• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제10권4호
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• pp.428-436
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• 2019

Background: Metalworking fluids (MWFs) are mixtures with inhalation exposures as mists, dusts, and vapors, and dermal exposure in the dispersed and bulk liquid phase. A quantitative risk assessment was performed for exposure to MWF and respiratory disease. Methods: Risks associated with MWF were derived from published studies and NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluations, and lifetime risks were calculated. The outcomes analyzed included adult onset asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, pulmonary function impairment, and reported symptoms. Incidence rates were compiled or estimated, and annual proportional loss of respiratory capacity was derived from cross-sectional assessments. Results: A strong healthy worker survivor effect was present. New-onset asthma and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, at 0.1 mg/㎥ MWF under continuous outbreak conditions, had a lifetime risk of 45%; if the associated microbiological conditions occur with only 5% prevalence, then the lifetime risk would be about 3%. At 0.1 mg/㎥, the estimate of excess lifetime risk of attributable pulmonary impairment was 0.25%, which may have been underestimated by a factor of 5 or more by a strong healthy worker survivor effect. The symptom prevalence associated with respiratory impairment at 0.1 mg/㎥ MWF was estimated to be 5% (published studies) and 21% (Health Hazard Evaluations). Conclusion: Significant risks of impairment and chronic disease occurred at 0.1 mg/㎥ for MWFs in use mostly before 2000. Evolving MWFs contain new ingredients with uncharacterized long-term hazards.

• Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management
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• 제4권1호
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• pp.29-36
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• 2014

Tunnelling has become a preferred method of construction for road and highway projects in countries with a lot of hilly slope geological conditions such as found in Malaysia. However the construction works of a tunnelling project are usually complicated and costly, which consequently impose great risks to the parties involved. This paper identifies the key significant risks and sub-risks for tunnelling construction projects in Malaysia through a case study. Interview has been used as the solitary means to determine the significant risks from contractor's eleven key project personnel who were directly involved in the tunnelling construction such as consultant, construction manager and tunnel engineers. The importance of the risks identified is then prioritised and ranked via the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)'s pairwise comparison approach to determine their criticality towards a successful delivery of project. As a result, three key risks have been identified as significant for the tunnelling case study project, namely health and safety, cost overrun in construction and time overrun in construction. Two sub-risks each of the latter categories, which are cost underestimation and unforeseen events (cost overrun in construction) as well as plant and machinery failure and delay in material delivery (time overrun in construction), have occupied the top five overall risk ranking.

• 자원ㆍ환경경제연구
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• 제17권3호
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• pp.135-166
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• 2008

비시장재의 변화에 의한 후생변화 측정치로서 쓰이는 지불의사(WTP)와 수용의사(WTA) 개념은 경제이론적으로는 소득효과가 크지 않다면 서로 크게 다르지 않을 것이라고 예측되고 있다. 그러나 실증분석결과들은 WTA 측정치가 WTP의 측정치보다 훨씬 큰 것으로 관찰되고 있다. 본 연구는 우리나라에서는 처음으로 실험시장접근법을 사용하여 비시장재의 하나인 먹는 물에 잔류가능성이 있는 유해물질(비소, 납, 트리할로메탄 중의 하나)로부터의 건강위험변화에 대한 WTP와 WTA를 측정하고 이 두 측정치에 차이가 존재하는지 실증적으로 분석하였다. 대학생들 15명씩의 참가자들을 대상으로 총 여섯 번의 실험시장을 개설하였다. 시장거래경험의 유무에 따른 차이를 검증하고자 사적 시장재인 캔디바 실험경매도 도입하였고, 반복경험에 따른 학습효과를 관찰하기 위하여 20번의 실험경매를 시도하였고, 정보제공효과를 관찰하기 위하여 10번째 경매 후에 객관적 건강위험에 관한 확률정보를 제공하였다. 시장재 비시장재의 구분없이 첫 번째 실험경매에서는 WTA가 통계적으로 유의하게 WTP를 초과하였다. 실험경매가 진행됨에 따라 사적 시장재는 WTA와 WTP의 차이가 사라지고 시장평균가격에 수렴하였다. 그러나 비시장재인 건강위험변화에 대한 결과는 혼재되어 있었다. 건강위험이 가장 큰 비소에 대해서는 건강위험 감소에 대한 WTP가 건강위험 증가에 대한 WTA보다 통계적으로 유의하게 적었다. 반면에 건강위험이 상대적으로 적은 납과 트리할로메탄에 대해서는 WTP와 WTA의 평균이 같다는 귀무가설을 기각할 수 없었다. 실험참가자들은 실험경매 중간에 제공된 건강위험정보에 대해 합리적으로 반응하였고, 실험경매가 진행됨에 따라 경험획득에 의한 학습효과도 긍정적이었다. WTP는 실험 초반에 학습효과가 주로 관찰된 반면에 WTA 측정치는 실험경매 후반에 학습효과가 관찰되었다.

• 식품보건융합연구
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• 제7권4호
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• pp.13-21
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• 2021

The goal of this study was to quantify the content of heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb, Hg) in the bivalve Mytilus galloprovincialis, which was obtained from the Black Sea's Sinop peninsula, as well as estimate the health risks. Concentrations of heavy metals in mussels' soft tissues ranged between 16.4-21.8, 0.52-0.93, 0.13-0.45; 0.015-0.019 and 0.006-0.011mg kg^-1 wet weight for Zn, Cu, Pb, Hg and Cd, respectively. In general, metal concentrations in mussels were quite low. In mussels, Zn was the most prevalent element, followed by Cu. Regarding the monthly variation, although relatively higher tissue metal concentrations were observed in August compared to July, no statistical difference was found. The estimated daily intakes did not exceed the tolerable intakes. There was no health risk since the total hazard index was far below critical value 1. This demonstrates that eating mussels from the Sinop coasts in 2019 does not cause any health risks in infants, children, or adult. Mussels have a risk index of less than 10^-6, which is considered insignificant. In conclusion, the results of this study show that there is no heavy metal pollution in the mussels collected from Sinop coasts.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.256-269
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• 2020

Objectives: Everyone has been affected in some way by the COVID-19 pandemic, while some workers face threats to their health due to their jobs as well as worries about spreading the virus to intimate family members. With these concerns in mind, this study aims to identify occupations more vulnerable to COVID-19 and suggests the necessity of providing proper control measures against the risks in a timely manner in Korea. Methods: Daily briefing reports by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) were compiled (n=120) between January 20 and May 31, 2020. A total of 11,486 confirmed cases were included, which were sorted by occasion, area, and occupation. Among them, 2,411 cases were classified with specific occasions and/or areas of infection, while only 544 cases were determined with identifiable occupations. Guidelines for biological hazard management and COVID-19 guidelines for workplaces from domestic and international bodies were enlisted and compared. Results: It is unsurprising to find that healthcare professionals are experiencing the most immediate threat from COVID-19. In addition, service workers with face-to-face practices or indirect contact are also facing high risks. Religion facilities and eating places (dining, drinking bar, café, etc.,) follow. Guidelines and manuals for biological hazards are still lacking in Korea compared to the US and EU. Workplace manuals for managing COVID-19 are neither as comprehensive as the approaches of NIOSH's hierarchy of controls nor inclusive enough for minimizing secondary or tertiary suffering. Conclusions: The COVID-19 crisis is still ongoing and there is no doubt there will be more such events in the future. This analysis suggests that occupational health professionals, amid a pandemic including COVID-19, are urged to anticipate emerging risks related to all sorts of occupations, identify vulnerable workers and working environments, and plan and take actions to protect workers' health.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제9권1호
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• pp.63-70
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• 2018

Background: Psychosocial risk management [Psychosocial Risk Management Approach (PRIMA)] has, through the years, been applied in several organizations in various industries and countries globally. PRIMA principles have also been translated into international frameworks, such as PRIMA-EF (European framework) and the World Health Organization Healthy Workplace Framework. Over the past 10 years, an oil and gas company has put efforts into adopting and implementing international frameworks and standards for psychosocial risk management. More specifically, the company uses a PRIMA. Methods: This study explores available quantitative and qualitative risk data collected through the PRIMA method over the past 8 years in order to explore specific and common psychosocial risks in the petroleum industry. Results: The analyses showed a significant correlation between job resources and symptoms of work-related stress, there was a significant correlation between job demands and symptoms of work-related stress, and there were differences in psychosocial risk factors and symptoms of work-related stress onshore and offshore. The study also offers recommendations on how the results can further be utilized in building a robust system for managing psychosocial risks in the industry. Conclusion: The results from the analyses have provided meaningful and important information about the company-specific psychosocial risk factors and their impact on health and well-being.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• 제19권1호
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• pp.49-58
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• 2004

It is important to select a risk based priority area for environmental policy formation and decision-making. We estimated the health risks and associated damage costs from exposure to fine particles and assigned priority areas for twenty -five districts in Seoul. In order to estimate the theoretical mortality incidence of the health risk, baseline risks were estimated from mortality rates in two low level areas of fine particles, Seocho Gu and Cheju city To estimate the damage cost from the risk estimates, we investigated and estimated the willingness to pay (WTP) for specific risk reduction. We assumed two different locations as the reference area, Cheju city as Scenario I and Seocho gu as Scenario II. From the results, the five districts, Kwangjin, Chungnang, Kangbuk, Nowon, and Kangnam, ranked high in the categories of both health risk and economic risk. Damage costs were over twenty billion won in each of these districts. As there are uncertainties in these results, the parameter values such as PM$_{2.5}$ level, dose -response slope factor, baseline risk, exposure population and WTP should be continuously validated and refined.d.

• Toxicological Research
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.69-79
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of metal pollution in the sediment from rivers, lakes, and streams in active gold mining districts in Ghana. Two hundred and fifty surface sediment samples from 99 locations were collected and analyzed for concentrations of As, Hg, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Zn, Pb, Cd, Ni, and Mn using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). Metal concentrations were then used to assess the human health risks to resident children and adults in central tendency exposure (CTE) and reasonable maximum exposure (RME) scenarios. The concentrations of Pb, Cd, and As were almost twice the threshold values established by the Hong Kong Interim Sediment Quality Guidelines (ISQG). Hg, Cu, and Cr concentrations in sediment were 14, 20, and 26 times higher than the Canadian Freshwater Sediment Guidelines for these elements. Also, the concentrations of Pb, Cu, Cr, and Hg were 3, 11, 12, and 16 times more than the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) sediment guideline values. The results of the human health risk assessment indicate that for ingestion of sediment under the central tendency exposure (CTE) scenario, the cancer risks for child and adult residents from exposure to As were $4.18{\times}10^{-6}$ and $1.84{\times}10^{-7}$, respectively. This suggests that up to 4 children out of one million equally exposed children would contract cancer if exposed continuously to As over 70 years (the assumed lifetime). The hazard index for child residents following exposure to Cr(VI) in the RME scenario was 4.2. This is greater than the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) threshold of 1, indicating that adverse health effects to children from exposure to Cr(VI) are possible. This study demonstrates the urgent need to control industrial emissions and the severe heavy metal pollution in gold mining environments.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• 제24권4호
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• pp.654-661
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• 2019

This study assessed the stabilization of fluorine (F)-contaminated soil using calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)₂) and the consequent changes in human health risk. The bioavailable F decreased to 3.5%, (i.e., 57.9 ± 1.27 mg/kg in 6% Ca(OH)₂-treated soil sample) from 43.0%, (i.e., 711 ± 23.4 mg/kg in control soil sample). This resulted from the conversion of water-soluble F to stable calcium fluoride, which was confirmed by XRD spectrometry. Soil ingestion, inhalation of fugitive dust from soil, and water ingestion were selected as exposure pathways for human health risk assessment. Non-carcinogenic risks of F in soils reduced to less than 1.0 after stabilization, ranging from 4.2 to 0.34 for child and from 3.0 to 0.25 for adult. Contaminated water ingestion owing to the leaching of F from soil to groundwater was considered as a major exposure pathway. The risks through soil ingestion and inhalation of fugitive dust from soil were insignificant both before and after stabilization, although F concentration exceeded the Korean soil regulatory level before stabilization. Our data suggested that substantial risk to human health owing to various potential exposure pathways could be addressed by managing F present in soil.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권9호
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• pp.4733-4738
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• 2012

Background: Tobacco use is a leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality from non-communicable diseases. The objectives of the study were to determine the percentage of annual income used to purchase tobacco-related products and treat tobacco-related illnesses, and assess the characteristics of smokers and their awareness of the health-related risks of smoking. Method: Stratified and snowball sampling methods were used to obtain information (via a 17-item, close-ended questionnaire) from 85 adult respondents (49 males and 36 females). The instrument comprised of demographic characteristics, smoking behavioural/lifestyle, health, and micro socio-economics. Results: There were no significant differences between individuals who were affected by chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) (14.1%) and cardiovascular disease (18.8%). It was found that respondents spend 30-39% of their annual income on tobacco-related products. Forty percent (40.0%) and 41.7% of respondents with lung cancer and COPD respectively spend more than 50% of their annual income to treat these diseases. The majority (80%) of those who continues to consume tobacco-related products were uncertain as to why they were doing it. Not all the smokers were aware of the dangers of tobacco consumption despite their level of education. Conclusion: The majority of the respondents who had tobacco-related illnesses such as lung cancer and COPD spend a significant amount of their income on their health care. Not all the smokers were aware of the dangers of tobacco consumption despite their level of education. This suggests the need for increase public awareness where both smokers and non smokers are being fully or adequately informed about the dangers or health risks of tobacco consumption.