• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.572-580
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• 2018

Objectives: Human biomonitoring (HBM) is a measurement of the chemicals and their metabolites in human biological samples and has been successfully employed to determine the exposure levels of environmental chemicals. In this study, we analyzed seasonal variations of the blood or urinary levels of chemicals, and assessed that these differences could affect the results of association study. Methods: The Korea National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS) is a nationwide survey that analyzes exposure levels of environmental pollutants, 19 kinds of chemicals including heavy metals and organic chemicals, and the exposure factors in the general population. Based on KoNEHS data, we analyzed the levels of chemicals concentrations over the total survey period (2012-2014) and each season, and assessed the association of thyroid measures with phthalate metabolite and BPA. Results: Exposure levels of blood mercury and lead were lower in summer compare to winter. Bisphenol A and PAHs metabolites were higher in spring and summer, but lower in autumn. VOCs metabolites were generally lower in summer and autumn. Phthalate metabolites were higher in all other seasons than in winter. Pyrethroid metabolite, 3-PBA, was higher in summer and autumn. Regarding seasonal variation of chemical exposures, the statistical significance and size of effects between thyroid measures and phthalate and BPA were changed with season. Conclusion: Seasonal variations of chemical exposure and health outcome should be considered for interpreting biomonitoring results from a public health context.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.336-346
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• 2009

As a follow-up survey of A Study of Monitoring Method on Exposure Level and Biomarkers of Environmental Pollutants-Focused on Ulsan Industrial Comlpex Area, published in 2005, a close examination of the health status was conducted for selected Ulsan residents. Based on the previous study, a total number of 129 subjects were divided into two groups: the exposure group consisted of 39 residents whose blood levels of lead, mercury and/or cadmium were higher than international reference values, and 90 residents of control group with normal levels. Environmental exposure level and its association with health condition were examined by various methods such as questionnaire, analyses of lead, mercury and cadmium in blood and medical examinations. The geometric mean concentrations of lead, mercury and cadmium in blood were respectively $2.07{\mu}g/d{\ell}$ (exposure $2.54{\mu}g/d{\ell}$, control $1.90{\mu}g/d{\ell}$), $5.94{\mu}g/L$ (exposure $8.57{\mu}g/L$, control $5.07{\mu}g/L$), $1.32{\mu}g/L$ (exposure $1.30{\mu}g/L$, control $1.33{\mu}g/L$). The concentrations of the three heavy metals in blood showed lower levels than internationally recommended values except for blood mercury. Also, any abnormal or, peculiar disease, or target tissue damage related to the heavy metals was not observed among the all subjects. Therefore, it can be said that no significant difference of heavy metal concentrations and health conditions was found between the two groups.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2016

Objectives: Personal exposure to air pollution is affected by contact over time and by location. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between personal exposure to $PM_{2.5}$ and the time-activity patterns of the elderly in urban and rural areas. Methods: A total of 44 elderly participants were recruited for a 24-hour $PM_{2.5}$ personal exposure measurement. Twenty-four were from Seoul (urban area) and 20 were from Asan (rural area). Energy expenditure and spatiotemporal positioning were monitored through $PM_{2.5}$ measurement. Spearman correlation analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between $PM_{2.5}$ and time-activity pattern. Results: Daily average $PM_{2.5}$ personal exposures were $19.1{\pm}9.7{\mu}g/m^3$ in Seoul and $29.1{\pm}16.9{\mu}g/m^3$ in Asan. Although outdoor exposure was higher in Seoul than in Asan, residential indoor exposure was higher in Asan than in Seoul. Higher $PM_{2.5}$ personal exposure in Asan could be explained by longer time in residential indoor environments and higher indoor $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations. Seoul elderly had higher energy expenditure, which may be due to the use of mass transportation. Conclusion: Personal exposure to $PM_{2.5}$ was higher among Asan elderly than Seoul elderly because of high residential indoor concentrations and longer residential time. Lack of energy spent and higher personal exposure to $PM_{2.5}$ might have led to higher risk among the Asan elderly.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.175-183
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• 2012

Objectives: Controversy regarding the relationship between exposure to Agent Orange and disease has progressed for more than four decades, both at home and abroad. Recently, the allegation by US veteran Steve House of the burial of Agent Orange at the US Army base Camp Carroll located in Waegwan-eup, Korea, has emerged. We reviewed published articles and reports related to Agent Orange. Methods: Articles and reports were collected online using the keywords 'agent orange' and 'health' and then reviewed. Results: A number of epidemiologic studies have reported disease outcomes due to exposure to Agent Orange, while others were unable to establish a link to the injuries of veterans of the Vietnam War. This can be explained by the fact that accurate exposure assessment should be carried out since exposure misclassification in epidemiologic studies can affect estimates of risk. In the case of the burial of Agent Orange at Camp Carroll, an exposure pathway could be through underground water supplies, which differs from the cases of Vietnam and Seveso in Italy. Conclusion: There still remains a dispute among academics regarding the relationship between exposure to Agent Orange and disease, although Agent Orange is a highly toxic chemical. This dispute indicates that accurate exposure pathway and exposure assessment is needed.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.529-540
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• 2019

Objectives: The aim of this study is to compare exposure levels of PAHs and benzene metabolites in the urine of nationally representative adults in Korea and identify exposure factors in relation to questionnaire results. Methods: The study analyzed PAHs and benzene metabolites in the urine of adults aged 19 and older recruited in Cycles 1-3 of the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS). Participants were administered questionnaires on demographic characteristics, lifestyle, and dietary habits to identify the association with exposure levels to environmental chemicals. Results: 1-hydroxypyrene and t,t-muconic acid levels in this study were higher than those in large-scale biomonitoring conducted in other countries (the US and Canada), while 2-hydroxynaphthalene levels were lower. Most environmental chemicals exhibited significant differences depending on gender and age, and exposure levels tended to increase with grilled food intake. In addition, variables such as smoking, distance between home and a road, travelling on public transportation, and ventilation time had a significant effect on exposure to environmental chemicals. Conclusions: The importance of this study lies in utilizing the representative results of KoNEHS, large scale biomonitoring conducted in Korea over roughly ten years. Variables including smoking and roasted food intake were found to affect exposure to PAHs and benzene, which can be used to establish baseline exposure levels of environmental chemicals in Korea.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.261-268
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• 2014

In advanced countries, a variety of consumer exposure assessment models including CONSEXPO, are developed to manage risks of consumer products containing hazardous materials. The models are used to assess the risks of exposure to hazardous chemicals in consumer products, which serves as a foundation for regulation standards. In this study, exposure assessment models applicable for various scenarios were reviewed and a proper model was applied for the selected products and risk assessment was conducted at each stage to establish a risk assessment procedure for different types of products. Based on the exposure scenario, exposure factor was selected and according to the algorithm produced based on CONSEXPO exposure model, some level of phthalates were detected from some types of PVC flooring. However, a correlation between phthalate content and migration rate showed r-square 0.0065, little correlation, which is inadequate for estimating standard value. For this reason, it seems valid that the current standard be in place. Additionally, any new standard was not suggested as VOCs were not found harmful to human health, allowing the existing standard to be continuously applied. No migration rate was found for heavy metals and risk assessment was not performed accordingly. In this aspect, it is presumed that hazards to health through dermal exposure would be very little.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.71-81
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• 2019

Objectives: The lung injuries by exposure to the humidifier disinfectants (HDs) were reported in 2011, Korea. For the HD victims, environmental exposure level and clinical diagnosis were conducted to determine the levels of damage by HDs. Methods: The exposure assessment to the HDs from 1st to 4th questionnaire surveys were carried out for 5,245 victims. And the affecting factors of exposure levels were analyzed by characterizing exposure and demographic information. By using of exposure concentration and cumulative time, exposure levels were classified and compared by percentage of clinical diagnosis classes. The high exposure and low clinical diagnosis rating groups, and low exposure and high clinical diagnosis rating groups were analyzed to overcome the limitation of past exposure assessment such as recall bias. Results: Among the all applicants damaged by the humidifier disinfectants, survivors were 4,028 and the dead were 1,217. And male and female were 2,675, and 2,547, respectively. In case of occurrence age of lung disease, under 10 years was majority age group (1,536) and followed by thirties (917). Pregnant women and fetuses were 339 and 439, respectively. And the damages by exposure to the HDs were concentrated on these susceptible populations in groups with low exposure and high clinical diagnosis rating. On the other hand, the groups classified by high exposure and low clinical diagnosis rating were shown different characterization. Conclusions: The questionnaire survey on past exposure may be uncertain due to recall bias. However, the relationship between classified exposure levels and clinical diagnosis ratings might be shown positive correlation if the exposure assessment errors were analyzed and controlled.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.22 no.2 s.57
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• pp.171-175
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• 2007

Indigenous species means a species that is likely, due to historical presence, to occur at a specified site for some portion of its life span. Therefore, indigenous species can be useful as an indicator to assess environmental risk caused by hazardous chemicals in a specific site. So far a few toxicity studies using freshwater species which are indigenous to Korea have been carried out. In this study, a freshwater shrimp (Neocardina denticulata) indigenous to Korea was used for acute toxicity test of heavy metals. Neocardina denticulata were exposed to cadmium chloride $(CdCl_2)$, copper chloride $(CuCl_2)$ and zinc chloride $(ZnCl_2)$ using automatic flow-through system for 96 hours. The 96h LC50s were calculated as 0.043 $(0.042{\sim}0.045)mg\;CdCl_2/L,\;0.104(0.098{\sim}0.113)mg\; CuCl_2/L\;and\;2.021\;(1.633{\sim}2.594)mg\;ZnCl_2/L$. When compaired with some international standard species such as medaka(Oryzias latipes), Neocardina denticulata had high sensitivity. Therefore, this study suggested that Neocardina denticulata have possibilities for a sensitive test species to test heavy metal toxicity in aqua-system.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.326-329
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• 2005

A worker who grinded the inner parts of camshafts for automobile engines using water-soluble metalworking fluid (MWF) for 14 years was diagnosed with sinusitis. We postulated that the outbreak of sinusitis could be associated with exposure to microbes contaminated in water-soluble MWF during the grinding operation. To suggest responsible agents for this outbreak, quantitative exposure assessment for chemical and biological agents and prevalence of work-related respiratory symptoms by questionnaire were studied. The exposure ranges of MWF mist (0.59 $mg/m^3$to 2.12 $mg/m^3$) measured during grinding exceeded 0.5 $mg/m^3$ of the recommended exposure limit (REL). Grinder's exposures to bacteria, fungi and endotoxins were also generally higher than not only the proposed standards, but also those reported by several studies to identify the cause of respiratory effects. Statistical test indicated that the prevalence rate of reported symptoms related to nasal cavities showed no significant differences among the operations. Evaluation on grinding operation characteristics and quantitative exposure assessment indicated that repeated exposure to MWF mist including microbes contaminated from the use of water-soluble MWF may cause respiratory diseases like sinusitis or at least increase susceptibility to the development of sinusitis

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.195-202
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• 2005

The health risks from the magnetic fields exposure have been brought out difficulties in the construction of transformer substation. According to several epidemiologic studies and the relevant international organizations, magnetic fields should not exceed the exposure limits of 3mG for the people living near electric power lines. The rigid regulation of the exposure levels for the elementary school and residental areas has been established already in Switzerland and Italy. Since 1998, the environmental impact assessment system in Korea has been reviewed for power-frequency magnetic field by precautionary policies. In this study, the possible application of Prior Environmental Performance Review System for the transformer substation was reviewed from the points of the properties of the powerfrequency magnetic fields. The ranges and survey methods of the assessment for the transformer substation were proposed. The ranges of magnetic fields was between 300m to 500m for the 345kV transformer substation. It is necessary to develop further specific assessment methods for various high-voltage transformer substations.