• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.59-67
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• 2023

Background: This study aims to reevaluate natural radiation exposure, following up on our previous study conducted in 2019, and to assess the associated risk of lung cancer to the public residing in the gold mining areas of Betare-Oya, east Cameroon, and its vicinity. Materials and Methods: Gamma-ray spectra collected using a 7.62 cm×7.62 cm in NaI(Tl) scintillation spectrometer during a car-borne survey, in situ measurements and laboratory measurements performed in previous studies were used to determine the outdoor absorbed dose rate in air to evaluate the annual external dose inhaled by the public. For determining internal exposure, radon gas concentrations were measured and used to estimate the inhalation dose while considering the inhalation of radon and its decay products. Results and Discussion: The mean value of the laboratory-measured outdoor gamma dose rate was 47 nGy/hr, which agrees with our previous results (44 nGy/hr) recorded through direct measurements (in situ and car-borne survey). The resulting annual external dose (0.29±0.09 mSv/yr) obtained is similar to that of the previous study (0.33±0.03 mSv/yr). The total inhalation dose resulting from radon isotopes and their decay products ranged between 1.96 and 9.63 mSv/yr with an arithmetic mean of 3.95±1.65 mSv/yr. The resulting excess lung cancer risk was estimated; it ranged from 62 to 216 excess deaths per million persons per year (MPY), 81 to 243 excess deaths per MPY, or 135 excess deaths per MPY, based on whether risk factors reported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, United Nations Scientific Committee on the effects of Atomic Radiation, or International Commission on Radiological Protection were used, respectively. These values are more than double the world average values reported by the same agencies. Conclusion: There is an elevated level of risk of lung cancer from indoor radon in locations close to the Betare-Oya gold mining region in east Cameroon. Therefore, educating the public on the harmful effects of radon exposure and considering some remedial actions for protection against radon and its progenies is necessary.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.117-124
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• 2020

In this paper, we proposed a plan to maintain comfortable indoor air quality in nursing homes by suggesting ways to reduce items temporarily exceeding the reference values through real-time concentration variation analysis of indoor air quality. Five items including PM10, CO₂, CO, VOC, and Radon are measured at nursing homes in spring (April) and autumn (September) was carried out and all of the measured items were analyzed to satisfy the criteria set by the Indoor Air Quality Control Act. As a result of the analysis of the real-time concentration change, the concentration of CO₂ was close to the reference value based on the number of occupants in the sick room. Due to the disinfectant (alcohol) used to disinfect and the auxiliary tools (adhesive) used in the operation of the program such as making and coloring, it was analyzed to temporarily exceed the standard value in the hall. In conclusion, it is possible to provide pleasant indoor air quality and contribute to securing the nursing home's competitiveness if periodic ventilation, natural disinfectant and eco-friendly product are used in consideration of the thermal environment.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2008.06a
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• pp.1561-1565
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• 2008

More than 3.4 million people use Hong Kong metro a day. It was first constructed in 1979, and extended to 9 operating lines with 168.1km length operated by Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTR). In Hong Kong, airborne viruses such as avian influenza (bird's flu) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), air pollution by high-density traffics, bacteria and mold due to relatively high humidity are major concerns on air quality management. In this study, we focused on the cases for improving indoor air quality conducted by Hong Kong MTR currently. The case includes the photocatalytic coatings on knobs (or hand straps) to prevent outbreak of bird's flu and SARS, the high voltage ionizers installed at metro platform, and the periodical radon monitoring.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 1991.07a
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• pp.753-756
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• 1991

This paper aimed to analyse dose sensitivity to the controllable parameters of in-door radon $(^{222}Rn)$ and its decay products(Rn-D) by applying the input-output linear system theory. Physical behaviors of $^{222}Rn$ & Rn-D were analyzed in terms of $^{222}Rn$ gas generation, -migation and - infiltration to indoor environments, and the performance output-function(i.e. mean dose equivalent to Tracho-Bronchial(TB) lung region was assessed to the following ranges of the controllable parameters; a) the ventilation rate constant $({\lambda}_v)$ : $0{\sun}500[h^{-1}]$. b) the attachment rate constant$({\lambda}_a)$ : 0-500 $[h^{-1}]$. c) deposition rate constant $({\lambda}{_{d}^{u}})$: 0-50$[h^{-1}]$. A linear input-output model was reconstructed from the original models in literatures, as follows, which was modified into the matrices consisting of 111 nodal equations. a) indoor ${222}Rn$ & Rn-D Behaviour: jacobi- Porstendorfer- Bruno model. b) lung dosimerty : Jacobi-Eisfeld model. Some of the major findings, which identify the effectiveness of this model, were as follows. a) ${\lambda}_v$ is most effective, dominant controllable parameters in dose reduction, if mechanical ventilation is applied. b) ${\lambda}_v$, depending on the air particle-concentration, reduces the dose somewhat within ${\lambda}_v$<1 $h^{-1}R range. However, the dose increases conversely, ${\lambda}_v$>1 $h^{-1}R range range. c) ${\lambda}{_{d}^{4}}$ reduces the dose linearly as ${\lambda}_v$ dose. Such dose(z-axis) sentivities are shown with three-dimensional plots whoes x,y-axes are combined 2out the 3 parameter${\lambda}_v{\lambda}_s,\;{\lambda}_d^s$.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.32 no.2 s.89
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• pp.140-148
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• 2006

Recently, indoor air quality (IAQ) in workplace, residential environments and schools has been concerned of people, scientists and related the public, and has recognized the health effects related to indoor air pollution. Therefore, this study was performed to investigate the characteristics of IAQ in 55 kindergartens, elementary school, middle schools, and high schools from June, 2004 to May, 2005 in Korea. We measured indoor air pollutants($PM_{10},\;CO_2$, HCHO, total bacteria colony(TBC), CO, radon, TVOCs, asbestos, and $O_3$), and physical factors(noise, temperature, relative humidity, and illumination) with necessary of management for IAQ in school. We classified into 5 kinds of the school by period since building completion, <1 year, 1-3 years, 3-5 years, and 5-10 years. The concentration of pollutants and the level of physical factors compared with standards and guidelines of IAQ on the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development. The major results obtained from this study were as follows. Temperature, relative humidity and illumination among the physical factors did not exceed the standards, but noise exceeded it. Asbestos and $O_3$ did not detect in surveyed classrooms. CO, TBC, TVOCs, and HCHO in kindergartens, TBC in elementary schools, TBC, TVOCs dnd HCHO in middle schools, and HCHO in high schools detected the standards. This study is conducted as a part of efforts to provide a foundational data for further relative researches on management of IAQ of school. Therefore, we suggest that country plan for management of IAQ in school should be established through long-term and continuous investigation for assessment on IAQ in school and health risk assessment for students.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.57-70
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• 1992

An excess risk of lung cancer mortality among Koreans, attributable to indoor $^{222}Rn$ daughters exposure, were quantitatively evaluated by applying a stochastic health risk projection model on the radiation exposure. The lung cancer rate in Korean males and females, based on the 1989 demographic data, were estimated to be $22.4/10^5-y\;and\;9.5/10^5-y$, respectively The lifetime baseline lung cancer risks, deduced from these rates, appeared to be 0.047 and 0.019 for males and females, respectively, and were lower than the corresponding 1984 values of 0.067 and 0.025 in the U.S.A. The excess risk coefficients, derived by modified relative risk projection model of the BEIR-IV Committee under the US National Academy of Science, per annual 1.0 WLM of exposure to indoor radon daughters were estimated to be 0.022/WLM for males, 0.009/WLM for females, and 0.017/WLM for both sexes. The resulting annual frequency of excess lung cancer mortality for the life expectancy in the Korean population appeared to be 230/10^6-WLM, which was an approximate median of $120{\sim}450/10^6-WLM$ reported so far in the world.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.873-900
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• 2007

Non-market valuation studies tend to assume that individual households have homogeneous preferences for a non-market good to value. However, since the preferences for non-market goods, especially environmental goods are more likely to be heterogeneous by nature, it may be more appropriate to assume heterogeneous preferences for non-market goods, which may in turn may lead to reduced biases in the WTP estimation. This study investigate the extent to which individual households have heterogeneous preferences for reduced concentrations of radon, a radioactive indoor air pollutant, for road safety, and for nuclear power safety. We also analyze the effect of heterogeneity assumption on the results of model and WTP estimation. Using the choice experiments and mixed logit models, we found that allowing for heterogeneous preferences improved model fitness and that there existed heterogeneous preferences for both reduced radon concentration and road safety, albeit not for nuclear power safety. The mean WTP for reduced radon concentrations and road safety increased by factors of 2.44 and l.74 respectively with the models allowing for heterogeneous preferences.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.855-860
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• 2021

Coffee is a popular beverage not only in Korea but also around the world, and its consumption is on the rise. As coffee consumption increases, coffee waste are also increasing, and recycling is attempted in various fields. However, these recycling methods require complex recycling processes and specialized skills. However, in this study coffee waste, agar powder, and powdered glue were mixed in an appropriate ratio and used as a cement building finishing material. This recycling method has a simple manufacturing method and was shown to improve indoor air quality by delaying radon emitted from cement walls for 2.5 hours with one application and 3.9 hours with two applications. In addition, it was shown that after applying the coffee waste mixture, it was applied twice to close the cracks that occurred during the drying process, thereby prevent the coffee waste from falling off the wall for aesthetic perfection.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1217-1222
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• 2020

Currently, studies on environmental pollution are being conducted in worldwide including Korea. Among them, various efforts are being made to prevent the health and environmental pollution of the people nationwide by keeping and managing the indoor air of various facilities used by many users. In particular, it is suggested that many people who visit medical institutions have diseases or illnesses and may have a significant impact on chronic diseases such as headache, depression, neuroticism, heart disease, and cancer related to indoor air pollution. Considering this situation, this paper is expected to provide comfortable and clean indoor environment to the inmate by providing central monitoring of air pollution and automatic call function of the person in charge through indoor air monitoring IoT system to be applied to medical institutions.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Rural Architecture
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2020

The main purpose of the research is to prevent residents who are using underground parking lot from being exposed to pollusion, and to allow them to enjoy clean indoor environment. The study subject for the research are underground parking lots in 20 different apartments, 4 of them were constructed before 2000, 10 were constructed from 2000-2010, and the rest were constructed after 2010. By analyzing the air quality in these underground parking lots, we found out that O3, NO2, CO, PM10, Radon in all parking lots were not excessive compared to the standard limit. TVOC rate was measured with the value in between 312 ~ 2,137㎍/m3, with CO2 value in between 193~1,824 ppm, and HCHO with the value in between 0.01~1.52ppm. The lightning system in underground parking lots in apartments constructed before 2000 were using manual light control system, while automatic light control system was used in all apartments constructed after 2000, and the brightness of parking lots in apartments constructed before 2000 was quite low. The apartments constructed after 2000 are performing cleaning and ventilation due to management agreement, while the apartments constructed before 2000 are not performing regular cleaning and there was no mechanical ventilation system installed. The difference of indoor air quality was significant seasonally, daily, and yearly (year of construction), while illuminance was significantly different yearly.