• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.65-73
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• 2020

Exposure assessment methodology for outdoor air inhalation pathways (i.e., inhalation of volatile compounds and fugitive dust in outdoor air) was investigated. Default values of several parameters currently used in Korea (e.g., Q/C; inverse value of concentration per unit flux, and frs; soil fraction in PM10) may not be suitable and lack site-specificity, as they have been adopted from the risk assessment guidance of the United States or the Netherlands. Such limitation can be addressed to a certain degree by incorporating the volatilization factor (VF) and the particulate emission factor (PEF) with Box model. This approach was applied to an exposure assessment of a site contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons in Korea. The result indicated that the suggested methodology led to more accurate site-specific exposure assessment for outdoor inhalation pathways. Further work to establish methodology to determine site-specific Q/C values in Korea needs to be done to secure the reliability of the exposure assessment for outdoor air inhalation pathways.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.29
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• pp.18.1-18.9
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• 2014

Objectives The purpose of this study was to determine a separation method for each arsenic metabolite in urine by using a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). Methods Separation of the arsenic metabolites was conducted in urine by using a polymeric anion-exchange (Hamilton PRP X-100, $4.6mm{\times}150mm$, $5{\mu}m$) column on Agilent Technologies 1260 Infinity LC system coupled to Agilent Technologies 7700 series ICP/MS equipment using argon as the plasma gas. Results All five important arsenic metabolites in urine were separated within 16 minutes in the order of arsenobetaine, arsenite, dimethylarsinate, monomethylarsonate and arsenate with detection limits ranging from 0.15 to $0.27{\mu}g/L$ ($40{\mu}L$ injection). We used G-EQUAS No. 52, the German external quality assessment scheme and standard reference material 2669, National Institute of Standard and Technology, to validate our analyses. Conclusions The method for separation of arsenic metabolites in urine was established by using HPLC-ICP-MS. This method contributes to the evaluation of arsenic exposure, health effect assessment and other bio-monitoring studies for arsenic exposure in South Korea.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.311-317
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to investigate Rn concentration and annual radiation exposure level in the basement and first floor. The Rn Cup monitors were placed in different environments such as shopping stage, office building, Apartment, Hospital, house in Seoul from Match 1996 to April 1997 and CR-39 films were collected every two months. The mean radon concentration in the basement of house($88.6\;Bq/m^3$) showed the highest level among the areas, while radon concentration on the first floor of house($50.5\;Bq/m^3$) showed the higher than other areas. The annual radiation exposure dose that person on the floor / in the basement of differential place in the seoul can be exposed during living was estimated from 24.11 to 87.64 mRem/yr. This radiation dose is significantly lower than 130mRem maximum radiation dosage from the radon nuclide prescribed by the ICRP, with respect to the overall average exposure of the working adult. this study indicated that possible radon sources on the first floor / in the basement areas are radon intrusion from soil gas, construction materials, or ground water leaking. Further study is needed to quantitatively assess major contributions of radon-222 and health effect to radon exposure.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.283-288
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• 2018

Since the crack self-healing materials are activated according to the exposure environmental conditions from the time of crack occurrence, it is very important to clarify the relationship between the healing performance and the exposure environmental conditions of the crack surface. In this paper, the influence of the exposure environmental conditions on the crack healing performance of self-healing repair mortar was investigated through the water permeability test. The influence of temperature and humidity on the crack width of cracked specimens was evaluated. As a result of measuring the change of the crack width, the effect of curing temperature was negligible but it was confirmed that crack-closing occurred due to the change of dry-wet condition. The healing materials produced on the crack surface of the specimens was identified as calcite minerals. Since the minerals with high density are precipitated under the influence of gravity, the healing performance is somewhat different according to the direction of the crack surface, and the healing performance was significantly improved in the wet exposure condition than the air exposure condition.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.12 no.3_4
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• pp.31-41
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• 1997

Public concerns about hazardous health effect from the exposure to organic by-products of the chlorination have been increased. There are numerous studies reporting that chlorination of drinking water produces numerous chlorinated organic by-products including THMs, HAAs, HANs. Some of these products are known to be animal carcinogens. The purpose of this study was to estimate health risk of DBPs by chlorinated drinking water ingestion in Seoul based on methodologies that have been developed for conducting risk assessment of complex-chemical-mixture. The drinking water sample was collected seperately at six water treatment plant in Seoul at March, April, 1996. In tap water of households in Seoul, DBPs were measured wilfh the mean value of 36.6 $\mu$g/L. Risk assessment processes,. which include processes for the estimation of human cancer potency using animal bioassay data and calculation of human exposure, entail uncertainties. In the exposure assessment process, exposure scenarios with various assumptions could affect the exposure amount and excess cancer risk. The reference dose of haloacetonitriles was estimated to be 0.0023 mg/kg/day by applying dibromoacetonitrile NOAEL and uncertainty factor to the mean concentration. In the first case, human excess cancer risk was estimated by the US EPA method used to set the MCL (maximum contaminant level). In the second and third case, the risk was estimated for multi-route exposure with and without adopting Monte-Carlo simulation, respectively. In the second case, exposure input parameters and cancer potencies used probability distributions, and in the third case, those values used point estimates (mean, and maximum or 95% upper-bound value). As a result, while the excess cancer risk estimated by US EPA method considering only direct ingestion tended to be underestimated, the risk which was estimated by considering multi-route exposure without Monte-Carlo simulation and then using the maximum or 95% upper-bound value as input parameters tended to be overestimated. In risk assessment for Trihalomethanes, considering multi-route exposure with adopting Monte-Carlo analysis seems to provide the most reasonable estimations.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
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• 2004.06a
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• pp.73-86
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• 2004

The purpose of this study is the identification of (N-2-hydroxy-3-butenyl) valine(HBVal adduct) and (N-2,3,4-trihydroxy-butyl)valine(THBVal adduct)with mice inhalation exposure with 1,3-butadiene for 3 weeks($6\;hr/day\;{\times}\;5\;days/week$). Body weights were significantly lower from 4 or 9 exposure post-day in 1000 or 500ppm inhalation group than in control. The levels of HBVal adducts are 1.8, 3.7 and 6.2 pmol/mg globin in $1^{st}$, $2^{nd}$ , and $3^{rd}$ week for 500 ppm 1,3-butadiene(BD), and 5.7, 7.4 and 16.0 pmol/mg globin in $1^{st}$, $2^{nd}$ , and $3^{rd}$ week for 1000 ppm BD inhalation exposure. The levels of THBVal adducts are 32.0, 42.0 and 55.0 pmol/mg globin in $1^{st}$, $2^{nd}$ , and $3^{rd}$ week for 500 ppm BD, and 67.8, 72.7 and 83.5 pmol/mg globin in $1^{st}$, $2^{nd}$ , and $3^{rd}$ week for 1000 ppm BD inhalation exposure. Their ratios of THBVal and HBVal adducts are higher at earlier exposure and lower concentration. They are17.8, 11.4 and 8.87 in $1^{st}$, $2^{nd}$ , and $3^{rd}$ week for 500 ppm BD, and 11.9, 9.8 and 5.2 in $1^{st}$, $2^{nd}$ , and $3^{rd}$ week for 1000 ppm BD inhalation exposure. In conclusion, THBVal and HBVal adducts are a important hemoglobin adduct for monitoring of BD exposure, and the latter is more biomarker than the other.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.301-310
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• 1998

Recently, bathes have been suspected to an Important source of indoor exposure to volatile organic compounds(VOCs). Two experiments were conducted to evaluate chloroform exposure and corresponding body burden by exposure routes while bathing. Another experiment was conducted to ekamine the chloro- form dose during dermal exposure and the chloroform decay In breath after dermal exposure. The chioroform dose was determined based on exhaled breath analysis. The ekamine breath concentration measured after normal baths (2.8 Vg/$m^3$) was approxidmately 13 tomes higher that measured prior to normal bathes (0.2 ug/$m^3$). Based on the means of the normalized post exposure chloroform breath concentration. the dermal exposure was estimated to contribute to 74% of total chloroform body burden while bathing. The Internal dose from bathing (Inhalation plus dermal) was comparable to the dose ostimated Srom dally water Ingestion. The rusk associated 10 a weekly, 30-min bath was estimated to be 1 x 10.5, while the rusk firom dally Ingestion of tap water was to be $0.5{\times}0^{-5} for 0.151 and 6.5{\times}10^{-5}$ for 2. 0 1. Chloroform breath concentration Increased gradually during the 60 minute dermal exposure. The breath decay after the dermal exposure showed two-phase mechanism, with early raped decay and the second slow decay. The mathematical model was developed to describe the relationship between water and air chloroform concentrations, with $R^2$ : 0.4 and p<0.02.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.245-252
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• 2014

Arsenic is a unique element with distinct physical characteristics and toxicity whose importance in public health is well recognized. The toxicity of arsenic varies across its different forms. While the carcinogenicity of arsenic has been confirmed, the mechanisms behind the diseases occurring after acute or chronic exposure to arsenic are not well understood. Inorganic arsenic has been confirmed as a human carcinogen that can induce skin, lung, and bladder cancer. There are also reports of its significant association to liver, prostate, and bladder cancer. Recent studies have also suggested a relationship with diabetes, neurological effects, cardiac disorders, and reproductive organs, but further studies are required to confirm these associations. The majority of research to date has examined cancer incidence after a high exposure to high concentrations of arsenic. However, numerous studies have reported various health effects caused by chronic exposure to low concentrations of arsenic. An assessment of the health effects to arsenic exposure has never been performed in the South Korean population; thus, objective estimates of exposure levels are needed. Data should be collected on the biological exposure level for the total arsenic concentration, and individual arsenic concentration by species. In South Korea, we believe that biological exposure assessment should be the first step, followed by regular health effect assessments.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.569-576
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• 2019

Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to assess firefighters' daily personal noise exposure and explore noise levels related to specific tasks and their contributions to total noise exposure using 24-hour full-shift noise exposure measurements with task-based data. Methods: Noise exposure was assessed for eight firefighters (two rescuers, two drivers, and four suppressors) using time-activity diaries. We collected a total of 24 full-shift personal noise sample sets (three samples per a firefighter). The 24-hour shift-adjusted daily personal noise exposure level (L_ep,d), eight weekly personal noise exposures (L_eq,w), and 40 task-specific L_eq values (L_{eq activity}) were calculated via the ISO/NIOSH method. Results: The firefighter noise-sample datasets showed that most firefighters are exposed to noise levels above EU recommended levels at a low-action value. The highest noise exposure was for rescuers, followed by drivers and suppressors. Noise measurements with time-at-task information revealed that 82.3% of noise exposure occurred when checking equipment and responding to fire or emergency calls. Conclusions: The results indicate that firefighters are at risk of noise-induced hearing loss. Therefore, efforts at noise-control are necessary for their protection. This task-specific noise exposure assessment also shows that protective measures should be focused on certain tasks, such as checking and testing equipment.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.275-282
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• 2018

Objective: Since certain chemicals are widely applied in a variety of consumer products, exposure via simultaneous use of multiple consumer products can put human health at risk. For this reason, use patterns of consumer products are an important factor inhuman health risk assessment. The aim of this study is to investigate co-use patterns of air-fresheners and deodorizers in Korea in order to estimate potential cumulative exposure. Methods: To collect the information on use patterns of air-fresheners and deodorizers, ten air-fresheners and 14 deodorizers were selected. A total of 3,000 participants were recruited and asked through on line questionnaires whether they had simultaneously used the selected air-fresheners and deodorant products in their daily lives. Results: Among the 3,000 participants, 45.6% had used more than two air fresheners and 46.3% used more than two deodorizers. The most common types of air fresheners used concurrently include liquid and candle types for indoor environments, while those of deodorizers were fabric trigger sprays and refrigerator gels. In addition, 73.7% used more than two products without product categories. Fabric trigger sprays were contained in all of the high-ranking product combinations. Conclusions: This study showed that many consumers concurrently used air-fresheners and deodorizers in their daily routines. For accurate exposure assessment, co-use patterns of consumer products should be further investigated.