• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.32-38
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• 2023

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the characteristics of patients injured by high-rotation cutting tools and the factors related to the severity of their injuries. Methods: Adult patients (≥18 years), who presented to the emergency department (ED) after a high-rotation cutting tool injury and who were registered in the Korean Emergency Department-based Injury In-Depth Surveillance (2011-2018) database, were included. Patients' demographic characteristics, injury-related factors, and Injury Severity Scores were collected. All included cases were categorized into two groups according to the tool that caused the injury: grinder versus nongrinder. The characteristics of the two groups were compared, and the factors associated with the severity of injuries were investigated. Results: Among 8,697 ED visits, 4,603 patients had been using a grinder and 4,094 had been using a nongrinder tool. The most frequently injured body part while using a grinder was the hand (46.4%), followed by the head (23.0%). While using a nongrinder tool, the most frequently injured body part was also the hand (64.0%), followed by the lower leg (11.4%). The odds of a severe injury were affected by patient age (odds ratio [OR], 1.024; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.020-1.028) and using a grinder (OR, 2.073; 95% CI, 1.877-2.290). The odds of a severe injury using a grinder were higher in arm injuries (OR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.40-1.83) and multiple-part injuries (OR, 1.998; 95% CI, 1.639-2.437). The odds of a severe injury using a grinder were lower for head injuries (OR, 0.481; 95% CI, 0.297-0.781). Conclusions: Injuries from grinders were more likely to affect the head and neck than nongrinder injuries, despite the lower severity. The current lack of regulations on grinders in occupational safety and health standards warrants relevant legislation and the development of applicable safety equipment.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.53 no.10
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• pp.845-859
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• 2020

Climate change and recent heat waves have drawn public attention toward other environmental issues, such as water pollution in the form of algal blooms, chemical leaks, and oil spills. Water pollution by the leakage of chemicals may severely affect human health as well as contaminate the air, water, and soil and cause discoloration or death of crops that come in contact with these chemicals. Chemicals that may spill into water streams are often colorless and water-soluble, which makes it difficult to determine whether the water is polluted using the naked eye. When a chemical spill occurs, it is usually detected through a simple contact detection device by installing sensors at locations where leakage is likely to occur. The drawback with the approach using contact detection sensors is that it relies heavily on the skill of field workers. Moreover, these sensors are installed at a limited number of locations, so spill detection is not possible in areas where they are not installed. Recently hyperspectral images have been used to identify land cover and vegetation and to determine water quality by analyzing the inherent spectral characteristics of these materials. While hyperspectral sensors can potentially be used to detect chemical substances, there is currently a lack of research on the detection of chemicals in water streams using hyperspectral sensors. Therefore, this study utilized remote sensing techniques and the latest sensor technology to overcome the limitations of contact detection technology in detecting the leakage of hazardous chemical into aquatic systems. In this study, we aimed to determine whether 18 types of hazardous chemicals could be individually classified using hyperspectral image. To this end, we obtained hyperspectral images of each chemical to establish a spectral library. We expect that future studies will expand the spectral library database for hazardous chemicals and that verification of its application in water streams will be conducted so that it can be applied to real-time monitoring to facilitate rapid detection and response when a chemical spill has occurred.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.139-146
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• 2010

The survey was done in order to find what kinds of birds visit Taeanhaean National Park during breeding season, where we fixed up 10 coastal areas and islands within the National Park. Three groups concurrently performed the field research from 5th to 9th of July in 2009. Total 58 species and 7,323 individuals were recorded in Taeanhaean National Park. 48 species including 6,187 individuals were observed in coastal areas and 33 species including 1,136 individuals in island areas. The most dominant species in the National Park are Larus crassirostris which accounts for 60% of the birds inhabiting there, and they seem to have been bred in the islands near the National Park. The birds observed only around the coastal areas include Anas poecilorhyncha, Fulica atra, Egretta intermedia and the others which consist of 25 species and amount to 318 individuals, and the birds found exclusively in island areas include Phalacrocorax filamentosus, Apus pacificus¸ Locustella pleskei and other birds, which consist of 10 species and the number of those individuals observed was 308. The inhabited islands areas such as Gauido were characterized by high ratio of waterbird population, which seems to be correlated with the factors such as the extent of island, the richness of water resources, and the diversity of habitats. Based on the data collected during the research and other data from the previous observations, the kinds of dominant species remain nearly unchanged. And in spite of the oil spill accident in 2007, the increase in the number of waterbirds compared to 2004 may be the evidence that the area is recovering from the environmental pollution. At present, the tidal power plants are being built or scheduled to be built and large-scale reclamation is also under way. What is worse, those areas are seeing the increase of pension construction, which is likely to be the potential cause of damage and disturbance against some key habitats for the waterbirds. Therefore, it is a major priority that we build the bird information system to efficiently manage the knowledge-based asset collected from bird-watching groups and to better monitor the areas that need enhanced database through which the National Park can be appropriately administered.