• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.81-90
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• 2014

Flexible production system has been expanded to all sectors of economy with the change of labor market and diversification of employment. The unstable employment with irregular work has replaced stable employment with regular work. This study has investigate the impact pathway of the type of employment on health status especially ill-health symptoms experiences. Among the first Korean Working Conditions Survey data, the employee's response data was used to analyze the path way with multiple regression analysis. The result has shown the direct effect of the type of employment on ill-health symptoms experience. Indirect effect of the type of employment was found the pathway via the exposure to noise, high temperature, low temperature, dust, skin contact to chemicals, painful posture, heavy material handling, standing position, repetitive movement of hands. However the exposure to the other hazardous factors such as organic solvent, wholebody vibration, radiation, lifting people, infectious materials were not influenced by the type of employment.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.235-247
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• 1999

This study was performed to investigate what was the most serious occupational factors in small scale industries. Twenty-three occupatonally hazardous substances were measured at the five workplaces in the Eastern Seoul during 1995∼1996. Total of 2,020 samples were analyzed by either GC/FID for organic vapors or AAS for heavy metals. From the results of this study noise was the most serious factor at the selected workplaces. Noise level in the metal processing, the printing, and the auto repairing industries exceeded the 8 hr PEL by 19.7%, 13.6%, and 11.6%, respectively. Mean concentrations of toluene in the shoe making and the printing industries exceeded the assessment crieterion by 6.0% and 3.8%, respectively. Further study of risk assessment of occupational exposure may be required to protect workers from hazardous working conditons.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.174-184
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to improve the working environment by identifying the work satisfaction of the cleaning workers of the aircraft and measuring and assessing the harmful factors of the cleaning process. Methods: We asked 23 cleaning companies for questionnaires and got 100 answers from 5 companies. The A-E Airline health manager has been contacted to establish a site survey schedule. The in-flight and lounge were measured using direct reading equipment. The harmful factor to be measured are noise, dust, temperature, volatile organic compound, total airborne bacteria, and total airborne bacteria. Results: Uncomfortable positions when replacing blanket, cleaning the table, and cleaning the floor have been identified as factor that reduce work satisfaction. Noise when replacing newspapers and cleaning toilets has been identified as a factor that lowers work satisfaction. Temperature and humidity were found to reduce work satisfaction during in-flight disinfection. Measurements of aircraft cabin and lounge with direct read equipment have shown that none of the items exceed the exposure criteria. Conclusions: As a result of measuring direct-reading equipment, no items exceeded the exposure criteria for each harmful factor. A clear survey of the working environment is required based on the results, and additional research is needed using personal sample measurement.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.236-243
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• 2022

Background: In the case of multiple exposures to different types of heavy metals, such as the conditions faced by residents living near a smelter, it would be preferable to group hazardous substances with similar characteristics rather than individually related substances and evaluate the effects of each group on the human body. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the utility of factor analysis in the assessment of health effects caused by exposure to two or more hazardous substances with similar characteristics, such as in the case of residents living near a smelter. Methods: Heavy metal concentration data for 572 people living in the vicinity of the Janghang smelter area were grouped based on several subfactors according to their characteristics using factor analysis. Using these factor scores as an independent variable, multiple regression analysis was performed on health effect markers. Results: Through factor analysis, three subfactors were extracted. Factor 1 contained copper and zinc in serum and revealed a common characteristic of the enzyme co-factor in the human body. Factor 2 involved urinary cadmium and arsenic, which are harmful metals related to kidney damage. Factor 3 encompassed blood mercury and lead, which are classified as related to cardiovascular disease. As a result of multiple linear regression analysis, it was found that using the factor index derived through factor analysis as an independent variable is more advantageous in assessing the relevance to health effects than when analyzing the two heavy metals by including them in a single regression model. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that regression analysis linked with factor analysis is a good alternative in that it can simultaneously identify the effects of heavy metals with similar properties while overcoming multicollinearity that may occur in environmental epidemiologic studies on exposure to various types of heavy metals.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.23 no.3 s.31
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• pp.275-284
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• 1990

To obtain the useful information for the status of working environment and health management of workers in manufacturing industries, comparision of results on the status of working environmental and health management of workers for 32 manufacturing industries in Chunan area from 1988 to 1989 was carried out. The results were as follows : 1. The rate of over-PEL (Permissible Exposure Limit) to for hazardous factors decreased significantly 23.5% in 1988, 18.3% in 1989 (p<0.05) and, the highest rate of over-PEL was the stone and sand handling industry, the highest rate of over-PEL was the dusty workplace as 38.5% in 1988, 35.2% in 1989. 2. The rate of workers exposed to hazardous factors in 1988 and in 1989 was 22.4% respectively, the rate of workers checked up special health examination was 40.1% in 1988, 75.3% in 1989. In stone and sand handling and medicochemical industries, none of workers exposed to hazardous factors was subjected to special health examination in 1988, but 75% of workers exposed to hazardous factors had checked up in 1989. 3. The 6 industries appointed as part-time factory physician among 17 industries which were supposed to have factory physician according to the Safety and Healthy Act of Korea, 6 out of 24 industries only appointed industrial hygienist, furthermore 4 out of 6 hygienists had another duty in addition to occupational hygiene itself.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.276-283
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• 2008

To provide the research strategy for protection of children's health from hazardous chemical, we reviewed the hazardous chemicals can be exposed through maternity, children's life style and living environment. Recently, diseases related with children's living condition were focused as asthma, atopy, childhood developmental disability, congenital malformations and obesity. Children can be exposed to hazardous chemicals through an ambient air, water, soil, food, toys and other factors such as floor dust. Also children's health was deeply related with a wrong life style and neglectful caring by a lack of knowledge and information of harmful ones at parents and child care center's nursers. According to the previous study, the chemical risk factor of children's health were identified as inorganic arsenic, bisphenol A, 2,4-D, dichlorvos, methylmercury, PCBs, pesticide, phthalates, PFOA/PFOS, vinyl chloride, et al. Domestic studies for identification of causality between children exposure to chemicals and resulted hazardous effects were not implemented. The confirmation of chemical risk factors through simultaneously performing toxicological analysis, human effect study, environmental/human monitoring, and risk assessment is needed for good risk management. And also, inter-agency collaboration and sharing information can support confirming scientific evidence and good decision making.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.230-237
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• 2021

Background: Noise-induced hearing loss is a well-known occupational disease that affects many fish harvesters from many fisheries worldwide, whose risk factor is prolonged exposure to hazardous noise levels. To date, academic research activities and regulatory bodies have not provided any comparative analysis among the existing methods to assess noise exposure levels of fish harvesters. This paper provides a comparison of four relevant assessment methods of noise exposure, examining the results of a measurement campaign performed onboard small fishing vessels from Newfoundland and Labrador. Methods: We traveled onboard 11 vessels engaged in multiple fisheries from Newfoundland and Labrador and performed extensive noise exposure surveys using the simplified International Maritime Organization method, the full-day measurement method, and the two methods provided by ISO 9612:2009, the task-based method and job-based method (JBM). Results: The results showed that the four methods yield similar values when the noise components are dominated by the engine and auxiliaries (steady-state sources); when noise components are dominated by the fishing gear, task-based method and the simplified International Maritime Organization method estimates are less accurate than JBM, using full-day measurements as baseline. Conclusion: The JBM better assesses noise exposure in small-scale fisheries, where noise exposure has significant variance and uncertainties on the exposure levels are higher.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.157-166
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• 2017

Objectives: Exposure to hazardous air pollutants could be affected by sociodemographic factors such as age, gender and more. Information on time spent in microenvironments has a critical role in exposure assessment. The purpose of this study was to analyze the exposure pathways which influence personal exposure through time-activity patterns and sociodemographic factors. Methods: A total of 379 subjects were collected from the second term of the Korean National Environmental Health Survey. A questionnaire survey in relation to sociodemographic factors and a time-activity diary were carried out for personal exposure to toluene. Focusing on personal exposure to toluene, factors affecting personal exposure were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Results: Participants spent their time in an indoor house for $16.8{\pm}4.0hr$, workplace or school $2.3{\pm}3.5hr$, and other indoor $2.1{\pm}2.2hr$. Sociodemographic factors were significantly different among each personal exposure and microenvironment. Time of staying at an office turned out to be a main factor from point of exposure in exposure pathway using multiple regression analysis. As a result, this means that exposure may be different according to the time of staying in each microenvironment. Conclusions: Personal exposure to air pollutants might be decided by time-activity pattern indicating when, where, and which activities people pursue, as well as individual sociodemographic factors.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.295-306
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• 2009

The risk assessment of groundwater and soil in Sasang industrial complex in Busan Metropolitan City was carried out in order to estimate risks to human health and the environment. The carcinogenic risk (CR) of receptors to soil and air was not identified. However, the CRs for TCE and PCE were 6.7E-6 and 1.0E-5, respectively. Hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI) did not appear through air exposure pathways. Yet the HQ and HI of soil were 3.4E-5 and 5E-5, respectively, and lower than the critical value (1.0). On the contrary, HQ and HI with respect to groundwater were calculated as 0.7 (not hazardous) and 1.4 (hazardous). The constituent reduction factor (CRF) for TCE in the study area was determined as 2.5, and thus remediation work is demanded. As a result of sensitivity analysis for 18 exposure factors, eight exposure factors (life time of carcinogens, age, body weight, exposure duration, exposure frequency, dermal exposure frequency, water ingestion rate, and soil ingestion rate) varied with the variation of risk.

• 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.