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In the U.S., performance assessment on the Automatic Exposure Control system (AEC) is managed according to the Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA). However, The AEC is not available in the performance assessment conducted in Korea. Also, there is no study made on the performance of the automatic exposure control system for mammography in Korea. For this reason, this study examined the performance of the automatic exposure control system for mammography that was clinically used in the Incheon area. Result showed that the difference of the mean optical density was 0.79 ~ 2.81. This implies that some devices caused unnecessary x-ray exposure to patients. Furthermore, only 61.5% of the entire experimental device was shown to be satisfactory in terms of change in mean optical density. Moreover, in terms of the subject's thickness, change in radiographic density was shown to be severe among lower X-ray tube voltage while there was severe density change in X-ray image depending on X-ray tube voltage among the subjects with more thickness. Therefore, it is suggested to provide performance management on the AEC for mammography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Episodes of large-scale transport of airborne dust and anthropogenic pollutant particles from different sources in the East Asian continent in 2008 were identified by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite RGB (red, green, and blue)-composite images and the mass concentrations of ground level particulate matter. These particles were divided into dust, sea salt, smoke plume, and sulfate by an aerosol classification algorithm. To analyze the aerosol size distribution during large-scale transport of atmospheric aerosols, aerosol optical depth (AOD) and fine aerosol weighting (FW) of moderate imaging spectroradiometer aerosol products were used over the East Asian region. Six episodes of massive airborne dust particles, originating from sandstorms in northern China, Mongolia, and the Loess Plateau of China, were observed at Cheongwon. Classified dust aerosol types were distributed on a large-scale over the Yellow Sea region. The average PM10 and PM2.5 ratio to the total mass concentration TSP were 70% and 15%, respectively. However, the mass concentration of PM2.5 among TSP increased to as high as 23% in an episode where dust traveled in by way of an industrial area in eastern China. In the other five episodes of anthropogenic pollutant particles that flowed into the Korean Peninsula from eastern China, the anthropogenic pollutant particles were largely detected in the form of smoke over the Yellow Sea region. The average PM10 and PM2.5 ratios to TSP were 82% and 65%, respectively. The ratio of PM2.5 mass concentrations among TSP varied significantly depending on the origin and pathway of the airborne dust particles. The average AOD for the large-scale transport of anthropogenic pollutant particles in the East Asian region was measured to be 0.42 ± 0.17, which is higher in terms of the rate against atmospheric aerosols as compared with the AOD (0.36 ± 0.13) for airborne dust particles with sandstorms. In particular, the region ranging from eastern China, the Yellow Sea, and the Korean Peninsula to the Korea East Sea was characterized by high AOD distributions. In the episode of anthropogenic polluted aerosols, FW averaged 0.63 ± 0.16, a value higher than that in the episode of airborne dust particles (0.52 ± 0.13) with sandstorms, showing that fine anthropogenic pollutant particles contribute greatly to atmospheric aerosols in East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-scale air pollution transport (LSAPT) in the Yellow Sea region and their inflow onto the Korean Peninsula were observed through satellite images and ground measurements. LSAPT includes regional continental air-masses saturated with pollutants originating from China and subsequently landing on or passing through the Korean Peninsula. It is also possible to identify the distribution and transport patterns of LSAPT over the Yellow Sea. The ground concentrations for PM10, PM2.5 and CO measured at Cheongwon, located in the centre of south Korea, were compared with NOAA satellite images. Notably, the episodes observed of the LSAPT show a PM2.5 to PM10 ratio of 74% of the daily maximum concentrations. However, cases of duststorms were clearly distinguished by much higher PM10 concentrations and a ratio of 30% of PM2.5 to PM10 for daily maximum concentrations. For the episode on January 27, 2006, the inflow of a regionally polluted continental air-mass into the central and southwestern regions of the Korean Peninsula was observed sequentially at various ground observatories as well as by satellite. The north airflow dissipated the clouds over Mt. Halla on Jeju Island and further downwind, reducing air pollution and creating a von Kármán vortex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous monitoring of sand and duststorms (SD) and associated heavy dustfall (HD) is made in Korea. In particular, accurate measurements of atmospheric dust loadings have been carried out with the tapered element oscillating microbalance method, and satellite detection of dust clouds is included in the analysis. In 2002, we found three gigantic dust clouds that moved over the Korean Peninsula, and associated HD occurred with PM10 values of 1106–3006 μg m−3. In Beijing, China much higher concentrations were recorded, while in SW Japan measured values were up to 986 μg m−3. Two SD occurred in March and April, while the third one occurred unusually in November. During the year, there were nine cases of reddish-brown sand with 18 dusty days. The intensity of HD was extraordinary for the recent decade. It was observed that with invading SD, the higher the PM10 values the lower the PM2.5 loadings. Also, variations of visibility were more depending on PM2.5 variations than PM10 values. It is shown that satellite detection is a useful technique in monitoring SD and HD. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]