• 제목/요약/키워드: Environmental Studies

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Humidifier disinfectant disaster: what is known and what needs to be clarified

  • Kim, Sungkyoon;Paek, Domyung
    • Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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    • v.31
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    • pp.25.1-25.9
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    • 2016
  • Objectives After the initial investigations by the Korea Centers for Disease Control in 2011, over 1000 suspicious cases of humidifier disinfectant (HD) victims were subsequently reported by 2015, and numbers are still increasing dramatically in 2016 in the midst of the prosecutors' office investigation. This study attempts to summarize the current understandings of the related health effects of HD based upon a systemic review of published epidemiologic studies and toxicology investigations. Methods Published studies of HDs were searched through PubMed and TOXLINE under the search words 'humidifier disinfectant,' and related reports were identified from the references and published report list of regulatory agencies including the Korean National Institute of Environmental Research, US Environmental Protection Agency, and EU European Chemicals Agency. Results Case reports and epidemiologic studies have reported the clinical features of severe forms of HD lung damage, together with epidemiologic findings of seasonal occurrence and demographic variations, including the heightened susceptibility of young children. Toxicological studies have reported inhalation toxicities together with positive findings of in vitro genotoxicity studies. Conclusions This study examined unsolved issues based on cases of upper respiratory diseases and diseases of other organs, including cancers, among suspected victims of HDs. These issues should be clarified in future research for the management and prevention of health effects from HDs and chemicals of other related household products.

Understanding and Activating the Role of Market Actors in the Process of Mini-PV Installation in Seoul: Based on Practice Theory (서울시 미니태양광 설치 과정에서 시장 행위자 역할 이해와 활성화 방안: 실천이론 관점을 바탕으로)

  • Ha, Jihun;Hwangbo, Eunyoung;Ahn, Juyoung;Yun, Sun-Jin
    • New & Renewable Energy
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    • v.17 no.1
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    • pp.7-18
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    • 2021
  • This study analyzes the role of market actors in the energy transition process and the interaction between them and ordinary citizens, primarily focusing on the mini-PV project in Seoul. The study also proposes measures to harness market actors' activities and successfully implement the distribution of mini-PV systems in Seoul. In this study, practice theory is used as a theoretical resource to analyze the interaction between market actors and civil society actors and to help understand how market actors influence the decisions of regular citizens in installing mini-PV at their properties. After conducting surveys and hosting in-depth interviews with ordinary citizens and market actors, it was found that to further promote the role of market actors, the Seoul Metropolitan Government should actively support and monitor the public relations activities of market actors, while concurrently managing selected companies and establishing relevant administrative systems for continued effective use post-installation of mini-PV systems. In future studies of the energy transition process, market actors should also be recognized as key players, along with government and civil society actors, and their roles should be studied in a balanced way.

Text Analysis on the Research Trends of Nature Restoration in Korea (텍스트 분석을 활용한 국내 자연환경복원 연구동향 분석)

  • Lee, Gil-sang;Jung, Yee-rim;Song, Young-keun;Lee, Sang-hyuk;Son, Seung-Woo
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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    • v.27 no.2
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    • pp.29-42
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    • 2024
  • As a global response to climate and biodiversity challenges, there is an emphasis on the conservation and restoration of ecosystems that can simultaneously reduce carbon emissions and enhance biodiversity. This study comprised a text analysis and keyword extraction of 1,100 research papers addressing nature restoration in Korea, aiming to provide a quantative and systematic evaluation of domestic research trends in this field. To discern the major research topics of these papers, topic modeling was applied and correlations were established through network analysis. Research on nature restoration exhibited a mainly upward trend in 2002-2022 but with a slight recent decline. The most common keywords were "species," "forest," and "water". Research topics were broadly classified into (1) predictions of habitat size and species distribution, (2) the conservation and utilization of natural resources in urban areas, (3) ecosystems and landscape managements in protected areas, (4) the planting and growth of vegetation, and (5) habitat formation methods. The number of studies on nature restoration are increasing across various domains in Korea, with each domain experiencing professional development.

Observation of Secondary Organic Aerosol and New Particle Formation at a Remote Site in Baengnyeong Island, Korea

  • Choi, Jinsoo;Choi, Yongjoo;Ahn, Junyoung;Park, Jinsoo;Oh, Jun;Lee, Gangwoong;Park, Taehyun;Park, Gyutae;Owen, Jeffrey S.;Lee, Taehyoung
    • Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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    • v.11 no.4
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    • pp.300-312
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    • 2017
  • To improve the understanding of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from the photo-oxidation of anthropogenic and biogenic precursors at the regional background station on Baengnyeong Island, Korea, gas phase and aerosol chemistries were investigated using the Proton Transfer Reaction Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer (PTR-ToF-MS) and the Aerodyne High Resolution Time of Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS), respectively. HR-ToF-AMS measured fine particles ($PM_1$; diameter of particle matter less than $1{\mu}m$) at a 6-minute time resolution from February to November 2012, while PTR-ToF-MS was deployed during an intensive period from September 21 to 29, 2012. The one-minute time-resolution and high mass resolution (up to $4000m{\Delta}m^{-1}$) data from the PTR-ToF-MS provided the basis for calculations of the concentrations of anthropogenic and biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) including oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs). The dominant BVOCs from the site are isoprene (0.23 ppb), dimethyl sulphide (DMS, 0.20 ppb), and monoterpenes (0.38 ppb). Toluene (0.45 ppb) and benzene (0.32 ppb) accounted for the majority of anthropogenic VOCs (AVOCs). OVOCs including acetone (3.98 ppb), acetaldehyde (2.67 ppb), acetic acid (1.68 ppb), and formic acid (2.24 ppb) were measured. The OVOCs comprise approximately 75% of total measured VOCs, suggesting the occurrence of strong oxidation processes and/or long-range transported at the site. A strong photochemical aging and oxidation of the atmospheric pollutants were also observed in aerosol measured by HR-ToF-AMS, whereby a high $f_{44}:f_{43}$ value is shown for organic aerosols (OAs); however, relatively low $f_{44}:f_{43}$ values were observed when high concentrations of BVOCs and AVOCs were available, providing evidence of the formation of SOA from VOC precursors at the site. Overall, the results of this study revealed several different SOA formation mechanisms, and new particle formation and particle growth events were identified using the powerful tools scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS), PTR-ToF-MS, and HR-ToF-AMS.

Trends of Study and Classification of Literatures on Environmental Pollution in Korea (우리나라에서의 환경오염 관련 문헌분류 및 연구동향)

  • 배준형;이종영;장봉기
    • Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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    • v.22 no.3
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    • pp.37-48
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    • 1996
  • The purpose of this study is to provide the valuable basic information that helps set the advanced direction of study in environmental pollution in the future. It classifies and analyzes 6, 531 papers according to their years, fields, and contents from 1962 to 1993 in Korea through Chunrian, a PC communication network, National Environment Research Institute(1989) in Seoul. Classifying papers by their fields, this study shows 19.6%(1, 281 papers) of total papers on water pollution, on which most emphasis was placed in the studies, 17.2%(1, 121 papers) on general remarks, 14.6%(952 papers) on environmental ecology, and 13.6%(891 papers) on air pollution. Classifying papers by their contents, this study tells us that the survey of state and evaluation of pollution degree took 28%(1, 829 papers) of total papers, and it seemed the most active study was carried out on this content. It then shows us that the treatment technology and mechanism shared 17.5%(1, 144 papers), and facilities and design took 1.9%(127 papers) which needed more studies in the future. As for the trends of study, the papers published until 1979 show that the water pollution accounted for 28.9% of total studies, on which the greatest emphasis was placed, while the papers in 1990s tell us that general remarks 34.7%, air pollution 14.9%, and water pollution 14.1%. It also shows that treatment technology and mechanism has had more importance since 1980s in water pollution, noise and vibration, waste materials, human wastes, and radioactive pollution. However, in sea pollution, policy and standard rather than treatment technology or method of measurement and analysis has been considered a more important one in 1990s. Analyzing the studies on general remarks, it tell us that the paper on environmental act, which were frequently conducted, accounted for 33.3% until 1979, while the papers on the environmental policy, in which the highest interest was kept, accounted 34.6% in 1990s. This study concludes that most papers had examined the survey on status and evaluation of pollution degree before 1980, while studies on solving the problems of environmental pollution have had more importance in the 1980s and 1990s. Therefore, in the future, more studies should be conducted actively on policy development to solve the problems of environment pollution as well as on encouragement of environmental consciousness.

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A Passive Traffic Signal Priority Control Algorithm for Emergency Vehicles (긴급차량 우선신호 센터제어 알고리즘 개발)

  • Lee, Jongwoo;Lee, Soong-bong;Lee, Jinsoo;Um, Ki Hun;Lee, Young-Ihn
    • The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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    • v.16 no.3
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    • pp.110-119
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    • 2017
  • This study develops a passive traffic signal priority control algorithm for emergency vehicles. The passive priority control estimates and applies signal times for each signalized intersection on the emergency vehicle's route when an emergency call is received. As signals are controlled before the emergency vehicle leaves for its destination, it is possible to clear the queues at each intersection more effectively. Most of the previous studies applied preemption, which ends green time of cross streets when the emergency vehicle arrives at each intersection. This study applies green extension and early green in order not to shift the order of phases, and guarantees minimum green time for each phase. Simulation results show that the delay of emergency vehicles decreases when the signals are controlled. It is expected that delays can be decreased further by integrating the active priority control with the passive priority control algorithm presented in this study.

Consumers' Pro-Environmental Attitude and Behavior (환경친화적 소비태도와 소비행동간의 관계)

  • Min, Hyun-Sun;Rhee, Kee-Choon
    • Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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    • v.37 no.1
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    • pp.29-44
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    • 1999
  • The objectives of this study are (1) to identify sub-areas of the pro-environmental behavior, (2) to examine the level of the pro-environmental attitude and behavior, (3) to examine the degree of inconsistency between attitude and behavior, and (4) to investigate the reasons of the inconsistency. Data was collected from the questionnares with 299 married men and 378 married women and the deep interviews with 10 married women. The major findings are follows : (1) The pro-environmental behavior can be classified into 2 sub-areas : social-oriented area and individual-oriented area. (2) The level of pro-environmental attitude and behavior in the social-oriented area is lower than those in individual-oriented area. (3) The attitude-behavior inconsistency in the social-oriented sub-area is stronger than that in the individual-oriented sub-area. (4) The reasons of the pro-environmental attitude-behavior inconsistency are the lack of the sincere environmental consciousness and the existence of the pro-environmental behavior restriction factors.

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A Case Study on the Changes in Pre-Service Teachers' Motivations toward Their Studies in Environmental Education Department (환경교육과 학생의 전공에 대한 동기 변화 사례 연구)

  • Choi, Don-Hyung;Cho, Seong-Hoa
    • Hwankyungkyoyuk
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    • v.21 no.3
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    • pp.41-47
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    • 2008
  • This study aims to examine the reasons of changes in motivation of pre-service teachers who major in environmental education. Qualitative case study methods were adopted to collect and analyze data from six(6) pre-service teachers in environmental education department. Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with them on the levels of motivation toward their studios. The study results are as follows. The levels of motivation toward their studies were shown differently by each of the pre-service teachers. Some of the pre-service teachers reported that their levels of motivation toward environmental education had changed since the college entrance. The reasons for the changes include 'suitability of environmental education to personal propensity,' 'college courses they took', and 'personal experiences.' Some of the pre-service teachers reported that the levels of motivation for their majors did not changed since he or she was pursuing other goals rather than being an environmental educator.

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