• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.10 no.8
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• pp.127-136
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• 2020

Chemical terrorism and accidents using chemicals are continuously occurring and attempted in and out of the country. In Korea, the National Institute of Chemical Safety affiliated with Ministry of Environment employs the CARIS(Ver. 2018) to assess the damage impact range for field-based response against chemical terrorism and accidents. However, the current version of CARIS can not consider the effects of closed space such as indoor and underground, so it is difficult to provide accurate evaluation results for damage impact range required for field response, on top of the limited information available. The limitations and directions for improvement were studied by comparing and reviewing the evaluation results of the damage impact range obtained by driving CARIS (Ver. 2018) and the domestic and foreign literature. Proposed improvements also included the direction of information provided to residents, including the need to build modeling for special points, such as underground, indoor, etc., and on-site response personnel. It is expected that through the continuous supplementation and correction of CARIS, chemical terrorism and accident response capability system will be advanced further.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.44-54
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• 2018

Objectives: To protect individuals working at the site as well as the surrounding general population from a chemical accident, several emergency exposure guidance levels have been used to set a level of concern for certain chemicals. However, a level of concern has not been established for many substances that are frequently used or produced in large quantities in Korean workplaces. In the present study, we investigated the guidance levels for protecting populations from chemical exposure and the estimation of level of concern using acute inhalation and oral toxicity data. Methods: The number of chemicals to which emergency exposure guidance levels (e.g., ERPG-2, AEGL-2, PAC-2, and IDLH) can be applied were determined among 822 hazardous chemicals according to the 'Technical Guidelines for the Selection of Accident Scenarios (revised December 2016)'. The ERPG and AEGL values were compared across all three tiers for the 31 substances that appeared on both lists. We examined the degree of difference between the emergency exposure guidance levels and the estimates of level of concern calculated from acute inhalation or acute oral toxicity data. Results: Among the 822 hazardous chemicals, emergency exposure guidance levels can be applied to 359 substances, suggesting that the estimates of level of concern should be calculated using acute toxicity data for 56.3% of the hazardous chemicals. When comparing the concordance rates of ERPG and AEGL for 31 substances, the difference between the two criteria was generally small. However, about 40% of the substances have values diverging by more than three-fold in at least one tier. Such discrepancies may cause interpretation and communication problems in risk management. The emergency exposure guidance levels were similar to the estimates of level of concern calculated using acute inhalation toxicity data, but the differences were significant when using acute oral toxicity data. These results indicate that the level of concern derived from acute oral toxicity data may be insufficient to protect the population in some cases. Conclusion: Our study suggests that the development of standardized guidance values for emergency chemical exposure in the Korean population should be encouraged. It is also necessary to analyze acute toxicity data and fill the information gaps for substances that are important in Korean workplace situations.

• Korean Journal of Hazardous Materials
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.18-26
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• 2014

We analyzed the demand of competent authorities requiring adequate technical information for initial investigation of chemical accidents. Reflecting technical reports on chemical accident response by environmental agencies in the U.S. and Canada, we presented information on environmental diffusion and toxic effects available for the first chemical accident response. Hydrogen fluoride may have the risk potential to corrode metals and cause serious burns and eye damages. In case of inhalation or intake, it could have severe health effects. The substance itself is inflammable, but once heated, it decomposes producing corrosive and toxic fume. In case of contact with water, it can produce toxic, corrosive, flammable or explosive gases and its solution, a strong acid, may react fiercely with a base. In case of hydrogen fluoride leak, the preventive measures are to decrease steam generation in exposed sites, prevent the transfer of vapor cloud and promptly respond using inflammable substances including calcium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, ground limestone, dried soil, dry sand, vermiculite, fly ash and powder cement. The method for fire fighting is to suppress fire with manless hose stanchions or monitor nozzles by wearing the whole body protective clothing equipped with over-pressure self-contained breathing apparatus from distance. In case of transport accident accompanied with fire, evacuation distance is 1,600m radius. In cae of fire, fire suppression needs to be performed using dry chemicals, CO₂, water spray, water fog, and alcohol-resistance foam, etc. The major symptoms by exposure route are dyspnoea, bronchitis, chemical pneumonia and pulmonary edema for respiration, skin laceration, dermatitis, burn, frostbite and erythema for eyes, and nausea, diarrhea, stomachache, and tissue destruction for digestive organs. In atmosphere, its persistency is low, and its bioaccumulation in aquatic organism is also low.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.703-712
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• 2021

In this study, a formula was derived to calculate the damage impact distance using the Chemical Accident Response Information System (CARIS) so that local governments can decide on the evacuation and notification of 13 types of substances. The National Institute of Chemical Safety selected 16 out of 97 types of accident preparedness substances in 2018 and called them residents' evacuation preparedness substances. In a chemical accident, local governments should prepare for resident notification, such as emergency disaster texts. Using the CARIS in Chungju, this study modeled the damage-affected distances of 13 types of substances for the evacuation of residents. Under all conditions, the coefficient of determination R2 was 0.99 or higher, representing a range of at least 0.9921 to a maximum 0.9999. The relative standard deviation between the damage impact distance obtained using the calculation formula, and the CARIS result was compared. The minimum separation distance was corrected considering the actual chemical accident response situation, and the range was found to be between 0.58 and 5.97%. The damage impact distance can be calculated at the site using the calculation formula derived from the research, and local governments can determine whether to evacuate or notify residents.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.80-85
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• 2013

The sixty nine accident preparedness substances (APS) having high probability of chemical accident are controlled under the Toxic Chemicals Control Act (TCCA). Around the world, there has been a growing interest in the analysis of chemical warfare agent (CWAs). When a chemical accident occurs, it is generally required to detect and identify APS. However, the quantitative analytical data remain limited in Korea. In this study, an analytical method using GC/MS for volatile organic chemicals was established and a quantitative analysis method was studied. The calibration curve for 25 chemicals were obtained and 21 chemicals showed higher coefficient of determination ($r^2$ >0.998).

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.66-72
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• 2018

This study analyses the types, related operations, facilities, and causes of chemical accidents in Korea based on the RISCAD classification taxonomy. In addition, human error analysis was carried out employing different human error classification criteria. Explosion and fire were major accident types, and nearly half of the accidents occurred during maintenance operation. In terms of related facility, storage devices and separators were the two most frequently involved ones. Results of the human error-based analysis showed that latent human errors in management level are involved in many accidents as well as active errors in the field level. Action errors related to unsafe behavior leads to accidents more often compared with the checking behavior. In particular, actions missed and inappropriate actions were major problems among the unsafe behaviors, which implicates that the compliance with the work procedure should be emphasized through education/training for the workers and the establishment of safety culture. According to the analysis of the causes of the human error, the frequency of skill-based mistakes leading to accidents were significantly lower than that of rule-based and knowledge based mistakes. However, there was limitation in the analysis of the root causes due to limited information in the accident investigation report. To solve this, it is suggested to adopt advanced accident investigation system including the establishment of independent organization and improvement in regulation.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.431-439
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• 2015

The methods which decrease the accident hazards of LPG(Liquefied Petroleum Gas) terminal on the basis of butane & propane storage tanks by applying HAZOP(Hazard and Operability), LOPA(Layer of Protection Analysis) and SIL(Safety Integrity Level) are suggested. The accident scenarios were derived by analyzing latent risks through the HAZOP. The scenarios which would have the big damage effect in accidents were selected and then LOPA was assessed by analyzing IPL(Independent Protection Layer) about the correspond accident scenarios. The improved methods were proposed on the basis of level of SIF(Safety Instrumented Functions) as a IPL considering satisfied condition of risk tolerance criteria($1.0{\times}10^{-05}/y$). In addition, The proposed IPLs were basis on the economic analysis. The effect of SIF as a IPL considering the changes of accident frequency was studied in case of the accident scenarios derived from the concerned process.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.88-93
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• 2003

The Process Safety Management (PSM) by the Law of Industry, Safety and Health has been performed for preventing major accidents of chemical plants since 1996. In terms of preventing chemical accidents more precisely, it is essential to develop a tool for quantitative risk assessment. For this, KOSHA (Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency) developed an Integrated Risk Management System (IRMS). The system is designed to assimilate data on chemical plant hazards from external database, to integrate these data with location information(topographic and demographic), and to make them user-friendly accessible. The system consists of several main functions: display of five major Korean petrochemical complex layout display of equipment layout with its information utilizing the external database, zonation of the hazard effected area with consequence analyses, the most probable accident scenario generation, accident/incident database and calculation of frequency of accident using equipment reliability database, etc. The highlight of IRMS is to provide the risk contours using GIS(Geographical Information System) technology. IRMS is intended to manage hazardous installation more systematically and effectively, to reduce the number of accident remarkably, further minimizing production loss in the plant. The system is now under application to about 500 PSM sites as well as and emergency authorities in Korea by KOSHA (Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency)

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.14-22
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• 2016

This study analyzed the chemical accidents of hydrochloric acid which is the most frequent chemical in order to make safety management improvement plans. 28 Cases have occurred for the last 4 years, 8 cases of which were casualty accidents, and more efficient plans are needed to minimize the accidents. For this purpose, this study investigated the problems through yearly statistics of the chemical accidents, and suggested appropriate measures of facility management, safety culture and management plans. It is important for businesses to make and implement the improvement measures according to time schedule.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.295-310
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• 2013

Industry- or regulatory-sponsored research activities on the resolution of Generic Safety Issue (GSI)-191 were reviewed, especially on the chemical effects. Potential chemical effects on the head loss across the debris-loaded sump strainer under a post-accident condition were experimentally evidenced by small-scale bench tests, integrated chemical effects test (ICET), and vertical loop head loss tests. Three main chemical precipitates were identified by WCAP-16530-NP: calcium phosphate, aluminum oxyhydroxide, and sodium aluminum silicate. The former two precipitates were also identified as major chemical precipitates by the ICETs. The assumption that all released calcium would form precipitates is reasonable. CalSil insulation needs to be minimized especially in a plant using trisodium phosphate buffer. The assumption that all released aluminum would form precipitates appears highly conservative because ICETs and other studies suggest substantial solubility of aluminum at high temperature and inhibition of aluminum corrosion by silicate or phosphate. The industry-proposed chemical surrogates are quite effective in increasing the head loss across the debris-loaded bed and more effective than the prototypical aluminum hydroxide precipitates generated by in-situ aluminum corrosion. There appears to be some unresolved potential issues related to GSI-191 chemical effects as identified in NUREG/CR-6988. The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, however, concluded that the implications of these issues are either not generically significant or are appropriately addressed, although several issues associated with downstream in-vessel effects remain.