There has been evidence linking dioxin and metabolic disorders, including diabetes. Despite diet being the primary route of dioxin exposure, research assessing dioxin exposure risks using dietary values is still lacking. We aimed to illustrate the risk of dioxin in diabetes by utilizing calculated dioxin dietary intake and blood dioxin concentration values in the Korean population. The present study included 202 subjects aged 20–69 undergoing medical evaluations at the Severance health check-up [prediabetes/diabetes (n = 92) vs. control (n = 110)]. Nutritional information for dioxin reduction was provided every month for one year. At baseline and 1-year after points, dioxin concentrations (pg TEQ/g-lipid) in serum were analyzed, and a short version of the food frequency questionnaire with 52 food items was used to calculate dioxin dietary intake. Strong associations between serum total dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans, and dioxin-like PCBs (DL-PCBs) concentrations and prediabetes/diabetes risk were observed (all ORs >1.0). Mediation analysis further showed that diastolic blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and glucose partially mediated these associations (proportion 11–30

FeNO (fractional exhaled nitric oxide) is a crucial marker to understand children's respiratory diseases such as asthma, and severity may vary depending on PM diameter and respiratory tract region. This study investigates the relationship between size-segregated respiratory deposited PM dose and FeNO for children. Size-segregated PM (PM1.0, PM1.0-2.5, and PM2.5-10.0) and FeNO were measured for eighty children based on individual exposure assessment in five consecutive days. Individual physical activity was measured by an accelerometer device. Accordingly, a dosimetry model estimated the respiratory deposited dose by PM diameter in the extrathoracic (ET), tracheobronchial (TB), and pulmonary (PUL) regions. A linear mixed model (LMM) with distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM) was used for analysis. The effects of home environment and traffic-related factors were also examined for sensitivity analysis. We found that IQR increases of PM2.5-10.0 and PM1.0 were associated with 15.1 % (95 % CI: 3.5, 28.1) and 15.9 % (95 % CI: 2.7, 30.9) FeNO increase in respiratory Total region in 0-12 h lag. In cumulative lag 0-24 h, PM1.0 was only associated with FeNO increase: 16.6 % (95 % CI: 1.5, 34.1) in total region. No association was observed in lag 12-24 h. PM2.5-10.0 was related to short-term airway inflammation in the upper respiratory tract whereas PM1.0 has a cumulative effect on both the upper and lower respiratory tract. In sensitivity analysis, PM2.5-10.0 was associated with a 0-12 h lag, whereas both PM2.5-10.0 and PM1.0 were associated with a cumulative lag of 0-24 h. Both home environment and traffic-related factors showed a synergetic effect with PM1.0 in short-term exposure and an antagonistic effect with PM2.5-10.0 in long-term exposure. This study highlights that airway inflammation depends on PM sizes, exposure durations, and respiratory tract regions.

This study aimed to investigate the airborne exposure to aerosols according to the particle size distribution of three different spray types (nano-nozzled spray gun, low-temperature steam spray, and fogger) and compare the concentrations of inhaled aerosols between children and adults. Airborne aerosols released from three products were observed using size-segregated particle measurements, and particle concentrations deposited in the respiratory tracts of adults and children were estimated using multi-path particle dosimetry lung deposition models. All types of sprayers generated the most nanoparticles (~100 nm). Due to their higher respiratory rate than adults, a larger number of particles <1.0 μm deposited in the children's respiratory tracts was higher. The sequences of the total number of particles in the respiratory regions after spraying nano-nozzled spray gun and fogger were alveolar (AL)>tracheobronchial (TB)>head airway (HA) in adults and AL>HA>TB in children. Meanwhile, the trend of low-temperature steam spray was AL>TB>HA in adults and AL>TB>HA in children.

Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS), and its intake through inhalation, is a major reason for premature death. Therefore, it is essential to determine safe distances from the smoking source to control passive exposure to tobacco smoke by carrying out appropriate risk assessments. In this study, we investigated the emission and diffusion of particulate matter (PM 10 and PM 2.5 ), along with black carbon, from smoking different kinds of cigarettes, including conventional cigarettes, heating e-cigarettes, and liquid e-cigarettes, using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. The results were used to evaluate the risk of passive exposure to PM 10 and PM 2.5 at different distances from the smoker for the general population and 6–10-year-old children. Results of the risk analysis were compared by considering the accumulated mortality ratio caused by cancer, and circulatory and respiratory systems disorders as the baseline risk for these two population groups. Results show that normalized emitted aerosol from vaping liquid e-cigarettes is higher than when other types of cigarettes are used. We also detected the emission of black carbon, which has a statistically significant correlation with the emission of particulate matter. Our risk assessment analysis suggests a safe distance of 10 m from smokers for the general population as well as a greater distance for children.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Short-term exposure of particulate matter mass and count could be related to airway inflammation for children. This research is to find different risk level of airway inflammation by size-segregated PM from 0.25 um to 10.0 um. METHOD: Based on individual exposure assessment, PM mass and count were monitored for 5 consecutive days against 51 children. Baseline information including exposure factors related airway inflammation was surveyed. Real-time portable monitoring device able to detect both mass and count over size from 0.25 um to 10 um was utilized. The PM sizes were classified into six categories: PM0.25-10.0, PM0.25-4.0, PM0.25-2.5, PM0.25-1.0, PM0.25-0.5, PM0.25-0.25. FeNO was measured two times day (early morning and late evening) under the standardized procedures by the American Thoracic Society. All participants were adjusted accelerometer device in order to consider physical activity level. Deposition fraction of particle in each respiratory region (ET: Extrathoracic, TB: Tracheobronchial, AV: Alveolor) was calculated by using dosimetry model (MPPD v3.04 by ARA. US). Dose was calculated with concentration of PM mass and count by size, inhalation rate from accelerometer, and deposition fraction from dosimetry model. We applied distributed non-linear lag model and linear mixed-model to evaluate the FeNO and PM mass-count association. RESULTS: Different relative risk level and dose-response relations was observed in different PM mass-count sizes. Risk was higher when PM size was smaller. Different dose-response between PM mass and count in same respiratory regions was detected. Also different dose-response over PM sizes in same respiratory regions was detected. Risk patterns were different in different respiratory region for same PM size CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed clear risk pattern of FeNO by PM mass and count over sizes and by respiratory tract. Small size of PM is more vulnerable than Big size of PM. Particle count shows more risk than PM mass.

Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is the reason for approximately 1% of global mortality. ETS exposure can happen either as inhalation of direct cigarette smoke (second-hand smoke) or its associated residue particles (third-hand smoke), especially when living with a smoker in the same family. This study investigated the association between the urinary cotinine levels, as biomarkers of exposure to tobacco smoke, of smokers and those exposed to second-hand and third-hand smoke while living in the same family, through a Korean nationwide survey. Direct assessment of ETS exposure and its lifetime effect on human health is practically difficult. Therefore, this study evaluated the internal estimated daily intake (I-EDI) of nicotine and equivalent smoked cigarette per day (CPD). The carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic inhalation risks of ETS exposure were assessed by considering the calculated equivalent CPD and composition of cigarette smoke of high-selling cigarette brands in South Korea. The results show that there is a statistically significant positive correlation between the cotinine levels of smokers and those of the non-smokers living in the same family. The risk assessment results yielded that hazard index (HI) and total excess lifetime cancer risk (ECR) for both second-hand and third-hand smoke exposure can exceed 1 and 1 × 10−6, respectively, especially in women and children. In the composition of the cigarette smoke, 1,3-butadiene and acrolein substances had the highest contribution to HI and ECR. Consequently, the provision of appropriate plans for smoking cessation as a strategy for the prevention of ETS exposure to women and children is deemed necessary.

Background and Objectives: Epidemiological studies have inconsistently shown an association between dioxin and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cancer. This study aims to examine the effects of blood concentration of dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/DFs) on T2DM and thyroid cancer. Methods: We conducted a nested case–control study within the Korean cancer prevention study-II (KCPS-II) consisting of 15 thyroid cancer cases, 30 T2DM cases, and 55 controls. A total of 500 samples were used in 100 pooling samples. An average value of a pooled sample was calculated weighted by the blood volume of each sample. Results: The study population included 100 participants from the KCPS-II (median (IQR) baseline age, 54.06 [21.04] years; 48 women). The toxic equivalents of PCDD/DFs showed a significant positive association with T2DM and thyroid cancer, after adjustments for potential confounders (T2DM ORs  =  1.23; 95% CI  =  1.05–1.43; thyroid cancer ORs  =  1.34; 95% CI  =  1.12–1.61). Conclusion: In this study, both T2DM and thyroid cancer were associated with the blood concentrations of PCDD/DFs. The association between PCDD/DFs and T2D was found among women but not among men. Our findings suggest that further biochemical in vivo research and epidemiologic studies are needed to clarify the association between dioxins concentrations and diseases.

Tobacco smoking is associated with a high global mortality rate since it is known to cause cancers and lung and heart diseases. To control and reduce annual mortality attributed to smoking, it is essential to design applicable smoke cessation programs based on realistic tobacco exposure risk assessment. In this regard, understanding the smoking habits of the smoker is crucial. Using self-report smoking habit surveys is a common approach in measuring basic variables of smoking habits. However, smoking topography measurement devices have recently become available for investigating smoking habit variables accurately. In this study, we conducted a self-report survey to investigate a group of Korean smokers’ smoking habit variables such as the number of smoked cigarettes per day, puff counts, and total smoking time. The survey also included items from the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND). The results were compared with the corresponding variables from machine-determined data to investigate their correlation and reliability. Results indicate that Korean smokers have a reliable understanding of the average number of cigarettes they smoke daily (ρ = 0.517, Cronbach’s α = 0.754) and the time to first cigarette (TTFC) after waking up (ρ = -0.587, Cronbach’s α = 0.623), as fundamental items of the FTND score. Nevertheless, these smokers significantly under-reported the puff number and total smoking time, which can cause significant underestimation in the tobacco exposure risk assessment. Consequently, we suggest the application of self-report surveys that are based on the amount of daily smoked cigarettes (e.g. FTND) for clinical or risk assessment purposes. Using smoking topography measurement devices is recommended overusing self-report surveys in measuring smoking habit variables such as puff count and smoking time more accurately.

In this study, 16 children's products with the highest detection potential of phthalates were selected, and a phthalate assay and transdermal delivery analysis (NIER, US EPA Wipe [stress condition], US EPA Wipe [physiological condition], and US EPA Hand Wipe) were conducted with these products. The content of 6 controlled phthalates (DBP, BBP, DEHP, DNOP, DINP, and DIDP) was measured and most products contained more phthalates than the regulated guidelines (a total content of 6 phthalates to be ≤0.1%). For transdermal delivery, all items were found to be lower in the NIER transdermal delivery test method compared to the US EPA Hand Wipe (stress condition and physiological condition) transdermal delivery test method. For the US EPA Hand Wipe (stress condition and physiological condition) transdermal delivery test method, a similar result was observed, except for DINP. The average daily dose (ADD) estimated by determining the exposure algorithm for each transdermal delivery test method was highest in mats with a large contacting surface area and a long exposure time in the respective test methods. Conclusively, there was a difference between the NIER transdermal delivery test method and the US EPA Wipe transdermal delivery test method.

Introduction Understanding interactions of smoking topography with biomarkers of exposure to tobacco is essential for accurate smoking risk assessments. Methods In this study, the smoking topography and the levels of tobacco smoke exposure urinary biomarkers of a sample of active Korean smokers were quantified and measured. The results were used to investigate the effect of daily activities and smoking time on the smoking topography. Moreover, correlations between the smoking topography parameters and biomarkers were assessed. Results No significant effect of either the daily activities or time on the smoking topography of the subjects were observed. Synchronic correlations of the cigarette consumption per day (CPD) and the average flow per puff with both urinary cotinine and trans-3'-hydroxycotinine were significant. For the urinary nicotine metabolites, the peak levels appeared when the CPD was over 19 cigarettes per day and the average puff velocity was between 35 and 45 ml/s. Nevertheless, when the average flow was over 60 ml/s, the levels of cotinine and trans-3'-hydroxycotinine significantly dropped. Conclusions The findings of this study may be beneficial for further smoking risk assessments with contributions of both the smoking topography and biomarkers to provide current smokers with applicable cession programs.Clinical significance Smoking habits and levels of urinary biomarkers of Korean smokers are investigated. People with a higher dependency on nicotine smoke cigarettes with slower puffs. Effects of daily activities or time on smoking topography were not significant. Correlations between smoking topography and urinary biomarkers were significant. Peak biomarker levels were observed under certain smoking topography conditions.

Preschool children aged 3–6 years are vulnerable to exposed to particulate matter (“PM10” and “PM2.5”). It is required in evaluating the risk based on dose of preschool children. Microenvironments which preschool children mainly visited were classified. Inhalation type was adapted in each microenvironment in consideration of intensity of activity. The exposure scenario was described as preschool children had been living in Seoul, South Korea, and dose was calculated by considering time-activity-pattern with major microenvironments and inhalation type of preschool children for 24 h. Monte-Carlo simulation technique is used to estimate dose of particulate matter in probabilistic distribution by age and sex. The contribution of exposure by microenvironments and inhalation type was calculated. Risk assessment was performed based on WHO interim target-3 24-h concentration in order to estimate. Sensitivity analysis was performed to determine the effective variable of dose. As a result of the study, the dose of PM was higher for boys than girls and tended to decrease with age. The overall contributions of PM doses by microenvironments were daycare center, home, other facilities, transit, and outdoors, respectively, although differed between daycare center and home priority by age and sex. Especially, the contribution of daycare center and home was very high, accounting over 85% of the total. The overall contributions of PM doses by inhalation type were “run,” “stable,” “sleep,” and “walk inhalation,” respectively. The results of hazard quotient showed that “PM10” exceeded the WHO interim target-3 24-h concentration standard by about 10% and “PM2.5” exceeded about half. Through sensitivity analysis, PM concentration was confirmed as a major influence variable for doses. This study was able to affirm the overall exposure status of “PM10” and “PM2.5” for preschool children, and this is expected to be used in regulation and public health.

Analyzing the economic value of the damage to human health caused by environmental risks has become an essential research focus, given the increasing necessity for effective decision-making. Since logical and rational analyses such as cost–benefit and cost–utility analyses will likely gain importance in future policymaking, the evaluation of economic costs becomes necessary. Among the various types of air pollutants, fine particulate matter (PM) is reported as closely related to mortality. To reduce result uncertainty by improving the methodology of risk assessment or the economic evaluation of fine PM, risk control measures are required for high-priority areas. This study addresses this issue by estimating the relative risk of PM2.5 while calculating the economic loss cost arising from acute death due to fine PM exposure in Seoul, Korea. The value of statistical life of one person’s willingness to pay for mortality risk reduction is calculated to estimate the economic loss cost at each current level of exposure. The estimated economic loss cost due to all-cause mortality during 2016–2018 totaled approximately USD 1307.9 million per year; the costs of loss from respiratory and cardiovascular mortalities were USD 128.1 million per year and USD 426.9 million, respectively. Based on these results, this study concludes that the standards for PM2.5 are more effective than the ones established for PM10 in terms of economic value.

Objectives The aim of the study was to investigate the correlations within the levels of biomarkers in different biological matrices, along with smoking topography variables, among active male smokers in Korea. Accordingly, we defined a transformation factor to convert level of tobacco smoke exposure and impact biomarkers from different biometrics. Methods We examined smoking topography of recruited volunteers using a self-reporting survey. The level of tobacco smoke exposure and impact biomarkers in subjects' urine and blood were analysed. Results were used to assess the correlations between the topography survey items with biomarkers in biological matrices. The relationship between the biomarkers in urine and blood was analysed. Accordingly, we defined a transformation factor as the ratio of different biomarkers in urine and blood matrices. Results Significant correlations among smoking topography variables and biomarkers were found. Besides, a strong significant association was found among urine and blood cotinine (rho = 0.817) and NMR (rho = 0.905). Urine vs blood cotinine and NMR transformation factors were calculated to be 6.17 L-Blood/g-Creatinine and 10.2, respectively. Conclusions The validated transformation factor connects epidemiological cohort studies with tobacco smoking exposure risk assessment. Hence, this study might be beneficial for further habit-based smoking risk assessments to obtain successful regional cession policies.

This study utilizes an perception survey result of EDCs(Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals), and in order to compare the difference between EDCs perception levels as per smokers and nonsmokers. About 2,000 Korean citizens were surveyed, and were classified into smokers or nonsmokers, and afterwards, perception upon EDCs were comparatively analyzed. As a result of the analysis, overall, nonsmokers appeared to have a better awareness of EDCs. This study can be used as a base line data in terms of risk communication of EDCs.

The atmosphere is the first medium containing hazardous compounds entering the living environment. Metropolitan areas contain many industrial complex areas with high emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and consequently also large-scale exposure groups. As respiration is the most important part of the human exposure pathway, the atmosphere should be treated with greater importance than other media. It is therefore very important to monitor the emission of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) and measure the concentration of VOCs in the atmosphere of such areas. It is essential to establish basic measures in order to protect public health as part of overall national safety management. This study utilized the national air pollution monitoring network data from Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi, and investigated the differences in risk levels for humans considering various factors of the receptors, including gender and age. A total of 13 VOCs were categorized into carcinogens and noncarcinogens for risk assessment. The carcinogens 1,3-butadiene and benzene demonstrated a high level of cancer risk, ranging between 10(-4) and 10(-6), respectively. Noncarcinogens did not exceed Hazard Quotient (HQ) 1 in any area. The results will serve as important references for managing urban air environments and setting air quality standards.

Environmental exposure to cadmium can cause renal damage. Foods containing cadmium are generally regarded as the main environmental sources of human exposure to cadmium. In this study, foods that are ingested in large amounts, including rice and other types of food with a high concentration of cadmium, were investigated to determine the correlation between the foods' cadmium content and biomarkers. The datasets required for this study, including blood cadmium concentration, biomarker concentration, and data on the amount of consumption by food item, were obtained from KNHNES. Furthermore, data on food groups with high daily exposure to hazardous amounts of cadmium were obtained by monitoring raw food sources from 2010 to 2012. The investigation was then followed by correlation analysis, which was performed to assess the relationship between the amount of rice consumption and cadmium concentration. The Pearson coefficient analysis on the relationship between the amount of food consumption and the biomarker showed that the correlation between foods' cadmium content and blood cadmium and that of between foods' cadmium content and other biomarkers were confirmed as statistically significant in the case of the cadmium content of white rice, while, in the case of brown rice, it was confirmed by a few biomarkers.

Traffic-related pollutants have been reported to increase the morbidity of respiratory diseases. In order to apply management policies related to motor vehicles, studies of the floating population living in cities are important. The rate of metro rail transit system use by passengers residing in Seoul is about 54% of total public transportation use. Through the rate of metro use, the people-flow ratios in each administrative area were calculated. By applying a people-flow ratio based on the official census count, the floating population in 25 regions was calculated. The reduced level of deaths among the floating population in 14 regions having the roadside monitoring station was calculated as assuming a 20% reduction of mobile emission based on the policy. The hourly floating population size was calculated by applying the hourly population ratio to the regional population size as specified in the official census count. The number of people moving from 5 a.m. to next day 1 a.m. could not be precisely calculated when the population size was applied, but no issue was observed that would trigger a sizable shift in the rate of population change. The three patterns of increase, decrease, and no change of population in work hours were analyzed. When the concentration of particulate matter less than 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter was reduced by 20%, the number of excess deaths varied according to the difference of the floating population. The effective establishment of directions to manage the pollutants in cities should be carried out by considering the floating population. Although the number of people using the metro system is only an estimate, this disadvantage was supplemented by calculating inflow and outflow ratio of metro users per time in the total floating population in each region. Especially, 54% of metro usage in public transport causes high reliability in application.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is one of the primary components of emissions from light-duty vehicles, and reportedly comprises 77% of all pollutants emitted in terms of concentration. Exposure to CO aggravates cardiovascular disease and causes other health disorders. The study was aimed to assess the negative effects by injecting different amounts of CO concentration directly to human volunteers boarding in the car.

This study was conducted to evaluate the ability of plants to purify indoor air by observing the effective reduction rate among pollutant types of particulate matter (PM) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). PM and four types of VOCs were measured in a new building that is less than three years old and under three different conditions: before applying the plant, after applying the plant, and a room without a plant. The removal rate of each pollutant type due to the plant was also compared and analyzed. In the case of indoor PM, the removal effect was negligible because of outdoor influence. However, 9% of benzene, 75% of ethylbenzene, 72% of xylene, 75% of styrene, 50% of formaldehyde, 36% of acetaldehyde, 35% of acrolein with acetone, and 85% of toluene were reduced. The purification of indoor air by natural ventilation is meaningless because the ambient PM concentration has recently been high. However, contamination by gaseous materials such as VOCs can effectively be removed through the application of plants.

A cohort of sixth grade students at two newly constructed elementary schools in Seoul, South Korea, performed a self-assessment of ocular discomfort symptoms in association with indoor air quality (IAQ) by indoor plant intervention from early June to mid-Oct. 2011. Indoor plant intervention made little difference in air temperature and relative humidity, but stabilized the increasing levels of carbon dioxide. The indoor concentrations of formaldehyde and ethylbenzene showed little difference, but those of toluene and xylene showed a decreasing trend in classrooms with indoor plants. The participants in classrooms without indoor plants exhibited an increase in ocular discomfort symptoms at School A and a decrease in symptoms at School B; those in classrooms with indoor plants demonstrated a decrease in frequency at both schools. The variation of symptom severity did not follow a clear trend. Participants assessed their symptom severity of ocular discomfort with four options from three points for frequent occurrence to zero points for no occurrence. Among participants in classrooms without indoor plants, symptom severity significantly worsened at both schools as the scores increased from 1.96 to 2.17 at School A and from 2.27 to 2.34 at School B; among those in classrooms with indoor plants, symptom severity significantly lessened at School A and slightly worsened at School B as the scores decreased from 2.33 to 1.98 at School A and increased from 2.35 to 2.42 at School B. After spending the experimental duration in classrooms without indoor plants at both schools, 34.8% of participants at School A and 33.3% of participants at School B perceived their symptom severity as having increased. At Schools A and B, indoor plants decreased the frequency of participants experiencing an increase of symptom severity by 13.0% and 9.7%, and increased the frequency of participants reporting decrease of symptom severity by 34.8% and 22.6%.