• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.483-488
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• 2000

In this study, the distribution characteristics of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were investigated on the seasonal basis across spring, summer, and fall during the year of 1998. According to this analysis, most VOC species investigated exhibited strong temporal trends. Over diurnal scale, there distribution characteristics were affected by seasonal factors strongly. While they showed high day/night ratio pattern during spring, the pattern was reversed during fall. When the seasonal mean values were compared between the two seasons, the spring values were systematically higher than their counterparts in most cases. In addition when our VOC measurement date were compared with those reported from elsewhere, we were able to conclude that the VOC levels in the study area are comparable to the level weakly impacted by the regional emissions of VOCs. Although our data are not sufficient enough to systematically explain the atmospheric distribution and behavior of VOCs, the findings of strong correlations among some of VOC species suggests strong need for investigating their interactions in the earth\`s atmosphere.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.63-70
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• 2002

We investigated the concentration degree of VOCs for ambient air in the air environment control area of Kyonggi-do in 2001. The VOCs showing higher concentration were in the ascending order of Toluene > n-Butane > 1-Butene > Benzene > n-Hexane. The concentration distribution ratio mentioned above showed almost same pattern in each city. The relative concentration ratio of Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Xylenes which are aromatic VOCs were 1 : 6.3 : 0.6 : 1.6. It was similar to the pattern in 1999 but different from the pattern in 2000. In the aspect of seasons, the highest B.T.E.X concentration was indicated in fall and in the aspect of areas, the higher concentration showed in the ascending order of Buchon > Ansan > Kwangmyong > Shihung > Sungnam. The average concentration of target VOCs for ambient air in the air environment control area of Kyonggi-do showed lower concentration than the metropolis of Seoul but higher concentration than Kwang-ju city and Dae-gu city. The amount of total VOCs was increasing, comparing with it last year and the more increasing tendency is anticipated so that it will need to establish the proper regulative criteria.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.256-266
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• 2020

Objectives: The concentrations and distribution characteristics of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in an industrial complex and surrouding affected residential areas were investigated in an effort to support the efficient management of VOCs. Methods: The atmospheric concentrations of VOCs were analyzed at sites around the Sihwa-Banwol complex located in the cities of Siheung and Ansan and in the surrounding affected residential areas. The appearance of VOCs and the characteristics of their temporal and spatial distribution were evaluated. Results: The total VOC concentrations in the industrial complex were detected at 1.9-2.3 times higher than in the affected areas, but the daily VOCs distributions showed similar patterns in both sites. In particular, it was confirmed that the composition ratio of the VOCs and concentration fluctuations over time in the affected areas are similar to those in the adjacent industrial complex. VOC levels in the affected areas were higher than in residential areas in cities without an industrial complex. Conclusions: VOCs in residential areas near an industrial complex were highly distributed due to the influence of continuous pollutant emissions from the industrial complex. Therefore, the management of VOCs in the atmosphere of the affected area is important for identifying and managing the sources of VOCs detected in high concentrations in the industrial complex.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.113-126
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• 2002

This study was carried out to evaluate the temporal (daily, weekly, and seasonal) variations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) concentrations at a road-side site in a heavy-traffic central area of Metropolitan Taegu. Ambient air sampling was undertaken continuously for 14 consecutive days in each of four seasons from the spring of 1999 to the winter of 2000. The VOC samples were collected using adsorbent tubes, and were determined by thermal desorption coupled with GC/MS analysis. A total of 10 aromatic VOCs of environmental concern were determined, including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m＋p-xylenes, styrene, o-xylene, 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, and naphthalene. Among 10 target VOCs, the most abundant compounds appeared to be toluene (1.5 ∼ 102 ppb) and xylenes (0.1 ∼ 114 ppb), while benzene levels were in the range of 0.3 ∼6 ppb. It was found that the general trends of VOC levels were significantly dependent on traffic conditions at the sampling site since VOC concentrations were at their maximum during rush hours (AM 7∼9 and PM 7 ∼9). However, some VOCs such as toluene, xylenes, and ethylbenzene were likely to be affected by a number of unknown sources other than vehicle exhaust, being attributed to the use of paints, and/or the evaporation of solvents used nearby the sampling site. In some instances, extremely high concentrations were found for these compounds, which can not be explained solely by the impact of vehicle exhaust. The results of this study may be useful for estimating the relative importance of different emission sources in large urban areas. Finally, it was suggested that the median value might be more desirable than the arithmetic mean as a representative value for the VOC data group, since the cumulative probability distribution (n=658) does not follow the normal distribution pattern.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.33 no.1 s.94
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• pp.49-56
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to survey the distribution patterns of volatile organic compounds(VOCs) and formaldehyde in the various indoor environments using cluster analysis. We investigated VOCs and formaldehyde in subway stations, underground shopping areas, medical centers, maternity recuperation centers, public childcare centers, large stores, funeral houses, and indoor parking lots from June,2005 to May,2006. Concentration of TVOCs in maternity recuperations was 2,605.7 ${\mu}g/m^3$ that was higher than the guideline and other facilities. TVOCs in public childcare centers was 1,951.6 ${\mu}g/m^3$ also it exceeded the guideline. Moreover, concentration of TVOCs in every facility exceeded the guideline of Department of Environment, Korea. In case of formaldehyde, mean concentration, 336.5 ${\mu}g/m^3$, in only public childcare centers exceeded the 120 ${\mu}g/m^3$ of the guideline. Finally, by applying cluster analysis, three pattterns of the indoor air pollutions were distinguished. In the results of analysis, concentrations of TVOCs and formaldehyde of cluster 3 were higher than cluster 1 and 2 that were 2,561.4 ${\mu}g/m^3$ and 184.9 ${\mu}g/m^3$, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.74-99
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• 2022

Surface ozone is produced by photochemical reactions of nitrogen oxides(NOx) and volatile organic compounds(VOCs) emitted from vehicles and industrial sites, adversely affecting vegetation and the human body. In South Korea, ozone is monitored in real-time at stations(i.e., point measurements), but it is difficult to monitor and analyze its continuous spatial distribution. In this study, surface ozone concentrations were interpolated to have a spatial resolution of 1.5km every hour using the stacking ensemble technique, followed by a 5-fold cross-validation. Base models for the stacking ensemble were cokriging, multi-linear regression(MLR), random forest(RF), and support vector regression(SVR), while MLR was used as the meta model, having all base model results as additional input variables. The results showed that the stacking ensemble model yielded the better performance than the individual base models, resulting in an averaged R of 0.76 and RMSE of 0.0065ppm during the study period of 2020. The surface ozone concentration distribution generated by the stacking ensemble model had a wider range with a spatial pattern similar with terrain and urbanization variables, compared to those by the base models. Not only should the proposed model be capable of producing the hourly spatial distribution of ozone, but it should also be highly applicable for calculating the daily maximum 8-hour ozone concentrations.