Since 1974, the urban subway has been used as a major form of public transportation in Seoul, Korea. The air quality in the subway environment depends on the introduction of air pollutants from roadway air and its generation is caused by subway operation in the tunnel. In the subway tunnel, PM10 concentration was monitored from March 8 to 15, 2018 and from March 26 to 28, 2018, and compared with concentrations that are routinely monitored at the subway concourse and the nearest roadside air quality monitoring station (RAQMS). Overall PM10 concentration at the concourse was similar to that of the RAQMS. However, PM10 concentration in the tunnel was significantly higher than those of the subway concourse and RAQMS, and showed distinct diurnal variation caused by train operation. The dominant peak concentrations were highly correlated with the number of train operations per hour. The minimum PM10 concentration was observed between 2 am to 5 am when the train was not operated. This was similar to that of the RAQMS. Although the diurnal variation of the PM10 concentration at the concourse is not significant, the overall trend is similar to that in the tunnel.

The urban expressway is widely used to avoid traffic jams in highly-populated urban areas. However, vehicle exhaust can be easily transported to the neighboring area including residential buildings. In this study, we investigated the transport and penetration of vehicle exhaust into the nearby high-story residential building. Black carbon (BC) and lung deposited surface area (LDSA) concentrations were monitored every 1 min using an aethalometer (AE51, Magee) and a nanoparticle aerosol monitor (AeroTrak 9000, TSI), respectively. For comparison, the measurement was carried out in both the living room and balcony of the apartment from January 18 to January 25, 2016. The CO2 concentration indicated the presence of residents in the living room and transport of vehicle exhaust from the roadway in the balcony. Its diurnal variation showed a significant difference between weekdays and the weekend, implying the different time activity of residents and traffic volume. BC and LDSA concentrations were 1.4±1.5 μg/m3 and 53.9±45.0 μm2/cm3 indoors, and 1.9±1.0 μg/m3, 76.2±34.5 μm2/cm3 outdoors, respectively. The indoor to outdoor concentration ratios range from 0.6 to 0.8, indicating the significant influence of outdoor vehicle exhaust. The highest concentrations of BC and LDSA were observed in the morning rush hours, except for those indoors during the weekend. In particular, the outdoor effect is significant during the morning rush hours. Indoor air quality management is urgently needed for residents living near the urban expressway.

Many air purifiers have been developed and released with increasing PM. In generally, the performance of air purifiers has been evaluated in the environment chamber by relevant standards. However, as there is a lack of information about air cleaning performance of air purifier in the living area, consumers have difficulty with product selection. In this study, five air purifiers were tested in apartments with different structures. In order to examine the effect of air purifiers, we assumed 3 cases such as inflow of pollutants from outdoors by ventilation, smoking patterns of residents, and cooking methods (e.g., frying fish). The evaluation results showed that the efficiency of air purifier products D and B of the 3-stage configuration (pre-filter + HEPA filter + activity carbon) was the best in most experiments. In the case of the ionizer type E product, the efficiency was very low and, at times, had increased the particulate matter indoors. Considering the cost-performance ratio, it is most reasonable to use an air purifier comprising a pre-filter and a HEPA filter without an additional configuration.

The urban railway system is a convenient public transportation system, as it carries many people without increasing traffic congestion. However, air quality in urban railway environments is worse than ambient air quality due to the internal location of the source of air pollutants and the isolated space. In this paper, characteristics of particulate matter (PM) pollution in urban railway environments are described from the perspective of diurnal variation, chemical composition and source apportionment of PM. PM concentrations in concourse, platform, passenger cabin, and tunnel are summarized through an analysis of 34 journal articles published in Korea and overseas. This information will be helpful in developing effective policies to reduce PM pollution in urban railway environments.

While the air quality of public facilities such as daycare centers is managed by law, the management of air quality in residential buildings is not mandatory. For this reason, air quality in an apartments has not been well surveyed. In this study, we investigated the influence of cooking and ventilation on the indoor air quality in an apartment. Continuous measurements were performed using real-time monitoring instruments from June 9 to 17, 2014 in Seoul, Korea. A CO2 meter was used to measure CO2 concentration and temperature. A portable aerosol spectrometer (0.25-32 μm), a nanoparticle aerosol monitor (10-1,000 nm), and an aethalometer (total suspended particulate, black carbon) were also used. During the measurement period, ventilation and cooking activities were observed 8 and 10 times, respectively. In 5 of the observed cases, both activities were done simultaneously. During the ventilation, CO2 concentration and temperature were decreased; however, particle concentrations were increased. When cooking was done, particle concentration was increased in some cases; however, CO2 concentration and temperature were unchanged. Combined cased CO2 concentration and temperature were decreased and particle concentrations were increased.

The number of children who use day-care centers is increasing. Most indoor air quality (IAQ) management has been based on daily average pollutant concentrations measured once a year. A more comprehensive management of IAQ is needed to protect children’s health from air pollutants in day-care centers. In this study, we investigated the weekly variation of air pollutant concentrations in a nursing room of a day-care center located at the roadside for a week in June of 2014. Average concentrations of CO2, PM10, black carbon, and total surface area of lungdeposited particles during nursing time of the day-care center were 510 ppm, 27.8 μg/m3, 1.87 μg/m3, and 30.6 μm2/cm3, respectively, with a similar diurnal pattern shown on weekdays.

Since people spend more than 85% of their time indoors, understanding indoor aerosol behavior is important in order to protect human health against aerosol exposure. In this article, exposure, behavior, and control technologies for indoor aerosols are addressed. Previous studies conducted in Korea during the period from 2004 to 2016 were reviewed. Most studies were focused on field surveys of PM10 concentration in public facilities regulated by law. More fundamental studies are needed in order to control indoor aerosols effectively due to the fact that Korea has different building structures and lifestyles compared with western countries.

A single-stage electrostatic precipitator (ESP) was evaluated in terms of its performance in removing dust in subway tunnels. A wire-to-plate type ESP was tested in a small-scale wind tunnel. The effects of wire-to-wire spacing (2040 mm) and the material connecting wire-to-wire on the performance of ESP were investigated, with varying applied voltage and airflow velocity. A narrower wire-to-wire spacing showed higher collection efficiency at the same applied voltage. Lower electrical resistivity of material connecting wire to wire was more effective. Ozone generation in subway tunnel applications was insignificant.

In this study, we investigated the concentrations of PM10 and CO2 in public transportation vehicles (express bus, train, KTX, and subway) reported by previous indoor air quality (IAQ) surveys carried out from 2005 to 2013 in Korea. The number of valid data for PM10 was 566 and for CO2 was 579, and all data were classified according to whether it was collected during rush-hour or non rush-hour. PM10 and CO2 concentrations in subway cabin during the rush-hour were 1.3 and 1.45 times higher, respectively, than those of non rush-hour (p<0.05) in terms of geometric mean value. PM10 and CO2 concentration of express bus and train during the rush-hour also were 1.23 times higher than those of non rush-hour with relatively weak correlations (p=0.246). Among all PM10 concentrations, 16.9% and 3.8% of PM10 concentrations exceeded the IAQ guidelines (200 μg/m3 for non-rush hour and 250 μg/m3 for rush-hour), respectively. In terms of CO2 concentrations, 10.5% and 3.0% of them exceeded the IAQ guidelines (2,500 ppm for non rush-hour and 3,000 ppm for rush-hour), respectively. As a result, concentrations of PM10 and CO2 were estimated to be dominantly influenced by the operation characteristics of public transportation, such as degree of congestion and type of vehicle. In order to improve the IAQ of public transportation vehicles, specific air purification and ventilation systems are needed, depending on the characteristics of public transportation vehicles.

It is well known that smoking generates harmful air pollutants. With smoking in buildings as well as in the streets prohibited, the need for smoking rooms has emerged. In this study, particle and CO contamination in a 63.6 m3 smoking room was experimentally investigated using Korean tobacco. Tobacco smoking was artificially simulated using a smoking machine. The number and size distribution of particles ranging from 10-420 nm and 0.25-32 μm were measured using a Nanoscan (TSI model 3910) and a portable aerosol spectrometer (Grimm model 1.109), respectively. CO concentration was also monitored using an IAQ monitor (Graywolf IAQ-Xtra 610). Four tobaccos were simultaneously smoked in each experiment, and the experiment was repeated four times. Maximum CO concentrations of 7-10 ppm were observed and high concentrations of particles (176,000-1,115,000 particles/cm3 for 10-420 nm, 3,700-5,200 particles/cm3 for 0.25-32 μm) were also monitored. The dominant size of tobacco particles was about 100 nm in diameter.

Day-care center is one of living micro-environments for children. In urban area, day-care centers may be influencedby air pollutants emitted from the vehicle exhaust. In this work, diurnal variation of major pollutants and effectof outdoor air on indoor air quality were investigated using real-time instruments for a day-care center locatednear the heavy road. 48-h continuous monitoring at both indoor and outdoor were made in summer. The day-care center equipped with ceiling system air-conditioners was operated from 7:30 a.m. to 19:30 p.m. Indoor CO₂concentration responded greatly to the human activity. Indoor NO₂ concentration shows a big difference betweendaytime and nighttime, implying that outdoor NO₂ may penetrate into the indoor through opening of doors orwindows during the daytime. Indoor to outdoor concentration ratio of submicron particle surface area is <1 dueto the penetration of outdoor ultrafine particles.

Secondary air pollution can be caused by aerosol formation through reactions of ozone and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from household products used in the indoor environment. In this study, we investigated the potential for aerosol production during the reactions of ozone and VOCs emitted from a home insecticide, a popular commercial product extracted from natural ingredients, in a 1-m³ reaction chamber. The major chemical component of the test product was prallethrin, which has very high efficacy of mosquito and housefly elimination. Toluene, α-pinene, cymene, d-limonene, α-terpinene, and α-thujone were also identified as constituents of the insecticide. Injected ozone concentrations of 50, 100, and 200 ppb generated particle mass concentrations, corrected for wall loss and air exchange loss, of 7.3, 33.1, and 40.0 μg/m³, respectively, after a 4-h reaction time. These concentrations are lower than those generated by an air freshener in a previous study under the same experimental conditions. It was concluded that the home insecticide tested had the potential to initiate secondary aerosol formation under ozone exposure due to the biogenic VOCs it contained.

The use of natural paint for the application to walls and furnishings is now increasing to improve indoor air quality, thereby the natural paint could be a significant source of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) in indoor environments. Recent studies have shown that gas-phase reactions between terpenes and ozone can generate sub-micron size particles and toxic volatile organic compounds such as aldehydes and ketones. In this research, we have studied the formation of particles and secondary organic compounds during the reaction of ozone with terpenes emitted from commercial natural paint. The paint applied onto stainless steel was dried and oxidized in a teflon chamber. Two monoterpenes (α- and β-pinenes) were identified by FTIR and GC/MS. Several tests were performed to evaluate the effects of ozone concentration on particle formation. Increased ozone levels significantly affect the increase of particle number concentration (monitored with SMPS), which results in the increase of particle counts ranging from 8,000 to 70,000 particles/㎤. Gas-phase products such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone + acrolein, and propionaldehyde were identified during the terpene/ozone reactions by HPLC. These compounds are potential hazardous chemical compounds having harmful health effects to animals and plants. The results obtained from this study provide an insight on the adverse effect of eco-friendly natural product on indoor air quality (IAQ).

With the development of nanotechnology, nanomaterials are used in various fields. Therefore, the interest regarding the safety of nanomaterial use is increasing and much effort is diverted toward establishment of exposure assessment and management methods. Occupational exposure limits (OELs) are effectively used to protect the health of workers in various industrial workplaces. This study aimed to propose an OEL for domestic multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) based on animal inhalation toxicity test. Basic procedure for development of OELs was examined. For OEL estimation, epidemiological study and quantitative risk assessment are generally performed based on toxicity data. In addition, inhalation toxicity data-based no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) and benchmark dose (BMD) are estimated to obtain the OEL. Three different estimation processes (NEDO in Japan, NIOSH in USA, and Baytubes in Germany) of OELs for carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were intensively reviewed. From the rat inhalation toxicity test for MWCNTs manufactured in Korea, a NOAEL of 0.98 mg/㎥ was derived. Using the simple equation for estimation of OEL suggested by NEDO, the OEL of 142 μg/㎥ was estimated for the MWCNT manufacturing workplace. Here, we used test rat and Korean human data and adopted 36 as an uncertainty factor. The OEL for MWCNT estimated in this work is higher than those (2-80 μg/㎥) suggested by previous investigators. It may be greatly caused by different physicochemical properties of MWCNT and their dispersion method and test rat data. For setting of regulatory OELs in CNT workplaces, further epidemiological studies in addition to animal studies are needed. More advanced technical methods such as CNT dispersion in air and liquid should be also developed.