• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• 제28권3호
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• pp.88-94
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• 2013

In university laboratories, areas of studies are becoming diverse and complicated according to the development of the industry. New forms of potential risk factors are increasing and they are unlike existing ones. In addition, many students are conducting various experiments in the laboratory. Therefore, they could be exposed to risk more often. Despite these risks, people do not recognize university lab safety activities properly and observe safety precautions. They are exposed to various laboratory accidents continually. In this study, we do not apply the present diagnosis method, checklist, but the safety assessment that is widely used in industry. Then we can find lots of hazard that checklist method could miss. This study will use the 4M and Hazard & Operability to design a new Laboratory safety assessments method.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• 제30권2호
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• pp.99-108
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• 2020

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the regulatory systems for laboratory safety and health management between Korea and Germany and discuss the implications. Methods: Laboratory safety and health regulations for legal enforcement and relevant technical guidelines in Korea and Germany were reviewed. Results: Lab safety and health management is enforced by the Act on the Establishment of Safe Laboratory Environment in Korea. Most provisions focus on supervisory control, that is, the principal's liability is emphasized. In addition, there is a lack of laboratory-specific procedures for safety and health management in the act since it is stipulated that other relevant regulations apply to some technical contents. Non-compulsory technical guidelines for lab safety and health management are also provided by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) in order to enable researchers to follow safe procedures. There is no independent regulation for lab safety and health in Germany, and it is also governed by several regulations. The German Social Accident Insurance Institute provides technical guidelines on lab safety and health, and these contain more specific content to allow them to be followed more easily compared to the KOSHA guidelines. The most remarkable differences between the regulation of each country were contents of the risk assessment and specific protect measures from hazardous agents. Conclusions: Regulatory control is an essential way to prevent accidents, but it is more important to create an environment in which all stakeholders, including individual lab members, are allowed to participate actively in safety and health management activities.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제6권1호
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• pp.25-29
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• 2015

Background: Shift work has been associated with occupational stress in health providers and in those working in some industrial companies. The association is not well established in the law enforcement workforce. Our objective was to examine the association between shift work and police work-related stress. Methods: The number of stressful events that occurred in the previous month and year was obtained using the Spielberger Police Stress Survey among 365 police officers aged 27-66 years. Work hours were derived from daily payroll records. A dominant shift (day, afternoon, or night) was defined for each participant as the shift with the largest percentage of total time a participant worked (starting time from 4:00 AM to 11:59 AM, from 12 PM to 7:59 PM, and from 8:00 PM to 3:59 AM for day, afternoon, and night shift, respectively) in the previous month or year. Analysis of variance and covariance were used to examine the number of total and subscale (administrative/professional pressure, physical/psychological danger, or organizational support) stressful events across the shift. Results: During the previous month and year, officers working the afternoon and night shifts reported more stressful events than day shift officers for total stress, administrative/professional pressure, and physical/psychological danger (p < 0.05). These differences were independent of age, sex, race/ethnicity, and police rank. The frequency of these stressful events did not differ significantly between officers working the afternoon and night shifts. Conclusion: Non-day shift workers may be exposed to more stressful events in this cohort. Interventions to reduce or manage police stress that are tailored by shift may be considered.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제8권1호
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• pp.36-41
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• 2017

Background: Police work is generally sedentary although there may be situations that require physical endurance and strength, such as foot chases and arresting suspects. Factors such as excessive body fat can impede an officer's physical ability to deal with such occurrences. Our objective was to examine associations between officers' body fat percentage (BF%) and performance on a standardized fitness protocol. Methods: Data were obtained from fitness screening among 1,826 male and 115 female officers in a large US police agency. The screening consisted of a 2.4-km run, push-ups, sit-ups, and sit-and-reach test. Sex-specific body fat percentages were estimated from skinfold thickness measured using calipers. Linear regression models were used to examine unadjusted and adjusted mean scores of fitness tests across BF% tertiles. Results: The prevalence of overall fitness was 4.3 times greater in male officers and 3.6 times greater in female officers having the lowest BF% tertile compared with the highest tertile (30.3% vs 7.1% and 46.0% vs 12.8%, respectively). BF% was linearly and positively associated with the time of 2.4-km run (p < 0.001), and linearly and inversely associated with the number of push-ups (p < 0.001), sit-ups (p < 0.001), and the distance of sit-and-reach (p < 0.001) in men. Similar associations were observed in women with the exception of sit-and-reach (p = 0.122). Associations were independent of age, race/ethnicity, rank, and duty station. Conclusion: Overall, BF% was inversely associated with fitness levels in male and female officers. Future longitudinal studies should be initiated to explore the potentially causal relationship between BF% and fitness in law enforcement officers.

• International Journal of Safety
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• 제5권1호
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• pp.33-36
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• 2006

In laboratories, researchers frequently work using new methods with new tools and materials. So the workers in laboratories are exposed to risk from dangerous articles all the time. In the case of university laboratories, testing is done by the individual at night. Because of that, the risks in university laboratories are higher than in other places. In addition, students and managers in universities generally have little concern for laboratory safety. So students are sometimes injured or killed in laboratory accidents. In this study, 1,000 university students answered questions about university laboratory safety. Their answers have been analyzed to determine the state of actual conditions and to formulate countermeasures. The results indicate that we need to change the safety awareness of the universities and the students. Adequate safety training and safe practice must be implemented by each university to decrease accidents. Development of systematic safety training program suited to the specific conditions of the individual laboratory and formulation of specific counter plans should accidents occur are required.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• 제25권1호
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• pp.72-78
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• 2010

Laboratory accidents have happened incidently. However, laboratory safety management has been out of concerns for a long time. At last, the Korean government established an act called Establishment of safe environment of laboratories in 2005. To support the act and to establish policies on laboratory safety management，a national-wide survey was conducted for the 74 research organizations sampled and their 201 laboratories. For the survey, a safety management checklist with 114 items grouped into 20 categories was developed By using this checklist, safety expert groups investigated the laboratories and evaluated them on the five-point Likert scale. A statistical analysis was conducted to compare the safety management status between different research organization types and between different research fields. The resultsmanaw that the universities are in significant lower level on safety institution and safety education than the public research organizations and theare poration research organizations. In terms of research field, chemistry/chemical engineering laboratories generallymanaw higher level compared with theaothers. Conversely, biology/life science laboratories marked low levels in a number of checklist items.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.256-263
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• 2012

A strain of bacterium producing antifungal antibiotic was isolated and identification of the strain was attempted. We could identify the bacterium as being a Bacillus sp., based on morphological observation, physiological characteristics, and 16S rDNA sequence analysis, thus leading us to designate the strain as Bacillus sp. AH-E-1. The strain showed potent antibiotic activity against phytopathogenic and human pathogenic fungi by inducing mycelial distortion and swelling and inhibiting spore germination. The antibiotic metabolite produced by the strain demonstrated excellent thermal and pH (2-11) stability, but was labile to autoclaving. From these results, we could find a broader antifungal activity of Bacillus genus. Isolation and characterization of the active agent produced by the strain are under progress.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제11권2호
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• pp.193-198
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• 2020

Background: Medical laboratory workers are frequently exposed to a wide range of chemicals. This exposure can have adverse effects on their health. Furthermore, a knowledge lack of the chemical risk increases the likelihood of exposure. The chemical risk assessment reduces the risk of exposure to hazardous chemicals and therefore, guarantees health and safety of the workers. Method: The chemical risk assessment was conducted using a modified INRS method, according to the new CLP Regulation, of 11 unit laboratories in a Moroccan medical laboratory. Observation of each workstation and analysis of safety data sheets are key tools in this study. Results: A total of 144 substances and reagents that could affect the health of the analytical technicians were identified. Among these products, 17% are concerned by the low priority risk score, with 55% concerned by the average priority risk score and 28% concerned by the high priority risk score. This study also enabled to better identify the chemical agents that have restrictive occupational exposure limit value and controls were conducted to this effect. On the basis of the results obtained, several corrective and preventive measures have been proposed and implemented. Conclusion: Risk assessment is essential to ensure the health and safety of workers and to meet regulatory requirements. It enables to identify all the risky manipulations and to adopt appropriate preventive measures. However, it is not a one-time activity but it must be continuous in order to master the changes and thus ensure the best safety of all.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제14권4호
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• pp.368-374
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• 2023

Background: Recognizing that access to safe and healthy working conditions is a human right, the World Health Organization (WHO) calls for specific occupational safety and health (OSH) programs for health workers (HWs). The WHO health systems' building blocks, and the International Labour Organization (ILO), highlight the importance of information as part of effective systems. This study examined how OSH stakeholders access, use, and value an occupational health information system (OHIS). Methods: A cross-sectional survey of OSH stakeholders was conducted as part of a larger quasi experimental study in four teaching hospitals. The study hospitals and participants were purposefully selected and data collected using a modified questionnaire with both closed and open-ended questions. Quantitative analysis was conducted and themes identified for qualitative analysis. Ethics approval was provided by the University of Pretoria and University of British Columbia. Results: There were 71 participants comprised of hospital managers, health and safety representatives, trade unions representatives and OSH professionals. At least 42% reported poor accessibility and poor timeliness of OHIS for decision-making. Only 50% had access to computers and 27% reported poor computer skills. When existing, OHIS was poorly organized and needed upgrades, with 85% reporting the need for significant reforms. Only 45% reported use of OHIS for decision-making in their OSH role. Conclusion: Given the gap in access and utilization of information needed to protect worker's rights to a safe and healthy workplace, more attention is warranted to OHIS development and use as well as education and training in South Africa and beyond.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제12권2호
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• pp.286-287
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• 2021