• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.272-280
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• 2014

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of worker exposure to hazardous chemical substances and propose the direction of work environment management for protecting worker's health in the semiconductor assembly process. Methods: Four assembly lines at two semiconductor manufacturing companies were selected for this study. We investigated the types of chemicals that were used and generated during the assembly process, and evaluated the workers' exposure levels to hazardous chemicals such as benzene and formaldehyde and the current work environment management in the semiconductor assembly process. Results: Most of the chemicals used at the assembly process are complex mixtures with high molecular weight such as adhesives and epoxy molding compounds(EMCs). These complex mixtures are stable when they are used at room temperature. However workers can be exposed to volatile organic compounds(VOCs) such as benzene and formaldehyde when they are used at high temperature over $100^{\circ}C$. The concentration levels of benzene and formaldehyde in chip molding process were higher than other processes. The reason was that by-products were generated during the mold process due to thermal decomposition of EMC and machine cleaner at the process temperature($180^{\circ}C$). Conclusions: Most of the employees working at semiconductor assembly process are exposed directly or indirectly to various chemicals. Although the concentration levels are very lower than occupational exposure limits, workers can be exposed to carcinogens such as benzene and formaldehyde. Therefore, workers employed in the semiconductor assembly process should be informed of these exposure characteristics.

• 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.12-17
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• 2014

With a rapid growth of domestic industry in korea, now about 25,000 kinds of chemicals are being distributed, and it has been known that just about 15% of them has toxic substances. Recently, South Koreans have an anxiety about the stability and accidents of chemicals because chemical accidents like Gumi hydrofluoric acid accident have occurred. The U.S. has adopted the systems like EPCRA (Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act), TRI (Toxic Release Inventory) and TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act), and is also managing the hazardous chemicals by providing the information about them to its people and site workers. Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare also has adopted J-CHECK system and is implementing it to let Japanese people know the information of safety of chemicals about REACH. However, the Korean government has a difficult situation to mediate the different idea with the Korean industry to make lower statute of Pre-legislation registration & evaluation of chemicals that will be implemented and Chemical Material Control Association that is being implemented. Especially city and country areas located in the industrial areas need political improvement focusing on vulnerable area through the check about current situation of hazardous chemicals of jurisdiction and management method, but the information about the management situation of small scale work places is insufficient. Therefore this study set up the urgent management area in Ansan Smart Hub through NFPA code according to the types of accident and dander characteristics of each chemical being used in the companies that have less than 50 workers and deal with chemicals located in Ansan Smart Hub in Gyeonggi-do.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.10-17
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• 2022

Currently, in Korea, lower and upper tier qualifying quantities of the 97 substances requiring preparation for accidents have been designated. The information on the submission of chemical accident prevention management plan varies depending on whether the handling volume is above or below the lower or upper qualifying quantity. Because the criteria of the lower and upper qualifying quantities of substance requiring preparation for accidents are not stipulated in the Chemical Substances Control Act, this study attempted to establish a criterion through significance verification. In addition, the study investigated whether these qualifying quantities are related to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), toxic concentration endpoint, and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Finally, by comparing the risk categorization of the GHS, endpoint, and NFPA, it was evaluated whether the circulation-volume-based risk categorization of the substance requiring preparation for accidents that are in the top 13 is appropriate. The qualifying quantities of benzene, toluene, and sulfuric acid needed to be adjusted upward, while those of methyl alcohol and ammonia were adjusted downward from the current qualifying quantities. It is required to establish a quantified criterion that fully reflects the domestic situations in Korea and various indicators such as toxicity, physicochemical properties, and circulation volume for the qualified criterion of hazardous chemical substances. The study is expected to be helpful in establishing an efficient system by systematizing the criterion for qualifying quantity.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.21-27
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• 2017

Even if several chemical accident prevention systems such as PSM(Process Safety Management), RMP(Risk Management Plan), etc. have been carried out, many chemical accidents have still occurred at industrial plants in Korea. We describe the status of chemical industry and the trend of occurrence of chemical accidents in Korea. And this paper analyzes the recent chemical accidents in eight ways. These ways include chemical accident forms, ignition sources, sources of chemical equipment, human vs equipment/material causes, worker's working situation, employee scale, hazardous substances, week & time, fatalities of manufacture & contractor's workers. Finally we proposes the four representative prevention measures brought to result of cause analysis by accident statistics.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.425-432
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• 2021

A tidal power plant (TPP) has been in operation since the end of 2011 to improve the water quality of Shihwa Coastal Reservoir (SCR). Tidal mixing rate increased 5.6 times after the TPP operation so that in this study, its effects on water quality was assessed through statistical analysis of long-term water quality monitoring data. It was found that the increased tidal mixing contributed to solving the hypoxia problem in the bottom water by preventing the summer stratification. The analysis also showed that the increased tidal mixing had different effects depending on the relative concentration difference for each water quality substances between the SCR and the outside of SCR. The average concentrations of some substances (chemical oxygen demand, total phosphorus, chlorophyll-a) with higher concentrations than the outside of SCR decreased due to the dilution effect, but the other substances (total nitrogen, dissolved inorganic nitrogen, dissolved inorganic phosphorus) with lower concentrations compared to the outside ones increased on the contrary. Factor analysis also showed a consistent result that the first factor accounting for the water quality was changed from the organic-related substances to the nutrient-related substances after the increased tidal mixing. These results imply that the focus of future water quality management needs shifting from the organic substances to the nutrients, particularly dissolved inorganic nutrients. Considering the effect of inflow seawater on the nutrients, the management area should be extended to cover not only SCR but also a certain area outside of SCR.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.446-464
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• 2015

Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate the task-specific hazards of chemicals used by nail technicians in Daegu Metropolitan City. Materials: A total of 30 nail shops located in Daegu City were surveyed to investigate the major tasks and practices performed by nail technicians and the ingredients listed in nail care products used in shops. We also collected instructions for use and material safety data sheets(MSDSs) of nail care products and compared CAS Nos. of ingredients with the lists of chemicals regulated by the Industrial Safety and Health Act(ISHA) and Chemical Substances Control Act(CSCA). Results: A total of 125 chemical ingredients were found in 468 nail care products used at the 30 nail shops. The most frequently found ingredients were ethyl acetate(72%), followed by n-butyl acetate(71.8%), isopropanol(56%), benzophenone(51.1%), nitrocellulose(46.4%) and ethanol(45.3%). Comparing six tasks, the task of manicuring used the most products at 222 products containing 91 ingredients. Among the 125 ingredients, there are 31 chemicals with occupational exposure limits(OEL) designated by the Ministry of Employment and Labor(MoEL), eight categorized as carcinogens, one mutagen and two reproductive toxic chemicals. In terms of carcinogens, formaldehyde was identified as the only confirmed human carcinogen(1A). We found that there was one chemical with a permissible limit, one special management substance, 18 workplace monitoring substances and ten special health diagnosis substances regulated by ISHA. For CSCA, nine poisonous substances, six substances requiring preparation for accidents and one restricted substance were identified. Conclusions: Based on these findings, formaldehyde was identified as one of the chemicals that should most strictly be controlled for the protection of the health of nail technicians and customers. At the same time, it is necessary to distribute materials with detailed hazardous information of nail care products for nail shop technicians.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.60-69
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• 2023

Objectives: Business operators handling hazardous chemicals regulated under the Chemical Substances Control Act (CSCA) must receive permits to operate their business from the Ministry of Environment. This study analyzed the status of recent legal violation in chemical handling workplaces in Ulsan where a large volume of chemicals is handled for industrial use. Methods: A total of 557 corporations have been granted legal status as business operators in Ulsan. For all business operators, legal violations in regard to the CSCA that were discovered by the environmental office in the last five years (2018~2022) were thoroughly analyzed. Results: A total of 225 violations of the CSCA have been discovered at 165 corporations, with the violation rate accounting for approximately 27% of all business operators. In particular, 22% of the 165 violators (36 corporations) were discovered to have violated twice or more, and some business operators (6%) even violated in consecutive years. Non-compliance of facility inspection was the most frequent violation (45 cases, 20.1%), followed by non-reporting of important changes in the permitted matters (23 cases, 10.3%), non-completion of legal safety education (19 cases, 8.5%), failure to secure permission for modification in the permitted matters (18 cases, 8.0%), and failure to submit chemical transport plans (16 cases, 7.1%). Conclusions: Most of the violations could have been prevented if the field personnel had paid sufficient attention. Thus, it is fundamentally necessary to create an environment for spontaneous safety management for themselves and to strengthen individual capabilities.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.381-386
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• 2013

The sixty nine chemicals that are closely linked to chemical accident are designated as the substances requiring preparation for accidents and managed for public health under the Toxic Chemicals Control Act. In this study, storage stability of allyl chloride (AC) and carbon disulfide (CD), which are highly inflammable and volatile in tedlar bags, was studied for gaseous chemicals sampling. Storage stability was studied considering storage temperature ($2^{\circ}C$, $25^{\circ}C$), chemical concentration (low conc. ppm, high conc. ppm) and storage time (0, 48, 96, and 144 hr). Also, the stability of bags containing one type of chemical substance and the bags containing a mixture of chemicals was compared against each other. As a result, two chemicals showed decreasing storage stability based on storage time. Also two chemicals presented statistical significance of concentration and mixing type.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2022.06a
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• pp.295-303
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• 2022

Residential heating systems in South Korea are largely based on the use of ondol pipelines. Heat is transferred to the floor by passing hot water through a metal or plastic pipe buried within the concrete of the floor. Consequently, it is difficult to clean the inside of these pipes after installation. Over time, foreign substances such as scale accumulate in the pipe when the ondol heating method is used for an extended period. Therefore, in the past, pipes were cleaned by removing foreign substances attached to the inside surfaces of the pipes using high-pressure water or by disassembling the pipes and removing foreign substances with chemical agents. Recently, a method for removing foreign substances through the cavitation effect of ultrasound has been proposed. This idea might lead to the development of new technologies for cleaning pipe interiors. Consequently, this study investigated the use of ultrasound to clean pipes embedded in concrete. In this study, devices that generated ultrasonic waves with various frequencies and directions were prepared. After preparing arbitrarily contaminated pipes, the appropriate frequency, output strength, and output direction for each foreign substance were determined through repeated experiments. The results of this experiment could provide important information for future methods of cleaning the interior of ondol piping systems.