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http://dx.doi.org/10.15269/JKSOEH.2015.25.1.72

Asbestos Exposure and Risk Assessment by ABS(Activity Based Sampling) for Former Asbestos Mining Areas in Korea  

Lee, Junhyeok (Hyundai Steel, Health Management Team)
Kim, Daejong (Dept. of Ophthalmic Optics, Kyungdong University)
Choi, Sungwon (Dept. of Prev. Med., College of Med., The Catholic University of Korea)
Kim, Hyunwook (Dept. of Prev. Med., College of Med., The Catholic University of Korea)
Publication Information
Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene / v.25, no.1, 2015 , pp. 72-81 More about this Journal
Abstract
Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the exposure and risk assessment of residents near asbestos mines in Korea. Methods: To assess asbestos types and airborne concentrations, air monitoring was performed in the neighborhoods of Kwangcheon (KC) and Sinsuk (SS) mines, which were leading South Korean mines in the past. In addition, activity-based-sampling (ABS) of residents' particular activities were conducted in order to estimate the Excess Lifetime Cancer Risks (ELCRs) for the residents. Conclusions: The average concentration of airborne asbestos in KC was 0.0014 f/cc and 0.0015 f/cc by PCM and TEM, respectively. In SS it was equal at 0.0012 f/cc by PCM and TEM. No statistically significant difference was found in the average concentration of airborne asbestos between the two mines. The average asbestos concentration of ABS was 0.0048 f/cc (PCM) and 0.0042 f/cc (TEM) in KC, while it was 0.0137 f/cc (PCM) and 0.0125 f/cc (TEM) in SS. It was found that the average asbestos concentration of ABS in SS was statistically significantly higher than that of KC (p<0.01). The results of ELCRs by scenario in KC showed that the scenarios of bicycle, car, weed control, weed whacking, child playing in the dirt, and physical training fell within $1{\times}0^{-6}-1{\times}10^{-4}$, which is the acceptable range of ELCR. The scenarios of motorcycle, walker, digging, and field sweeping, however, exceeded the acceptable range. In SS, only the scenario of car fell within the acceptable range, while all of the other scenarios exceeded the acceptable range.
Keywords
asbestos concentration; activity based sampling; excess lifetime cancer risk;
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