• Toxicological Research
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• 제29권2호
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• pp.115-120
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• 2013

To investigate the effects of short-term exposure of beryllium on the human immune system, the proportion of T-lymphocytes such as CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD95, and NK cells, and the proportion of B cells and $TNF{\alpha}$ level in peripheral blood and immunoglobulins in the serum of 43 exposed workers and 34 healthy control subjects were studied. External exposure to beryllium was measured by atomic absorption spectrometer as recommended by the NIOSH analytical method 7300. T lymphocyte subpopulation analysis was carried out with flow cytometer. The working duration of exposed workers was less than 3 months and the mean ambient beryllium level was $3.4{\mu}g/m^3$, $112.3{\mu}g/m^3$, and $2.3{\mu}g/m^3$ in molding (furnace), deforming (grinding), and sorting processes, respectively (cited from Kim et al., 2008). However, ambient beryllium level after process change was non-detectable (< $0.1{\mu}g/m^3$). The number of T lymphocytes and the amount of immunoglobulins in the beryllium-exposed workers and control subjects were not significantly different, except for the total number of lymphocytes and CD95 (APO1/FAS). The total number of lymphocytes was higher in the beryllium-exposed individuals than in the healthy control subjects. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed lymphocytes to be affected by beryllium exposure (odd ratio = 7.293; p<0.001). These results show that short-term exposure to beryllium does not induce immune dysfunction but is probably associated with lymphocytes proliferation.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제20권2호
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• pp.88-93
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• 2010

To confirm and quantify asbestos fibers released from the asbestos-cement slate roofs due to weathering, three houses, selected based on the year of built - 60's, 70, and 80's, were investigated. All of them were located in the downtown of Seoul. Rain or snow-melt water was collected from the roof in a 3.5 liter plastic bottle. A known amount of collected water was filtered on the 37 mm membrane filter, ashed in a muffle furnace, and subsequently treated with HCl to remove organic material. The treated remaining was refiltered on a 25mm membrane filter for PLM and PCM analyses. The NIOSH 7400 method was utilized for PCM counting. In addition, SEM/EDX was used to confirm the asbestos types. The results of this study showed that chrysotile fibers were confirmed by PLM in all samples analyzed. A significant amount of asbestos fibers were found in the water samples. The ranges of asbestos fibers counted from the samples collected in the 60's, 70's, and 80's were; 10,406.3~55,575.6 f/L, 5,218.8~38,126.2 f/L, and 2,906.3~7,798.6 f/L, respectively. As anticipated, concentrations of asbestos fibers increased with time of installment of the roofing material. We conclude that weathering can be a significant factor on the release of asbestos fibers from the asbestos cement products. Since asbestos fibers released into environment can be a source of significant health hazard, countermeasures, such as replacement, removal, and encapsulation of weathered asbestos slate, should be initiated immediately.

• 대기
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• 제29권4호
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• pp.429-438
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• 2019

Organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in PM_2.5 were measured with Sunset Laboratory Model-5 Semi-Continuous OC/EC Field Analyzer by NIOSH/TOT method at Anmyeondo Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Regional Station (37°32'N, 127°19'E) in July and August, 2017. The mean values of OC and EC were 3.7 ㎍ m^-3 and 0.7 ㎍ m^-3, respectively. During the study period, the concentrations of reactive gases and aerosol compositions were evidently lower than those of other seasons. It is mostly due to meteorological setting of the northeast Asia, where the influence of continental outflow is at its minimum during this season under southwesterly wind. While the diurnal variation of OC and EC were not clear, the concentrations of O₃, CO, NOx, EC, and OC were evidently enhanced under easterly wind at night from 20:00 to 8:00. However, the high concentration of EC was observed concurrently with CO and NOx under northerly wind during 20:00~24:00. It indicates the influence of thermal power plant and industrial facilities, which was recognized as a major emission source during KORUS-AQ campaign. The diurnal variations of pollutants clearly showed the influence of land-sea breeze, in which OC showed good correlation between EC and O₃ in seabreeze. It is estimated to be the recirculation of pollutants in land-sea breeze cycle. This study suggests that in general, Anmyeondo station serves well as a background monitoring station. However, the variation in meteorological condition is so dynamic that it is primary factor to determine the concentrations of secondary species as well as primary pollutants at Anmyeondo station.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제30권1호
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• pp.10-17
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• 2020

Objectives: This study was performed to evaluate the total dust, size-selective dust, and heavy metal concentrations generated inside and outside toll booths on an expressway and to identify the source through analysis of the components of the deposited dust. Methods: A total of 32 samples were collected from eight expressway toll booths. Each total dust sample was collected using a 37 mm PVC filter attached to a personal air sampler. Heavy metal samples were collected according to NIOSH method 7300. The size-selective dust concentrations were identified using a DustMate, and deposited dust was analyzed by WD-XRF and UHR-FE-SEM. Results: The geometric mean concentrations of the total dust inside and outside the toll booths were 337.5 ㎍/㎥ and 342.7 ㎍/㎥, respectively. The overall concentrations of TSP, PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and PM1 were higher on the outside of the toll booths, as the particle size of dust was larger, and higher in the underground passage as the dust size was smaller. The real-time analysis of the dust concentrations of TSP, PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and PM1 revealed to be higher at morning and evening times than other times because of heavy traffic. The element components of deposited dust in the toll booth were related to natural sources rather than artificial sources. Among the chemical components in the deposited dust analyzed by WD-XRF, SiO₂ was the highest. For the elements analyzed by UHR-FE-SEM, C was the highest, followed by O, and Si. Conclusions: In order to reduce the dust concentrations around toll booths on an expressway, it is necessary to periodically clean surrounding areas such as underground passages, and it is also necessary to remove deposited dust inside the toll booth from time to time.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제7권2호
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• pp.289-297
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• 1997

Work-related low back pain(below LBP) is one of the major cause of morbidity, disability, limitation of activity and economic loss. Therefore the work-related LBP is one of the major issue in the field of industrial safety and health. This study was performed for detecting the risk factors and proposing the effective control programs of work-related LBP. The subjects were male workers employed at the welding and metal factory. The data was collected by self-reported questionnaire, interview and checking abdomen muscular and grasping power for two days on October, 1993. The contents of questionnaire were as follow: the experience of LBP, general characteristics, physical characteristics, employment status, type of work and working environment. The number of cases was 104 with a history of work-related LBP, so the prevalence of work-related LBP was 35.0%, and the number of controls was 140 without any history of LBP. As a result, marital status, educational level, abdomen muscular power, tenure, category of job, satisfaction of job, working posture, satisfaction for table and chair and lifting materials showed a statistical significance between the case and control groups. 284 Lifting jobs were quantified by NIOSH lifting equation method and ergonomic computer modelling methods. There were no significant differences in the action limit and disc compression force between group with LBP and without LBP. But in the lifting frequency and cumulative disc compression force there were significant differences. Therefore work-related LBP should be prevented by the ergonomic and environmental control.

• 한국환경과학회지
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• 제26권9호
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• pp.1013-1021
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• 2017

Exposure to Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM) potentially causes adverse health effects (e.g. respiratory symptoms, lung cancer). Due to a lack of data on Elemental Carbon (EC) exposure levels in underground copper ore mining (unlike other underground mining industries such as non-metallic and coal mining), this case study aims to provide individual miners' EC exposure levels, and information on their work practices including use of personal protective equipment. EC measurement was carried out during different work activities (i.e. drilling, driving a loader, plant fitting, plant operation, driving a Specialized Mining Vehicle (SMV)) as per NIOSH Method 5040. The copper miners were working 10 h/day and 5 days/week. This study found that the most significant exposures to EC were reported from driving a loader (range $0.02-0.42mg/m^3$). Even though there were control systems (i.e. water tanks and DPM filters) on the diesel vehicles, around 49.5% of the results were over the adjusted recommendable exposure limit ($0.078mg/m^3$). This was probably due to: (1) driver's frequently getting in and out of the diesel vehicles and opening the windows of the diesel vehicles, and (2) inappropriate maintenance of the diesel vehicles and the DPM control systems. The use of the P2 type respirator provided was less than 19.2%. However, there was no significant difference between the day shift results and the night shift results. In order to prevent or minimize exposure to EC in the copper ore mine, it is recommended that the miners are educated in the need to wear the appropriate respirator provided during their work shifts, and to maintain the diesel engine and emission control systems on a regular basis. Consideration should be given to a specific examination of the diesel vehicles' air-conditioning filters and the air ventilation system to control excessive airborne contaminants in the underground copper mine.

• 대한인간공학회지
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• 제32권1호
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• pp.125-137
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• 2013

Objective: The aim of this study was to comprehend major concepts and flows that penetrate international guides or standards for developing a quantitative possibility measure of human errors that can be committed or omitted in nuclear power plants. Background: For a few past decades, lots of researchers have studied the effect of stress and/or fatigue which can result in human errors. Thus, this study was carried out on the assumption that much of them were summarized as an international guidelines or manuals, if any, for human error prevention. Method: A literal survey was conducted with materials and documentation published by international organizations related with safety and standardization, such as ISO, OSHA, NIOSH, NASA, and so on with special reference to human error prevention through management of work stress and fatigue as major Performance Shaping Factors. Results: International guides or management manuals on stress or fatigue management for human error prevention hardly were found, and most researches seemed to concentrate on one of them individually. Conclusion: There was few vestige of research that studied both concurrently. However, it was verified that not a few researches have been tried to develop quantitative measures to estimate probability or job characteristics for human error prevention and/or performance downgrading. Application: The results of this study would help to develop a causal model of human errors due to work stress and fatigue that can result in unexpected accidents in nuclear power plant.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제32권5호
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• pp.485-491
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• 2006

It is widely known that Environmental Tobacco Smoke(ETS) is not good for health. ETS is composed of a lot of chemicals. So indicators are needed to evaluate the risk of ETS in air. One of the indicators is Nicotine. Active sampler has been used to measure nicotine concentration in air. The experiments were conducted to compare the active sampler method with diffusive sampler in exposure chamber and smoking areas, respectively. Sampling rate was 40.5 ml/min in exposure chamber. Experimental sampling rate (40.5 ml/min) was more than theoretical sampling rate (33.52 ml/min). And the higher was the concentration in air, the higher was experimental sampling rate. The average desorption, rate was 113.6%. The overall precision was 7.31 %. The overall accuracy was 18.96%, which were under NIOSH criteria. The average(GM) concentrations of nicotine by two sampling methods were $8.29{\mu}g/m^{3}$ (active sampler), $7.54{\mu}/m^{3}$ (diffusive sampler) in smoking area and smoking room. There was no regression between active sampler and diffusive sampler ($R^{2}=0.2397$). But slope, coefficient of determination was 1.017, 0.9292, respectively after removing outliers. And the slope (1.017) was close to the theoretical slope (1). In conclusion, this study indicated that diffusive sampler can be used to evaluate concentration of nicotine in air instead of active sampler.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• 제40권1호
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• pp.19-27
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• 2015

Purpose: A system to measure the visibility of agricultural tractor operators was designed and evaluated according to ISO standards, and a blind area diagram around the tested tractor was created based on the manual method recommended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Methods: A visibility measurement system was designed and evaluated based on the ISO 5006 and ISO 5721-1 standards. Two bulbs used to simulate the operator's eyes were mounted on a bar with a supporting frame. A wooden frame was used to determine the seat index point position. The 12-m visibility test circle was divided into six sectors of vision, and the test tractor was placed at the center of the circle. Artificial light was supplied in the darkened environment, and shadow or masking effects were measured manually around the 12-m circle. Results: When the bulbs were placed at the operator's eye level, front visibility was good; no masking was found in the "A" vision sector, but larger masking widths were found in the "B" and "C" vision sectors. Since the masking width exceeded 700 mm, additional tests, such as movement of the light sources to both sides of the operator's eye level, were performed. Less than six masking effects were found in the semi-circle of vision to the front, and more than one masking was found in the "B" and "C" visual fields. The minimum distance between the centers of two masking effects exceeded 2500 mm when measured as a chord on the semi-circle of vision. A blind area diagram was created to define the exact nature of the blind spots and mirror visibility. Conclusions: Visibility evaluation is an effective way to enable proper and safe operation for agricultural tractor operators. Inclusion of this visibility evaluation test in the general testing process might aid tractor manufacturers.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제26권3호
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• pp.286-292
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• 2016

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of chronical exposure to high-level dusts on cellular immune function. Methods: The subjects were 110 male workers, among whom 60 were chronically exposed to high-level dusts in mica, limestone and iron mines. The remaining 50 were office workers. Ambient total, respirable dust and crystalline silica in the workplace were sampled using personal air samplers and analyzed according to NIOSH method 0500. Serum levels of hydrogen peroxide, lipid peroxide and superoxide misutase activity were measured using absorption chromatography. The subpopulations of CD4+, CD8+, natural killer cells (CD16+) and CD3+ T-lymphocytes were examined by two-color staining using monoclonal antibodies. Results: The concentration of hydrogen peroxide was significantly higher in exposed workers and superoxide dismutase activity was significantly higher in control workers. No significant difference in numbers of T-lymphocyte subpopulations were observed between exposed and control workers. A significant correlation in exposed workers was observed among total dusts, respirable dusts and crystalline silica. Hydrogen peroxide was significantly correlated with total dust (r=0.720, p<0.01), respirable dust (r=0.770, p<0.01) and crystalline silica (r=0.678, p<0.01). Concentration of hydrogen peroxide showed a significantly negative correlation with numbers of CD8+ cells (r=-0.274, p<0.01), CD3+ cells (r=-0.222, p<0.01) and natural killer cells (r=-0.556, p<0.01). Conclusions: These results suggest that chronical exposure to high-level dust affects cellular immune function and effects might mediate through reactive oxygen species and inflammatory response.