• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.230-235
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• 2022

BACKGROUND: Ammonia gas emitted from nitrogen fertilizers applied in agricultural land is an environmental pollutant that catalyzes the formation of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). A significant portion (12-18%) of nitrogen fertilizer input for crop cultivation is emitted to the atmosphere as ammonia gas, a loss form of nitrogen fertilizer in agricultural land. The widely practiced method for fertilizer use in agricultural fields involves spraying the fertilizers on the surface of farmlands and mixing those with the soils through such means as rotary work. To test the potential reduction of ammonia emission by nitrogen fertilizers from the soil surface, we have added N, P, and K at 2 g each to the glass greenhouse soil, and the ammonia emission was analyzed. METHODS AND RESULTS: The treatment consisted of non-fertilization, surface spray (conventional fertilization), and soil depth spray at 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 cm. Ammonia was collected using a self-manufactured vertical wind tunnel chamber, and it was quantified by the indophenol-blue method. As a result of analyzing ammonia emission after fertilizer treatments by soil depth, ammonia was emitted by the surface spray treatment immediately after spraying the fertilizer in the paddy soil, with no ammonia emission occurring at a soil depth of 10 cm to 30 cm. In the upland soil, ammonia was emitted by the surface spray treatment after 2 days of treatment, and there was no ammonia emission at a soil depth of 15 cm to 30 cm. Lettuce and Chinese cabbage treated with fertilizer at depths of 20 cm and 30 cm showed increases of fresh weight and nutrient and potassium contents. CONCLUSION(S): In conclusion, rather than the current fertilization method of spraying and mixing the fertilizers on the soil surface, deep placement of the nitrogen fertilizer in the soil at 10 cm or more in paddy fields and 15 cm or more in upland fields was considered as a better fertilization method to reduce ammonia emission.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.6-15
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• 2024

Background: People's activities have been restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes in activity patterns may lead to a decrease in fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) concentrations. Additionally, the level of population exposure to PM_2.5 may be changed. Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the impact of population movement and meteorological factors on the distribution of PM_2.5 concentrations before and after the outbreak of COVID-19. Methods: The study area was Guro-gu in Seoul. The research period was selected as January to March 2020, a period of significant population movement changes caused by COVID-19. The evaluation of the dynamic population was conducted by calculating the absolute difference in population numbers between consecutive hours and comparing them to determine the daily average. Ambient PM_2.5 concentrations were estimated for each grid using ordinary kriging in Python. For the population exposure assessment, the population-weighted average concentration was calculated by determining the indoor to outdoor population for each grid and applying the indoor to outdoor ratio to the ambient PM_2.5 concentration. To assess the factors influencing changes in the ambient PM_2.5 concentration, a statistical analysis was conducted, incorporating population mobility and meteorological factors. Results: Through statistical analysis, the correlation between ambient PM_2.5 concentration and population movement was positive on both weekends and weekdays (r=0.71, r=0.266). The results confirmed that most of the relationships were positive, suggesting that a decrease in human activity can lead to a decrease in PM_2.5 concentrations. In addition, when population-weighted concentration averages were calculated and the exposure level of the population group was compared before and after the COVID-19 outbreak, the proportion of people exceeding the air quality standard decreased by approximately 15.5%. Conclusions: Human activities can impact ambient concentrations of PM_2.5, potentially altering the levels of PM_2.5 exposure in the population.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.302-313
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• 2008

The purposes of this study are to investigate the concentration levels of fine particles, so called PM$_{2.5}$, to identify the affecting sources, and to estimate quantitatively the source contributions of PM$_{2.5}$. Ambient air sampling was seasonally carried out at two sites in Pohang(a residential and an industrial area) during the period of March to December 2003. PM$_{2.5}$ samples were collected by high volume air samplers with a PM$_{10}$ Inlet and an impactor for particle size segregation, and then determined by gravimetric method. The chemical species associated with PM$_{2.5}$ were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma spectrophotometery(ICP) and ion chromatography(IC). The results showed that the most significant season for PM$_{2.5}$ mass concentrations appeared to be spring, followed by winter, fall, and summer. The annual mean concentrations of PM$_{2.5}$ were 36.6 $\mu$g/m$^3$ in the industrial and 30.6 $\mu$g/m$^3$ in the residential area, respectively. The major components associated with PM$_{2.5}$ were the secondary aerosols such as nitrates and sulfates, which were respectively 4.2 and 8.6 $\mu$g/m$^3$ in the industrial area and 3.7 and 6.9 $\mu$g/m$^3$ in the residential area. The concentrations of chemical component in relation to natural emission sources such as Al, Ca, Mg, K were generally higher at both sampling sites than other sources. However, the concentrations of Fe, Mn, Cr in the industrial area were higher than those in the residential area. Based on the principal component analysis and stepwise multiple linear regression analysis for both areas, it was found that soil/road dust and secondary aerosols are the most significant factors affecting the variations of PM$_{2.5}$ in the ambient air of Pohang. The source apportionments of PM$_{2.5}$ were conducted by chemical mass balance(CMB) modeling. The contributions of PM$_{2.5}$ emission sources were estimated using the CMB8.0 receptor model, resulting that soil/road dust was the major contributor to PM$_{2.5}$, followed by secondary aerosols, vehicle emissions, marine aerosols, metallurgy industry. Finally, the application and its limitations of chemical mass balance modeling for PM$_{2.5}$ was discussed.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.35-43
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• 2023

The fine particulate structure of biochar limits its use as a heavy metal adsorbent, and makes separation of the biochar from the solution technically challenging, thereby reducing recovery of the heavy metals. To address this issue, this study prepared biochar beads under various mixing conditions and investigated their efficiency in removing Pb from aqueous solutions using adsorption models. The biochar beads were produced by mixing alginate and biochar at different ratios: alginate bead (AB), 1% biochar + bead (1-BB), 2.5% biochar + bead (2.5-BB), and 5% biochar + bead (5-BB). The results revealed that the Freundlich isothermal adsorption pattern of the biochar beads to Pb was of the L-type. The highest Langmuir isothermal adsorption capacity (28.736 mg/g) was observed in the 2.5-BB treatment. The dominant mechanism among the kinetic adsorption characteristics of biochar beads for Pb was chemical adsorption. Additionally, the optimal pH range for Pb adsorption was found to be between 4 and 5.5. The highest Pb removal efficiency (97.9%) was achieved when 26.6 g/L of biochar beads were used. These findings suggest that biochar beads are an economical and highly efficient adsorbent that enables separation and recovery of fine biochar particles.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.665-676
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• 2003

To investigate the chemical characteristics of PM$\_$2.5/ in Seoul, Korea, atmospheric particulate matters were collected using a PM$\_$10/ dichotomous sampler including PM$\_$10/ and PM$\_$2.5/ inlet during the period of October 2000 to September 2001. The Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectromety (ICP-MS), ion Chromatography (IC) methods were used to determine the concentration of both metal and ionic species. A statistical analysis was performed for the heavy metals data set using a principal component analysis (PCA) to derived important factors inherent in the interactions among the variables. The mean concentrations of ambient PM$\_$2.5/ and PM/sub10/ were 24.47 and 45.27 $\mu\textrm{g}$/㎥, respectively. PM$\_$2.5/ masses also showed temporal variations both yearly and seasonally. The ratios of PM$\_$2.5/PM$\_$10/ was 0.54, which similar to the value of 0.60 in North America. Soil-related chemical components (such as Al, Ca, Fe, Si, and Mn) were abundant in PM$\_$10/, while anthropogenic components (such as As, Cd, Cr, V, Zn and Pb) were abundant in PM2s. Total water soluble ions constituted 30∼50 % of PM$\_$2.5/ mass, and sulfate, nitrate and ammonium were main components in water soluble ions. Reactive farms of NH$_4$$\^$+/were considered as NH$_4$NO$_3$ and (NH$_4$)$_2$SO$_4$ during the sampling periods. In the results of PCA for PM$\_$2.5/, we identified three principal components. Major contribution to PM$\_$2.5/ seemed to be soil, oil combustion, unidentified source. Further study, the detailed interpretation of these data will need efforts in order to identify emission sources.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.330-342
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• 1998

Benthic environmental parameters were analysed at 40 stations during the period from April 1995 to February 1996. such as water temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen (DO)-concentration in the surface and bottom water layers, grain size, chemical oxygen demand (COD), ignition loss, particulate organic carbon (POC) in the sediment of Youngsan River estuary. The water temperature ranged from 4.1 to $29.8^{\circ}C$ in the surface and 4.0 to $20.7^{\circ}C$ in the bottom layers. Salinity ranged from 15.1 to $33.6\%_{\circ}$ in the surface and 31.5 to $33.2\%_{\circ}$ in the bottom layer. The salinity in the outer pan of the study area was higher than that of inner area from autumn to spring, whereas they remained lower in summer. Dissolved oxygen concentration ranged from 5,1 to 11.2 $mg/\ell$ in the surface, and 0.79 to 10,2 $mg/{\ell}$ in the bottom layers. Hypoxic condition ($\le2.0mg/\ell$) was developed in the bottom water layer from Youngsan dike to Mokpo Harhour in summer due to the summer stratification. The surface sediment type was silty clay with a mean grain size of $9.12{\pm}0.45\phi$. The range of COD was from 6.15 to $15.49mgO_2/g$ with a mean of $10.59{\pm}12.64mgO_2/g$. The COD in the inner stations was relatively higher than that of outer stations, and decreased toward the outer part of the study area. Ignition loss (IL) ranged from 3.35 to $15.45\%$ with a mean of $5.96{\pm}1.91\%$. Principal component analysis was carried out from the following five environmental parameters: water temperature, dissolved oxygen in the bottom layer and mean grain size, clay content and COD in the sediment. The forty stations in the study area were classified into three stational groups. Group I was located in the inner part of the estuary characterised by relatively low surface salinity and bottom water temperature, fine sedimemt texture, high organic matter and low dissolved oxygen concentration during the summer. Meanwhile, Group III showing relatively high bottom salinity and water temperature was located in the outer part of the estuary characterising coarse sediment and low organic content in sediment. Group II was between Group I and Group III. The division of the areal groups had high correlations to the DO in the bottom layer and clay content in the sediment.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.35-47
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• 2014

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the pollution level (gaseous and particle phase) in the public facilities for the PAHs, non-regulated materials, forecast the risk level by the health risk assessment (HRA) and propose the guideline level. PAH assessments through sampling of particulate matter of diameter < 2.5 ${\mu}m$ ($PM_{2.5}$). The user and worker exposure scenario for the PAHs consists of 24-hour exposure scenario (WIES) assuming the worst case and the normal exposure scenario (MIES) based on the survey. This study investigated 20 PAH substances selected out of 32 substances known to be carcinogenic or potentially carcinogenic. The risk assessment applies major toxic equivalency factor (TEF) proposed from existing studies and estaimates individual Excess Cancer Risk (ECR). The study assesses the fine dusts ($PM_{2.5}$) and the exposure levels of the gaseous and particle PAH materials for 6 spots in each 8 facility, e.g. underground subway stations, child-care facilities, elderly care facilities, super market, indoor parking lot, terminal waiting room, internet caf$\acute{e}$ (PC-rooms), movie theater. For internet caf$\acute{e}$ (PC-rooms) in particular, that marks the highest $PM_{2.5}$ concentration and the average concentration of 10 spots (2 spots for each cafe) is 73.3 ${\mu}g/m^3$ (range: 6.8-185.2 ${\mu}g/m^3$). The high level of $PM_{2.5}$ seen in internet cafes was likely due to indoor smoking in most cases. For the gaseous PAHs, the detection frequency for 4-5 rings shows high and the elements with 6 rings shows low frequency. For the particle PAHs, the detection frequency for 2-3 rings shows low and the elements with 6 rings show high frequency. As a result, it is investigated that the most important PAHs are the naphthalene, acenaphthene and phenanthrene from the study of Kim et al. (2013) and this annual study. The health risk assessment demonstrates that each facility shows the level of $10^{-6}-10^{-4}$. Considering standards and local source of pollution levels, it is judged that the management standard of the benzo (a)pyrene, one of the PAHs, shall be managed with the range of 0.5-1.2 $ng/m^3$. Smoking and ventilation were considered as the most important PAHs exposure associated with public facility $PM_{2.5}$. This study only estimated for inhalation health risk of PAHs and focused on the associated cancer risk, while multiple measurements would be necessary for public health and policy.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.327-339
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• 2001

Community structure of macrobenthos was studied at forty one stations of Hampyung Bay, southwest coast of Korea. Three replicate sediment samples were taken at each station in October 1997, using a van Veen grab (surface area $0.1\;m^2$). The types of surface sediment in the sampling area were muddy sandy gravel between bay mouth and bay proper, and gravelly sandy mud between bay proper and inner bay stations. The particulate organic carbon content in the surface sediment was $0.23\sim0.69\%\;(0.44\pm0.10\%)$. A total of 168 species collected during the study period is composed of 58 of polychaetes, 54 of crustaceans, 34 of molluscs and 22 of miscellaneous. The former two taxa together were accounted for $66.6\%$ of the total number of species. The mean density was $1,168 ind./m^2$, comprising $684 ind./m^2$of molluscs ($58.6\%$), $381 ind./m^2$of polychaetes ($32.6\%$), and $90 ind./m^2$of crustaceans ($13.2\%$). The mean biomass was $358.65 g/m^2$, which is consisted of $302.97 g/m^2$of molluscs ($84.5\%$), $24.20 g/m^2$of echinoderms ($6.7\%$), and $19.16 g/m^2$of crustaceans ($5.4\%$). Major dominant species at the inner stations of the study area was Ruditapes philippinarum with a density of $520ind./m^2$($44.5\%$), and Lumbrineris lontifolia with $183ind./m^2$($15.7\%$), while that at bay mouth stations Pitar indecoroides with $56ind./m^2$. Reticunassa festiva, Heteromastus sp., Praxillella affinis, Chone sp. and Tharyx sp. were at from all stations. Based on the cluster analysis, the macrobenthic community in the bay was classified into five station groups depending on sediment types: Group A, a high gravel content in the sediment; Group B, stations with high mud content from bay mouth to bay proper, Group C, stations with fine and poorly sorted sediment from bay proper to the inner bay. The distribution pattern of the number of species, abundance and biomass is discussed in relation to environmental variables.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.469-480
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• 2012

This study was to analyze the characteristics of diurnal variation of high $PM_{2.5}$ concentration, $PM_{2.5}/PM_{10}$ concentration ratio by spatio-temporal wind system (wind speed and wind direction) for high $PM_{2.5}$ concentration (over the 24 hr environmental standard of $PM_{2.5}$, $50{\mu}g/m^3$) in the air quality observation sites (Jangrimdong: Industrial area, Jwadong: Residential area) that were measured for 3 years (2005. 12. 1-2008. 11. 30) in Busan. The observation days of high $PM_{2.5}$ concentration were 182 at Jangrimdong and 27 at Jwadong. The seasonal diurnal variation of hourly mean of high $PM_{2.5}$ concentration and of $PM_{2.5}/PM_{10}$ concentration ratio showed a similar pattern that had higher variation at dawn, and night and in the morning than in the afternoon. Durning daytime in summer at Jwadong, the $PM_{2.5}/PM_{10}$ concentration ratio increased because a secondary particulate matter, which was created by photochemical reaction, decreased the coarse particles of $PM_{10}$ more than the fine particles of $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations in ocean condition. We did an analysis of spatio-temporal wind system (wind speed range and wind direction) in each time zone. The result showed that high $PM_{2.5}$ concentration at Jangrimdong occurred due to the congestion of pollutants emissions from the industrial complex in Jangrimdong area and the transportation of pollutants from places nearby Jangrimdong. It also showed that high $PM_{2.5}$ concentration occurred at Jwadong because of a number of local residential and commercial activities that caused the congestion of pollutants.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.91-108
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• 2018

An ecological study on subtidal macrobenthic fauna was conducted from 25 stations in the estuarine area of Wando-Doam Bay, southern coast of Korea during August 2013. A total of 186 species was collected with a mean density of $1,229ind./m^2$ and a mean biomass of $265.7g/m^2$. Polychaetes showed the richest benthic fauna comprising 43% of total fauna, whereas mollusks appeared as density- and biomass-dominant fauna accounted for 45% and 48% of the mean density and biomass, respectively. The number of species and mean faunal density were relatively higher at the stations surrounded by Sinjido, Joyakdo and Gogeumdo showing a gradual decrease toward inner bay stations. Species number and density were negatively correlated with bottom water temperature, but they were positively correlated with both the bottom salinity and DO. The most dominant species in terms of density was a semelid bivalve, Theora fragilis which showed a positive correlation with TOC content of surface sediment and its high density occurred around Gogeum-Sinji-Joyakdo area where dense aquaculture facilities exist. In the bay mouth area, an amphipod species, Eriopisella sechellensis showed its higher density at the stations with low organic content but fine grains. The combination of water temperature, salinity, pH of bottom water, water and sulfur content of the surface sediment could explain 71% of the spatial distribution of macrobenthic fauna from the Bio-Env analysis. From the cluster analysis, the study area consisted of 6 distinct station groups lineated from offshore area toward inner area. Ampharete arctica, Goniada maculata, Eriopisella sechellensis, Theora fragilis, Caprella sp. were identified as the main contributing faunas in classification by the SIMPER analysis. From the value of BPI, the benthic communities at the inner and central Wando-Doam Bay were assessed to be in a normal condition whereas those at the outer Wando harbor and Gogeum-Sinji-Joyakdo area were assessed in a poor or very poor condition due to the high concentration of particulate organic matter might be originated from the nearby dense aquaculture facilities. This study indicated that pristine inner bay has been influenced by the organic material supplied from the outer bay. Thus it is necessary to establish an ecological management plan to reduce organic enrichment of sediment from dense aquaculture facilities in the outer bay.