• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제15권3호
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• pp.277-281
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• 2005

Air-line mask is an important personal protective equipment for workers working under hazardous surroundings in which a fixed ventilation system is difficult to be installed. If the air-line mask make loud noise, works wearing the mask may be faced with health problems such as noise induced hearing loss(NIHL). The purpose of this study is to introduce a low noisy technology for workers using air-line mask. A traditional type air-line has been improved to an advanced air-line mask with lesser noise. In the mask, air suppling conduits consists of multi tubes are placed inside of the front of the safety helmet. The noise level reduced from 80dB(A) to less than 80dB(A) when measured by KS A 0701 method at Center for Safety Inspection, Testing and Certification for KOSHA. It is suitable for related regulation[Article 35 of the Industrial Safety and Health Act(Test of Personal Protective Equipment)]. While workers working in noise level of over 90dB(A), they may expose to 82dB(A) or less when they wear the advanced masks. This type masks can be an alternative for works suffering from loud noise generated by traditional air-line masks.

• 대한두개안면성형외과학회지
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• 제18권4호
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• pp.223-229
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• 2017

The beauty of the laryngeal mask is that it forms an air tight seal enclosing the larynx rather than plugging the pharynx, and avoid airway obstruction in the oropharynx. The goal of its development was to create an intermediate form of airway management face mask and endotracheal tube. Indication for its use includes any procedure that would normally involve the use of a face mask. The laryngeal mask airway was designed as a new concept in airway management and has been gaining a firm position in anesthetic practice. Despite wide spread use the definitive role of the laryngeal mask airway is yet to be established. In some situations, such as after failed tracheal intubation or in oral surgery its use is controversial. There are several unresolved issues, for example the effect of the laryngeal mask on regurgitation and whether or not cricoids pressure prevents placement of mask. We review the techniques of insertion, details of misplacement, and complications associated with use of the laryngeal mask. We then attempt to clarify the role of laryngeal mask in air way management during anesthesia, discussing the advantages and disadvantages as well as indications and contraindications of its use in oral and maxillofacial surgery.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제46권6호
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• pp.750-756
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• 2020

Objectives: After coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic, the South Korean government announced guidelines on wearing masks to prevent its spread. The guidelines have changed depending on the severity of the spread of COVID-19. This study aimed to identify mask-wearing behaviours to counter the spread of COVID-19 in indoor and outdoor environments. Methods: The type of mask worn and proper wearing were observed in cafés, supermarkets, underground shopping malls, and streets in Seoul. Behavioral assessment was repeated in August at social distancing levels 1 and 2, in October at social distancing level 1, and in November after the mask mandates. Results: In August, 22.1% of subjects in cafés, 90.8% in supermarkets, 91.8% in underground shopping malls, and 83.6% on outdoor streets wore masks properly. In October, the proportion of correct wearers increased in all locations. After masks became mandatory in November, about 97% of users of supermarkets, underground shopping malls, and streets wore masks properly. In cafés, the proportion of proper wearers was 61.5% with both social distancing level 2 in August and the mandate in November. The number of KF-certified mask wearers continued to increase from August to November. Conclusion: This study investigated mask-wearing behaviors to counter COVID-19 through observations in indoor and outdoor places in Seoul. Mask-wearing behavior was different depending on the place and the government guidelines in place. The results could be used for evaluation of the current guidelines for COVID-19.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제13권3호
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• pp.364-371
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• 2022

Background: Respiratory masks can provide healthcare workers with protection from biological hazards when they have good performance. There is a direct relationship between the visual specifications of a mask and its efficacy; thus, the aim of this study was to develop tools for qualitative assessment of the performance of masks used by healthcare workers. Methods: A mixed-methods design was used to develop a qualitative assessment tool for medical face masks (MFM) and particle filtering half masks (PFHM). The development of domains and items was undertaken using observation and interviews, the opinions of an expert panel, and a review of texts and international standards. The second phase evaluated the psychometric properties of tools. Finally, the validated Mask Qualitative Assessment Tools (MQAT) were used to assess six samples from 10 brands of the two types of masks. Results: MQAT-MFM and MQAT-PHFM shared 42 items across seven domains: "cleanliness," "design," "marking, labeling and packaging," "mask layers," "mask strap," "materials and construction," and "nose clip." MQAT-MFM included one additional item. MQAT-PHFM included another nine items associated with an eighth "Practical Performance" domain, and the valve version had another additional "Exhalation Valve" domain and six items. The evaluation indicated 80% compliance for MFM and 71% compliance for PFHM. "Marking, labeling and packaging" and "Layers" were associated with the least compliance in both types of masks and should be checked carefully for defining mask quality. Conclusion: MQAT can be used for immediate screening and initial assessment of MFM and PHFM through appearance, simple tools, and visual inspection.

• 융합정보논문지
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• 제10권8호
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• pp.77-86
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• 2020

이 연구는 코로나 19 확산에 따른 WHO의 마스크 사용 지침에 대한 한국 보건당국의 이행 및 불이행 내용을 분석하고 그것의 원인과 대안 선택의 결과를 도출하여 전염병 예방에서 지침의 한계와 연구의 함의를 제시하는데 목표가 있다. 이를 위해 국내·외 마스크 관련 문헌들을 고찰하고 WHO의 마스크 지침과 한국 보건당국의 마스크 권고사항을 분석대상으로 한다. 분석 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 한국의 보건당국은 두 차례의 권고 사항에서 WHO의 "제한된 마스크 사용자 관점"을 기본적으로 수용하고 적용해왔다. 둘째, 한국의 보건당국은 마스크 수급이 부족해지면서 WHO 마스크 지침과는 상이한 이행을 하였다. 셋째, 한국의 보건당국은 보편적 마스크의 필요성에 따른 마스크 공급 안정화를 기반으로 코로나 19 초기 방역에 성공할 수 있었다. 넷째, WHO 마스크 지침에서 마스크 사용자 제한은 결과론적으로 지침으로서의 부분적 오류를 드러냈다. 분석에서 도출된 함의는 의학적 근거에 따른 국제 지침일지라도 일단 감염병 팬데믹 상황에선 국제 규칙의 엄격한 준수보다 각국의 방역상황 및 역량에 따라 자율적인 지침을 따르도록 허용할 필요가 있다는 점이다.

• 한국융합학회논문지
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• 제11권9호
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• pp.143-154
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• 2020

전 세계에서 코로나바이러스의 대유행으로, 보건위생용품인 마스크는 점점 생활 속 필수방역용품으로 바뀌었다. 그래서 마스크는 개인위생용품에서 점차 사회적 용품이 되었고, 디자인에서 '사용자 중심디자인'의 경향이 강하다. 본 논문은 우선 시장에서 판매되고 있는 보건용 마스크를 연구대상으로 '사용자 중심디자인'의 개념에서 마스크의 외관과 색상 등 디자인 요소를 분석한다. 다음으로, 표본분석법, 페르소나(persona) 분석법, 점 위도 분석법으로 추출한 표본과 수집한 데이터를 대상으로 분석해 '사용자 중심디자인', '구매 경향성' 및 '보건용 마스크' 사이의 관계를 찾아낸다. 사용자가 마스크를 구매할 때 선택한 디자인 요소를 분석하여 사용자 중심디자인 방안을 탐구한다. 여기에는 사용자가 마스크를 구매할 때 마스크의 형태와 색상의 선택과 마스크 디자인 요소 간의 상관관계에 관한 연구는 앞으로 마스크 디자인할 때 디자인의 공백점을 찾을 수 있고 참고할 가치가 있다.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제48권2호
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• pp.116-122
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• 2022

Background: The recent COVID-19 pandemic is one of the worst disease outbreaks of the 21th century. Due to a lack of reliable antiviral therapeutics, wearing face masks is recommended to prevent airborne infection originating from virus-contaminated bioaerosols. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the filtration efficiencies of face masks that are commercially available in South Korea for a biological aerosol of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and murine coronavirus, a well-known surrogate for human coronaviruses. Methods: We collected six different kinds of commercial masks: two Korea Filter (KF)94 (KF94-1, KF94-2) masks, one surgical (Surgical-1) mask, one anti-droplet (KF-AD-1) mask, and two dust (Dust-1, Dust-2) face masks. S. aureus (ATCC 6538), a well-performing test bacteria and murine coronavirus (ATCC VR-764) were prepared under a suitable culture condition. Then, a mask biological filtration tester was used to examine the microbial filtration efficiencies of masks. Test microorganisms were quantitatively measured via cultivation methods and microbial filtration efficiencies were calculated appropriately. Results: All face masks showed over 99.6% filtration efficiency for S. aureus or murine coronavirus. There were no significant differences among the bacterial filtration efficiencies of the face masks. KF94-1 (99.97±0.08%) and Dust-1 mask (99.97±0.07%) showed the highest (over 99.9%) filtration efficiency for murine coronavirus. KF94-1 or Dust-1 masks showed a significant virus filtration efficiency compared to Surgical-1 mask (p<0.05; Mann-Whitney U test). Conclusions: All the commercially available face masks used in this study can filter S. aureus or murine coronavirus in bioaerosols efficiently, regardless of the mask type. Therefore, our results suggest that wearing a certified face mask is a reliable means to prevent the transmission of infectious airborne diseases via biological aerosols.

• 대한의생명과학회지
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• 제28권4호
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• pp.317-321
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• 2022

Due to COVID-19 pandemic, wearing face masks is obligatory to prevent respiratory virus transmissions in the community. However, there are few studies of the desirable number of wearing a face mask, and how to store them for reuse. Therefore, in this study, a survey was conducted among 208 healthy adults, and 27 kf-94 masks worn for 1, 2, and 3 days were collected. To estimate the risk of bacterial contamination, we analyzed the extent of bacterial contamination of the BHI medium and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. With an increase in the number of days of using the mask, the degree of bacterial contamination of the used mask gradually increased. As a result of 16S rRNA PCR performed for strain identification, Staphylococcus, known as a pathogenic bacterium, was identified the most. In conclusion, we found that wearing a cotton KF mask provides an optimal environment for microbes, which are related to the skin and respiratory system, to thrive. Therefore, it is also important to reduce the risk of bacterial infection of the face mask with appropriate sterilization methods.

• 대한안전경영과학회지
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• 제12권4호
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• pp.87-92
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• 2010

The mask-face interface design should consider the face shape to improve the half mask respirator's fit ratio. This study tried to design the mask-face interface using recent Korean face data. By using the data of 1536 men's 3D face scanning (Size Korea data), head clay mock-up was made and mask-face interface line was extracted from this head mock-up. Using this interface line, the half-mask prototype was made. According to the quantitative fitting test, the proposed mask was found to be well fitted (average fit-ratio > 100). The proposed method had two advantages. 1) The method could use massive head-related anthropometric data like Size Korea data. 2) The qualitative fit test (observation) could be conducted very quickly by fitting the prototype to the head mock-up. However, this method also had several limitations. 1) The head clay mock-up could be different according to the mock-up maker. 2) The average values of the head-related anthropometric data were used to make the head mock-up. Small and large size head mock-ups should be made and tested.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제31권3호
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• pp.440-448
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• 1998

In many developed countries, for example, USA, respirator fit testing is required before entering specific work environment to ensure that the respirator worn satisfies a minimum of fit and that the user knows when the respirator fits properly. Unfortunately because we have not fit test regulation in Korea, a lot of workers wearing respirators may be potentially exposed to hazards. This study was conducted to evaluate the fitting performance for respirators and correlation fit factors with facial dimensions of wearers. 110 subjects (70 males, 40 females) were fit tested for three quarter masks, i.e., two domestic-made Mask 2, and Y and one foreign-made Mask T using PortaCount 8020. A facial dimension survey of the same subjects was conducted to develop a facial dimension grids fer correlation fit factors with facial dimension parameters. A facial dimension grid was developed on the basis of face length and lip length for quarter masks. The results obtained were as follows : 1 Fit factors of Mask T were much higher than those of Masks Z, and Y. 2. Males were fitted more properly than females. 3. Male in box 'f' of grid would be adequately fitted Mask Y and male in box 'b', 'e', 'f', 'h' of grid would be sufficiently fitted Mask T. Female in box 'h' of grid may have a good fitting performance for both Mask Y, and T. But subjects in all boxes of grid would be inadequately fitted Mask Z.