• Title/Summary/Keyword: Hazardous Environment

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Impact of Indoor Air Quality on the Eye Conditions of Occupants in Newly-built University Buildings (새 학교 건물 내 실내공기질이 재실자의 안구에 미치는 영향)

  • Kim, Woo-Jae;Kim, Sun-Duk;Kim, Hyojin;Kim, Ho-Hyun;Lee, Cheol-Min;Kim, Yoon-Shin
    • Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
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    • v.16 no.2
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    • pp.201-207
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    • 2011
  • Purpose: This study was to find out the influence on eyes of indoor air quality in college students taking course, such as Sick-building syndrome symptoms and effects on the eye in new-built university buildings. Methods: We selected a new building in a university located in Metro Seoul and college students in a department for the study. The number of total participants was 33, to whom questionnaire surveys were conducted in advance to check individual traits (gender, age, whether to smoke, whether to wear contact lenses, or whether to drink). The first questionnaire surveys and checking of ocular symptoms to first indoor hazardous materials were conducted in October and two months later the second surveys and checking were carried out in December. The indoor air quality was measured when conducting the first questionnaire surveys and the second questionnaire surveys; especially measurements of gaseous materials such as aldehydes and VOCs in the indoor air were conducted. Results: Indoor air quality of the new building was as follows: formaldehyde level was 22.90 ${\mu}g/m^3$ in the first measurement and 16.79 ${\mu}g/m^3$ in the second measurement. In addition, most materials showed higher value in the first measurement. The level of TVOC was statistically significant (p<0.05) decreased on 448.54 ${\mu}g/m^3$ in the first and 62.55 ${\mu}g/m^3$ in the second. In clinical assessments to check ocular symptoms caused by eye irritations, dry eye syndrome was found in the first and second exposures. When comparing the first and second assessments, dry eyes deteriorated in the morning of the second attempt compared to the first one. Conclusions: In the survey of ocular symptoms and the measurement of indoor air quality, the level of formaldehyde was measured higher in the second attempt than the first; thus, it was confirmed the influence of indoor air quality in a new building upon ocular symptoms of occupants.

Rock Slope Stability Investigations Conducted on the Road Cut in Samrangjin-Miryang Area (삼량진-밀양 지역에 위치한 도로 절취사면에 대한 사면안정 연구)

  • Um Jeong-Gi;Kang Taeseung;Hwang Jin Yeon
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.38 no.3 s.172
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    • pp.305-317
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    • 2005
  • This study addresses the preliminary results of rock slope stability analyses including hazard assessments for slope failure conducted on the selected sections of rural road cut slope which are about 4 km long. The study area is located in the Mt. Chuntae northeast of Busan and mainly composed of Cretaceous rhyolitic ash-flow tuff', fallout tuff, rhyolitc and andesite. The volcanic rock mass in the area has a number of discontinuities that produce a potentially unstable slope, as the present cut slope is more than 70 degrees in most of the slope sections. Discontinuity geometry data were collected at selected 8 scanline sections and analyzed to estimate important discontinuity geometry parameters to perform rock slope kinematic and block theory analyses. Kinematic analysis for plane sliding has resulted in maximum safe slope angles greater than $65^{\circ}$ for most of the discontinuities. For most of the wedges, maximum safe cut slope angles greater than $45^{\circ}$ were obtained. Maximum safe slope angles greater than 80" were obtained fur most of the discontinuities in the toppling case. The block theory analysis resulted in the identification of potential key blocks (type II) in the SL4, SL5, SL6 and SL8 sections. The chance of sliding taking place through a type ll block under a combined gravitational and external loading is quite high in the investigated area. The results support in-field observations of a potentially unstable slope that could become hazardous under external forces. The results obtained through limit equilibrium slope stability analyses show how a stable slope can become an unstable slope as the water pressure acting on joints increases and how a stable slope under Barton's shear strength criterion can fail as the worst case scenario of using Mohr-Coulomb criterion.

A Comparative Analysis of the Level of Occupational Health : Before and After the Subsidiary Program on Health Care Management of Small Scale Industries (영세사업장 보건관리 지원사업 실시 전후의 산업보건수준 비교 분석)

  • Jung, Hye Sun
    • Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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    • v.4
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    • pp.58-83
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    • 1995
  • The small scale industries which have less than 30 employees occupy 86.5% of total number of industries in Korea. And though they have higher accident rate and lower environmental condition than big industries, it has been not mandatory to appointing health care manager at factory. So, from 1993, government subsidizes to the health care management of small industries. The purpose of this study is to identify the real feature of health care status in small industries, and to evaluate the level of health care management, before and after the subsidiary program. 65 small plating industries which have been managed by the same health care management support institution in 1993 were selected for study. Of the 65 industries, 3 which have not taken both environmental evaluation and health screening in 1994, and 9 which have closed were excluded from study sample. And the remaining 53 were analyzed by using the results of environmental evaluation and health screening, reported to the Ministry of Labor, before and after the subsidiary program, the analysis was done by the comparison of the two year paired data of the same industry. Over-permissible-limit rate, health screening implementation rate, above grade C rate were calculated and compared. The status of health care management ; 1. Of the sample industries, 96.9% provide protective equipment and 80.0% set up ventilating system. Protective gloves (89.2%) and protective clothing (80.0%) are widely provided, but ear plugs (4.6%) are rarely provided. 21.5% of the protective equipment are well put on, and 40.4% of the ventilating systems function well. 2. In 1993, 35 industries, 53.8% of the sample, checked working environment twice. Over-permissible-limit rates of heavy metal (12.2%), suspended particle (11.1%), noise (5.5%) were high. To put on protective equipment and to set up local ventilating system were pointed out by the examiners. 3. General health screening was done at 63.1% of the sample industries and 35.3% of total workers were examined. Specific health screening was done at 93.8% of the sample industries and 75.4% of workers were examined. 15.5% of workers was provided to be above grade C and to have digestive system disease (43.3%), circulatory disease (18.9%), and hematopoietic disease (14.2%), etc. 4. In 1993, the subsidiary program of health care management was provided in forms of health education, health counseling, and rounding check of working field. And 61.5%, 83.0%, 55.4% of sample industries respectively received it. The average visit per industry was 1.8. Comparisons of the level of occupational health before and after the subsidiary program ; 1. Over-permissible-limit rates of hazardous factors of 1993 and that of 1994 were compared. The rates of suspended particle, noise, organic solvent of 1994 (37.5%, 13.4%, 24.2% respectively) were higher than that of 1993 (25.0%, 6.0%, 6.3% respectively). In the case of acid, there was no difference between the rate of 1993 and that of 1994. Only the rate of heavy metal decreased from 12.9% in 1993 to 3.0% in 1994. 2. General health screening was done at 38.7% of the sample industries in 1993 and at 44.6% in 1994. But the implementation rate of specific health screening decreased from 72.4% in 1993 to 64.6% in 1994. 3. The implementation rate of specific health screening was analyzed by some health factors. The rate of suspended particle increased from 61.8% in 1993 to 91.2% in 1994. But the rates of the others-noise, organic solvent, heavy metal, specific chemical substances-decreased. 4. Above grade C rate in health screening increased from 27.8% in 1993 to 35.5% in 1994. But that of endocrine disorders and pulmonary disease decreased.

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Environmental Leachability of Electric Arc Furnace Dust for Applying as Hazardous Material Treatment (제강분진을 이용한 유해물질 처리기술 적용을 위한 안전성 평가)

  • Lee, Sang-Hoon;Kang, Sung-Ho;Kim, Jee-Hoon;Chang, Yoon-Seok
    • Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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    • v.28 no.3
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    • pp.329-336
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    • 2006
  • Iron manufacturing process involves production of various by-product including slag, sludge, sintering and EAF(Electric Arc furnace dust). Some of the by-products such as EAF and sintering dust are disposed of as waste due to their high heavy metal contents. It has been notice for many years that the EAF dust also contain about 65% of Fe(0) and Fe(II) and then the possible utilization of the iron. One possibility is to apply the EAF as a lining material in conjunction with clay or HDPE liners, in waste landfill. The probable reaction between the leachate containing toxic elements such as TCE, PCE dioxine and $Cr^{6+}$ is reduction of the toxic materials in corresponding to the oxidation of the reduced iron and therefore diminishing the toxicity of the leachate. It is, however, prerequisite to evaluate the leaching characteristics of the EAF dust before application. Amelioration of the leachate would be archived only when the level of toxic elements in the treated leachate is less than that of in the untreated leachate. Several leaching techniques were selected to cover different conditions and variable environments including time, pH and contact method. The testing methods include availability test, pH-stat test and continuous column test. Cr and Zn are potentially leachable elements among the trace metals. The pH of the EAF dust is highly alkaline, recording around 12 and Zn is unlikely to be leached under the condition. On the contrary Cr is more leachable under alkaline environment. However, the released Cr should be reduced to $Cr^{3+}$ and then removed as $Cr(OH)_3$. Removal of the Cr is observed in the column test and further study on the specific reaction of Cr and EAF dust is underway.

Microbiological Hazard Analysis of Sundae (Korean Sausage) Made of Meat By-Products (식육 부산물을 활용한 순대의 미생물학적 위해 분석)

  • Cheong, Jin-Sook;Kim, Yun Jeong;Om, Ae-Son
    • Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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    • v.37 no.3
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    • pp.181-188
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    • 2022
  • Despite the recent increase in the consumption level of the processed meat-byproducts, the health and safety issue has consistently been raised in the processes of production, distribution and consumption. The purpose of this study is to analyze and evaluate the microbiological hazard elements in the Korean sausage, "Sundae," to present not only the safety standard of meat by-product vendors based on HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point), but also the quality control criteria and sanitary arrangements of small manufacturers. For the study, the microbiological hazards in 24 raw materials, 7 manufacturing processes, 40 facilities and tools, 17 workplace environment, and 12 workers were analyzed. The analysis revealed the hazardous elements in the initial stages with 6.28 and 4.07 log CFU/g of total aerobic count and coliforms, respectively, detected from the porcine blood and 3.23 log CFU/g of coliforms from the porcine small intestines. The result also showed that the total aerobic counts and coliforms in the process of mixing and filling process exceeds the standards in the hygiene guidelines by Natick with the total aerobic counts of 5.23, 5.45 log CFU/g, and the coliforms of 3.25, and 3.31 log CFU/g, respectively. Although the detected total aerobic count and the coliforms in the filling and washing rooms exceeded the standards, it was found that the total aerobic count was significantly reduced by 98% after cleaning and disinfecting and no coliforms was detected in any process thereafter. In order to achieve high level of safety in the manufacturing processes of Sundae, the separation of washing and disinfection room from the other sections and the sanitation control of the workers must be preceded, along with strict monitoring in the storage and distribution processes. The study raises necessity for additional studies for the safety evaluation of the processed meat-byproducts and further researches on the validity of the critical limits.

Adsorption Characteristics of Oxyanions on Ferrihydrite and Mineral Phase Transformation (페리하이드라이트의 산화음이온 흡착 특성과 광물상 변화)

  • Gyure Kim;Yeongkyoo Kim
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.56 no.3
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    • pp.301-310
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    • 2023
  • Ferrihydrite is an iron oxide mineral that is easily found in the natural environment, including acid mine drainage, and has a low crystallinity and high specific surface area, resulting in high reactivity with other ions, and can remove environmentally hazardous substances. However, because ferrihydrite is a metastable mineral, there is a possibility of releasing adsorbed ions by phase transformation to other minerals having low surface area and high crystallinity. In this study, the adsorption characteristics of arsenate, chromate, and selenate on ferrihydrite and the oxyanion removal efficiency of ferrihydrite were studied considering mineral phase transformation. At both pH 4 and 8, the adsorption of oxyanions used in the study were in good agreement with both Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models except for selenate at pH 8. Due to the difference in surface charge according to pH, at pH 4 a higher amount of ions were adsorbed than at pH 8. The adsorption amount were in the order of arsenate, chromate, and selenate. These different adsorption models and adsorption amounts were due to different adsorption mechanisms for each oxyanions on the surface of ferrihydrite. These adsorption characteristics were closely related to changes in the mineral phase. At pH 4, a phase transformation to goethite or hematite was observed, but only a phase transformation to hematite was observed at pH 8. Among the oxyanion species on ferrihydrite, arsenate showed the highest adsorption capacity and hardly caused phase transformation during the experimental period after adsorption. Contrary to this, chromate and selenate showed faster mineral phase transformation than arsenate, and selenate had the lowest retardation effect among the three oxyanions. Ferrihydrite can effectively remove arsenate due to its high adsorption capacity and low phase transformation rate. However, the removal efficiency for other two oxyanions were low by the low adsorption amount and additional mineral phase transformation. For chromate, the efficient removal is expected only at low concentrations in low pH environments.

Animal Infectious Diseases Prevention through Big Data and Deep Learning (빅데이터와 딥러닝을 활용한 동물 감염병 확산 차단)

  • Kim, Sung Hyun;Choi, Joon Ki;Kim, Jae Seok;Jang, Ah Reum;Lee, Jae Ho;Cha, Kyung Jin;Lee, Sang Won
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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    • v.24 no.4
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    • pp.137-154
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    • 2018
  • Animal infectious diseases, such as avian influenza and foot and mouth disease, occur almost every year and cause huge economic and social damage to the country. In order to prevent this, the anti-quarantine authorities have tried various human and material endeavors, but the infectious diseases have continued to occur. Avian influenza is known to be developed in 1878 and it rose as a national issue due to its high lethality. Food and mouth disease is considered as most critical animal infectious disease internationally. In a nation where this disease has not been spread, food and mouth disease is recognized as economic disease or political disease because it restricts international trade by making it complex to import processed and non-processed live stock, and also quarantine is costly. In a society where whole nation is connected by zone of life, there is no way to prevent the spread of infectious disease fully. Hence, there is a need to be aware of occurrence of the disease and to take action before it is distributed. Epidemiological investigation on definite diagnosis target is implemented and measures are taken to prevent the spread of disease according to the investigation results, simultaneously with the confirmation of both human infectious disease and animal infectious disease. The foundation of epidemiological investigation is figuring out to where one has been, and whom he or she has met. In a data perspective, this can be defined as an action taken to predict the cause of disease outbreak, outbreak location, and future infection, by collecting and analyzing geographic data and relation data. Recently, an attempt has been made to develop a prediction model of infectious disease by using Big Data and deep learning technology, but there is no active research on model building studies and case reports. KT and the Ministry of Science and ICT have been carrying out big data projects since 2014 as part of national R &D projects to analyze and predict the route of livestock related vehicles. To prevent animal infectious diseases, the researchers first developed a prediction model based on a regression analysis using vehicle movement data. After that, more accurate prediction model was constructed using machine learning algorithms such as Logistic Regression, Lasso, Support Vector Machine and Random Forest. In particular, the prediction model for 2017 added the risk of diffusion to the facilities, and the performance of the model was improved by considering the hyper-parameters of the modeling in various ways. Confusion Matrix and ROC Curve show that the model constructed in 2017 is superior to the machine learning model. The difference between the2016 model and the 2017 model is that visiting information on facilities such as feed factory and slaughter house, and information on bird livestock, which was limited to chicken and duck but now expanded to goose and quail, has been used for analysis in the later model. In addition, an explanation of the results was added to help the authorities in making decisions and to establish a basis for persuading stakeholders in 2017. This study reports an animal infectious disease prevention system which is constructed on the basis of hazardous vehicle movement, farm and environment Big Data. The significance of this study is that it describes the evolution process of the prediction model using Big Data which is used in the field and the model is expected to be more complete if the form of viruses is put into consideration. This will contribute to data utilization and analysis model development in related field. In addition, we expect that the system constructed in this study will provide more preventive and effective prevention.