Airborne asbestos and non-asbestos fiber concentrations in non-occupational environments in Korea.
Both airborne asbestos and non-asbestos fiber concentrations were evaluated in Korean non-occupational environments. The airborne fiber concentrations were analyzed in 96 air samples, from 48 different points, by transmission electron microscopy, with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. The geometric means of the airborne asbestos and non-asbestos fiber concentrations were 0.62 and 67.86, and 0.30 and 17.47 fibers/liter in urban and rural areas, respectively. There were significant differences in both the airborne asbestos and non-asbestos fiber concentrations between the urban and rural areas (p<0.05). The geometric means of airborne asbestos and non-asbestos fiber concentrations were 0.67 and 37.93, and 0.27 and 30.67 fibers/liter at the points less than 10 m and more than 30 m away from highways, respectively. The airborne asbestos concentrations were significantly higher at the points less than 10 m away than at the points more than 30 m away from highways (p<0.01).
Lim
Hyun-Sul
HS
Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Dongguk University, 707 Sukjang-dong, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do 780-714, Republic of Korea.
Kim
Ji Yong
JY
Sakai
Kiyoshi
K
Hisanaga
Naomi
N
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000032:analysis; D001194:Asbestos / Q000032:analysis*; D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D007723:Korea; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D019016:Mineral Fibers / Q000032:analysis*; D012424:Rural Population; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000032:analysis
D000393:Air Pollutants; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D019016:Mineral Fibers; D001335:Vehicle Emissions; D001194:Asbestos