A Preliminary Research Study for Distribution Characteristics and Sources of Indoor Air Pollutants in the Valuable Archive of the National Library of Korea

Hye-Won Lee, Jeong-In Jeon, Hui-Been Lim, Kwi-Bok Lee, So-Yeon Park and Cheol-Min Lee
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Hye-Won Lee: Department of Health Science, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea
Jeong-In Jeon: Department of Nano & Biological Engineering, SeoKyeong University, Seoul 02713, Korea
Hui-Been Lim: Department of Nano & Biological Engineering, SeoKyeong University, Seoul 02713, Korea
Kwi-Bok Lee: Research Center of the Records Preservation, National Library of Korea, Seoul 06579, Korea
So-Yeon Park: Research Center of the Records Preservation, National Library of Korea, Seoul 06579, Korea
Cheol-Min Lee: Institute of Risk Assessment, SeoKyeong University, Seoul 02713, Korea

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: Important records can be damaged directly and indirectly. Their restoration, if possible, is difficult as it is very time-consuming and costly. Although measures have been taken to permanently preserve records, most studies focus on preventing short-term damage from physical or biological factors and not on preventive measures against chemical damage from long-term polluted air exposure. This study investigated the types, concentrations, and distribution characteristics of hazardous chemicals present in the valuable archive of the National Library of Korea (NLK) and identified the sources of these pollutants. Mean SO 2 , NO X , CO, CO 2 , and total volatile organic compound (TVOC) concentrations were 1.49 ± 0.44 ppb, 30.52 ± 19.70 ppb, 0.75 ± 0.21 ppm, 368.91 ± 32.23 ppm, and 320.03 ± 44.20 µg/m 3 , respectively, meeting the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) of Korea standards. Toluene (66.43 ± 10.69 µg/m 3 ) and acetaldehyde (157.23 ± 6.43 µg/m 3 ) were present at the highest concentrations, respectively. Two principal components were extracted via a principal component analysis; the primary component (66%) was closely related to outdoor pollution sources and the secondary component (33%) to indoor sources. Results contribute to establishing air quality standards and management measures for preservation of this archive.

Keywords: indoor air quality; library; valuable archive; national archives; VOCs; aldehydes; pollutant sources; principal component analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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