• Toxicological Research
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.87-98
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• 2005

Human exposure to nano-sized particles (NSP) has increased over the last century with anthropogenic sources, and the rapid development of nanotechnology becomes an another source of such exposure. Information regarding the safety of nanotechnology and its product, nanoparticles, is urgently needed when assuming exposure through inhalation, oral intake, and penetration across skin is ever increasing as growing nanotechnology rapidly. The recent advancement of biokinetic studies with NSP and newer epidemiologic and toxicologic studies with ultrafine particles can be the basis for the nanotoxicology. Some concepts of nanotoxicology can be known from the results of these results. Specific small size of NSP, when inhaled, facilitates deposition by difusional mechanism in all regions of the respiratory tract and uptake into cells, ranscytosis across epithelial and endothelial cells into the blood and lymph circulation to reach target sites. Translocation along axons and dendrites of neuron makes an access to CNS and ganglia. These biokinetics are dependent on NSP surface chemistry. Risk assessments of NSP include appropriate and relevant doses/concentration selections, the increase effects in the organism and the benefits of possible desirable effects. An interdisciplinary team approach is desirable for nanotoxicology research and an appropriate risk assessment.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.194-200
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• 2016

Background: The influence of sociocultural factors on human reliability within an open sociotechnical systems is highlighted. The design of such systems is enhanced by experience feedback. Methods: The study was focused on a survey related to the observation of working cases, and by processing of incident/accident statistics and semistructured interviews in the qualitative part. In order to consolidate the study approach, we considered a schedule for the purpose of standard statistical measurements. We tried to be unbiased by supporting an exhaustive list of all worker categories including age, sex, educational level, prescribed task, accountability level, etc. The survey was reinforced by a schedule distributed to 300 workers belonging to two oil companies. This schedule comprises 30 items related to six main factors that influence human reliability. Results: Qualitative observations and schedule data processing had shown that the sociocultural factors can negatively and positively influence operator behaviors. Conclusion: The explored sociocultural factors influence the human reliability both in qualitative and quantitative manners. The proposed model shows how reliability can be enhanced by some measures such as experience feedback based on, for example, safety improvements, training, and information. With that is added the continuous systems improvements to improve sociocultural reality and to reduce negative behaviors.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.315-317
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• 2017

We present the case of a 45-year-old man with a history of benzene exposure who developed splenic marginal zone lymphoma. For 6 years, he had worked in an enclosed space cleaning instruments with benzene. He was diagnosed with splenic marginal zone lymphoma 19 years after retirement. During his time of working in the laboratory in the 1980s, working environments were not monitored for hazardous materials. We indirectly estimated the cumulative level of past benzene exposure using job-exposure matrices and technical assumptions. Care must be taken in investigating the relevance of occupational benzene exposure in the occurrence of indolent B-cell lymphoma. Because of the long latency period and because occupational measurement data do not exist for the period during the patient's exposure, the epidemiological impact of benzene exposure may be underestimated.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.507-511
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• 2022

Law enforcement officers (LEOs) often encounter rapidly changing and uncontrolled situations that expose them to various hazards. A law enforcement agency requested an evaluation by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) when multiple LEOs reported illness after executing a search warrant and taking a suspect into custody. NIOSH investigators interviewed LEOs and reviewed medical records, forensic laboratory results for collected evidence, and environmental testing results of samples taken after the operation. Two-thirds (25 of 38) of LEOs who participated in the operation reported ≥1 symptom. Eleven LEOs met a case definition for influenza-like illness (ILI). Members of one unit were more likely to have ILI than non-members (prevalence ratio (PR), 4.1; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.3-13.0; p = 0.01). Influenza vaccination was associated with a lower prevalence of ILI (PR, 0.2; 95% CI, 0.1-0.9; p = 0.02). Preventing employees from working while ill and annual influenza vaccination might prevent similar occurrences.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.157-162
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• 2018

There have been 1,039 accidents in laboratory(National Research Safety Headquarters). Accidents in laboratory has increased by 71.5% from 158 cases in 2011 to 271 cases in 2016. Accident analysis results show that there has been no death accident after 2011 when 5 death accidents happened. The results also show that severe injuries have been 23 cases(2%) from 2011 to 2016(7 cases in 2011, 2 cases in 2012, 2013 and 2014, 3 cases in 2015, 7 cases in 2016). Minor injuries shows increasing trend from 151 cases in 2011(92.6%) to 294 cases in 2016(97.6%). Among the causes of accidents in laboratory, piercing injuries by injector were 69 cases(10.4%) for recent 3 years, i.e. 22 cases(12.6%) in 2014, 18 cases(14.2%) in 2015 and 29 cases(16%). Piercing injuries by injector with infection such as viral hepatitis and HIV/AIDS were identified in 10 cases in 2014, 5 cases in 2015, and 10 cases in 2016.Therefore, we would like to contribute to the safety of laboratories by suggesting a guideline for prevention and post management of laboratory accidents.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.127-133
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• 2012

This paper shows survey result on safety management status of laboratories in Korea. In Korea, many studies and reports on laboratory safety have been published since the ministry of education, science and technology (MEST) enforced the Act on Establishing a Safe Environment of Laboratories (Lab Safety Act) in 2006. The MEST has surveyed status of safety management in institutions subject to Lab Safety Act in 2008 and 2010. According to the survey result, safety management status of universities and colleges has been improved on several factors such as establishment of safety manual and implementation of safety inspection; while the number of safety managers of universities and colleges have increased. However, the difficulties in performing duties of safety managers has increased because the number of exclusive safety managers has decreased. This paper identifies the similarities and differences between Occupational Safety and Health Act and Lab Safety Act on assignment and duties of safety managers; therefore, this paper suggests a standard to determine the number of safety managers and decide whether or not their duties should be exclusive. Besides current standard that is based on the number of researchers, the number of individual laboratories should be considered. The new method would be helpful to determine the number of exclusive safety managers because the amount of safety managers' duties generally do not depend on only the number of people who may be exposed to any risk but also the number of facilities that may be cause of any accident.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.389-392
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• 2019

When conducting an exposure assessment, the primary goal of the industrial hygienist is to fully characterize the worker's exposure during a work shift to compare it with an occupational exposure limit. This applies regardless of the duration of the work activity as an activity that is relatively short in duration can still present exposure in excess of the occupational exposure limit even when normalized over an 8-hr shift. This goal, however, is often impeded by the specification of a minimum sample volume in the published sampling method, which may prevent the sample from being collected or submitted for analysis. Removing the specification of minimum sample volume (or adjusting it from a requirement to a recommendation), in contrast, allows for a broader assessment of jobs that consist of short-duration and high-exposure activities and also eliminates the unnecessary practice of running sampling pumps in clean air to collect a specified, minimum volume.

• Proceedings of the Korea Institute of Fire Science and Engineering Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.21-34
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• 2005

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.97-104
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• 2015

The study is conducted in order to identify whether there is difference in laboratory safety management committee and safety manager appointment for type of institutes(university, research institute, enterprise institute). The study conducted statistical analysis of 2484 institutes (university, research institute, enterprise institute) that attended 'current status of laboratory safety management' by year(number of current status participation). As a result, university showed increase in forming safety management committee as the number of current status(year) increases. The number of safety management committee held were the highest amongst all institutes being 2 held/2 year. Furthermore, period of safety management committee held at university and research institutes are decreasing stately. For 2014, the rate of hosting periodic committee and temporary committee simultaneously when necessary are increasing. The rate of appointing safety manager who is in charge of laboratory safety is increasing in university, but it is decreasing in research institute and enterprise institute. The work pattern of safety manager in university is increase in exclusive duties and decrease in adjunct duties, while work pattern in research institute and enterprise institute is more on the contract duties.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.63-70
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• 2007

There are something unreasonable, unsatisfactory on the law system for laboratorial safety enforced by the government from April 2006. Therefore, the system should be reviewed and revised to be satisfactory for current research condition. This study is to analyze research areas for improving laboratorial safety and to show safer ideas. With more detail, more practically improving ideas have been shown for systemizing safety assessment in advance, effective organization of laboratory, safety committee and their regulation. It is expected that better safety level all the concerned engagement, reasonable revision of safety regulation of laboratory, can be made by this research result.