• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
• /
• 제20권2호
• /
• pp.179-186
• /
• 2005

Particulate materials (PM) less than 10 ${\mu}m$ in diameter are of special interest in air pollution because they are respirable and responsible for the increasing mortality rate of lung cancer and cardiovascular diseases. These particles are often referred to as $PM_{10}$ and they are divided into a coarse fraction and a fine fraction which is also often referred to as $PM_{25}$. In this study, we monitored the TSP, $PM_{10},\;PM_{2.5}$ concentration of ambient air collected in northern part of Seoul in early spring and measured the concentration of heavy metals; Cr, Mn, Zn, As, Cd, and Pb. All the heavy metals were found in the collected particles and the concentrations were variable in the $PM_{10},\;and\;PM_{2.5}$ respectively. The detected concentration ranges were Cr: $ND\~2,889ng/m^3,\;Mn:2.4\~257.9ng/m^3,\;Zn:ND\~353.7ng/m^3,\; As:ND\~22.3ng/m^3,\;Cd:0.1\~2.9ng/m^3,\;and\;Pb:ND\~392.2ng/m^3$ in fine particles. Heavy metal toxicity of the particles were also tested in $H_9C_2$ cell line derived from rat cardiomyocytes. As for the results of health risk assessment calculated by unit risk of IRIS, heavy metals in ambient air of Seoul metropolitan area were found to be responsible for the increase of total excess cancer risk. Among them, chromium (hexavalent) was found to be the most risky in fine particles of ambient air collected in the northern part of Seoul in early spring.

• 한국지하수토양환경학회지:지하수토양환경
• /
• 제17권5호
• /
• pp.68-74
• /
• 2012

The objective of this study is to examine a releasable asbestos sampler developed for measuring friable asbestos from soil to air controlled by wind velocity and water contents. Asbestos contaminated soil with 3.75% at the Sinsuk-asbestos mine was sampled, air-dried and sieved to 100 mesh, then homogenized during 24 hours' agitation. Various wind velocities, 1 m/s, 2 m/s, 3 m/s, and 5 m/s, were applied to evaluate releasable characteristics of the releasable asbestos sampler. In addition, soils with 1.0%, 3.4%, 4.4%, 11.0%, 16.2%, and 20.0% of water contents were also examined the amount of friable asbestos by the releasable asbestos sampler. Collected soil and air samples were analyzed by polarized light microscopy (PLM) and phase contrast microscopy (PCM), respectively. Those contents were applied to calculate an excess life cancer risk (ELCR). This study also discussed the relationship with risk assessment by a weeding scenario of activity based sampling (ABS) and field applied releasable asbestos sampler. The result was shown that friability of asbestos in soil increased with wind velocity and decreased with water content. In comparison with ELCR results, over 10E-4 of cancer risk was found in condition on < 5% water content and > 3m/s wind velocity.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• 제2권4호
• /
• pp.375-379
• /
• 2011

Control Banding (CB) strategies to prevent work-related illness and injury for 2.5 billion workers without access to health and safety professionals has grown exponentially this last decade. CB originates from the pharmaceutical industry to control active pharmaceutical ingredients without a complete toxicological basis and therefore no occupational exposure limits. CB applications have broadened into chemicals in general - including new emerging risks like nanomaterials and recently into ergonomics and injury prevention. CB is an action-oriented qualitative risk assessment strategy offering solutions and control measures to users through "toolkits". Chemical CB toolkits are user-friendly approaches used to achieve workplace controls in the absence of firm toxicological and quantitative exposure information. The model (technical) validation of these toolkits is well described, however firm operational analyses (implementation aspects) are lacking. Consequentially, it is often not known if toolkit use leads to successful interventions at individual workplaces. This might lead to virtual safe workplaces without knowing if workers are truly protected. Upcoming international strategies from the World Health Organization Collaborating Centers request assistance in developing and evaluating action-oriented procedures for workplace risk assessment and control. It is expected that to fulfill this strategy's goals, CB approaches will continue its important growth in protecting workers.

• 한국안전학회지
• /
• 제37권4호
• /
• pp.120-128
• /
• 2022

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are a basic component in the electronics industry and are widely used in nearly all electronic products, such as mobile phones, tablet computers, and digital cameras, as well as in electric equipment. PCB manufacturing involves the use of many chemicals and chemical processes and therefore has more risks than other manufacturing sectors. This study aims to identify the causes of possible accidents during PCB manufacturing through risk assessment, develop and implement safety measures, and evaluate the effectiveness of these measures. Note that the safety measures developed to mitigate the risks of a certain process were also implemented for other similar processes. The risk assessments conducted over seven years, from 2015 to 2021, at a PCB manufacturing company identified 361 hazardous processes. Between 2016 and 2019, 41-56 hazardous processes were identified per year; such processes decreased to fewer than 20 per year after 2020. Application of the risk assessment results to the improvement of the hazardous processes with the similar characteristics seems to be effective in decreasing the risks. Equipment-related factors such as lack of appropriate maintenance, low work standards, and defective protection devices were responsible for 59.8% of all possible accidents. Because PCB manufacturing involves many chemicals, skin contact with hazardous substances, electric shock, fire, and explosion were the most common types of possible accidents (81.7%). In total, 505 safety measures were implemented, including 157 related to purchase and improvement of equipment and devices for safety (31.1%), 147 related to the installation/modification of fire prevention facilities (29.1%), and 69 related to the use of standard electrical appliances (13.7%). Risk assessment conducted after implementing the safety measures showed that these measures significantly decreased risk; 247 processes (68.4%) had a risk level of 3, corresponding to "very low," and 114 processes (31.6%) showed a risk level of 4, corresponding to "low." In particular, risk assessment of 104 processes with risk scores of 12 and 10 other processes with risk score of 16 showed that the risk decreased to 4 after implementing the safety measures. Thus, implementing these measures in similar manufacturing sectors that involve chemical processes can mitigate risk.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
• /
• 제49권1호
• /
• pp.4.1-4.9
• /
• 2024

Objectives: This study aims to correlate caries-causing microorganism load, lactic acid estimation, and blood groups to high caries risk in diabetic and non-diabetic individuals and low caries risk in healthy individuals. Materials and Methods: This study includes 30 participants divided into 3 groups: Group A, High-risk caries diabetic individuals; Group B, High-risk caries non-diabetic individuals; and Group C, Low-risk caries individuals. The medical condition, oral hygiene, and caries risk assessment (American Dental Association classification and International Caries Detection and Assessment System scoring) were documented. Each individual's 3 mL of saliva was analyzed for microbial load and lactic acid as follows: Part I: 2 mL for microbial quantity estimation using nutrient agar and blood agar medium, biochemical investigation, and carbohydrate fermentation tests; Part II: 0.5 mL for lactic acid estimation using spectrophotometric analysis. Among the selected individuals, blood group correlation was assessed. The χ² test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and post hoc analysis were done using Dunn's test (p < 0.05). Results: Group A had the highest microbial load and lactic acid concentration, followed by Groups B and C. The predominant bacteria were Lactobacilli (63.00 ± 15.49) and Streptococcus mutans (76.00 ± 13.90) in saliva. Blood Group B is prevalent in diabetic and non-diabetic high-risk caries patients but statistically insignificant. Conclusions: Diabetic individuals are more susceptible to dental caries due to high microbial loads and increased lactic acid production. These factors also lower the executing tendency of neutrophils, which accelerates microbial accumulation and increases the risk of caries in diabetic individuals.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
• /
• 제25권3호
• /
• pp.229-240
• /
• 2010

During the last decade, perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) have gained more attention due to their toxicity and global distribution. The aim of this study was to examine the distribution and bioaccumulation of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in aquatic wildlife effected from a sewage treatment plant. The concentrations of 12 PFCs were determined in water, sediment and fish samples. PFOS were predominantly detected in both ambient environment and fish. In fish, the concentration of PFCs in blood was the highest (i.e., 112.47 ng/mL wet-wt. PFOS) in comparison to other tissues. However, PFOA and PFHpS were highly detected in gonad as 3.87 and 4.58 ng/g wet-wt., respectively. The bioconcentration factor (BCF) of PFCs was greatest in the blood > liver${\cong}$gonad > kidney > gill, and lowest in the muscle tissue. The BCFs of PFUnDA (39,000), PFDA (2,700) and PFOS (1,100) were rated as high values based on wet weight concentration. BCFs increased with increasing the length of the perfluoralkyl chain.

• 한국식품위생안전성학회지
• /
• 제35권6호
• /
• pp.552-560
• /
• 2020

L. monocytogenes는 고병원성 식중독 세균으로 치즈, 식육 및 식육가공품, 훈제연어 등을 통해 식중독을 일으킨다. 현재 국내 식품공전 상 치즈에서는 L. monocytogenes에 대하여 불검출 기준을 적용하고 있으나, 이에 대한 과학적 근거가 확실하지 않고 L. monocytogenes 식중독에 대한 국민의 경각심을 일깨우기 위하여 기존에 수행된 연구들을 토대로 위해평가를 실시하였다. 그 결과, 치즈에 L. monocytogenes의 초기오염수준은 -4.0 Log CFU/g으로 확인되었다. 2018년 국민건강영양조사 결과 치즈의 섭취자 비율은 11.8%이고, 치즈 섭취량에 대한 최적확률분포는 Lognormal distribution이며 평균 32.5 g의 치즈를 섭취하는 것으로 확인되었다. 치즈 섭취로 인한 L. monocytogenes 식중독 발생 가능성은 일반군에서 평균 5.09×10-7, 민감군에서 평균 4.32×10-6로 분석되어, 민감군에서의 식중독 발생 가능성이 다소 높은 것으로 확인되었다. 식중독 발생 가능성에는 섭취자 비율이 가장 큰 영향을 미치지만 보관 및 운송 시간 또한 영향을 미치는 것으로 확인되어 유통환경에 대한 철저한 관리가 중요한 것으로 사료된다. 본 위해평가를 통하여 치즈에서의 L. monocytogenes의 기준규격을 뒷받침 할 수 있는 과학적인 데이터를 확보할 수 있었다. 향후 다양한 식품에서의 L. monocytogenes 위해평가 연구가 수행되어야 할 것으로 사료된다.

• 한국재난정보학회 논문집
• /
• 제18권4호
• /
• pp.828-838
• /
• 2022

연구목적: 위험성평가의 전산시스템 구축을 통해 건설현장에서 위험성평가 대상 공종 근로자가 쉽게 작성할 수 있고 효율적 위험성평가 활동으로 재해 저감을 기대할 수 있는지의 사례 분석을 목적으로 한다. 연구방법: 작업공종 분류만으로 해당작업의 위험요인과 안전대책을 제공받아 위험추정과 대책수립을 할 수 있으며, 해당작업의 재해사례 제시로 실질적 재해예방 활동이 가능하도록 시스템을 구축하였다. 연구결과: H건설사의 ERP내 위험성평가 전산시스템 구축 이후 현장적용에 따른 년간 환산재해율 변화분석을 통해 국내 건설업의 환산재해율이 증가하는 반면 H건설사의 환산재해율은 감소하였음을 확인하였다. 결론: 위험성평가 전산시스템화를 통해 현장작업 대상 근로자가 위험성평가에 쉽게 접근할 수 있고 해당공정의 위험요인 평가 및 위험예방 대책의 수립이 가능하게 되어, 평가 기간 동안 실제 재해율 감소에 영향이 있는 것으로 분석되었다.

• 한국연소학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 한국연소학회 2014년도 제49회 KOSCO SYMPOSIUM 초록집
• /
• pp.113-113
• /
• 2014

This study has been conducted for evaluation of qualitative/quantitative risk of HCNG filling station. In case of fire explosion occurred because of hydrogen, CNG, and HCNG leaking on same conditions, maximum overpressure was measured as 30kPa for hydrogen, 3.5kPa for HCNG, and 0.4kPa for CNG. The overpressure of HCNG was measured 7.75 times higher than that of CNG, but it was only 11.7% compared with hydrogen. When the explosion was occurred, in case of hydrogen, the measured influential distance of overpressure was 59m and radiant heat was 75m. In case of CNG, influential distance of overpressure was 89m and radiant heat was 144m would be estimated. In case of 30% HCNG that was blended with hydrogen and CNG, influential distance of overpressure was 81m and radiant heat was 130m were measured. As the explosion occurred with the same sized container that had 350bar for hydrogen and 250bar of CNG and HCNG, the damage distance that explosive overpressure and radiant heat influenced CNG was seen as the highest. HCNG that was placed between CNG and hydrogen tended to be seen as more similar with CNG.

• 환경영향평가
• /
• 제22권1호
• /
• pp.89-97
• /
• 2013

RADCONS Ver. 1.0 (RADiological CONSequence Assessment Program) was developed for radiological risk assessment in this study. A Gaussian plume model was used to analyze the fate and transport of radionuclides released into the air in case of accidents. Both single meterological data and time series meterological data can be used in RADCONS. To assess the radiological risk of the early phase after an accident, ED (Effective Dose) estimated by both deterministic and probabilistic approaches are presented. These EDs by deterministic and probabilistic will be helpful to efficient decision making for decision makers. External doses from deposited materials by time are presented for quantifying the effects of mid and late phases of an accident. A radiological risk assessment was conducted using RADCONS for an accident scenario of 1 Ci of Cs-137. The maximum of ED for radii of 1,000 meters from the accident point was 8.51E-4 mSv. After Monte-Carlo simulation, considering the uncertainty of the breathing rate and dispersion parameters, the average ED was 8.49E-4, and the 95 percentile was 1.10E-3. A data base of the dose coefficients and a sampling module of the meteorological data will be modified to improve the user's convenience in the next version.