• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제47권6호
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• pp.505-512
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• 2021

Background: The occurrence of environmental disease is known to be associated with chronic exposure to toxic chemicals, including waterborne contaminants, air/indoor pollutants, asbestos, ingredients in humidifier disinfectants, etc. Objectives: In this study, we reviewed toxicological studies related to environmental disease as defined by the Environmental Health Act in Korea and toxic chemicals. We also suggested a direction for future toxicological research necessary for the prevention and management of environmental disease. Methods: Trends in previous studies related to environmental disease were investigated through PubMed and Web of Science. A detailed review was provided on toxicological studies related to the humidifier disinfectants. We identified adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) that can be linked to the induction of environmental diseases, and proposed a chemical screening system that uses AOP, chemical toxicity big data, and deep learning models to select chemicals that induce environmental disease. Results: Research on chemical toxicity is increasing every year, but there is a limitation to revealing a clear causal relationship between exposure to chemicals and the occurrence of environmental disease. It is necessary to develop various exposure- and effect-biomarkers related to disease occurrence and to conduct toxicokinetic studies. A novel chemical screening system that uses AOP and chemical toxicity big data could be useful for selecting chemicals that cause environmental diseases. Conclusions: From a toxicological point of view, developing AOP related to environmental diseases and a deep learning-based chemical screening system will contribute to the prevention of environmental diseases in advance.

• 한국환경과학회지
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• 제20권12호
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• pp.1585-1598
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• 2011

Emission reduction program for in-use diesel vehicles (ERPDV) has been enacted since 2004 over the Seoul metropolitan area, and diesel emission reduction is forced to fulfill this regulation. This study was performed to evaluate the ERPDV using $PM_{10}$ concentrations of both road-side monitoring and national background network during the period of 2004-2010. In order to assess the pure road emission, we first eliminated the long range transport effect by deducting the trend of annual national background concentrations from the road-side $PM_{10}$ concentrations, and then analyzed the time series of the resultant $PM_{10}$ concentrations over Seoul metropolitan area. The annual rates of variations of road-side $PM_{10}$ with the deduction of trend of background level show -3.2, +0.4, and -2.4 ${\mu}g/m^3$/year, in Seoul, Incheon, and Gyonggi province, respectively. There are steadily decreasing trend in Seoul with all of statistic parameters such as mean, mediam, 5%ile, 10%ile, 25%ile, 75%ile, 90%ile, and 95%ile concentrations. Incheon shows some fluctuations with positive with no significant trend, and Gyonggi province shows overall decreasing but not consistent. Student-t test shows 95% significant level of ERPDV effect in Seoul, but there exists no significant level greater than 90% in both Incheon, and Kyonggi province. Total annual averaged trend over the whole Seoul metropolitan area is estimated to lie in approximately $-2.9{\mu}g/m^3$/year in this study, implying the intimate involvement of ERPDV to a large extent. This is also suggesting that the further research cost-effectiveness of ERPDV with consideration of the long range transport process would be needed over the Seoul metropolitan area.

• 환경생물
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• 제27권4호
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• pp.363-368
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• 2009

한국고라니(Hydropotes inermis argyropus)는 우리나라의 고유종으로 가장 흔한 종의 하나이다. 이 종은 한반도 전역에 널리 분포하며 자연생태계에서 초식자로서 중요한 역할을 하는 것으로 알려져 있다. 따라서 고라니는 서식지의 질을 모니터링하는데 하나의 좋은 생물지표종으로 이용될 수 있을 것이다. 이 연구에서는 강원도 철원지역과 전라남도 동부지역에서 수집된 한국고라니의 서로 다른 3가지 조직(신장, 간, 지라)에서 5가지 중금속(Fe, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb)의 농도를 측정하였다. 중금속 농도의 분석에 따르면, 철의 농도는 구리, 아연, 카드뮴, 납에 비해 모든 조직에서 높게 나타났다. 이중, 지라(286.50)가 신장(39.40)과 간($23.21\;{\mu}g\;g^{-1}$)에 비해 높은 중금속 축적을 보였다. 일반적으로, 중금속의 농도는 전남 동부지역에 비해 강원도 철원지역에서 조금 높게 나타났다. 특히, 카드뮴과 납의 경우 매우 유의한 차이를 보였다(P<0.05). 이러한 중금속의 농도는 지라의 철을 제외하고는 모두 백그라운드 수준(background level) 내로 낮게 나타났다.

• 한국대기환경학회지
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• 제29권3호
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• pp.307-316
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• 2013

The sensitivity of ozone to $NO_x$ and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emission rates under different ventilation rates and $NO_2-to-NO_x$ emission ratios in a street canyon is investigated using a chemistry box model. The carbon bond mechanism IV (CBM-IV) with 36 gaseous species and 93 chemical reactions is incorporated. $NO_x$ and VOCs emission rates considered range from 0.01 to $0.30ppb\;s^{-1}$ with intervals of $0.01ppb\;s^{-1}$. Three different ventilation rates and three different $NO_2-to-NO_x$ emission ratios are considered. The simulation results show that the ozone concentration decreases with increasing $NO_x$ emission rate but increases with increasing VOCs emission rate. When the emission ratio of VOCs to $NO_x$ is smaller than about 4, the ozone concentration is lower in the street canyon than in the background. On average, the magnitude of the sensitivity of ozone to $NO_x$ emission rate is significantly larger than that to VOCs emission rate. As the $NO_x$ emission rate increases, the magnitude of the sensitivity of ozone to $NO_x$ and VOCs emission rates decreases. Because the ozone concentration is lower in the street canyon than in the background, the increased ventilation rate enhances ozone inflow from the background. Therefore, the increase in ventilation rate results in the increase in ozone concentration and the decrease in the magnitude of the sensitivity of ozone to $NO_x$ and VOCs emission rates when the emission ratio of VOCs to $NO_x$ is smaller than about 4. On the other hand, the increase in $NO_2-to-NO_x$ emission ratio results in the increase in ozone concentration because the chemical ozone production due to the $NO_2$ photolysis is enhanced. In the present experimental setup, the contribution of the change in $NO_2-to-NO_x$ emission ratio to the change in the sensitivity of ozone to $NO_x$ emission rate is larger than that of the change in ventilation rate.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권15호
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• pp.6121-6125
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• 2014

Background: Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a potential biomarker for early detection of prostate cancer (PCa) but its level is known to be affected by many background factors and roles of ubiquitous toxicants have not been determined. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are ubiquitous reproductive toxicants used in consumer products, which promote tumor formation in some reproductive model systems by binding to AhR, but human data on its expression in prostate cancer as well as its association with PSA levels are not clear. This study aimed to evaluate the expression levels of AhR and its association with serological levels of PSA and to detect possible effects of background factors and EDC exposure history on PSA levels in PCa cases. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on the tissue levels of AhR and serum levels of PSA in 53 PCa cases from 2008-2011 and associations between each and background and lifestyle related factors were determined. Results: Although the AhR was overexpressed in PCa and correlated with the age of patients, it did not correlate with PSA levels.Of nutritional factors, increased intake of polysaturated fats and fish in the routine regimen of PCa cases increased the PSA levels significantly. Conclusions: AhR overexpression in PCa pontws to roles of EDCs in PCa but without any direct association with PSA levels. However, PSA levels are affected by exposure to possible toxicants in foods whichneed to be assessed as possible risk factors of PCa in future studies.

• 환경정책연구
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• 제2권1호
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• pp.1-29
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• 2003

This paper examines the dynamics of environmental policy development in Korea by reviewing some of the ways on how the policy windows have been opened. There are a lot of theoretical arguments about the major factors influencing policy development or changes. Many scholars have believed that severe pollution accidents or salient environmental episodes might have been the main motivation of environmental policy development. This line of argument seems valid, especially with the water pollution control policy in Korea. Water pollution control programs had rapidly expanded along with the series of water pollution accidents in the tap water sources from the late 1980s to mid-1990s. However, regarding other major env. issues, various other factors have played more important roles in the development of the relevant policies. In case of air pollution control policy international sport events such as, 1986 Asian Games, 1988 Summer Olympics, and 2002 World Cup Competition, have contributed for the development. The municipal solid waste management policy partly owed its development to the introduction of local autonomy system in the mid-1990s. Even the foreign currency crisis occurring in December 1997 helped the policy paradigm shift from rigid supply-oriented to soft demand-oriented approaches. After closely looking at the dynamics of environmental policy development in Korea, this paper tries to identify the logical background of the observed outcomes.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• 제44권2호
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• pp.98-105
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• 2020

Background: The purpose of this study, mosquito forecast system implemented by Seoul Metropolitan city, was to obtain the mosquito prediction formula by using the mosquito population data and the environmental data of the past. Results: For this study, the mosquito population data from April 1, 2015, to October 31, 2017, were collected. The mosquito population data were collected from the 50 smart mosquito traps (DMSs), two of which were installed in each district (Korean, gu) in Seoul Metropolitan city since 2015. Environmental factors were collected from the Automatic Weather System (AWS) by the Korea Meteorological Administration. The data of the nearest AWS devices from each DMS were used for the prediction formula analysis. We found out that the environmental factors affecting the mosquito population in Seoul Metropolitan city were the mean temperature and rainfall. We predicted the following equations by the generalized linear model analysis: ln(Mosquito population) = 2.519 + 0.08 × mean temperature + 0.001 × rainfall. Conclusions: We expect that the mosquito forecast system would be used for predicting the mosquito population and to prevent the spread of disease through mosquitoes.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제39권2호
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• pp.105-116
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• 2013

Background: In Korea, there is low awareness of the respiratory health problems caused by the use of humidifiers, leading to a lack of governmental measures. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to review cases of varying degrees of humidifier lung and fever in connection with the use of humidifiers and to summarize the probable environmental agents causing these cases. Methods: We searched all articles reporting on humidifier lung, humidifier fever, and humidifier diseases caused by the use of a humidifier both at home and in the workplace. Results: We summarized a number of cases of varying degrees of respiratory diseases resulting from inhalation of water mist of humidifiers containing various species of bacteria and fungi and their toxins. Type of respiratory disease connected with humidifier lung includes interstitial pneumonitis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, fever and several respiratory symptoms. Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), Actinomycetes, endotoxins and contaminated humidifier water were the most commonly suspected probable environmental agents causing humidifier lung. In Korea, the use of humidifier biocide is suspected as a likely cause of fatal lung injury including death and lung transplantation. Conclusion: Governmental policy should be devised and measures including a national surveillance system should be taken to prevent humidifier lung caused by the use of humidifiers.

• 아태비즈니스연구
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• 제12권4호
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• pp.63-86
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• 2021

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of the application of accounting conservatism on the investment efficiency of listed companies in China under the background of the current rising environmental uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach - This study collected 14,934 observations of A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2013 to 2020, and analyzed the data by means of moderating effect test and multiple regression analysis. Findings - The results show that environmental uncertainty deteriorates the company's investment efficiency. The higher the level of environmental uncertainty, the more prone to over-investment and under-investment. Accounting conservatism plays moderating role between environmental uncertainty and investment efficiency. Among them, the moderating effect of conditional conservatism is to alleviate under-investment of the company under high financing constraints and the over-investment, while it intensifies the under-investment under low financing constraints. The moderating effect of unconditional conservatism is to alleviate the under-investment. Research implications or Originality - This study finds out the internal mechanism of accounting conservatism affecting investment efficiency, which not only helps to understand about the value of accounting conservatism standards, but also helps to improve the investment efficiency of listed companies.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제48권5호
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• pp.255-265
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• 2022

Background: Research in environmental health (EH) is of crucial strategic importance for contemporary society. It is becoming even more critical in light of the increasingly rapid pace of environmental changes, opportunities, and threats. Objectives: This study aimed to identify trends and the prospective of environmental health research using SWOT analysis. Methods: The trends in environmental health research were reviewed in previous studies and reports. Reviewed manuscripts were searched for using the keywords of 'environmental health' and 'environmental hygiene' in the KCI (Korean Journal of Citation Index), KISS (Korean Academic Information), PubMed, and Google Scholar. Results: It is essential to center the EH research agenda around key priorities focusing on technological innovation, job creation, and the increasingly prominent role of the private sector. Given the rapidly evolving global sustainability agenda, greater clarity on the ever-increasing sources of complexity and growing expectations of the public might be needed. This requires the identification of criteria to identify EH research priorities with the ultimate goal of maximizing societal benefit. Public health relevance, such as extent and severity of health impact, level of exposure, and inequalities of effects, could be included. Conclusions: Considering the recent interest in and importance of environmental health, a comprehensive approach to environmental health research should be required through the application of the latest science and technology, citizen participation, and environmental health surveillance systems.