There has been growing concern over the emissions of formaldehyde and VOCs from automotive interior materials, as these could have an important impact on the in-vehicle air quality (IVAQ) of automotive vehicles. Odor along with VOCs refers to the automotive interior smell emitted directly or indirectly from any part of an automotive interior, based on human olfactory senses and a comfort evaluation of vehicle quality. The objective of this paper is to compare the odor intensity using GC/MS analysis method and odor sensory test in accordance with ISO 12219-2. For the compounds having low odor threshold value and high VOC concentration, it was found that there was the same tendency in each field of odor whether the instrument analysis method or the odor sensory test method was used.

A biofilter filled with sintered glass media and wood bark media were developed and tested. Acetic acid and ammonia added in brewery wastewater were used as an artificial odor source. The Reynolds’ number (NRe) was below 130 in the loading range of 3~5 m3/m2-min, while the pressure drop was less than 6 mmH2O. The average removal efficiency of acetic acid was 87.6% and 71.5% at surface loading rate of 3.1 m3/m2-min and 4.4 m3/m2- min, respectively. The acetic removal capacities were 8.1~14.3 g/m3-min with the mass loading rates of 11.7~22.4 g/m3-min, indicating very high performance. However, the acetic removal capacity was sharply decreased at the mass loading rate of 20 g/m3-min. The average removal rate of ammonia was 38% and 25% at the surface loading rates of 3.1 m3/m2-min and 4.4 m3/m2-min, respectively. The ammonia removal capacity was 0.47~0.88 g/m3-min in the range of 11.7~22.4 g/m3-min mass loading rates. The intensity of complex odor was also decreased based on the findings in the measurement using the direct olfactory method and the GC analysis.

The characteristics of PM10 generation by subway operation such as acceleration, constant velocity, deceleration or stoppage were measured in real time to study its causes. For measurement positions, the lower center point on the front side of the Tc1-car was selected to observe the re- suspension caused by train draft, and behind the M2-car wheel and the T1-car wheel were selected observe the abrasion loss from friction generation during cabin operation. The measurement results showed that the PM10 generation is increased by train draft was 5.6% in the constant velocity section and 1.45% in the acceleration/deceleration sections. The increase by adhesiveness for cabin acceleration/deceleration was 9.6%, while the increase caused by friction from motor operation and steering was 5.1%. On the other hand, the amount of PM10 flowing into the station when a cabin was stopped at a station was 136% of normal condition and this might be the key reason of PM10 pollution in a subway tunnels since most pollution is accumulated there.

In this study, we analyzed the concentration of cadmium and mercury in urine and lead in blood from 668 residents in the exposed and compared areas in Gwangyang-si and Yeosu-si, from July 2013 to December 2015. According to the lifestyle (past smoking, current smoking, passive smoking, drinking and exercise), the concentration of cadmium in urine was higher in the compared areas than in the exposed areas in Gwangyang. However, the concentration of cadmium in urine according to the lifestyle except drinking was higher in the exposed areas than in the compared areas in Yeosu. According to the past smoking and current smoking, the concentration of mercury in urine was higher in the compared areas than in the exposed areas in Gwangyang, but the passive smoking, drinking and exercise showed similar concentration levels both in the exposed and compared areas in Gwangyang. The concentration of mercury in urine according to the past smoking and current smoking was higher in the exposed areas than in the compared areas in Yeosu, but the concentration of mercury in urine according to the drinking and exercise was lower in the exposed areas than in the compared areas in Yeosu. According to the past smoking, the concentration of lead in blood showed similar concentration levels in the exposed and compared areas in Gwangyang, but regarding current and passive smoking, it was higher in the compared areas than in the exposed areas in Gwangyang. Especially, the concentration of lead in blood according to the drinking in Gwangyang showed statistically significant difference (p<0.05). The concentration of lead in blood according to the lifestyle was higher in the compared areas than in the exposed areas in Yeosu.

This study investigated the odor-associated bacterial community in automobile HVAC systems. Through a metagenome analysis, it was found that; Massilia (42.426%), Sphingomonas (28.200%), (10.780%), and Methylobacterium (5.756%) were abundant in the HVAC systems. Massilia can cause the biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) producing odor in automobiles. Sphingomonas produces volatile halogenated compounds or degrades organic pollutants. Rhodococcus is reported to produce sulfur compounds which give off an odor similar to rotting eggs and cabbages. Methylobacterium is one of the most representative bacteria that causes odor in automobile HVAC systems. The evaporator is considered as the appropriate habitat for microorganisms in automobiles because of its high humidity and organic adsorption. Massilia, Sphingomonas, Rhodococcus, Methylobacterium, Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Arthrobacter, Micrococcus, and Pseudomonas, listed in order from most to least present, were isolated as abundant bacteria in the evaporator of the HVAC systems.

This study aimed to estimate the odor emission rate from swine nursery facilities (naturally and mechanically ventilated) using probability distribution. Odor occurrence trends in the study facilities were very different; odor concentration and gas flow had a lognormal distribution. Monte Carlo simulation was used to carry out the uncertainty analysis. Odor emission rate was found to range from 18.05 OU/sec (10th percentile) to 621.88 OU/ sec (90th percentile), and odor emission rate per head ranged from 0.02 OU/sec · head (10th percentile) to 0.64 OU/ sec · head (90th percentile).

Mold is one of the important bio-aerosols affecting human health in the indoor environment. To manage mold contamination, it is necessary to use an appropriate method for its detection and enumeration. Recently, the impaction method of ISO 16000-18 has been established as one of methods to detect and enumerate molds in air. To investigate the general use of the impaction method for mold detection in domestic indoor environments, the suitability of the method was assessed using different antibiotics, media and air samplers. All of the three antibiotics tested - ampicillin, chloramphenicol and streptomycin - showed inhibitory effects on bacterial colony formation on MEA and DG-18 media, without inhibiting mold growth. Of these three antibiotics, ampicillin was the most effective. There was no statistical difference between MEA and DG-18 media in the measurement of mold concentration. The formation of discriminative colony morphology was more apparent in DG-18 media. No significant difference in the measurement of mold concentration was found between Andersen samplers and MAS- 100NT samplers, which are two major samplers introduced in Korea.

The Automobile HVAC system is a habitat for odor-associated fungal communities. We investigated the odorassociated fungal community in an automobile HVAC system using a high-throughput DNA sequencing method. The fungal community structure was evaluated via metagenome analysis. At the phylum level, Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were detected, accounting for 43.41% and 56.49% of the fungal community in the HVAC system, respectively. Columnosphaeria (8.31%), Didymella (5.60%), Davidiella (5.50%), Microxyphium (4.24%), unclassified Pleosporales (2.90%), and Cladosporium (2.79%) were abundant at phylum of Ascomycota and Christiansenia (36.72%), Rhodotorula (10.48%), and Sporidiobolus (2.34%) were abundant at phylum of Basidiomycota. A total of 22 genera of fungi were isolated and identified from the evaporators of the HVAC systems which support fungal growth and biofilm formation. Among them, Cladosporium, Penicillium, Aspergillus and Alternaria are the most representative odor-associated fungi in HVAC systems. They were reported to form biofilm on the surface of HVAC systems with other bacteria by hypha. In addition, they produce various mVOCs such as 3-methyl-1-butanol, acetic acid, butanoic acid, and methyl isobutyl ketone. Our findings may be useful for extending the understanding of odor-associated fungal communities in automobile HVAC systems.

The gas sensor sensitivity value of three methods (simple application method, vaporization method, and chamber method) were compared in order to establish a method for the measurement of liquid odor substances. In order to select the representative sensors from among the 16 sensors constituting the gas sensor array, cluster analysis, regression analysis, and correlation analysis were performed. Sensors with excellent correlation in terms of reactivity were selected as representative sensors of each measurement method. As a result, it was shown that the reactivity and the correlation increased in the order of simple application method < vaporization method < chamber method. Through a variance analysis using the sensitivity values of selected representative sensors, it was shown that the simple application method had statistical significance at the level of 99.9% (p<0.001) in three of the representative sensors in four clustering groups. The vaporization method and the chamber method showed statistical significance at a level of 99.9% (p<0.001) for all representative sensors in each clustering group. If the reactivity were improved by controlling the sensitivity of the sensor, the simple application method and vaporization method could also be used as a method of measuring the liquid material with gas sensor array.

In this study, UV irradiation reactors were used to eliminate 4 types of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in various experimental conditions. The 4 types of VOCs used include acetone (AC), chlorobenzene (CB), dichloromethane (DCM) and methylbenzene (MB). An ozone producing low-pressure mercury lamp that emits UV irradiance at 254 nm and 185 nm was used. The tested operating conditions included UV light intensity, inlet VOCs concentrations, empty bed retention time (EBRT), background gas and relative humidity (RH) of the gas. Firstly, higher UV light intensity is confirmed to have higher VOCs removal efficiency (RE). Higher inlet VOCs concentration will result in lower VOCs RE, and the decreasing trends of different VOCs are not identical. At the same inlet VOCs concentrations, increasing the EBRT will result in a rise in VOCs RE, but a further increase in EBRT will bring about less enhancement in RE. Moreover, UV irradiation in oxygen has the highest VOCs RE compared with that in air and nitrogen gas (N2), indicating that photolysis and photooxidation are both important. Finally, there was no increase the VOCs RE at the increase in RH. All the experimental results indicate that an identical set of operating conditions should be applied when the removal capacities of different VOCs according to the UV irradiation amount are compared.

In this study, we analyzed the factors affecting the concentration of airborne asbestos fiber in the indoor and outdoor environment of a slate roofing house, and performed a health risk assessment of residents living in houses with slate roofs. Sampling was conducted at ten houses with slate roofs on 3 different days under different weather conditions. A high flow rate pump was used for sampling. The specimen was assessed using a phase-contrast microscope. The degree of risk of exposure to asbestos was assessed using EPA’s carcinogen risk assessment method. Asbestos fiber concentrations for slate roofing houses were 2.43 fiber/L inside and 2.46 fiber/L outside, respectively. The correlation between the indoor and outdoor asbestos fiber concentration was 0.486. But on both sides, the asbestos fiber concentrations did not exceed the standard (10 fiber/L) for ambient air in Korea. The factors affecting the concentration of asbestos fiber were year of construction (p<0.05), total roof area (p<0.05) and average wind velocity (p<0.01). According to EPA’s ELCR (Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk) on air pollution substances, a level of 1.0E-04~1.0E-06 should be maintained. However, the ELCR level of 6 out of 10 houses was over 1.0E-04. Therefore, a risk management plan for residents of slate roofing houses must be prepared immediately.

In this study, a system was developed that can evaluate the radon gas removal efficiency of air cleaner filters. The system has three acrylic chambers connected in series;: the 1st chamber, the filter chamber and the 2nd chamber. In the 1st chamber, a radon source and an air pump were installed to create an environment with a constant radon concentration. Radon concentration in the two chambers was continuously monitored by ionization chamber detectors(RD-200, FRD1600, FTLab, Korea) and, in the 2nd chamber, the radon concentration increase of air filtrated by each filter was inter-compared. HEPA filters and two honeycomb type filters were evaluated. Results of HEPA filter, GAC 1 and GAC 2 were 1142 Bq, 7016 Bq and 12053 Bq, respectively. HEPA filter showed a significantly lower capacity for radon removal than the GAC filters. Also, the GAC 2 filter showed a more than 70 % better result compared to GAC 1 due to the difference in filter materials. Therefore, this system can be used to evaluate the radon removal ability of air cleaner filters, by filter type and filter material.