• Title/Summary/Keyword: Environmental risk factors

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Survey of Exposure Factors for Risk Assessment of Hazardous Materials in Child-Specific Products (어린이용품 함유 유해인자의 위해성평가를 위한 노출계수 조사)

  • Kim, Jungkon;Seo, Jung-Kwan;Kim, Taksoo;Park, Gun-Ho
    • Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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    • v.40 no.1
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    • pp.17-26
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    • 2014
  • Background: Despite children's unique characteristics that distinguish them from adults, relatively few attempts have been made to measure exposure factors for characterization of children's exposure to hazardous chemicals in child-specific products (CSP). This study was conducted to establish the child-specific exposure factors for exposure and risk assessment of hazardous substances in CSP. Methods: We investigated the exposure factors (e.g., time use of child-products, time and frequency of object-to-body contact, time and frequency of object-to-mouth contact) influencing children's exposure to CSP (e.g., toys, playmats, oil pastels, etc.) in 650 children through a parent-completed questionnaire using a web-based survey. Participants were recruited in five age groups, <1, 1-2, 2-3, 3-6, and 6-12 years of age. Results: The child-specific exposure factors were presented as the mean, median, $95^{th}$ percentile, minimum, and maximum values. Time activity for play mats was the longest among CSP and infants spent more time on them than did elder age groups (189.3-224.7 min/day for <1-2 years vs. 91.2 min/day for 6-12 years). It is apparent that time and frequency of toy block- and plastic toy-to-mouth contact significantly decreased as a function of age. When the variation of CSP use patterns was compared by gender, the only variable that was statistically different between genders was time activity in child-products exposure space. Conclusion: We believe the five child-specific exposure factors suggested in the present study will be valuable for reducing uncertainty in the estimation of chemical exposure during risk assessment of CSP and furthermore, in the appropriate regulations to protect children's health.

What are the Risks of using Smart Technology in the Construction Phase?

  • Lee, Baul;Park, Seung-Kook
    • International conference on construction engineering and project management
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    • 2022.06a
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    • pp.103-110
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    • 2022
  • In the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution, smart technology being considered to improve productivity breakthroughs is in the spotlight as a means to replace traditional construction technology in the construction industry. However, various problems are occurring in construction sites using smart technology and causing negative impacts on construction projects. Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify risk factors that occur when smart technologies are used in construction projects. To achieve this purpose, this study investigated the difficulties at construction projects using smart technology, and risk factors were derived based on site surveys and literature. The risk factors were measured by experts, and then a total of 19 risk factors was derived by exploratory factor analysis. As a result, risks were classified as 5 factors, the institutional factor is the most difficult response, and the government needs anticipative system improvement and a long-term plan. The research findings provide practical implications for construction experts trying to apply smart technology in construction sites and construction policy-makers to revitalize smart technology.

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Influenced on Analysis of Characteristics of Forest Environmental Factors on Debris Flow Occurrence (토석류 위험지역에 영향하는 산림환경 특성 분석)

  • Park, Jae-hyeon;Kang, Min-Jeong;Kim, Ki-Dae
    • Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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    • v.104 no.3
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    • pp.403-410
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    • 2015
  • This study was conducted to analyze the forest environmental characteristics on a total of 20 forest environmental factors affecting the debris flow against 272 sites of risk areas. In the case of environmental factors, it showed the high risk of debris flow under the following conditions such as soil depth of less than 30cm, west slope, altitude of 200~300 m, mountain average slope of $25{\sim}30^{\circ}$, sandy loam, igneous rocks, and composite slope. Among the rainfall factors, 50~100 mm of maximum hourly rain fall and 300 mm of maximum rain fall per day have been shown the high risk of debris flow. Furthermore, the high risk of debris flow was related to the river-bed average slope of $10{\sim}20^{\circ}$, the river-bed average width of >10 m, the small amount of debris in river-bed (less than 20% of river-bed structure), the drainage density of >$1km/km^2$, the 40~60% of area with more than $20^{\circ}$ slope, and the 40~60% of areas with risk grade 2 of landslide. In addition, forest environmental factors including the driftwood, soil erosion control structures, age-class 3, crown density (density), and mixed forest were important factors causing the high risk of debris flow.

A Meta-analysis of the Risk Factors related to Falls among Elderly Patients with Dementia (치매노인의 낙상위험요인에 관한 메타분석)

  • Hong, SunYoung;Park, Heeok
    • Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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    • v.29 no.1
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    • pp.51-62
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    • 2017
  • Purpose: The purpose of this study was to provide data about the risk factors related to falls among elderly patients with dementia using meta-analysis. Methods: Key words used for search through electronic database (CINAHL, PubMed, Ovid-MEDLINE, RISS, KISS, DBPIA, National Assembly Library) included 'dementia', 'Alzheimer', 'fall'. Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis and 'R' version 3.2.2 was used to analyze the correlated effect size. Results: Study results showed that risk factors related to falls were identified as the demographic (age, gender, education), dementia-related (disease duration, cognition), physical (body mass index, walking, balance, activity of daily living, use of walking aids, number of medications including psychotropic drugs, musculoskeletal problems, parkinsonism, comorbidity), psychological (neuropsychiatric symptom, depression), environmental (Physical environment), and fall-related (fall history, high risk group of fall) factors. The effect size of risk factors such as high risk group of fall (r=.35), use of walking aids (r=.33), depression (r=.31), psychotropic drugs (r=.27), Musculoskeletal problems (r=.25) were higher than the other risk factors. Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, strategies to improve elderly patient's depression, intensive care for high risk group of fall, and adequate training with walking aids are needed for prevention of falls in elderly patients with dementia.

The Comparison of Risk Factors for Falls in the Community-Dwelling Elderly (지역사회 고령자의 낙상경험에 따른 위험요인 비교)

  • Kim, Soo-Min
    • PNF and Movement
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    • v.14 no.2
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    • pp.93-103
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    • 2016
  • Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the factors that increase fall risk in the residential environment and the perceived fall risk among community-dwelling elderly through comparisons between fallers and non-fallers. Methods: The subjects were 95 community-dwelling elderly aged 65 years and over residing in the metropolitan city of Ulsan. A structured questionnaire consisting of items on sociodemographics and health- and fall-related characteristics was used and data were collected from July to August 2015. The data were analyzed with the SPSS/WIN program. Results: Among recent fallers, 38.9% had diagnosed diseases when the fall occurred, 56.87% were fearful of a recurrent fall, and 86.5% stated that they were increasing their carefulness but that had led to a decrease in activity. There were significant differences between elders who had fallen at least once and elders who had no falls in age, health status, depression, the experience of falling, fear of falling, diseases, and medications. Conclusion: The results indicate a need to assess risk factors to identify older adults with a high risk for falling and the need to develop multifactorial intervention programs that consider both environmental and perceived risk factors as well as physical risk factors to reduce and prevent falls among the elderly.

Analysis of Effect of Risk Factors on the Success of Risk Management (리스크요소가 리스크관리 성공에 미치는 영향 분석 연구)

  • Chung, Yeon-Kyo;Chung, Byeong-Hwa
    • Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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    • v.14 no.5
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    • pp.443-449
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    • 2014
  • Although risk reduction of construction projects have been continued, the risk of fatal accident has been increased. The purpose of this paper is to reduce the cause of the essential risk factors. Questionnaire survey of construction companies in domestic was conducted and the Multiple Regression Analysis of statistics program was used to grasp effective factors among the risk factors of construction companies in domestic. Development of the essential risk factors and its application to projects could lead to improvements such as compression of network, reduction of cost, improvement of quality and reduction of safety accident.

A risk management system applicable to NATM tunnels: methodology development and application (NATM 터널의 리스크 관리 시스템 개발 및 현장적용)

  • Chung, Heeyoung;Lee, Kang-Hyun;Kim, Byung-Kyu;Lee, In-Mo;Choi, Hangseok
    • Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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    • v.22 no.2
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    • pp.155-170
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    • 2020
  • In this paper, a risk management system applicable to NATM tunneling projects is proposed. After investigating case histories in NATM tunnel collapse, this paper analyzes the potential risk factors and their corresponding risk events during NATM tunnel construction. The risk factors are categorized into three groups: geological, design and construction risk factors. The risk events are also categorized into four types: excessive deformation, excessive deformation with subsidence, collapse inside tunnels, and collapse inside tunnels with subsidence. The paper identifies risk scenarios in consideration of the risk factors and proposes a risk analysis/evaluation method for the NATM tunnel risk scenarios. Based on the evaluation results, the optimal mitigation measure to handle the risk events is suggested. In order to effectively facilitate a series of risk management processes, it is necessary to develop a risk register and a management ledger for risk mitigation measures that are customized to NATM tunnels. Lastly, the risk management for an actual NATM tunnel construction site is performed to verify the validity of the proposed system.

Identification of Genetic and Non-genetic Risk Factors for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma in a Southeast Asian Population

  • Hashim, Nikman Adli Nor;Ramzi, Nurul Hanis;Velapasamy, Sharmila;Alex, Livy;Chahil, Jagdish Kaur;Lye, Say Hean;Munretnam, Khamsigan;Haron, Mohd Roslan;Ler, Lian Wee
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.13 no.12
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    • pp.6005-6010
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    • 2012
  • Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is endemic in Southern Chinese and Southeast Asian populations. Geographical and ethnic clustering of the cancer is due to genetic, environmental, and lifestyle risk factors. This case-control study aimed to identify or confirm both genetic and non-genetic risk factors for NPC in one of the endemic countries, Malaysia. Materials and Methods: A panel of 768 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) previously associated with various cancers and known non-genetic risk factors for NPC were selected and analyzed for their associations with NPC in a case-control study. Results: Statistical analysis identified 40 SNPs associated with NPC risk in our population, including 5 documented previously by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and other case-control studies; the associations of the remaining 35 SNPs with NPC were novel. In addition, consistent with previous studies, exposure to occupational hazards, overconsumption of salt-cured foods, red meat, as well as low intake of fruits and vegetables were also associated with NPC risk. Conclusions: In short, this study confirmed and/or identified genetic, environmental and dietary risk factors associated with NPC susceptibility in a Southeast Asian population.

Comparing Korea Occupational Safety & Health Agency and National Health Insurance Service's cardio-cerebrovascular diseases risk-assessment tools using data from one hospital's health checkups

  • Yunrae Cho;Dong Geon Kim;Byung-Chan Park;Seonhee Yang;Sang Kyu Kim
    • Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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    • v.35
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    • pp.35.1-35.11
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    • 2023
  • Background: Cardio-cerebrovascular diseases (CVDs) are the most common cause of death worldwide. Various CVD risk assessment tools have been developed. In South Korea, the Korea Occupational Safety & Health Agency (KOSHA) and the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) have provided CVD risk assessments with health checkups. Since 2018, the KOSHA guide has stated that NHIS CVD risk assessment tool could be used as an alternative of KOSHA assessment tool for evaluating CVD risk of workers. The objective of this study was to determine the correlation and agreement between the KOSHA and the NHIS CVD risk assessment tools. Methods: Subjects of this study were 17,485 examinees aged 20 to 64 years who had undergone medical examinations from January 2021 to December 2021 at a general hospital. We classified subjects into low-risk, moderate-risk, high-risk, and highest-risk groups according to KOSHA and NHIS's CVD risk assessment tools. We then compared them with cross-analysis, Spearman correlation analysis, and linearly weighted kappa coefficient. Results: The correlation between KOSHA and NHIS tools was statistically significant (p-value < 0.001), with a correlation coefficient of 0.403 and a kappa coefficient of 0.203. When we compared risk group distribution using KOSHA and NHIS tools, CVD risk of 6,498 (37.1%) participants showed a concordance. Compared to the NHIS tool, the KOSHA tool classified 9,908 (56.7%) participants into a lower risk category and 1,079 (6.2%) participants into a higher risk category. Conclusions: In this study, KOSHA and NHIS tools showed a moderate correlation with a fair agreement. The NHIS tool showed a tendency to classify participants to higher CVD risk group than the KOSHA tool. To prevent CVD more effectively, a higher estimation tool among verified CVD risk assessment methods should be selected and managements such as early intervention and treatment of risk factors should be performed targeting the high-risk group.

Depressive stress related symptoms and associated factors among marriage immigrant women: Focused on risk factors and protective factors (결혼이주여성의 우울 스트레스 증상과 그 영향 요인: 위험 요인과 보호 요인을 중심으로)

  • Cho, Wonsup;Yoo, Seunghyun
    • Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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    • v.34 no.1
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    • pp.47-65
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    • 2017
  • Objectives: This paper aims to identify depressive or stress related symptoms and its associated risk and protective factors among marriage immigrant women in Korea. Methods: The study participants were 490 immigrant wives from '2012 Survey of Foreign Residents in Korea'. The participants completed self-administered questionnaires on socio-demographics, health status, family members' related factors, and other environmental factors. Results: Difficulties on child nursing, finance, family conflict, and experience of physical or verbal violence were significant risk variables to the depressive stress related symptoms. Family life satisfaction, discussion about troubles with Koreans, healthy status, social trust, and discussion about troubles with people from home country were the significant protective variables to mental health. However economic activities were not protective factors but risk factors. Conclusions: Mental Health promotion programs for marriage immigrant women and their family members need to consider the family and community related protective mental health factors and develop supportive system with pre-existing programs and policy modification.