In the present study, we evaluated the effect of pH modulation on concentrations of odorous compounds and pollutants in pit slurry from pig operation building. A slurry sample was taken from the pit of a pig operation building where 50 finishing pigs [(Landrase × Yorkshire) × Duroc] were kept. Three levels of pH (6, 8 and 10) were measured and adjusted daily during the incubation periods using chemical reagents of 1 N HCl or 3 N NaOH. Concentrations of odorous compounds and pollutants were analyzed from slurry incubated for 7 days. When these material concentrations were compared with the pH 8 slurry which was the pH of pit slurry, levels of short chain fatty acids, indoles and total organic carbon were reduced 7%, 68% and 2%, respectively, in the pH 6 treatment (P<0.05). Ammonium nitrogen, phenols and total nitrogen concentrations were lower by 31%, 18% and 17%, respectively, than with the pH 10 slurry (P<0.05). When the odor contribution in pH treatments was assessed according to the odor activity value, it was found to be 23% lower in the pH 6 treatment compared with pH 8. The pH modulation would affect odor emissions and microbial activity from pit slurry. Although not all odorous compounds showed the reduction effect with the same pH control, this study can be effectively used as base data when using additives for pH control.

This study investigated and reported the results of the distribution of in air particulate matter concentration inside school classrooms where children, who are known to be environmentally vulnerable, spend the most time after home. The objective of this study is to provide basic data for future studies related to indoor air quality in Yeongwol county and studies for improving school environment. The study investigated the levels of the concentration distribution of PM10 and PM2.5 in classrooms at 19 different elementary schools based in Yeongwol county from December 12 to 19, 2016. In the classrooms of the elementary schools in Yeongwol county, the pooled average concentration of PM10 and PM2.5 was 11.9 μg/m³ and 4.2 μg/m³, respectively. These concentration rates were lower than those of PM10 and PM2.5 surveyed in classrooms of elementary schools based in other regions of Korea. Further, they did not exceed 100 μg/m³, the PM10 guideline concentration provided by the School Health Act. The study results revealed that the winter concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 in air inside classrooms of elementary schools based in Yeongwol county were influenced more by indoor sources such as indoor residents rather than outdoor sources.

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, the components of which may include 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 instrument analysis with the sensory characteristics of an odor using GC/MS/Olfactometry. From the test, it was possible to identify the cause of odor, which can be difficult to distinguish among multiple odors, through the simultaneous performance of instrumental analysis and sensory evaluation.

The purpose of this study is to produce an adsorbent material with biomass by-product that are readily visible in daily life. The biomass by-product used in the study are coffee grounds, oak leaves and chestnut peels. These biomass by-products were produced with dry, carbonization and activation treatments. The equipment for the evaluation of adsorption capacity was the batch type system to measure the concentration of test gases with the odor sensor device. Biomass by-products have been shown to improve the absorption characteristics of adsorbent through carbonization and activation. The adsorbent made with coffee grounds and chestnut peels had superior adsorption capacity to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and complex odor (H2S & NH3) in a comparison with regular activated carbon. The odor sensor device could be used to evaluate the device of adsorption capacity of the adsorbent.

Air pollution dispersion from rooftop emissions around hexahedron buildings was investigated using computational fluid dynamics (referred to hereafter as CFD). The Shear Stress Transport (referred to hereafter as SST) k-ω model in FLUENT CFD code was used to simulate the flow and pollution dispersion around the hexahedron buildings. The two buildings used in the study had the dimensions of H: L: W (where H = height, L = length, and W = width) with the ratios of 1:1:1 and 1:1:2. Experimental data from the wind tunnel obtained by a previous study was used to validate the numerical result of the hexahedron building. Five validation metrics are used to obtain an overall and quantitative evaluation of the performance of SST k-ω models: the fractional bias (FB), the geometric mean bias (MG), the normalized mean square errors (NMSE), the geometric variance (VG), and the factor of 2 of the observations (FAC2). The results of vertical concentration profile and longitudinal surface concentration of the 1:1:2 building illustrate the reasonable performance for all five metrics. However, the lateral concentration profile at X = 3H (where X is the distance from the source) shows poor performance for all of the metrics with the exception of NMSE, and the lateral concentration profile at X = 10H shows poor performance for FB and MG.

The purpose of this study is to develop correction formulas using the results of measurement by PMS 103, which is a weight method measuring device, and by Dusttrak (TSI, USA), DustMate (Turnkey Instrument Ltd., UK), and LD-5 (SIBATA, Japan), which are light scattering measuring devices. The objective is to evaluate and identify new standards (to develop a proposal) in order to complement the limitations of the existing measurement methods of public transportation vehicle indoor air quality by utilizing the three nephelometer type measuring devices. In the case of non-rush hours, the PMS values were estimated using an estimation regression equation. Statistically, the PMS values that were actually measured were not significantly different (p-value=0.4375, 0.4375, 1.000). With respect to the agreement between the two values, ICC was 0.99 in the case of the estimation regression equation using LD-5 values, 0.97 in the case of the estimation regression equation using Dusttrak values, and 0.84 in the case of the estimation regression equation using DustMate values to allow for the identification of agreement at greater levels. In the case of rush hours, the PMS values were estimated using an estimation regression equation. Statistically, the PMS values that were actually measured were not significantly different (p-value=0.3125, 0.6250, 0.8125). With respect to the agreement between the two values, ICC was 0.92 in the case of the estimation regression equation using LD-5 values, 0.91 in the case of the estimation regression equation using Dusttrak values, and 0.89 in the case of the estimation regression equation using DustMate values to allow for the identification of agreement at greater levels.

In order to protect the health of students and to prevent environmental harm, the School Health Law has been enacted and enforced. In the current “School Health Law Enforcement Rule”, school facilities, such as student desks and chairs, are required to use a small amount of formaldehyde emission values. In this study, an analysis was conducted with the purpose of using the basic data for the adjustment of the present emission standard. The formaldehyde exposure trend in the classroom was evaluated by examining the newly purchased student desks and chairs. As a result of measuring the compound levels in ten schools, the new student desks and chairs seemed to have contributed little to indoor formaldehyde levels. Only one classroom out of ten schools exceeded the threshold of 100 μg/m³ in Class 2 (without new desks and chairs) [(2)103.7 μg/m³]. A measurement of the classrooms exposed to formaldehyde for more than 10 years did not exceed the standard value. It is also very likely to be a source of contamination due to the recent construction (within 6 months) of indoor building materials, which was the dominant feature of the nine new schools. Although the study comprised a limited measurement, the appraisal results are suitable for HCHO emission.

The labeled magnitude scale (LMS) was proposed as the magnitude estimation of perceived odor intensity while the direct olfactory method is a basis of odor evaluation. Six chemicals (pyridine, ethanol, ethyl acetate, acetone, trimethylamine, and β-phenylethyl alcohol) were tested to demonstrate the limitation of the current odor intensity scale and the possibility of the alternative method. The 6-point odor intensity reference scale, which is wildly used in the field, has the inevitable limitation of the perceived magnitude of odor intensity. It has failed to express the magnitude objectively when odor intensity increased and the magnitude scale was limited. It was experimentally proven that LMS presents the function of the existing method and effectively evaluates the wide range of odor intensity.

In this study, the loading rates (or emission rate) and concentrations of air pollutants (ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10 and TSP)) emitted from a naturally ventilated dairy facility were analyzed and compared to enable a better understanding that are in close proximity to each other, air pollution status. In general, the pollution patterns should be similar in measurement sites that are in close proximity to each other, and this hypothesis was fundamental to our approach in this study. For the comparison in nearby different sites, monitoring points were located at inside (source site) and outside the dairy building (ambient site), and concentrations and wind velocity were simultaneously monitored in real time. The patterns of PM2.5 emission rate and loading rate were similar in the source site and the ambient site which was consist with the hypothesis, while the PM2.5 mass concentration were not similar in both sites. As well as PM2.5, the emission rates (source site) of gaseous carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) were highly correlated to their loading rates (ambient site), while the concentrations of CO2 and N2O were not similar. Therefore, wind velocity, which is included in the emission or loading rate, should be simultaneously monitored with the concentration at the same measurement points for better understanding of the air pollution status.

This study was carried out to investigate the presence of a correlation between heavy metals in urine samples and upper airway diseases. For the study, 51 household residents of Gwangyang, both with and without upper airway disease, were targeted. Urine samples were collected from the subjects along with a questionnaire from April 24th to 27th, 2017. The heavy metals in the urine samples were preprocessed and analyzed using an inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometer. The geometric mean concentration of urinary arsenic and cadmium was 138.66 μg/L and 0.75 μg/g creatinine among those with upper airway disease and 166.42 μg/L and 1.19 μg/ g creatinine among those without upper airway disease. This was not a statistically significant difference. The concentration of urinary arsenic and cadmium was found to be increased by 1.19 times (95% CI; 0.15-9.31) and 1.26 times (95% CI; 0.31-5.04) in household residents with upper airway diseases with more than 144.86 μg/L and 0.85 μg/g creatinine, respectively.