• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.21 no.E1
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• pp.13-21
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• 2005

Atmospheric concentrations of PCBs were monitored in Ansung-city, Kyonggi province during the 2001/2002 to characterize the concentration distribution and seasonal variation of particle polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Average concentration of particle bound PCB showed maximum value for penta-CBs and minimum value for octa-CBs. Seasonal contributions $(%\)$ of total particle PCBs showed the highest value in winter months and lowest value in summer month, This result indicated that concentration of total particle PCBs increased with decreasing temperature in the atmosphere. Therefore, particle PCBs were easily formed by the condensation of gas phase PCBs in winter months. The total particle PCBs exhibited an inverse correlation with temperature (p<0.01) which suggested that particle PCBs were easily formed by condensation of gaseous PCBs in winter months.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.151-158
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• 2013

Objective: This study was carried out to determine the depositional characteristics of pine needles, pine tree bark, moss, and soil, which are used as a passive air sampler (PAS) of atmospheric polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Methods: All four media were sampled from the same site. PCB concentrations were analyzed by GC/MSD, and the lipid contents were measured using the gravimetric method. Results: The total PCB concentration (IUPAC No. 28, 52, 101, 138, 153, 180) was the highest in soil (227.97 pg/g dry), followed by pine needles (71.36 pg/g dry), pine tree bark (44.58 pg/g dry), then moss (21.91 pg/g dry). Pine needles contained the highest lipid contents (21.31 mg/g dry), whereas soil (10.01 mg/g dry), pine tree bark (4.85 mg/g dry), and moss (1.92 mg/g dry) contained less. The concentration of lower-chlorinated PCBs was relatively high in pine needles, pine tree bark and moss, but not in soil. The PCB concentrations were proportional to their lipid contents in pine needles, pine tree bark and moss, but a different trend was revealed in soil. Conclusions: The PCBs concentrations in the media were affected by various factors including atmospheric PCB concentrations, lipid contents, and depositional pathways. However, each of these factors had a varying influence depending on the type of medium.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.19 no.E1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2003

The soil concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured at 12 sites in Ansung, Kyonggi province, Korea. Correlation coefficient (r) between total PCBs and organic matter content (OM) was significant (r=0.562, p< 0.05). It suggests that organic matter may be a key factor of soil absorption of PCBs. The PCB concentrations of low chlorinated congeners with high vapor pressure were relatively abundant in air but high chlorinated congeners with low vapor pressure were mainly dominated by soil. The results indicated the influence of physicochemical properties of PCBs such as vapor pressure, octanol - air partition coefficient ( $K_{OA}$ ). The calculated soil/air fugacity quotients suggested that the soil may be a source of heavier molecular PCBs (>penta-CBs) to the atmosphere, where lighter molecular PCBs appear to be affected by a movement from air to soil, especially tetra-CBs. Therefore, PCB homologs with low vapor pressure might have been influenced by revolatilization from soil.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.10-16
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• 2003

Atmospheric samples were conducted from September 2001 to July 2002 with GPS-l PUF sampler in rural site to concentration distributions of gas/particle PCBs and to calculate dry deposition flux of PCBs. $\Sigma$PCBs concentrations of gas/particle PCBs were 59.29$\pm$48.83, 6.56$\pm$6.59 pg/㎥, respectively. Gas contribution (%) of total PCBs (gas + particle) was 90% which existed gas phase in the atmosphere. The particle contribution (%) of PCB congeners increased relatively more of the less volatile congeners with the highest chlorine number. The correlation coefficients (r) between total PCBs and temperature ($^{\circ}C$) showed negative correlation in - 0.62 (p<0.0l) for particle phase, positive correlation in 0.63 (p<0.01) for gas phase. In other word, particle phase PCBs is enriched in colder weather which could be due to greater in corporation of condensed gas phase at low temperature. The calculated dry deposition of total PCBs (gas + particle) was 0.008, 0.008 $\mu\textrm{g}$ $m^{-2}$ da $y^{-l}$ which showed maximum dry deposition flux in December, minimum data in July Bs in the atmosphere. The calculated dry deposition fluxes of total PCBs were influenced by particle phase PCBs even though PCBs in the atmosphere were present primarily in the gas phase.e.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.22 no.E1
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• pp.35-43
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• 2006

Ambient particle size distributions of PCBs and their dry deposition fluxes were measured at a site in Seoul to quantify dry deposition fluxes of PCBs and size characteristics of PCBs in the air, and to estimate ambient concentrations of gaseous PCBs and dry deposition fluxes. The dry deposition plate was used to measure dry deposition fluxes of particulate mass and PCBs and a cascade impactor and rotary impactor were used to measure ambient particle size distributions for small ($D_p<9{\mu}m$) and large ($D_p>9{\mu}m$) particles, respectively. Six sample sets were collected from April to July 1999. The fluxes of particulate total PCBs (the sum of 43 congeners) ranged from 160 to $607ng\;m^{-2}day^{-1}$. The size distribution of total PCBs was bimodal with two peaks in small particle size ($D_p{\sim}0.6\;and\;6{\mu}m$, respectively) and, thus, mass concentration being dominant in small particles. The mean particulate PCBs concentration was $6.9{\mu}g$ PCBs/g. The concentrations of PCB homologues in the gas phase were estimated based on the particle/gas partition coefficient ($K_p$) with the measured values of particulate PCBs in this study and they were comparable to those observed in other previous studies. Dry deposition fluxes were estimated by calculating dry deposition velocities.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.159-165
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• 2013

Objective: This study was carried out in order to estimate atmospheric Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) concentrations using pine needles as a passive air sampler (PAS) in urban, semi-rural and rural regions. Methods: One-year old pine needles were collected to analyze their PCBs concentrations ($C_p$, pg/g dry) at the end of December. PCBs concentrations in ambient air ($C_a$, $pg/m^3$) were calculated with the $logK_{oa}-log(C_p/C_a)$) model. Results: PCBs concentrations in ambient air ($C_a$) were high in the order of urban, semi-rural and rural regions. The lower-chlorinated PCBs showed a higher concentration in ambient air. However, the distribution of PCBs congeners was similar in all three regions. Correlation between $C_a$ and the population density of the three regions was significant ($R^2$=0.9834, p<0.001). Conclusions: It was concluded that although the production and use of PCBs was banned in the1970s, PCBs are currently being produced unintentionally by human activities.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.475-485
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• 2002

An analytical method was investigated for the meaiiurement of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) concentrations in air samples. Procedures required for column chromatographic clean up. silicagel (stage I) and gel permeation chromatography (stage II), were discussed. Identification and quantification of PCBs and OCPs were performed using a combination of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry/ selected ion monitoring. Recovery tests calculated from six samples are 68∼137% for PCBs and 58∼130% for OCPs except for endrin aldehyde. Instrumental detection limits determined for the PCBs and OCPs varied from 0.05 to 0.18 pg/m3 and from 0.71 to 16.82 pg/㎥, respectively. The method has been applied to the analysis of air samples collected at Ansung city, Kyonggi province, Korea. This method may serve as a screening protocol for the simultaneous determination of PCBs and OCPs in air.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.265-274
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• 2002

The concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in air and plant were measured every other week at Hankyong University located in Ansung, Kyoung-ki province from July to November of 1999. The predicted PCB concentrations in air derived from measured Morus allba were compared with ambient measurement data. This was necessary to test the possibility of using the two equations incorporating Riederer's and Bacci's bioconcentration factors (BCFs) based on the octanol-air partition coefficient (Ksub/oa/) to predict the air-plant equilibrium of PCBs. Ratios of calculated to measured PCB concentrations in air were 2.4 (1.24~4.36), 2.7 (0.17~7.96) using Riederer's and Bacci's equations, respectively Regression analysis between PCBs calculated by Riederer's equation and PCBs directly measured in air, showed correlation ($R^2$= 0.90). However, slope of regression between calculated and directly measured PCB concentrations was above 1. The results thus suggest that calculated PCBs were overestimated comparing with direct measurements. Bio-monitoring using Morus allba may have possibilities in predicting PCBs concentration in air with a further extension of air-plant equilibrium research.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.285-293
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• 2005

This study was aimed at estimation of gas-particle partitioning of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in ambient air. The samples were collected at urban site in Japan from March 2002 to January 2003. The concentration of total PCBs (from 4 CB to 10 CB) and TEQ (Toxic equivalent) ranged from 62 to $247\;pg/m^3$ and from 2 to $14\;fgTEQ/m^3 $, respectively. The average contribution $(\%)$ of gas phase to total PCBs concentration was above $80\%$, which suggests that in the atmosphere PCBs predominantly existed in the gas phase. The weak correlations between total PCBs concentration and temperature was found. However this result was due to a typhoon during summer and raining during sampling period. The gas-particle partition coefficient (Kp) was obtained as a function of temperature. The partition ratio of gaseous and particulate phase PCBs can be estimated for an arbitrary temperature. The plot of gas/particle partition coefficient (log Kp) vs. sub-cooled liquid vapor pressure $(log\;P_L)$ had reasonable correlations for individual samples but the slope varied among the samples (coefficients of determination for log Kp versus log $P_L$ plot were> 0.76 $(p<0.0001)$, except for 3 samples). As a result, the variations in the slope among the sampling period may be due to change of temperature, raining during sampling period and wind in this study.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.734-743
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• 2007

Polyurethane foam-disk passive air samplers (PAS) were deployed in a southern area of Korea for three months. The target compounds were 12 coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The congener profiles measured in this study were the same as those in ambient air and emission gas from the incinerator. A gradient of the total PCBs in different regions (industrial>residential>rural) was observed, suggesting the industrial complex may be an important source of coplanar PCBs. In general, only gas-phase compounds are mainly sequestrated by PAS. In order to estimate the concentration of particle-phase PCBs, a gas/particle partition model was used. A combined result (gas+particle-phase PCBs) was compared with previous results, indicating that the level of coplanar PCBs in our study area is comparable to those in other urban sites in the world. The validation of this method for estimating the total concentration is required through additional backup studies.