• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.623-631
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• 2020

This study analyzes the effect of negative air ions on the concentration of airborne particulate matter and evaluates the expected purification efficiency of open spaces for particulate matter by investigating the amount of negative air ions generated by plants. This study establishes a negative air ion generation treatment environment, plant environment, and control environment to measure the purification efficiency of particulate matter under the conditions of each, analyzing the expected purification efficiency by designing a particulate matter purification model. Results show that the amount of generated negative air ion according to environment was negative air ion generation treatment environment > plant environment > control environment; this order also applies to the particulate matter purification efficiency. Moreover, it took 65 min for the negative ion generation treatment environment, 90 min for the plant environment, and 240 min for the control environment to reach the standard expected purification efficiency of particulate matter concentration of 960 mg/㎥ for PM₁₀. For PM_2.5, with the designated maximum concentration of 700 mg/㎥, it took 60 min for the negative ion generation treatment environment, 80 min for the plant environment, and more than 240 min for the control environment. Based on these results, the expected purification efficiency compared to the control environment was quadrupled in the negative ion generation treatment environment and tripled in the plant environment on average.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.191-201
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• 2020

As society develops rapidly, environmental pollution is becoming a greater risk factor threatening human health. One of the major causes of air pollution that affects human health is particulate matter (PM), which contains a heterogeneous mixture of different particle sizes and chemical compositions. PM is classified by size into general PM (PM₁₀; diameter below 10 ㎛) and fine PM (PM_2.5; diameter below 2.5 ㎛). PM_2.5 can pass through the respiratory tract into the circulatory system and thence throughout the body. PM_2.5 is known to stimulate oxidative stress and inflammatory responses to cells, promoting diseases such as asthma, chronic respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and immunological disorders. Although detailed molecular mechanisms for how PM stimulates disease progression still need to be elucidated, together with national efforts to reduce PM production, significant research has been conducted that demonstrates the harmfulness of PM in disease progression through in vitro and in vivo experiments. This review focuses on the harmfulness of PM in disease progression; we also introduce a biological verification method for determining the hazards of PM.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.259-266
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• 2021

Objectives: This study was conducted to identify the emissions characteristics of total particulate matter (TPM), fine dust (PM₁₀, PM_2.5), and gaseous pollutants (SOx, NOx) in iron and steel manufacturing facilities in order to investigate emissions factors suitable for domestic conditions. Methods: Total particulate matter (TPM), fine dust (PM₁₀, PM_2.5), and gas phase materials were investigated at the outlet of electric arc furnace facilities using a cyclone sampling machine and a gas analyzer. Results: The concentrations of TPM ranged from 1.64 to 3.14 mg/Sm³ and the average was 2.47 mg/Sm³. Particulate matter 10 (PM₁₀) averaged 1.49 mg/Sm³ with a range of 0.92 to 1.99 mg/Sm³, and the resulting ratio of PM₁₀ to TPM was around 60 percent. PM_2.5/PM₁₀ ranged from 33.7 to 47.9% and averaged 41.6%. Sulfur oxides (SOx) were not detected, and nitrogen oxides (NOx) averaged 6.8 ppm in the range of 5.50 to 8.67 ppm. TPM emission coefficients per product output were in the range of 0.60 to 1.26 g/kg, 0.13 to 0.79 g/kg for PM₁₀ and 0.12 to 0.36 g/kg for PM_2.5, and showed many differences from the emissions coefficients previously announced. An emissions coefficient for NOx is not currently included in the domestic notices, but the results were calculated to be 0.42 g/kg per product output. Conclusions: Investigation and research on emissions coefficients that can reflect the characteristics of various facilities in Korea should be conducted continuously, and the determination and application of unique emissions coefficients that are more suitable for domestic conditions are needed.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.421-434
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• 2022

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has been the biggest environmental problem in Korea since the 2010s. The present study considers the value of urban forests and green infrastructure as an ecosystem service (ES) concept for PM2.5 reduction based on satellite and spatial data, with a focus on Seoul, Korea A method for the spatial ES assessment that considers social demand variables such as population and land price is suggested. First, an ES assessment based on natural environment information confirms that, while the vitality of vegetation is relatively low, the ES is high in the city center and residential areas, where the concentration of PM2.5 is high. Then, the ES assessment considering social demand (i.e., the ESS) confirms the existence of higher PM2.5 values in residential areas with high population density, and in main downtown areas. This is because the ESS of urban green infrastructure is high in areas with high land prices, high population density, and above-average PM2.5 concentrations. Further, when a future green infrastructure improvement scenario that considers the urban forest management plan is applied, the area of very high ESS is increased by 74% when the vegetation greenness of the green infrastructure in the residential area is increased by only 20%. This result suggests that green infrastructure and urban forests in the residential area should be continuously expanded and managed in order to maximize the PM2.5 reduction ES.

• Proceedings of the Korea Air Pollution Research Association Conference
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.53-56
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• 2008

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.33-40
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• 2007

This study centered on the quantitative analysis of about 27 trace elements including toxic ones using instrumental neutron activation analysis of fine ambient particulate matter in the third and fourth industrial complex area of Daejeon city, Korea. For analytical quality control, the certified reference material (NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S.A., SRM 2783, air particulate on filter media) was used. The errors relative to SRM values of Sb, Mn, V, Mg, Na, K, Ti, Co, Zn, and Sm fell below 5%, while those of Cr, Fe, Ba, Th, Ce, Al, and Cu were less than 10%. From the results of the quantitative analysis, the concentration of toxic metals such as As, Mn, Se, V, and Zn were $3.26{\pm}2.72$, $9.86{\pm}4.71$, $2.18{\pm}1.25$, $4.91{\pm}2.41$, $158{\pm}78ng/m^3$, respectively. And the results of factor analysis indicated that there are no more than six factors of sources of fine ambient particulate with statistical significance in the study area.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.450-459
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• 2004

For the evaluation of emission sources by air sampling, airborne particulate matter for fine (<2.5 ${\mu}m2$ EAD : $PM_{2.5}$) and coarse partical (2.5-10 ${\mu}m2$ EAD : $PM_{2.5-10}$ fractions were collected using a Gent stacked filter unit low volume sampler and two types of polycarbonate filters. Air samples were collected twice monthly at two regions in and around Daejeon city in the Republic of Korea from January to December 2002. Monthly mass concentration of $PM_{2.5}$ and $PM_{2.5-10}$ were measured and the concentrations of 10 marker elements (Al, Sc, Ti ; Na, Cl ; As, V. Sb, Br, Se) were determined by an instrumental neutron activation analysis. Analytical quality control was corried out using certified reference materials. Enrichment factors were also calculated from the monitoring data to classify the anthropogenic and crustal origins.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.15-27
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• 2015

The collection of fine particulate matter samples was made at Gosan site of Jeju Island, one of the background sites of Korea, during a year of 2013, and their water-soluble ionic species were analyzed in order to examine the chemical compositions and pollution characteristics. The concentrations of $nss-SO_4{^{2-}}$, $NH_4{^{+}}$, $NO_3{^{-}}$, and $K^+$ had occupied 66.0% of water-soluble ionic species in $PM_{10}$, especially 94.3% in $PM_{2.5}$ fine mode, however the $nss-Ca^{2+}$ and $Na^+$ showed high concentrations in $PM_{10-2.5}$ coarse mode. $NO_3{^-}/nss-SO_4{^{2-}}$ concentration ratios in $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{10-2.5}$ were 0.30 and 0.13, showing less significant effect from automobile and local pollution sources. The sulfate and nitrate compounds were presumed to be long-range transported to Gosan area by the relatively high SOR and NOR values. The trajectory cluster analysis showed the higher concentrations of the major secondary pollutants ($nss-SO_4{^{2-}}$, $NO_3{^{-}}$, $NH_4{^{+}}$) and $nss-Ca^{2+}$ when the air masses had moved from China continent and Korean peninsula into Gosan area.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.453-467
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• 2000

The aim of this research is to collect and characterize fine particles (FPM:$\leq$2.5${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$) and coarse particles (CPM: 2.5~10${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$) using a low volume air sampler provided by the IAEA, at urban (Taejon) and rural area(Wonju) for a period of about two years(April 1996 to May 1998) and to promote a use of nuclear analytical techniques for air pollution studies. For the collection of airborne particulate matter (PM(sub)10), the Gent stacked filter unit sampler and polycarbonate membrane filters were employed. The concentration of trace elements in collected APM samples were determined byu instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis. For validation of the analytical data, internal quality control were implemented by using both the comparison of the analytical results of standard reference materials(NIST SRM 1648) and interlaboratory comparison for proficiency test (NAT-3). The standard uncertainty was less than 15% and Z-score of two samples were within $\pm$1. The monitoring of (PM(sub)10) mass concentration and elemental concentrations were carried out weekly. The average mass concentration of (PM(sub)10) in urban and rural areas were 59.2$\pm$36.5$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥ and 41.4$\pm$23.7$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥, respectively. To investigate the emission source, the enrichment factors were calculated for the fine and coarse particle fractions at two sites, respectively and these values were classified for anthropogenic and soil origin elements.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.157-167
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• 2017

Millions of People die every year from diseases caused by exposure to outdoor air pollution. Especially, one of the most severe types of air pollution is fine particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5). South Korea also has been suffered from severe PM. This paper analyzes regional risks induced by PM10 and PM2.5 that have affected domestic area of Korea during 2014~2016.3Q. We investigated daily maxima of PM10 and PM2.5 data observed on 284 stations in South Korea, and found extremely high outlier. We employed extreme value distributions to fit the PM10 and PM2.5 data, but a single distribution did not fit the data well. For theses reasons, we implemented extreme mixture models such as the generalized Pareto distribution(GPD) with the normal, the gamma, the Weibull and the log-normal, respectively. Next, we divided the whole area into 16 regions and analyzed characteristics of PM risks by developing the FN-curves. Finally, we estimated 1-month, 1-quater, half year, 1-year and 3-years period return levels, respectively. The severity rankings of PM10 and PM2.5 concentration turned out to be different from region to region. The capital area revealed the worst PM risk in all seasons. The reason for high PM risk even in the yellow dust free season (Jun. ~ Sep.) can be inferred from the concentration of factories in this area. Gwangju showed the highest return level of PM2.5, even if the return level of PM10 was relatively low. This phenomenon implies that we should investigate chemical mechanisms for making PM2.5 in the vicinity of Gwangju area. On the other hand, Gyeongbuk and Ulsan exposed relatively high PM10 risk and low PM2.5 risk. This indicates that the management policy of PM risk in the west side should be different from that in the east side. The results of this research may provide insights for managing regional risks induced by PM10 and PM2.5 in South Korea.