• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.173-193
• /
• 1996

This study was carried out to elucidate the causes of farmer's disease and greenhouse disease in the rural area of Kyungnam province during 1996. 2,171 (69.1%) of the 3,140 adults above 20 years old who had lived in the selected 20 villages in Uiryong County of Kyungnam Province were selected in order to over both residents who live in the green house distracts and conventional rural area. The results were as follows: 1. Among the subjects, the male was 42.2% and female was 57.6%. The average age for the male was 52.3, 55.6 for the female. 2. The proportion of the farmers in the subjects was 81.5%. Among these 78.0% were engaged in the greenhouse farming. 3. Among the eight symptoms of Nofusho(japanese farmer's comples), lumbago was the most frequently complained and followed by shoulder stiffness and parenthesis of hand or foot. 4. The total score of farmer's disease was evidently higher in the female and the older the score was clearly bigger. 5. The prevalence of Nofusho(Japanese farmer's comples)was 26.8% and 43.15% was for the suspected Nofusho. In the male, the prevalence of Nofusho was 13.6% and 40.9% for the suspected Nofusho and in the female 36.5% and 44.7% were shown, comparatively. 6. According to the multiple classification analysis, sex, age, and occupation were selected as significant variables to explain the total score of Nofusho. 7. The correlations between the total score of Nofusho and the number of sick day, working years, and age were significant, comparatively. 8. According to the multiple classification analysis corolling interaction between independent variables, age was the only variable which was significant in the male and age, pesticide work in the female. 9. The score of greenhouse disease was highest in the group who engaged in greenhouse farming and conventional farming(2.76 for male, 3.77 for female) followed by the group who engaged only in greening house farming(2.66 for male, 3.49 for female) and by the group who engaged only in conventional farming(2.27 for male, 3.05 for female) 10. According to the multiple classification analysis with the total score of greenhouse disease as dependent variable, corolling interaction between independent variables, age and pesticide work were revealed as significant variables in the male, while, pesticide work and farming type were significant in the female. According to the above results, the following could be suggested. Because lumbago, shoulder stiffness, paresthesia of hand and foot were the most frequently complained symptoms in the respondent, the development of farming tool to reduce the body burden and periodical physical exercise and rest is highly recommended. It is revealed that both in the farmer' disease and greenhouse disease the score was higher in the female than in the male. So the reasonables measures is recommended to reduce the working hours of the female. Pesticide work was revealed as the significant variable in the female in farmer's disease and both in the male and the female in greenhouse disease. So the development of the safe method of pesticide spraying including safety education should be introduced. Particularly the female should be excluded in pesticide spraying.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.703-710
• /
• 2010

In this study, a tactile stimulator was developed to resolve some problems from the previous version of the system such as system configuration, inappropriate stimulation control and additional problems. The developed tactile stimulator consists of control unit, drive unit and vibrator unit. The control unit was controlled by E-Prime software to generate appropriate vibration pulses. The drive unit supplies enough energy to the vibrator to generate effective stimulation pulses. The vibrator unit consists of small coin type vibrator and velcro, and was made to be attached at the hand easily. The developed tactile stimulator was designed by small-size, light-weight, low-power, simple-fabrication, max 35 channels and little delay time from instruction signal of E-Prime software to vibrator. The duration and magnitude of stimulation was controlled by 10 grades and the problems concerning stimulation control were compensated by wideband frequency ranges. Additionally, the electrical safety was ensured by low voltage operation. Vibrator was made to be attached on finger as well as on any part of the subject. Since this tactile stimulator is developed based on E-Prime software which is widely used in cognitive science, it is believed that this stimulator be suitable for the wide application of cognitive science study.

• Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.108-131
• /
• 2021

The increase of international trade across countries and borders results in increased risks associated with the inflow of new pests and diseases. These risks are likely to be increased more rapidly due to climate change. Some countries implement strict regulations on imports to prevent these risks and protect biosecurity, food safety, and public health. However, the problems arise when the diseases and pests are found in a country where their economic structure largely depends on agricultural exports and cause ripple effects on other industries and ecosystems. Therefore, establishing an effective quarantine system is essential to protect and recover from the damage caused by non-native diseases and pests. This study's objectives are 1) analyzing the agricultural policies relate to the quarantine system on diseases and pests in Korea, 2) evaluating the Korea plant quarantine system's value, and 3) simulating plant quarantine policy strategies. We estimated the Korean quarantine system's benefits on diseases and pests to reach these objectives. The benefits are measured with a willingness to pay from respondents surveyed by the contingent valuation method (CVM). The CVM approach directly asks people how much they would willingly pay for food security. Finally, the Korean quarantine system's values are simulated with several policy scenarios and different scales of infection at the regional level. The results of this study can deliver policy implications on the quarantine system innovation in developing countries including Asia.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
• /
• v.32 no.5
• /
• pp.290-294
• /
• 2023

Among various types of harmful gases, hydrogen sulfide is a strong toxic gas that is mainly generated during spillage and wastewater treatment at industrial sites. Hydrogen sulfide can irritate the conjunctiva even at low concentrations of less than 10 ppm, cause coughing, paralysis of smell and respiratory failure at a concentration of 100 ppm, and coma and permanent brain loss at concentrations above 1000 ppm. Therefore, rapid detection of hydrogen sulfide among harmful gases is extremely important for our safety, health, and comfortable living environment. Most hydrogen sulfide gas sensors that have been reported are electrical resistive metal oxide-based semiconductor gas sensors that are easy to manufacture and mass-produce and have the advantage of high sensitivity; however, they have low gas selectivity. In contrast, the electrochemical sensor measures the concentration of hydrogen sulfide using an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen sulfide, an electrode, and an electrolyte. Electrochemical sensors have various advantages, including sensitivity, selectivity, fast response time, and the ability to measure room temperature. However, most electrochemical hydrogen sulfide gas sensors depend on imports. Although domestic technologies and products exist, more research is required on their long-term stability and reliability. Therefore, this study includes the processes from electrode material synthesis to sensor fabrication and characteristic evaluation, and introduces the sensor structure design and material selection to improve the sensitivity and selectivity of the sensor. A sensor case was fabricated using a 3D printer, and an Ag reference electrode, and a Pt counter electrode were deposited and applied to a Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) filter using PVD. The working electrode was also deposited on a PTFE filter using vacuum filtration, and an electrochemical hydrogen sulfide gas sensor capable of measuring concentrations as low as 0.6 ppm was developed.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.34 no.6
• /
• pp.640-648
• /
• 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine the inhibitory effect of heavy metals [Cd(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II)] on the growth of Rhodobacter species (Rhodobacter blasticus, Rhodobacter sphaeroides, and Rhodobacter capsulatus) and their potential use for Cd(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II) bioremoval from liquid media. The presence of toxic heavy metals prolonged the lag phase in growth and reduced biomass growth for all three Rhodobacter species at concentrations of Cd, Ni, and Zn above 10 mg/L. However, all three Rhodobacter species also had a relatively high specific growth rate against each toxic heavy metal stress test for concentrations below 20 mg/L and possessed a potential bioaccumulation ability. The removal efficiency by all strains was highest for Cd(II), followed by Ni(II), and lowest for Zn(II), with the removal efficiency of Cd(II) by Rhodobacter species being 66% or more. Among the three strains, R. blasticus showed a higher removal efficiency of Cd(II) and Ni(II) than R. capsulatus and R. sphaeroides. Results also suggest that the bio-removal processes of toxic heavy metal ions by Rhodobacter species involve both bioaccumulation (intracellular uptake) and biosorption (surface binding).

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.37-46
• /
• 2018

The Minamata Convention on Mercury entered into force on August 16, 2017. It requires Parties to the Convention to control and, where feasible, reduce mercury emissions from the listed sources. To implement the Convention, Japan amended the Air Pollution Control Law and added clauses that force operators to control their mercury emissions below emission limit values (ELVs). The ELVs have been established separately for new and existing sources, targeting the source categories listed in the Convention: coal-fired boilers, smelting and roasting processes used in the production of non-ferrous metals (lead, zinc, copper and industrial gold), waste incineration facilities and cement clinker production facilities. The factors used to establish the ELVs include the present state of mercury emissions from the targeted categories as well as the mercury content in fuels and materials, best available techniques (BATs) and best environmental practices (BEPs) to control and reduce mercury emissions and ELVs or equivalent standards to control mercury emissions in other countries. In this regard, extensive data on mercury emissions from flue gas and the mercury content of fuels and materials were collected and analyzed. The established ELVs range from $8{\mu}g/Nm^3$ for new coal-fired boilers to $400{\mu}g/Nm^3$ for existing secondary smelting processes used in the production of copper, lead and zinc. This paper illustrates the ELVs for the targeted source categories, explaining the rationales and approaches used to set the values. The amended Law is to be enforced on April 1, 2018. From future perspectives, checks of the material flow of mercury, following up on the state of compliance, review of the ELVs and of the measurement and monitoring methods have been noted as important issues.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.284-290
• /
• 2023

Objectives: Work environment assessments were conducted to investigate epidemiologically several cases of lung cancer and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) among workers in domestic quarries. Methods: We visited three quarries in South Korea where an epidemiological investigation was requested and measured total dust, respirable dust, and crystalline silica on rock drilling workers (4 people) and rock chipping workers (13 people). Measurement and analysis were conducted according to NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health) method 0500, NIOSH method 0600 for respirable dust, and NIOSH method 7500 for crystalline silica. Results: Among rock drilling workers the AMs (arithmetic mean) of total dust concentrations, respirable dust concentrations, and crystalline silica concentrations were 3.462 mg/m³ (range: 0.764~6.085 mg/m³), 0.613 mg/m³ (range: 0.153~1.251 mg/m³), and 0.105 mg/m³ (range: 0.012~0.228 mg/m³), respectively. Among rock chipping workers, the AMs of total dust concentrations, respirable dust concentrations, and crystalline silica concentrations were 2.446 mg/m³ (range: 0.156~8.494 mg/m³), 0.488 mg/m³ (range: 0.028~1.536 mg/m³), and 0.099 mg/m³ (range: 0.004~0.274 mg/m³), respectively. Conclusions: Although it cannot be said that the dust concentrations were high for both rock drilling workers and rock chipping workers, the concentrations of crystalline silica were found to be high. If such work is performed for a long period of time, diseases such as lung cancer and COPD may occur, so the work environment needs to be improved.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.49-54
• /
• 2011

In order to develop the methods for exposure assessment and find susceptibility markers for the workers who are exposed to low doses of toluene, xylene and other chemical in petroleum industries, we investigated the application of P-450 expression in human lymphocytes utilizing mouse monoclonal anti-rat CYP2B1/2, the levels of toluene and xylene in air and their metabolite levels in urine with the levels of expressed CYP2B1/2 proteins. The general characteristics such as age, smoking and drinking habit were no significant difference between the control and exposed workers, but the working durations and working hours were significantly different. Workers in exposed group were exposed to the mean of 2.1 ppm (range, 0.00-4.54) of toluene and 0.3 ppm (rang, 0.00-1.23) of xylene. The mean concentration of urinary hippuric acid was low and less than 1/5 of the biological exposure index recommended by the Ministry of Employment and Labor Korea. Methyl hippuric acid in urine was not detected in control and exposed workers. Also, there were no significant differences in the levels of the urinary metabolites between the control and exposed group. When chemiluminescence dot blottings were carried out utilizing mouse monoclonal antibody against CYP2B1/2, the strong density dots corresponding to a mouse monoclonal antibody was observed in the human lymphocytes from the exposed workers. These results suggested that the chemiluminescence dot blot assay for CYP of lymphocytes should be valuable for identifying CYP expression as biomarkers in the workers exposed to toluene and xylene.

• Korean Journal of Hazardous Materials
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.12-17
• /
• 2014

With a rapid growth of domestic industry in korea, now about 25,000 kinds of chemicals are being distributed, and it has been known that just about 15% of them has toxic substances. Recently, South Koreans have an anxiety about the stability and accidents of chemicals because chemical accidents like Gumi hydrofluoric acid accident have occurred. The U.S. has adopted the systems like EPCRA (Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act), TRI (Toxic Release Inventory) and TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act), and is also managing the hazardous chemicals by providing the information about them to its people and site workers. Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare also has adopted J-CHECK system and is implementing it to let Japanese people know the information of safety of chemicals about REACH. However, the Korean government has a difficult situation to mediate the different idea with the Korean industry to make lower statute of Pre-legislation registration & evaluation of chemicals that will be implemented and Chemical Material Control Association that is being implemented. Especially city and country areas located in the industrial areas need political improvement focusing on vulnerable area through the check about current situation of hazardous chemicals of jurisdiction and management method, but the information about the management situation of small scale work places is insufficient. Therefore this study set up the urgent management area in Ansan Smart Hub through NFPA code according to the types of accident and dander characteristics of each chemical being used in the companies that have less than 50 workers and deal with chemicals located in Ansan Smart Hub in Gyeonggi-do.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.39 no.3
• /
• pp.185-189
• /
• 2006

It is the actual state of the medical society in our country that many graduates of medical schools want to be clinicians, and accordingly Korea's medical situation is relatively too focused on curative medicine. However, this situation is changing due to several factors including a growing number of doctors, inappropriate regulations for medical fees, changes in social status of doctors themselves, and excessive competition between doctors. Furthermore, we expect more advances in medical field of Korea since Korean government started to attach great importance to sciences and produced policies to support sciences, and as a result, more and more interest and effort in the fields of basic research including preventive medicine is being attached especially by young doctors as compared against the past. However, decline of clinical medicine fields doesn't always mean bright future for the field of preventive medicine. True future is possible and meaningful only when we prepare for it by ourselves. In other words, as the promising future is closed to one who spares no effort, we shouldn't fear to oppose unknown challenges and simultaneously need to support colleagues who bear such a positive mind. It is the most important thing for our preventive medicine doctors to evaluate the past and the present of preventive medicine and to foster a prospective mind to prepare for the future of preventive medicine. I set forth my several views according to directions for the development of preventive medicine which we already discussed and publicized in the academic circle of preventive medicine. Those directions are recommendation of clinical preventive medicine, promotion of preventive medicine specialty, fostering the next generations, improving the quality of genetic epidemiologic study, participation in control of environmental pollution and food safety, contribution to chronic disease control, and preparation to role in medical services for unified Korea.