• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제24권2호
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• pp.160-168
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• 2014

Objectives: Chemical hazard evaluations are important for workers' health and working environments. Allyl chloride (CAS No. 107-05-1) is used in many industries, leading to concerns about the possibility of threats to the health of workers. Since only insufficient or controversial information is available about potential related hazards, an in vitro mammalian chromosomal aberration (CA) assay was conducted in order to gain additional information concerning any such hazards. Moreover, toxicological information from this study could be applied for workers' rights to know, and to prepare or update the Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for a number of industries. Methods and Results: The assay was performed using the Chinese hamster lung fibroblast cell (ATCC, CRL-1935), by the direct method (-S9) and by the metabolic activated method (+S9 mix). Using the direct method, the seven dosages in the 48-hour treatment group did not show that the frequency of CA is proportionate to the dosage. The frequency of CA is not proportionate to the dosage addition for a six-hour treatment using the metabolic activated method. Conclusions: From these findings, it was decided that this chemical does not induce chromosomal aberrations under the tested conditions.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제4권3호
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• pp.156-159
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• 2013

Background: Cardiac pacemakers are known to be susceptible to strong electromagnetic fields (EMFs). This in vivo study investigated occurrence of electromagnetic interference with pacemakers caused by common environmental sources of EMFs. Methods: Eleven volunteers with a pacemaker were exposed to EMFs produced by two mobile phone base stations, an electrically powered commuter train, and an overhead high voltage transmission lines. All the pacemakers were programmed in normal clinically selected settings with bipolar sensing and pacing configurations. Results: None of the pacemakers experienced interference in any of these exposure situations. However, often it is not clear whether or not strong EMFs exist in various work environments, and hence an individual risk assessment is needed. Conclusions: Modern pacemakers are well shielded against external EMFs, and workers with a pacemaker can most often return to their previous work after having a pacemaker implanted. However, an appropriate risk assessment is still necessary after the implantation of a pacemaker, a change of its generator, or major modification of its programming settings.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제3권1호
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• pp.58-66
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• 2012

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to review clinical characteristics and working environments of sudden cardiac death (SCD) cases associated with a tire manufacturer in Korea, and review possible occupational risk factors for cardiovascular disease including nanoparticles (ultrafine particles, UFPs). Methods: We reviewed (i) the clinical course of SCD cases and (ii) occupational and non-occupational risk factors including chemicals, the physical work environment, and job characteristics. Results: Possible occupational factors were chemicals, UFPs of rubber fume, a hot environment, shift work, overworking, and noise exposure. The mean diameter of rubber fume (63-73 nm) was (larger than diesel exhaust [12 nm] and outdoor dust [50 nm]). The concentration of carbon disulfide, carbon monoxide and styrene were lower than the limit of detection. Five SCD cases were exposed to shift work and overworking. Most of the cases had several non-occupational factors such as hypertension, overweight and smoking. Conclusion: The diameter of rubber fume was larger than outdoor and the diesel exhaust, the most well known particulate having a causal relationship with cardiovascular disease. The possibility of a causal relation between UFPs of rubber fume and SCD was not supported in this study. However, it is necessary to continue studying the relationship between large sized UFPs and SCD.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제8권2호
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• pp.143-150
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• 2017

A huge number of chemicals are produced and used in the world, and some of them can have negative effects on the reproductive health of workers. To date, most chemicals and work environments have not been studied for their potential to have damaging effects on the workers' reproductive system. Because of the lack of information, many workers may not be aware that such problems can be related to occupational exposures. Newly industrialized countries such as Republic of Korea have rapidly amassed chemicals and other toxicants that pose health hazards, especially to the reproductive systems of workers. This literature review provides an overview of peer-reviewed literature regarding the teratogenic impact and need for safe handling of chemicals. Literature searches were performed using PubMed, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect. Search strategies were narrowed based on author expertise and 100 articles were chosen for detailed analysis. A total of 47 articles met prespecified inclusion criteria. The majority of papers contained studies that were descriptive in nature with respect to the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms and keywords: "reproductive and heath or hazard and/or workplace or workers or occupations." In the absence of complete information about the safe occupational handling of chemicals in Republic of Korea (other than a material safety data sheet), this review serves as a valuable reference for identifying and remedying potential gaps in relevant regulations. The review also proposes other public health actions including hazard surveillance and primary prevention activities such as reduction, substitution, ventilation, as well as protective equipment.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제30권2호
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• pp.185-195
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze noise exposure levels and the rate of exceedance of exposure limits in workplaces from a 2015 measurement of working environments according to area, industry, and scale of workplace and to determine changes compared to the past. Methods: Among the 408,875 measurements of noise in working environments from 27,030 workplaces in 2015, 16,359 workplaces that were linked to special health examination data were selected as the subjects of this study. The eight-hour corrected measurements and geometric mean values of the individual noise measurements of the workplaces were used to calculate noise exposure levels and the exceedance rate of exposure limits. Results: The average noise exposure level of the overall workplaces making up the subjects of this study was 83.6 dBA, and the exceedance rate of exposure limits was 15.1%. At least half of the noise measurements exceeded the exposure limits in 13.7% of the workplaces. Noise exposure levels were higher in the manufacturing industry and in smaller-scale workplaces. The exceedance rate of noise exposure limits was higher in the mining and manufacturing industries and in smaller-scale workplaces. Conclusions: Noise exposure has shown improvements compared to the past, but the exceedance rate of exposure limits was still high, and more than half of the workers were being exposed to noise of 85 dBA or higher. Therefore, it is necessary to make more active improvements in working environments in terms of noise exposure.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• 제31권
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• pp.11.1-11.6
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• 2016

Objectives A hazard assessment of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), a commonly used workplace chemical, was conducted in order to protect the occupational health of workers. A literature review, consisting of both domestic and international references, examined the chemical management system, working environment, level of exposure, and possible associated risks. This information may be utilized in the future to determine appropriate exposure levels in working environments. Methods Hazard assessment was performed using chemical hazard information obtained from international agencies, such as Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development-generated Screening Information Data Set and International Program on Chemical Safety. Information was obtained from surveys conducted by the Minister of Employment and Labor ("Survey on the work environment") and by the Ministry of Environment ("Survey on the circulation amount of chemicals"). Risk was determined according to exposure in workplaces and chemical hazard. Results In 229 workplaces over the country, 831 tons of DEHP have been used as plasticizers, insecticides, and ink solvent. Calculated 50% lethal dose values ranged from 14.2 to 50 g/kg, as determined via acute toxicity testing in rodents. Chronic carcinogenicity tests revealed cases of lung and liver degeneration, shrinkage of the testes, and liver cancer. The no-observed-adverse-effect level and the lowest-observed-adverse-effect level were determined to be 28.9 g/kg and 146.6 g/kg, respectively. The working environment assessment revealed the maximum exposure level to be $0.990mg/m^3$, as compared to the threshold exposure level of $5mg/m^3$. The relative risk of chronic toxicity and reproductive toxicity were 0.264 and 0.330, respectively, while the risk of carcinogenicity was 1.3, which is higher than the accepted safety value of one. Conclusions DEHP was identified as a carcinogen, and may be dangerous even at concentrations lower than the occupational exposure limit. Therefore, we suggest management of working environments, with exposure levels below $5mg/m^3$ and all workers utilizing local exhaust ventilation and respiratory protection when handling DEHP.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제5권4호
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• pp.198-202
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• 2014

Background: The economy is being lifted by the new concept of robotics, but we cannot be sure of all the possible benefits. At this early stage, it therefore becomes important to find out the possible benefits/limitations associated with robotics, so that the positives can be capitalized, established, and developed further for the employment and motivation of employees in the health care sector, for overall economic development. The negatives should also be further studied and mitigated. Methods: This study is an exploratory research, based on secondary data, such as books on topics related to robotics, websites, public websites of concerned departments for data and statistics, journals, newspapers and magazines, websites of health care providers, and different printed materials (brochures, etc). Results: The impact of robotics has both positive and negative impacts on the employment and motivation of employees in the retail sector. So far, there has been no substantial research done into robotics, especially in the health care sector. Conclusion: Replacing employees with robots is an inevitable choice for organizations in the service sector, more so in the health care sector because of the challenging and sometimes unhealthy working environments, but, at the same time, the researchers propose that it should be done in a manner that helps in improving the employment and motivation of employees in this sector.

• 한국직업건강간호학회지
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• 제17권1호
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• pp.96-105
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze alcohol drinking cessation programs to promote health status for workers on worksites. Method: Data were collected from the excellent 10 cases which were selected from "competition of health promotion programs on worksites" from 1999 to 2007 held by Korean Occupational Safety and Health Agency. Result: There were three main alcohol drinking cessation programs on worksites: health education, individual health services to change life style, and formation of supportive environments. Health education and individual health services were intervened in nine worksites. Building supportive environments for alcohol drinking cessation were implemented in 10 worksites. The most popular indicators for program evaluation were health diagnosis and percentage of alcohol drinkers. Problems to implement alcohol drinking cessation programs were low voluntary participation of labors, difficulty of applying programs to labors that had a shift duty, and complexity to evaluate the effectiveness of alcohol cessation programs due to deficits of standard instruments. Conclusion: These findings suggest that many worksites did not have alcohol drinking cessation programs and also these programs were not implemented effectively. Thus, employers, professionals and policy makers of occupational health should develop and support effective alcohol drinking cessation programs for l workers on worksites.

• Toxicological Research
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• 제17권1호
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• pp.7-9
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• 2001

The quantitative assessment of the penetration of organic solvents through skin is necessary for the evaluation of health hazards in occupational environments. We investigated the rate of dermal penetration when mixed or single forms of organic solvents were placed into a diffusion cell in vitro or into an experimental animal in vivo. The diffusion rates of methanol. toluene, and styrene were 6.07, 0.129, and 0.046 mg/$cm^2$/h, respectively. When skin was exposed to the mixed solvent of methanol and toluene, the penetration rate of toluene did not change significantly (0.110 mg/$cm^2$/h). However, the rate of methanol penetration increased to 43.90 mg/$\textrm{cm}^2$/h. The penetration rate of methanol also increased significantly to 54.69 mg/$cm^2$/h by mixing it with styrene. The concentration of methanol in the blood was monitored during the epicutaneous exposure in rats. The blood concentration of methanol was increased by mixing methanol with toluene as seen in the in vitro experiments. These results showed that the penetration rate of organic solvents would be enhanced by mixing them with other solvents.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제4권2호
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• pp.77-83
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• 2013

There is still a considerable burden of occupational diseases and injuries in the world. It is not well known which interventions can effectively reduce the exposures at work that cause this burden. The objective of this article is to summarize evidence from systematic reviews of interventions to prevent occupational diseases and injuries. We included systematic reviews of interventions to reduce the incidence of work-related cancer, dust-related diseases, occupational asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, noise induced hearing loss, back pain, and occupational injuries. We searched Medline and Embase with predefined search strategies to locate systematic reviews of these interventions. We found 23 systematic reviews of which the results are also applicable to low- and middle income countries. Effective measures to reduce exposure leading to work-related cancer, dust-related diseases, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, noise, and injuries are available. However, better implementation of these measures is needed. Regulation, enforcement of regulation, and incentives for employers are effective interventions to achieve this goal. There is evidence that feedback and rewards for workers help in reducing occupational injuries. There is no evidence in many studies that back pain can be prevented. Personal protective equipment technically has the potential to reduce exposure but this is difficult to put into effect. There is no evidence in the studies regarding the effectiveness of education and training, preventive drugs, or health examinations. There is evidence that the implementation of technical measures enforced by regulation can prevent occupational diseases and injuries. For other interventions such as education or health examinations, there is no evidence that supports their effectiveness. More systematic reviews are needed in the area of injury prevention.