BACKGROUND: In the month of January 2018, fine dust alerts and warnings were issued 36 times for PM 10 and 81 times for PM2.5. Air quality is becoming a serious issue nationwide. Although interest in air-purifying plants is growing due to the controversy over the risk of chemical substances of regular air-purifying solutions, industrial spread of the plants has been limited due to their efficiency in airconditioning perspective. METHODS AND RESULTS: This study aims to propose a vegetation-based bio-filter system that can assure total indoor air volume for the efficient application of air-purifying plants. In order to evaluate the quantitative performance of the system, time-series analysis was conducted on airconditioning performance, indoor air quality, and comfort index improvement effects in a lecture room-style laboratory with 16 persons present in the room. The system provided 4.24 ACH ventilation rate and reduced indoor temperature by 1.6℃ and black bulb temperature by 1.0℃. Relative humidity increased by 24.4% and deteriorated comfort index. However, this seemed to be offset by turbulent flow created from the operation of air blowers. While PM 10 was reduced by 39.5% to 22.11㎍/m 3 , CO 2 increased up to 1,329ppm. It is interpreted that released CO 2 could not be processed because light compensation point was not reached. As for the indoor comfort index, PMV was reduced by 83.6 % and PPD was reduced by 47.0% on average, indicating that indoor space in a comfort range could be created by operating vegetation-based bio-filters. CONCLUSION: The study confirmed that the vegetationbased bio-filter system is effective in lowering indoor temperature and PM 10 and has positive effects on creating comfortable indoor space in terms of PMV and PPD.

Background and objective: Illegal open-air incineration, which is criticized as a leading source of air pollutants among agricultural activities, currently requires constant effort and attention. Countries around the world have been undertaking studies on the emission of heavy metal substances in fine dust discharged during the incineration process. A precise analytical method is required to examine the harmful effects of particulate pollutants on the human body.Methods: In order to simulate open-air incineration, the infrastructure needed for incineration tests complying with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method 5G was built, and a large-area analysis was conducted on particulate pollutants through automated scanning electron microscopy (SEM)-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). For the test specimen, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) waste collected by the DangJin Office located in Choongcheongnam-do was used. To increase the identifiability of the analyzed particles, the incineration experiment was conducted in an incinerator three times after dividing the film waste into 200 g specimens.Results: Among the metal particulate matters detected in the HDPE waste incineration test, transition metals included C (20.8-37.1 wt%) and O (33.7-37.9 wt%). As for other chemical matters, the analysis showed that metal particulate matters such as metalloids, alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, and transition metals reacted to C and C-O. Si, a representative metalloid, was detected at 14.8-20.8 wt%, showing the highest weight ratio except for C and O.Conclusion: In this study, the detection of metal chemicals in incinerated particulate matters was effectively confirmed through SEM-EDS. The results of this study verified that HDPE waste adsorbs metal chemicals originating from soil due to its own properties and deterioration, and that when incinerated, it emits particulate matters containing transition metals and other metals that contribute to the excessive production and reduction of reactive oxygen species.

Illegal open burning, which is criticized as a leading source of air pollutants among agricultural activities, currently requires constant effort and attention from countries around the world. A speciation analysis method is required to examine the harmful effects of particulate matter generated by incineration on the human body. In this study, to simulate open-air incineration, infrastructure for incineration tests complying with US EPA method 5G was built, and a large-area analysis was conducted on the particulate matter through automated SEM-EDS. For test specimens, waste mulching LDPE collected by Korea Environment Corporation Dangjin Office was used. To raise the identifiability of analyzed particles, the specimen was sampled on a plate made of Ag, which has a high atomic number, three times. Metal particulate matter showed a high reaction to C and C-O. The ratio of metal particulate matters that reacted to C and C-O was in the order of Cu (94.1%) > Fe (83.3%) > Al (79.7%). In this study, it was verified that waste mulching adsorbs metal chemicals originating from the soil due to its properties and deterioration, and that when it is incinerated, it emits particulate matter containing transition metals and other metals that contribute to excessive ROS production and reduction.

Background and objective: Plant-based biofilter system has become a promising candidate for improving indoor air quality due to its eco-friendly and sustainable nature. However, it remains controversial whether indoor air purification using a biofilter is effective. Methods: This study used the one-group pre-and post-test design to analyze the effects of the operation of the plant-based biofilter system on indoor air quality, students' perception of indoor air quality, health effects, and subjective and objective attentiveness. Results: Results of this study show that the application of the plant-based biofilter system changed the air environment in the classroom. The operation of the plant-based biofilter system significantly decreased PM 2.5 and PM 10 and slightly increased temperature and humidity. Satisfaction with air quality and subjective attentiveness were significantly improved but objective attentiveness and health effects were not improved. Conclusion:Further studies need to be conducted for improving indoor air quality of schools and evaluating the health effects and attention of occupants to present the objective performance of the plant-based biofilter system.

Recently, metallic particulate pollutants floating underground have been reported to negatively affect the human body. Thus, there is an urgent need for a public health policy pertaining to the air quality in subway stations. In this study, we investigated whether a vegetation biofilter is effective in reducing metal particle contaminants, especially iron oxide. After selecting a subway station, a vegetation biofilter system was installed, and samples were collected three times, at three intake areas and one exhaust area. The average weight ratio of the detected elements was calculated. The iron oxide reduction effect was evaluated using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. In the return air, C, O, and Fe were detected at 64.9, 27.3, and 5.2 wt.%, respectively; in the supply air, C, O, and Fe were detected at 67.2, 30.4, and 0.7 wt.%, respectively. The difference in the average Fe weight ratio was statistically significant. Air quality has a considerable effect on human health. We confirmed the possibility of reducing Fe in particulate matter using biofilters. However, we could not confirm whether the air quality was improved enough to not have a negative effect on the human body. This should be elucidated through follow-up studies.