코로나-19 발생 전후 대기오염물질 농도 및 대한민국 성인들의 소변 시료 중 환경유해인자 농도의 변화: 제4기 국민환경보건 기초조사(2018~2020)

Changes in the Concentration of Environmental Pollutants in Ambient Air and the Urine of Korean Adults Before and After the Outbreak of COVID-19: Korean National Health and Environmental Survey Cycle 4 (2018~2020)

Background: COVID19 changed the lives of people all over the world, including emissions and exposure to environmental pollutants. Objectives: This study aimed to determine whether there was a difference between the concentration of air pollutants and the internal exposure levels of the South Korean general population before and after the outbreak of the COVID19 pandemic. Methods: For the period from 2018 to 2020, when the Korean National Health and Environmental Survey (KoNEHS) Cycle 4 was conducted, 2018~2019 was classified as pre-COVID and 2020 as COVID, respectively. Air pollution data during this period were obtained from Air Korea (www.airkorea.or.kr). KoNEHS cycle 4 data were used as biomonitoring data to determine internal exposures. Results: During the COVID period, the concentrations of particulate matter (18.0% for PM2.5 and 18.4% for PM10) significantly decreased compared to pre-COVID. Concentrations of volatile organic compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons also decreased, but not to a statistically significant degree. The concentrations of urinary mercury, 1-hydroxyphenanthrene, 2-hydroxyfluorene, cadmium and 1-hydroxyryrene from KoNEHS data decreased significantly during the COVID period. Conclusions: This study suggests that air pollution and internal exposure levels during COVID were lower than during the pre-COVID pandemic period. These findings indicate that lifestyle changes and reduced activities during the pandemic may have contributed to the observed decrease in environmental exposure.