• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.286-297
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• 2020

This research studied human health risk assessment of PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) in road dust sediments collected from 6 sites in four different cities in Korea. PAHs are well known to be human carcinogens and toxic compounds that are commonly generated from incomplete combustion of fuels and energy products. Such compounds which is absorbed by atmospheric suspended dust can be emitted into air in gaseous form and often deposited on road dust sediments. The PAHs which is deposited on sediment particles can also be re-dispersed by vehicles or winds on the road surface. It can be harmful for humans when exposed via breathing, ingestion and dermal contact. This study examined human health risk assessment of PAHs in deposited road dust sediments. Results showed that the excess cancer risk estimates were above 1.0×10-6 at main traffic roads and resident area in Ulsan city. According to the result of deterministic risk assessment, dermal-contact was the major pathway, while the contribution of the risk from inhalation was less than 1%. The probabilistic risk assessment showed similar levels of cancer risk derived from the deterministic risk assessment. The result of sensitivity analysis reveal that exposure time is the most contributing factor (69%). Since the values of carcinogenic risk assessment were higher than 1.0 × 10^-6, further detailed monitoring and refined risk assessment for PAHs may be required to identify more reliable and potential cancer risks for those who live in the study locations in Ulsan city.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.213-232
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• 2009

This document was prepared to review and summarize the analytical methods for airborne and bulk asbestos. Basic principles, shortcomings and advantages for asbestos analytical instruments using phase contrast microscopy(PCM), polarized light microscopy(PLM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), scanning electron microscopy(SEM) were reviewed. Both PCM and PLM are principal instrument for airborne and bulk asbestos analysis, respectively. If needed, analytical electron microscopy is employed to confirm asbestos identification. PCM is used originally for workplace airborne asbestos fiber and its application has been expanded to measure airborne fiber. Shortcoming of PCM is that it cannot differentiate true asbestos from non asbestos fiber form and its low resolution limit ($0.2{\sim}0.25{\mu}m$). The measurement of airborne asbestos fiber can be performed by EPA's Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) method, World Health Organization (WHO) method, International Standard Organization (ISO) 10312 method, Japan's Environmental Asbestos Monitoring method, and Standard method of Indoor Air Quality of Korea. The measurement of airborne asbestos fiber in workplace can be performed by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 7400 method, NIOSH 7402 method, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ID-160 method, UK's Health and Safety Executive(HSE) Methods for the determination of hazardous substances (MDHS) 39/4 method and Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) CODE-A-1-2004 method of Korea. To analyze the bulk asbestos, stereo microscope (SM) and PLM is required by EPA -600/R-93/116 method. Most bulk asbestos can be identified by SM and PLM but one limitation of PLM is that it can not see very thin fiber (i.e., < $0.25{\mu}m$). Bulk asbestos analytical methods, including EPA-600/M4-82-020, EPA-600/R-93/116, OSHA ID-191, Laboratory approval program of New York were reviewed. Also, analytical methods for asbestos in soil, dust, water were briefly discussed. Analytical electron microscope, a transmission electron microscope equipped with selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and energy dispersive X-ray analyser(EDXA), has been known to be better to identify asbestiform than scanning electron microscope(SEM). Though there is no standard SEM procedures, SEM is known to be more suitable to analyze long, thin fiber and more cost-effective. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) imaging protocol was developed to identify asbestos fiber. Although many asbestos analytical methods are available, there is no method that can be applied to all type of samples. In order to detect asbestos with confidence, all advantages and disadvantages of each instrument and method for given sample should be considered.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.1-10
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• 1992

Since 1960's along with industrialization and urbanization, economic growth has been . achieved, however, at the same time, environmental condition has been seriously deteriorated. . Currently, volume of wastewater has been increasing at annual rate of 7% in sewage and 20% in industrial wastewater. However, the nation's sewage treatment serves only 33% of the municipal wastewater as of 1991. Major portion of air pollutants comes from combustion of oil and coal which comprise 81% of total energy use and emission gases from motor vehicles increasing at an accelerated rate. It is known that Korea generates the highest amount of waste per capta. Nevertheless, it is not sufficient to reduce the volume of waste by means of resources recovery and recycling. Recognizing the importance of global environmental problems such as ozone layer depletion, global warming and acid rain, international society has been making various efforts since the 1972 Stockholm conference. In particular, it is expected that the Rio conference which has adopted the Rio declaration and Agenda 21 will form a crucial turning point of the emerging new world order after the Cold War confrontation. To cope with such issues as domestic pollution and global environmental problems, the fundamental national policy aims at harmonizing "environmental protection and sustainable development". The Ministry of Environment has recently set up a mid-term comprehensive plan which includes annual targets for environmental protection. According to the government plan, gradual improvement of various environmental conditions and specific measures to achieve them is planned in time frame. Additional sewage treatment plants will be constructed in urban areas with the target to treat 65% of the nation's municipal sewage by 1996. Supply of clean fuels such as LNG will also be expanded starting from large cities as a cleaner substitute energy for coal and oil. In parallel with expansion of LNG, emphasis will be placed on installation of stack monitoring system. Due to the relatively limited land, government's basic policy for solid waste treatment is to develop large scale landfill facilities rather than small sized ones. Thirty three regional areas have been designated for the purpose of waste management. For each of these regions, big scale landfill site is going to be developed. To increase the rate of waste recycling the government is planning to reinforce separate collection system and to provide industries with economic incentives. As a part of meeting the changing situation on global environmental problems after UNCED, and accommodation regulatory measures stipulated in the global environmental conventions and protocols, national policy will try to alter industrial and economic structure so as to mitigate the increasing trends of energy consumption, by encouraging energy conservation and efficiency. In this regard, more attention will be given to the policy on the development of the cleaner technology. Ultimately, these policies and programs will contribute greatly to improving the current state of national public health.

• Atmosphere
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.41-54
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• 2017

Organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in $PM_{2.5}$ were measured using Sunset OC/EC Field Analyzer at Seoul Hwangsa Monitoring Center from March to April, 2016. The mean concentrations of OC and EC during the entire period were $4.4{\pm}2.0{\mu}gC\;m^{-3}$ and $1.4{\pm}0.6{\mu}gC\;m^{-3}$, respectively. OC/EC ratio was $3.4{\pm}1.0$. The average concentrations of $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$ were $57.4{\pm}25.9$ and $39.7{\pm}19.8{\mu}g\;m^{-3}$, respectively, which were detected by an optical particle counter. The OC and EC peaks were observed in the morning, which were impacted by vehicle emission, however, their diurnal variations were not noticeable. This is determined to be contributed by the long-range transported OC or secondary formation via photochemical reaction by volatile organic compounds at afternoon. A conditional probability function (CPF) model was used to identify the local source of pollution. High concentrations of $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$ were observed from the westerly wind, regardless of wind speed. When wind velocity was high, a mixing plume of dust and pollution during long-range transport from China in spring was observed. In contrast, pollution in low wind velocity was from local source, regardless of direction. To know the effect of long-range transport on pollution, a concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) model was analyzed based on a potential source contribution function (PSCF) model in which 75 percentiles high concentration was picked out for CWT analysis. $PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$, OC, and EC were dominantly contributed from China in spring, and EC results were similar in both PSCF and CWT. In conclusion, Seoul air quality in spring was mainly affected by a mixture of local pollution and anthropogenic pollutants originated in China than the Asian dust.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.89 no.1
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• pp.135-140
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• 2000

Matsucoccus thunbergianae is a major insect pest of Pinus thunbergiana in southern Korean peninsula. To study the flight behavior of M. thunbergianae males responding to the synthetic pheromone, five sticky traps were placed on a bamboo pole at various heights, between 0.1m and 2.0m above ground. A bait impregnated with the synthetic pheromone was placed at 0.1m, 1.0m or 2.0m above ground and the number of male catches on each trap was counted. In an open area, numbers of males caught per trap were not different between heights when the bait was placed at 2m or 1m above ground ; when the bait was placed at 0.1m height, male flight was aggregated near the ground. In a forest with low crown closure, trap catches on five traps on the same bamboo pole were not different one another when the bait was placed at 2m height, but most males were flying near the bait when it was placed at 1m height. In a dense pine forest, most males were flying around the bait regardless of the bait position. In all three places, most males were caught on the trap near the ground when the baits were placed 0.1m above ground. Thus, for monitoring the frontal zone of infestation of the scale, placing the pheromone trap near the ground was considered the most efficient. When the males perceived pheromone, they tended to fly in the air with low wind speed.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.79-87
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• 2010

Field water qualities (temperature, pH, Eh, EC, DO) was monitored by 6 times March to September 2009 on background water (BW) and acid mine drainage (AMD0, AMD1, AMD2 and AMD3 points), and flow rate was measured on AMD0 point. Acid mine drainage flowed out from abandoned Ilgwang mine were high acid waters that lower than pH 3, and Eh component was ranged 400 to 600 mV. EC measured on acid mine drainage were higher over 10 times than background water, DO component was increased by reaction on the air during the water flow from AMD0 point to AMD4 point. Heavy metal concentrations in acid mine drainage were ordered Fe > Cu > Zn > Mn > As > Cd, and Fe concentration was highest for 81.870~474.30 mg/L. Monitoring periods measured maximum concentrations of heavy metals were May for As and Cd, June for Fe, July for Cu, Zn and Mn. The periods measured minimum concentrations were monitored April for Cd and Mn, September for Fe, Cu, Zn and As. Discharge mass of heavy metal components were calculated 53.44 kg for Fe, 6.25 kg for Cu, 5.26 kg for Zn, 2.13 kg for Mn, 0.14 kg for As and 0.04 kg for Cd, respectively. Total discharge mass of heavy metal components were calculated 67.26 kg for 1 day, and Fe component was taken 79% of total mass.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.165-170
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• 2011

The ambient concentrations of nitrogen dioxide ($NO_2$) at 65 forest areas were measured every month using passive diffusive samplers from 2002 to 2009 and were compared to those at urban areas in order to investigate the characteristics of temporal and spatial distributions of $NO_2$ from the forest and urban areas. The annually averaged concentrations of $NO_2$ gradually decreased for both areas. The average concentration of $NO_2$ in the forest areas was 8.0 ppb, which was lower than that in the urban areas (i.e., 19.4 ppb) and the ecological standard level of the European Union (i.e., 14.6 ppb). The monthly average of $NO_2$ concentration depicted seasonal variations particularly in the urban areas, showing higher concentration in winter and lower concentration in summer. Strong locality of $NO_2$ concentration distribution illustrates that the locations near the metropolitan areas (e.g., Gyeonggi and Chungnam provinces) had the highest concentration during the measurement period. A significant positive correlation between $NO_x$ emissions and $NO_2$ concentration was observed, suggesting that the magnitude and proximity to sources of atmospheric nitrogen oxides would be important controlling factors.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.31-43
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• 2014

Confined and mechanically ventilated broiler house has been recently come into wide use to increase productivity and control rearing conditions. However, high dust concentration inside facility can threaten respiratory welfare of farmers and broilers. In Korea, there is no regulation in terms of air quality control inside agricultural facilities and sufficient data is not available. To cope with these, periodic monitoring of inhalable and respirable dust concentration were conducted according to season, broiler's activity and specific events such as shipment work for broilers in mechanically ventilated broiler house. Chamber experiment was also designed to analyze mechanism of dust generation from ground beds according to water contents and surrounding wind environment. Results showed that significant increase of inhalable (p=0.002) and respirable (p=0.03) dust were observed when activity of broilers was high according to entrance of the workers. Even shipment work for matured broilers, high level of dust were observed; inhalable dust was exceeded the threshold limit over maximum 303 % and respirable dust was over maximum 1,550 %, implying that acute respiratory symptoms could be manifested for the workers. From the chamber experiment, critical water contents for interrupting of dust generation were measured; about 45 % for inhalable dust and about 50 % for respirable dust. These results can be a trigger for designing plan of dust control however it still needs consideration of various environmental conditions, hygiene problems, etc.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.126-133
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• 2014

The main source of bridge destruction is due to scour. The bridge scour is the result of erosive action of flowing water taking away ground materials from near the abutment or pier. Furthermore, the water level must be also monitored whiling flooding, because it dangers not only the stability of bridge itself, but the safety of bridge users. This study is intended to develop a new measuring system for bridge scour by overcoming the current limitation of scour measurement technique. This measuring system is confirmed its excellence and validity through this study. The newly developed measuring system finds the distance between the water surface and the ground surface by detecting temperature difference along the abutment vertically. The measuring mechanism for monitoring the bridge scour and water level is based on identifying the temperature difference among mediums, including air, water and ground. In order to validate the new measuring system, the lab experiments and the field tests are conducted and compared. It has been confirmed that this system can effectively measure the bridge scour and the water level by analyzing the temperature distribution between mediums and the temperature variation over time.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.609-622
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• 2007

This paper examines the lava tubes designated as a natural monument in Jeju Island, and then makes the several suggestions for conserving and managing them. The cave entrances should be scientifically and strictly managed to prevent the deterioration, and to preserve the interior ecosystem, of the lava tubes. The land use and vegetation of the ground surface over the lava tubes should be also systematically managed; the destroyed sand dunes must be recovered for the development of speleothem in the lava tubes, and the plants with deep roots must be removed for the prevention of ceiling collapse. The provincial authorities should manage the ground surface over the lava tubes as a public land to remove the factors threatening the stability of the lava tubes. Since the roads crossing the ground surface are likely to cause the collapse of the lava tubes, new roads bypassing the caves need to be constructed, and warning signs should be also installed at the traverse points. A monitoring system on the cultural properties protection area over the lava tubes could be effectively established by encouraging residents to participate the conservation program of lava tubes. Since the falling blocks from ceilings have been usually observed in the lava tubes, it is urgent to examine their stability. In particular, the dangerous sections must be continuously monitored for taking a quick measure against the collapse. The air environments of lava tubes need to be scientifically analyzed based upon the long-term observations. The lighting equipments must be improved to minimize the green pollution in the lava tubes open to the public. The numbers of visitors should be also controlled to prevent the destruction and contamination of lava tubes caused by a large number of visitors.