• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.28 no.5
• /
• pp.71-76
• /
• 2002

A survey of radon concentrations in both indoor and outdoor atmospheres was carried out using EIRM and Cup Monitor for the period of February 1996 to March 1997. EIRM were used to measure the indoor and outdoor radon concentration at five major cities university. Cup Monitor were also used to measure the indoor radon concentrations at shopping store, office building, apartment, hospital and house in Seoul. The mean indoor and outdoor radon concentrations at the five major cities(Seoul, Daegu, Daejon, Cwangiu and Busan) were 24.1 Bq/m$^3$and 8.62 Bq/m$^3$, respectively. The ratio of indoor to outdoor radon concentrations ranged front 1.7 to 3.9. Inspection of its seasonal distribute pattern indicates the enhancement during winter relative to summer, consistently for both indoor and outdoor air. The results of the survey showed that the concentrations in basements were clearly higher than those in usual living/working places.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.7 no.3
• /
• pp.327-334
• /
• 1998

The oil crisis of the 1970s and the rise in oil prices motivated people to implement energy conservation strategies. Buildings were fitted with additional Insulation and reduced ventilation rates. The reduction of mechanical and natural ventilation rate led to Increases In Indoor pollutant concentrations which result- ed In Increased health risks from Indoor exposure to pollutants. The variable-air-volume /bypass fitration system/VAV/BPFS) is a variation of the conventional VAV systems, The VAV/BPFS is an electronically controlled system that provides costegectlve thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality Under controlled conditions In a chamber, a series experiments were performed to compare the ability of a VAV/BPFS to remove Indoor aerosol concentration and to reduce energy consumption no that ability of conventional VAV system. Results show that the VAV/BPFS Increases the effective ventilation rate and removes indoor air pollutant, and maintains acceptable indoor air Quality without sacrificing energy consumption.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.108-112
• /
• 1997

Recently, the use of Dwelling House has been expanded due to the rapid urbainzation and congestion of population in City. Indoor Air Quality in apartment houses was investigated by measuring pollutants such as $CO_2$ gas, dust concentration. In this study, the mesurements of indoor air environment were performed in Dwelling house in Seoul area to investigate indoor air environment and the relation of air contaminative and the response level. Indoor air contamination and living environment of the occupants have been compared & analyzed with practical investigation of IAQ in Seoul, Korea and Tokyo, Japan.

• Journal of odor and indoor environment
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.330-336
• /
• 2018

The objective of this study was to determine whether crops and fruits absorb the naturally occurring asbestos (NOA). The concentration of asbestos in various crops and fruits grown in NOA areas was analyzed and background levels of asbestos in ambient air and soil samples were assessed. Actinolite/Tremolite asbestos were detected in all soil samples. Among 21 ambient air samples, 2 samples were recorded to contain 0.0005 f/cc (fiber per cubic centimeter) but no asbestos was detected in the other samples using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). However, no evidence suggesting that the crops and fruits could be contaminated by NOA was found in this study. The excess lifetime cancer risks (ELCRs) of ABS scenarios (agricultural activities) used in this study were calculated by using the Arithmetic (AM) and Geometric mean (GM) of ELCRs. The AM and GM of ELCRs estimated from digging soil and weeding activities did not exceed $1{\times}10^{-4}$, which was defined as the general acceptable risk range for exposure. The results of this study would be informative to NOA managers and related policy makers to make plans to prevent unexpected exposure to asbestos to residents living in an NOA area.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.115-124
• /
• 2024

Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess indoor air quality within and around buildings and evaluate the health risks associated with exposure to indoor air pollution. The study compares IAQ standards established by the World Health Organization with those set by South Korea's Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Education. Methods: The study utilized an Anderson Sampler and DustTrak^TM II to collect samples of total airborne bacteria and PM in indoor and outdoor environments. Collected samples were analyzed using biological and biochemical methods. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS to examine the correlation between airborne bacteria and PM. Results: The study revealed that the concentration of total airborne bacteria in indoor air generally remained below the Ministry of Environment's standard of 800 CFU/m³, although it surpassed this threshold in certain instances. PM concentrations did not exceed the standards. Indoor fine dust concentration was higher when there were people (P<0.05). There was no difference in total floating bacterial concentrations between indoor and outdoor environments (P=0.184). Finally, there was a correlation between fine dust and airborne bacteria concentrations. Conclusion: The study evaluated the concentrations of total airborne bacteria and PM in indoor air, emphasizing the importance of managing IAQ. Further research in various environments is essential to ensure a healthy indoor environment. The findings underscore the need for ongoing research and management to enhance IAQ and create safer and healthier living environments.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.334-341
• /
• 2016

Objectives: This study is aimed at examining radon exposure in offices and the factors that can influence the concentrations. Methods: Indoor radon concentrations in a total of 30 places were measured from January 18 to 21, 2016, targeting six buildings in Seoul with different completion years. The measurement was conducted according to the radon measurement guidelines for indoor air suggested by the Ministry of Environment. Results: As a result of comparing each average concentration, underground area concentration was $42.850{\pm}22.501Bq/m^3$, and that of the ground floors was $27.850{\pm}12.232Bq/m^3$, which was lower than the concentration in the underground areas and statistically significant (p=0.045). As a result of comparing the concentration according to whether or not outside air entered, the average concentration for ventilated areas was $24.876{\pm}11.833Bq/m^3$, and the average concentration for enclosed areas was $47.892{\pm}19.375Bq/m^3$. The concentration in ventilated areas was lower at a statistically significant level (p=0.001). Finally, as a result of the multiple regression analysis for evaluating the factors influencing radon concentration, only ventilation was significant (p=0.007). Conclusions: As a result of measuring radon in office buildings, there was no place that exceeding the recommended standard of the US EPA, but the concentration in poorly ventilated areas was measured to be high. An effort to manage radon concentration and reduce it through the improvement of ventilation systems, repeated measurement is necessary in the future.

• Journal of the Korea Furniture Society
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.182-187
• /
• 2014

Underground shopping center has become a important commercial facility due to their good accessibility to the public transport. However, underground shopping center has high risk of air contaminants emission like formaldehyde and lowered indoor air quality. In this study, formaldehyde concentration of the underground shopping center was estimated according to the renovation and characteristics of space. It was found that newly renovated underground shopping center has low formaldehyde concentration. In case of closed entrance type, the formaldehyde concentration was 320 % higher than open type. Formaldehyde concentration was varied by product type and especially, high formaldehyde concentration was measured near the stores selling nail polish and cosmetics. It is important to apply appropriate ventilation system according to characteristics of space.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.15 no.10
• /
• pp.913-918
• /
• 2006

Despite the wide distribution of air pollutants, the concentrations of indoor air pollutants may be the dominant risk factor in personal exposure due to the fact that most people spend an average of 80% of their time in enclosed buildings. Researches for improvement of indoor air quality have been developed such as installation of air cleaning device, ventilation system, titanium dioxide$(TiO_2)$ coating and so on. However, it is difficult to evaluate the magnitude of improvement of indoor air quality in field study because indoor air quality can be affected by source generation, outdoor air level, ventilation, decay by reaction, temperature, humidity, mixing condition and so on. In this study, evaluation of reduction of formaldehyde and nitrogen dioxide emission rate in indoor environments by $TiO_2$ coating material was carried out using mass balance model in indoor environment. we proposed the evaluation method of magnitude of improvement in indoor air quality, considering outdoor level and ventilation. Since simple indoor concentration measurements could not properly evaluate the indoor air quality, outdoor level and ventilation should be considered when evaluate the indoor net quality.

• Journal of the Institute of Convergence Signal Processing
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.16-23
• /
• 2019

Fine particulate matter known as PM 2.5 refers to the atmospheric particulate matter that has a diameter less than 2.5 micrometer identified as dangerous element for human health and its concentration can provide us a clear picture about air dust concentration. Humans stay indoor almost 90% of their life time and also there is no official indoor dust concentration data, so our study is focused on measuring the indoor air quality. Indoor dust data monitoring is very important in hospital environments beside that other places can also be considered for monitoring like classrooms, cements factories, computer server rooms, petrochemical storage etc. In this paper, visible light communication system is proposed by Manchester encoding technique for electromagnetic interference (EMI)-free indoor dust monitoring. Important indoor environment information like dust concentration is transferred by visible light channel in wide range. An average voltage-tracking technique is utilized for robust light detection to eliminate ambient light and low-frequency noise. The incoming light is recognized by a photo diode and are simultaneously processed by a receiver micro-controller. We can monitor indoor air quality in real-time and can take necessary action according to the result.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.67-74
• /
• 2003

In 15 schools where were chosen each location (East, West, South, North, Central) of Seoul area, 9 items were measured such as thermo circumstance(temperature, relative humidity, air current, intensity of illumination) particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide being based on the school indoor environment standard. It was showed that indoor temperature, relative humidity and air movement were suitable in comparison with school indoor environment standard. Intensity of illumination was suitable in comparison with all schools, only exception 2 schools. In all investigated schools were adequate for carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, in which each indoor environment standard (10ppw, 0.25ppm/hr, 0.15ppm/hr), but in 5 schools the carbon dioxide were exceeded for standard limit 1,000ppm of Korea. Indoor concentration of dust(PM-10) induced from respiration dust the standard of Korea ($150{\mu}g/m^3$) at all schools.