• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.28 no.2 s.50
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• pp.386-397
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• 1995

A cross sectional study was performed to evaluate the neurobehavioral effects of chronic exposure of complex organic solvents, using NCTB(Neurobehavioral Core Test Battery) recommended by WHO(World Health Organization). Forty female shoe factory workers and twenty-two controls matched with age were participated. The tests were performed in the morning before start of work, to exclude the effects of acute exposure. Workers were exposed mainly to toluene, methyl ethyl ketone, n-hexane, cyclo-hexane, dichloroethylene, trichloroethylene, benzene, xylenes etc. The ranges of present solvent exposure of hygienic effect were $0.46\sim0.71$ in the process using adhesives indirectly, and $1.83\sim2.39$ in the process using it directly. We reclassified the subjects, according to cumulative exposure. It showed significantly poorer performances in high exposed group on Santa Ana Dexterity and Benton Visual Retention, compared with control group. After controlling confounder, the significances were still remained. But, further cohort studies, having the information of personal exposure dose from entering a factory, are required to clarify the effects of chronic exposure of complex organic solvents in relation to dose and duration of exposure.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.357-366
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to evaluate a method for the measurement of N,N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) and to apply the method to the ambient air samples. For the determination of DMF together with other general VOCs (e.g., benzene, toluene, and xylenes), adsorption sampling and thermal desorption with GC/MS was used in this study. The sampling and analytical approaches tested in this study showed a good repeatability and linearity with lower detection limits of less than 0.35 ppb. Field measurements were carried out at three industrial sites (Daegu-Seongseo, Siwha and Banwall industrial complexes) and one residential site in Daegu city during a period from October 2006 to November 2008. DMF was detected in 71.8% of the total samples from the Seongseo industrial complex, well known for textile industry. In contrast, DMF was detected in only 20.4% and 12.9% of all the samples from the other two sites in Banwall and Siwha industrial complexes, respectively. This implies that sources of DMF should be strongly associated with textile industry. The mean concentration of DMF also appeared to be the highest in Seongseo site (5.95 ppb), followed by a residential site in Daegu (3.28 ppb), Banwall (0.88 ppb) and Siwha (0.55 ppb). In this study, we demonstrated the environmental significance of DMF in urban ambient air. To our knowledge, the DMF measurement introduced in this paper is the first case of an official report in Korea.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.147-152
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• 2009

In this study, the applicability of alginate-immobilized Pseudomonas putida mt-2 KG1206 on the environments, contaminated with toluene analogs was conducted. Genetically engineered strain KG1206 produces light by direct (m-toluate, benzoate) and indirect (toluene, xylenes) inducers. The protocol for the alginate-immobilization was determined in terms of the cell to alginate ratio, solution, proper number of alginate beads, and other conditions. Maximum bioluminescences of five chemicals by immobilized strain were generally observed in following orders: m-toluate > p-xylene > toluene > o-xylene > m-xylene. In relationship between bioluminescence activity and inducer reduction, initial m-toluate (5 mM) in solution was removed approximately 48% of initial at 5 h exposure, showing continuous decrease of inducer chemical in solution. These results of study with alginate-immobilized beads would be useful, especially, for biomonitoring of contaminated environments with specific compounds, such as petroleum hydrocarbon compounds including toluene analogs.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.317-326
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• 1993

The acid catalytic reactions of toluene with n-propylalcohol were investigated and the adsorption experiments of dialkylbenzene isomers were carried out at 100$^{\circ}C$ over modified HZSM-5 zeolites. ZSM-5 zeolite was synthesized by the hydrothermal reaction using 4-propylammonium ion, sodium aluminate and colloidal silica etc., and several zeolite catalysts, including H-, K-, Sr-, P-Mg-HZSM-5, H-Y and H-mordenite, were prepared by conventional methods. The main reaction products of toluene with n-propylalcohol over HZSM-5 catalyst include not only xylenes, propyltoluenes, but also ethyltoluenes and high para-selectivity among dialkylbenzene isomers was observed on P-Mg-HZSM-5 zeolite. The diffusion coefficients of various p-dialkylbenzenes are nearly the same, about 1 ${times}$ 10$^{-10}$ cm$^2$/sec and that of m-xylene was about one tenth of o-xylene. These reaction and adsorption characteristics were interpreted in the light of the shape-selectivity related to related to the zeolite pore structure and the zeolitic acidity.

• Journal of ILASS-Korea
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.185-191
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• 2018

Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) were well known as ozone precursors from photochemical reactions and contribute to the formation of photochemical smog which pose health hazards. Also, some of these compounds directly affect the human health due to their toxicity such as benzene. In this study, BTEX ratios and correlation of $C_2$-benzenes (xylenes, ethylbenzene) in vehicle exhaust from recreational vehicle (RV) and multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) were characterized using a chassis dynamometer. VOCs were collected by tedlar bag and a GC/MS system was used for their quantification. Among all of the BTEX, toluene has the highest concentration(more than 30% in composition of BTEX). The average ratio of toluene to benzene emissions (T/B ratio=2.2) was found in vehicle exhaust. The average m,p-xylene/ethylbenzene and m,p-xylene/o-xylene ratios were 1.0 and 3.0 respectively. As a result, it showed a good correlation between the $C_2$-benzenes ($R^2=0.98{\sim}0.99$). In the future, it can be used as a marker for effect evaluation to atmospheric environment by vehicle exhaust.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.167-177
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• 2011

Billions of barrels of briny produced water are generated in the United States every year during oil and gas production. The first step toward recovering or reusing this water is to remove the hazardous organics dissolved in the briny produced water. Biological degradation of hazardous volatile compound could be possible regardless of salinity if they were extracted from briny water. In the current work, the effectiveness of a vapor phase biofilter to degrade the gas-phase contaminants (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes, BTEX) extracted from briny produced water was evaluated. The performance of biofilter system responded well to short periods when the BTEX feed to the biofilter was discontinued. To challenge the system further, the biofilter was subjected to periodic spikes in inlet BTEX concentration as would be expected when it is coupled to a Surfactant-Modified Zeolite (SMZ) bed. Results of these experiments indicate that although the BTEX removal efficiency declined under these conditions, it stabilized at 75% overall removal even when the biofilter was provided with BTEX-contaminated air only 8 hours out of every 24 hours. Benzene removal was found to be the most sensitive to time varying loading conditions. A passive, granular activated carbon bed was effective at attenuating and normalizing the peak BTEX loadings during SMZ regeneration over a range of VOC loads. Field testing of a SMZ bed coupled with an activated carbon buffering/biofilter column verified that this system could be used to remove and ultimately biodegrade the dissolved BTEX constituents in briny produced water.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.875-885
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• 2023

Volatile organic compounds such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and isomers of xylenes (BTEX) constitute a group of monoaromatic compounds that are found in petroleum and have been classified as priority pollutants. In this study, based on its newly sequenced genome, we reclassified the previously identified BTEX-degrading thermotolerant strain Ralstonia sp. PHS1 as Cupriavidus cauae PHS1. Also presented are the complete genome sequence of C. cauae PHS1, its annotation, species delineation, and a comparative analysis of the BTEX-degrading gene cluster. Moreover, we cloned and characterized the BTEX-degrading pathway genes in C. cauae PHS1, the BTEX-degrading gene cluster of which consists of two monooxygenases and meta-cleavage genes. A genome-wide investigation of the PHS1 coding sequence and the experimentally confirmed regioselectivity of the toluene monooxygenases and catechol 2,3-dioxygenase allowed us to reconstruct the BTEX degradation pathway. The degradation of BTEX begins with aromatic ring hydroxylation, followed by ring cleavage, and eventually enters the core carbon metabolism. The information provided here on the genome and BTEX-degrading pathway of the thermotolerant strain C. cauae PHS1 could be useful in constructing an efficient production host.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.403-417
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• 2023

In this study, we investigated the characteristics of Volatile Organic Compounds(VOCs) emission from painting and printing facilities in the Pyeongdong industrial complex in Gwangju. In addition, the objective was to understand the distribution characteristics of VOCs in the ambient air in industrial complexes affected by painting and printing facilities. The painting facility mainly emitted toluene, acetone, butyl acetate, 4-methyl-2-pentanone, ethyl acetate, 1-butanol, methyl ethyl ketone, m,p-xylene, o-xylene, 4-ethyltoluene, ethylbenzene, 3-ethyltoluene, and 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene. The main emission components in printing facilities were methyl ketone, ethyl acetate, acetone, 2-propanol, toluene, heptane, and butyl acetate. Ethyl acetate, toluene, 2-butanone, acetone, butyl acetate, 2-propanol, xylenes, and 4-methyl-2-pentanone were detected in the ambient air of the Pyeongdong industrial complex, consistent with the VOCs emitted by painting and printing facilities. The average concentration of seasonal TVOCs followed an order of winter > fall > spring > summer, whereas the concentrations of daytime and nighttime TVOCs were generally higher at night than those during the day, and the wind speed was greater during the day than it was at night. Based on a factor analysis of VOCs in the ambient air of Pyeongdong industrial complex, it is considered that organic solvents used in coating, printing, and electronics manufacturing facilities, as well as diesel vehicle emissions played a major role.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.36 no.7
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• pp.498-505
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• 2014

This study was carried out to characterize the ambient VOCs concentrations of industrial complex in Daegu city. VOCs concentrations of industrial complex area appeared to be higher than those in the non-industrial complex area as following order toluene > ethylbenzene > m,p-xylenes > o-xylene but benzene and chloroform were similar to each other sites. There was seasonal variation of VOCs concentrations in the industrial complex area, higher in summer and lower in winter. In particular the industrial complex area shows that higher on weekday than weekend and higher in the daytime than in the morning or nighttime because industrial complex area influenced by the chemicals. Correlation coefficients among VOCs were confirmed that VOCs of industrial complex area were more related to each other than those of non-industrial complex area and VOCs concentrations have shown generally negative correlation with wind speed.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.497-507
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• 2011

This research studied human health risk assessment of benzene from industrial complexes of Chungcheong Province (Seosan industrial complex) and Jeonla Province (Iksan industrial complex and Yeosoo industrial complex). The residents near the industrial complexes areas can be often exposed to volatile organic compounds (e.g., benzene, toluene, xylenes) through a number of exposure pathways, including inhalation of the organic pollutant via various environmental matrices (air, water and soil), contaminated water, and soil intake. Benzene is well known to be a common carcinogenic and toxic compound that is produced from industrial and oil refinery complexes. In this study, a number of samples from water, air, and soil were taken from the residential settings and public school zones located near the industrial complex sites. Based on the carcinogenic risk assessment, the risk estimates were slightly above $10{\times}10^{-6}$ at all three industrial sites. According to deterministic risk assessment, inhalation was the most important route. The distribution of benzene in the environment would be dependent on vapor pressure, and the physical property influencing the extent of the potential risks. Non-carcinogenic risk assessment of benzene shows that the values of Hazard Index(HI) were much lower than 1.0 at all industrial complexes. Therefore, benzene was not a cause of concern in terms of non-carcinogenic risk posed to the residents near the sites. When compared to probabilistic risk assessment, the CTE(central tendency exposure) cancer risk values of deterministic risk assessment were close to the mean values predicted by the probabilistic risk assessment. The RME(reasonable maximum exposure) values fell within the range of 95% to 99.9% estimated by the probabilistic risk assessment. Since the values of carcinogenic risk assessment were higher than $10{\times}10^{-6}$, further detailed monitoring and refined risk assessment for benzene may be warranted to estimate more reliable and potential inhalation risks to receptors near the industrial complexes.