Statistical analysis for the 703 air purifiers certified by Korea Air Cleaning Association from 2003 to 2019 was performed. Sixty-one percent of the products had an area coverage of 15 m2~30 m2 and the median value of the total products was 37.6 m2. The number of certified products by the top five manufacturers was 325, which corresponds to 46.2% of the total products. The median value of the clean air delivery rate (CADR) of the 703 products was 4.8 m3/min but the number of air purifiers over the value increased to 62.5%~66.3% since 2018. The odor removal ratio showed a median of 86.0% which was higher than the certification criteria but had large differences in efficacy in the five test compounds. Removal efficiencies of each compound in terms of the median and ratio to the average value showed acetate > formaldehyde > toluene > ammonia > acetaldehyde in descending order with large variances. The median noise level average value from five positions of air purifiers was 47.7 dB(A). However the medians of the top position and the front, where purified air was vented out, were relatively higher in 49.8 dB(A) and 48.2 dB(A), respectively. Noise level ratio to noise criteria had a median value of 96.4%, which showed that most of the noise levels were distributed near the criteria limit. The probability of the noise level at 100% of the criteria was calculated ton 0.232, which indicated excess noise levels.

Fungus has been regulated as an air contaminant in indoor environments in Korea. To remove the contaminant, air purifiers have been used in houses. However, not much information on the status of fungal contamination in the indoor air of houses is available. The present study was carried out to investigate fungal concentration and species in the indoor air of houses using air purifiers in winter. The results of indoor air sampling of ten houses located in the cities of Incheon, Seoul, Hwaseong, and Gimpo showed that the level of fungi ranged from 9 CFU/ m3 to 782 CFU/m3. Eight out of ten houses showed a level of less than 165 CFU/m3 indicating that the fungal level is generally low. Only one house exceeded the Korean regulatory standard value of 500 CFU/m3. A total of 175 isolates were obtained and classified as three genera belonging to Aspergillus, Cladosporium, and Penicillium. Among these three genera, 15 species including four Aspergillus spp., two Cladosporium spp., and nine Penicillium spp. were identified. Regarding the detection rate of the 15 identified fungal species, A. niger was the most detected species and followed by Cladosporium cladosporioides. Three to six species were present in the individual house that was investigated. Overall, our results showed that the level of fungal concentration and species diversity are low in the indoor air of houses that use air purifiers in winter.

본 연구의 목적은 공기감염성 가축질병 유발의 주요 인자인 부유 세균 및 바이러스 등의 생물학상 인자들에 대한 유형별 공기청정기의 제균 효과를 비교 평가하는 데 있다. 시료 채취 장비에 대한 포집 성능 평가에서는 MS2 바이러스와 Pseudomonas fluorescens 모두 Button sampler보다는 Biosampler에 의한 채취 효율이 유의하게 높았다 (p<0.05). 공기청정기 유형 및 시료채취 방법에 관계없이 MS2 바이러스의 경우 초기 농도 대비 가동 후 5분에 50% 이상, 15분에 70% 이상, 30분에 80% 이상, 그리고 마지막 측정 시점인 60분에는 90% 이상의 제거 효율을 보이는 것으로 나타났다. P. fluorescens 세균의 경우 초기 농도 대비 가동 후 5분에 45% 이상, 15분에 50% 이상, 30분에 70% 이상, 그리고 마지막 측정 시점인 60분에는 75% 이상의 제거 효율을 보이는 것으로 나타났다. 유형별 공기청정기의 상대적 제균 효율을 비교해 보면 MS2 바이러스의 경우 이온 발생 방식>전기 집진 방식>습식 방식>건조 방식, P. fluorescens 세균의 경우 전기 집진 방식>이온 발생 방식>건조 방식>습식 방식의 순서로 조사되었다.