• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.41-52
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• 2022

Objectives: This study intends to review the impact on cleaning workers and suggest directions for improvement by reviewing the legal and institutional ways in which Article 86 Nos. 7 and 16 of the Enforcement Decree of the Occupational Safety and Health Act work on the maintenance and promotion of cleaning workers' health. Methods: The following laws and systems were reviewed and considered: First, the occupational safety and health legislation obligated or required to be applied to protect the health of cleaning workers; Second, the status of control of chemicals or mixtures used at cleaning sites through the Consumer Chemicals Product and Biocide Safety Control Act; Third, Control of consumer products according to foreign material safety data sheet related laws. Results: Legal and institutional measures necessary to protect the health of cleaning workers include the legal control of harmful substances to be controlled, work environment monitoring, and special health examinations. The application of the Consumer Chemicals Product and Biocide Safety Control Act does not satisfy the legal and practical level of health maintenance and promotion required by the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the communication of chemical information is insufficient. Overseas, there are restrictions on the use of consumer products in the workplace without material safety data sheets. Conclusions: It is necessary to improve the system to ensure the health of workers handling consumer chemical products. The remaining laws and regulations exempted from the obligation to prepare material safety data sheets should be additionally reviewed.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.136-143
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• 2016

Background: Mussels are stubborn organisms attached to solid substrata by means of byssus threads. The abundance of marine mussel Mytilus edulis in marine facilities like power stations was reason to select among fouling animals. Methods: Mortality patterns as well as physiological behavior (oxygen consumption, foot activity, and byssus thread production) of two different size groups (14- and 25-mm shell length) of M. edulis were studied at different hydrogen peroxide concentrations ($1-4mg\;l^{-1}$). Results: Studied mussels showed progressive reduction in physiological activities as the hydrogen peroxide concentration increased. Mussel mortality was tested in 30 days exposure, and 14 mm mussels reached the highest percentage of 90% while 25 mm mussels reached 81%. Produced data was echoed by Chick-Watson model extracted equation. Conclusions: This study points that, while it could affect the mussel mortality moderately in its low concentrations, hydrogen peroxide has a strong influence on mussels' physiological activities related to colonization. Therefore, hydrogen peroxide can be an alternative for preventing mussel colonization on facilities of marine environment.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.375-380
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• 2014

Macro fouling due to blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) has affected negatively on the operation efficiency and eventual system failure of offshore structures and coastal power stations. A certain range of chlorine (0.05, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 1.0 mg/L) was applied on the mussel larvae to identify the survival rate with respect to various exposure times under laboratory condition. The ciliary movement of the larvae was used to check their survival. The 1.0 mg/L of chlorine shows to 97% of larvae mortality whereas 0.7 mg/L of chlorine shows only 16% of larvae mortality. Minimum exposure times for 100% larvae mortality ranged from 300 to 20 min for increasing concentrations of chlorine (0.05~1.0 mg/L). It was found that 1 mg/L of chlorine was 4 times more efficient than 0.7 mg/L of that, and 15 times more than 0.05 mg/L of chlorine dose. Data collected and analyzed here will help plant operators to optimize chlorine dosage and its scheduling.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.105-116
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• 2013

Background: In Korea, there is low awareness of the respiratory health problems caused by the use of humidifiers, leading to a lack of governmental measures. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to review cases of varying degrees of humidifier lung and fever in connection with the use of humidifiers and to summarize the probable environmental agents causing these cases. Methods: We searched all articles reporting on humidifier lung, humidifier fever, and humidifier diseases caused by the use of a humidifier both at home and in the workplace. Results: We summarized a number of cases of varying degrees of respiratory diseases resulting from inhalation of water mist of humidifiers containing various species of bacteria and fungi and their toxins. Type of respiratory disease connected with humidifier lung includes interstitial pneumonitis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, fever and several respiratory symptoms. Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), Actinomycetes, endotoxins and contaminated humidifier water were the most commonly suspected probable environmental agents causing humidifier lung. In Korea, the use of humidifier biocide is suspected as a likely cause of fatal lung injury including death and lung transplantation. Conclusion: Governmental policy should be devised and measures including a national surveillance system should be taken to prevent humidifier lung caused by the use of humidifiers.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.249-259
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• 1989

Dental impression materials often become contaminated with patients' saliva and blood which creates the potential for cross-infection. It was the purpose of this study to investigate the effects of disinfection of three different rubber impression materials with four different disinfecting solutions. Polysulfide, vinyl polysiloxane and polyether impression materials were mixed according to the manufacturer's directions and samples were formed on a stainless steel model. On removal from the standard model, impressions were immersed in a disinfectant (acid-potentiated glutaraldehyde, phenollic compound, chlorine compound, iodophor) at room tempera tures for ten minutes. After disinfection, the distance between reference points(linear dimension) was measured using the non-contact automatic cordinate measuring projector(MZ-1, Nikon). Through statistical analyses on the data from this study,. the following conclusions were obtained. 1. Polysulfide, vinyl polysiloxane impressions were disinfected without dimensional change.(p>0.05) 2. Polyether impressions which were immersed in acid-potentiated glutaraldehyde were statistically different from control group.(p<0.05) But the amount of shrinkage(0.04%) would not be clinically significant. 3. By immersion of polysulfide, vinyl polysiloxane, polyether impressions in Banicide, Biocide, Multicide plus, sodium hypochlorite for ten minutes, clinically accurate impressions were obtained without dimensional change.

• Journal of Wellbeing Management and Applied Psychology
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.57-67
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify what research ethics issues are related to chemical incidents at the level of national disasters in Korea, and then to secure clear research ethics to prevent similar incidents from recurring. Research design, data and methodology: The study design was a case study of the humidifier disinfectant disaster in Korea. The humidifier disinfectant incident is a worldwide issue that has never occurred in the world. The main cause of the humidifier disinfectant incident that occurred only in Korea was the toxicity of the humidifier disinfectant contained in the humidifier spray. In this regard, research ethics will be derived through related laws and systems, research ethics status, incident damage and compensation, prosecution's investigation status, and the final precedent of the Supreme Court. Results: Although the lack of laws and systems of government departments related to humidifiers is important in the research results, the violation of ethics regulations by researchers during research experiments has become a decisive problem. Conclusions: In conclusion, the most important thing is that the research bioethics of researchers at the forefront should take precedence over any other values, especially during experiments and research related to public health.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.166-172
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• 2023

The utilization of methyl 2-aminobenzoate as a biocide and pesticide has raised concerns regarding its potential toxicity. To assess its safety, it is crucial to determine its quantity and related toxicity using reference materials (RMs) or certified reference materials (CRMs). As an RM and CRM containing methyl 2-aminobenzoate within a biocidal product matrix is currently unavailable, this study aimed to produce a high-quality RM containing methyl 2-aminobenzoate, ensuring its homogeneity and stability, following the ISO Guide 35 and ISO 17034. The study determined that the produced RM exhibited homogeneity, as indicated by a calculated F-value (1.91) smaller than the critical F-value (3.02). In the assessment of isochronous short-term stability, the slope of the linear regression for the RM showed no statistically significant difference from zero when stored at temperatures of 4, 18, and 60 ℃ for 4 weeks. Regarding classical long-term stability, the RM demonstrated sustained stability over the course of one year when stored at 4 ℃. This study has successfully developed an RM for monitoring methyl 2-aminobenzoate in biocides and pesticides. Its quality underwent rigorous evaluation, confirming both homogeneity and stability.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.67-75
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• 1998

The objectives of this study were both to evaluate the level and correlations of hazardous agents and to suggest measures to control industrial hygiene problems caused by using water-soluble metalworking f1uids(MWF). Geometric mean of formaldehyde(0.039 ppm) was higher than criteria of NIOSH(0.016ppm). Formaldehyde, originally existed in the biocide, is released and used to kill microbes in soluble MWF. Microbe concentrations were above $10^4No./mL$ in 14 MWF tanks among 20 tanks surveyed. Nitrosamines that is formed by reaction of nitrosating group and amines was detected to $18.4-47.1{\mu}g/m^3$. Formaldehyde concentration was low when microbes were abundant(r=-0.67, p=0.011), and high when open tank area was wide(r=0.75. p=0.012). The significant relationship between pH and microbes(r=-0.76. p=0.003) was also observed. The predominant bacteria species in MWF were Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus spp., Comamonas testosteroni, Acinetobacter haemolyticus, Bordertella bronchiseptica in order. Therefore, hazardous agents emitted by using water-soluble MWF seems to be correlated microbial growth. In order to minimize worker's exposure to several hazardous agents by an water-soluble MWF and to increase productivity, microbial growth must be controlled to the lowest level as possible. Administrative control as well as engineering control must comprehensively be applied to control microbe's growth in water-soluble MWF.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.233-250
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• 2020

In this study, a chitosan based coating method was developed and applied on the shoe lining leather surface for evaluating its inhibition to bacterial and fungal attacks. At first, chitosan was prepared from raw prawn shells and then the prepared chitosan solution was applied onto the leather surface. Secondly, the characterization of the prepared chitosan and chitosan treated leather was performed by solubility test, ATR-FTIR, XRD pattern, SEM and TGA. Evaluation of antimicrobial efficacy of chitosan was assessed against two gram positive, two gram negative bacteria and a reputed fungi by agar diffusion test. The results of this study demonstrated that chitosan took place in both the surface of collagen fibres and inside the collagen matrix of crust leather. The chitosan showed strong antimicrobial activities against all the tested microorganisms and the inhibition increased with increasing percentage of chitosan. Therefore, the prepared chitosan in this study can be an environment friendly biocide, which functions simultaneously against different spoilage bacteria and fungi on the finished leather surface. Thus by using the prepared chitosan in shoe lining leather, the possibility of microbial attack during shoe wearing can be minimized which is one of the important hygienic requirements of footwear.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.1353-1361
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• 2008

Quality control of Argo(Array for Real-time Geostrophic Oceanography) data is crucial by reason that salinity measurements are liable to experience some drift and offset due to biofouling, contamination of sensor and wash-out of biocide. The automated Argo real-time quality control has a limit of sorting data quality, so that WJO program is adopted as standardized method of Argo delayed mode quality control (DMQc) in the world that is a precise quality control method. We conducted DMQC on pressure, temperature and salinity measured by Argo floats in the Pacific Ocean including expert evaluation. Particularly, salinity data were corrected using WJO program. 4 salinity profiles of Argo delayed mode were compared with nearby in situ CTD data and other Argo data in deep layer where oceanographic conditions are stable in time and space. The differences of both salinities were lower than target accuracy of Argo. As compared with the difference of salinities before DMQC, those after DMQC decreased by 60-80 percent. Quality of delayed mode salinity data seemed to be improved correcting salinity data suggested by WJO program.