Smoking is a disservice to not only for smokers who smoke, but also for nonsmokers due to smoke or smell. In particular, smoking harms health by increasing the discomfort associated with the smell generated by burning the cigarette, and giving rise to lung injury or cancer caused by smoke inhalation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of various concentrations of nicotine, PM2.5, and heavy metals (As, Cr, Cd, Pb) generated by smoking according to the smoking intensity. When smokers smoked continuously, the amount of nicotine, PM2.5, Cr, and Cd produced by smoking increased proportionally and became statistically significant. However, As and Pb showed a different pattern from other materials, and the concentration increased by 2~3 times when 10 cigarettes were smoked. As for the change in PM2.5 for 12 hours immediately after smoking, about 70% of the particles were deposited on the floor or wall even in a sealed room where no ventilation was available, and the concentration naturally decreased. However, the remaining particles were found to remain in the air even though the time passed exceeded 12 hours.

About half of the South Korean population lives in the three major metropolitan areas, which are Seoul, Kyeonggi and Incheon. Among this group, more than 50% live in apartments. In this study, the relationship between the concentration of indoor VOCs and environmental factors was investigated in metropolitan apartments in the occupation stage. The maximum concentration of TVOC (total volatile organic compounds) was monitored in spring season. Among the identified VOCs, toluene was present in the highest amount, followed by terpene, aldehyde and hydrocarbon. Due to the specific indoor sources, the I/O ratio of terpene (e.g. d-limonene, α-pinene, and β-pinene) was relatively higher than that of the others. The construction year and length of residence were revealed as the environmental factors having the greatest influence on the concentration of indoor benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, styrene and hydrocarbon, and the relationship was statistically significant. The floor and size of the apartment influenced the levels of indoor nonanal. The relationships between individual VOCs showed highly positive correlations that are statistically significant. Through the relationship study, it was found that factors including newly built apartment, short period of time after moving in, high floors and small floor area were the main factors inducing an increased concentration of indoor VOCs in apartments.

The indoor air quality of residences has been regulated by designating recommended standard levels of pollutants for newly built apartments. But as of yet, no related guideline has been established for dwellings that are already occupied. From a sociological viewpoint, the gap between the rich and poor has been gradually increasing with economic development, and this has extended to the diversification of house types and living environments. Specifically, people who have the lowest income levels may live in temporary houses such as vinyl greenhouses and shanty houses, and their living environment is mostly inadequate as a result. In this study, we surveyed the indoor air quality in normal and socially vulnerable houses after the occupation stage and tried to figure out the main factors influencing indoor air quality. Airborne fungi are detected more frequently in lower living standard houses. Put another way, the concentration of airborne bacteria and the volatile organic compound levels are much higher than in normal dwellings.

Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) contains a large variety of substances, of which at least 50 are known to or are believed to be carcinogenic. Although the Ministry of Health and Welfare has started to prevent public exposure to ETS by enacting indoor smoking bans, some facilities still allow their customers or users to smoke indoors. In this study, indoor air quality in a pub was investigated by monitoring particulate matters (PM1.0 and PM2.5), heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Pb) and nicotine concentration to figure out the influence force of smoking behavior on indoor air quality. Smoking behaviors are revealed to be a major contributor the contamination of indoor air in pubs. The range of PM2.5 mass concentrations were 82.2~208.0 μg/m3 and the mean concentration of PM2.5 was 135.9 μg/m3. In the case of nicotine, the mean concentration was 12.2 μg/m3 with a range from 2.7 to 24.1 μg/m3. In the results of metal analysis, the levels of heavy metals in particulate matters in a pub were found to be much higher than those of the other public facilities.