traffic situations. Diurnal variations of ultrafine particles and BC concentrations at roadsides seem to be affected by traffic volume, mixing layer height, and wind speed. Concentrations of ultrafine particles and BC decrease as distance from the road increases due to dilution during transport. On-road air pollution seems to be more severe than roadside air pollution in Seoul. Since nearby traffic air pollution has not been well understood in Seoul, further studies including various vehicular air pollutants and representative locations are needed.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.159-172
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• 2019

To investigate the influence of pollution events on the chemical composition and formation processes of aerosol particles, 24-h integrated size-segregated particulate matter (PM) was collected during the fall season at an urban site of Gwangju, Korea and was used to determine the concentrations of mass, water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) and ionic species. Furthermore, black carbon (BC) concentrations were observed with an aethalometer. The entire sampling period was classified into four periods, i.e., typical, pollution event I, pollution event II, and an Asian dust event. Stable meteorological conditions (e.g., low wind speed, high surface pressure, and high relative humidity) observed during the two pollution events led to accumulation of aerosol particles and increased formation of secondary organic and inorganic aerosol species, thus causing $PM_{2.5}$ increase. Furthermore, these stable conditions resulted in the predominant condensation or droplet mode size distributions of PM, WSOC, $NO_3{^-}$, and $SO{_4}^{2-}$. However, difference in the accumulation mode size distributions of secondary water-soluble species between pollution events I and II could be attributed to the difference in transport pathways of air masses from high-pollution regions and the formation processes for the secondary chemical species. The average absorption ${\AA}ngstr{\ddot{o}}m$ exponent ($AAE_{370-950}$) for 370-950 nm wavelengths > 1.0 indicates that the BC particles from traffic emissions were likely mixed with light absorbing brown carbon (BrC) from biomass burning (BB) emissions. It was found that light absorption by BrC in the near UV range was affected by both secondary organic aerosol and BB emissions. Overall, the pollution events observed during fall at the study site can be due to the synergy of unfavorable meteorological conditions, enhanced secondary formation, local emissions, and long-range transportation of air masses from upwind polluted areas.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-17
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• 2014

Temporal variations of optical properties of urban aerosol in Seoul were estimated by the Optical Properties of Aerosols and Clouds (OPAC) model, based on hourly aerosol sampling data in Seoul during the year of 2010. These optical properties were then used to calculate direct radiative forcing during the study period. The optical properties and direct radiative forcing of aerosol were calculated separately for four chemical components such as water-soluble, insoluble, black carbon (BC), and sea-salt aerosols. Overall, the coefficients of absorption, scattering, and extinction, as well as aerosol optical depth (AOD) for water-soluble component predominated over three other aerosol components, except for the absorption coefficient of BC. In the urban environment (Seoul), the contribution of AOD (0.10~0.12) for the sum of OC and BC to total AODs ranged from 23% (spring) to 31% (winter). The diurnal variation of AOD for each component was high in the morning and low in the late afternoon during the most of seasons, but the high AODs at 14:00 and 15:00 LST in summer and fall, respectively. The direct negative radiative forcing of most chemical components (especially, $NO_3{^-}$ of water-soluble) was highest in January and lowest in September. Conversely, the positive radiative forcing of BC was highest in November and lowest in August due to the distribution pattern of BC concentration.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.458-472
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• 2017

The optical properties and direct aerosol radiative forcing (DARF) of different aerosol components in $PM_{2.5}$ (water-soluble, insoluble, black carbon (BC), and sea-salt) were estimated using the hourly resolution data measured at Aewol intensive air monitoring site on Jeju Island during 2013, based on a modeling approach. In general, the water-soluble component was predominant over all other components with respect to its impact on the optical properties(except for absorbing BC) and DARF. The annual mean aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 500 nm for the water-soluble component was $0.14{\pm}0.14$ ($0.04{\pm}0.01$ for BC). The total DARF at the surface ($DARF_{SFC}$) and top of the atmosphere ($DARF_{TOA}$), and in the atmosphere ($DARF_{ATM}$) for most aerosol components(except for sea-salt) during the daytime were highest in spring and lowest in fall and/or summer. The maximum $DARF_{SFC}$ of most aerosol components occurred around noon (12:00~14:00 LST) during all seasons, while the maximum $DARF_{TOA}$ occurred in the afternoon (13:00~16:00 LST) during most seasons (except for spring). In addition, the estimated $DARF_{SFC}$ and $DARF_{ATM}$ of the water-soluble component were -20 to $-59W/m^2$ and +3.5 to $+14W/m^2$, respectively, while those of BC were -18 to $-29W/m^2$ and +23 to $+37W/m^2$, respectively.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.553-573
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• 2013

This paper aims to give a summary and review of the research trend about subjects of Asian Dust (AD) storm in the last three decades. The AD research was focused on classification of synoptic scale data and finding inflow pathway in early stage. Recently, new approaches have been made to explain chemical composition, transportation, transboundary movement reaction of AD, using satellite data, 3D modeling, the aerosol time of flight mass spectroscopy, etc. During AD events, a large amount of dust particles flow into Korea and Japan from AD source areas, and they are highly likely to be mixed with toxic substances when air mass contained AD particles pass over seriously polluted areas. We concluded that, considering that AD events were classified into two cases according to the source area and pathway, the concentrations of crustal components did not increase at the initial stage of AD events, Whereas ammonium-sulfate, trace metal element, OC, EC relatively increased in the early stage. This explains AD events have the possibility of being accompanied with polluted air mass or particles. Also, we further need to compare and summarize the results of AD studies which already have been conducted, and prepare strategies for particle management, particularly for Black Carbon (BC) and Brown Carbon (BrC) which are considered to induce climate change effects.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.32-41
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• 2016

Particle-phase concentrations were measured at 10, 80, and 200 m from the roadside of a national highway near Seoul in January and May 2008. The highway has two lanes each way, with an average hourly traffic volume of 1,070 vehicles. In January 2008, $PM_{10}$ concentrations decreased from 10 to 80 m but increased at 200 m. Black carbon (BC) decreased only slightly with distance due to the influence of biomass burning and open burning from the surrounding areas. In May 2008, the effect of secondary formation on both $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$ was significant due to high temperatures compared with January. Because on-road emissions had little effect on secondary formation for a short time, variations in $PM_{10}$ concentrations became smaller, and $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations increased with distance. The effects of fugitive dust on PM concentrations were greater in May than in January when the mean temperature was below freezing. In the composition variations, the amounts of primary ions, organic carbon (OC), and BC were larger in January, while those of secondary ions and others were larger in $PM_{10}$, as well as $PM_{2.5}$ in May.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.633-641
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• 2016

Two identical Particle Into Liquid Samplers-Total Organic Carbon (PILS-TOC) were operated to measure fine particle Water Soluble Organic Carbon (WSOC) for one week on Feb. in 2016. The dual instrument operations provided validated WSOC concentrations to have a continuous WSOC measurement during the sample analysis period. Both PILS-TOC instruments were operated downstream of an carbon denuder to remove positive adsorption artifacts associated with semi-volatile organic compounds. Comparison of WSOC showed good agreement each other. The linear regression had a coefficient of determination ($r^2$) of 0.92 and a regression slope of 1.01 for the first period. The lower collection efficiency due to lower steam temperature is discussed. In addition, the potential primary source related to WSOC based on the comparison of black carbon (BC) concentrations is explained. The results of good agreement between two PILS-TOC measurements can provide the validation of WSOC cooperations and knowledge regarding the origins of WSOC and their behaviors.

• Atmosphere
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.233-255
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• 2024

This study analyzed the distribution of Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) Version 3 Level 2.0 data, spanning over two decades, across South Korea and its six administrative regions (Seoul metropolitan area, Chungcheong, Jeolla, Gangwon, Gyeongsang, and Jeju). The research assessed long-term trends in aerosol optical depth (AOD) and mass concentration of particulate matter (i.e., PM₁₀ and PM_2.5), using data from the AERONET direct sun product and AirKorea, respectively. Additionally, eight aerosol types were identified using the scattering Ångström exponent and absorption Ångström exponent from the AERONET inversion product. The study further explored their domestic and regional distributions. Findings indicated that AERONET data were predominantly concentrated in the western regions of South Korea, including the Seoul metropolitan area, Chungcheong, and Jeolla, with a higher frequency of data in spring, thus demonstrating spatial and temporal heterogeneity. The annual average AOD exhibited a declining trend of -0.006 yr^-1. Similarly, PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 mass concentrations decreased by -1.324 ㎍ m^-3 yr^-1 and -1.335 ㎍ m^-3 yr^-1, respectively. These trends in AOD and PM₁₀ (PM_2.5) demonstrated positive correlations, with correlation coefficients of 0.674 (0.753) and statistically significant low p-values of 0.00058 (0.03), respectively. The analysis also revealed that aerosols in South Korea predominantly consisted of black carbon (BC) or BC-mixed types (84.09%), with a notable presence of smaller, less absorbent aerosol types (13.11%).