• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.92-98
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• 2015

Toxic gases are managed by High Pressure Gas Safety Control Act. Toxic Gases are "31 designated species and each gas of which the permissible concentration($LC_{50}$) is equal to or less than 5000 ppm as defined in High Pressure Gas Safety Control Act.". Korean toxic gas usage in accordance with the growth of the electronic industry has increased explosively. The demand of toxic gas research in domestic university laboratories has grown together. But the research associated with toxic gas safety management in the domestic laboratory is nonexistent state. In this study, we identified weak points of toxic gas safety management through a survey of domestic university laboratory facilities. This paper presented toxic gas safety measures in order to overcome those weak points. Also this paper developed a standard checklist to improve and ensure safe management of toxic gas facility in accordance with the proposed measures. This research is to enforce safety management of toxic gas facilities in domestic university laboratory and it will provide safety guidelines for every laboratory.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.318-321
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• 2017

This commentary presents the regulatory backgrounds and development of the national proficiency testing (PT) scheme on asbestos analysis in the Republic of Korea. Since 2009, under the amended Occupational Safety and Health Act, the survey of asbestos in buildings and clearance test of asbestos removal works have been mandated to be carried out by the laboratories designated by the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) in the Republic of Korea. To assess the performance of asbestos laboratories, a PT scheme on asbestos analysis was launched by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) on behalf of the MOEL in 2007. Participating laboratories are evaluated once a year for fiber counting and bulk asbestos analysis by phase contrast microscopy and polarized light microscopy, respectively. Currently, the number of laboratory enrollments is > 200, and the percentage of passed laboratories is > 90. The current status and several significant changes in operation, sample preparations, and statistics of assigning the reference values of the KOSHA PT scheme on asbestos analysis are presented. Critical retrospect based on the experiences of operating the KOSHA PT scheme suggests considerations for developing a new national PT scheme for asbestos analysis.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.26-33
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• 2011

Objectives: The purpose of this retrospective cohort study was to investigate the relationship between exposure of Korean workers to petrochemicals in the refinery/petrochemical industry and lymphohematopoietic cancers. Methods: The cohort consisted of 8,866 male workers who had worked from the 1960s to 2007 at one refinery and six petrochemical companies located in a refinery/petrochemical complex in Korea that produce benzene or use benzene as a raw material. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated for 1992-2007 and 1997-2005 based on the death rate and cancer incidence rate of the Korean male population according to job title (production, maintenance, laboratory, and office workers). Results: The overall mortality and most cause-specific mortalities were lower among these workers than those of the general Korean population. Increased SMRs were observed for leukemia (4/1.45; SMR 2.77, 95% CI: 0.75-7.09) and lymphohematopoietic cancers (5/2.51; SMR 2, 95% CI: 0.65-4.66) in production workers, and increased SIRs were also observed in leukemia (3/1.34; SIR 2.24, 95% CI: 0.46-6.54) and lymphohematopoietic cancers (5/3.39; SIR 1.47, 95% CI: 0.48-3.44) in production workers, but the results were not statistically significant. Conclusion: The results showed a potential relationship between leukemia and lymphohematopoietic cancers and exposure to benzene in refinery/petrochemical complex workers. This study yielded limited results due to a short observational period; therefore, a follow-up study must be performed to elucidate the relationship between petrochemical exposure and cancer rates.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.445-451
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• 2021

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the self-administered questionnaire for Korean radiation workers. Methods: From May 24, 2016, to June 30, 2017, 20,608 participants completed the questionnaire, providing information on sociodemographics, lifestyle, work history and practices, medical radiation exposure, and medical history, which was linked to the National Dose Registry and the National Cancer Registry. The validity of the questionnaire was evaluated using the responses of 20,608 workers, and reliability was evaluated using the responses of 3043 workers who responded to the survey twice. Results: Responses concerning demographic characteristics and lifestyle showed reliability with a moderate-to-high agreement (kappa: 0.43-0.99), whereas responses concerning occupation and medical radiation exposure had a wide range of agreement (kappa: 0.05-0.95), possibly owing to temporal variability during employment. Regarding validity, responses to the question about the first year of employment had an excellent agreement with the national registry (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.9); however, responses on cancer history had a wide range of agreement (kappa: 0.22-0.85). Conclusion: Although the reliability and validity of the questionnaire were not distinguished by demographic characteristics, they tended to be low among participants whose occupational radiation exposure was minimal. Overall, the information collected can be reliable for epidemiological studies; however, caution must be exercised when using information such as medical exposure and work practices, which are prone to temporal variability.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.63-69
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• 2010

This study was conducted to compare the concentration of various air contaminants in nine different laboratories during routine activities. Volatile organic compounds (VOC) were sampled and analyzed using NIOSH Method 1500 and asbestos fibers were sampled and analyzed using NIOSH Method 9002 and 7400. Detectable levels of acetone, toluene and ethanol were found in all the laboratories and xylene and n-hexane were detected in eight of the nine laboratories. All the VOC concentrations were well below the Korean Ministry of Labor's Exposure Limit and American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists' (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Values (TLVs). Total VOC concentrations at the university laboratories were significantly higher than those at governmental agency laboratories. Airborne fiber concentrations were below 0.01 fibers/cc, while the concentration of chrysotile was 2% in insulation materials sprayed on the ceiling of one laboratory. While all the governmental agency laboratories (n=4) had fume hoods, two out of the five university laboratories did not have fume hoods. The capture velocity of half of the fume hoods were below the maintenance standard(0.4 m/sec). In conclusion, the study suggests that the current controls in place at both university and government agency laboratories are not sufficient in limiting exposure to harmful chemicals to non-detectable levels, though they appear to be adequate in protecting workers to levels below applicable occupational exposure limits. The study also suggests that researchers working in university laboratories may be exposed to greater levels of contaminant than those working in government agency laboratories.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.105-121
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• 2011

Objectives: This paper presents the framework and protocol design for a construction industry risk management toolbox. The construction industry needs a comprehensive, systematic approach to assess and control occupational risks. These risks span several professional health and safety disciplines, emphasized by multiple international occupational research agenda projects including: falls, electrocution, noise, silica, welding fumes, and musculoskeletal disorders. Yet, the International Social Security Association says, "whereas progress has been made in safety and health, the construction industry is still a high risk sector." Methods: Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) employ about 80% of the world's construction workers. In recent years a strategy for qualitative occupational risk management, known as Control Banding (CB) has gained international attention as a simplified approach for reducing work-related risks. CB groups hazards into stratified risk 'bands', identifying commensurate controls to reduce the level of risk and promote worker health and safety. We review these qualitative solutions-based approaches and identify strengths and weaknesses toward designing a simplified CB 'toolbox' approach for use by SMEs in construction trades. Results: This toolbox design proposal includes international input on multidisciplinary approaches for performing a qualitative risk assessment determining a risk 'band' for a given project. Risk bands are used to identify the appropriate level of training to oversee construction work, leading to commensurate and appropriate control methods to perform the work safely. Conclusion: The Construction Toolbox presents a review-generated format to harness multiple solutions-based national programs and publications for controlling construction-related risks with simplified approaches across the occupational safety, health and hygiene professions.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.276-283
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• 2023

The Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute is currently evaluating spirometry tests used for worker health examinations by applying the 2005 American Thoracic Society (ATS) and European Respiratory Society (ERS) spirometric test standardization guide and reviewing the application of the 2019 ATS/ERS guide. To compare results obtained using the new evaluation criteria with previous results and determine whether it is appropriate to apply them to Korean workers' health examinations, we reviewed spirometry results from 325 special health examination institutions. Although evaluation criteria such as extrapolation volume, correction error, and forced inspiratory vital capacity were applied more strictly, institutions had higher reliability scores. Primarily because the acceptability and repeatability of forced expiratory volume in 1 second and forced vital capacity were judged separately, and thus, deduction width was reduced. The study shows that adopting the new evaluation criteria would reduce the possible use of inappropriate data, increase tester and doctor understanding of result selection and interpretation, increase result reliability, and reduce the testing burden.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.272-281
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• 2007

선박제조업을 비롯한 운송업 및 건축업 등의 다양한 분야에서 용접기술이 이용되어 옴에 따라 용접근로자들에 대한 산업보건학적 관심이 높아지고 있다. 노출정도가 다양하기는 하지만 용접흄은 6가 크롬을 비롯한 금속화합물과 유해가스, 화학물질 등을 복합적으로 포함하고 있는 스테인레스 스틸 용접흄에 대한 유전독성영향을 평가하기 위하여 흡입챔버를 이용, 실험동물인 영장류에 스테인레스 스틸 용접흄을 노출시키고 혈액 내 lymphocytes에 생성된 용접흄 노출농도 및 시간별 DNA 손상정도 및 그 회복효소를 측정함으로써, 유해성이 완전하게 확인되지 않은 용접흄에 노출되어 나타날 수 있는 암을 비롯한 심각한 건강영향을 예방하기 위한 각 지표들을 찾아 그 유용성을 비교하고자 하였다. 영장류를 노출시키기 위해 robotic arm을 장치한 영장류 흡입노출 시스템을 개발하였으며, 이 노출 시스템을 이용하여 수컷 영장류 6마리에 대해 용접흄 노출시험을 실시하였는데 실험군은 대조군 2, 저농도 ($31mg/m^3$) 노출군 2, 고농도 ($63mg/m^3$) 노출군 2마리로 구성하였고, 1일 2시간씩 일주일에 5일 동안 용접흄에 노출시켰다. 노출 농도는 지속적으로 모니터링 하였고, 노출과정 중에 영장류의 혈액을 채취하여 lymphocytes를 분리, 단세포 DNA 손상을 선별하기 위해 DNA 손상회복 효소인 E. coli formamidopyrimidine-DNA glycosylase (Fpg)와 endonuclease Ⅲ (Thymine Glycol-DNA glycosylase) 투여와 Comet asaay (single cell gel electrophoresis, 단세포겔전기영동기법)를 결합시켜 이용하는 Fpg/Endo III FLARE 분석법을 사용하였다. Fpg enzyme에 의한 olive tail moment값의 변화는 16주 노출군부터 노출부검(34주)군 까지 노출농도가 높아짐에 따른 olive tail moment 기하평균 값의 양 반응관계를 보기는 어렵지만, 고농도군의 경우 27주 노출군에서 가장 높은 olive tail moment 값을 보이고 이후 차츰 감소하였다. 한편 16주에서 22주까지의 노출기간에서는 대조군에 비해 노출군에서 DNA손상정도(olive tail moment값)는 모두 유의하게 높았으나, 6, 12, 18, 25, 31, 33, 35주간 노출하였을 때는 다른 결과를 보였다. 각 실험군의 Fpg enzyme에 의한 tail length값의 분포를 살펴볼 때, 저농도군 및 고농도군에서 27주간 노출하였을 때 가장 높은 tail length 값을 보이고 이후 차츰 감소하는 경향을 보였다. 또한 16, 22주간 노출하였을 때 대조군에 비해 노출군에서 tail length 값이 유의하게 높았으나, 20주간에서만 양 반응관계가 관찰되었고, 다른 주간에서는 양 반응 및 기간 반응관계를 나타내지는 않았다. Endo III enzyme에 의한 olive tail moment값의 변화는 기간별 노출군에서 대조군에 비해 높은 DNA손상정도(olive tail moment값)를 나타내는 결과들이 있었지만, 10, 12, 16, 22, 25, 31주간 노출하였을 때 등 상당수 노출기간에서 반응관계를 나타내지는 않았다. 각 실험군의 Endo III enzyme에 의한 tail length값의 분포를 살펴볼 때, 18, 20, 27, 33주간 노출하였을 때 대조군에 비해 노출군에서 tail length 값이 조금 높았지만, 양 반응 및 기간 반응관계를 보이지 않았고 수치의 크기가 불규칙하게 변화하였다. 즉, DNA에 있어 산화된 pyrimidine을 형성하여 손상된 부위의 염기를 제거함으로써 AP site (abasic site)를 만들고 이들이 Comet assay를 통해 break로 전환된 것을 포함한 DNA손상을 측정하기 위하여 endonuclease III (Endo III)를 첨가시킨 Endo III FLARE 분석법을 실시한 결과, 본 연구에서 나타난 결과는 용접흄 노출 영장류에서 Olive tail moment 및 tail length 공히 노출량 및 노출기간 반응관계를 볼 수 없었다. Endo III FLARE 분석법을 통한 산화적 DNA 손상지표는 영장류에 적용하기에는 적응반응현상으로 대조군과 유의한 차이도 관찰할 수 없었고 더욱이 역으로 대조군에서의 자연발생적 수치가 더 높아질 수 있어 용접흄 노출 영장류의 모니터링 지표로 사용하기에는 제한점이 있었다.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.397-403
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• 2013

Objective: This article aims to report the results of ergonomic evaluation of some university laboratories. Background: Laboratory researchers are at risk for musculoskeletal injuries during routine laboratory procedures. However, little attention has paid to the working conditions of laboratory researchers, especially in Korea. Method: A checklist and questionnaire was developed and used to analyze the work conditions of 27 laboratories of chemistry, biology and pharmacy. Results: It was found that glove box, clean bench, and computer workstation are better than microscopy, and fume hood tasks, from ergonomic point of view. Conclusion: No domestic guideline is available for ergonomic intervention of laboratories. Further attention and studies are anticipated to improve the working conditions of laboratories.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.343-350
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• 2010

This study was performed to investigate laboratory workers' exposures to airborne nanoparticles at a university laboratory where acid treatment experiments were conducted on the surfaces of engineered carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The surface area concentrations, number concentrations, and mass concentrations of airborne nanoparticles were measured at personal breathing zones (PBZs) for various tasks using direct reading instruments. For all three metrics, airborne nanoparticle concentrations during the experiments were higher than background levels measured before and after the experiments for all three metrics. Among the various tasks that were performed as part of these experiments, one task that involved filtering a mixture of acid and CNTs showed the highest concentrations in all three metrics, with concentrations of $116.6\;{\mu}m^2$/cc, 24320 pt/cc, and $9.0\;{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively. Nanoparticle surface area concentrations measured at a representative area fluctuated with those at the PBZs in the laboratory. This result indicates that nanoparticles generated during the experiments were not just limited to the PBZs of the workers but were also present throughout the room, potentially exposing co-located workers. CNTs were detected by a transmission electron microscope in an air sample collected while handling the CNTs. All the tasks were performed inside fume hoods, with the sliding sashes open to their required heights. It was noted that the capture velocities of the fume hoods were much lower than the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)'s recommendation level (0.4 to 0.6 m/s). In conclusion, this study showed that, due to inadequate control, laboratory researchers performing acid treatment experiments on surfaces of CNTs were exposed to airborne nanoparticles generated during the tasks.