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.

Senior citizens are reported to be highly sensitive to environmental pollutants, including fine particulate matter. The purpose of this study is to investigate the distributions of fine particulate matter concentrations in town halls and senior citizens’ halls, where senior citizens typically spend a lot of time. The results of this investigation will serve as fundamental data for conducting indoor air quality studies and establishing a regional environmental health policy governing senior citizens’ facilities in Yeongwol county in the future. From January 4 to February 1, 2017, PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations in 170 seniors’ facilities located in Yeongwol county were measured. The average concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 that were measured from each seniors’ facility chosen from Yeongwol county were 25.1 ± 18.9 μg/m3and 12.5 ± 9.3 μg/m3 respectively. Average concentrations and the average of maximum concentrations were lower than the living space standard of 100 μg/m3 for PM10 and the atmospheric environment standard of 50 μg/m3 for PM2.5, which were set by the Ministry of Environment for populations vulnerable to environmental pollution. As a result of analyzing the sources in seniors’ facilities in Yeongwol county during the winter months, it was found that indoor sources of air pollution such as cooking is main sources rather than outdoor sources of air pollution.

The objective of this study was to investigate ELF-MF exposure levels of the elderly groups in their living environments using 24-hour personal measurement. In addition, EMF risk perception was investigated. Through evaluations of ELF-MF exposure levels in the proximity of the participants of 58 elderly groups, it was found that TWAam was 1.31 mG (TWAgm: 0.84). ELF-MF exposure levels of the elderly group that live in the proximity of a non-visible power line was high, but there were no statistically significant differences between the non-visible power line elderly group and visible power line elderly group. Moreover, there were no statistically significant differences in ELF-MF exposure according to gender, age, city classification, incomes, residence type, and size. The results showed that the perception of the ELF-MF was very low, as indicated by more than roughly 58.6% of the elderly surveyed saying that they did not know what ELF-MF was. In addition, there was no awareness among the group of how to avoid behavior of EMF from some electric equipment and facilities. Thus, these results will provide useful data for the determination of ELF-MF management and risk communication methods in the living environment for elderly people.

In this study, the behavior of dominant microbial communities was investigated in the treatment of porcine carcasses using an anaerobic high temperature burial composting method. The correlation between odor emission and bacterial community structure was analyzed through principal component analysis and extended local similarity analysis. In the burial layer of porcine carcass, the dominant bacteria were Bacillaceae (46%), Thermoactinomycetaceae (15%) and Lactobacillaceae (4%) in the early stage and Bacillaceae (46%), Thermoactinomycetaceae (15%), Lactobacillaceae (4%) in the end. Clostridiaceae (CH3SH), Bacillacea ((CH3)2S2), Clostridium ((CH3)2S2), Clostridial (H2S), Oceanobacillus (H2S), and Thermoanaerobacteraceae (H2S) were closely related to the sulfurous odorants, which are the highest odor contributions. The emission of sulfurous odor substances such as H2S, CH3SH, (CH3)2S, and (CH3)2S2 showed a positive correlation with each other, but showed a negative correlation with nitrogenous odorants (NH3 and TMA), aldehydes, organic acids, and VOCs. The results of this correlation analysis can provide useful information that enables us to understand the characteristics of microbial communities and odor generation during the degradation of carcasses and to manage odors and burial sites in the treatment of carcass.

Exposure to the indoor air pollutants could be associated with the risk of developing atopic dermatitis, including allergic symptoms and exacerbations. A total of Fifty homes who had a past or current symptoms of atopic dermatitis were enrolled in the study. To rate the levels of environmental factor, we measured concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, Heavy metals XRF (X-Ray Fluorescene), Bacteria (CFU/m3), mold (CFU/m3) in dust of the children’s houses. The prevalence of atopic dermatitis in children is increasing especially in Urban areas. Exposure to levels of indoor environmental factor and air pollutants has been related to atopic dermatitis development. The house dust were higher for the results of atopy, asthma patients analyzed fungi and bacteria, resulting XRF measurements Cr (chromium), As (arsenic), Br (bromine), Cd (cadmium), Hg (mercury), Pb (lead) etc. this has a significant relationship. Recent studies have shown that indoor air pollutants control is beneficial in reducing atopic dermatitis prevalence and development. Urban areas children are exposed to kinds of indoor environmental factor and air pollutants that may lead to atopic dermatitis development.

Despite increasing public concern following mass media coverage regarding the risk of radon to human health and the need to control it, there remains a lack of infrastructure for measuring and mitigating radon. Against this backdrop, this paper is part of an effort to formulate an environment-management framework that can help resolve environmental issues relating to radon, ease fears regarding the associated risks, and provide radon-specific quality services. This study aimed to suggest locally applicable measures for training experts specializing in the fields of measuring and mitigating radon mainly based on US cases in which radon measurement and mitigation certification programs have been systematically run and supervised. Given the lack of both awareness on radon and experts in Korean circumstances, it is necessary to come up with a scheme to develop a radon-specific education program and a framework for expert accreditation. Thus, as groundwork for their introduction considering local circumstances, top-down measures led by the relevant department of government-led organizations, which will act as the control tower, should first be implemented to best utilize the insufficient human resources in this area. In addition, more systematic and detailed educational programs and an expert certification system need to be developed in accordance with the established foundations, and to support their consistent operation, a relevant administrative system should be constructed.

The most effective microbial strains with the best ability to reduce complex odor were isolated from earthworm and activated sludge and identified using a 16S rDNA method. The isolated strains, Staphylococcus cohnii HYC-3 and S. carnosus JYC-4, were inoculated into the odor vials that had been left for 48 hours in water containing sesame dregs, and after 3 days, the ammonia was reduced to 5 ppm and 3 ppm from the initial 25 ppm, respectively. Complex odor was reduced to 2.5 and 2.2, respectively, while the control group maintained an odor of 5. The isolates were grown in the order of 30°C > 40°C > 20°C > 10°C. For HYC-3 and JYC-4, the optimum pH was 7 and 10, respectively, and the strains grew well at neutral pH ranges. To monitor the amount of microorganisms remaining in the environment by using the strain as a preparation for odor reduction, a probe for real-time PCR was designed. Through the quantitative and sensitivity tests on the developed strains, it was found that they showed excellent sensitivity.

The aim of this study was to examine indoor fungal concentration and fungal volatile organic compounds(VOCs) in single-person households. A total of 22 houses occupied by one person were investigated in this study. 19 VOCs detected in the field were estimated as fungi-derived VOCs through a review of the literature, and 11 VOCs were confirmed as fungal VOCs by laboratory experiments. Exposure to fungal VOCs in the indoor environment has been confirmed to be highly influenced by airborne fungal concentration and indoor humidity. 3-octanone was characterized by a clear generation profile in Aspergilus versiocolor, and n-decane in Pencillum chrysogenum. ntetradecane emitted by Stachybotrys chartarum exhibited a tendency to occur consistently. The observations made in this study demonstrated that single-person households can easily be exposed to fungi, and MVOCs can be used as an indicator of fungal exposure in indoor environments.

During the decay process of food waste, odor and leachate are generally produced because food is easily decomposed due to its high organic and moisture contents. In this study, various food waste samples, including samples artificially prepared and collected from actual waste containers, were tested to determine odor and leachate production as the samples were decomposed at a constant temperature of 35°C. In the air phase, total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), acetaldehyde (AA), methyl mercaptan (MM), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) were measured as a function of the decay period for four days. The results of the experiment showed that TVOC and AA were produced at higher concentrations in the actual food waste than in all artificial wastes. The AA concentration accounted for about 90% of the TVOC in all of the waste samples except for the food waste containing meat and fish only. The concentrations of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) were generally lower than 100 μg/kg, and the concentration of DMS was the highest among the VSCs. In the waste sample containing meat and fish only; however, the concentration of VSCs increased up to 1,700 μg/kg, and mostly consisted of MM and DMS. Complex odor concentrations were found to be the highest after a decay period of 12-48 hours. In addition, the complex odor was mostly related to VSCs with low odor thresholds rather than the TVOC. The pH values mostly decreased from 5 to 3.5 as the waste samples were in the decomposition periods, while the pH value increased to 6 in the food waste containing meat and fish only. Consequently, odor intensity and leachate production were the highest in the 12-48 hour range as the decomposition started, and thus an appropriate control strategy needs to be implemented based on the waste composition and the decay period.

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of PM10 and O3 concentration on the symptoms of allergic diseases. The questionnaire was used to determine whether or not symptoms of allergic diseases were present from September to October 2012. The air pollution concentration data used was the corresponding point CEM (continuous emission monitoring) data. The average concentration of PM10 was 56.09 μg/m3 in the control area, and the concentration in the exposed area was 40.44 μg/m3. In the two areas, concentration of O3 was 28.73 ppb and 28.74 ppb, respectively. The total average concentrations of PM10 and O3 were 45.66 μg/m3 and 28.73 ppb in the Gwangyang area. The rate of asthma diagnosis was higher in the control area (9.6%) than in the exposed area (4.1%), but the rate of allergy eye disease was higher in the exposed area (23.9%) than in the control area (16.5%). There was a significant difference in the symptoms of some allergic diseases when the relative concentration of PM10 and O3 were high and low.

To gather information on the indoor air quality of the greenhouses used for edible oakwood mushroom cultivation, temperature, humidity, and bacterial concentration and species were investigated in 2015 and 2016 in 21 mushroom greenhouses located in ten different regions in Korea. Temperature and humidity of all the mushroom greenhouses ranged from 16.2 to 30.8°C and from 28.2 to 85.6%, respectively. Bacterial concentration exceeded the Korean indoor air quality standard value (800 cfu/m3) in 15 of the 21 mushroom greenhouses. A total of 33 genera and 76 species were identified in the indoor air of the mushroom greenhouses investigated. Of the identified bacteria, 10 genera and 15 species including Acidovorax oryzae, Bacillus infantis, B. licheniformis, Cellulosimicrobium funkei, Ewingella Americana, Exiguobacterium sibiricum, Leclercia adecarboxylata, Lysinibacillus sphaericus, Pseudomonas fulva, Raoultella terrigena, Staphylococcus cohnii, S. haemolyticus, S. saprophyticus, S. sciuri, and Streptomyces sindenensis are among those known to have a harmful effect on human health. These bacteria have been reported to cause sepsis, skin infection, bloodstream infection, bacteremia, spondylitis, peritonitis, acute meningitis, endocarditis and urinary tract infection. The results of this study indicate that continuous hygiene management of indoor air is necessary in the greenhouses used for oakwood mushroom cultivation.