This study was performed to analysis the concentration of TVOC, 5VOC and formaldehyde for building material of total 262 using 20L test chamber. The concentration of TVOC, 5VOC and formaldehyde were measured 1.001㎎/㎡･h, 43.032㎍/㎡･h, 0.012㎎/㎡･h, respectively. TVOC concentration of paint and floor covering occupied the largest concentration of the indoor building materials as 2.689㎎/㎡･h, 2.120㎎/㎡･h, respectively. 5VOC concentration of floor covering was measured 106.636㎍/㎡･h. Toulene and xylene were occupied the largest part of the 5VOC as 51.2% and 33.1%, respectively. The concentration of formaldehyde for furniture materials occupied the largest concentration of the indoor building material as 0.072㎎/㎡h.

After infection by Gram negative bacteria, neonatal patients or patients in intensive care unit usually suffer from endotoxin shock, leading to death finally in spite of eradication of bacteria by potent antibiotics. The purpose of this study that is the pilot study to prevent endotoxin shock and nosocomial infection, is to offer basic data on species and concentrations of airborne microbes in hospitals. Therefore, this study collected and analyzed articles and documents on airborne microbes in hospitals in Korea that were published in relevant journals from 1980 to 2004. Studies on the concentration of airborne microbes in hospitals as a part of study on the nosocomial infection have been performed from the latter half of 1970s. Pooled average concentrations of total suspended bacteria in hospitals by RCS air sampler and Cascade air sampler were 194.85 CFU/㎥ and 367.72 CFU/㎥, respectively. They were lower than the guideline concentration(800 CFU/ ㎥) of the Korean Ministry of Environment. Pooled average concentrations of total suspended fungi in hospitals by RCS air sampler and Cascade air sampler were 20.66 CFU/㎥ and 193.34 CFU/㎥, respectively. They were lower than the guideline concentration(150 CFU/㎥) of the World Health Organization(WHO). Pooled average concentrations of total suspended bacteria in operating room and intensive care unit(ICU) were 324.75 CFU/㎥ and 182.43 CFU/㎥, respectively. They again were lower than the guideline concentration of the Korean Ministry of Environment. Staphylococcus spp., Micrococcus spp., and Lactobacillus spp. for Gram-positive bacteria, and Pseudomonas spp., Klebsiella spp., and Escherichia spp., for Gram-negative bacteria were shown in hospitals. Also, Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp., Mucor spp., Epidemophyton spp., Trichophyton spp., and Cladosporium spp. for fungi were found in hospitals. Staphylococcus spp. was shown frequently in operating rooms, intensive care units and wards. Penicillium spp. and Aspergillus spp. were shown commonly in them.

The interest of natural chemicals has been increased because of inflection of endocrine disruptor and fatal health danger originated from artificial chemical compounds. The essential oil is one of the representative natural chemicals which can be collected from the most plants and can be applied to high value‐added merchandise such as the antiseptics, anti‐oxidants and deodorants. In this study, essential oil was testified to remove odor such as NH3. In case of the essential oil of a pine leaf, removal efficiency of NH3 was about 100%. The NH3 removal efficiency of the mixed solution (mixture of essential oil and ethanol) was slightly lower than that of pure essential oil and this leads to the conclusion that use of mixture is more economical and effective to control the odor.

The importance of indoor air environment gets higher because time of staying in indoor such as house or car become longer due to a change of the life pattern on human society. One of major pollution sources, VOCs or odor could be reduced or controlled by using adsorbent. It may be valuable for used catalyst to be applied in the adsorption of VOCs or odor. This could reduce the cost of adsorbent. In this work, the potential of used zeolites such as HZSM-5 catalyst and FCC catalyst as an adsorbent for removing acetaldehyde was investigated. Their adsorptive performances were compared with those of active carbon and MCM-41. The removal performace of used HZSM-5 was similar to that of active carbon due to its higher surface area. But used-FCC catalyst showed the lowest performance. These results suggest that used HZSM-5 can be applied to cheap adsorbent for acetaldehyde removal.

Secondhand smoke (SHS) is one of major public health threats in morbidity and mortality. Several national and regional comprehensive smoke-free regulations have been implemented to prevent public health exposure, but not in Korea. The purpose of this manuscript was to review impacts of the national or regional smoke-free legislations on indoor air quality, health effects and smoking behaviors. Indoor air quality has been improved significantly after smoke free policy. Such improvement was measured by fine particulates and urinary cotinine. Respiratory and cardiovascular health effects were significantly improved after smoke free policy. This is an indirect evidence of association between secondhand smoke exposure and the health effects. Respiratory symptoms were improved as short as one month after smoke free policy. Smoke free policy was also associated with improved perception of danger of secondhand smoke. Reduction of smoking prevalence was also unexpected benefit of smoke free policy. As reviewed in this paper, smoke free policy can be beneficial to indoor air quality, health effects and smoking behaviors. Since Korea does not have comprehensive smoke free policy yet, it is strongly recommended to implement national comprehensive smoke free policy.

The aim of this study is to investigate the potential of Al-MCM-48 for the dioxin decomposition reaction. As a model reaction for the dioxin decomposition, chlorobenzene was decomposed over Al-MCM-48 in a fixed-bed reactor. Characteristics of catalysts were determined by N₂ adsorption-desorption isotherms (BET), and NH₃-temperature programmed desorption (NH₃-TPD), X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. The activity of Al-MCM-48 (15) was higher than that of Al-MCM-48 (60) due to its higher amount acid sites. It can be concluded from the results of this study that Al-MCM-48 with higher acidity can be effectively applied to dioxin decomposition catalyst.

According to the measurements at Seoul Metro subway, the sound level at the time of subway arrival ranged from 77.0 to 92.5 dB(A). The highest level was 92.5 dB(A) at Line-1, and the lowest level was 77.0 dB(A) at Line-5. The sound level of departure ranged from the lowest level of 82.9 dB(A) at Line-5 and the highest level of 95 dB(A) at Line-1. The indoor sound level at subway ranged from the lowest level of 87.2 dB(A) (Line-6) to the highest value of 92.1 dB(A) (Line-1). The results of this study also showed that the sound level at subway platform with Platform Screen Door(PSD) showed 81.8 dB(A) but 89.1 dB(A) without PSD. The sound reduction effect of PSD showed 7.3 dB(A) at platform. Consequently, the sound level in Korean subway was found to exceed the standard set for the American Public Transportation Association (85dB(A)).