• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.467-477
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• 2017

Objectives: Oxidative stress and DNA damage have been proposed as mechanisms linking pesticide exposure to health effects such as cancer and neurological diseases. We investigated whether protective measures could significantly reduce the levels of biomarkers for oxidative stress and DNA damage in agricultural workers. Methods: In the present study, the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), biomarkers related to oxidative stress and DNA damage, respectively, were analyzed in urine samples collected from agricultural workers in two provinces of Korea (n=60). The influence of wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) and performing protective behaviors on the levels of these two biomarkers was also evaluated. Results: The median urinary levels of MDA and 8-OHdG were 10.45 nmol/mg creatinine and 14.42 ng/mg creatinine in subjects living in region A, while they were 6.25 nmol/mg creatinine and 24.77 ng/mg creatinine in subjects living in region B, respectively. The levels of MDA and 8-OHdG were higher in male farmers. Farmers wearing greater numbers of PPE and performing more protective behaviors had significantly lower levels of MDA. Greater numbers of protective behaviors was significantly associated with lower levels of 8-OHdG. Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate that pesticide exposure could induce oxidative stress and DNA damage in agricultural workers, and that protective measures are important for mitigating pesticide exposure.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.77-83
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• 2013

There is still a considerable burden of occupational diseases and injuries in the world. It is not well known which interventions can effectively reduce the exposures at work that cause this burden. The objective of this article is to summarize evidence from systematic reviews of interventions to prevent occupational diseases and injuries. We included systematic reviews of interventions to reduce the incidence of work-related cancer, dust-related diseases, occupational asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, noise induced hearing loss, back pain, and occupational injuries. We searched Medline and Embase with predefined search strategies to locate systematic reviews of these interventions. We found 23 systematic reviews of which the results are also applicable to low- and middle income countries. Effective measures to reduce exposure leading to work-related cancer, dust-related diseases, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, noise, and injuries are available. However, better implementation of these measures is needed. Regulation, enforcement of regulation, and incentives for employers are effective interventions to achieve this goal. There is evidence that feedback and rewards for workers help in reducing occupational injuries. There is no evidence in many studies that back pain can be prevented. Personal protective equipment technically has the potential to reduce exposure but this is difficult to put into effect. There is no evidence in the studies regarding the effectiveness of education and training, preventive drugs, or health examinations. There is evidence that the implementation of technical measures enforced by regulation can prevent occupational diseases and injuries. For other interventions such as education or health examinations, there is no evidence that supports their effectiveness. More systematic reviews are needed in the area of injury prevention.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.106-111
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• 2014

Background: The manufacture of paint involves a variety of processes that present with medical hazards. Safety initiatives are hence introduced to limit hazard exposures and promote workplace safety. This aim of this study is to assess the use of available control measures/initiatives in selected paint factories in Lagos West Senatorial District, Nigeria. Methods: A total of 400 randomly selected paint factory workers were involved in the study. A well-structured World Health Organization standard questionnaire was designed and distributed to the workers to elicit information on awareness to occupational hazards, use of personal protective devices, and commonly experienced adverse symptoms. Urine samples were obtained from 50 workers randomly selected from these 400 participants, and the concentrations of the heavy metals (lead, cadmium, arsenic, and chromium) were determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Results: The results show that 72.5% of the respondents are aware of the hazards associated with their jobs; 30% have had formal training on hazards and safety measures; 40% do not use personal protective devices, and 90% of the respondents reported symptoms relating to hazard exposure. There was a statistically significant (p < 0.05) increase in the mean heavy metal concentrations in the urine samples obtained from paint factory workers as compared with nonfactory workers. Conclusion: The need to develop effective frameworks that will initiate the integration and ensure implementation of safety regulations in paint factories is evident. Where these exist, there is a need to promote adherence to these practice guidelines.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.321-331
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• 2013

Objective: The aim of this study is to review the literatures on the regulation, standard and guideline for the human vibration in Korea and other countries. Background: This review can be used to prevent various diseases caused by the human vibration as a basis for the development of the policy. Results: In Korea, the general employers' duties related to human vibration are set forth the Health Measures(Article 24) in the Occupational Safety and Health Act. And then an employer shall take measures to protect the health of the workers concerned by improving other working conditions relating to working hours for the vibration prevention measures referred to in Article 24 of the Act. The European Union adopted a Directive in 2002 on minimum requirements for the health and safety of workers exposed to vibration. New Regulations on Vibration at Work will be introduced in Great Britain on 2005 to implement the Directive. In the U.S., both ANSI and ACGIH adopted the ISO standard for measurement and suggested exposure action and limit values. In Japan, the Ministry of Labor decided that the vibration syndrome among operators of rock drills and riveters etc. could be included in an occupational disease(1947). In addition, ISO standard was based on proposals and draft documents of many countries such as U.K, Japan and European, etc. Conclusion: In Korea, Occupational Safety and Health Act prevent vibration to health, but do not include exposure limits. It is therefore important to consider the new duties regarding to vibration risks added to the general duties.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.421-428
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• 2022

Background: The exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation is a significant risk factor generally underestimated by outdoor workers and employers. Several studies have pointed out that occupational solar exposure increased eye and skin diseases with a considerable impact on the lives and productivity of affected workers. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness against ultraviolet radiation of some measures recently undertaken for the protection of lifeguards in a coastal area of Tuscany. Methods: Different shading structures (gazebos and beach umbrella) were tested during a sunny summer's day on a sandy beach by means of two radiometers; the UV protection offered by some T-shirts used by lifeguards was also tested in the laboratory with a spectrophotometer. Results: The analysed shading structures strongly reduced the ultraviolet radiation by up to 90%, however a not always negligible diffuse radiation is also present in the shade, requiring further protective measures (T-shirt, sunglasses, sunscreen, etc.); the tested T-shirts showed a very good-excellent protection according to the Australian/New Zealand standard. Conclusion: Results obtained in this study suggest how the adoption and dissemination of good practices, including those tested, could be particularly effective as a primary prevention for lifeguards who are subjected to very high levels of radiation for long periods.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.213-223
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• 2016

Objectives: This study was designed to assess the level of physical exposure to heavy metals among residents who live around a Chungcheongnam-do Province industrial complex and to provide baseline data on the effects and harms of heavy metals on the human body by comparing their exposure levels to those of people from control regions. Methods: We measured blood lead and cadmium levels and urine mercury and chromium levels and conducted a survey among 559 residents from the affected area and 347 residents of other areas. Results: Blood lead and cadmium levels and urine mercury levels were significantly higher in the case region than among those in the control region (p=0.013, p<0.001, p<0.001, respectively). In the thermoelectric power plant area, blood cadmium and urine mercury levels were significantly higher than in the control region (p<0.001, p<0.001, respectively). In the steel mill and petrochemical industry areas, blood cadmium level was significantly higher than that in the control region (p<0.001). Dividing groups by the reference level of blood cadmium ($2{\mu}g/L$), the odds ratios between the case and control regions were 2.56 (95% CI=1.83-3.58), 3.11 (95% CI=2.06-4.71) for the thermoelectric power plant area, 1.78 (95% CI=1.19-2.65) for the steel mill area and 4.07 (95% CI=2.40-6.89) for petrochemical industry area. Conclusion: This study showed that the levels of exposure to heavy metals among residents living near a Chungcheongnam-do Province industrial complex were significantly higher than those in the control region. This seems to be attributable to exposure to heavy metals emissions from the industrial complex. Further research and safety measures are required to protect residents' health.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.303-309
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• 2008

The reduction of risk within the workplace has long been focus of attention both through industry initiatives and legislation. Exposure matrices according to industries and processes treated DMF (N,N-Dimethylformamide) were constructed based on KOSHA (Korean Occupational Safety and Health Agency)'s 2005 exposure database which were gathered from Korean agencies of workplace hazards evaluation for business place. These exposure matrices were assessed by danger value (DV) that was calculated from combination of hazard rating, duration of use rating, and risk probability rating of exposure to chemical hazardous agents in accordance with Hallmark Risk Assessment Tool. The results of risk assessment is divided four kinds of control bands which were related with control measures. The applicability of risk assessment using exposure matrices was performed by field study and survey for high matrices group. This study found that more attentions should be paid to two industries, manufacture of sewn wearing apparel and manufacture of textiles, among 19 industries, and to 3 processes, coating, processing & mixing, and lab, among 80 processes because those were regarded as having the highest risk.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.523-528
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• 2013

Background: The possibility that electromagnetic fields (EMF) exposure may increase male breast cancer risk has been discussed for a long time. However, arguments have been presented that studies limited by poor quality could have led to statistically significant results by chance or bias. Moreover, data fo the last 10 years have not been systematically summarized. Methods and Results: To confirm any possible association, a meta-analysis was performed by a systematic search strategy. Totals of 7 case-control and 11 cohort studies was identified and pooled ORs with 95% CIs were used as the principal outcome measures. Data from these studies were extracted with a standard meta-analysis procedure and grouped in relation to study design, cut-off point, exposure assessment method, adjustment and exposure model. A statistical significant increased risk of male breast cancer with EMF exposure was defined (pooled ORs = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.14-1.52, P < 0.001), and subgroup analyses also showed similar results. Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggests that EMF exposure may be associated with the increase risk of male breast cancer despite the arguments raised.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.81-87
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• 2020

Background: Kori unit #1 is permanently shut down after a 40-year lifetime. The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission recommends establishing initial decommissioning plans for all nuclear and radwaste treatment facilities. Therefore, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) must establish an initial and final decommissioning plan for radwaste-treatment facilities. Radiation safety assessment, which constitutes one chapter of the decommissioning plan, is important for establishing a decommissioning schedule, a strategy, and cost. It is also a critical issue for the government and public to understand. Materials and Methods: This study provides a method for assessing external radiation dose to workers during decommissioning. An external dose is calculated following each exposure scenario, decommissioning strategy, and working schedule. In this study, exposure dose is evaluated using the deterministic method. Physical characterization of the facility is obtained by both direct measurement and analysis of the drawings, and radiological characterization is analyzed using the annual report of KAERI, which measures the ambient dose every month. Results and Discussion: External doses are calculated at each stage of a decommissioning strategy and found to increase with each successive stage. The maximum external dose was evaluated to be 397.06 man-mSv when working in liquid-waste storage. To satisfy the regulations, working period and manpower must be managed. In this study, average and cumulative exposure doses were calculated for three cases, and the average exposure dose was found to be about 17 mSv/yr in all the cases. Conclusion: For the three cases presented, the average exposure dose is well below the annual maximum effective dose restriction imposed by the international and domestic regulations. Working period and manpower greatly affect the cost and entire decommissioning plan; hence, the chosen option must take account of these factors with due consideration of worker safety.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.396-402
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• 2021

Background: Styrene is one of the aromatic compounds used in acetonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) producing petrochemicals, which has an impact on health of workers. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the health risks of styrene emitted from the petrochemical industry in Iran. Methods: Air samples were collected based on NIOSH 1501 method. The samples were analyzed by the Varian-cp3800 gas chromatograph. Finally, risk levels of styrene's health effects on employees were assessed by the quantitative method of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and the semiquantitative way by the Singapore Occupational Safety and Health Association. Results: Based on the results, the employees had the highest average exposure to styrene vapors (4.06 × 10^-1mg.(kg - day)^-1) in the polybutadiene latex (PBL) unit. Therefore, the most top predictors of cancer and non-cancer risk were 2.3×10^-4 and 7.26 × 10^-1, respectively. Given that the lowest average exposure (1.5 × 10^-2mg.(kg - day)^-1) was in the dryer unit, the prediction showed a moderate risk of cancer (0.8 × 10^-6) and non-cancer (2.3 × 10^-3) for the employees. The EPA method also predicted that there would be a definite cancer risk in 16% and a probable risk in 76% of exposures. However, according to the semiquantitative approach, the rate of risk was at the "low" level for all staff. The results showed that there was a significant difference (p < 0.05) between the units in exposure and health risk of styrene (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Given the high risk of styrene's health effects, appropriate control measures are required to reduce the exposure level.