This study was carried out to examine the concentration and distribution characteristics of total airborne bacteria (TAB) and airborne mold in non-regulated public-use facilities. The arithmetic mean (AM) of the TAB in all facilities was 356.5 ± 419.3 CFU/m3, and the geometric means (GM) was 157.8 CFU/m3, which did not exceed the standard value of 800 CFU/m3. The highest concentration was 637.3 ± 372.0 CFU/m3 (GM: 534.9 CFU/m3) in the underground shopping mall. The AM of airborne mold in all facilities was 448.2 ± 429.6 CFU/m3 (GM: 285.4 CFU/m3), which did not exceed the standard value of 500 CFU/m3, but was close to it. In particular, subway station (AM: 661.5 ± 441.2 CFU/m3, GM: 540.0 CFU/ m3), large-scale store (AM: 587.6 ± 683.2 CFU/m3, GM: 297.8 CFU/m3), and private educational institute (AM: 528.8 ± 379.6 CFU/m3, GM: 373.7 CFU/m3) exceeded the standard. Operational taxonomic unit of 16S rDNA and ITS2 rDNA region was analyzed to profile bacteria and mold component in the air of the public-use facilities. As a result, Pseudomonas and Morganella are the major bacterial groups. Regarding mold, Aspergillus, Candida, Malassezia, and Penicillium are the major groups. Component of each airborne bacterial and mold groups varied depending on the type of public-use facilities.

In this study, we measured the concentration of Particulate Matter (PM10), Formaldehyde (HCHO), and Total Bacteria Count (TBC) at three facilities: elderly care centers, day care centers, and postnatal care centers located in the cities of Seoul, Sejong, Daegu and Ulsan from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2015. PM10 concentration was the highest in the day care centers and HCHO concentration was the highest in the postnatal care centers. TBC concentration was the highest in the day care centers. Comparing the different cities, PM10 concentration was the highest in Sejong, HCHO concentration was the highest in Seoul, and TBC concentration was the highest in Daegu. This study is expected to be helpful in preventing damage to health from the contaminated indoor air at sensitive facilities, and can be used as basic data for indoor air quality management.

This study was conducted to investigate the actual condition of fine particles (PM2.5) pollution and to verify the necessity of managing PM2.5 in the indoor environment of public use facilities in Gyeonggi-do. As a result, it was found that PM2.5 concentrations measured for 24 hours ranged from 15.9 to 113.5 μg/m3 and averaged 42.5 μg/ m3, and for 6 hours, ranged from 20.4 to 167.1 μg/m3 and averaged 65.6 μg/m3. Average concentration was highest in subway stations, followed by nursery schools and indoor parking lots. 49 of the 55 sites investigated exceeded the 24hr-PM2.5 standard specified in WHO guidelines (25 μg/m3). The ratio of PM2.5 to PM10 was 70.2% for 24hr and 70.7% for 6hr on average. This means that PM2.5 tends to account for a large proportion of the total particulate pollution in the indoor environment, and that it is essential to control fine particulate matter in order to reduce total particulate matter in the indoor environment. In addition, it was found that the time to be sampled and total sampling time are one of important factors which affect PM2.5 concentration in indoor air quality; therefore, I think that it is necessary to concretely specify the time to be sampled and maximum range of total sampling time in the test method of PM2.5. Recently, regulations on PM2.5 in indoor environments have been strengthened in other countries due to its high risk to human health; however, there is currently no enforceable regulation in Korea. Given that PM2.5 is more harmful to human health than PM10, it is urgently necessary to establish proper policies and regulations to control PM2.5 in indoor environments.

The concern of fine particle (PM2.5) management of outdoor environments has been increasing due to its exposure and related health effects in Korea. As a result, PM2.5 standard in atmosphere environment was regulated in 2015. On the other hand, indoor PM2.5 standard has been required because most people spent their times in indoor environments. In this study, we measured the PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations both indoor and outdoor environments of public-use facilities such as underground stations, underground shopping centers, and nurseries for 24 hour with filter-weighing method in Seoul and Daegu. Measurement duration was from March to April in 2014 during the Asian dust period. At all measurements, indoor to outdoor (I/O) concentration ratios exceeded 1 except 1 day nursery in Daegu in spite of Asian dust period. The ratios of PM2.5 to PM10 concentrations ranged from 0.63 to 0.75 in indoor environments, and from 0.63 to 0.82 in outdoor, indicating that PM2.5 should be carefully managed in indoor environments as well as outdoor atmosphere.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristics of asbestos containing materials in public facilities in Korea. We investigated 201 public facilities between January and December in 2009. PACM were collected according to EPA AHERA rules, and analyzed using the US EPA method 600/R/116. The air samples from public facilities were analyzed by PCM. For the survey on ACM risk assessment, we used both the ASTM rules and Korea ACM risk assessment(developed by the Korea ministry of employment and labor). Public facilities showed that ceiling textiles contained chrysolite/amosite(2 and 25%) and cement flat boards contained chrysolite(5 and 26%). Also, gaskets contained chrysolite(3 and 95%) and Floor tile & carpet contained chrysolite(less than 1 and 6%). PCM analysis was performed on all air samples, and it was found that the concentration of fiber did not exceed the Korean guideline(0.01f/cc). In this study, it was found that according to the ASTM rule of asbestos material, 70 materials were “Abatement” grade and 344 materials were “Q&M” grade when assessed by ASTM B-line. Furthermore, based on the adjusted Korea ACM risk assessment 22 materials rated as were “Fair” and 390 materials were “Good”.