• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.13-27
• /
• 1988

Two asbestos slate manufacturing and seven asbestos textile plants in Korea were surveyed from May 20 to July 2, 1987. The purposes of this study were to evaluate 1) worker exposure to asbestos, 2) compliance to the standards and 3) the efficiency of existing local exhaust systems. Sixty-two personal samples and eighty-three area samples were collected and analyzed using "NIOSH 7400" method. Results of this study were as follows. 1. The asbesots exposure concentrations in asbestos textile plants were 1.3 - 14.3 fibers/cc(geometric mean(GM), 4.4 fibers/cc). 2. Worker exposure level to asbestos fiber in asbestos slate manufacturing industry was 0.21 fibers/cc during wet processing, which is below the Korean Standard of 2 fibers/cc. 3. Most local exhaust systems installed in asbestos textile plants were inadequately designed. 4. Ninety-six percent of the 145 samples exceeded the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 0.2 fibers/cc and forty-nine percent of the samples exceeded the Korean Standatd of 2 fibers/cc.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.123-136
• /
• 2013

Objectives: This paper was prepapred to report airborne asbestos fiber concentrations in asbestos textile, brake-lining, commutator, and building materials manufacturing industries, and some other asbestos related industries in Korea from 1994 to 2006. Methods: Airborne asbestos data that have been sampled and analyzed in the above industries during 1994-2006 were collected. These data were reviewed to scrutinize the qualified data based on the records such as sampling and analyzed method and quality control procedures. All asbestos data were generated using the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) Method 7400. Results: Average concentration of asbestos fiber was 2.14 fibers/cc(0.02-15.6 fibers/cc) in the asbestos textile industry, 0.26 fibers/cc(0.01-1.01 fibers/cc) in the building-materials industry, 0.15 fibers/cc(0.01-0.93 fibers/cc) in the brake-lining manufacturing industry, and 0.14 fibers/cc(0.03-1.36 fibers/cc) in the commutator producing industry. For these industries, the percentage of samples of which asbestos fiber concentrations above the limit of exposure(0.1 fibers/cc) was 97.6% in the asbestos textile industry, 62.3% in the building-materials industry, 53.5% in the brake-lining manufacturing industry, and 34.3% in the commutator producing industry. Asbestos fiber concentration was below the limit of exposure in the gasket producing, petrochemistry, musical instrument producing industries, and the brake-lining exchange operations. Conclusions: Airborne asbestos fiber level in the asbestos textile, brake-lining producing, commutator and building-material producing industries was above the limit of exposure, but in the gasket producing, petrochemistry, musical instrument producing industries and the brake-lining exchange operations were below the limit of exposure.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.1 no.2
• /
• pp.144-153
• /
• 1991

This study was conducted to evaluate worker exposure to airborne asbestos fibers by industry, and to evaluate polarized-light microscopy for determining airborne asbestos fibers. A total of 11 plants including asbestos textile, brake-lining manufacturing, slate manufacturing, and automobile maintenance shops were investigated. Rsults of the study are summarized as follows. 1. Worker exposure levels to airborne asbestos fibers were the highest in asbestos textile industry, followed by brake-lining manufacturing, slate manufacturing, and automobile maintenance shops, in order. In asbestos textile industry, large variation of asbestos levels was found by plants. The worst plant indicated airborne fiber concentrations in excess of 10 fibers/cc, however, the best plant showed concentrations within 0.50 fibers/cc. 2. Characterization of airborne fibers by industry indicated that fibers from asbestos textile industry were the longest with the largest aspect ratio. Fibers from automobile maintenance shops were the shortest with the smallest aspect ratio. Based on characteristics of fibers and the highest levels of concentrations, it is concluded that workers in the asbestos textile industry are exposed to the highest risk of producing asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma. 3. Result s obtained using polarized-light microscopy were $43.7{\pm}12.3%$ of the results obtained using phase contrast microscopy. This may be resulted from the worse resolution of polarized-light microscopy than that of phase contrast microscopy. Based on the results, it is recommended that polarized-light microscopy be used for mainly bulk sample analyses and further study be performed to improve the method for determining airborne samples. However, polarized-light microscopy can be used for determining thick fibers.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.108-115
• /
• 2008

This study was performed to investigate the current status, in Korea, of the production of asbestos containing products (ACPs) such as asbestos cement products, asbestos friction materials, asbestos joint sheets, asbestos textile products, and other asbestos-containing products from May 2 to July 30, 2007. The information on ACPs was obtained through written questionnaires from 16 of the 27 companies that produce ACPs in Korea. The production amounts of asbestos containing gaskets were 70 tons in 2004, 90 tons in 2005, and 55 tons in 2006 in 4 companies and that of asbestos friction materials were 435.5 tons in 2004, 540.4 tons in 2005, and 454.3s ton in 2006 in 10 companies. The type and number of ACPs were:- 19 asbestos cement products, produced by 2 companies; 47 asbestos friction materials produced by 18 companies; 12 asbestos joint sheets productes by 4 companies; 18 asbestos textile products from 3 companies, and 6 other asbestos products from 5 companies. The database of ACPs was constructed to include the products name, identification number, name of company, production year, composition, asbestos content (%), usage, specification, and a picture. The database will be used to efficiently identify ACPs and to avoid asbestos exposure in workers and the general population.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.16-39
• /
• 1995

From July 8 to September 2 1994, asbestos exposure level among asbestos textile workers was surveyed. Six plants out of plants in Korea were selected for this study. In addition to the exposure level, the relationship between the level of exposure and some factors affecting exposure were studied. Also, using historical data of asbestos concentrations in asbestos textile plants plus current data, trend of asbestos exposure level could be introduced. Historical exposure level was estimated on the basis of these data. The main results of this study are follows. 1. Average concentration of all six plants surveyed was 1.54 f/cc, and range of those concentrations was 0.03 - 11.58 f/cc. The minimum average concentration was 0.32 f/cc and the maximum was 8.04 f/cc which is four times higher than the Korean standard. A wide difference of exposure level among the workers of different plants was observed. In three plants, the half of all the plants surveyed, their average concentrations exceeded the Korean standard, and those in all the plants exceeded the ACGIH TLV. 2. Among total 56 samples, 22 samples(39%) were in excess of the Korean standard, and 53 samples(95%) were above the ACGIH TLV. Among 32 personal samples, 15 samples(47%) exceeded the Korean standard, and 30 samples(94%) exceeded the ACGIH TLV. Among 24 area samples excluding a few samples collected in office area, seven samples exceeded the Korean standard, and 23 samples( 96%) exceeded the ACGIH TLV. 3. Distributions of concentrations were observed by processes. In weaving, the highest, average concentration was 4.29 f/cc, and range was 2.61 - 11.58 f/cc. In spinning, average concentration was 2.22 f/cc, and range was 0.41 - 8.93 f/cc. In carding, average concentration was 1.98 f/cc, and range was 0.23 - 10.93 f/cc, In twisting, average concentration was 1.65 f/cc, and range was 0.21 - 9.83 f/cc. In mixing, the lowest, average concentration was 0.48 f/cc, and range was 0.22 - 1.20 f/cc. 4. All the samples from basic processes of asbestos textile plants were above the ACGIH TLV. Nineteen samples(45%) out of all these 42 samples exceeded Korean standard. Fourteen samples(58%) of total 24 personal samples, and five samples(28%) of total 18 area samples exceeded the Korean standard. Considering processes, all the samples in weaving process exceeded the Korean standard and 50 did 54% of those in spinning, 40% in carding, and 27% in twisting. 5. Trend of decreasing asbestos concentrations in asbestos textile plants was observed by time. 6. Asbestos concentrations in asbestos textile plant in 1975 were estimated to be 11.0 - 92.4 f/cc.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.307-320
• /
• 2009

This study was conducted not only to review airborne asbestos levels reported in workplaces in Korea, but also to analyze their levels according to various characteristics All asbestos concentration reported as either geometric mean (GM) and geometric standard deviation (GSD) or ranges were transformed to arithmetic mean to estimate exposure level. In addition, weighted arithmetic means (WAMs) were calculated to weigh asbestos levels based on the different number of samples. Differences of asbestos levels among several characteristics such as industry type, decade, operation and sampling and analytical methods were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The number of articles studying asbestos levels from workplaces was found to be 9 including two report types. Five of those were reported prior to 1990s and rest of them after 1990s. Only several industries such as asbestos textile, asbestos cement, brake-lining repair shops were studied, while various industries using asbestos or asbestos containing materials (ACMs) were not studied. ANOVA found that asbestos exposure levels (WAM = 5.26f/cc) reported from textile industry were significantly higher than those from other industries (cement = 0.63f/cc, brake-lining = 0.2f/cc - 0.47f/cc) (p < 0.0001). Average exposure levels studied prior to the 1990s (3.13f/cc) were found to be significantly higher than that (0.86f/cc) after the 1990s (p<0.0001). All WAMs reported until the 1994 were found to be higher than the current occupational exposure limits (0.1f/cc). This study recommends that retrospective exposure to asbestos based on various industry types and operations should be assessed.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
• /
• v.2 no.5
• /
• pp.411-415
• /
• 2000

To be able to work safely and efficiency, the Threshold Limit Values (TLV) for work in the heat are widely used. Since these TLV are only applicable to workers in regular clothing, TLV should be adjusted when applied to the asbestos removal workers who wear extra impermeable protective clothing. Although abbreviated guidelines for heat stress exposure have been proposed, literature advocating their use in the asbestos removal industry is limited. Therefore, we planed a survey to evaluate the workload of asbestos abatement workers in summer, and an experiment with climatic chambers to evaluate the effects of resting in a cool environment between work periods. From these studies, we got following conclusions. There is a high risk of suffering from heat illness by asbestos abatement work in summer in Japan. It is proposed to create a cool room inside the workplace of asbestos abatement work to reduce thermal stress.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.538-541
• /
• 2009

Humans have a long history of asbestos use. There are reports from the Roman era, of asbestos victims among the slaves who worked in asbestos mines. The fact that asbestos can induce lung cancer and mesothelioma was verified epidemiologically in the 1960s. Asbestos related diseases are predominantly occupational in nature but can be caused by environmental exposure. Environmental mesothelioma is mainly associated with tremolite asbestos and this information comes from many countries including Turkey, Greece, Corsica, New Caledonia and Cyprus. In 1993, the first case of mesothelioma in Korea was reported in an asbestos textile worker. Recently, some asbestos disease victims who lived near an asbestos factory have their cases before the courts. A series of recent asbestos-related events in Korea, for example, the shocking revelation of asbestos containing talc in baby powders have caused the general public to become aware of the health risks of asbestos exposure. Asbestos related diseases are characterized by a long latency period, especially, mesothelioma which has no threshold of safety. Hence the best strategy for preventing asbestos related diseases is to decrease asbestos exposure levels to as low as possible.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.100-109
• /
• 1993

This study was performed to evaluate the asbestos exposure levels and variations in textile, brake lining manufacturing and slate manufacturing industries. For this study, fifteen plants of brake lining manufacturing industry, 7 plants of textile industry, and 2 plants of slate manufacturing industry were selected and surveyed. Geometric means (GMs) of airborne asbestos concentrations in textile, brake lining manufacturing, and slate manufacturing industries were 1.42 f/cc(0.07-6.1O f/cc), 0.19 f/cc(<0.01-2.67 f/cc) and 0.08 f/cc(0.02-0.67 f/cc), respectively. In textile industry overall GMs of airborne asbestos concentrations in plants with less than 50 workers and in plants with more than 50 workers were 1.60 f/cc and 0.3 f/cc, respectively. Therefore, the size of plant showed some difference in the airborne asbestos concentrations. Three out of 7(42.9%) exceed the Korean standard, 2 f/cc, and every plant exceed the USA standard, 0.2 f/cc of the OSHA-Permissible Exposure Level(OSHA-PEL). Especially, one plant showed the highest average concentration of 2.87 f/cc. In brake lining manufacturing industry, the plants with less than 50 workers showed 0.22 f/cc. The plants with more than 50 workers showed 0.18 f/cc. All plants showed the exposure level below the Korean standard. Five of 15 (33.3%) were above the OSHA-PEL. One plant showed the highest average concentraton of 0.84 f/cc. In slate manufacturing industry, the average exposure level was 0.08 f/cc, and all of the plants were below the Korean standard and the OSHA-PEL.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.71-77
• /
• 2009

In Korea, asbestos related diseases (ARDs) associated with occupational and environmental asbestos exposures have been reported, and commercial products contaminated with asbestos have gathered huge public attentions recently. Review of previous studies was conducted. Whereas asbestos consumptions among developed countries have decreased, those of Asian countries have increased, which showed typical international transfer of hazardous industries. In Korea residents around former asbestos mines had ARDs, which were reported in many countries such as South Africa, Canada and Australia. ARDs among residents around asbestos factories were found in many countries such as United Kingdom, United States and Italia, and increased relative risks were reported among residents around asbestos textile factories in Korea. Increased air asbestos concentrations by environmental asbestos leakages from factories were correlated with higher malignant mesothelioma incidence rates. When air dispersion model applied, excess incidence rate as far as 2.5 km from a factory were observed. As mesothelioma incidence rate, a representative index of ARD, in Korea has not reported systemically, mandatory reporting system by health personnel who diagnose the disease needs to be introduced. It is hard to conclude that commercials with contaminated asbestos do not have adverse health effects, and further studies are needed to solve these public questions.