• Title/Summary/Keyword: Major accident

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The Legal Response and Future Tasks regarding Oil-Spill Damage to Korea - Focusing on the Hebei Spirit oil-spill (한국의 해양유류오염피해에 대한 법적 대응과 과제 - HEBEI SPIRIT호 유류유출사고를 중심으로 -)

  • Han, Sang-Woon
    • Journal of Environmental Policy
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    • v.7 no.3
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    • pp.89-120
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    • 2008
  • With petroleum being a major source of energy in Korea, the quantity of petroleum transported via ocean routes is on its way up due to increased consumption. Due to the increase, more than 300 cases of pollution caused by petroleum occur annually. Moreover, the number of oil-spill accidents is also on the rise. Causes of such accidents, not including the disposal of waste oil on purpose, turn out to be human error during navigation or defects in the vessels, showing that most accidents are caused by humans. Therefore, to prevent future oil spills, it is imperative that navigation efficiency be enhanced by improving the quality of navigators and replacing old vessels with newer ones. Nevertheless, such improvements cannot occur overnight, so long- and mid-term efforts should be made to achieve it institutionally. As large-scale oil-spill accidents can happen at anytime along the coastal waters of Korea, it is necessary to set-up institutional devices which go beyond the compensation limit of 92FC. The current special law regarding this issue has its limits in that it prescribes compensation be supplemented solely by national taxes. Therefore, the setting-up of a new 'national fund' is recommended for consideration rather than to subscribe to the '2003 Convention for the Supplementary Fund'. It is strongly suggested that a National fund be created from fees collected from oil companies based on the risks involved in oil transportation and according to the profiteers pay principle. In addition, a public fund should be created to handle general environmental damage, such as the large-scale destruction of the ecosystem, which is distinct from the economic damage that harms the local people. The posterior responses to the large-scale oil spill have always been unsatisfactory because of the symbolic nature of the disasters included in such accidents. Oil-spills can be prevented in advance, because they are caused by human beings. But once they occur, they inflict long-term damage to both human life and the natural ecosystem. Therefore, the best response to future oil-spills is to work to prevent them.

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A Survey on the Workplace Environment and Personal Protective Equipment of Poultry Farmers (양계 농업인의 작업장 환경 및 개인보호구 착용 실태조사)

  • Kim, Insoo;Kim, Kyung-Ran;Lee, Kyung-Suk;Chae, Hye-Seon;Kim, Sungwoo
    • Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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    • v.40 no.6
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    • pp.454-468
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    • 2014
  • Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the actual condition of the farm work environment and personal protective equipment as part of the effort to improve livestock work for the safety and health of poultry farmers and provide basic data for establishing plans to improve and develop personal protective equipment. Methods: For this purpose, a questionnaire survey on general information about stables, the poultry work environment, accidents, the wearing of work clothes and personal protective equipment, and the level of awareness related to personal protective equipment was conducted among 148 poultry farmers. Results: As a result, it was found that poultry workplace environment was exposed to such risks as fine dusts; organic dusts; poisonous gases; odorous substances; chicken excrement; contact with chickens, bacteria or viruses; and accidents related to machine operation. Thirteen percent of respondents suffered severe respiratory diseases, and the most frequently injured sites due to accidents were the hands (25.7%), knees (23.8%), arms (17.3%), and head (10.9%). The most frequent type of accident was collisions between the body and obstacles or machinery during movement (36.4%), followed by erroneous machine operation such as feeders and electric shocks (8.5%). Regarding the wearing of work clothes and personal protective equipment, 51.7% of the respondents wore worn-out clothing or everyday clothes, whereas only 32.0% wore work clothes. The percentage of farmers who wore proper protective equipment for the work environment during poultry work was 48.4%. The most frequently used type of protective equipment was boots (38.9%), followed by mask (36.7%), gloves (36.3%), appropriate work clothes (22.6%), quarantine clothes (17.6%), helmets (13.4%), and goggles (12.6%). The rate of wearing goggles was low because they were considered inconvenient and lowered work efficiency. Furthermore, they purchased everyday products available on the market for their personal protective equipment which were not appropriate for maintaining safety in an actual harmful environment and its consequent risks. As a result of the survey of the awareness level related to personal protective equipment, their levels of awareness of accidents and attitude proved to be average or higher, but the practice of wearing protective equipment and the level of knowledge and management of personal protective equipment were lower. Conclusion: This survey found that the wearing status of personal protective equipment among poultry farmers was insufficient even though they were exposed to risks. Most respondents were aware of the necessity of wearing personal protective equipment and of the potential for accidents, but they did not wear proper protective equipment. Their wearing rate was low due to a lack of knowledge about protective equipment, as well as the inconvenience of wearing it. Therefore there is a need to improve and develop specialized personal protective equipment for respiration, hands, and eyes, as well as work clothes that can protect farmers from major harmful matter that is generated in the poultry workplace. Based on the results of this investigation, we will conduct further studies on the required performance and design directions of personal protective equipment while collecting more objective data through field-oriented assessments.

A Study on Sickness and the Status of Medical Care in a Rural Area (일부(一部) 농촌주민(農村住民)의 상병(傷病) 및 의료실태(醫療實態)에 관(關)한 조사연구(調査硏究))

  • Park, Jeong-Sun
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.14 no.1
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    • pp.65-74
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    • 1981
  • This survey was made to determine the overall health situation on (1) the status of sickness; (2) the medical care utilization; (3) the medical cost in Mi-Kum Myun, Nam Yang Ju Gun, Kyung-Gi Do. The survey with questionnaire was carried out with 2,840 peoples in 560 households from August 9th to 16th, 1979. The findings from the survey were as follows; 1. Annual morbidity rate of the prolonged ill cases was 97.2 per 1,000 population (male 94.7, female 99.6), The highest age specific morbidity rate was 274.5 of the 45-to 64-year group and the lowest was 21.9 of the 5-to 14-year group. 2. Annual morbidity rate of the new patients was 777.5 per 1,000 population(male 644.5, female 909.5). 3. The chief complaints distribution of the prolonged ill cases was: local pain 36.6%, indigestion 22.4%, and coughing 7.3%, respectively, In terms of age and sex distribution, a large number of female of the 45-to 64-year group complained of local pain or general pain and a large number of both sexes of the 25-to 44-year group complaned of indigestion. 4. The major diseases of the new patients which classified with International Classfication of Diseases (I.C.D.) were disease of the respiratory system, disease of the digestive system, and disease of the musculo-skeletal system and connective tissue for male, disease of the respiratory system, disease of the digestive system, and accident, poisoning, violence for female. 5. Total ill days of the 92 new patients were 536 days and average ill days per case were $6{\pm}38.3$ days. 6. The rate of receiving treatment in the prolonged ill cases was 82.2%(medical facilities 46.4%, drug stores 27.5%, herb medicine 8.3%). 7. The rate of receiving treatment by first choice of the new patients was 88.0% (drug stores 57.%, medical facilities 28.2%, and herb medicine 2.2%), and the rate of receiving treatment by second choice was 30.9% of first treatment cases (medical facilities 44.0%, drug store 44.0% and herb meicine 12.0%). 8. Annual hospitalization rate per 1,000 population was 12.0 (male 12.0, female 11.9). 9. The locations of medical facilities utilized by out-patients were: in the prolonged ill cases Seoul or other places 66.4%, Nam Yang Ju Gun 33.6%, in cases of the new patients Seoul or other places 35.1% and Nam Yang Ju Gun 64.9% respectively. 10. The satisfaction rate of the new patients by mode of receiving treatment was: in cases of primary utilization by first choice herb medicine 100.0%, medical facilities 88.5%, and drug stores 69.8%, in cases of secondary utilization medical facilities 100.0%, herb medicine 100.0%, and drug stores 72.7% respectively. 11. The medical cost per utilized facilities was as follows; in average medical fee per case out-patient 8.947 won, in-patient 266,000 won, drug stores 1,532 won, and herb medicine 15,607 won, in average medical fee per day out-patient 4,829 won, in patient 14,178 won, drug stores 891 won, and herb medicine 4,906 won respectively. 12. The sources of the hospital charges paid out were: there own expense 50.0%, debt 35.3%, and security of medical care 14.7% respectively.

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Avifauna and Management of Breeding Season in Taeanhaean National Park (태안해안국립공원의 번식기 조류상과 관리)

  • Paik, In-Hwan;Jin, Seon-Deok;Yu, Jae-Pyoung;Paek, Woon-Kee
    • Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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    • v.24 no.2
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    • pp.139-146
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    • 2010
  • The survey was done in order to find what kinds of birds visit Taeanhaean National Park during breeding season, where we fixed up 10 coastal areas and islands within the National Park. Three groups concurrently performed the field research from 5th to 9th of July in 2009. Total 58 species and 7,323 individuals were recorded in Taeanhaean National Park. 48 species including 6,187 individuals were observed in coastal areas and 33 species including 1,136 individuals in island areas. The most dominant species in the National Park are Larus crassirostris which accounts for 60% of the birds inhabiting there, and they seem to have been bred in the islands near the National Park. The birds observed only around the coastal areas include Anas poecilorhyncha, Fulica atra, Egretta intermedia and the others which consist of 25 species and amount to 318 individuals, and the birds found exclusively in island areas include Phalacrocorax filamentosus, Apus pacificus¸ Locustella pleskei and other birds, which consist of 10 species and the number of those individuals observed was 308. The inhabited islands areas such as Gauido were characterized by high ratio of waterbird population, which seems to be correlated with the factors such as the extent of island, the richness of water resources, and the diversity of habitats. Based on the data collected during the research and other data from the previous observations, the kinds of dominant species remain nearly unchanged. And in spite of the oil spill accident in 2007, the increase in the number of waterbirds compared to 2004 may be the evidence that the area is recovering from the environmental pollution. At present, the tidal power plants are being built or scheduled to be built and large-scale reclamation is also under way. What is worse, those areas are seeing the increase of pension construction, which is likely to be the potential cause of damage and disturbance against some key habitats for the waterbirds. Therefore, it is a major priority that we build the bird information system to efficiently manage the knowledge-based asset collected from bird-watching groups and to better monitor the areas that need enhanced database through which the National Park can be appropriately administered.

Clinical investigation of lipoid pneumonia in adults (성인에서 발생한 지방성 폐렴의 임상적 고찰)

  • Hyun, Jae Geun;Rhee, Chong H.
    • Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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    • v.43 no.6
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    • pp.965-975
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    • 1996
  • Background : Exogenous lipoid pneumonia is caused by inhalation or aspiration of animal, vegetable or mineral oil. Most cases are ascribed to aspiration of oil in laxatives or nose drops Petroleum, another pure hydrocarbon used as a base in various medications, is occasionally involved. Especially animal oil produces severe tissue inflammatory reaction, but most patients present with only abnormal chest X-ray and no specific clinical symptoms or signs. Method: Seven patients, 3 males and 4 females, with exogenous lipoid pneumonia, who was hospitalized or referred to pulmonary division at Samsung Medical Center from December 1994 10 July 1996, were included. They hadn a history of laking shark liver oil(so-called "squalene") for varying period of time. We reviewed clinical, radioloic and pathologic findings. Result: Patients look 7 to 30 capsules of "squalene" a day for at least one month to 5 years. Six cases had chronic disease such as diabetes, hypertension, or cerebrovascular accident. Respiratory symptoms of mild fever, cough and sputum were present in 3 cases and in 3 cases there was no clinical symptoms and signs but abnormal findings by chest X - ray. The major radiologic findings by simple chest X - ray and computed tomography consisted of consolidation, infiltration involving mainly right middle and both lower lobes, and ground-glass opacity. Five of six bronchoscopic examinations demonstrated both lipid droplets floating on the surface of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and Lipid-laden macrophages in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid or lung tissue. Follow-up chest X -ray showed improvement in 4 cases but no marked interval change in 3 cases after removal of exposure to "squalene". Conclusion: Shark liver oil can induce lipoid pneumonia in adults. In case of high clinical suspicion, confirmation of "squalene" use by careful history taking is required and bronchoscopy is helpful in diagnosis.

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Clinical Investigation of Childhood Epilepsy (소아간질의 임상적 관찰)

  • Moon, Han-Ku;Park, Yong-Hoon
    • Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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    • v.2 no.1
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    • pp.103-111
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    • 1985
  • Childhood epilepsy which has high prevalence rate and inception rate is one of the commonest problem encountered in pediatrician. In contrast with epilepsy of adult, in childhood epilepsy, more variable and varying manifestations are found because the factors of age, growth and development exert their influences in the manifestations and the courses of childhood epilepsy. Moreover epileptic children have associated problems such as physical and mental handicaps, psychologicaldisorders and learning disability. For these reasons pediatrician who deals with epileptic children experiences difficulties in making diagnosis and managing them. In order to improve understanding and management of childhood epilepsy, authors reviewed 103 cases of epileptic patients seen at pediatric department of Yeungnam University Hospital retrospectively. The patients were classified according to the type of epileptic seizure. Suspected causes of epilepsy, associated conditions of epileptic patients, age incidence and the findings of brain CT were reviewed. Large numbers of epileptic patients (61.2%) developed their first seizures under the age of 5. The most frequent type of epileptic seizure was generalized ionic-clonic, tonic, clonic seizure (49.5%), followed by simple partial seizure with secondary generalization (17.5%), simple partial seizure (7.8%), a typical absence (5.8%) and unclassified seizure (5.8%). In 83.5% of patients, we could not find specific cause of it, but in 16.5% of cases, history of neonatal hypoxia (4.9%), meningitis (3.9%), prematurity (1.9%), small for gestational age (1.0%), CO poisoning (1.0%), encephalopathy (1.0%), DPT vaccination (1.0%), cerebrovascular accident (1.0%) and neonatal jaundice (1.0%) were found, 30 cases of patients had associated diseases such as mental retardation, hyperactivity, delayed motor milestones or their combinations. The major abnormal findings of brain CT performed in 42 cases were cortical atrophy, cerebral infarction, hydrocephalus and brain swelling. This review stressed better designed classification of epilepsy is needed and with promotion of medical care, prevention of epilepsy is possible in some cases. Also it is stressed that childhood epilepsy requires multidisplinary therapy and brain CT is helpful in the evaluation of epilepsy with limitation in therapeutic aspects.

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Structural Behavior of Slab in the Partial Demolition for the Apartment Remodeling (아파트 리모델링을 위한 부분해체에서 슬래브의 구조적 거동)

  • Choi, Hoon;Joo, Hyung Joong;Kim, Hyo Jin;Yoon, Soon Jong
    • Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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    • v.16 no.2
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    • pp.19-30
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    • 2012
  • Due to the fact that the social environment is improved and the urban development is stabilized, the demand of new construction of apartment becomes slowdown. Accordingly, there are many researches to lengthen the service life of the existing apartment through the remodeling and its importance is continuously rising. However, reliable design specifications and guidelines for the design of remodeling with partial demolition are not provided yet in Korea. Specially, in the apartment remodeling, slab collapse accidents take major portion in all accidents that reported by Korean Government. It is very important to prevent intial crack of slab because intial crack could cause severe accident like collapse of all structure in a short period of time. The purpose of this study is to develop structural guidelines that could guarantee the structural safety and serviceability of slab structure and could be adopted in Korean remodeling with partial demolition. There are mainly two components to determine structural behavior of slab structure. One is the shape of slab structure and the other is load which is resisted by the slab structure. In this study, the weight per unit volume of concrete debris and concrete strength are estimated through the analysis of previous researches to recognize the relationship between the shape of slab and load that loaded on the slab. Accordingly, approximately 300 pieces of floor plan are collected and analyzed. The finite element analysis is conducted using these analyzed and estimated results. From the finite element analysis results, the limited stacking height of debris is suggested and the stacking method is also discussed. In addition, to find the relationship between movement of demolition equipment and structural behavior of slab, the static and dynamic loading tests are conducted. From the results of loading tests, the impact factor which will be considered in the remodeling design could be estimated.

A Study on the Development Plan for Promotion of Advanced Disaster-Safety Awareness (선진 재난안전의식의 활성화를 위한 방안 연구)

  • Lee, Jong-hyun;Kim, Mi-ra;Ko, Jae-chul
    • Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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    • v.17 no.3
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    • pp.415-426
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    • 2021
  • Purpose: The purpose of this study is to create the deveopment plan for promotion of advanced disaster-safety awareness, which is noted as a major factor in the large disaster. Method: This study is to conduct theoretical review with regard to disaster management and safety awareness. Consciousness surveys on safety awareness and previous disaster case was analyzed to derive the cause of the disaster, and the development plan for promotion of advanced disaster-safety awareness was suggested. Result: In the survey on the public's sense of safety on the disaster management evaluation, 'Response' stage was well performed, but the 'Recovery' stage was not. Especially, it was found that disaster safety education at the 'Prevention' stage was very lacking. In the survey on the public's safety awareness, the awareness level of the evacuation facility was very low, information on infectious diseases and collapse accident was insufficient. Especially, it has been found that the awareness on safety regulation in daily life is very insufficient. Through the case study on previous disaster(COVID-19, Fire in Miryang Sejong Hospital, Forest fire in the east coas at 2004'), it was derived that the lack of safety awareness(such as safety insensitivity) was the main factor of the expansion of the damage scale. Conclusion: The development plan for promotion of advanced disaster-safety awareness are as follow. First, it is necessary to spread the safety culture movement through the expansion of safety education and safety promotion. Second, disaster confrontation training for the public should be implemented to improve the effectiveness of disaster response. Finally, it is necessary to change the individual awareness on safety. When these factors are implemented systematically, advanced disaster-safety awareness can be promoted. Ultimately, disaster accidents in our society can be reduced.

A Study on the Perception of Policy Targets to Improve the Effectiveness of Child Safety Measure - Focusing on Children, Guardians, and Workers in Children's Facilities - (어린이 안전대책 실효성 향상을 위한 정책대상자 인식조사 연구 - 어린이, 보호자, 어린이이용시설 종사자 중심으로 -)

  • ChangYoung Song;WonHoi Koo
    • Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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    • v.19 no.4
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    • pp.869-881
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    • 2023
  • Purpose: This study aims to come up with improvement measures to improve the effectiveness of child safety measures. Method: The current status of child safety accidents was investigated and implications were deduced by analyzing major child safety measures by government department in the past. In addition, a perception survey was conducted on 1,000 people including children, guardians, and children's facility workers who are subject to child safety policies. Result: Regarding the safety of children's living space(environment), 35.3% of guardians answered that more than 1/3 of them were not safe. Both guardians(95.3%) and children's facility workers(89%) answered that there was the highest risk of 'traffic accidents', and the second risk factor was parents(carelessness of workers at children's facilities) and children's facility workers(careless of guardians at home). Looking at the risks by place, "road and sidewalk" was the most dangerous place and for child safety, guardians(64.3%) and workers (78.3%) both said that the role of "parent" is the most important. For improvements to prevent child safety accidents, the response rate of "strengthening safety management of road traffic facilities" is the most necessary with 75.8% for guardians and 65% for child use facilities. Conclusion: The reinforcement measures to strengthen the effectiveness of child safety measures are as follows. First, in order to ensure the continuity of child safety measures, it should be operated effectively so that those subject to the establishment of the Comprehensive Plan for Child Safety, which took effect in August 2022, can feel it. Second, in order to improve the sensitivity of children's policy targets, promotion measures that take into account the characteristics of each child safety field should be continuously strengthened. Third, it is necessary to expand safety infrastructure for each field to secure child safety. Fourth, it is necessary to strengthen safety education that can ensure safety for children themselves and to come up with detailed measures to make safety education for parents(guardians) mandatory.

An educational needs analysis of precautions against of safety accidents for school foodservice employees in the Jeonbuk area using Borich priority formula and the Locus for Focus Model (Borich 요구도와 The Locus for Focus Model을 이용한 전북지역 학교급식 조리종사자의 안전사고 예방관리를 위한 교육요구도 우선순위 분석)

  • Hyang Jin Lee ;Sun A Choi ;Jeong Ok Rho
    • Journal of Nutrition and Health
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    • v.56 no.5
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    • pp.554-572
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    • 2023
  • Purpose: The purpose of the study was to analyze the priorities for educational content regarding precautions to be taken to prevent safety accidents for employees in school foodservice using the Borich priority formula and the Locus for Focus model. Methods: A survey was conducted in February 2019 on 194 employees in elementary school and 122 employees in middle- and high school foodservice in the Jeonbuk area. Demographic characteristics, status of safety accidents, safety education, and their importance and performance levels were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. The priorities for the educational content on precautions to prevent safety accidents were based on a 3-step analysis method, including the paired sample t-test, Borich priority formula, and the Locus for Focus Model. Results: The average perceived importance of the precautions to be taken against safety accidents of employees in elementary-, middle-, and high schools was higher compared to the average performance of the employees (p < 0.001). The top priority for elementary school employees was caution against falls during the cleaning of the gas hood and the trench in the kitchen. In addition, 'awareness of chemical signs' was added as one of the top priorities of middle- and high school employees. The second highest priority items were 'do stretching', 'safely adjusting workbench height', 'keeping the right attitude', 'using assistive devices when moving heavy things', and 'checking the material safety data sheet', which were the same for all elementary, middle- and high school employees. Conclusion: Thus, to improve the educational preparedness of employees in the area of safety precautions, eight safety/accident prevention items should be included in the safety education program.