• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.317-323
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• 2021

Background: The surface mining industry has one of the highest fatality rates among private industries in the United States. Despite recent decreases in the fatality rates of comparable industries, the fatality rate in the surface mining industry has increased. Meanwhile, a lack of safety research in surface mining has hindered efforts to improve safety strategies in the surface mining workplace. Method: This study examined quarry workers' hazard identification skills by conducting a case study of a surface mining facility in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Semistructured interviews were conducted with eight quarry workers who were employed at the mine facility. In addition to the interviews, data were collected through field notes, notes from an expert meeting with safety managers, and site photographs to explore quarry workers' safety behaviors in the workplace. Results: The results showed that quarry workers identified hazards and improved their safety performance by translating safety knowledge learned from training into practice, acquiring hands-on work experience, learning from coworkers, and sharing responsibilities among team members. Conclusion: This study contributes to understanding quarry workers' safe performance beyond what they have learned in safety training to include their interaction with other workers and hand-on experience in the workplace. This study informs practitioners in the surface mining industry to build a safe work environment as they design effective safety programs for employees.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.128-135
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• 2022

The comparative evaluation of occupational accident fatality rates (OAFRs) of different countries is complicated owing to the differences in their level of socio-economic development. However, such evaluation is necessary to assess the national occupational safety and health system of a country. This study proposes a statistical method to compare the OAFRs of countries taking into consideration the difference in their level of socio-economic development. We first collected data on the socio-economic indicators and OAFRs of 11 countries over a 30-year period. Next, based on literature survey and statistical correlation analysis, we selected the significant independent variables and built multiple linear regression models to predict OAFR. We also determined the groups of countries having heterogeneous relationships between the independent variables and OAFRs, which are represented by the regression models. The proposed method is demonstrated by comparing the OAFR of Korea with the OAFRs of 10 other developed countries.

• Industry Promotion Research
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.69-75
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• 2024

Korea has entered the ranks of advanced countries in terms of economic size and technological competitiveness. However, its industrial accident fatality rate remains among the lowest in OECD countries, and recent incidents such as various building collapses have resulted in numerous deaths of workers or citizens, reminiscent of accidents in developing countries. According to the 2022 Industrial Accident Status Analysis by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, out of the 874 fatalities in work-related accidents in 2022 across all industries, 402 were in the construction industry, accounting for approximately 46% of all fatalities. In particular, the construction industry's fatality rate stands at 1.61, significantly higher than the overall industry fatality rate of 0.43, indicating its severity. Construction ranks highest in terms of fatality rates, with mining at 12.18 and fishing at 1.80. When categorizing construction projects into private and public, private projects show significantly higher figures in terms of contracts, contract amounts, accident numbers, and fatalities compared to public projects. However, unlike public agencies, many private clients lack adequate safety and health activities and lack established safety and health systems. This study aims to raise awareness among private clients about the need to establish safety and health systems and enhance safety and health activities, and to discuss the direction of future development of advanced safety and health practices among private clients.

• Industry Promotion Research
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.61-67
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• 2023

This study compared, analyzed, and verified the accident rate and accident fatality rate (per 10,000 workers) of workplaces that perform safety management on behalf of a safety management institutions designated and registered in accordance with the OSHAct and workplaces that perform safety management. According to the research results, the significance was confirmed that the group with a low accident rate was the workplaces that self-appointed safety managers, workplaces with self-appointed safety managers in size with less than 300 employees, and workplaces in the industrial accident insurance industry in the manufacturing and transportation, warehouse, and telecommunications industries. The groups with a low accidental death rate were workplaces with less than 300 employees, workplaces where safety management was performed on behalf of safety management institutions, and workplaces with selfappointment for other medical businesses. In this study, it was confirmed that the accident rate in the safety management agency's workplaces was higher than that of its own appointed workplaces, and that there were some differences in the accident fatality rate depending on the size and industry. Therefore, since the current safety management agency system cannot ensure the effect of preventing accidental deaths, there is a need for comprehensive improvement of the agency system and improvement of the system to strengthen expertise in preventing industrial accidents.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.553-563
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• 2015

Reportedly the fatality rate from secondary collision is six times higher than the average fatality rate from all traffic accidents. So prevention of the secondary collision is attracting significant attention from automotive industries. However, the secondary collision prevention systems that have been developed are not considering possibility of brake actuator failure that can occur by the impact during the initial collision. In this paper, a new system has been developed that could prevent secondary collision even in case of brake actuator failure by taking advantage of still operating actuators. In this system, a steering control is performed for maintaining a lane by using linear quadratic regulator. Additionally, the system attempts differential brake control with the remaining braking capability to stop the vehicle in the shortest distance. Through simulation in various collision scenarios, the system has demonstrated significant potential of preventing secondary collision that could otherwise have resulted in severe fatality.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.203-210
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• 2012

Traffic accident risk of young drivers(less than 25) is reported to have 8 times as high as that of middle aged drivers(between 30 and 49). Despite the rise of traffic accident risk, few have been attempted to take a look into driving characteristics of young drivers. The purpose of this paper is to analyze age-specific risks of young driver by means of database of insurance and vehicle inspection, thereby collecting data such as age, vehicle mileage, injuries and so on. We conducted Data-Mining(CART) and Portfolio analysis according to age groups(every 10 years). The conclusions which can be drawn from this empirical study are as follows: (1) Despite the fact that young drivers have low vehicle mileage, the rate of fatality is relatively high. (2) Being concerned of vehicle mileage, 24,000km of driving experience is thought to be critical in differing in fatality rate. Having annual average mileage fewer than 24,169 km, accident frequency is relatively lower than that exceeding 24,169 km(1,571 cases). Backed upon these, some recommendations about driver's license system for young driver to improve are given.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.195-199
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• 2019

Objectives: Jeju Province is well known as the region showing the highest incidence of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) in South Korea. The aim of this study was to evaluate the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of SFTS patients in Jeju Province. Methods: The primary data for this study were obtained from the Integrated Diseases and Health Control System of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDCIS). The selection criteria were confirmed cases of SFTS with a residence listed in Jeju Province at the time of diagnosis, reported to the KCDCIS between July 16, 2014 and November 30, 2018. Results: Of 55 confirmed cases of SFTS, the case fatality rate was 10.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.1 to 22.2). The most common presenting symptoms at diagnosis of severe fever, myalgia, and diarrhea had incidences of 83.6% (95% Cl, 71.2 to 92.2), 45.5% (95% Cl, 32.0 to 59.5), and 40.0% (95% CI, 27.0 to 54.1), respectively. Conclusions: Compared to SFTS patients nationwide in 2013-2015, the subjects of this study exhibited a lower case fatality rate and had a lower incidence of severe fever, myalgia, and confusion.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.385-394
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• 2021

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the status of regional variations in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) treatment and investigate the association between the presence of a thrombectomy-capable stroke center (TSC) and the case fatality rate (CFR) of AIS within hospital service areas (HSAs). Methods: This observational cross-sectional study analyzed acute stroke quality assessment program data from 262 hospitals between 2013 and 2016. TSCs were defined according to the criteria of the Joint Commission. In total, 64 HSAs were identified based on the addresses of hospitals. We analyzed the effects of structure factors, process factors, and the presence of a TSC on the CFR of AIS using multivariate logistic regression. Results: Among 262 hospitals, 31 hospitals met the definition of a TSC. Of the 64 HSAs, only 20 had a TSC. At hospitals, the presence of a stroke unit, the presence of stroke specialists, and the rate of endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) treatment were associated with reductions in the CFR. In HSAs, the rate of EVT treatment (odds ratio [OR], 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.97 to 0.99) and the presence of a TSC (OR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.88 to 0.99) significantly reduced the CFR of AIS. Conclusions: The presence of a TSC within an HSA, corresponding to structure and process factors related to the quality of care, contributed significantly to lowering the CFR of AIS. The CFR also declined as the rate of treatment increased. This study highlights the importance of TSCs in the development of an acute stroke care system in Korea.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.81.1-81.12
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• 2023

Background: The incidence of colic and the outcomes of colic surgery have not been surveyed in racetracks in Korea. Objectives: This study examined the incidence, mortality, and case fatality of colic and investigated the effects of age and sex after an exploratory celiotomy on the long-term survival rate (return to racing), subsequent racing performance, and career longevity. Methods: The incidence, mortality, and case fatalities of colic were examined over an 11-year period. The records of 40 horses that had undergone a celiotomy, after participating in at least one race and 75 race-matched control horses were analyzed. The racing performance and career length of the horses that returned to racing post-surgery were compared with a control group. Results: The annual incidence, fatality rate of colic, and annual mortality rate at Seoul Racecourse were 6.5, 2.8 per 100 horse-years, and 0.2 deaths cases per 100 horse-years, respectively. Of the 40 horses that underwent colic surgery, 26 (65%) returned to racing. The likelihood of returning to racing decreased with increasing age of the horses, and geldings had a lower probability of returning. While the performance in the five preoperative races between the two groups was not significantly different, a significant decrease in racing performance was observed after the surgery date (p < 0.01). Horses that underwent colic surgery did not show a significant decrease in career length. Conclusions: Surgical treatment for colic at the age of three and four years had a negative impact on the racing performance. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in career longevity between the two groups.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.143-149
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• 2017

According to traffic accidents statistics, the number of fatalities, injuries and the rate of increase of traffic accidents have been decreasing over last 5-years. The fatality rate is 1.9 for total accidents but the fatality rate for single vehicle accidents shows a 7.9, which is 4 times greater than the average for all accidents. Single vehicle accidents, usually occur as a vehicle impacts a fixed objects on the roadside as the vehicle runs-off from the road. However, few researches have been conducted considering the accident severity of single vehicle accidents which impact to the fixed objects on the road. The single vehicle accident is directly related to the composition of road cross section, (since it is the required the minimum width of a road for all run-off-the-road vehicles to recover or come to a safe stop). Therefore, this study analyzes the influence of road cross section on traffic accidents to find out the severity of single vehicle accident. To analyze the road elements which are related to the accident severity, the Ordered Probit Model was used. As variables, the element of road cross section such as the radius(m), vertical curve(%), cross sectional grade(%), road width(m). number of climbing lane, median, and curb, were used (as was the 3-years of accidents data). This study found out that cross slope(%), road width(m), and the number of climbing lane are related to the severity of accident. The result of this study could be expected to improve the road safety and to be used as the base data for further road safety research.