• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.10-20
• /
• 2010

In recent studies, $PM_{2.5}$ has been reported to be more harmful to human health than $PM_{10}$ because it penetrates more deeply into the lung. We estimated $PM_{2.5}$ related health benefits in Seoul from implementing the World Health Organization (WHO)'s guidelines (annual average $10{\mu}g/m^3$, 24-hour average $25{\mu}g/m^3$) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s National Ambient Air Quality Standard (annual average $15{\mu}g/m^3$, 24-hour average $35{\mu}g/m^3$). U.S. EPA's Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program was utilized for the analysis. It was predicted that the attainment of the WHO annual guideline and U.S. EPA's annual standard, relative to the concentration in 2006, would result in reduction of 2,333~2,895 premature deaths and 1,703~2,121 premature deaths, respectively. If the WHO and EPA's daily standard for $PM_{2.5}$ are attained, 1,211~1,394 and 1,012~1,165 premature deaths could be avoided, respectively. Sensitivity analyses indicated that the estimates were robust regardless of air quality simulation methods for attaining the $PM_{2.5}$ goals. This study provides a quantitative approach to evaluate health risks from air pollution as well as to assess the potential health benefits of improving atmospheric $PM_{2.5}$ concentration. Even considering the intrinsic limitations and uncertainties of the analysis, it is an important information to rationalize the enforcement of $PM_{2.5}$ management policies and measures in Seoul, Korea.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.20 no.11
• /
• pp.510-519
• /
• 2019

The aim of this study was to set a defect classification framework and evaluate the defect risks in apartment buildings For this, approximately 15,056 defect items for 133 apartment buildings were examined. As a result of the analysis, the major defect of the RC work was cracks, which were found mainly in public locations. Moreover, the RC work was found to exhibit a high defect risk of water problem and surface appearance, which are highly connected with cracks. Second, the finish work has a high defect risk because it is composed of various work types, and there are many kinds of materials and construction parts involved. Third, the major defects of the waterproof work were incorrect installation and missing tasks, which have high defect risks in the garage. This is because defects that require rework occur mainly in the underground garage. Based on these results, this study proposed countermeasures for defect risk management to be considered in the construction, handover, post-handover, and occupancy phases. These have been set in detail based on the three zones: low frequency high severity (LFHS), low frequency low severity (LFLS), and high frequency low severity (HFLS).

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.42 no.spc
• /
• pp.4-7
• /
• 2009

Agricultural soils contaminated by cadmium (Cd) are common problems in Asia due to rapid industrial development, so the risks of Cd exposure from food crops consumption are concerned by public and authorities. The latest data on Cd concentration in plant-based food and the dietary intakes of Cd around the world are presented in this review. In general, Cd concentrations in major plant-based commodities seldom exceed 0.05 mg/kg fresh weight and decline in the order as: cereals > pulses > vegetables > roots and tubers > fruits in Far Eastern region. In Middle Eastern and European regions, the order is vegetables > cereals > roots and tubers > pulses > fruits. Rice has the highest Cd levels among cereals in Asian countries, but in Middle Eastern and European region the highest level of Cd occurred in leaf vegetables. The dietary intakes of Cd from plant-based commodities around the world declined in the order as: cereals > vegetables > roots and tubers > fruits > pulses. Rice is the largest contributor to total dietary Cd intake (58%) in the Far Eastern region and contributed 36% of Provisional Tolerable Daily Intake (PTDI). For high foodstuffs consumers, intake of Cd from all diets may exceed PTWI, especially for high rice consumers in Asian countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) conducted impact assessment of different maximum levels (MLs) of Cd and demonstrated that each of the four possible MLs for rice had little impact on dietary Cd intake. Since many Cd-contaminated soils in Asian countries still producing crops due to the growing population, the cost-effective techniques for reducing Cd contents in crops especially rice grain are absolutely required.

• Proceedings of the SAREK Conference
• /
• 2009.06a
• /
• pp.1470-1475
• /
• 2009

Until now for the safety of structures and equipment monitoring technology to measure the amount of the physical, if that is the one, one-point or single-source target is one the most. Therefore, becoming more numerous and complex to measure the amount of physical measurement technology that is comprehensive and complex, multi-source concepts to the monitoring of a multi-sensing technology is required. Have the same characteristics of multi-source multi-use space such as a multi-structure of facilities/equipment is. The people's safety in a multi-use facility will be directly related to life and even a little carelessness can lead to large-scale disaster occurs because of several factors, risks and to manage detect in advance the development of an intelligent monitoring technology is essential. Therefore, this study shows that multiple structures/facilities to improve the quality of human life in research to maintain a safe and comfortable living space for multi-source intelligence to the development of monitoring technology to achieve that goal, and the ubiquitous sensor network system on the basis of the wireless transmission module, and multiple research facilities/equipment for the ultra-small sensors for health monitoring study was performed.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.197-205
• /
• 2013

Background: Many factors including drugs, dietary supplements, and food intake can affect the development and organ formation of fetuses. Because of this, subject tends to avoid consuming things like coffee, alcohol, or cigarettes due to the risks they pose during pregnancy. Therefore, analysis of drugs and favorite food consumption is needed and important to ensure safe health management for subject. Purpose: This study was conducted domestically to analyze these factors in South Korea. Method: The survey was conducted from pregnancy-related online communities for six days and the survey results were received via email for analysis. Result: A total of 127 subjects answered the questionnaire via email; the characteristics of subjects are widely varied in their ages, education levels, job statuses, and residences. The questionnaire included the intake of dietary supplements during pregnancy including vitamins and the result showed that the subjects took 2.23 different kinds of supplements on average. In order of highest frequency, 101 subjects took multivitamins; 79 subjects took an iron supplement; 30 subjects took analgesics; 20 subjects took prescribed antipyretic and medication for upper respiratory diseases; 12 subjects took antibiotics; 7 subjects took antiemetics. Their compliances were different in each medication categories. Only 8% of subjects answered that they had asked a pharmacist for medication information during pregnancy. In addition, 78% of subjects answered that they never counseled with anyone about pregnancy related medication use. Conclusion: In conclusion, many subjects took medication including dietary supplements. The role of pharmacists should be actively developed to improve subject care such as education about subject's medication uses and their food consumption behavior.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.39-45
• /
• 2017

A cyclotron is a kind of particle accelerator that produces a beam of charged particles for the production of medical, industrial, and research radioisotopes. More than 30 cyclotrons are operated in Korea to produce $^{18}F$, an FDG synthesis at hospitals. A 30-MeV cyclotron was installed at ARTI (Advanced Radiation Technology Institute, KAERI) mainly for research regarding isotope production. In this study, we analyze and estimate the items of risk such as the problems in the main components of the cyclotron, the loss of radioactive materials, the leakage of coolant, and the malfunction of utilities, fires and earthquakes. To estimate the occurrence frequency in an accident risk assessment, five levels, i.e., Almost certain, Likely, Possible, Unlikely, and Rare, are applied. The accident consequence level is classified under four grades based on the annual permissible dose for radiation workers and the public in the nuclear safety law. The analysis of the accident effect is focused on the radioactive contamination caused by radioisotope leakage and radioactive material leakage of a ventilation filter due to a fire. To analyze the risks, Occupation Safety and Health Acts is applied. In addition, action plans against an accident were prepared after a deep discussion among relevant researchers. In this acts, we will search for hazard and introduce the risk assessment for the research 30-MeV cyclotron facilities of ARTI.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.40 no.4
• /
• pp.606-612
• /
• 2011

The purpose of this study was to investigate certain heavy metals (Hg, Pb, Cd, Cu) in 144 samples of cephalopods, to identify weekly heavy metal intakes and to evaluate potential health risks. The average concentrations in the arm, expressed in mg/kg, were: Hg 0.017 (less than the limit of detection (LOD) to 0.059), Pb 0.024 (less than the LOD to 0.092), Cd 0.030 (less than the LOD to 0.627) and Cu 2.536 (less than the LOD to 5.837). The average concentration in the internal organs, expressed in mg/kg, were: Hg 0.063 (from 0.008 to 0.543), Pb 0.579 (less than the LOD to 2.344), Cd 15.200 (from 0.654 to 75.29) and Cu 201.706 (from 2.412 to 856.4). Heavy metal concentrations were higher in the organs than in the arm. Of the four heavy metals, the ratio of internal organs to arm was highest for cadmium. The weekly intakes of Hg, Pb, Cd and Cu from Octopus minor were 0.2%, 0.08%, 0.20% and 0.00%, respectively from the arm, and 1.0%, 0.96%, 92.28% and 0.05% from the internal organs as compared to PTWI (provisional tolerable weekly intakes) established by the FAO/WHO Expert Committee for Food Safety Evaluation.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
• /
• 2020.12a
• /
• pp.455-462
• /
• 2020

Noise which is unwanted sound is a serious pollutant that can affect human health, as well as the working and living environment if exposed to humans. However, current noise management on the construction project is generally conducted after the noise exceeds the regulation standard, which increases the conflicts with inhabitants near the construction site and threats to the safety and productivity of construction workers. To overcome the limitations of the current noise management methods, the activities of construction equipment which is the main source of construction noise need to be managed throughout the construction period in real-time. Therefore, this paper proposed a framework for automatically detecting noise sources in construction sites in real-time based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) according to the following four steps: (i) Step 1: Definition of the noise sources; (ii) Step 2: Data preparation; (iii) Step 3: Noise source classification using the audio CNN; and (iv) Step 4: Noise source detection using the visual CNN. The short-time Fourier transform (STFT) and temporal image processing are used to contain temporal features of the audio and visual data. In addition, the AlexNet and You Only Look Once v3 (YOLOv3) algorithms have been adopted to classify and detect the noise sources in real-time. As a result, the proposed framework is expected to immediately find construction activities as current noise sources on the video of the construction site. The proposed framework could be helpful for environmental construction managers to efficiently identify and control the noise by automatically detecting the noise sources among many activities carried out by various types of construction equipment. Thereby, not only conflicts between inhabitants and construction companies caused by construction noise can be prevented, but also the noise-related health risks and productivity degradation for construction workers and inhabitants near the construction site can be minimized.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.81-90
• /
• 2006

The Strain Index(SI) has been commonly used to evaluate the musculoskeletal disorders(MSDs) of upper extremities. Recently, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists(ACGIH) adopted the Threshold Limit Value for hand activity level (HAL TLV) focused on the hand, wrist, and forearm. The MSDs risks of 37 repetitive works conducted at an automobile climate control system manufacturing factory were evaluated using both the HAL TLV and the SI, and the results by two methods were compared. Also, measured repetitive frequencies of upper limbs joint were mesured using electromyogram and electrogoniometer. The evaluation results of the HAL were related with the repetitive frequency data of upper limbs joint by electrogoniometer, and the NPF was related with %MVC of ECU. The evaluation result of HAL TLV was highly related with the SI score(r=0.66, p<0.01). Of total 37 tasks, 25 tasks(67.6%) were exceeded the TLV and 34 tasks(91.9%) exceeded the SI limit. Although there was a high relationship between the HAL TLV and SI score, the HAL TLV underestimated the risk in comparison with the SI. The correlation coefficients(r) between the HAL TLV data and the repetitive frequency of upper limbs joint were 0.45~0.55(p<0.01). The MSD symptoms was significantly different between high risk groups and low risk groups evaluated by HAL TLV(p<0.01), but was not different between two groups by SI. In conclusion, the HAL TLV is a proper tool for repetitive works.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.17
• /
• pp.7479-7484
• /
• 2015

Diseases related to water impurities may present as major public health burdens. The present study aimed to assess the mutagenicity of drinking water from different zones of Tehran, and evaluate possible health risks through making tea with tea bags, by Ames mutagenicity test using TA 100, TA 98 and YG1029 strains. For this purpose, 450 water samples were collected over the period of July to December 2014 from 5 different zones of Tehran. Except for one sample, no mutagenic potential was detected during these two seasons and the MI scores were almost normal (${\leq}1-1.6$) in TA 100, TA 98 and YG1029 strains. Although no mutagenic effects were considered in TA 98 and TA 100 in the test samples of our three evaluated tea bag brands, one sample from a local company showed mutagenic effects in the YG1029 strain (MI=1.7-1.9 and 2) after prolonged (10-15 min.) steeping. Despite the mild mutagenic effect discovered for one of the brand, this cross sectional study showed relative safety of water samples and black tea bags in Tehran. According to the sensitivity of YG1029 to the mutagenic potential of water and black tea, even without metabolic activation by s9 fraction, this metabolizer strain could be considered as sensitive and applicable to food samples for quantitative analysis of mutagens.