• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.115-124
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• 2024

Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess indoor air quality within and around buildings and evaluate the health risks associated with exposure to indoor air pollution. The study compares IAQ standards established by the World Health Organization with those set by South Korea's Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Education. Methods: The study utilized an Anderson Sampler and DustTrak^TM II to collect samples of total airborne bacteria and PM in indoor and outdoor environments. Collected samples were analyzed using biological and biochemical methods. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS to examine the correlation between airborne bacteria and PM. Results: The study revealed that the concentration of total airborne bacteria in indoor air generally remained below the Ministry of Environment's standard of 800 CFU/m³, although it surpassed this threshold in certain instances. PM concentrations did not exceed the standards. Indoor fine dust concentration was higher when there were people (P<0.05). There was no difference in total floating bacterial concentrations between indoor and outdoor environments (P=0.184). Finally, there was a correlation between fine dust and airborne bacteria concentrations. Conclusion: The study evaluated the concentrations of total airborne bacteria and PM in indoor air, emphasizing the importance of managing IAQ. Further research in various environments is essential to ensure a healthy indoor environment. The findings underscore the need for ongoing research and management to enhance IAQ and create safer and healthier living environments.

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.203-210
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• 2004

This dissertation identifies and investigates the possible control modes of hybrid ventilation system in applying to general apartments. It evaluates range of hybrid ventilation control modes in terms of indoor air quality, thermal comfort, and energy consumption in a living room and a kitchen of the $1000m^2$ apartment. The TRNSYS simulation program was used for evaluating the following four ventilation types : A ventilation mode relying on only infiltration for supplying air, A natural ventilation mode considering with weather condition, A hybrid ventilation (natural + mechanical ventilation) mode allowing minimum ventilation with no heat exchange, and a hybrid ventilation mode with heat exchange. This study shows the following results. As temperature being controlled by heating cooling equipments, there is without significant difference in thermal performance among ventilation types. Regarding Indoor Air quality, Indoor air contamination level of the hybrid ventilation case consistently keep the lower levels. The hybrid ventilation modes consume more energy by a 49% as compared to the A ventilation mode relying on only infiltration for supplying air. It is caused by the continuous ventilation for keeping good indoor air quality; the increase of energy consumption can be attributable to the increase of the heating energy. Therefore, the heat exchange between indoor and outdoor air is required during heating season in severe weather conditions. During the cooling seasons, Introducing natural ventilation can achieve energy saving by 40 ~ 45%. Thus, it can be an effective strategies for energy saving. Based on these results, a hybrid ventilation system can be suggested as an effective ventilation strategy for archiving high level of indoor air quality, thermal comfort, and energy consumption.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.255-263
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• 2007

Indoor air quality is the dominant contributor to total personal exposure because most people spend a majority of their time indoors. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the alternative method for improvement of indoor air quality in house after coating titanium dioxide ($TiO_2$) photocatalyst for interior part of the house using nitrogen dioxide ($NO_2$) multiple measurements. To evaluate the alternative method in indoor environment, daily indoor and outdoor $NO_2$ concentrations of an apartment and a detached house were daily measured for consecutive 21 days in winter and summer, respectively, Another daily 21 measurements were carried out after $TiO_2$ coating on wall paper of interior part in houses. All $NO_2$ concentrations were measured by passive filter badges. Indoor air quality models using mass balance are useful tool to quantify the relationship between indoor air pollution levels, ambient concentrations, and explanatory variables. Using a mass balance model and linear regression analysis, penetration factor (ventilation rate divided by sum of ventilation rate and decay rate) and source strength factor (emission rate divided by sum of ventilation rate and decay rate) were calculated. Subsequently, the decay constants were estimated. In this study. magnitude of improvement of indoor air quality could be evaluated by decay constant.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2018.10a
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• pp.206-209
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• 2018

According to data released by the WHO(World Health Organization), the death toll from indoor air pollution in 2016 was about 3.8 million. While many people are aware of outdoor air pollution, indoor air pollution is getting less attention. Recently, however, indoor air pollution has also become a big problem, raising many issues. Frequent indoor activities such as cooking and heating produce various pollutants, which can cause children and elderly with weak immune systems to be exposed to pollutants, which can cause serious health problems such as poor lung function and respiratory diseases. Therefore, in this paper, the IoT(Internet of Things) platform that measures and monitors indoor air quality using AQ(Air Quality) sensors is developed so that data can be monitored in real time through applications and reactive web.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.184-191
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• 2014

Air quality in a subway tunnel has been crucial in most of the subway environments where IAQ could be affected by many factors such as the number of passengers, the amount and types of ventilation, train operation factors and other facilities. A modeling approach has been introduced to manage the general IAQ in a subway station. Field surveys and $CO_2$ measurements were initially conducted to analyze and understand the relationship between indoor and outdoor air quality while considering internal pollution sources, such as passengers and subway trains, etc. The measurement data were then employed for the model development with other statistical information. For the model development, the algorithm of simple continuity was set up and applied to model the subway IAQ concerned, while considering the major air transport through staircases and tunnels. Monitored $CO_2$ concentration on the concourse and platform were correlated with modeling results where the correlation values for the concourse and platform were $R^2=0.96$ and $R^2=0.75$, respectively. It implies that the box modeling approach introduced in this study would be beneficial to predict and control the indoor air quality in subway environments.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.17-25
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• 2016

In this study, the air quality of underground and overground railway stations was evaluated focusing on the degree of influence of the outside air quality. The measured components were particulate matter ($PM_{10}$), carbon dioxide ($CO_2$), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide ($NO_2$), formaldehyde (HCHO), ozone ($O_3$), total airborne bacteria (TAB), total volatile organic carbon (TVOC), and Radon (Rn), which are included in the maintenance standards and recommended standards of the Indoor Air Quality Management Act. Also, the indoor/outdoor concentration ratios of $PM_{10}$, $NO_2$, and $O_3$ were calculated to estimate the influence of the outdoor air quality. The concentrations of $PM_{10}$ HCHO, TVOC, $NO_2$, and Rn in the underground stations were found to be higher than those in the overground stations. These results indicate that the (present) generation of contaminants are caused by the indoor source of the underground station. The ozone concentration of the overground stations was higher than that of the underground stations, which indicates that the outdoor ozone concentration influenced that of the overground stations directly. Thus, methods of improving the IAQ should take into consideration the types of contamination.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.569-579
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• 2011

This study evaluated the indoor air quality of 26 government offices located in Seoul. The pollutant samples were taken from Jan. 13th to Jan. 29th and Feb. 20th to Feb. 23rd, 2010 in the offices. The target indoor pollutants for this study were $PM_{10}$, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, total bacteria counts, total volatile organic compounds, radon, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and asbestos which were controlled by the indoor air quality law for the multiple-use facilities management. The results of this study showed that some pollutants of the 38.5% offices exceeded the standards of the air quality guideline. The correlation analysis of the same pollutants between indoor and outdoor represented that $NO_2$ (r=0.629, p<0.05) and $O_3$ (r=0.459, p<0.01) were significant, however, $PM_{10}$ and CO were not. The correlation analysis between different pollutants showed that CO and TVOC (total volatile organic compounds: r=0.724; p<0.01), CO and $NO_2$ (r=0.674; p<0.01), HCHO and humidity (r=0.605; p<0.01), $CO_2$ and TVOC (r=0.534; p<0.01), TBC (total bacteria counts) and Asbestos (r=0.520; p<0.01) were significant. The energy-saving system of government buildings in winter caused under-ventilated and poor air quality. This study suggests that the concentrations of radon and $CO_2$ should be used as an indicator for monitoring indoor air quality and maintaining effective ventilations.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.92-97
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• 2004

Three methods for VOCs emissions control in indoor air are reduction at the source, ventilation between indoor and outdoor, and removal. The best alternative should be to replace highly emitting sources with sources having low emissions, but the pertinent information on VOCs is not always available from manufactures. Other ways of improving indoor air quality are needed. It is to increase the outside fresh-air flow to dilute the pollutants, but this method would generally provide only a dilution effect without destruction in residence. An ideal alternative to existing technologies would be a chemical oxidation process able to treat large volumes of slightly contaminated air at normal temperature without additional oxidant such as ozone generator and ion generator. Photocatalytic oxidation(PCO) represents such a process. It is characterized by a surface reaction assisted by light radiation inducing the formation of superoxide, hydroperoxide anions, or hydroxyl radicals, which are powerful oxidants. In comparison with other VOCs removal methods, PCO offers several advantages. The purpose of this study was to explore the possibilities for photocatalytic purification of slightly contaminated indoor air by using visible light such as flurescent visible light(FVL). In this study, a PCO of relatively concentrated benzene using common FVL lamps was investigated as batch type and total volatile organic compounds(TVOCs) using a common FVL lamp and penetrated sun light over window. The results of this study shown the possibility of TiO$_2$ photocatalyst application in the area of indoor air quality control.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2008.11b
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• pp.1799-1802
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• 2008

More than 7 million people use the Seoul metropolitan subway network daily. This number tends to increase due to the increase of oil price. Indoor air quality of electrical multiple unit (EMU) is strongly affected by outdoor air quality, however, indoor thermal comfort is subjected to heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system of EMU. In general, air temperature, humidity, air velocity, surface temperature, and illumination are key parameters affecting thermal comfort of passenger. It is known that the well-designed HVAC system should improve the thermal comfort of passengers and should increase the energy efficiency of HVAC system also. In this study, we analyzed the thermal comfort of advanced EMU developed by Korea Railroad Research Institute by using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in order to find the optimum HVAC system which can improve thermal comfort of passengers with a minimal energy use.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.295-304
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• 2023

Background: Adolescents are relatively more sensitive than adults to exposure to indoor pollutants. The indoor air quality in classrooms where students spend time together must therefore be managed at a safe level because it can affect the health of students. Objectives: In this study, three types of green-wall models were applied to classrooms where students spend a long time in a limited space, and the resulting effects on reducing PM were evaluated. Methods: In the middle school classrooms which were selected as the experimental subjects, IoT-based indoor air quality monitoring equipment was installed for real-time monitoring. Three types of plant models (passive, active, and active+light) were installed in each classroom to evaluate the effects on improving indoor air quality. Results: The concentration of PM in the classroom is influenced by outdoor air quality, but repeated increases and decreases in concentration were observed due to the influence of students' activities. There was a PM reduction effect by applying the green-wall model. There was a difference in PM reduction efficiency depending on the type of green-wall model, and the reduction efficiency of the active model was higher than the passive model. Conclusions: The active green-wall model can be used as an efficient method of improving indoor air quality. Additionally, more research is needed to increase the efficiency of improving indoor air quality by setting conditions that can stimulate the growth of each type of plant.