• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.474-482
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• 2007

Daycare centers are an important indoor environment for pre-school children and exposure area with potential harmful health effects for infants and children who spend most of their daily life. Sampling was undertaken at 29 daycare centers located Seoul in Korea from January, 2006 to December 2006. The target compounds were 7 individual volatile organic compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m,p-xylene, styrene, o-xylene, TVOC). The mean concentrations of TVOC, toluene, m ,p-xylene, ethylbenzene, benzene and styrene in daycare centers were $318.7{\mu}g/m^3$, $51.6{\mu}g/m^3$, $11.7{\mu}g/m^3$, $6.5{\mu}g/m^3$, $4.2{\mu}g/m^3$, $3.6{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively. Toluene occupied 17.6 % of the concentration of individual VOCs. The ratio of indoor and outdoor (I/O) of TVOC and toluene were 2.0 and 1.6, respectively. The results of characteristics according to a season of a year, the concentration of TVOC were measured $433.9{\mu}g/m^3$, and these concentrations during third quarter of the year in summer were higher than the other season. In the other four seasons, TVOC were measured 280.5 in winter, 298.3 in spring and $264.6{\mu}g/m^3$ in fall, respectively.

• Proceedings of the SAREK Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.306-310
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• 2005

The air-side particulate fouling in the heat exchangers of HVAC applications degrades the performance of cooling capacity, pressure drop across a heat exchanger, and indoor air quality. Indoor and outdoor air contaminants foul heat exchangers. An empirical modeling equation is derived from the experimental results using accelerated tests and it shows good predictions of the fouling characteristics of the slitted finned tube heat exchangers. However the modeling equation predicts only the fouling characteristics of new heat exchangers and it can not predicts fouling characteristics obtained from actual field data. The purpose of this study is to modify the previous modeling equation using the actual field data Therefore an modified modeling equation is proposed and it shows good predictions of the actual fouling characteristics of finned-tube heat exchangers.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.93-98
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• 2020

This study examined the particulate removal performance of three different types of air filters inside a heat exchanger. Of interest was the ability of each filter type in reducing the transmission of outdoor particulate matter of PM10 from entering an apartment while the heat exchanger was in operation. The study tested one commonly used medium filter (E11 grade) and two HEPA filters (H13 grade) of different thicknesses. Two different concentrations of particulate matter were used in the experiment to address different ambient air quality conditions in Korea, 32.75 ㎍/㎥ and 67.26 ㎍/㎥. Study results indicated that under the particulate matter concentration of 32.75 ㎍/㎥, all three filters were capable of removing more than 95% of the fine dust. However at a particulate matter concentration of 67.26 ㎍/㎥, the medium E11 grade filter was only able to remove about 90% of the particulates whereas the HEPA H13 grade filters were able to remove 95% or more of the particulates. The thicker HEPA filter (40T) was also more effective in removing particulates than the thinner HEPA filter (20T) by about 1.6 to 3 percentage points. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that HEPA filters of 20T thickness or greater be used during the high air pollution seasons of winter and spring in Korea while medium filters can be used during the other seasons to reduce outdoor air pollution transmission indoors.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.126-132
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• 2015

Objectives: The Korean government implemented a smoke-free regulation for pubs with a net indoor area of ${\geq}100m^2$ on January 1, 2014. The purpose of this study was to determine the indoor levels of concentrations of particulate matter smaller than $2.5{\mu}m$ ($PM_{2.5}$) in implemented and non-implemented pubs in Seoul and Changwon. Methods: $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations in fifty-two $100-150m^2$ (implemented) and fifty-seven < $100m^2$ (non-implemented) pubs were measured. A real-time aerosol monitor was used to measure $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations. Field technicians recorded characteristics of the pubs including net indoor area, indoor volume and presence of smoking rooms and counted the number of burning cigarettes, patrons and vents. Results: Differences between indoor and outdoor $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations in $100-150m^2$ and < $100m^2$ pubs were not significantly different in each city. Smoking was observed in 33% of $100-150m^2$ pubs and 51% of < $100m^2$ pubs. Average differences between indoor and outdoor $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations in the $100-150m^2$ and < $100m^2$ pubs were $79.2{\mu}g/m^3$ and $155.6{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively. When smokers were not observed, differences between indoor and outdoor $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations ware $12.4{\mu}g/m^3$ in $100-150m^2$ pubs and $24.5{\mu}g/m^3$ in < $100m^2$ pubs. Conclusion: Although the regulation was implemented only in ${\geq}100m^2$ pubs, a higher difference between indoor and outdoor $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations was observed in implemented and non-implemented pubs with smokers. Strict implementation of the regulation in all pubs is needed for better indoor air quality.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.164-172
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• 2015

Seoul subway plays an important part for the public transportation service in Seoul metropolitan area. As the subway system is typically a closed environment, frequent air pollution problems occurred and passengers get malhealth impact. Especially particulate matters (PM) is well known as one of the major pollutants in subway environments. The purpose of this study was to compare the concentrations of $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$ in the Seoul subway system and to provide fundamental data in order to management of subway system. $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$ samples were collected in the M station platform and tunnel of Subway Line 4 in Seoul metropolitan and in an outdoor location close to it from Apr. 21, 2010~Oct. 27, 2013. The samples collected on teflon filters using $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$ mini-volume portable samplers and PM sequential sampler. The PM contributions were $48.6{\mu}g/m^3$ (outdoor), $84.6{\mu}g/m^3$ (platform) and $204.8{\mu}g/m^3$ (tunnel) for $PM_{10}$, and $34.6{\mu}g/m^3$ (outdoor), $49.7{\mu}g/m^3$ (platform) and $83.1{\mu}g/m^3$ (tunnel) for $PM_{2.5}$. The $PM_{10}$ levels inside stations and outdoors are poorly correlated, indicating that $PM_{10}$ levels in the metro system are mainly influenced by internal sources. In this study, we compared PM concentrations before and after operation of ventilation and Electrostatic Precipitator (EP). Despite the increased PM concentration at outdoor, $PM_{10}$ concentration at platform and tunnel showed the 31.2% and 32.3% reduction efficiency after operation the reduction system. The overall results of this study suggest that the installation and operation of the ventilating system and EP should have served as one of the important components for maintaining the air quality in the subway system.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.527-538
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• 2002

In this study, the performance of sampling and of analytical methodology was examined against a number of selected volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the ambient air. The canister-based sampling method for VOCs has been a viable and widely used approach that is based on research and evaluation performed over the past several years. VOCs were determined using canisters by GCMSD analysis. A total of target analyses in this study included approximately 30 VOCs designated in TO-l4A categories including BTEX. The methodology for QC(quality control) was intensively investigated with a wide range of performance criteria such as; (1) cleanliness of canisters, (2) reproducibility of diluter, (3) instrumental detection limits of preconcentrator and GCMSD, and (4) precision and accuracy of GCMSD. For most of the compounds tested, precision was less than $\pm$5%, IDL was 0.2 ppbv, accuracy was $\pm$5%, respectively. This study demonstrated that the combination of canister sampling and GC/MSD analysis could be reliably applied to the measurements of BTEX in ppbv levels that are typically observed in/outdoor air environment.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.60-67
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• 2008

The spatial limitations of urban environments in general lead to invention and design of a wide range of underground transportation systems such as subways, underground roads and paths, etc. Among them, the application of subway systems in metropolitan cities is most commonly observed to ease those confronted difficulties on this purpose. It in turn leaves passengers and workers to be exposed to indoor air potentially polluted by various sources existing in this underground environment. Specifically when considering the IAQ in a subway station, there exist many IAQ-related parameters to be counted either as individual or as integrated exposures. In this study, a model system has been developed to manage the general IAQ in a subway station. Field survey and $CO_2$ measurements were initially conducted to analyze and understand the relationship between the indoor and outdoor air quality while considering the internal pollution sources such as passengers, subway trains, etc. The measurement data were then employed for the model development with other static information. For the model development, the algorithm of simple continuity was built and applied to model the subway IAQ concerned. In this paper, the recent updated draft version of model developed will be reported and demonstrated.

• Proceedings of the SAREK Conference
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• 2006.06a
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• pp.993-998
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• 2006

High-rise apartments have a problem using natural ventilation because of the strong outdoor wind velocity. Conventional high-rise apartments have adopted mechanical ventilation systems to maintain the indoor air quality. However, it leads to the overuse of electricity and the sick house syndrome. Double-skin facade is the alternative for the high-rise building to use natural ventilation and this study is focused on the performance of the box-window, which is a kind of double-skin facades. Indoor wind velocity and HCHO concentrations are analyzed with three types of box-windows: the diagonal type, parallel type and perpendicular type. The airflow is simulated by computational fluid dynamics program. Box-windows reduce the maximum value of indoor wind velocity about 50% compared with the single window and the HCHO concentrations do not have the big difference. Box-windows could be the alternative to enhance the use of the natural ventilation and indoor air quality of the high-rise apartment.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.142-151
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• 2011

In this study, we have observed PM-10 and $CO_2$ concentration in the subway cabins and analyzed the factors affecting air quality using a multivariate statistical analysis. The measurements have been conducted at Seoul metropolitan subway lines. The results show that the mean concentration of the PM-10 and $CO_2$ inside subway cabins is in the range of 62.6 to 108.0 ${\mu}g/m^3$ and 907 to 2,008 ppm, respectively. $CO_2$ level in specific sections during the rush hours has exceeded air quality guidelines for public transportation, which requires designated train ventilation controls. Correlation and regression analyses of influencing factors imply that $CO_2$ level is severely influenced by the number of passengers and PM-10 level is also correlated with the number of passengers. In particular, PM-10 level in the cabins indicates a positive correlation with outdoor PM-10 level. In addition, the PM concentration has been highly affected by the number of passengers and distance between stations.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.1857-1862
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• 2003

The air-side particulate fouling in the heat exchangers of HVAC applications degrades the performance of cooling capacity, pressure drop across a heat exchanger, and indoor air quality. Indoor and outdoor air contaminants foul heat exchangers. The purpose of this study is to investigate the fouling characteristics trough accelerated tests. The fouling characteristics are analyzed as functions of a dust concentration (1.28 and 3.84 $g/m^3$), a face velocity (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 m/s), and a surface condition. The cooling capacity in the slitted finned-tube heat exchangers at the face velocity of 1 m/s decreases about 2% and the pressure drop increases up to 57%. The rate of build-up of fouling is observed to be 3 times slower for this three-fold reduction of dust concentration whilst still approaching the same asymptotic level.