Characteristics of VOCs in public place (Jjimjilbang) in Seoul

Hyunseok Cho, Incheol Ryu, Kyumun Han, Jaesik Jeon, Jongryeul Sohn

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

Abstract

Jjimjilbang as Korean style sauna is a unique Korean culture and is the very popular public facilities in Korea. 66 Jjimjilbangs were selected from different microenvironments by floor (underground floor and ground floor) from February to December, 2007 in Seoul, Korea. The I/O ratios of TVOC and individual VOCs such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m,p-xylene, styrene, o-xylene, and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene were above 1, ranging from 2.25 to 5.28 and the concentrations in underground floor were about 2~3 times higher than those on ground floor (p<0.05). Besides, the concentrations in winter were higher than those in any other season. It was found that most of Jjimjilbang depended on the ventilation through the opening of windows, even though mechanical ventilation system was installed. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the ventilation rates in Jjimjilbang environment so as to prevent users as well as workers from exposing them to health danger.

Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - 2009
Event9th International Healthy Buildings Conference and Exhibition, HB 2009 - Syracuse, NY, United States
Duration: 2009 Sept 132009 Sept 17

Other

Other9th International Healthy Buildings Conference and Exhibition, HB 2009
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySyracuse, NY
Period09/9/1309/9/17

Keywords

  • I/O ratios
  • Indoor air quality
  • Jjimjilbang
  • Ventilation
  • VOCs

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Building and Construction

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