• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제31권3호
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• pp.540-563
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• 1998

This Study has been carried out to make a recommendation for the next amendment of the Infectious Disease Prevention Act with a specific focus on the kind of notifyable disease. Korean, Japanese, German, U.S, English and French acts on infectious diseases prevention were reviewed, compared with and analized in regards of numbers and kinds of notifyable infectious diseases and their tendency of amendments. An criteria was designed to assess the level of validity of diseases to be designated in the act. Four items, the fatality (greater than 10% or not), the possibility to make a big epidemic, the availability of efficient vaccination and the usefulness of isolation, are used in the assessment. This index is applied to the diseases in Korean and other countries' Infectious Disease Prevention Acts. Results are as follows: 1. The Korean Infectious Disease Preventon Act has a unique way of classifying the notifyable infectious disease, that is, the first, the second and the third class. But the author cannot find the basis of classification. No other countries reviewed have the similar classification. 2. The ten diseases, cholera, plague, yellow fever, diphtheria, typhoid fever, poliomyelitis, rabies, tetanus, malaria, and meningococcal meningitis are designated as the notifyable diseases not only in Korea but also in Japan, Germany, United States, England and france. 3. Thirty seven diseases including small pox, Lassa fever, anthrax, influenza, German measles, Legionellosis, infection with E. coli O157:H7, Q-fever, brucellosis, Lyme disease are designated as legal disease at least one of the above mentioned countries. 4. The Korea has been coped with the change of the infectious disease occurrence for last fifty years in amendment of the Infectious Disease Prevention Act. 5. Japan has a special infectious surveillance system composed of 3,880 clinics throughout the whole country. 6. Germany has classified infectious diseases in five categories which are based on seriousness of disease. Any confirmed death, cases and suspected cases in class I should be reported within 24 hours. But only confirmed death and cases in class II, but not suspected cases, are reportable in Germarny. 7. Plague, bacillary dysentery, pertussis, mumps, Japanese encephaltis and Korean hemorrhagic fevers are diseases with high credits validity index among Korean legal disease. 8. German measles, anthrax, E. coli O157 : H7 infection, Lassa fever, Q-fever, brucellosis are high in validity index among those which are not designated in Korea but designated in other countries. In conclusion, the Korean Infectious Disease Prevention Act has well been coped with the changes of infectious disease occurrence for last fifty years, but the classification basis and the validity of diseases to be designated as legal diseases is worth reevaluating.

• 대한안전경영과학회지
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• 제26권3호
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• pp.11-17
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• 2024

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) aims to maintain and promote the safety and health of workers. Additionally, violations of the act can result in imprisonment or fines, depending on the severity of the offense. This study examines whether the severity of OSHA violations is proportional to the size of the fines imposed. There are 120 items subject to fines, with penalties ranging from a minimum of 50,000 won to a maximum of 30 million won. To assess the severity of these items, pairwise comparisons were conducted, and the results were expressed numerically. In summary, no significant correlation was found between the severity of violations and the amount of the fines. Therefore, this study proposes calculating fines based on the severity of violations. In many small companies, resources (e.g., budget and manpower) are limited. Thus, greater attentions tend to be directed toward addressing items with higher fines. Consequently, aligning the severity of legal violations with the size of the fines may contribute to improving the industrial safety.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제23권4호
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• pp.367-373
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• 2013

Objectives: Employee exposure record refers to a record containing information about environmental (workplace) monitoring or measuring of a toxic substance or harmful physical agent. The aims of this study were to examine problems related to exposure records and provide some amendments to the Korean Industrial Safety & Health Act for the effective management of chemical substances under the law. Methods: This study performed a literature search and review on legal provisions related to exposure records of a number of different countries, including Korea, the USA, Japan, EU, Germany, and the UK. They were compared and investigated and the amendment of articles was suggested. Results: The results of this study were provided as suggested amendments to the related act. There were a variety of ways of improvement, including a 30-year retention period and the introduction of new access methods, contents, transfer, and maintenance methods. All exposure data elements have to be standardized, including reference to a similar exposure group (SEG), sampling strategy, and circumstances of exposure (e.g., date, shift length, use of personal protective equipment, etc.). The SEGs are described by process, job, task, and environmental agent. Conclusions: This study is expected to provide for the amendment of the related act in order to ensure effective management of exposure records and is helpful for solving the cause and result of occupational disease by keeping exposure records according to the Industrial Safety & Health Act.

• 의료법학
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• 제20권3호
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• pp.211-233
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• 2019

2019년 10월 24일 보건의료인력지원법이 시행되었다. 보건의료인력은 가장 핵심적인 국가보건의료자원으로서, 보건의료인력의 양과 질은 국가의 보건의료 수준과도 연결된다. 본 논문은 보건의료인력지원법의 제정배경 및 주요내용을 살펴보고, 주요쟁점을 분석하여 향후 개선방안을 제시하고자 하였다. 보건의료인력지원법은 보건의료인력의 원활한 확보와 근무환경 개선 등을 지원하기 위해 제정되었다. 이 법은 보건의료인력 종합계획의 수립, 보건의료인력의 수급관리, 보건의료인력의 근무환경 개선, 이들의 지원을 위한 정책기반 조성 등의 사항들을 규정함으로써 보건의료서비스의 질을 제고하고 국민의 건강증진에 이바지하고자 하였다. 보건의료인력지원법은 보건의료환경 및 인력에 관한 사회적 이슈들을 고려하여 발의된 법으로서 보건의료인력의 수급 관리, 근무환경개선 및 복지향상 그리고 우수인력 양성 등에 중점을 두어 보건의료인력을 지원하고자한 데 의미가 있다 할 것이다. 그러나 동법이 가지는 의의를 살리면서 보건의료인력지원을 위한 실효성 있는 법으로 발전하기 위해서는 '입법목적의 달성 및 법의 실효성, 적용 대상자 범위의 적절성, 종합계획과 실태조사의 중복성과 실현가능성, 위원회 설치의 타당성, 보건의료인력지원전문기관의 업무범위와 운영방식의 적절성 측면'에서 제기될 수 있는 쟁점사항들을 검토하여 시급히 개정할 필요가 있다.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• 제35권
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• pp.42.1-42.4
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• 2023

ChatGPT has the potential to revolutionize occupational medicine by providing a powerful tool for analyzing data, improving communication, and increasing efficiency. It can help identify patterns and trends in workplace health and safety, act as a virtual assistant for workers, employers, and occupational health professionals, and automate certain tasks. However, caution is required due to ethical concerns, the need to maintain confidentiality, and the risk of inconsistent or inaccurate results. ChatGPT cannot replace the crucial role of the occupational health professional in the medical surveillance of workers and the analysis of data on workers' health.

• 의료법학
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• 제21권2호
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• pp.3-33
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• 2020

원격의료가 이미 허용되어 상당히 진행된 국가도 있는 반면, 원격의료가 법률해석상 금지되는 국가들도 있다. 최근까지 한국과 독일은 모두 후자에 속하였다. 독일에서 원격의료가 금지되는 가장 주요한 근거는 독일연방의사협회가 마련한 표준의사직업규정 제7조 제4항이 "상담을 전적으로 인쇄 및 통신매체를 통해 수행해서는 안 된다. 원격의료절차에서도, 의사가 환자를 직접 진료하는 것이 보장되어야 한다."고 규정하고 있었고 각 주(州)의 의사직업규정이 이를 그대로 수용하였기 때문이다. 그렇지만 독일 내에서도 전적인 원격의료가 허용되어야 한다는 논의 및 전자의료(E-Health) 활성화를 위한 인프라와 그를 규제하는 법을 마련해야 한다는 논의가 상당히 오래 전부터 있어 왔다. 2018년 표준의사직업규정이 변경되었고 대부분의 주(州)의사협회가 의사직업규정을 개정하였으므로 이제 독일에서는 원격의료가 대부분 허용된다고 할 수 있다. 아직 우리나라는 원격의료를 허용하지는 않으나, 우리와 같은 입장이었던 독일이 어떤 준비 하에 원격의료 허용 쪽으로 선회하였는지 살펴보는 것은 우리법이 개정될 경우를 대비하여 여전히 중요한 작업이라 할 것이다.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제40권5호
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• pp.331-345
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• 2014

Objectives: The exponential growth of chemicals, an area of high concern in developed countries like the US (i.e., the Gore Initiative) and in the EU (i.e., REACH), as well as recent chemical accidents in Korea, have provoked nationwide concerns and resultant legal enforcement. This study aims to compare the laws of the Ministry of Environment (the Chemical Substances Control Act (CSCA), Act on the Registration and Evaluation, etc. of Chemical Substances (ARECS)) with those of the Ministry of the Employment and Labor (Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)). Methods: Each law pertaining to the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of the Employment and Labor was downloaded from the official legal information system (www.law.go.kr). The objectives of each law and the major contents related to chemical management were compared and summarized. Results: The CSCA and the ARECS are focused on the protection of people and the environment, while the OSHA relates to the protection of workers. The right to know of people and workers has been reinforced. The former two laws emphasize prevention, but the OSHA contains both preventive and post-accident measures. The role of the Ministry of Employment was reinforced with the promulgation of the CSCA and ARECS, which contain regulations such as adjacent area impact evaluation, risk control planning, chemical statistical survey and construction and operation of information, provision of risk control plans, response to chemical accidents and registration of chemical substances. Conclusion: We found that the three laws discussed here have several similar clauses designed to protect people and the environment from risks that may be caused by the use of chemicals, even though there are some differences among them in terms of objectives and contents. This review concluded that several clauses that can be regarded as double regulation should be unified in order to minimize the waste of government administrative resources and socio-economic losses.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• 제5권1호
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• pp.13-17
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• 2003

Biotechnology is certainly one of the major landmarks in the 20th century history of science. It may produce enormous utility to human beings, but at the same time, it carries huge potential risks to the environment and public health. Thus, with a view to securing safety for the environment and public health in relation to the development and use of living modified organisms (LMOs), the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety was adopted, in which a regulation Procedure as to the transboundary movements, transportation, handling, and use of LMOs were drawn up. In order to prepare for the entry into force of the Protocol, the Republic of Korea legislated the "Act on the Transboundary Movements of living modified organisms(hereinafter referred as the 'Act')" in Mar 2001, and has pre-announced the enactments of the enforcement ordinance and the enforcement regulation to the Act. Pursuant to the Act, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, as a Competent National Authority, is making efforts to implement domestic biosafety schemes in cooperation with other bio-related government ministries. In order for these efforts to reap fruits, industry, academia, and research institutions should cooperate with one another, and civic groups and NGOs should narrow the differences in opinions and timely respond to the fast-changing situations. Focusing on the precautionary principle, the Protocol puts a great emphasis on the importance of information sharing amongst countries, and the Act also follows this principle. In order to gurantee biosafety, countries around the world, including the ROK, agreed to establish National Biosafety Clearing, designed to provide the information on the export/import of LMOs, R'||'&'||'Ds, risk assessment, safety control, etc. and register it on the CBD Central Biosafety Clearing House.e.

• 대한예방의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한예방의학회 1994년도 교수 연수회(환경)
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• pp.405-411
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• 1994

Hazardous wastes released into the general environment are of concern to the public and to public health authorities. In response to this concern, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended (commonly called Superfund), was enacted in 1980 to provide a framework for environmental, public health, and legal actions concerning uncontrolled releases of hazardous substances. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) was created by Superfund to address the public health issues of hazardous wastes in the community environment. Two key Agency programs, Public Health Assessments and Toxicological Profiles, are designed to assess the risk to human health of exposures to hazardous substances that migrate from waste sites or through emergency releases (e.g., chemical spills). The Agency's public health assessment is a structured process that permits ATSDR to identify which waste sites or other point sources require traditional public health actions (e.g.. human exposure studies, health studies, registries, health surveillance, health advisories). The ATSDR qualitative public health assessment complements the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's quantitative risk assessment. For Superfund purposes, both assessments are sitespecific. ATSDR's toxicological profiles are prepared for priority hazardous substances found most frequently at Superfund sites. Each profile presents the current toxicologic and human health effects information about the substance being profiled. Each profile also contains Minimal Risk Levels (MRLs), a type of risk assessment value. This paper covers ATSDR's experience in conducting public health assessments and developing MRLs, and it relates this experience to recommendations on how to improve chemical risk assessments.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제48권3호
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• pp.159-166
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• 2022

Background: A quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) model was adopted in the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH, EU) regulations as well as the Act on Registration, Evaluation, etc. of Chemicals (AREC, Republic of Korea). It has been previously used in the registration of chemicals. Objectives: In this study, we investigated the correlation between the predicted data provided by three prediction programs using a QSAR model and actual experimental results (acute fish, daphnia magna toxicity). Through this approach, we aimed to effectively conjecture on the performance and determine the most applicable programs when designating toxic substances through the AREC. Methods: Chemicals that had been registered and evaluated in the Toxic Chemicals Control Act (TCCA, Republic of Korea) were selected for this study. Two prediction programs developed and operated by the U.S. EPA - the Ecological Structure-Activity Relationship (ECOSAR) and Toxicity Estimation Software Tool (T.E.S.T.) models - were utilized along with the TOPKAT (Toxicity Prediction by Komputer Assisted Technology) commercial program. The applicability of these three programs was evaluated according to three parameters: accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. Results: The prediction analysis on fish and daphnia magna in the three programs showed that the TOPKAT program had better sensitivity than the others. Conclusions: Although the predictive performance of the TOPKAT program when using a single predictive program was found to perform well in toxic substance designation, using a single program involves many restrictions. It is necessary to validate the reliability of predictions by utilizing multiple methods when applying the prediction program to the regulation of chemicals.