• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.375-383
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• 2011

Recent advances in digital technology and diversified internet services have resulted in a rapid growth of research on monitering systems using embedded web servers in USN systems. In designing USN systems equipped with wireless sensor modules requiring extra power for heating sensors for their appropriate operations, excessive power consumption introduces inefficiency to the entire system. In this paper, using embedded systems in web environment, we develop a remote-monitoring system with VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) sensor signal, and propose a real time method of processing sensor-data streams by way of the serial bus from the sensor module in the USN system. The proposed system has an advantage of monitering the harmful gases on real-time basis and can be used semi-permanently by providing the sensor module with power through the serial bus. The harmful gas to be detected by the VOC sensor module is Toluene and the sensor module is composed of TGS-2602 VOC(Volatile Organic Compounds) sensors of FIGARO. The detected signal is transferred to the embedded web server using the RS-485 serial communication device. The proposed remote VOC monitering system is designed to coordinate in such a way that the VOC sensor module and embedded web server (EMPOS-II) work together effectively for real time monitering of harmful gases on the web at any places where the internet is connected.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.375-382
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• 2011

Semi volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) are used as plasticizers in building materials, interior materials, furniture, consumer electronics. etc. In the home, these SVOCs mix together with house dust. There is thus concern over the health effects of SVOCS in the home, there is a risk that they ini1uence childhood asthma and allergies. It is difficult to measure SVOCs emission rates from building materials or household appliances utilizing the usual test chamber methods, because the boiling points of SVOCs are higher and they are apt to adhere to the surface of the test chamber used. In this study, we introduce FLEC chamber method, passive sampler method and micro chamber method, which are used in Germany and Japan in order to measure SVOCs emission rates. Characteristic, merits and demerits of test methods are also considered.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.633-641
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• 2016

Two identical Particle Into Liquid Samplers-Total Organic Carbon (PILS-TOC) were operated to measure fine particle Water Soluble Organic Carbon (WSOC) for one week on Feb. in 2016. The dual instrument operations provided validated WSOC concentrations to have a continuous WSOC measurement during the sample analysis period. Both PILS-TOC instruments were operated downstream of an carbon denuder to remove positive adsorption artifacts associated with semi-volatile organic compounds. Comparison of WSOC showed good agreement each other. The linear regression had a coefficient of determination ($r^2$) of 0.92 and a regression slope of 1.01 for the first period. The lower collection efficiency due to lower steam temperature is discussed. In addition, the potential primary source related to WSOC based on the comparison of black carbon (BC) concentrations is explained. The results of good agreement between two PILS-TOC measurements can provide the validation of WSOC cooperations and knowledge regarding the origins of WSOC and their behaviors.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.739-744
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• 1995

The two main methods to prepare water samples for analyzing volatile organic compounds(VOC's) were investigated. One is the purge and trap(PT) method and another is the head space(HS) sampling method. Both methods were effective to transfer the low boiling point components from the water sample onto the capillary column. The cryo-focusing at the top of the main capillary column was an effective way to obtain the sharpness of the chromatographic peaks but could be avoided when a semi-wide bore column was used. The recovery from the same amount of the sample was better in PT than in HS but a larger sample volume in HS method could compensate the lower efficiency. Therefore PT is suitable to the analysis of drinking water where the very low concentration must be determined. HS is suitable to waste water analysis because of the easiness of the operation. The repeatability was good and similar in both methods. For the contamination of the former sample, both methods were tough and could be used without any problems. The matrix effect which could change the equilibrium parameters in HS method was find negligible in many components. The actual samples such as tap water and river water were analyzed with both methods concerning 16 components regulated in Korea.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.642-655
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• 2013

In this study, semi-continuous measurements of $PM_{2.5}$ mass, organic and elemental carbon (OC and EC), black carbon (BC), and ionic species concentrations were made for the period of April 03~13, 2012, at a South Area Supersite at Gwangju. Possible sources causing the high concentrations of major chemical species in $PM_{2.5}$ observed during a haze episode were investigated. The measurement results, along with meteorological parameters, gaseous pollutants data, air mass back trajectory analyses and PSCF (potential source contribution function) results, were used to study the haze episode. Substantial enhancements of OC, EC, BC, $K^+$, $SO{_4}^{2-}$, $NO{_3}{^-}$, $NH{_4}{^+}$, and CO concentrations were closely associated with air masses coming from regions of forest fires in southeastern China, suggesting likely an impact of the forest fires. Also the PSCF maps for EC, OC, $SO{_4}^{2-}$, and $K^+$ demonstrate further that the long-range transport of smoke plumes of forest fires detected over the southeastern China could be a possible source of haze phenomena observed at the site. Another possible source leading to haze formation was likely from photochemistry of precursor gases such as volatile organic compounds, $SO_2$, and $NO_2$, resulting in accumulation of secondary organic aerosol, $SO{_4}^{2-}$ and $NO{_3}{^-}$. Throughout the episode, local wind directions were between 200 and $230^{\circ}C$, where two industrial areas are situated, with moderate wind speeds of 3~5 m/s, resulting in highly elevated concentration of $SO_2$ with a maximum of 15 ppb. The $SO{_4}^{2-}$ peak occurring in the afternoon hours coincided with maximum ambient temperature ($24^{\circ}C$) and ozone concentration (~100 ppb), and were driven by photochemistry of $SO_2$. As a result, the pattern of $SO{_4}^{2-}$ variations in relation to wind direction, $SO_2$ and $O_3$ concentrations, and the strong correlation between $SO_2$ and $SO{_4}^{2-}$ ($R^2=0.76$) suggests that in addition to the impact of smoke plumes from forest fires in the southeastern China, local $SO_2$ emissions were likely an important source of $SO{_4}^{2-}$ leading to haze formation at the site.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.289-303
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• 2009

The chemical and meteorological effects on the concentration variations of ozone ($O_3$) were evaluated based on the intensive air quality measurement (5 pollutants and aromatic volatile organic compounds (AVOCs)) in and out-side an urban valley during spring and summer of 2006. The 5 pollutants measured in the study area include $O_3$, $NO_2$, NO, $PM_{10}$, and CO; the AVOCs include benzene (BEN), toluene (TOL), ethylbenzene (EB), m,p-xylene (MPX), and o-xylene (OX). For the purpose of this study, study areas were classified into two categories: valley area (VA) with a semi-closed topography covering a number of industrial complex, public building, and mountains and non-valley area (NVA) surrounding the suburban and residential areas. In general, the mean concentration levels of most pollutants (except for $PM_{10}$) in the VA were higher than those in the NVA. It was found that the average $O_3$ increase in the VA during spring might result from the combined effects such as the photochemical production from diverse anthropogenic sources and the $O_3$ accumulation due to geographical features (e.g., the semi-closed topography) and wind conditions (e.g., a low wind speed). In addition, the nocturnal $O_3$ increase in the VA during spring was primarily caused by local wind conditions (e.g., mountain and valley winds) with the low wind speed (approximately $1{\sim}2\;m\;s^{-1}$). On the other hand, the $O_3$ difference between the two areas during summer might be because of the photo-chemical production with the $O_3$ precursors (especially the AVOCs) rather than the contribution of wind conditions.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.3243-3254
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• 2013

It is well known that increased incidences of lung, skin, and bladder cancers are associated with occupational exposure to PAHs. Animal studies show that certain PAHs also can affect the hematopoietic and immune systems and can produce reproductive, neurologic, and developmental effects. As a consequence, several studies have been attempted to investigate the fate of PAHs in atmospheric environment during the past decades. However, there is still a lack of information in regard to the atmospheric concentration of PAHs during the "Bon Fire Night". In this study, twenty-three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and twenty-eight aliphatics were identified and quantified in the $PM_{10}$ and vapour range in Birmingham ($27^{th}$ November 2001-$19^{th}$ January 2004). The measured concentrations of total particulate and vapour (P+V) PAHs were consistently higher at the BROS in both winter and summer. Arithmetic mean total (P+V) PAH concentrations were $51.04{\pm}47.62$ ng $m^{-3}$ and $22.30{\pm}19.18$ ng $m^{-3}$ at the Bristol Road Observatory Site (BROS) and Elms Road Observatory Site (EROS) respectively. In addition arithmetic mean total (P+V) B[a]P concentrations at the BROS were $0.47{\pm}0.39$ ng $m^{-3}$ which exceeded the EPAQS air quality standard of 0.25 ng $m^{-3}$. On the other hand, the arithmetic mean total (P+V) aliphatics were $81.80{\pm}69.58$ ng $m^{-3}$ and $48.00{\pm}35.38$ ng $m^{-3}$ at the BROS and EROS in that order. The lowest average of CPI and $C_{max}$ measured at the BROS supports the idea of traffic emissions being a principle source of SVOCs in an urban atmosphere. The annual trend of PAHs was investigated by using an independent t-test and oneway independent ANOVA analysis. Generally, there is no evidence of a significant decline of heavier MW PAHs from the two data sets, with only Ac, Fl, Ph, An, 2-MePh, 1+9-MePh, Fluo and B[b+j+k]F showing a statistically significant decline (p<0.05). A further attempt for statistical analysis had been conducted by dividing the data set into three groups (i.e. 2000, 2001-2002 and 2003-2004). For lighter MW compounds a significant level of decline was observed by using one-way independent ANOVA analysis. Since the annual mean of $O_3$ measured in Birmingham City Centre from 2001 to 2004 increased significantly (p<0.05), it may be possible to attribute the annul reduction of more volatile PAHs to the enhanced level of annual average $O_3$. By contrast, the heavier MW PAHs measured at the BROS did not show any significant annual reduction, implying the difficulties of 5- and 6-ring PAHs to be subject to photochemical decomposition. The deviation of SVOCs profile measured at the EROS was visually confirmed during the "Bonfire Night" festival closest to the $6^{th}$ November 2003. In this study, the atmospheric PAH concentrations were generally elevated on this day with concentrations of Fl, Ac, B[a]A, B[b+j+k]F, Ind and B[g,h,i]P being particularly high.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.14-22
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• 2018

After signing the WHO FCTC in 2003, South Korea ratified the FCTC in 2005. This study was conducted to provide data on toxic constituents that can be used as useful information for the level of exposure to Korean smokers. Emissions data from five brands of cigarettes were tested under the ISO and "Canadian Intense (HCI)" smoking regimes, respectively. We conducted an analysis of 25 compounds containing nicotine, tar, carbonyls, phenolics, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and semi-VOC cigarette smoke. Tar and nicotine showed levels of 4.3 to 5.8 mg/cig and 0.4 to 0.5 mg/cig, respectively, which are within the range of tolerance presented in ISO 8243. In the case of carbonyls, formaldehyde was detected within a range of 8.2 to $14.3{\mu}g/cig$, and acetaldehyde was present within a range of 224.7 to $327.2{\mu}g/cig$ under the ISO smoke regime. Crotonaldehyde was not detected under the ISO regime, and all of the carbonyls showed values 2.3 to 4.5 times higher under the HCI regime than those under the ISO regime. Catechol, which showed a level of 47.0 to $80.5{\mu}g/cig$ under the ISO regime and 117.5 to $184.7{\mu}g/cig$ under the HCI regime, was the highest constituent among the phenols. The amount of isoprene was 91.7 to $158.3{\mu}g/cig$ under the ISO regime and 221.0 to 377.0 under the HCI regime. To summarize, most of the constituents showed a tendency to be detected at levels 2 to 4 times higher under the HCI regime than under the ISO regime. Above all, these results represent the first analysis in Korea from an independent institute of tobacco companies under accreditation of ISO 17025.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.324-333
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• 2023

Background: Human exposure to phthalates in indoor environments occurs via dermal absorption, oral ingestion of indoor dust, and inhalation of indoor air. However, systematic studies to investigate the exposure rate to phthalates among the three exposure routes in indoor environments are currently limited. Objectives: A theoretical exposure ratio between inhalation and oral exposure was calculated based on the total amount of di(2-ethyl-hexyl) phthalate (DEHP) emitted into indoor air and deposited into floor dust in a test house. Methods: Flooring and wallpaper containing DEHP were installed in a test house and the concentration of DEHP in both indoor air and floor dust were monitored for five months. Based on the measured DEHP concentrations, the theoretical total amount ratio of DEHP that could be exposed through inhalation and oral ingestion was calculated. Results: Considering the period of operation in the test house, the theoretical total amount of DEHP through inhalation and oral ingestion exposures in the entire test house space was calculated to be 0.014 mg and 5.5 mg, respectively. The exposure ratio of the two routes between inhalation and oral exposure corresponding to the total DEHP amount in flooring and wallpaper was 6.0×10^-7% and 2.3×10^-4%, indicating that theoretical oral exposure to DEHP is approximately 380 times higher than inhalation. Conclusions: Monitoring results from a test house has shown that oral exposure is the main exposure route for DEHP in indoor environments. The experimental design employed in this study and theoretical exposure ratio obtained can be applied to investigate actual exposure to DEHP and to determine the exposure characteristics of various types of semi-volatile organic compounds.