• Title/Summary/Keyword: Health and Safety (EHS)

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Environment, Health and Safety Offices of the Top 30 Research Universities in the U.S.A. - Focused on the Case of Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) (미국 상위 30개 연구 중심 대학들의 실험실 환경보건안전 담당 부서 - MIT 사례를 중심으로)

  • Ahn, Kwangseog;Kang, Dongmug;Shin, Yong Chul;Jun, Young-Hee
    • Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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    • v.17 no.3
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    • pp.192-202
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    • 2007
  • Objectives: The objectives of this research are to examine the missions, organization, and programs of the environmental, health and safety(EHS) offices of the major research universities in the U.S.A., particularly the case of Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) EHS Office, and to suggest ways to address the EHS issues of the universities and research institutes in South Korea. Methods: The top 30 research universities in the U.S.A. were selected by the total amounts of research funds they annually received. The web sites of the 30 universities were searched to identify the names of the departments that address environment, health, and/or safety related issues, the missions of those departments, the major programs of those departments, and the number of staff in those departments. Also, a case study was conducted for the Environment Health and Safety Management System and the Environment, Health and Safety Office of the MIT, using literature and web searches and a meeting with the Director of the MIT Environment, Health and Safety Office. Results: All the top 30 research universities in the U.S.A. had designated departments that dealt with EHS issues. Most of them were by the name of or similar to environmental, health and safety. The mission statements of those departments were mostly about improving the safety and health of their community members, improving the environment, and complying to EHS regulations. Most of those departments had an environmental management program, industrial hygiene program, radiation protection program, safety program, and biosafety program as their major programs. The components of the environment, health and safety management system(EHS-MS) of the MIT were examined in detail. In contrast, not many universities in South Korea had designated departments that dealt specifically with EHS issues. Also, the number of fulltime staff for EHS was only 1-2 in most of the Korean universities and their work duties included only general safety, while neglecting other health/environment related issues. Conclusions: Well organized and functioning environmental, health and safety offices were present in all of the top 30 research universities in the U.S.A., whereas similar organizations of the universities in South Korea were virtually non-existent and/or had very limited EHS activities. Therefore, in order to reduce potential risks of accidents and health problems in the Korean universities and research institutions, well established and functioning EHS-MSs and EHS offices are warranted. The case of the EHS-MS and EHS Office in the MIT demonstrate a successful case to follow.

Laboratory Safety Management System and Its Role on the Performance of Safety-Related Activities in Korean Academia (대학의 실험실 안전보건관리체계 구축이 안전보건관리활동에 미치는 영향)

  • Yoo, Kyong-Nam;Park, Jeong-Im;Park, Tae-Joo;Choi, Min-Kju;Lee, Chung-Hak
    • Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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    • v.31 no.5 s.86
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    • pp.365-371
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    • 2005
  • This study was peformed to explore the current situation of university environmental health and safety (EHS) system and evaluate the effects of such system on university EHS practices. Essential elements for the university EHS system were identified based on the representative examples of foreign universities, and Hey were incorporated into a questionnaire, which was used in this study. Among the academic institutions we surveyed in this study, 89% of the universities employed health and safety manager, and 65% kept departments. However, less than 50% of universities maintained EHS policies, maintained health and established safety committees within the university headquarters, and held health and safety meetings on regular basis. Several basic requirements such as chemical hygiene program and laboratory safety training program lacked in many universities. Some basic surveillance was performed in many universities, however, only few universities carried out surveillance on biological safety, medical examination, and chemical exposure monitoring. EHS system had significant influence on university EHS program (p<0.05). Performances of EHS activities were influenced by presence of EHS policies, and university health and safety committees.

Strategies to Improve Functional Competency and Effectively Respond to Environmental Changes of Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Team in Companies (기업의 환경, 보건, 및 안전 (EHS) 조직의 직무능력 개선과 환경변화 대응 방안)

  • Kim, Myung Jung;Park, Sun-Kyoung
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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    • v.31 no.2
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    • pp.104-111
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    • 2016
  • Our nation has experienced remarkable growth over the half a century. Nonetheless, there is still much room for improvement in the area of Environment, Health and Safety (EHS). In particular, frequency and severity of industrial accidents did not considerably improve compared to the economic and social progress we made. The main objective of this research is to analyze what plans and actions are required for companies to promote industrial safety by 1) fostering functional competencies of EHS staffs and 2) effectively and proactively responding to rapidly changing EHS environment. For this research, EHS staffs from five large companies in Korea were surveyed. Most respondents indicated that one of key expertise required by EHS staffs is capabilities to effectively deal with changes to various domestic and international EHS-related laws and regulations. Furthermore, a predominant number of respondents commented that it is imperative for EHS staffs to have a broad knowledge of business management. As for internal issues that EHS staffs encounter within their organizations, many pointed out that their EHS vision is not sufficiently shared throughout the organization, and that the rules of leadership are critical in solving this issue. On the other hand, the survey respondents also raised an issue of limited EHS-related investments due to slow economy. As a solution, they proposed ways to align EHS organization's performance with the company's performance. Based on this survey, issues and solutions for EHS organizations were identified. Results of this research can benefit companies that plan to newly establish or further expand EHS organization.

The Framework Development of Cloud Computing-based Integrated EHS Management System for Small and Medium Construction Companies (중소건설사를 위한 클라우드 컴퓨팅 기반 EHS 통합관리시스템 프레임워크 개발)

  • Seo, Kwang-Kyu
    • Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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    • v.12 no.4
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    • pp.139-143
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    • 2010
  • The small and medium construction companies are facing potential EHS(Environment, Health & Safety) of major accidents to cause casualties or a financial loss and increasing social responsibility. So, they have to voluntarily accomplish the EHS management system rather than passively with regard to EHS regulation. In this study, the framework of integrated EHS management system is developed based on cloud computing, and construction companies are to materialize self-regulation EHS process of construction workplace and to standardize the total EHS business process using the developed system. The proposed system also provides risk analysis, education/control and continuous improvement for EHS tasks and users can easily access the system on the web at a low price through cloud computing service. Eventually, the integrated system contributes to the managerial improvement by minimizing economic and physical loss caused by construction accidents.

The Development of Cloud Computing-Based Integrated EHS Management System for the Construction Companies (클라우드 컴퓨팅 기반 건설사용 EHS 통합관리시스템 개발)

  • Seo, Kwang-Kyu
    • Proceedings of the KAIS Fall Conference
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    • 2010.11b
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    • pp.859-861
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    • 2010
  • The construction companies are facing potential EHS(Environment, Health & Safety) of major accidents to cause casualties or a financial loss and increasing social responsibility. So, they have to voluntarily accomplish the EHS management system rather than passively with regard to EHS regulation. In this study, the integrated EHS management system is developed based on cloud computing, and construction companies are to materialize self-regulation EHS process of construction workplace and to standardize the total EHS business process using the developed system. The proposed system also provides risk analysis, education/control and continuous improvement for EHS tasks and users can easily access the system on the web at a low price through cloud computing service. Eventually, the integrated system contributes to the managerial improvement by minimizing economic and physical loss caused by construction accidents.

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Implications of American Early Head Start for the Korean Infant/toddler Care System (미국 조기헤드스타트의 문헌고찰을 통한 한국의 영아보육에 관한 연구)

  • Kim, Ji-Eun
    • Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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    • v.43 no.12 s.214
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    • pp.97-111
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    • 2005
  • Early Head Start (EHS) can provide services to a child and family from pre-birth until the child is three years old. Services are comprehensive, intensive, individualized and flexible according to child and family needs, and integrated with community service delivery systems. The local program designs and operations were developed and carried out within the framework of the Head Start Revised Performance Standards, which included specific provisions for services to pregnant women, infants and toddlers and emphasized prevention, early intervention, safety, and health education. As with preschool Head Start, EHS programs are required to make available 10 percent of their enrollment for infants and toddlers with disabilities as defined by Part C regulations of the state in which the program operated. Quality child care has become a priority for EHS. A majority of EHS children need child care, and the quality is important to their development. An evaluation of EHS in 17 programs selected from the first program cohorts showed that the program had significant and positive impacts on a wide range of parent and child dimensions, some with implications for children's later school success. Among the issues for policy attention identified by American EHS for the Korean system are: - The need to create a comprehensive infant/toddler care system - The need to address access of teachers for young children - The need to improve quality.

Policy Trend and Status of Aerosol Application Research on the Safety Issues of Nanotechnologies (나노기술 안전성 정책 동향 및 에어로졸 응용 연구 현황)

  • Ji, Jun Ho;Yu, Il Je
    • Particle and aerosol research
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    • v.6 no.3
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    • pp.107-121
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    • 2010
  • The number of nanotechnology based consumer products are growing rapidly. Thus, the customer likely to be exposed to such products continues to increase as the applications expand. This article describes the international and Korea's policies on the EHS(Environment, Safety and Health) issues of nanotechnologies. The strategic plan and coordination of OECD and ISO were summarized. This article also examines several new findings of Korean researchers as well as current and future challenges in the aerosol application study of EHS issues on the nanotechnologies.

Study of US/EU National Innovation Policies Based on Nanotechnology Development, and Implications for Korea

  • Lim, Jung Sun;Shin, Kwang Min;Yoon, Jin Seon;Bae, Seoung Hun
    • Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice
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    • v.3 no.1
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    • pp.50-65
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    • 2015
  • Recently US/EU governments are utilizing nanotechnology as a key catalyst to support national innovation policies with economic recovery goals. US/EU nano policies have been serving as a global model to various countries, including Korea. So the authors initially seek to understand US/EU national innovation policy interconnections, and then find the role of nanotechnology development within. To strengthen national policy coherence, nanotechnology development strategies are under evolution as an innovation catalyst for promoting commercialization. To strategically support nano commercialization, EHS (Environmental, Health, Safety) and informatics are invested as priority fields to strengthen social acceptance and sustainability of nano enabled products. The current study explores US/EU national innovation policies including nano commercialization, EHS, and Informatics. Then obtained results are utilized to analyze weaknesses of Korean innovation systems of connecting creative economy and nanotechnology development policies. Then ongoing improvements are summarized focusing on EHS and informatics, which are currently prominent issues in international nanotechnology development.

Research Trends of Ergonomics in Occupational Safety and Health through MEDLINE Search: Focus on Abstract Word Modeling using Word Embedding (MEDLINE 검색을 통한 산업안전보건 분야에서의 인간공학 연구동향 : 워드임베딩을 활용한 초록 단어 모델링을 중심으로)

  • Kim, Jun Hee;Hwang, Ui Jae;Ahn, Sun Hee;Gwak, Gyeong Tae;Jung, Sung Hoon
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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    • v.36 no.5
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    • pp.61-70
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    • 2021
  • This study aimed to analyze the research trends of the abstract data of ergonomic studies registered in MEDLINE, a medical bibliographic database, using word embedding. Medical-related ergonomic studies mainly focus on work-related musculoskeletal disorders, and there are no studies on the analysis of words as data using natural language processing techniques, such as word embedding. In this study, the abstract data of ergonomic studies were extracted with a program written with selenium and BeutifulSoup modules using python. The word embedding of the abstract data was performed using the word2vec model, after which the data found in the abstract were vectorized. The vectorized data were visualized in two dimensions using t-Distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (t-SNE). The word "ergonomics" and ten of the most frequently used words in the abstract were selected as keywords. The results revealed that the most frequently used words in the abstract of ergonomics studies include "use", "work", and "task". In addition, the t-SNE technique revealed that words, such as "workplace", "design", and "engineering," exhibited the highest relevance to ergonomics. The keywords observed in the abstract of ergonomic studies using t-SNE were classified into four groups. Ergonomics studies registered with MEDLINE have investigated the risk factors associated with workers performing an operation or task using tools, and in this study, ergonomics studies were identified by the relationship between keywords using word embedding. The results of this study will provide useful and diverse insights on future research direction on ergonomic studies.

Arsenic and heavy metal contamination in the vicinity of the abandoned Dongjung Au-Ag-Cu mine, Korea

  • Chung EunHye;Lee Jin-Soo;Chon Hyo-Taek;Sager Manfred
    • 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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    • 2003.11a
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    • pp.536-539
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    • 2003
  • The Dongjung Au-Ag-Cu mine area was seriously contaminated with As and heavy metals-Cd, Cu, Hg, Mn, Pb and Zn etc. Those elements were highly accumulated in plants grown at farmland as well as farmland soil. Stream waters and groundwater which has been used as drinking water around the mine site contain high levels of heavy metals, especially As. As a result of human health risk assessment using EHS(Extraction of Heavy metals in Stomach and Small intestine) test for bioaccessible contents of heavy metals, there is a potential of cancer and adverse effects on human health for the residents of the mine area.

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