• KIEAE Journal
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.11-16
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• 2005

The recent trends of high-density and high-rise in apartment housing have caused the problems of decrease in ventilation rates and increase of indoor pollutant contaminants. SHS(Sick House Syndrome) has now become a major issue and threats the health of residents. To solve these indoor air problems, increase in ventilation rate is considered as one of the most efficient approach. Thus, the recent housing development is pursuing improvement in the site design and the layout of apartment building blocks to promote natural ventilation is now investigated as one of the fundamental solutions. This study was focused on the air flow characteristics of outdoor environment in an apartment complex to keep the pollutants out of the site. Age of air and pressure difference have been used as indices of the outdoor air quality. Four different types of apartment building layouts have been analyzed by CFD simulation. This study again selected a real apartment housing complex as a case study model. By analyzing the pressure differences between the front and rear of an apartment building block, the ventilation performance in each individual unit was evaluated, and its impact on ventilation performance is investigated by analyzing the stagnant air around the apartment building blocks. During this process, existing patterns of apartment housing layout have been evaluated, and the most appropriate site layout has been chosen to analyze the outdoor airflow patterns. Based on the analysis of airflow patterns of site layout, the possibilities of improving ventilation performance of an individual apartment housing is proposed.

• Clean Technology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.13-21
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• 2020

Air pollutants in a subway are complexly caused by outdoor factors such as ventilating opening and indoor factors such as the movement of passengers on the subway. According to recent research results, most of the air pollutants generated in subway tunnels and stations are caused by indoor variables such as train movement. To control air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM), a prevention facility such as the electrostatic precipitator (EP) or bag filter collector was required in a subway station. In particular, the PM removed by the EP must be kept clean continuously to manage PM effectively. Therefore, a nano-bubbling washing system was developed in this study to clean a contaminated collecting plate in an EP at the main subway tunnel in Seoul. Removal efficiency compared with normal water and nano-bubbling water was likewise studied. As a result, the washing efficiency of collective PM increased in accordance with the increasing of injection pressure, with nano bubbling washing being 130.8% higher than tap water. According to increase in washing times, the maximum washing efficiency was 143.1% higher than tap water, but suitable washing times were less than 3 times. According to the results of the washing efficiency by variation of residence time, it was confirmed that the maximum residence time of nano-bubble water was maintained within 5 minutes.

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.43-50
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• 2017

Purpose: Residential cooking(gas or electricity) emits many air pollutants. For Removal of these contaminants, range hood is play an important role in the cooking activities. However, deterioration about performance of range hood can be occur in used range hood which is not verified on performance by testing balancing and adjusting in apartment. So, purpose of this study is to improve the range hood against cooking-generated contaminations. Method: To improve hood, survey of range hood which mounted in apartment have to conduct at first. In this study, the survey was conducted for 3 steps. First, Visual inspection for conditions of range hood. Second, questionnaire of operating and maintenance method. Third, interview with user about need for improvement, complainant. Finally, we integrated the survey for range hood and introduced the probable cause of deterioration through this comprehensive survey. Result: Result of measurement for air volume for range hood, A measured air volume has reduced by 41.4, 38.0, 32.0% each step from rated air volume. There are lots of reasons of this phenomenon including to maintenance, air path of duct, lower-cost devices, exhaust ports. For solve this problem, guideline about operating hood, user in apartment will have to supply with maintenance information at first.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.65-76
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• 2019

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to investigate economical ventilation effectiveness to reduce hazardous materials exposure and damage of workers by analyzing exposure amount of noxious substances under various ventilation conditions of nail salon for indoor environments. Research design, data, and methodology - This study was carried out with cooperation of Nail shop located in SeongNam city to involve an analysis of the environmental impact indoor air quality, pollutant exposure and economical cost-effectiveness in the nail workplace. The hazardous substances were PM-10(Particulate Matter-10㎛), VOCs(Volatile Organic Compounds) and Formaldehyde, which are the major materials of nail workplace. Results - PM-10 is reduced by about 60% with air cleaner, forced artificial ventilation by 32%, and natural ventilation by about 12%. TVOCs and Formaldehyde showed similar efficiency (80~100%) after natural ventilation and ventilation after 60 minutes. The removal efficiencies of VOCs and formaldehyde were similar to those of natural ventilation and mechanical ventilation system. However, in case of dust, natural ventilation was reduced by artificial ventilation system due to inflow of external dust during natural ventilation. Conclusions - If the pollution degree of outdoor air is not high, air volume is high, and natural ventilation is performed when the air conditioning and heating system is not operated. Even at the end of the work, it keeps operating for 60 minutes to remove the pollutants generated. Results of this analysis demonstrated that the worker environment can be improved by adopting institutional legislation and guidelines for ventilation.

• Particle and aerosol research
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.115-123
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• 2021

The emission gas from meat grilled restaurants has unpleasant odor and sticky particulate matters (PM) in form of oil mist. This affects the residents living nearby. In oder to decrease the odor and PM, electrostatic precipitators (ESP) were installed at several restaurants by support of Seoul metropolitan government and emission characteristics of PM and odor were investigated. The removal efficiency of odor and PM at before- and after-ESP was that total hydrocarbon (THC), NH₃, H₂S, acetaldehyde, butyraldehyde were not much decreased. Total suspended particles (TSP) emitted from the vent was below the value of 7 mg/m³ regardless of the concentration of before-ESP and removal efficiency was in the range of 64 ~ 86%. The ratio of PM_1.0 to PM₁₀ of emission gas was over 0.9. So it was revealed that most PM of emission gas was PM1.0. The PM concentration in the air of the street near the vent was higher than another street due to the emission gas and the PM of indoor air of restaurant grilling meats was measured very high compared to outdoor air. So it needs more powerful ventilation of indoor air.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.362-369
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• 2019

Background: Chronic nonspecific symptoms attributed to indoor nonindustrial work environments are common and may cause disability, but the medical nature of this disability is unclear. The aim was to medically characterize the disability manifested by chronic, recurrent symptoms and restrictions to work participation attributed to low-level indoor pollutants at workplace and whether the condition shares features with idiopathic environmental intolerance. Methods: We investigated 12 patients with indoor aire-related work disability. The examinations included somatic, psychological, and psychiatric evaluations as well as investigations of the autonomic nervous system, cortisol measurements, lung function, and allergy tests. We evaluated well-being, health, disability, insomnia, pain, anxiety, depression, and burnout via questionnaires. Results: The mean symptom history was 10.5 years; for disabling symptoms, 2.7 years. Eleven patients reported reactions triggered mainly by indoor molds, one by fragrances only. Ten reported sensitivity to odorous chemicals, and three, electric devices. Nearly all had co-occurrent somatic and psychiatric diagnoses and signs of pain, insomnia, burnout, and/or elevated sympathetic responses. Avoiding certain environments had led to restrictions in several life areas. On self-assessment scales, disability showed higher severity and anxiety showed lower severity than in physician assessments. Conclusion: No medical cause was found to explain the disability. Findings support that the condition is a form of idiopathic environmental intolerance and belongs to functional somatic syndromes. Instead of endless avoidance, rehabilitation approaches of functional somatic syndromes are applicable.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.46-51
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• 2014

Objectives: The principal aim of this study was to compare the concentrations of gaseous pollutants emitted in enclosed pig buildings between different rates of general ventilation and determine the variations in the patterns of gaseous pollutants as affected by ventilation rate. Materials and Methods: The experiment was performed in the growing/finishing room($20.0m{\times}12.0m{\times}3.0m$) of a pig confinement building located on the experimental farm of Seoul National University. The conditions of the general ventilation rate for three treatments were 30%($4.12m^3s^{-1}$), 50%($6.87m^3s^{-1}$) and 70%($9.61m^3s^{-1}$). The data presented in the study were collected overa total of 45 days, 15 days for each of the three treatments from March to May 2011. A total of six air samplings were taken at 1.5m above the floor of the pig building. The environmental agents measured in the pig building were ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and odor concentration index for gaseous pollutants with temperature and hydrogen sulfide for thermal factors. Results: There were significant differences in the ammonia and odor concentration index in the pig building among the three general ventilation rate conditions(p<0.05), whereas hydrogen sulfide did not show a significant difference among three conditions of general ventilation rate(p>0.05). As the general ventilation rate applied to the pig building increases, it appears that all the indoor environmental agents measured in this study simultaneously decrease. Conclusions: The gaseous pollutants significantly affected by the general ventilation rate in pig building were ammonia and odor concentration index(p<0.05). However, it was found that hydrogen sulfide and thermal factors, temperature and relative humidity were not influenced significantly by variation in the general ventilation rate.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.501-505
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• 2017

Due to the rapid urbanization and increased population, there is an increase in airtight nature of buildings which causes serious indoor air pollution. Among several indoor air pollutants, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from paint are of major concern. Therefore, there is an urge for the development of environmental friendly paint products. In this wok, a natural wall paint (NWP) was prepared by utilizing a natural clay material "sericite" as a main component. A small chamber test was carried out to identify the toxic substances release from NWP and the results were compared with two eco-friendly commercial paints. The total VOCs were detected in trace level inside the test chamber and their concentrations were below the recommended indoor air quality standards. Toluene was not detected for NWP, whereas formaldehyde was observed in trace level. The toxicity index results were compared with two commercial paints and found that NWP exhibited less harmful gas emission. Based on certification rating of building materials, NWP can be classified as the first grade of building materials. Due to the above advantages, the use of sericite as a major component in NWP will be a useful technique to maintain the indoor air quality.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.22 no.10
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• pp.1263-1271
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• 2013

Graphene oxide (GO)-titania composites have emerged as an attractive heterogeneous photocatalyst that can enhance the photocatalytic activity of $TiO_2$ nanoparticles owing to their potential interaction of electronic and adsorption natures. Accordingly, $TiO_2$-GO mixtures were synthesized in this study using a simple chemical mixing process, and their heterogeneous photocatalytic activities were investigated to determine the degradation of airborne organic pollutants (benzene, ethyl benzene, and o-xylene (BEX)) under different operational conditions. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results demonstrated the presence of GO for the $TiO_2$-GO composites. The average efficiencies of the $TiO_2$-GO mixtures for the decomposition of each component of BEX determined during the 3-h photocatalytic processes were 26%, 92%, and 96%, respectively, whereas the average efficiencies of the unmodified $TiO_2$ powder were 3%, 8%, and 10%, respectively. Furthermore, the degradation efficiency of the unmodified $TiO_2$ powder for all target compounds decreased during the 3-h photocatalytic processes, suggesting a potential deactivation even during such a short time period. Two operational conditions (air flow entering into the air-cleaning devices and the indoor pollution levels) were found to be important factors for the photocatalytic decomposition of BEX molecules. Taken together, these results show that a $TiO_2$-GO mixture can be applied effectively for the purification of airborne organic pollutants when the operating conditions are optimized.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.140-145
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• 2022

In an advanced modern society, among air pollutants caused by urban industrialization and public transportation, fine dust flows into indoors from the outdoors. The fine dust meter used indoors provides limited information and measures the pollution level differently, so there is a problem that users cannot monitor and monitor the data they want. To solve this problem, in this paper, indoor air quality data fine dust and ultra-fine dust (PM1.0, PM2.5, PM10), VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) and PIR (Passive Infrared Sensor) are used to measure fine dust. and a monitoring system were designed and implemented. We propose a fine dust meter and monitoring system that is installed in a designated area to measure fine dust in real time, collects, stores, and visualizes data through App Engine of Google Cloud Platform and provides it to users.