• Journal of Wellbeing Management and Applied Psychology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.49-56
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• 2024

Purpose: Construction sites are currently facing a socialization problem as the incidence of thermal disease-related disasters increases due to summer heat waves, exacerbated by factors like the concentration of middle-aged and older workers and global warming. The reason why construction sites are particularly vulnerable to heat waves is that there are many outdoor work, which is the peculiarity of the construction industry, and most of the construction workers are elderly. This study analyzes disaster statistics of workers at construction sites for five years to investigate the occurrence of thermal diseases and analyze factors through disaster cases to provide basic data for future disasters to be reduced. Research design, data, and methodology: According to the Construction Workers' Mutual Aid Association, as of June, more than 60% of the construction workers working in the field were in their 50s and 60s. More than 24% are in their 60s and older. Thermal diseases caused by heat waves occur when exposed to high heat or strong sunlight for a long time, accompanied by headaches and dizziness. The problem is that many elderly people have underlying diseases, so if they lose consciousness, they cannot easily recover and are likely to die. Results: According to industrial accident statistics, 182 people were injured by heat-related diseases in the summer from 2016 to 2021, of which 29 died. In particular, in the construction industry, which has a lot of outdoor work, 87 people were injured and 20 people died. Conclusions: In order to prevent heat diseases caused by outdoor work, it is emphasized that exposure time is controlled, and sufficient rest and hydration are essential. Rest, water, and shade are in line with the three principles.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.50-59
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• 2023

As the diversity of disasters continues to increase, the concept of "complex disasters" has gained prominence in various policies and studies related to disaster management. However, there has been a certain limitation in the availability of the systematic statistics or data in advancing policies and research initiatives related to complex disasters. This study aims to analyze the macro-level characteristics of the complex disasters that have occurred domestically utilizing a 30-year span of a news data. Initially, we categorize the complex disasters into the three types: "Natural disaster-Natural disaster", "Natural disaster-Social disaster", and "Social disaster-Social disaster". As a result, the "natural diaster-social disaster" type is the most prevalent. It is noted that "natual disaster-natural disaster" type has increased significantly in recent 10 years (2011-2020). In terms of specific disaster types, "Storm and Flood", "Collapse", "Traffic Accident", "National Infrastructure Paralysis", and "Fire⋅Explosion" occur the most in conjunction with other disasters in a complex manner. It has been observed that the types of disasters co-ocuuring with others have become more diverse over time. Parcicularly, in recent 10 years (2011-2020), in addition to the aforementioned five types, "Heat Wave", "Heavy Snowfall⋅Cold Wave", "Earthquake", "Chemical Accident", "Infectious Disease", "Forest Fire", "Air Pollution", "Drought", and "Landslide" have been notable for their frequent co-occurrence with other disasters. These findings through the statistical analysis of the complex disasters using long-term news data are expected to serve as crucial data for future policy development and research on complex disaster management.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.747-757
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• 2020

Purpose: This study noted that even similar environmental conditions caused by the heat wave were differentiated depending on the internal characteristics of the individual, so there was a difference in the extent of the damage. Thus, the relationship between individual psychological characteristics and experiences of the symptoms of thermal diseases was analyzed. Method: The influence of construction workers was analyzed through questioning of individual characteristics and psychological measures of self-esteem, self-esteem, and personality that may be related to heat wave damage, depending on whether they have experienced symptoms of thermal diseases. Results: Logistic regression shows that responsibility affects positive (+) experience of symptoms of heat disease and self-esteem in groups negatively (-) experience of symptoms of heat illness. Conclusion: This study presented basic data as the first study to analyze obsessive compulsive, self-respect and personality of construction workers who are vulnerable to heat waves to identify the psychological characteristics of victims of heat waves.

• Journal of Appropriate Technology
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.118-125
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• 2019

Climate change is one part of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to the Fifth Assessment Report by the Inter- governmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) published in 2014, global warming is caused by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The most important GHG is carbon dioxide (CO₂), which is released by the burning of fossil fuels and, to a lesser extent, by land use practices, followed by nitrous oxide and methane. IPCC predicts that global temperatures will rise 3.7℃ and sea level will rise 0.63 m by 2099 in the case of no strong restraint. According to the report, we can expect a massive species extinctions, changes in storm and drought cycles, altered ocean circulation, and redistribution of vegetation by global warming. However, climate changes, especially global warming, are the largest potential threat to human health and the source of a number of diseases globally. If climate changes are continued uncontrolled, human health will be adversely affected by the accelerating climate change and the natural disaster induced by climate change. It means we will face more serious conditions of injury, disease, and death related to natural disasters such as flood, drought, heat waves, malnutrition, more allergy, air pollution and climate change related infections related to morbidity and mortality. This review emphasizes on the relationship between global climate changes and human health and provides some suggestions for improvement.