• Proceedings of the Korea Air Pollution Research Association Conference
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• 2009.10a
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• pp.592-593
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• 2009

• Journal of Environmental Analysis, Health and Toxicology
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.220-228
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• 2018

$PM_{2.5}$-bound mercury (PBM) was monitored at weekly intervals for three years (from 2014 to 2016) at an urban (Seoul) and rural site (Baengnyeong) in South Korea. The average PBM concentrations in $PM_{2.5}$ samples over the entire sampling period were $12{\pm}11pg/m^3$ and $36{\pm}34pg/m^3$ for Baengnyeong and Seoul, respectively. Seasonal differences were pronounced, with concentrations being highest in winter due to local meteorological conditions (high gas-particle coefficient due to low temperature and low mixing layer height in winter) as well as seasonal factors, such as coal combustion for heating purposes in China. In Baengnyeong, the significant positive correlation of PBM with $PM_{2.5}$, air pollutants, and heavy metals suggested that coal combustion in China might be the most important source of ambient mercury in Korea. In winter, no correlation of PBM with $PM_{2.5}$, air pollutants, and heavy metals was seen in Seoul. Furthermore, Seoul showed higher $PBM/PM_{2.5}$ and $Pb/PM_{2.5}$ ratios in winter due to the strong atmospheric oxidation-reduction reaction conditions as well as local and regional PBM sources. We conclude that immediate attention must be given to addressing PBM levels in Korea, including considering it as a key component of future air quality monitoring activities and mitigation measures.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2001

In this study, wasted stone powders (WSP) obtained from sludge and Wasted Tire Chips (WTC) as fillers have been used to formulate polymer hybrid composites based on Unsaturated Polyester (UPE) resin. To further enhance not only the interfacial bond between the inorganic filler and the polymer matrix, but also the filler dispersion by wetting the particulate surfaces to uniformly spread the resin during the mixing, silane coupling agent[${\gamma}$-methacryloxy propyl trimethoxy silane (${\gamma}$-MPS)] was used. The influences of organic recycled fillers contents and the concentrations of coupling agent in polymer hybrid composite formulations have been investigated from a mechanical and microstructural point o view through Mercury Porosimeter and SEM.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.22-29
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• 2000

This study was performed to investigate the concentrations of TSP, PM10 and heavy metals(Pb, Cd,Hg, Ni, Zn) of underground parking lots in Taegu city. The samples were collected from 3 department stores and 1 central park in the winter and the summer, 1997. The samples of 3 department stores were divided into sale period and non-sale period in the winter and the summer. The concentrations of TSP and PM10 were 109.6±1.5㎍/㎥ and 93.3±1.5㎍/㎥. In TSP, the zinc was the highest level, 287.16±1.5ng/㎥ and the cadmium was the lowest, 2.4±2.1ng/㎥ and in PM10, the zinc was the highest level, 193.6±1.5ng/㎥ and the cadmium was the lowest, 0.6±3.9ng/㎥. The correlation coefficient between the concentration of TSP and PM10 was 0.982(p<0.05). The correlation coefficients of corresponding heavy metal in TSP and PM10 were 0.863 for lead, 0.617 for mercury, 0.890 for nickel and 0.850 for zinc(p<0.05). The concentrations of TSP, PM10 and cadmium of PM10 in the winter were higher than those of the summer. However, the concentration of Hg of PM10 in the summer was higher than that of the winter. The concentrations of TSP and PM10 in sale period was higher than those of non-sale period and the concentrations of heavy metal in TSP and PM10 were not significantly different between sale and non-sale period. The proportions of PM10 to TSP were above 60% in dust, lead, nickel, and zinc and less than 40% in cadmium and mercury. The concentrations of TSP, PM10 and heavy metal in the underground parking lots were comparatively lower than those of general atmosphere. However, this kind of research to PM10 in the underground parking lots must be continued because it is very important particulate matter that affects human beng's health.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.223-236
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• 2001

The concentration of gaseous mercury (Hg) was measured at hourly intervals along with relevant environmental parameters from two monitoring stations (Hannam and Kwachun) in Seoul metropolitan city during September 1999 to July 2000. Irrespective of the environmental and areal differences in the two locations, the concentrations of observed Hg levels were remarkably compatible each other. The results showed that the mean Hg level in Hannam was measured to be 5.34${\pm}$3.92 ngm$^{-3}$ (N = 2576), while that of Kwachun was 5.25${\pm}$2.53 ngm$^{-3}$ (N = 1992). Using these measurement data, we inspected Hg distribution and behavior at various time scale. When the data were analyzed at 24 hr scale, the distribution patterns for the two areas were distinguished by enrichment in either night(Hannam) or day (Kwachun). The patterns for seasonal distributions were also opposing each other such as the occurrences of peak during winter (Hannam) or summer (Kwachun). In order to analyze the factors affecting Hg distributions between two sites over different time scale, we conducted both correlation and factor analysis on both all data sets and on seasonally divided data groups. Whereas Hg exhibits strong correlations with such parameters as PM (particulate matter), SO$_2$, and NO$_2$, its relationship with meteorological parameters was not significant enough in many cases. The results of factor analysis also indicated that the Hg levels are tightly associated with most pollutants, explaining the largest portions of statistical variance. According to our study, we conclude that patterns of Hg distributions can exhibit variable patterns depending on local source processes which we expect to be diverse among different areas.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.619-628
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• 2023

In this study, we investigated the feasibility of calcium sulfate fertilizer as a stabilizing agent for As and Hg contaminated farmland soil and its stabilization characteristics in 3 different physical forms (particulate, powder, and solution) through a pot experiment including 34 days of lettuce growth. As and Hg contents of the lettuce grown in the stabilized soils were decreased by at least 70%. However the lettuce yield of the soil stabilized with the solution agent was decreased by 46% due to the overabundance of the nutrients from the solution agent. Thus, if a solution-type agent is planned for agricultural farmland soil stabilization, additional tests for optimal dosage are needed to preserve vegetation growth. In Hg fractionation, a lower concentration of elemental fractions and a higher concentration of residual/sulfide fractions were identified in the soils stabilized with the solution, powder, and pariculate agents in descending order while there were no significant changes in As fractionation. Overall results suggest that calcium sulfate fertilizer can be used as a stabilizing agent, and a solution-type agent could be used when the operation of heavy machinery for the soil stabilization process is impossible.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.87-96
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• 2017

In this study, 4 gases containing typical chlorinated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were treated by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. The typical chlorinated VOCs are dichloromethane (DCM), trichloromethane (TCM), carbon tetrachloride (CTC) and trichloroethylene (TCE). The removal efficiency (RE) and the products of chlorinated VOCs by UV irradiation are investigated. At this time, 2 types of background gas (air and nitrogen) were used to figure out the RE by photooxidation and photolysis. The specification of UV-lamp used in this study was low-pressure mercury lamp emitting wavelength of 185~254 nm. The experimental conditions were set as initial VOC concentration of $180{\pm}10ppm$, empty bed retention time (EBRT) of 53 s, temperature of $23{\pm}2^{\circ}C$ and relative humidity of $65{\pm}5%$. In the photolysis condition with nitrogen ($N_2$) as background gas, the averaged RE of the 4 types of chlorinated VOCs was about 24% higher than that with photooxidation; and the REs of VOCs except CTC were confirmed as >99%. The composition of off-gases after UV photooxidation in air was investigated and several intermediates from DCM, TCM and TCE were detected by GC/MS. Among them, phosgene which is a toxics was detected as an intermediate of TCM. In addition, the concentration of carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) in the off-gases was measured to calculate the mineralization rate (MR). With the photooxidation, TCE showed the highest RE (>99%) while MR was the lowest (17%); and the MR of DCM was the highest (86%). In addition, particulate matters (PM) in the off-gases was also detected and high concentrated $PM_{10}$ ($21,580{\mu}g{\cdot}m^{-3}$) and $PM_{2.5}$ ($6,346{\mu}g{\cdot}m^{-3}$) were detected in TCE off-gas. More than 99% of the chlorinated VOCs could be removed using UV254-185 nm lamp, while it is necessary to conduct further studies on the production and treatment of secondary pollutants.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.360-372
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• 2010

Concentrations of ambient air particles such as total suspended particulates (TSP), particulate matter $(PM)_{10}$, and $PM_{2.5}$, were monitored simultaneously from May to June, 2007, at four locations at Alashan and Beijing in China, and Seoul and Gosan in South Korea. These monitoring sites are in the pathway of Asian dust (AD) storms traveling from China to the Korean peninsula. An AD event was observed in the Korean peninsula on May 25-26. During the sampling period, the average concentrations of TSP and PM10 were each higher than $150\;{\mu}g/m^3$ in Alashan and Beijing, but not in Seoul and Gosan. The concentration of TSP in Alashan (where the dust storm originated) on the day of the AD event reached $1824.7\;{\mu}g/m^3$, this being the highest concentration of air particles observed during the sampling period. The level was decreased to 15% of this ($274.7\;{\mu}g/m^3$) in Seoul and to 8.7% ($159.0\;{\mu}g/m^3$) in Gosan when the AD was observed two days later in Korea. Gosan, a representative background site in East Asia, displayed the lowest concentration of particles, with this maximal TSP concentration of $159\;{\mu}g/m^3$. Inorganic element contents in the air particles were also measured, and the concentrations in the four different regions compared. Concentrations of anthropogenically-enriched heavy metals in $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$, such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury, were higher in the metropolitan cities of Beijing and Seoul compared to non-industrialized regions of Alashan and Gosan. However, the concentrations of inorganic soil elements including iron, magnesium, aluminum sodium, and manganese, were higher in Alashan compared to those in other sampling sites.