• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.258-263
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• 2016

The risks of sanitary indicative bacteria, heavy metals and chlorinated derivatives in 94 cases of sanitary wet towels used in food services (39 from sanitary wet towel treatment business, 55 from food services) were assessed in the present study. Lead was detected in the range of N.D.~0.41 mg/kg (75 cases were not detected), N.D.~0.25 mg/kg of arsenic (93 cases were not detected), N.D.~0.01 mg/kg of cadmium (7 cases were lower than limit of quantitation; 87 cases were not detected), 0.003 mg/kg ~ 0.09 mg/kg of mercury. And chromium (VI) was not detected from all samples. The level of lead was the highest among the tested heavy metals, and the highest concentration of lead was 0.41 mg/kg. However, it was only 2.1% of legal limit (less than 20 mg/kg). The average moisture content of the samples was 61.9% (50.0% ~ 77.0%) and it showed no relevance to the detection of bacterial counts. Escherichia coli was not detected. Bacterial counts were detected 43 cases and among them, 24 cases were exceeded the legal limit. It was verified that the packaging conditions of sanitary wet towel (whether it is packed by a piece or not and sealed or not) are critical factors to cause the germ contamination and cross contamination in the wet towels. The chlorinated derivatives (chlorites and chlorates) were detected in 17 (19.3%) out of 88 cases. The results would be used as preliminary information to establish the programs of "Safety education for manufacturers and public policy of safety".

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.51-61
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• 2015

Computed tomography(CT) using radiation have potential risks. All medical radiographic examinations should require the justification of medical imaging examinations and optimization of the image quality and radiation exposure. The CT examination was higher radiation dose then general radiography. Especially pediatric CT examinations need to great caution of radiation risk. Because of pediatric patient was more sensitive of radiation exposure. Therefore, physician should consider the knowledge of CT radiation exposure indicator information for reduce a needless radiation exposure. This article was aim to understanding of CT exposure indicator, size-specific dose estimates by American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) report 204, XR 25 and understanding of CT dose reduction technique.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.272-278
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• 2005

The object of this study was to examine attitudes and knowledge of Korean dieticians about functional foods. We investigated their perceived knowledge and their attitudes regarding risks versus benefits, and recommendation about the use of functional foods; as well as their frequency of personal use, and the educational supports and training needs of dieticians. We developed a questionnaire to assess the dieticians' attitudes related to functional foods. This questionnaire was used for characterizing functional food-related attitudes on the basis of factor and reliability analysis in the following study. The questionnaires were distributed to 802 practicing dieticians working in Daegu and Gyeongsangbukdo. A total of 244 respondents (mean age $34\pm5.7$ years) returned the completed questionnaires through online surveys. Descriptive statistics and ANOV A were used to analyze data. Fewer than $2\%$ of dieticians claimed themselves to be knowledgeable about functional foods, more than $79\%$ consumed functional foods more than once a week, and $88\%$ of dieticians expressed an interest in receiving training about functional foods. Dieticians had favorable attitudes about the rewards from functional foods but were not confident about the safety and usage recommedation of these foods. The level of knowledge and educational support at their universities about functional foods affected the dieticians' attitudes regarding the rewards from and recommendation about the use of functional foods. These results suggest a need for additional educational opportunities to facilitate a better understanding of the risks and benefits of functional foods and their proper usage. Dietetics professionals must adapt to changes in health practices through effective educational programs integrating sufficient knowledge about functional foods.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.25-29
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• 2012

Objectives : This article reviews a solution preventing the illegal distribution of herbal medicine in common use for food and medicine and risks on public health by conducting safety management of food and medicine. Also, this article would like to contribute to improvement of public health treating diseases in compliance with accurate diagnosis and prescription of Oriental Medicine Doctor("OMD")'s. Methods : An approach in this research can be categorized into two : first, to examine the current administrative situation and problems of herbal medicine in common use for food and medicine based on policy documents of Ministry of Health and Welfare and Korea Food and Drug Adminstration("KFDA") and academic articles of the herbal medicine;second, to find reasonable administrative solutions to solve the problems. Solutions : A solution is to strengthen the management level of herbal medicine in common use for food and medicine by selecting 117 items as target items requiring concentrated management. In case herbal medicine is imported for food, KFDA strengthens the quality management level of herbal medicine by making use of inspection frequency at random, collecting and verifying herbal medicine on the market. However, KFDA decides to maintain current different quality specification system of food and medicine reflecting a civil complaint that quality specification of food and medicine should separately managed according to the purpose of use. Herbal medicine as medicine that is functioned as treating diseases and alleviating symptoms, unlike herbal medicine for food, can cure all kinds of diseases by recovering inner balance of human body, making use of other properties of herbal medicine. Medicine has its own properties. If a doctor uses properties of medicine appropriately, he cures diseases. If a doctor uses herbal medicine inappropriately. he may damage human body. Thus, whether side effects of medicine depend on a doctor who uses herbal medicine. Conclusions : All herbal medicine will be supplied into the market after strict safety control of manufacturers of herbal medicine according to the revised Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, beginning in April, 2012. Thus, people can take safer and more reliable herbal medicine through strengthening safety management of herbal medicine and improving quality and transparency in the distribution system. Herbal medicine should appropriately be prescribed by licensed OMD because herbal medicine is used to treat diseases and alleviate symptoms, unlike herbal medicine for food.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.37-46
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• 2022

Background: Non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) is associated with ischemic stroke risk in the aging population. Observational studies have indicated beneficial effects of direct-acting oral anticoagulant (DOAC) against ischemic stroke compared to warfarin. This study aimed to investigate ischemic stroke incidence and bleeding risk in patients on DOAC therapy. Methods: Using the database of Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment-Aged Patient Sample 2015, we conducted a retrospective cohort study. Study subjects with NVAF diagnosis and prescribed anticoagulants were enrolled. Propensity score (PS) matching by age, sex, comorbidities, and medications were used. The clinical outcomes were major adverse cerebro-cardiovascular events (MACCEs, ischemic stroke/systemic embolism, myocardial infarction, cardiac death) and bleeding events. A cox proportional hazard model analysis was performed to compare the outcomes with hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Total 4,773 elderly patients with NVAF were initially included. Four PS-matched groups including rivaroxaban vs. warfarin-only (n=1,079), dabigatran vs. warfarin-only (n=721), rivaroxaban vs. dabigatran (n=721), and switchers of warfarin to rivaroxaban vs. warfarin-only (n=287) were analyzed. Every group showed statistically similar results of MACCEs and bleeding events, except for the group of rivaroxaban vs. dabigatran. Rivaroxaban users showed higher risks of bleeding events than dabigatran users (HR 2.25, 95% CI 1.01-4.99). Conclusion: In the elderly patients with NVAF, efficacy and safety outcomes among oral anticoagulants including DOACs and warfarin were similar, while rivaroxaban are more likely to have higher bleeding risks than dabigatran. Further research using large size sample is needed.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.253-257
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• 2013

Exposure assessment for three major active ingredients used for humidifier disinfectants, polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG), oligo(2-(2-ethoxy)ethoxyethyl guanidinium chloride (PGH), and 5-chloro-2-methylisothiazol-3(2H)-one/2-methylisothiazol-3(2H)-one (CMIT/MIT) mixture, was conducted in a bedroom using an air sampler for a refined risk assessment. The experimental site was selected to reflect consumer exposure conditions. Aerosols formed by a humidifier were sampled during 8 hr at 7.5 L/min. Absorbed PHMG and PGH by the sampler were quantified using a spectrophotometric method, and high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection was used for CMIT/MIT. Three exposure scenarios were assumed for adding humidifier disinfectants to the humidifier water at 1, 2, and 10 times the volume recommended by the product suppliers, and the humidifier was on at its maximum rate of producing aerosols in order to consider reasonable worst-cases. The sampled mass of PHMG and PGH ranged 200 to $2,800{\mu}g$ and 140 to $1,900{\mu}g$, respectively, under different exposure conditions, whereas the absorbed mass of CMIT/MIT was barely detected at the detection limit of 0.11/0.29 mg/L, only at 10 times the recommended level. The resulting risk quotients for PHMG and PGH ranged 1,400 to 20,000 and 1,000 to 13,000, indicating that health risks could be significant. For CMIT/MIT mixture, risk quotients were much smaller than estimated by assuming that they are conservative in the indoor environment, probably due to oxidative reactions. The refined exposure assessment presented here may provide a useful tool for assessing risks posed by active ingredients in spray-type biocidal products.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.53-63
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• 2006

The increased risk of cancer with exposure to low-dose radiation was estimated through longitudinal study for radiation workers at the nuclear power plants in Korea. The radiation dose data were collected from the Radiation Safety Management System(RSMS) of the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd(KHNP). The cancer risks with radiation exposure were evaluated in terms of relative mortality ratios(RMR) and relative incidence ratios(RIR) to the unexposed employees at the nuclear power plants, and of the standardized mortality ratios(SMR) and standardized incidence ratios(SIR). There were no significant increases of canters of all sites in the exposed group either in RIR[1.08, 95% confidence interval(CI) 0.74-1.58] or in RMR[1.21, CI 0.70-2.08]. Neither SIR[0.81, CI 0.28-0.96] nor SMR[0.86, CI 0.66-1.10] significantly deviated from 1.0 for cancers of all sites. The trend analysis did not identify evident dose-response relationship due to insufficient numbers of the cases. Consequently, it is concluded that increases in cancer risks in the radiation worker group exposed to low doses at the nuclear power plants in Korea are not identified at this time.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.27-34
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• 2013

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to calculate the worker-DNEL (Derived No Effect Level) values using the REACH guidance and compare the calculated DNELs with existing Korea occupational exposure limits (KOELs) for evaluation of the applicability of the worker-DNELs as provisional occupational exposure limits for chemicals that are not established KOELs in the workplace. Methods: The worker-DNELs for 46 chemicals among 113 hazardous substance requiring management were calculated using the REACH guidance, and a paired t-test was performed to see if there is any statistical difference between two lists (worker-DNELs vs KOELs). The ratios of KOELs over worker-DNELs were also calculated to compare the overall levels of two lists using the geometric means method. Results: The calculated worker-DNELs for 46 chemicals ranged from 0.001 to $329mg/m^3$ (GM= 6.9, GSD = 10.8), and appeared to be a significant difference between the worker-DNELs and the KOELs (p < 0.01). In addition, the ratios of KOELs over worker-DNELs ranged from 0.3 to 394 times (GM = 10.2, GSD = 3.9), indicating that the worker-DNELs were, on average, 27 times lower than the KOELs. Conclusions: Therefore, the study results show that the calculated worker-DNELs can be applied and used as provisional occupational exposure limits in the workplace in order to reduce worker exposures to chemicals and health risks, and manage potential worker exposures based on the precautionary principle through comprehensive chemical risk assessment.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.151-158
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• 2022

Background: Chemical emissions in the environment have rapidly increased with the accelerated industrialization taking place in recent decades. Residents of industrial complexes are concerned about the health risks posed by chemical exposure. Objectives: This study was performed to suggest modeling methods that take into account multimedia and multi-pathways in human exposure and risk assessment. Methods: The concentration of benzene emitted at industrial complexes in Daesan, South Korea and the exposure of local residents was estimated using the Caltox model. The amount of human exposure based on inhalation rate was stochastically predicted for various activity stages such as resting, normal walking, and fast walking. Results: The coefficient of determination (R²) for the CalTOX model efficiency was 0.9676 and the root-mean-square error (RMSE) was 0.0035, indicating good agreement between predictions and measurements. However, the efficiency index (EI) appeared to be a negative value at -1094.4997. This can be explained as the atmospheric concentration being calculated only from the emissions from industrial facilities in the study area. In the human exposure assessment, the higher the inhalation rate percentile value, the higher the inhalation rate and lifetime average daily dose (LADD) at each activity step. Conclusions: Prediction using the Caltox model might be appropriate for comparing with actual measurements. The LADD of females was higher ratio with an increase in inhalation rate than those of males. This finding would imply that females may be more susceptible to benzene as their inhalation rate increases.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.55-64
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• 2022

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to evaluate the residual characteristics and safety assessment of αcypermethrin and deltamethrin in minor crops, chives and spring onion cultivated in greenhouse. METHODS AND RESULTS: The insecticides α-cypermethrin 2% EC and deltamethrin 1% EC used in the experiment were diluted 1,000 times and then sprayed on chives and spring onion twice with 1-week intervals at 0, 7, 14, and 21 days before harvest. The residual insecticides were extracted from the minor crops using QuEchERS method and analyzed by GC-MS/MS. The average initial residues of α-cypermethrin and deltamethrin in chives after 21 days decreased from 2.74 to 0.82 mg/kg and 1.12 to 0.16 mg/kg, respectively. Similarly, in spring onion the residues after the same periods decreased from 0.26 to <0.01 mg/kg for α-cypermethrin and from 0.07 to <0.01 mg/kg for deltamethrin. CONCLUSION(S): The PHIs (pre-harvest intervals) for α-cypermethrin and deltamethrin in chives are recommended as 14 days before harvest with twice applications of the pesticides, whereas for α-cypermethrin in spring onion PHI of 7 days before harvest is recommended with 3 times of applications and PHI of 21 days for deltamethrin. The theoretical maximum daily intakes of cypermethrin and deltamethrin were 68.8% and 64.2%, respectively, indicating that residues of both compounds did not pose considerable health risks to consumers.