• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.109-117
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• 2013

The removal characteristics of composite odor and malodorous substances using 33 biofilters in sewage treatment facilities were investigated. The geometry mean values of composite odor and odor quotient were reduced by 52.7% and 59.2% at the outlet of the biofilters, respectively. The removal efficiencies of the biofiltes for the composite odor and odor quotient show a significant difference statistically(p=0.000<0.05). The median value of odor quotient of sulfur compounds was reduced by 69.1% at the outlet of the biofilter and the odor quotient of the sulfur compound at the inlet and outlet of the biofilter shows a significant difference statistically(p=0.000<0.05); on the other hand, those of the $NH_3$ and trimethylamine, aldehydes, VOCs and alcohols, organic acids do not.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.185-193
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• 2016

Background: Management and workers in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often find it hard to comprehend the requirements related to controlling risks due to exposure to substances. An intervention study was set up in order to support 45 SMEs in improving the management of the risks of occupational exposure to chemicals, and in using the control banding tool and exposure model Stoffenmanager in this process. Methods: A 2-year intervention study was carried out, in which a mix of individual and collective training and support was offered, and baseline and effect measurements were carried out by means of structured interviews, in order to measure progress made. A seven-phase implementation evolutionary ladder was used for this purpose. Success and failure factors were identified by means of company visits and structured interviews. Results: Most companies clearly moved upwards on the implementation evolutionary ladder; 76% of the companies by at least one phase, and 62% by at least two phases. Success and failure factors were described. Conclusion: Active training and coaching helped the participating companies to improve their chemical risk management, and to avoid making mistakes when using and applying Stoffenmanager. The use of validated tools embedded in a community platform appears to support companies to organize and structure their chemical risk management in a business-wise manner, but much depends upon motivated occupational health and safety (OHS) professionals, management support, and willingness to invest time and means.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.216-223
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• 2017

Chemicals are an indispensable element of modern society to the extent that more than 15 million species are commercially available worldwide. However, among them are chemicals whose toxicityposes a threat to public health and the environment, as illustrated by past cases of chemical accidents, which revealed their danger to human life. Chemical accidents can spread and cause huge damage in a short time because of their characteristics. Therefore, it is important to do as much as possible to prevent them in advance and to respond promptly after an accident. The legal system pertaining to domestic chemical substances is the "Toxic Chemical Control Act", which is made up of the "Act on the Registration and Evaluation of Chemicals" and the "Chemical Control Act" since 2015. Under this law, the Comprehensive Chemical Information System and Chemical Substance Data Processing system were established and are still operating;however, chemical accidents are still occurring. These systems are comprehensive information systems aimed at providing chemical information rather than acting as chemical response systems, which has limited the effectiveness of accident response. This study is intended to analyze the information management systems, response management systems and the basis of chemical substance management support for hazardous chemicals and suggest ways to improve the legal system for developing and operating chemical response systemswithin a municipality.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.21-26
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• 2019

Objective: The aim of this study is to analyze an excess trend for domestic permissible exposure limit of trichloroethylene based on previous literature review. Materials and Methods: The research object is a trichloroethylene among 13 chemical substances regulated with PEL(Permissible Exposure Limit) in Occupational Safety and Health Act. The information utilized from this study is the work environment measurement data from 2004 to 2013. The highest level among concentration data measured at various workplaces was selected as a representative value through data process. N.D. (Not Detected) data was considered as 1/2 of LOD(Limit Of Detection). Results: Among work environment measurement data between 2004 and 2013, the highest number of excess workplace and excess rate(24 sites & 1.15%) was observed in 2008's data when applying the PEL(50 ppm) of trichloroethylene. When they are compared with the ACGIH's TLV-TWA(10 ppm), 2008's data showed the highest number of excess workplace and excess rate(175 sites & 8.37%). The number of excess workplace and excess rate related to PEL of trichloroethylene showed increase trend in 2005 but tended to decrease after 2008. Conclusions: Based on the results obtained from this study, the exposure level of trichloroethylene in case of domestic workers is not considered as a safe phase regardless of the year of work environment measurement year. Thus, a strictly preventive management in workplace should be provided for reducing exposure level of trichloroethylene.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.93-105
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• 2024

Purpose: This study aims to quantitatively determine the impact on nearby risidents by selecting the amount of chemicals emitted from the workplace among the substances subject to the chemical emission plan and predicting the concentration with the atmospheric diffusion program. Method: The selection of research materials considered half-life, toxicity, and the presence or absence of available monitoring station data. The areas discharged from the materials to be studied were selected as the areas to be studied, and four areas with floating populations were selected to evaluate health risks. Result: AERMOD was executed after conducting terrain and meteorological processing to obtain predicted concentrations. The health hazard assessment results indicated that only dichloromethane exceeded the threshold for children, while tetrachloroethylene and chloroform appeared at levels that cannot be ignored for both children and adults. Conclusion: Currently, in the domestic context, health hazard assessments are conducted based on the regulations outlined in the "Environmental Health Act" where if the hazard index exceeds a certain threshold, it is considered to pose a health risk. The anticipated expansion of the list of substances subject to the chemical discharge plan to 415 types by 2030 suggests the need for efficient management within workplaces. In instances where the hazard index surpasses the threshold in health hazard assessments, it is judged that effective chemical management can be achieved by prioritizing based on considerations of background concentration and predicted concentration through atmospheric dispersion modeling.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.185-200
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• 2022

The risk of various hazardous substances in aquatic environment comprises not only the concentration of substances in the environmental medium but also their accumulation in fish through complex food web and the health risks to humans through the fish. In Korea, the monitoring of residual toxicant in aquatic ecosystems began in 2016 following the enforcement of the Acts on registration and evaluation for the management of chemicals used in daily life (consumer chemical products), and attention has been paid to potentially hazardous substances attributed to them. Recently, studies have been carried out to investigate the distribution of these hazardous substances in the ecosystem and calculate their emission factors. These include the accumulation and transport of substances, such as detergents, dyes, fragrances, cosmetics, and disinfectants, within trophic levels. This study summarizes the results of recently published research on the inflow and distribution of hazardous substances from consumer chemical products to the aquatic environment and presents the scientific implication. Based on studies on aquatic environment monitoring techniques, this study suggests research directions for monitoring the residual concentration and distribution of harmful chemical substances in aquatic ecosystems. In particular, this study introduces the directions for research on trophic position analysis using compound specific isotope analysis and trophic magnification factors, which are needed to fulfill the contemporary requirements of selecting target fish based on the survey of major fish that inhabit domestic waters and assessment of associated health risk. In addition, this study provides suggestions for future biota monitoring and chemical research in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Hazardous Materials
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2014

Since the unprecedented hydrogen fluoride leak accident in 2012, there has been growing demand for customized technical information for rapid response and chemical accident management agencies including the Ministry of Environment, the National Emergency Management Agency, and the National Police Agency need more information on chemicals and accident management. In this regard, this study aims to provide reliable technical data and guidelines to initial response agencies, similar to accident management technical reports of the US and Canada. In this study, we conducted a questionnaire survey and interviews on initial response agencies like fire stations, police stations, and local governments to identify new information items for appropriate initial response and improvements of current guidelines. We also collected and reviewed the Canada's TIPS, US EPA's hydrogen fluoride documents, domestic and foreign literature on applicability tests of control chemicals, and interview data, and then produced items to be listed in the technical guidelines. In addition, to establish database of on-site technical information, we carried out applicability tests for accident control data including ① emergency shut down devide, safety guard, shut down valve, ground connection, dyke, transfer pipe, scrubber, and sensor; ② literature and field survey on distribution type and transportation/storage characteristics (container identification, valve, ground connection, etc.); ③ classification and identification of storage/transportation facilities and emergency management methodslike leak prevention, chemicals control, and cutoff or bypass of rain drainage; ④ domestic/foreign analysis methods and environmental standards including portable detection methods, test standards, and exposure limits; and ⑤ comparison/evaluation of neutralization efficiency of control chemicals on toxic substances.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.653-693
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• 2009

Using the Korean environmental input output analysis, this paper provides the emission intensities of the chemicals, especially, the toxic and carcinogenic substances, by linking the structure of demand, and the policy mix to abate these substances emissions. Acording to the results, Industries with the highest total emission intensities(TEI) of toxic substances are ranked : Printing and reproduction of recorded media(21), Other transportation equipment(26), Pulp and paper(11), Leather and fur products(9), Fiber yarn and fabrics(7). And the highest TEI of carcinogenic substances are Wood and wooden products(10), Motor vehicles and parts(25), Plastic and rubber products(15), Audio, video and communications equipment(23), etc.. The economic factors of changing these emissions are emission intensities and final demands. The effective combinations of policy instruments to abate these emissions are varied by the industries and substances. For example, Government need to execute the effective TEI management in the Fiber yarn and fabrics(7) sector, and, in furniture(27) sector, the reduction of final demand is more effective.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.347-362
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• 2009

The United Nation agreed to adopt the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) until 2008 to solve the significant differences enough to result in different labels or MSDS for the same chemical in different jurisdictions. Though the GHS is an ideal solution in the respect of pursuing only one format of a MSDS throughout the world, it may cause confusion at the beginning due to lack of information. So the Korean Ministry of Labor (MOL) revised the Industrial Safety and Health Act (ISHA) and related public notice on the classification & labelling of chemicals according to the GHS in 2006. The transition period for the implementation of the GHS for substances was set until Jun 30, 2010, and for mixtures until Jun 30, 2013. To promote the implementation of the GHS in Korea, we developed an application program for constructing MSDS database and a management program for providing MSDS contents on the web in accordance with the GHS. We analyzed the sixteen sections of MSDS by the GHS guideline, and the result showed the necessity to construct logically connected DB for chemical identifier, hazard classification, label, standard phrases and regulatory information. Each section of a MSDS was divided into sub-databases to update the database efficiently. According to Relational Database Management System (RDBMS), the sub-databases were automatically assembled and subsequently a full MSDS is produced. At present, MSDS database for 6,314 substances has been built and provided through internet as the MSDS Editing program. During the service period from January 1 to March 31, 13,666 users have searched MSDSs for 33,401 substances. During program review, some comments about the classification results and other MSDS element sources were reported but no technical bug reported. We expect that the MSDS DB management system in accordance with GHS will accelerate the implementation of the GHS in Korea.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.144-154
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• 2021

Objectives: This study was intended to identify hazard contribution by region, media, and chemical by calculating a hazard-based index using pollutant release and transfer register (PRTR) data. Methods: PRTR data for the period 2011 to 2016 was analyzed to examine the regional trends in toxic releases in terms of quantity and to create a corresponding hazard-based index. For the hazard-based index, the Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) Model was used. Results: The results of the trend analysis show that total releases decreased slightly, but health hazard levels increased consistently. According to the outcome of regional contribution analysis of the hazard-based index, Chungcheongnam-do, Jeollabuk-do and Gyeonggi-do Provinces showed a high ratio in the index for air and water release pollutants, while Gyeongsangbuk-do and Gyeongsangnam-do Provinces showed a high ratio in the index of soil release and waste transfer pollutants. Also, as a result of the analysis of the top ranked substances in the hazard-based index, it was found that chromium, cobalt and its compounds, and ethylene oxide contributed greatly to air release substances, while chromium, benzene, and lead and its compounds contributed greatly to water release substances. Conclusion: These results showed considerable disparities between total release and health hazard levels, especially in the analysis of contribution by regions and by chemical substance. Therefore, the hazard-based index should be used both to support a more comprehensive and robust approach to screening of chemicals for environmental health policy and for management.