• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.5-13
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• 2021

Ammonia, primarily originating from urinary urea of the livestock manure, is known to play as a major precursor of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) generation which leads to a decrease in air quality and to harmful effects on public health. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of acetohydroxamic acid (AHA) addition on inhibition of ammonia conversion from urea. The experiment was performed at different urea concentration (500-4,000 mg Urea-N/L), AHA concentration (0-4,000 mg AHA/L), pHs (pH 6-10), and temperature (10-35℃). The result showed that the urease inhibition efficiency increased at higher concentration of AHA. However, the specific urease inhibition activity decreased at higher pH, showing 867.1±6.7 Unit/g AHA at pH 6 and 1,167.9±17.4 Unit/g AHA at pH 10, respectively. Decreased urease inhibition efficiency at both AHA and control was observed at higher temperature. This finding indicates that AHA can be used as the urease inhibitor for reducing ammonia emission in the management of livestock manure.

• 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 the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.53-68
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• 2020

The concentrations of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and fine dust were measured in the compost facility of a full-time Hanwoo breeding farms. The experiments were conducted in stack type composting facility(T1) and mechanical-stirred composting facilities(T2, T3). In the stack type composting facility, the highest temperature of compost pile was 46℃, and in the two mechanical-stirred composting facilities, it rose to 63℃ and 68℃, respectively. The concentrations of PM2.5 at T1, T2 were 15 ㎍/㎥ and 5~10 ㎍/㎥, respectively. And the concentration of PM2.5 at T3 was below 10 ㎍/㎥. The highest concentration of ammonia generated at T1 was 4 ppm, but no hydrogen sulfide was detected. The ammonia concentrations at T2 and T3 were 3 ppm and 4 ppm, respectively. However, hydrogen sulfide was not detected in both facilities. At T3, the ammonia concentration increased to 65 ppm at the point where the compost was stirred with a mechanical agitator. During composting period, the pH of the compost pile decreased from 9.06 to 8.94 and then increased to 9.14 as the composting period elapsed. The NaCl content of compost was 0.09% after composting process was complete. Moisture content of compost decreased from 65.9% to 62% as composting progressed. As composting proceeded, the content of volatile solids decreased from 65.6% to 64.7% and the content of TKN decreased from 1.327% to 1.095%.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.21-36
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• 2023

As a solution to environmental issues, such as climate change response, the carbon neutrality strategy, urban heat islands, fine dust, and biodiversity enhancement, the value of urban green spaces and trees are becoming important, and various studies dealing with the effects of trees for environmental improvement are being conducted. This study comprehensively considers the preceding studies on planting tree species, planting structure, planting density, and planting base to propose a direction for the planting renewal of green areas in urban parks and applies the findings to a renewal plan to improve the urban environment through landscaping trees. A field survey was conducted on the planting status of Seoul Children's Grand Park, a large-scale neighborhood park in Seoul, and based on the survey data, a planting function evaluation was conducted, and areas needing improvement in planting function were identified. The planting function evaluation was carried out considering the park function setting, planting concept according to spatial function, and planting status. As a result of the study, the direction of planting renewal according to functional change was derived for each stage of planting function evaluation. Increasing the green area ratio is a priority in setting up park functions, but user convenience should also be considered. As a concept of planting, visual landscape planting involves planting species with beautiful tree shapes, high carbon absorption, and fine dust reduction effects. Ecological landscape planting should create a multi-layered planting site on a slope. Buffer planting should be created as multi-layered forests to improve carbon absorption and fine dust reduction effects. Green planting should consist of broad-leaved trees and herbaceous layers and aim for the natural planting of herbaceous species. For plant species, species with high urban environment improvement effects, local native species, and wild bird preferred species should be selected. As for the planting structure, landscape planting sites and green planting sites should be composed of trees, shrubs, and trees and herbaceous layers that emphasize ecology or require multi-layered buffer functions. A higher standard is applied based on the planting interval for planting density. Installing a rainwater recycling facility and using soil loam for the planting base improves performance. The results of this study are meaningful in that they can be applied to derive areas needing functional improvement by performing planting function evaluation when planning planting renewal of aging urban parks and can suggest renewal directions that reflect the paradigm of functional change of created green areas.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.371-382
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• 2010

TSP and PM2.5 atmospheric aerosols have been collected at Gosan site of Jeju Island, and their compositions were analyzed to understand the pollution characteristics. The composition ratios of nss (non-sea salt)-$SO_4^{2-}$ and $NH_4^+$ were higher in Gosan site than those in other Korean background and urban sites. However the composition ratio of $NO_3^-$ was conversely lower in Gosan site. From the study of aerosol components according to particle sizes, the anthropogenic nss-$SO_4^{2-}$, $NO_3^-$ and $NH_4^+$ components were mostly existed in the fine particles. But the nss-$Ca^{2+}$, $Na^+$, $Cl^-$ and $Mg^{2+}$ originated from soil and marine sources were distributed relatively in the coarse particles. In the seasonal comparison, the concentrations of nss-$Ca^{2+}$, Al, Fe, Ca and $NO_3^-$ increased in spring season, and nss-$SO_4^{2-}$ showed higher concentration in summer and spring seasons. Based on the factor analysis, the atmospheric aerosols in Gosan site have been found to be influenced largely by anthropogenic sources, and next by marine and soil sources. The backward trajectory analyses showed that the concentrations of nss-$SO_4^{2-}$, $NO_3^-$, Pb and nss-$Ca^{2+}$ increased when the air mass moved from Chinese continent to Jeju area. On the other hand, their concentrations decreased when the air mass moved in from the North Pacific Ocean.

• 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 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.

• 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.