• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.134-142
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• 2021

Background: From 2018 to 2020, the Expert Study on Public Understanding after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident (the Expert Study Group) identified and analyzed activities designed to promote public understanding of science and radiation since the Fukushima accident, and held discussions on how to achieve public understanding in the situation where public confidence has been lost, and how experts should prepare for dealing with the public. This panel session was held at the 53^rd meeting of the Japan Health Physics Society on June 30, 2020. Materials and Methods: First, three subgroup (SG) leaders reported their research methods and results. Then, two designated speakers, who participated as observers of the Expert Study Group, commented on the activities. Next, the five speakers held a panel discussion. Finally, the rapporteur summarized. Results and Discussion: SG leaders presented reports from researchers and practitioners in health physics and environmental risks who provided information after the Fukushima accident. During the discussion, experts in sociology and ethics discussed the issues, focusing on the overall goals of the three groups, local (personal) and mass communication, and ethical values. Many of the activities instituted by the experts after the accident were aimed at public understanding of science (that is, to provide knowledge to residents), but by taking into account interactions with residents and their ethical norms, the experts shifted to supporting the residents' decision-making through public engagement. The need to consider both content and channels is well known in the field of health communication, and overlaps with the above discussion. Conclusion: How to implement and promote the public engagement in society was discussed in both the floor and designated discussions. Cooperation between local communities and organizations that have already gained trust is also necessary in order to develop relationships with local residents in normal times, to establish an information transmission system, and to make it work effectively.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.13
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• pp.5225-5231
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• 2015

Background: One of the most prevalent cancers in whole world is skin cancer and its prevalence is growing. The present research sought to estimate relative risk of morbidity and mortality due to skin cancer. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study. The required data were gathered from the registered cancer reports of Cancer Control Office in the Center for Non Communicable Disease of the Iranian Ministry of Health (MOH). The data were extracted at province level in the time span of 2008-10. WINBUGS software was used to analyze the data and to identify high risk regions. ArcGIS10 was utilized to map the distribution of skin cancer and to demonstrate high risk provinces by using classic and fully Bayesian models taking into account spatial correlations of adjacent regions separately for men and women. Results: Relative risk of morbidity for women in Yazd and for men in Kurdistan and relative risk of mortality for women in Bushehr and for men in Kohgiluyeh were found to be the highest. Bayesian model due to regarding adjacent regions correlation, have precise estimation in comparing to classical model. More frequent epidemiological studies to enact skin cancer prevention programs. Conclusions: High risk regions in Iran include central and highland regions. Therefore it is suggested that health decision makers enact public education, using anti UV creams and sunglasses for those parts as a short preventing program.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.267-272
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• 2012

Dental professionals are exposed to various occupational risks, among which the problem of hearing damage has been newly revealed. There have been some researches reporting that noise occurring in a dental office exceeds the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) Standards. Especially, the pediatric dentists are repeatedly exposed to an additional noise source called the crying sound of children in addition to all kinds of noises from dental instruments. Accordingly, this study intended to investigate the noise environment likely to affect pediatric dentists and to examine the possibility of resultant hearing damages. The level of noise was measured respectively, when various dental instruments (ultrasonic scaler, high-speed handpiece, low-speed handpiece) are operated, when children are crying, and when both occasions take place simultaneously (from the distance of 30 cm) with a portable noise meter. And the daily duration of pediatric dentists exposed to the noise environment was surveyed. The results were compared with the standard value of noise threshold of NIOSH, OSHA, and that of hearing damage of CRA News letter respectively. Considering the intensity and exposure time, the noise environment of pediatric dentists exceeds the allowable noise threshold values. Even only one exposure to crying child was likely to lead to permanent hearing damage. Comparatively, pediatric dentists have a higher risk for occupational hearing damages, and some active measures are thought highly desirable to minimize it.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.357-365
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• 2014

Purpose: The continued increase in the world population has triggered an increased demand for food. Cereal grains, flour, and their products constitute the staple diet for most of the world's population. This high demand for food, particularly for cereal-based products, has been exploited for commercial gain through adulteration of food materials. We provide a thorough review of the current developments and limitations of modern, nondestructive analytical techniques used for detection of adulterants in cereals and their products and compare them with conventional methods. Results: Adulterated food poses a serious health risks to humans, animals, and the ecosystem in general. Over the last few decades, the adulteration industry has developed fraudulent practices that often outsmart conventional methods of detection and quality control. Therefore, technological advancements to aid in detection and measurement of adulterants in food products and to ensure food quality and safety are critically important to consumers worldwide. Conclusion: There is a continuous demand for development of nondestructive technology to improve the accuracy and efficiency of detection, measurement, and qualification of adulterants in cereals and other food materials.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.443-444
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• 2023

Point-of-care photography and photo sharing optimize patient outcomes and facilitate remote consultation imperative for resident surgeons. This literature review and external pilot survey study highlight the risks associated with current practices concerning patient privacy and biometric security. In a survey of 30 plastic surgeon residents and attendings, we found that the majority took photos of patients with their iPhones and shared them with colleagues via Apple iMessage. These findings corroborate previous reports and highlight a lack of physician user acceptance of secure photo-sharing platforms. Finally, we frame a successful example from the literature in the context of a postulated framework for institutional change. Prioritizing the privacy and safety of patients requires a strategic approach that preserves the ease and frequency of use of current practices.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.15-29
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• 2016

Research background: Despite the visible growth in radiation usage and nuclear power development, the analysis of their relationship with fundamental rights, a subject of public concern regarding issues including the right to health, environmental rights, safety rights, the right to know, the right to development, and the right to life, is currently non-existent. Methods: By examining various fundamental rights in the context of positive laws regarding radiation and nuclear power in an idealistic perspective that guarantees the maximum degree of rights, this paper aims to propose legislative supplements that will lead to improvements in quality of life. Result and discussion: In the South Korean Constitution, radiation and nuclear power is a subject incorporating several rights, including at least 12 clauses that are directly related to fundamental rights; these constitutional rights are manifested in the various clauses of the 14 positive laws regarding radiation and nuclear power. The question on the relative importance of each fundamental right as reflected in these positive laws- whether the right to life should be prioritized or considered equal in weight to the right to health, environmental rights, the right to know, and safety rights- requires careful deliberation and is difficult to humanly resolve in the short term. Conclusion: Making policy that expands the usage of radiation and nuclear power while simultaneously preventing their associated risks is an important task for the Republic of Korea, and a proper value judgment is necessary to find a balance in its associated rights.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.23-31
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• 2015

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to determine consumers' awareness of hygiene and the perceived risks in the service areas of coffee shops and diners, or simply coffee shops. Research design, data, and methodology - A literature review was conducted on related publications, essays, and periodicals to find correlations among the variables. We developed a research model and hypothesis, and conducted empirical research for statistical data analysis. Results - The results satisfied adequacy standards, with GFI=0.926, AGFI=0.901, RMR=0.020, NFI=0.941, X²=403.197, and p-value=0.120. The results also displayed satisfied adequacy standards for the moderating effects of shop types, with GFI=0.998 (≥0.9 desirable), AGFI=0.998 (≥0.9 desirable), RMR=0.004 (≤0.05 desirable), NFI=0.999 (≥0.9 desirable), X²=1.572, and p-value=0.814 (≥0.05 desirable). Conclusions - A higher consumer hygienic awareness results in a better brand image. Moreover, greater perceived risk results in a worse brand image. Perceived risk is a vital determinant of brand image and it deeply influences customers' decisions to visit. Therefore, perceived risk is a vital determinant of forming a brand image and must be incorporated when devising strategies.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Systems Engineering
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.55-63
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• 2013

Nuclear power plant site selection is a complex process and its successful completion is a critical milestone in the NPP development cycle. Proper siting of NPP will ensure public health and safety, environmental conservation, reduced project failure risks and a smooth NPP development process among other benefits. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the application of systems engineering to the problem of NPP siting in Kenya. The siting process demonstrated in this paper includes stakeholder need analysis where stakeholders are identified and their needs concerning NPP site are elicited and converted into system functional requirements. A value model is then developed and potential sites iteratively subjected to three types of criteria i.e. exclusionary criteria, avoidance criteria and suitability criteria. This process is used to identify the candidate sites. An additive value model; multiple objectives Decision Analysis (MODA) is then used to calculate candidate solutions values. The site with the highest solution value score is selected. Sensitivity studies using different criterion weight sets (thereby reflecting different viewpoints) can be conducted to assess their effect on the selection of a preferred site and thereby lend additional credibility to the decision process.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.375-387
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• 2012

The objective of this study is investigation of contamination levels and assessment of health risk effects of heavy metals in herbal pills. 31 Items and 93 samples were obtained for this investigation from major herbal medicine producing areas, herbal markets and on-line supermarkets from Jan to Jun in 2010. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer method was conducted for the quantitative analysis of Pb, Cd and As. In addition, the mercury analyzer system was conducted for that of Hg without sample digestion. The average contents of heavy metals in samples were as follows : 0.87 mg/kg for Pb, 0.08 mg/kg for Cd, 2.87 mg/kg for As and 0.16 mg/kg for Hg, respectively. In addition, the average contents of heavy metals in different parts of plants, including cortex, fructus, herba, radix, seed, algae and others were 0.63 mg/kg, 3.94 mg/kg, 1.42 mg/kg, 1.05 mg/kg, 0.16 mg/kg, 22.31 mg/kg and 10.17 mg/kg, respectively. After the estimations of dietary exposure, the acceptable daily intake (ADI), the average daily dose (ADD), the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) and the relative hazard of heavy metals were evaluated. As the results, the relative hazards compared to PTWI in samples were below the recommended standard of JECFA as Pb 3.1%, Cd 0.9%, Hg 0.5%. Cancer risks through slope factor (SF) by Ministry of Environment Republic Korea and Environmental Protection Agency was $4.24{\times}10^{-7}$ for Pb and $3.38{\times}10^{-4}$ for As (assuming that the total arsenic content was equal to the inorganic arsenic). Based on our results, possible Pb-induced cancer risks in herbal pills according to parts used including cortex, fructus, herba, radix, seed, algae and others were $1.95{\times}10^{-7}$, $1.45{\times}10^{-6}$, $2.14{\times}10^{-7}$, $6.27{\times}10^{-7}$, $1.99{\times}10^{-8}$, $3.61{\times}10^{-7}$ and $9.64{\times}10^{-8}$, respectively. Possible As-induced cancer risks in herbal pills by parts used including cortex, fructus, herba, radix, seed, algae and others were $1.54{\times}10^{-5}$, $7.24{\times}10^{-5}$, $1.23{\times}10^{-4}$, $2.02{\times}10^{-5}$, $3.25{\times}10^{-6}$, $2.18{\times}10^{-3}$ and $5.67{\times}10^{-6}$ respectively. Taken together, these results indicate that the majority of samples except for some samples with relative high contents of heavy metals were safe.

• 대한예방의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1994.02a
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• pp.417-425
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• 1994

Although animal studies have been used most often for quantitative risk assessment, it is generally recognized that well-conducted epidemiologic studies would provide the best basis for estimating human risk. However, there are several features related to the design and analysis of epidemiologic studies that frequently limit their usefulness for quantitating risks. The lack of accurate information on exposure in epidemiologic studies is perhaps the most frequently cited limitation of these studies for risk assessment. However. other features of epidemiologic study design, such as statistical power, length of follow-up, confounding, and effect modification, may also limit the inferences that can be drawn from these studies. Furthermore, even when the aforementioned limitations are overcome, substantial uncertainty exists concerning the choice of an appropriate statistical (or biologic) model for extrapolation beyond the range of exposures observed in a particular study. This paper focuses on presenting a review and discussion of the methodologic issues involved in using epidemiologic studies for risk assessment. This review concentrates on the use of retrospective, cohort, mortality studies of occupational groups for assessing cancer risk because this is the most common application of epidemiologic data for quantitative risk assessment (QRA). Epidemiologic data should not be viewed as a panacea for the problems inherent in using animal bioassay data for QRA. Rather, information that can be derived from epidemiologic and toxicologic studies complement one another, and both data sources need to be used to provide the best characterization of human risk.