• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.425-434
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• 2014

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to introduce the establishment process and results of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's road map on environmental health policy. Methods: The process consisted of expert group meetings, civic participation, research, and questionnaire survey for priority environmental health policy agenda items in Seoul. Results: The announced vision for the environmental health policy was "a healthy environment, safety in Seoul". This policy was established in order to define environment health policy initiatives for a period of five years with an aim to protect Seoul citizens' health from hazardous environmental factors. The resulting Seoul environmental health policy consisted of four areas and 16 key agenda items. The four areas were "Protection for children against hazardous materials", "Enhancement of health and safety of all", "Carcinogen-free and endocrine-disrupting chemical-free Seoul (reducing environmental exposure to hazardous materials), and "Establish the foundation of environmental health policy". Sixteen key agenda items include the enhancement of management of spaces for children, certification of environmental health status at schools, establishment of a unit responsible for the environmental health of children, strengthening environmental health management for susceptible populations (children, the aged, and the socioeconomically vulnerable), management of hazardous materials, physical hazardous factors (noise, radiation, etc.), indoor air quality, and the enhancement of monitoring, research, and regulation of environment health. Conclusion: The Seoul Metropolitan Government established an environmental health policy road map for a five-year period (2013-2017). To implement this environmental health policy, budget allocation, and detailed execution plans are required.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.125-132
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• 2011

As the enhancement of indoor air quality is increasingly compelling the use of natural materials without any emission, this study reports the preparation and performance of natural garlic adhesives for wallpaper. The natural garlic adhesives were successfully prepared by the extraction of the clove of raw garlic with water to isolate carbohydrates and proteins. Properties of the prepared garlic adhesives such as the non volatile solids content, viscosity, density, and pH were 62%, 2,789 mPa.s, $1.3g/cm^3$, and 6.6, respectively. The non-volatile solids content has a great impact on the adhesion performance of the prepared garlic adhesives, which was adequate about 60%. Bonding strength of prepared garlic adhesives was greater than the requirement of a Korean standard for wallpaper. In addition, the garlic adhesives showed antibacterial activity inheriting from the garlic. It is expected that the prepared garlic adhesives could be used as safe and natural adhesives without emitting any volatile organic compounds and formaldehyde gas.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.59-65
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• 2018

Radon gas is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that occurs when uranium, a natural radioactive material in rocks and soils, collapses. 85% of the annual radiation exposure of the human body is due to natural radiation, of which 50% is radon. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) survey, 62 out of 1,000 smokers and 7 out of 1,000 nonsmokers are exposed to lung cancer when exposed to radon gas for a long time. In order to reduce the risk of radon gas, activate carbon was used to fabricate matrix, and the pore properties and radon reduction properties were investigated. When the activate carbon was used, the radon gas concentration was drastically reduced and the graph was changed as the measurement period became longer. The pore distribution and microporous properties, which are one of the material properties of activate carbon, can be grasped.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.633-638
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• 2019

Indoor air quality underground facilities are not equipped for the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and they are usually treated by diffusion methods such as ventilation. In this study, an adsorption filter was prepared using various coating methods such as carbon nano fiber (CNF) and dip coating. As a result, the adsorption performance was improved by 2 to 20 times or more compared to that of using the metal foam support. This is maybe due to the enhancement of pore distribution which was confirmed by SEM. In addition, the adsorption performance was 13.95 mg/g by adding lignin, and also an average adsorption performance of 13.25 mg/g was maintained after washing indicating that a highly durable adsorption filter material was prepared. It can be suggested that the developed adsorption filter material can be a potential solution that can fundamentally control VOCs, not via the concentration reduction of mechanical ventilation in underground facilities.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.855-860
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• 2021

Coffee is a popular beverage not only in Korea but also around the world, and its consumption is on the rise. As coffee consumption increases, coffee waste are also increasing, and recycling is attempted in various fields. However, these recycling methods require complex recycling processes and specialized skills. However, in this study coffee waste, agar powder, and powdered glue were mixed in an appropriate ratio and used as a cement building finishing material. This recycling method has a simple manufacturing method and was shown to improve indoor air quality by delaying radon emitted from cement walls for 2.5 hours with one application and 3.9 hours with two applications. In addition, it was shown that after applying the coffee waste mixture, it was applied twice to close the cracks that occurred during the drying process, thereby prevent the coffee waste from falling off the wall for aesthetic perfection.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.28 no.7
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• pp.581-594
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• 2019

This research investigated the characteristics of $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations at the main subway stations in Busan. Annual mean $PM_{10}$ concentrations at the Seomyeon 1- waiting room and platform were $51.3{\mu}g/m^3$ and $47.5{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively, and the annual $PM_{2.5}$ concentration at the Seomyeon 1- platform was $28.8{\mu}g/m^3$. $PM_{2.5}$/$PM_{10}$ ratio at Seomyeon 1-platform and Dongnae station were 0.58 and 0.53, respectively. Diurnal variation of $PM_{10}$ concentration at subway stations in Busan was categorized into four types, depending on the number of peaks and the times at which the peaks occurred. Unlike the areas outside of the subway stations which reported maximum $PM_{10}$ concentration mostly in spring across the entire locations, the interiors of the subway stations reported the maximum $PM_{10}$ concentration in spring, winter, and even summer, depending on their location. $PM_{10}$ concentration was highest on Saturday and lowest on Sunday. The numbers of days when $PM_{10}$ concentration exceeded $100{\mu}g/m^3$ and $80{\mu}g/m^3$ per day over the last three years at the subway stations in Busan were 36 and 239, respectively. The findings of this research are expected to enhace the understanding of the fine particle characteristics at subway stations in Busan and be useful for developing a strategy for controlling urban indoor air quality.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.308-316
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• 2022

Objective: This study was conducted to determine reduction of various odorous materials from a swine farm equipped with a continuous pit recirculation system (CPRS) with aerobically treated liquid manure. Methods: The CPRS is used in swine farms in South Korea, primarily to improve air quality in pig houses. In this study, CPRS consists of a manure aerobic treatment system and a fit recirculation system; the solid fraction is separated and composted, whereas the aerobically treated liquid fraction (290.0%±21.0% per day of total stored swine slurry) is continuously returned to the pit. Four confinement pig barns in three piggery farms were used; two were equipped with CPRS and the other two operated a slurry pit under the slatted floor. Results: All chemical contents of slurry pit manure in the control were greater than those of slurry pit manure in the CRPS treatment (p<0.05). Electrical conductivity and pH contents did not differ among treatments. The biological oxygen demand of the slurry pit treatment was greater than that of the other treatments (p<0.05). Total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and ammonia nitrogen contents of the slurry pit treatment were greater than those of other treatments (p<0.05). Odor intensity of the CPRS treatment was lower than that of the control at indoor, exhaust, and outside sampling points (p<0.05). The temperature and carbon dioxide of the CPRS treatment in the pig barn was significantly lower than those of control (p<0.05). All measured odorous material contents of the CPRS group were significantly lower than those of the control group (p<0.05). Conclusion: The CPRS application in pig farms is considered a good option as it continuously reduces the organic load of animal manure and lowers the average odorant concentration below the threshold of detecting odorous materials.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.1-14
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• 2022

This study aims to identify topics in newspaper articles related to fine particle matter and to investigate the characteristics and time series trend of each topic. Related national newspaper articles during 1990 and 2021 were collected from Bigkinds. A total of 18 topics have been discovered using LDA, and 11 clusters deduced from clustering. Hot topics include related products/residence, overseas cause(China), power plant as a domestic cause, nationwide emergency reduction measures, international cooperation, political issues, current situation & countermeasure in other countries, and consumption patterns. Cold topics include the concentration standard and indoor air quality improvement. These findings would be useful in inferring the political direction and strategies. In particular, the consumer protection policy should be expanded as the related market is growing. It will also be necessary to pursue policies that will promote public safety and health, and that will enhance public consensus and international cooperation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.35 no.9
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• pp.613-623
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• 2013

This study is purposed to evaluate the airborne asbestos concentrations in life environment surroundings in Seoul. In study, we investigated airborne asbestos concentrations in thirteen subway stations, four monitoring networks and each vicinity roadside, six stream surroundings, four tunnels quarterly and we also investigated relationship between the airborne asbestos concentrations and ambient temperature in monitoring networks and time-based airborne asbestos concentration variability for two typical monitoring networks, two subway stations transferred and used by lots of people through Phase Contrast Microscopy (PCM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The airborne asbestos concentrations by PCM for 4 objects of study were less than the detection limit (7 fiber/$mm^2$) in 111 (50%) out of 223 samples. The highest concentration was 0.0130 f/cc. But additional TEM analysis result for samples exceeding the guideline value for indoor air quality (0.01 f/cc) proposed by the Ministry of Environment (Korea), no asbestos was detected. Similarly TEM analysis result for 124 samples, no asbestos was detected. The average airborne asbestos concentrations by PCM in subway stations, monitoring networks, streams and tunnels were $0.0041{\pm}0.0027$ f/cc, $0.0015{\pm}0.0011$ f/cc, $0.0024{\pm}0.0012$ f/cc and $0.0016{\pm}0.0020$ f/cc. All objects of study were satisfied with the guideline value for indoor air quality. The relationship between the airborne asbestos concentrations and ambient temperature in monitoring networks was generally positive correlation (r = 0.660). The higher ambient temperature was and the more transient population was, the airborne asbestos concentrations by time for two subway stations were increased. While the airborne asbestos concentrations for two monitoring networks showed no variation pattern according to time.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.38 no.8
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• pp.459-467
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• 2016

In order to assess the pollution status and distribution characteristics of PM and PM-bound species, PM10 samples were collected using mini-volume air sampler at the subway cabin in Daejeon city. Measurements of about 24 elements including toxic metals (e.g., As, Cr, Mn, V, Zn) in PM10 were made by instrumental neutron activation analysis and X-ray fluorescence. The average PM10 concentration was $59.3{\pm}14.5{\mu}g/m^3$ in the subway cabin with a range of 42.2 to $97.4{\mu}g/m^3$, while the associated elemental concentrations were varied in the range of $10^{-3}$ to $10^5ng/m^3$. It was found that the concentration of Fe ($12.5{\mu}g/m^3$) was substantially higher than any other element. The Fe concentration was apportioned by about 20% of the PM10 concentration. The results of factor analysis indicate that there are no more than six sources in the cabin (e.g., brake-nonferrous metal particle, resuspended rail dust, fuel combustion, vehicle exhaust, black carbon, Cr-related).