• 한국진공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국진공학회 2016년도 제50회 동계 정기학술대회 초록집
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• pp.175.1-175.1
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• 2016

In recent, tract infections such as atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis and a respiratory disease are increasing, giving rise to the atmospheric pollution, inflow of micro-size dust and side effect of humidifier disinfectant. In this context, the environment-friendly technology is required to eliminate airborne pathogens. We propose solution of the previous problems, making use of Radical Mist Generator (RMG). Existing technologies of air purification using a gas discharge produce harmful substances such as ozone, NOx, etc. However, the RMG uses a pure water as a plasma forming material. The RMG sprays the water mist, which contains reactive radicals to sterilize microorganisms. RMG is comprised of a power supply, plasma electrodes and a nozzle. In order to analyze the electrical characteristic and concentrations of reactive radicals, we employ an oscilloscope and a titration method. To test the sterilization effect of RMG, we used E.coli. We confirmed that E.coli was killed over 90%. Eventually, we expect that RMG can be promising tool for a purified system.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제43권4호
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• pp.247-256
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• 2017

Objectives: The deaths of Korean victims exposed to the disinfectant CMIT/MIT have remained unresolved. This is mainly due to a lack of concordance between the few available toxicity tests and the abundant epidemiological data, making it difficult to establish a cause-and-effect relationship. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate any potential associations between CMIT/MIT exposure and death. Methods: Groups of experimental and control C57BL/6 mice were instilled (in the trachea) with chloromethylisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone (CMIT/MIT) using a visual instillobot. CMIT/MIT was instilled over a period of three days and eight weeks, respectively, to achieve acute and chronic exposures. A threshold dose-response model was applied for estimating the threshold level as one line of evidence for a causal association between CMIT/MIT and death. Results: An acute exposure of 1.2 mg ai/kg/day of CMIT/MIT was estimated to reflect the threshold for death. The dose-response curve with this threshold showed a very steep slope and a narrow range of CMIT/MIT exposures. The narrow range of CMIT/MIT exposures, in particular, indicated an evident boundary between survival and death, thus implicating a strong causal association. A similar threshold dose-response relationship observed following acute exposure was also seen following chronic exposure to CMIT/MIT. Airborne disinfectant exposure was visible as minimal or mild lung damage with no fibrosis, as shown by histopathological tests. However, many observations are considered to be functional respiratory tract or lung failure due to death, as observed in necropsies of the mice that died due to CMIT/MIT exposures. Conclusions: There are two strong lines of evidence for a causal association between death and CMIT/MIT exposure: 1) The threshold dose-response curve, with a very steep slope and a narrow range of CMIT/MIT exposures showing a visible boundary between survival and death; and 2) many cases of functional respiratory or lung failure.

• 디지털융복합연구
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• 제15권4호
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• pp.181-190
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• 2017

최근 가습기살균제 사건을 비롯하여 휴대폰, 유아용 기저귀 등 생활용품의 안전사고가 빈번히 발생하고 있다. 이러한 사고로부터 소비자를 보호하기 위해서는 제품 안전관리가 필요하며, 제품의 안전성 정도를 평가할 수 있는 제품 리스크 평가 도구가 필요하다. 본 논문은 한국소비자원의 제품 사고관련 위해정보를 바탕으로 제품 리스크를 평가할 수 있는 시스템인 RAS(Risk Assessment System)를 구축하였다. RAS는 사고관련 정보를 분석하는 위해정보 분석시스템과 이 시스템으로부터 도출된 정보를 활용하여 리스크를 평가하는 리스크 평가시스템으로 구성되어 있다. 리스크 평가과정에서 제품 리스크에 영향을 미치는 인과관계를 반영한 베이지안 네트워크 기반의 확률적 기법을 적용하였다. RAS를 사용하여 어린이 제품 33품목에 대해 평가를 실시했으며 EU RAPEX의 RAG의 평가결과와 비교해 보았다. 그 결과 본 연구의 RAS의 결과는 전반적으로 EU RAPEX RAG의 평가 결과에 비해 낮은 수준을 보임을 알 수 있었다. 추후과제로는 사고영향척도 입력값의 주관성 저감, 위해정보 분석시스템과 리스크 평가시스템의 연동 등을 들 수 있다.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제46권3호
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• pp.285-296
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• 2020

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the characteristics of exposure to humidifier disinfectants (HDs) and their association with the presence of a person who experienced the adverse health effects in general households in Korea. Methods: During the month of December 2016, a nationwide online survey was conducted on adults over 20 years of age who had experience of using HDs. It provided information on exposure characteristics and the experience of health effects. The final survey respondents consisted of 1,555 people who provided information on themselves and their household members during the use of HD. Exposure characteristics at the household level included average days of HD use per week, average hours of HD use per day, the duration within which one bottle of HD was emptied, average input frequency of HD, amount of HD (cc) per one time used, and active ingredients of HD products (PHMG, CMIT/MIT, PGH, or others). The risk of the presence of a person who experienced adverse health effects in the household was evaluated by estimating odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) adjusted for monthly income and region using a multiple logistic regression model. Subgroup analyses were conducted for households with a child (≤7 years) and households with a newborn infant during HD use. Results: The level of exposure to HD tended to be higher for households with a child or newborn infant for several variables including average days of HD use per week (P<0.0001) and average hours of HD use per day (P<0.0001). The proportion of households in which there was at least one person who experienced adverse health effects such as rhinitis, asthma, pneumonia, atopy/skin disease, etc. was 20.6% for all households, 25.3% for households with children, and 29.9% for households with newborn infants. The presence of a person who experienced adverse health effects in the household was significantly associated with average hours of HD use per day (P_trend<0.001), duration within which one bottle of HD was emptied (P_trend<0.001), average input frequency of HD (P_trend<0.001), amount of HD per one use (P_trend=0.01), and use of HDs containing PHMG (OR=2.23, 95% CI=1.45-3.43). Similar results were observed in subgroup analyses. Conclusion: Our results suggest that level of exposure to HD tended to be higher for households with a child or newborn infant and that exposure to HD is significantly associated with the presence of a person who experienced adverse health effects in the household.