• Particle and aerosol research
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.97-104
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• 2017

In order to characterize atmospheric aerosols in Chungcheong area, black carbon concentration, which is known to be closely related to global warming, was measured and compared with $PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations and various meteorological parameters such as wind velocity and wind direction. Multi Angle Absorption Photometer (MAAP), a filter-based equipment, was used for the black carbon measurement, and the $PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations, wind velocity and wind direction were provided by the local monitoring stations. Black carbon concentration was monitored to be high in spring and winter but low in fall. $PM_{10}$ concentration was observed to be high when westerly wind was strong.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.677-688
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to predict occurrence of earthquakes in Korea by measuring the concentration of radon radioactivity in the air and in the underground water. Two monitoring systems of radon concentration detection in the air were installed in Seoul, East Coast area, whereas of radon concentration in the underground water in Kyungju area during December, 1999 to June, 2001. The distribution of radon concentration in the air in Seoul is as follows Winter(10.10 $\pm$ 2.81 Bq/㎥), autumn(8.41 $\pm$ 1.35 Bq/㎥), summer(5.83 $\pm$ 0.05 Bq/㎥) and spring (5.34 $\pm$ 0.44 Bq/㎥), whereas the distribution of radon in the air in the East Coast area showed some difference as follows : autumn (14.08 $\pm$ 5.75 Bq/㎥), Summer (12.04 $\pm$ 0.53 Bq/㎥), Winter (12.02 $\pm$ 1.40 Bq/㎥) and spring (8.93 $\pm$ 0.91 Bq/㎥). In the meanwhile, the distribution of radon in the water is as follows : spring (123.59 $\pm$ 16.36count/10min), Winter (93.95 $\pm$ 79.69counter/10min), autumn (68.96 $\pm$ 37.53counter/10min) and spring (34.45 $\pm$ 9.69counter/10min). The daily range of the density of radon concentration in Seoul and East Coast area was between 5.51 Bq/㎥ - 9.44 Bq/㎥, 7.15 Bq/㎥ - 15.27 Bq/㎥, respectively. Correlation of the distributions of radon concentrations in the air and in underground water with earthquake showed considerable variations of radon concentration before the occurrence of the earthquake. The results suggested that radon radioactivity seemed to be helpful for the prediction of the occurrence of earthquake.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.51-56
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• 2012

Objectives: High concentrations of airborne particulate matters (PM) can affect the health of passengers using public transportation. The objectives of this research were to develop a PM control system for a railway cabin and to evaluate the performance of the device under conditions of an actual journey. Methods: This study measured the concentrations of $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$ simultaneously in a reference cabin and a cabin with the PM control device. Results: The average $PM_{10}$ concentration in the reference cabin was 100 ${\mu}g/m^3$, and the $PM_{10}$ concentration in the cabin with the control device was 79 ${\mu}g/m^3$. While the overall control efficiency of the control device was 15.4%, reduction was more effective for peak $PM_{10}$ concentration. However, $PM_{2.5}$ levels did not differ greatly between the reference cabin and the cabin with the control device. The ratio of $PM_{2.5}$ to $PM_{10}$ was 0.37. $PM_{10}$ concentrations in cabins were not associated with ambient concentrations, indicating that the main sources of $PM_{10}$ were present in cabins. Additionally, average $CO_2$ concentration in the cabins was 1,359 ppm, less than the maximum of 2,000 ppm set out by the Korean Ministry of Environment's guideline. The $CO_2$ concentration in cabins was significantly associated with the number of passengers: the in-cabin concentration = $23.4{\times}N+460.2$, where N is the number of passengers. Conclusions: Application of the PM control device can improve $PM_{10}$ concentration, especially at peak levels but not $PM_{2.5}$ concentration.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.535-542
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• 2017

This study was conducted to investigate how $PM_{10}$ concentration and Relative Humidity (RH) affected visibility in Jinju, Korea. A 9-yr dataset of 1 h averages for visibility, $PM_{10}$, and RH data was analyzed to examine the correlation between these variables. On average, visibility decreased by 1.4 km for every $10{\mu}g/m^3$ increase in $PM_{10}$ and by 2.1 km for every 10% increase in RH. In general, a negative correlation was observed between visibility and and $PM_{10}$ concentration. However, under conditions of low $PM_{10}$ concentration(< $15{\mu}g/m^3$) and visibility(< 2 km), there was a positive correlation between these two variables. In this case, RH levels were high (> 75%). A high correlation analysis between two variables need to be under control conditions with RH < 75%, $PM_{10}$ $15{\sim}100{\mu}g/m^3$, and visibility > 2 km.

• Communications for Statistical Applications and Methods
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.517-530
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• 2023

Recent studies revealed that fine dust in ambient air may cause various health problems such as respiratory diseases and cancer. To prevent the toxic effects of fine dust, it is important to predict the concentration of fine dust in advance and to identify factors that are closely related to fine dust. In this study, we developed a Bayesian network model for predicting PM10 concentration in Seoul, Korea, and visualized the relationship between important factors. The network was trained by using air quality and meteorological data collected in Seoul between 2018 and 2021. The study results showed that current PM10 concentration, season, carbon monoxide (CO) were the top 3 effective factors in 24 hours ahead prediction of PM10 concentration in Seoul, and that there were interactive effects.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.22 no.2 s.57
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• pp.185-188
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• 2007

PM10 and PM2.5 in ambient air were collected in Seongbuk-gu area of Seoul for one year, from April 2005 to February 2006, and the concentration of PM-bound mercury was monitored. The annual concentrations of particles were $66.4{\pm}43.2{\mu}g/m^3\;(47.6{\pm}19.1{\mu}g/m^3-106.1{\pm}78.0{\mu}g/m^3)$ in PM10 and $37.2{\pm}20.4{\mu}g/m^3\;(28.0{\pm}23.4{\mu}g/m^3{\sim}42.7{\pm}21.4{\mu}g/m^3)$ in PM2.5, which is about 56% of PM10 concentration. The annual average concentrations of mercury were $0.125{\pm}0.078ng/m^3\;in\;PM10\;and\;0.141{\pm}0.080ng/m^3$ in PM2.5, respectively. In April of Asian dust season in Korea, mercury showed the highest concentration in both PM10 and PM2.5.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.156-165
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• 2018

Long-term trend analysis on air pollutant concentrations is very important to diagnose the present status and plan for the future. In this study, the long-term trends of $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations were estimated based on the relationship between the visibility and $PM_{2.5}$ concentration regarding the effects of relative humidity in Seoul and Chuncheon. The relationships between the visibility and $PM_{2.5}$ concentration were derived from the measurement data in 2015 and 2016. Then, the annual trends of $PM_{2.5}$ concentration from 1982 to 2014 were estimated and compared to those of $PM_{10}$ concentration available in Seoul and Chuncheon. During the estimation process, four ranges of relative humidity were considered such as less than 30%, 31~50%, 51~70%, and 71~90%. In Seoul and Chuncheon, the visibility and $PM_{2.5}$ concentration generally have the inverse relationship while the visibility decreases as the relative humidity increases. The estimated $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations similarly showed the decreasing tendencies from 2006 to 2012 in Seoul and Chuncheon. However, the estimated $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations showed the increasing tendency before 2005 in Chuncheon in contrast to the decreasing tendency in Seoul. This implies that the long-term trends of $PM_{2.5}$ concentration in different cities in South Korea reflect the local influencing factors. For example, 'Special Act on the Improvement of Atmospheric Environment in the Seoul Metropolitan Area' can affect the different long-term trends in Seoul and Chuncheon. The estimated $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations were validated with the measured ones in Seoul and Chuncheon. While the general tendencies were well matched between the estimated and measured concentrations, the $PM_{2.5}$ concentration trends in 1990s and their monthly variations are needed to be improved quantitatively using more reference data for longer years.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.12 no.10
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• pp.1033-1041
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• 2003

Hourly data of PM10 concentration collected from nine automatic air quality monitoring stations in Busan from 1999 to 2002 were analyzed to evaluate the spatio-temporal variation and meteorological characteristics of PM10 episodes in Busan metropolitan area. Mean concentrations ranged from 47$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥ to 77$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥. For most stations, mean seasonal hourly concentrations are lowest in summer and highest in spring. PM10 episode above daily mean standard(150$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥) exhibited a maximum frequency at Gamjeondong and a minimum at Dongsamdong, and a maximum in March and a minimum in July and August. The diurnal variation of PM10 episode days is strongly influenced by traffic loads and meteorological conditions.

• Particle and aerosol research
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.53-62
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• 2009

In this study, the continuous monitoring of the concentration of PM-10 atmospheric particulate matter using beta ray attenuation method was compared with gravimetric method from September, 2006 to August, 2007. On the effects of the PM-10 concentration and mass difference by relative humidity and precipitation were considered. The result showed that the measurement error between beta ray method and gravimetric method are within -3~6% in average, which means PM-10 concentration data with beta ray method are relatively comparable. The current study also shows that the high PM-10 concentration events are mainly due to haze, Asian dust, and high relative humidity and the PM-10 mass concentration is closely related with relative humidity and precipitation events. Based on daily mean data, the PM-10 increases as relative humidity increases up to 70~80%, then decreases over 80% due to the precipitation. However, the distinct measurement discrepancy was not shown between beta ray method and gravimetric method based on current results. Consequently, this study shows that the collocated measurement in different instrument is essential in order to quantify the accuracy of PM-10. Furthermore, the more comprehensive and spatially distributed comparison is needed and this is remained for future study.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.10-16
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• 2014

Objectives: This pilot study assessed secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure in smoking and non-smoking nightclubs in Seoul, Korea by measuring the concentration of particulate matter smaller than $2.5{\mu}m$ ($PM_{2.5}$). Methods: This comparative study was conducted in three nightclubs in Seoul. While one non-smoking nightclub was measured on weekdays and weekends, different smoking nightclubs were measured on weekdays and weekends. The concentration of $PM_{2.5}$ was observed using a real-time monitor over an average of three hours. The number of people in the clubs was also estimated. Settled dust was collected in a smoking and a non-smoking nightclub and analyzed for NNK concentration. Results: The $PM_{2.5}$ concentration in the smoking nightclubs was higher than those found in the non-smoking nightclub by 26 times on weekdays and three times on weekends. Indoor $PM_{2.5}$ concentration was correlated with the number of people in the smoking nightclubs. Relatively high $PM_{2.5}$ concentration was observed in the non-smoking nightclub on weekends. NNK concentration in the smoking nightclub was 7 times higer than in the non-smoking nightclub. Conclusion: Smoking in nightclubs caused high $PM_{2.5}$ concentration. Although the non-smoking nightclub had a lower $PM_{2.5}$ concentration, $PM_{2.5}$ concentration on weekends was higher due to the smoking room. Complete prohibition of smoking in nightclubs can protect patrons from secondhand smoke exposure.