• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.243-249
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• 2018

The indoor radon concentration was measured in the lecture room of the university and the radon concentration was converted to the amount related to the radon exposure using the dose conversion convention and compared with the reference levels for the radon concentration control. The effect of indoor radon inhalation was evaluated by estimating the life effective dose and the risk of exposure. To measure the radon concentration, measurements were made with a radon meter and a dedicated analysis Capture Ver. 5.5 program in a university lecture room from January to February 2018. The radon concentration measurement was carried out for 5 consecutive hours for 24 hours after keeping the airtight condition for 12 hours before the measurement. Radon exposure risk was calculated using the radon dose and dose conversion factor. Indoor radon concentration, radon exposure risk, and annual effective dose were found within the 95% confidence interval as the minimum and maximum boundary ranges. The radon concentration in the lecture room was $43.1-79.1Bq/m^3$, and the maximum boundary range within the 95% confidence interval was $77.7Bq/m^3$. The annual effective dose was estimated to be 0.20-0.36 mSv/y (mean 0.28 mSv/y). The life-time effective dose was estimated to be 0.66-1.18 mSv (mean $0.93{\pm}0.08mSv$). Life effective doses were estimated to be 0.88-0.99 mSv and radon exposure risk was estimated to be 12.4 out of 10.9 per 100,000. Radon concentration was measured, dose effective dose was evaluated using dose conversion convention, and degree of health hazard by indoor radon exposure was evaluated by predicting radon exposure risk using nominal hazard coefficient. It was concluded that indoor living environment could be applied to other specific exposure situations.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.365-374
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• 2004

Inhalation toxicity, mutagenicity, and immunotoxicity tests were performed using a smoke generation system to investigate the safety of Herbrette, a tobacco substitute made with the leaves of Perilla frutescens. ICR mice were exposed to nicotine-free Herbrette smoke with concentrations of 0 (control), 4.08 $\pm$ 1.32 mg/$m^3$ (low dose), 7.72 $\pm$ 2.14 mg/$m^3$ (medium dose) and 12.83 $\pm$ 1.69 mg/$m^3$ (high dose) total particulate matters (TPM) for 4 weeks. When compared to the control group, the body weights, organ weights in the exposed groups did not show any significant differences. However, certain change of several serum chemical data and biochemical parameters were observed, however, the changes were within normal physiological ranges. Moreover, no changes in organ weight, and no gross/microscopic changes were observed between the exposed and control groups. Salmonella typhimurium reverse mutation, in vivo chromosomal aberration and micronucleus assays revealed that Herbrette did not induce mutagenicity. Upon evaluation of peripheral cellular immunity of mice through in vitro lymphocyte proliferation assay, no significant difference was observed in mean stimulation index between the exposed and control groups. Taken together, our results strongly suggest that Herbrette may not cause toxicity on mice under current condition.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.209-221
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• 1994

In the case of a severe accident of a nuclear power plant, the whole body dose and the relative importance of the radionuclides during the lifetime of an exposed person were estimated for each exposure pathway with distances from the release point. The external exposure pathways due to immersion of radioactive cloud and deposition of radioactive materials on the ground, and the internal exposure pathways due to inhalation and ingestion of contaminated foodstuffs were considered. The effects due to the ingestion of contaminated foodstuffs were estimated considering the variation of radioactive concentration in the foodstuffs according to deposition time and elapsed time after deposition using a dynamic ingestion pathway model applicable to Korean environment, named 'KORFOOD'. As the results up to 80 km from the release point, the effects due to ingestion of contaminated foodstuffs showed the highest contribution to total exposure dose. The contribution of I isotopes was the highest in the case of the external dose due to immersion of radioactive cloud and internal dose due to inhalation. The contribution of Cs isotopes was highest in the case of the external dose due to deposition of radioactive materials on the ground. In the case of the internal dose due to ingestion of contaminated foodstuffs, Cs deposition in summer and Sr deposition in winter, respectively, were the most dominant radionuclide to whole body.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.129-136
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• 2009

During the maintenance period at Korean nuclear power plants, internal exposure of radiation workers occurred by the inhalation of $^{131}I$ released to the reactor building when primary system opened. The internal radioactivity of radiation workers contaminated by $^{131}I$ was measured using a whole body counter. Intake estimation and the calculation of committed effective dose were also conducted conforming to the guidance of internal dose assessments from publications of International Commission on Radiological Protection. Because the uptake and excretion of $^{131}I$ in a body occur quickly and $^{131}I$ is accumulated in the thyroid gland, the estimated intakes showed differences depending on the counting time after intake. In addition, since ICRP publications do not provide the intake retention fraction (IRF) for whole body of $^{131}I$, the IRF for thyroid was substitutionally used to calculate the intake and subsequently this caused more error in intake estimation. Thus, intake estimation and the calculation of committed effective dose were conducted by manual calculation. In this study, the IRF for whole body was also calculated newly and was verified. During this process, the estimated intake and committed effective dose were reviewed and compared using several computer codes for internal dosimetry.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.950-956
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• 2018

For complete assessment of inhalation doses of radon and its progeny inside the three main ancient Egyptian tombs in Saqqara, seasonal radon concentrations have been measured by using a new electronic device that allows for measurement of real-time-resolved radon concentrations. Measurements were complemented by very fast measurements of thoron concentrations, which turned out to be low. Based on these measurements, annual residence time inside these tombs and the newest International Commission on Radiological Protection-recommended radon dose conversion coefficients or seasonal effective doses were calculated. The results indicate that workers receive highest annual effective doses of up to 140 mSv, which exceeds the annual limit of 20 mSv, whereas lower values up to 15 mSv are received by guides. In contrast, much lower doses were obtained for one-time visitors of the investigated tombs. The obtained results are somewhat different but still consistent with those previously obtained by means of fixed passive dose meters at some of the investigated places. This indicates that reasonable estimates of the effective dose of radon can be also obtained from short-term radon measurements carried out only twice a year (summer and winter season). Increasing the ventilation, minimizing the working times, etc., are highly recommended to reduce the annual effective dose.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.360-368
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• 2013

Recently interactive water fountains are gaining popularity in making public facilities in South Korea. The total number of interactive fountains is rapidly growing at the rate of >50% annually. In this study, we performed quantitative microbial risk assessment to estimate infection risks in children by Legionella spp. while playing in interactive fountains. The exposure dose for a given concentration of Legionella in water was calculated using water-aerosol partition rate of Legionella, exposure duration, inhalation rate, and deposit rate of aerosols in the lungs following inhalation. The dose was converted to infection risk by using the dose-response function developed for L. pneumophila. High weight and/or old children, i.e., 12-year children, running around in fountains were the highest risk group by showing >0.05 infection probability for fountain waters containing ${\geq}10^4$ CFU/L Legionella. The result supported the current guideline by Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which permits use of water with < $10^3$ CFU/L Legionella cells for all purposes. However, the results still warrant further evaluation of the guideline to accommodate risks for children because the dose-response relationship in the model was developed for healthy adults. Further risk assessment studies need to be conducted by employing dose-response model for children who generally carries weaker immune system than adults.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.6-17
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• 2017

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to obtain information regarding Globally Harmonized System(GHS) classification and health hazards that may result from a 4 weeks inhalation exposure of 3-Methylpentane in Sprague-Dawley rats. Methods : The testing method was conducted in accordance with OECD guidelines for the testing of chemicals No. 412(Subacute Inhalation Toxicity). The Rats were divided into 4 groups(5 male and 5 female rats in each group) and exposed to 0 ppm, 284 ppm, 1,135 ppm, 4,540 ppm 3-Methylpentane in each exposure chamber for 6 h/day, 5 days/week, for 4 weeks. After two weeks, the test animals were autopsied and carried out blood test and biochemical tests and histopathological examination. We used PRISTIMA (Toxicology data management system) to confirm the system and to have confidence of the raw data. Results : No death and particular clinical presentation including weight change and change of feed rate was observed. Relationship between dose, gender and response was also not significantly changed in hematologic examination, biochemical examination of blood and blood coagulation time. The histopathologic lesions caused by the test substance did not appear. Conclusions : NOAEL(No Observable Adverse Effect Level) of 3-Methylpentane is more than 4,540 ppm in male group and female group and the Ministry of Employment and Labor Guidance Announcement No. 2013-37(criteria for the classification marks and Safety of Chemicals) Specific target organ toxicity(repeated exposure) was determined with a substance that is not the separator material.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.667-674
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• 2019

Because examination with technegas produces images through simple diffusion accumulation, the examination room can become contaminated after scan. Therefore, radiation workers and patients awaiting examination will be affected by internal exposure from technegas inhalation. Before and after gravity ventilation, I am trying to find a way to reduce the exposure dose of waiting patients according to a comparative analysis of horizontal spatial dose rates over time. Spatial dose ratio were measured for 10 minutes from various distances and angles around ventilator's location before and after gravity ventilation. Then, mean values, standard deviation and reduction ratio were calculated. The highest reduction rate of gravity ventilation was 95.31% and the highest reduction ratio was 1 to 3 minutes. Therefore, the gravity ventilation could reduce the exposure dose of radiologic technologists, waiting patients, patient guardians and nurses. In conclusion, the reduction of the exposure dose during the technegas ventilation study through gravity ventilation will play a role in optimiging the protection and it is in accordance with the recommended reduction of the medical exposure by ICRP 103.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.171-177
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• 2020

Background: This study aims to determine the effective atomic number (Zeff) from dual-energy image sets obtained using a conventional computed tomography (CT) simulator. The estimated Zeff can be used for deriving the stopping power and material decomposition of CT images, thereby improving dose calculations in radiation therapy. Materials and Methods: An electron-density phantom was scanned using Philips Brilliance CT Big Bore at 80 and 140 kVp. The estimated Zeff values were compared with those obtained using the calibration phantom by applying the Rutherford, Schneider, and Joshi methods. The fitting parameters were optimized using the nonlinear least squares regression algorithm. The fitting curve and mass attenuation data were obtained from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The fitting parameters obtained from stopping power and material decomposition of CT images, were validated by estimating the residual errors between the reference and calculated Zeff values. Next, the calculation accuracy of Zeff was evaluated by comparing the calculated values with the reference Zeff values of insert plugs. The exposure levels of patients under additional CT scanning at 80, 120, and 140 kVp were evaluated by measuring the weighted CT dose index (CTDIw). Results and Discussion: The residual errors of the fitting parameters were lower than 2%. The best and worst Zeff values were obtained using the Schneider and Joshi methods, respectively. The maximum differences between the reference and calculated values were 11.3% (for lung during inhalation), 4.7% (for adipose tissue), and 9.8% (for lung during inhalation) when applying the Rutherford, Schneider, and Joshi methods, respectively. Under dual-energy scanning (80 and 140 kVp), the patient exposure level was approximately twice that in general single-energy scanning (120 kVp). Conclusion: Zeff was calculated from two image sets scanned by conventional single-energy CT simulator. The results obtained using three different methods were compared. The Zeff calculation based on single-energy exhibited appropriate feasibility.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.247-262
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• 2011

This study assessed the health risks of childhood exposure to PBDEs via different possible pathways in children's facilities and indoor playgrounds. When PBDE contamination was measured, it was determined through multiple routes, including inhalation of indoor dust, dermal contact with product surfaces and children's hands, and incidental dust ingestion. Samples were collected from various children's facilities (playrooms, daycare centers, kindergartens, and indoor playgrounds) during summer (Jul-Sep, 2007) and winter (Jan-Feb, 2008). The hazard index (HI) was estimated for non-carcinogens, and PBDEs, such as TeBDE, PeBDE, HxBDE, and DeBDE, were examined. The sensitivity to the compounds did not exceed 1.0 (HI) for any of the subjects in any facility. However, current data about toxicity does not reflect effects that were fully sensitive in children, so there is uncertainty in the dose-response data. The contribution rates of PBDEs were 71.4 to 96.1% and 3.7 to 28.2% for intake and inhalation exposure, respectively, indicating that intake of floor dust and inhalation are the primary routes.