• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.385-395
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• 2021

Objectives: This study aimed to select items for technical guidelines through the guidelines of the Korean Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) for agricultural workplaces. Methods: All 1,308 guidelines provided by KOSHA were reviewed and categorized using a Delphi technique questionnaire on their compatibility and urgency. Results: Among all the KOSHA guidelines, 100 items related to agricultural workplaces were selected. After that, two Delphi questionnaires were conducted and 46 items were finally selected. The average compatibility was calculated as 4.26, and urgency was 2.39. As a result of measuring the content validity of 46 items, six items were identified that were not relevant to agriculture. The final selected items were classified into four categories: Health examination and management, machinery standards, safety and health standard guides, and workplace environment management. Conclusions: The various risk factors at agricultural workplaces should be prevented and managed. It was shown that related technical guidelines or work standard manuals should be prepared. The technical guidelines of KOSHA will be provided as basic categories in the agricultural sector.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.393-402
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• 2015

This study was conducted to measure toxicity of 1-chloropropane (CAS No. : 540-54-5). According to the OECD Test Guideline 413 (Subchronic inhalation toxicity: 90-day study), SD rats were exposed to 0, 310, 1,250, and 5,000 ppm of 1-chloropropane for 6 h/day, 5 day/week for 13 weeks via whole-body inhalation. Mortality, clinical signs, body weights, food consumption, motor activity, ophthalmoscopy, hematology, serum chemistry, urinalysis, organ weights, gross and histopathological findings were compared between control and all tested groups. No mortality or remarkable clinical signs were examined during the study. No gross lesions or adverse effects on body weight, food consumption, motor activity, ophthalmoscopy, urinalysis, hematology, organ weights were observed in any of male or female rats in all tested groups. In serum biochemistry, glucose was significantly decreased in males of 1,250 and 5,000 ppm groups compared to control group in dose-dependent relationship. In histopathological examination, vacuolation of acinar cells was observed in pancreas of all male and female groups exposed to 1-chloropropane. In conclusion, no observable adverse effect level (NOAEL) was considered to be below 310 ppm/6 h/day, 5 day/week for rats.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.274-281
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• 2010

The objectives of this study are (a) to investigate the distribution patterns and exposure concentrations of biological agents in sawmill industries and (b) to compare sampling methods of biological agents. The representative processes of 5 sawmills were selected to measure total airborne bacteria, fungi, endotoxin as well as dust. Airborne bacteria and fungi were measured with one stage impactor, six stage impactor and gelatin filteration methods. Endotoxin was collected with polycarbonate filters and analysed by kinetic chromogenic Limulus Amebocyte Lysate method. Geometric mean levels of airborne bacteria, fungi, endotoxin and dust were 1,864 CFU/$m^3$, 2,252 CFU/$m^3$, 31.5 EU/$m^3$ and 2.4 mg/$m^3$. The ratios of indoor/outdoor concentrations were 3.7 for bacteria, 4.1 for fungi, 3.3 for endotoxin and 9.7 for dust. The respiratory fractions of bacteria were 68.0, 50.9, 49.2 and 45.1% in band-saw, table-saw, rip-saw process and outdoor air. The respiratory fractions of fungi were 78.7, 90.8, 87.5 and 84.8% in band-saw, table-saw, rip-saw process and outdoor air, respectively. There was no significant differences in bacterial concentrations among single stage, six stage impaction and filteration methods. But, fungal concentrations measured with filtration methods were significantly higher than those with impaction methods. Geometric mean levels of airborne bacteria and fungi were higher than the OSHA guideline values of 1,000 CFU/$m^3$. The respiratory fractions of fungi were above 75%. The concentrations of biological agents were significantly different among culture-based sampling methods. In the exposure assessments of biological agents, further studies are needed for the comparisons of diverse sampling methods and the investigations of environmental factors.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.82-89
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• 2011

Methylcyclohexane is frequently used in industrial sites (2,592tons/year) as rubber adhesives, ink, paint thinners, organic solvents, and so on. However, there are limited data on the toxic evaluation of methylcyclohexane. This study aims to predict the hazards and neurological effects of methylcyclohexane using SD rats in order to prevent health disorders of workers. The OECD Guideline for Testing of Chemicals (OECD, 2001) was used as a reference during the tests. For 13 weeks (once a day, five days per week) 0, 10, 100 and 1,000mg/kg/day of methylcyclohexane was injected to SD rats to observe any changes in the body or organ weight, hematology, histopathology, mobility, blood pressure, and neurotransmitter. As a result, some male and female SD rats injected with 1,000mg/kg/day of methylcyclohexane died. On the other hand, surviving rats showed significant changes such as hematological changes involving the decrease in the number of red blood corpuscles, and the decrease or increase in the weight of the lungs, kidneys, spleens, and livers (p< 0.05, p<0.01). Also histopathological lesions were observed in the hearts and kidneys. In the test for the effect on the nervous system, SD rats injected with 100mg/kg/day of methylcyclohexane had higher blood pressure levels compared to the control group. However, no abnormal effects was observed in the mobility, serotonin, neurotransmitter, and the biopsy of the brain and coronary arteries. The study results revealed that the livers, hearts, and kidneys were affected by methylcyclohexane. The absolute toxic dose of methylcyclohexane is 1,000mg/kg/day, NOAEL is 100 mg/kg/day, and it is not a toxic substance to the nervous system.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.269-273
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• 2014

The objective of this study is to safety assessment for human body on the guided missile combustion products. This study is to verify the safety assessment when operating the interior missile ejection take on verify the safety of the human body. During the missile ejection of combustion products, this study is analyzed combustion products. Result are accepted NIOSH and KOSHA of the safe guideline, and 6 exposure gas to the specified values 42% (CO), 22% ($CO_2$), not detected (others) are within minimal exposures criteria of the reference value respectively. Contribution of these results supported that interior missile ejection during combustion products may have been ensured human safely. Therefore, the future for improving the environmental safety of the shooting projectile steel plate round, dust collector, ventilation and other facilities is to improve environmental safety and efficient renovated design needed by target focused areas.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.321-331
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• 2013

Objective: The aim of this study is to review the literatures on the regulation, standard and guideline for the human vibration in Korea and other countries. Background: This review can be used to prevent various diseases caused by the human vibration as a basis for the development of the policy. Results: In Korea, the general employers' duties related to human vibration are set forth the Health Measures(Article 24) in the Occupational Safety and Health Act. And then an employer shall take measures to protect the health of the workers concerned by improving other working conditions relating to working hours for the vibration prevention measures referred to in Article 24 of the Act. The European Union adopted a Directive in 2002 on minimum requirements for the health and safety of workers exposed to vibration. New Regulations on Vibration at Work will be introduced in Great Britain on 2005 to implement the Directive. In the U.S., both ANSI and ACGIH adopted the ISO standard for measurement and suggested exposure action and limit values. In Japan, the Ministry of Labor decided that the vibration syndrome among operators of rock drills and riveters etc. could be included in an occupational disease(1947). In addition, ISO standard was based on proposals and draft documents of many countries such as U.K, Japan and European, etc. Conclusion: In Korea, Occupational Safety and Health Act prevent vibration to health, but do not include exposure limits. It is therefore important to consider the new duties regarding to vibration risks added to the general duties.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.73-80
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• 2018

According to the statistics publication of KOSHA, more than half of serious accidents at the construction sites were related to the temporary works and/or the temporary structures such as scaffoldings, shores, earth retaining walls, etc. The structural failures are occurred because of the overload acting on the structures or lack of performance of the one or more members of the structures. For the prevention of the collapse accidents relating to the temporary structures at the construction sites, we have to control construction processes not to occur the overload and also to control the performance and quality of each member of the temporary structures. MOLIT has amended the "Construction Technology Promotion Act" on Jan. 7th, 2015 to ensure the structural safety of the temporary structures. According to the Act, the designers of the construction design projects should check the structural integrity of the structures including the temporary structures and the construction companies have to let 'the Relative Professionals' confirm the structural integrity of temporary structures, the shores(${\geq}5m$ high) and the scaffolds(${\geq}31m$ high), before construction. Also, MOLIT has amended the "Regulation for Construction Technology Promotion Act" on Jul. 4th, 2016 for quality management and testing of temporary equipments. According th this regulation, the construction companies and supervisors should manage and test the temporary equipments before using them. In this paper, the standard drawings of the shores(< 5 m high) and the scaffolds(< 31 m high) and the amended "Business Guideline for Quality Management of Construction Work" are presented. As the result of this study, MOLIT noticed the amended "Business Guideline for Quality Management of Construction Work" on Jul. 1st, 2017.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.301-308
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• 2014

A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the beam is suspended by load-bearing cables. There are two classifications: the self-anchored suspension bridge has the main cable anchored to the bridge girders, and the earth-anchored suspension bridge has the main cable anchored to a large anchorage. Although a suspension bridge is structurally safe, it is prone to be damaged by various actions such as hurricanes, tsunamis and terrorist incidents because its cables are exposed. If damage to a cable eventually leads to the cable rupture, the bridge may collapse. To avoid these accidents, studies on the dynamic behavior of cable bridges due to the cable rupture have been carried out. Design codes specify that the calculated DAF (dynamic amplification factor) should not exceed a certain value. However, it has been difficult to determine DAFs effectively from dynamic analysis, and thus no systematic approach has been suggested. The current study provides a guideline to determine DAFs reliably from the dynamic analysis results and summarizes the results by applying the method to an earth-anchored suspension bridge. In the study, DAFs were calculated at the location of four structural parts, girders, pylons, main cable and hangers, with variations in the rupture time.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.29-36
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• 2009

A Study was conducted to investigate the type and level of occupational risk factors for the onset of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) in non-manufacturing industries. Total of 38 worksites were investigated from 5 different business areas such as financial institution, transportation service, building maintenance, sanitary service and educational service. Major job and task category were classified and corresponding occupational risk factors such as awkward posture, force exertion, repetitiveness of job, and work/rest cycle were examined using various ergonomic risk analysis techniques. Sets of matrices were developed including types and levels of risk factors for the classified jobs and tasks from 5 different non-manufacturing industries. Also possible ergonomic remedies were suggested for the improvement working conditions. Results and risk factor matrices can be applied as a guideline for the investigation of WMSDs risk factors in similar industries for the prevention of WMSDs.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.38-45
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• 2017

Objectives: Radon may be second only to smoking as a cause of lung cancer. Radon is a colorless, tasteless radioactive gas that is formed via the radioactive decay of radium. Therefore, radon levels can build up based on the amount of radium contained in construction materials such as phospho-gypsum board or when ventilation rates are low. This study provides our findings from evaluation of radon gas at facilities and offices in an industrial complex. Methods: We evaluated the office rooms and processes of 12 manufacturing factories from May 14, 2014 to September 23, 2014. Short-term data were measured by using real-time monitoring detectors(Model 1030, Sun Nuclear Co., USA) indoors in the office buildings. The radon measurements were recorded at 30-minute intervals over approximately 48 hours. The limit of detection of this instrument is $3.7Bq/m^3$. Also, long-term data were measured by using ${\alpha}-track$ radon detectors(${\alpha}-track$, Rn-tech Co., Korea) in the office and factory buildings. Our detectors were exposed for over 90 days, resulting in a minimum detectable concentration of $7.4Bq/m^3$. Detectors were placed 150-220 cm above the floor. Results: Radon concentrations averaged $20.6{\pm}17.0Bq/m^3$($3.7-115.8Bq/m^3$) in the overall area. The monthly mean concentration of radon by building materials were in the order of gypsum>concrete>cement. Radon concentrations were measured using ${\alpha}-track$ in parallel with direct-reading radon detectors and the two metric methods for radon monitoring were compared. A t-test for the two sampling methods showed that there is no difference between the average radon concentrations(p<0.05). Most of the office buildings did not have central air-conditioning, but several rooms had window- or ceiling-mounted units. Employees could also open windows. The first, second and third floors were used mainly for office work. Conclusions: Radon levels measured during this assessment in the office rooms of buildings and processes in factories were well below the ICRP reference level of $1,000Bq/m^3$ for workplaces and also below the lower USEPA residential guideline of $148Bq/m^3$. The range of indoor annual effective dose due to radon exposure for workers working in the office and factory buildings was 0.01 to 1.45 mSv/yr. Construction materials such as phospho-gypsum board, concrete and cement were the main emission sources for workers' exposure.