This experiment evaluated the efficiency of mechanical ventilation, one of the measures to reduce indoor radon concentration in residential spaces. In the most popular ventilation rates of the air conditioning system, the most efficient air conditioning system was confirmed by checking the time when the radon concentration reached the lowest level, the radon reduction rate, and the radon concentration that could be lowered as much as possible. The results showed a reduction rate of up to 80% or more as a result of conducting the experiment by blocking the inflow of outside air. It was confirmed that the time to reach the lowest concentration after starting the mechanical ventilation was about 6 hours to a maximum of 7 hours. Therefore, this study verified that indoor radon concentrations can be efficiently reduced by using a mechanical ventilation system.

Charcoal canisters are broadly used for radon detection because of their handiness and short sampling period. Radon detection using charcoal canisters are known to be susceptible to surrounding conditions such as temperature and humidity. Public radon inspectors cannot handle extreme temperature, and the relative humidity can differ in districts due to the use of different types of construction. Thus, if relative humidity can be controlled at the entrance of a charcoal canister, radon inspectors will be able to procure more reliable data. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficiency of existing filters in a charcoal canister and to apply a new type of filter (Super Absorbent Polymers, SAP) that can control the moisture penetrating into the charcoal canister. Based on adequate case studies using the new filter, radon data have shown over 98% close to the reference data irrespective of varying moisture levels. Meanwhile, basic filters showed 88% similarity compared to the reference data, which means that charcoal canisters were affected by moisture. The SAP filter is reasonably inexpensive and once it turns into its gel shape (which, in turn, is saturated by moisture), it can be easily replaced. This filter will not only be able to provide more accurate radon data, but also apply to other gas phase material detections that are sensitive to moisture in the air.

Recently, applications of high voltage impulse (hereafter HVI) technique to desalting, sludge solubilization and disinfection have gained great attention. However, information on how the operating condition of HVI changes the water qualities, particularly production of hydroxyl radical (·OH) is not sufficient yet. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of operating conditions of the HVI on the generation of hydroxyl radical. Indirect quantification of hydroxyl radical using RNO which react with hydroxyl radical was used. The higher HVI voltage applied up to 15 kV, the more RNO decreased. However, 5 kV was not enough to produce hydroxyl radical, indicating there might be an critical voltage triggering hydroxyl radical generation. The concentration of RNO under the condition of high conductivity decreased more than those of the low conductivities. Moreover, the higher the air supplies to the HVI reactor, the greater RNO decreased. The conditions with high conductivity and/or air supply might encourage the corona discharge on the electrode surfaces, which can produce the hydroxyl radical more easily. The pH and conductivity of the sample water changed little during the course of HVI induction.

This study was carried out considering that activated carbon physically adsorbs radon. Among the air cleaners equipped with activated carbon filter, eight air cleaners sold in Korea were selected and the radon reduction rate experiment was conducted. The instrument used an ionization chamber type instrument with a sensitivity of 3 CPM. The experiment was carried out by excluding the natural rate of reduction of radon in order to accurately grasp the radon reduction rate of activated carbon filter. Of the eight air purifiers, only three showed a reduction rate of more than 30%, while the remaining five air purifiers showed a reduction rate of less than 20%. This does not seem to be much different from the natural reduction rate. In addition, since it is not adsorbed by radon alone due to the nature of activated carbon, it is expected that the reduction rate will be lower in a real life environment.

As radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer and is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen, it is essential for the public to be aware of what radon is, and how to manage radon. Therefore, general information on radon, as well as its health risks, measurement methods, mitigation methods and suggestions for its management are addressed in this article. Over the last one to two decades, a number of wide-ranging studies on radon measurement and mitigation have been conducted in Korea, and the results of each study are comparable to the research achievements of other developed countries. For this reason, it is time to systematically establish a well-made Korean radon management organization.

Several disposal processes for waste sludge from wastewater treatment plants such as landfill, ocean dump, incineration, reuse as fuels or fertilizers are practiced. However, ocean dumping is prohibited by international treat. New constructions of landfill sites or incineration facilities are limited by NIMBY and reuse processes are still suffering from low energy yield. Therefore, development of alternative processes for sludge disposal are currently needed. In this study, alternative technique for sludge solubilization using HVI (high voltage impulse) was suggested and verified experimentally. Sludge solubilization was carried out for 90 minutes using HVI discharge with peak voltage of 16 kV and pulse duration for 40 microsecond. About 3∼9 % of MLSS and MLVSS concentration were reduced, but the soluble COD, TN, TP of the sludge increased to 372 %, 56 % and 102 % respectively. It indicates that the flocs and/or cells of the sludge were damaged by HVI. These resulted in flocs-disintegration and cells-lysis, which means the internal matters were bursted out of the flocs as well as the cells. Thus, electrical conductivity in bulk solution was increased. All of the results verified that the HVI could be used as an alternative technique for sludge solubilization processes.

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.

Radon is an inert gas, and a naturally occurring radioactive material. Radon is produced by radium and uranium. Generated radon causes lung cancer through the inhalation. Therefore, If uranium contaminated soil is close to indoor spaces, residents may be exposed to this radioactive material(Radon). Generally, radon affects the first to third floors of buildings. But our research team has often detected high radon concentration in the indoor air of high-rise apartments. The reason for this is that building materials containing uranium and radium are brought into apartments. This study was conducted an investigation into the radon emission rate of building materials being used in South Korea. Also, our team conducted an investigation into the radon emission rate of gypsum tiles and concrete found in an apartment(17th floor apartment indoor radon concentration 5.03 pCi/L, Rad- 7(DURRIDGECo.USA)). Finally, we investigated the radon emission rate of bricks containing the soil near a uranium mine. The average radon emission rates of general building materials are as followings: (gypsum board : 0.20·h-1/kg, gravel : 0.05, gypsum tile : 0.02, indoor tile : 0.08, general brick : 0.02, red clay tile : 0.02, concrete : 0.11, uranium mine soil : 4.81). The results regarding the radon emission rate from a 17th floor apartment’s building materials are as followings: (gypsum board : 0.70, concrete : N/A). The results regarding the radon emission rate from bricks containing soil near a uranium mine was 0.19. This experiment indicates that gypsum boards show the highest radon emission rate among general building materials. In particular, the radon emission rate from the gypsum boards in a 17th floor apartment was 3.5 times higher than general gypsum boards. Overall the results suggest that building materials that possess high levels of uranium emit more radon gas than any other materials. South Korea has not established legal regulations on radon emission from building materials. However, the results of this study strongly suggest that it is of the utmost importance to manage the radon emission rate of building materials and control their usage before construction.

The purpose of this study was to assess the removal efficiency of formaldehyde using carbon nano colloid (CNC) which was produced by comparatively easy and cheap method. In this study, carbon nano colloid based on water was produced by an electro‐chemical method. The particles which have mostly a spherical shape whose diameter was, what is called,‘nano‐size’were produced. Non‐woven fabric filter, which is currently on the market as a medium filter, was used for the removal efficiency test. Known concentration (0.5 ppm) of formaldehyde standard gas was used as a pollutant. The overall results indicate that (1) nanosize carbon colloids which have a stable dispersibility of which diameter is approximately 10 nm or less, (2) filters treated with carbon nano colloids showed higher removal efficiency, 44.47 ㎍ of HCHO removed/g of carbon and 19.28 ㎍ of HCHO removed/g of carbon, compared to the control experiment using a normal carbon filter, 1.45 ㎍ of HCHO removed/g of carbon.