• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.254-269
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• 2017

The work describes an assessment of the major air pollutants, $NO_2$, $SO_2$, CO, $O_3$, $NH_3$, coarse and fine particulate matter ($PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$) in ambient air in and around a 3 million tonne Petroleum Refinery and the possible impacts on a pristine area marked by the presence of the world-famous Kajiranga National Park, a world heritage site and habitat for the most number of one-horned rhinos in the world. The Refinery is at an aerial distance of 20-25 km from the wildlife habitat. The assessment is based on regular monitoring at four stations around the Refinery and one station near the National Park. Heavy rains during June to August influence the pollutant concentrations while at other times of the year, large traffic volume adds to the pollutant concentrations that peak during November to March, the dry months of the year. Correlation analysis by scatter technique is utilised to obtain the enhancement ratios to predict the variations in the concentrations of the pollutants and their spatial distribution. Computation of air quality index (AQI) indicates that the coarse and the fine particulates in the ambient air could be a major hazard to wildlife in the area.

• Particle and aerosol research
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.171-178
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• 2009

$PM_{2.5}$ is one of critical air pollutants due to its high absorbability of heavy metallic fumes, PAH and bacillary micro organisms. Such a fine particulate matter is often formed through various nucleation processes including condensation. This study attempts to find the nucleation behaviors of $PM_{2.5}$ arisen from coal power stations using a classical heterogeneous Fletcher's theory. The numerical simulation by C-language could approximate the nucleation process of $PM_{2.5}$ from water vapor, of which approach revealed the required energy for embryo formation and embryo size and nucleation rate. As a result of the calculation, it was found that wetting agents could affect the particle nucleation in vapor condensation. In particular, critical contact angle relates closely with the vapor saturation. Particle condensation could be reduced by lowering the angles. The wetting agents aid to decrease the contact angle and surface tensions, thereby may contribute to save the formation energy.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Toxicology Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.51-82
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• 2005

To compare the pulmonary toxicity between ultrafine colloidal silica particles (UFCSs) and fine colloidal silica particles (FCSs), mice were intratracheally instilled with 3 mg of 14-nm UFCSs and 230-nm FCSs and pathologically examined from 30 mill to 24 hr post-exposure. Histopathologically, lungs exposed to both sizes of particles showed bronchiolar degeneration and necrosis, neutrophilic inflammation in alveoli with alveolar type II cell proliferation and particle-laden alveolar macrophage accumulation. UFCSs, however, induced extensive alveolar hemorrhage compared to FCSs from 30 min onwards. UFCSs also caused more severe bronchiolar epithelial cell necrosis and neutrophil influx in alveoli than FCSs at 12 and 24 hr post-exposure. Laminin positive immunolabellings in basement membranes of bronchioles and alveoli of UFCSs treated animals was weaker than those of FCSs treated animals in all observation times. Electron microscopy demonstrated UFCSs and FCSs on bronchiolar and alveolar wall surface as well as in the cytoplasm of alveolar epithelial cells, alveolar macrophages and neutrophils. Type I alveolar epithelial cell erosion with basement membrane damage in UFCSs treated animals was more severe than those in FCSs treated animals. At 12 and 24 hr post-exposure, bronchiolar epithelia cells in UFCSs treated animals showed more intense vacuolation and necrosis compared to FCSs treated animals. These findings suggest that UFCSs has greater ability to induce lung inflammation and tissue damages than FCSs.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.294-299
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• 2002

PM (Particulate Matter) samples contained fungal spores were collected in the ambient air of Seosan, west Korea, in springtime of 2000 and 2001. PM concentrations were $199.8\mu{g}\;m^{-3}$ in the 1st Asian Dust Storm period (March, 23 ~ 24) and $249.4\mu{g}\;m^{-3}$ in the 2nd period (April, 7~9), 2000. Compared with the concentrations in 2000, relatively low PM concentration ($157.3\mu{g}\;m^{-3}$ ) was measured in the Asian Dust Storm period (April, 24 ~ 20) of 2001. Although there were somewhat differences for the total PM concentrations among the three periods, majorities of the PM were composed of coarse particles sized about 5 ~ 6 $\mu{m}$ over the periods of the two years. Diverse molds grown from fungal aerosols were observed in the PM samples and identified at the genus level. All the genera, Fusarium, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Basipetospora, Epicoccum and Monotospora are hyphomycetes in the division Fungi imperfecti (Deuteromycota). Especially, morphologically more diversified mycelia of hyphomycetes were grown on the fine PM sample (1.1 ~ 2.1 $\mu{m}$) than coarse PM samples in the periods of 2000. Furthermore, some molds were grown on even the background PM sample less than 0.43 $\mu{m}$ in the period of 2001. It was thought that some kinds of ultra fine sized fungal spores were transported by the Asian Dust Storm and suspended in the ambient air of study area during the events.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.206-211
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• 1990

Total suspended particles were collected and size-fractionated by an Andersen high-volume air sampler at Chungang University located near the Han River, Seoul, Korea, during the period form March, 1986 to August, 1986 and from March, 1987 to February, 1988. The concentrations and the particle size distributions of anions such as chloride, nitrate and sulfate were determined by ion chromatography. The averages of concentrations were $125.43\;{\mu}g/m^3$ in 1986 and $189.19\;{\mu}g/m^3$ in 1987 for total suspended particles (TSP), $2.12\;{\mu}g/m^3$ in 1986 and $4.14\;{\mu}g/m^3$ in 1987 for chloride, $4.39\;{\mu}g/m^3$ in 1986 and $5.95\;{\mu}g/m^3$ in 1987 for nitrate and $11.98\;{\mu}g/m^3$ in 1986 and $19.29\;{\mu}g/m^3$ in 1987 for sulfate. Size distribution of TSP was found to be generally bimodal. Chloride exhibited a seasonal variation in the distribution; fine particles were predominant in the winter whereas the concentration of coarse ones was almost same through four seasons. Nitrate showed a distribution similar to that of chloride. Such variation was less significant for sulfate. For chloride and nitrate, the relationship between the monthly averaged distribution pattern and air temperature was analyzed in terms of fine fraction (FF). The FF decreased with increasing air temperature.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2021.10a
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• pp.348-350
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• 2021

When predicting the concentration of fine dust using deep learning, there is a problem that the characteristics of a high concentration of 81㎍/m³ or more are not well reflected in the prediction model. In this paper, a comparison through predictive performance was conducted to confirm the results of reflecting the characteristics of fine dust in the high concentration area according to the deep learning algorithm. As a result of performance evaluation, overall, similar levels of results were shown, but the RNN model showed higher accuracy than other models at concentrations of "very bad" based on AQI. This confirmed that the RNN algorithm reflected the characteristics of the high concentration better than the DNN and LSTM algorithms.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.163-169
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• 2023

Objectives: This study aimed to review the experimental research trends in asthma caused by particulate matter to conduct further researches, especially in clinical trials. Methods: We searched for the meaningful literature using medicinal herb for asthma through the Pubmed databases. Results: Finally, six studies were finally selected. These studies showed recent trends, from 2018 to 2021 and conducted mostly in South Korea. The type of fine dust and the method of inducing asthma are different for each paper, but the effective mechanism is relatively common. It was commonly confirmed that the ratio and number of eosinophils, th2 cells and related cytokines are decreased in BALF and lung tissue by administration of medicinal herb. Conclusions: Although the method of inducing asthma using fine dust has not yet been standardized, it is thought that more meaningful evaluation results can be derived if a standardized animal model is established in the future. Nevertheless, based on the results that herbal medicine is effective for particular matter induced asthma, it is expected that it will be the basis for expanding into future clinical studies.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.267-278
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• 2011

Objectives: A great number of hazardous agents can be emitted from various types of art-creation in a fine arts college, but little data on exposure assessment has been published. A variety of processes encompassing toxic or non-toxic materials, tools, and components are involved in a sculptor work at a fine art college. The aim of this study was to assess exposure levels to particulates and noise during sculpture classes in a college of fine arts. Methods: Students in sculpture classes participated in this study. Mass, number, and surface area concentrations of particulates, noise level, temperature and relative humidity were monitored by both personal and area sampling during the tasks of metal, wood, and stone sculpting. Results: The number and surface concentration of particulates was the highest in the task of wood sculpting, followed by metal and stone work. The mass concentration of particulates was the highest in stone sculpting (personal GM 3.0 mg/$m^3$, GSD 3.0), followed by wood (personal GM 1.5 mg/$m^3$, GSD 1.8) and metal work (personal GM 0.95 mg/$m^3$, GSD 1.51) in that order. Occupational exposure limits (OEL) for particulates depends on the type of particulate. For wood dust, 86% (six subjects) of the personal samples and all area samples exceeded the Korean OEL for wood dust (1 mg/$m^3$), while 20% (two subjects) among stone sculpting students were exposed above the Korean OEL (10 mg/$m^3$). In contrast, metal sculpting did not exceed the OEL (5 mg/$m^3$). For noise level, metal sculpting students (Leq 95.1 dB(A) in the morning, 85.3 dB(A) in the afternoon) were exposed the most, followed by stone sculpting (88.3 dB(A)), and wood sculpting (84.8 dB(A)) in that order. Compared with the 90 dB(A) of the Korean OEL and 85 dB(A) of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists' threshold limit value (ACGIH-TLV) for noise, 100% of the subjects (five subjects) and area samples during metal sculpting in the morning session exceeded both OELs, but only three subjects (60%) exceeded the ACGIH-TLV in the afternoon session. For stone sculpting, 50% (one subject) and 100% (two subjects) exceeded the Korean OEL and ACGIH-TLV, respectively, but the area sample did not exceed either OEL. During wood sculpting, two subjects (40%) exceeded ACGIH TLV. Conclusions: This work evaluated the sculptors' exposure to particulate matter and noise in fine art college, and revealed a poor working environment for the participating students. Effective measures should be supplemented by the administration of colleges.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.192-203
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• 2020

Objectives: The concentration distributions of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenlys (dl-PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in fine particles were investigated to provide basic data on POP behavior and composition analysis. Methods: The concentrations of PCDD/Fs, dl-PCBs, and PAHs by particle size were evaluated for TSP, PM₁₀, and PM_2.5. Also, fine dust component analysis and factor analysis were performed to identify the source of PCDD/Fs. Results: The particle size distribution was found to account for 24.3% of >10 ㎛, 14.5% of 2.5-10 ㎛, and 61.2% of <2.5 ㎛. The average contributions of coarse particles (>2.5 ㎛) and fine particles (<2.5 ㎛) were PCDD/Fs 67%, dl-PCBs 66%, benzo (a) pyrene 83% and PAHs 84%, and the contributions of fine particles (<2.5 ㎛) were higher than coarse particles (>2.5 ㎛). However, the contributions of coarse particles increased in April to September with higher temperatures, while those of fine particles increased in February to March with lower temperatures. Conclusions: Low chlorinated (4Cl-5Cl) PCDD/Fs were more adsorbed compared to coarse particles due to the influence of pollutant migration from particulate to gas phase according to temperature rise, whereas high chlorinated (6Cl-8Cl) PCDD/Fs were more adsorbed compared to fine particles. PCDD/Fs sources were assessed to be major sources of emissions, such as incineration facilities and/or open burning.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.34 no.11
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• pp.720-728
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• 2012

In general, nonpoint pollutant of a watershed is drained out in the form of storm water runoff during rainfall events. As the bulk of the nonpoint pollutant is in adsorbed form on particulate matters, in order to understand the behavior of nonpoint pollutant it is essential to grasp the characteristics of particulate matters in rainfall runoff. Though, previous studies for the relationship between the runoff characteristics of pollutants and the size distribution of particulate matters are very rare. In this study, a small non-urbanized area (basin area of 52.8 ha) with various landuse types including paddy, dry fields and forest was selected and investigated in detail for the runoff properties of each pollutant during several rainfall events. The correlation and effects between particulate matters and nonpoint pollutant were analyzed quantitatively. As a result, the significant first flush was observed on each event and it became clear that fine particulate matters ($80{\mu}m$ or less) has contributed in the runoff process of nutrients and heavy metals. Organic matters ($BOD_5$, TOC), nutrients (TN, TP) and several heavy metals (Al, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg and Zn) represented high correlations with SS (total), VSS, SS (d < $20{\mu}m$) and SS ($20{\mu}m$ $$\leq_-$$ d < $80{\mu}m$). On the other hand, $COD_{cr}$, Cd, Mn and Pb did not show clear correlations with the behavior of particulate matters. Therefore, we have to examine the introduction of nonpoint pollution mitigation facilities considering the facts that nonpoint pollutant runoff process has high correlation with the behavior of particulate matters and is changeable based on the target pollutants.