• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.158-165
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• 2014

The statistics of occupational injuries and illnesses is one of the most important indicators of worker's safety and health in the field of occupational safety and health. The conventional statistics was produced without consideration of gender difference. This study was planned to investigate the difference of occupational injuries and illnesses by gender because that recently female workers was increased through the change of industrial structure such as from manufacturing dominated to service dominated structure. Statistics of occupational injuries and illnesses collected by workmen's compensation insurance system that have no information about gender composition of population. Economically active population survey was used to calculated the rate of occupational injuries and illnesses by gender. The distribution of estimated rate of occupational injuries and illnesses by industry, occupation and the type of accident were different between male and female employees, but those by the size of enterprise, age of the injured, the duration of the first recuperation, and job tenure were similar between male and female employees. This study has shown that gender sensitive approach may be applied to policy of occupational safety and health because that gender neutral perspective may not discover the fact of gender specific problems.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.97-109
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• 2013

Purpose : The purpose of this study work for the therapy and how students perceive the occupational therapist was to find out how. Method : The subjects in Busan and Kyungnam located in three two-year colleges and four-year clinical experience of two college students completed work therapeutics were expressed any research to understand the purpose of those who agreed to participate in the survey responded to the 175 people working Therapeutics two, three, four grades were included in the study. Result : 1. Education according to the image of the occupational therapist in grades four-year professional, the value and worth, the patient understand the position was higher in order. 3-year sophomore highly skilled in, the patient understand the position, sincerity was higher in order. 2. Gender occupational therapist who specializes in images for men, the value and worth, high practician was higher in women who were professional, the value and worth, helfer as high. 3. Theory of motivation based on the value of occupational therapists and rewarding images aptitude and interest, high practician, attractive, intellectual was in order. Entrance examination scores as a professional party, value & worth, abuse of authority ceremony was in order. 4. Image by Place of Practice Rehabilitation Hospital occupational therapist who specializes in, high practician, intellectual was in order. Care in the hospital and rewarding value, the professional character, high practician was in order. Hospital and rewarding the value, who specializes in, hepfer was in order. University Hospital who specializes in, the value and worth, Attractive was in order. Conclusion : It had revealed that occupational image perception of occupational therapy student was positive.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.370-380
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• 2009

Reliable hazard and risk communication is needed to prevent the safety accident & occupational disease through right use of chemicals and MSDS(Material Safety Data Sheet) is mainly used as such a tool of communication. MSDS policy has been put into effect in order to prevent the safety accident & occupational disease through right use of chemicals and fulfill workers' right to know. If information on MSDS lacks reliability due to its inaccuracy, prevention of the various effects related with environmental safety & health in advance is not possible to achieve. The most essential thing regarding authoring MSDS is to exactly evaluate the composition and ingredients of the chemical and include reliability-guaranteed information. Therefore, in this study reliability was evaluated on MSDSs in 15 aromatic hydrocarbons(benzene, toluene, xylene, etc.) manufacturers and ways to secure reliability of MSDS were suggested. The results showed 93.5% of composition agreement rate and 89% of reliability on each section in MSDSs. In order to curb MSDSs with low reliability, examination on CBI(confidential business information) in MSDS, certification of MSDS, collection and verification of MSDS are suggested.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.133-139
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• 2018

Background: Selecting priority occupational carcinogens is important for cancer prevention efforts; however, standardized selection methods are not available. The objective of this paper was to describe the methods used by CAREX Canada in 2015 to establish priorities for preventing occupational cancer, with a focus on exposure estimation and descriptive profiles. Methods: Four criteria were used in an expert assessment process to guide carcinogen prioritization: (1) the likelihood of presence and/or use in Canadian workplaces; (2) toxicity of the substance (strength of evidence for carcinogenicity and other health effects); (3) feasibility of producing a carcinogen profile and/or an occupational estimate; and (4) special interest from the public/scientific community. Carcinogens were ranked as high, medium or low priority based on specific conditions regarding these criteria, and stakeholder input was incorporated. Priorities were set separately for the creation of new carcinogen profiles and for new occupational exposure estimates. Results: Overall, 246 agents were reviewed for inclusion in the occupational priorities list. For carcinogen profile generation, 103 were prioritized (11 high, 33 medium, and 59 low priority), and 36 carcinogens were deemed priorities for occupational exposure estimation (13 high, 17 medium, and 6 low priority). Conclusion: Prioritizing and ranking occupational carcinogens is required for a variety of purposes, including research, resource allocation at different jurisdictional levels, calculations of occupational cancer burden, and planning of CAREX-type projects in different countries. This paper outlines how this process was achieved in Canada; this may provide a model for other countries and jurisdictions as a part of occupational cancer prevention efforts.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.122-134
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• 2011

Objectives: Seven cases of malignant lymphohematopoietic (LHP) disorder were claimed to have developed from occupational exposure at two plants of a semiconductor company from 2007 to 2010. This study evaluated the possibility of exposure to carcinogenic agents for the cases. Methods: Clinical courses were reviewed with assessing possible exposure to carcinogenic agents related to LHP cancers. Chemicals used at six major semiconductor companies in Korea were reviewed. Airborne monitoring for chemicals, including benzene, was conducted and the ionizing radiation dose was measured from 2008 to 2010. Results: The latency of seven cases (five leukemiae, a Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and an aplastic anemia) ranged from 16 months to 15 years and 5 months. Most chemical measurements were at levels of less than 10% of the Korean Occupational Exposure Limit value. No carcinogens related to LHP cancers were used or detected. Complete-shielded radiation-generating devices were used, but the ionizing radiation doses were 0.20-0.22 uSv/hr (background level: 0.21 ${\mu}Sv/hr$). Airborne benzene was detected at 0.31 ppb when the detection limit was lowered as low as possible. Ethylene oxide and formaldehyde were not found in the cases' processes, while these two were determined to be among the 263 chemicals in the list that was used at the six semiconductor companies at levels lower than 0.1%. Exposures occurring before 2002 could not be assessed because of the lack of information. Conclusion: Considering the possibility of exposure to carcinogenic agents, we could not find any convincing evidence for occupational exposure in all investigated cases. However, further study is needed because the semiconductor industry is a newly developing one.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.321-327
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• 2011

Objectives: To find out from an analysis of empirical data the levels of influence, which a labor union (LU) and Occupational Safety and Health Committee (OSHC) have in reducing the occupational injury and illness rate (OIIR) through their accident prevention activities in manufacturing industries with five or more employees. Methods: The empirical data used in this study are the Occupational Safety and Health Tendency survey data, Occupational Accident Compensation data and labor productivity and sales data for the years 2003 to 2007. By matching these three sources of data, a final data set (n = 280) was developed and analyzed using SPSS version 18 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Results: It was found that a workplace with a LU has a lower OIIR than one without a LU. In manufacturing industries with five or more employees in 2007, the OIIR of the workplaces without a LU was 0.87%, while that of workplaces with a LU was much lower at 0.45%. In addition, workplaces with an established OSHC had a lower OIIR than those without an OSHC. Conclusion: It was found that the OIIR of workplaces with a LU is lower than those without a LU. Moreover, those with the OSHC usually had a lower OIIR than those without. The workplace OIIR may have an impact on management performance because the rate is negatively correlated with labor productivity and sales. In the long run, the OIIR of workplaces will be reduced when workers and employers join forces and recognize that the safety and health activities of the workplace are necessary, not only for securing the health rights of the workers, but also for raising labor productivity.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.464-470
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• 2023

Objectives: This study evaluated occupational exposures to noise and heat stress during routine non-outage works in three coal-fired power plants in the Republic of Korea. Methods: The data were collected during the summer of 2020. Full shift noise exposure of 52 workers were measured using noise dosimeters. Heat stress of 16 worksites were measured for 70 minutes using wet-bulb globe temperature monitors. Results: The noise dosimetry results revealed time-weighted averages that ranged from 47.5 to 88.9 dBA. 2 out of 52 noise measurements exceeded 85 dBA. Based on the arithmetic mean, the coal service group showed the highest level at 80.2 dBA by job tasks. Noise exposures exceeding 85 dBA were measured in the coal service and plant operator group. Heat stress index measurements ranged from 20.3℃ to 37.2℃. 1 out of 9 indices measured in coal facilities and 4 out of 7 indices measured in boiler house exceeded 1 hour TWA during moderate work. Heat stress indices measured from boiler houses were significantly higher than those measured from coal equipment. Conclusions: The results show that overexposure to noise and heat stress may be encountered during routine non-outage work activities in coal-fired power plants. Appropriate actions should be taken to reduce future health outcome from occupational exposure to noise and heat stress in the industry.

• 대한예방의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1996.10a
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• pp.413-414
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• 1996

• The Journal of Korean society of community based occupational therapy
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.23-30
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• 2014

Objective : The purpose of this study is to investigate the awareness and interest rate of occupational therapy in Korea, and to establish basic data for further development of occupational therapy through the results. Methods : This survey was conducted between October 1th and December 31st 2013 and 308 questionnaires were collected from university student and public. The questionnaires of 308 respondents were analyzed through Cosstabs, Descriptive statistics, Frequency study and t-test, ANOVA analysis using SPSS ver. 18.0. Results : There was a significant difference in the awareness rate of occupational therapy by age and occupation (p<.01). People who were knowledgeable about occupational therapy had a friend or relative related to occupational therapy(33.5%), or were informed through media(37.1%). Positive responses regarding whether responders wanted to find more about occupational therapy were high(53%), and publicity(63.5%) turned out to be the most effective method for advancement. Conclusion : Although there is a lack of public awareness on occupational therapy, high percentage of responders showed positive responses in receiving occupational therapy when they get an injury in the future, and furthermore, learn more about occupational therapy. Based on this result, it is clear that high percentage of people were showing interest to occupational therapy. It could be conjectured that active publicity through internet or media may be effective.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.302-324
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• 2022

Objectives: The objective of this study is to investigate exposure to occupational carcinogens in the nationwide electronics industries and to establish a strategy for control of occupational carcinogens in South Korea. Methods: We evaluated occupational carcinogens as defined by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) using a nationwide work environment measurement database on the electronics industry in South Korea measured between 2013 and 2017 in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Results: The number of occupational carcinogens found in the electronics industry in South Korea were: 20 for IARC Group 1, 14 for Group 2A, and 30 for Group 2B. The occupational carcinogens (Group 1) most frequently exposed were strong-inorganic-acid mists containing sulfuric acid (sulfuric acid), welding fumes, mineral oils (untreated or mildly treated), nickel compounds, silica dust, crystalline substances in the form of quartz or cristobalite, formaldehyde, arsenic and inorganic arsenic compounds, chromium (VI) compounds, trichloroethylene, cadmium and cadmium compounds, vinyl chloride, ethylene oxide, wood dust, beryllium and beryllium compounds, 1,3 butadiene, benzene, and others. Among them, the carcinogens (Group 1) exceeding the acceptable standard were trichloroethylene, formaldehyde, and ethylene oxide. The working environment measurement system as regulated by Occupational Safety and Health Act is not properly assessed and managed for occupational carcinogens in South Korea. A component analysis for all materials used should be set up to practically reduce occupational carcinogens. A ban on the use of occupational carcinogens and the development of alternative materials are needed. The occupational carcinogens below the acceptable standards should be carefully examined and a new standard for exposure needs to be established. Conclusions: The Occupational Safety and Health Act should be improved to identify and monitor occupational carcinogens at work sites. A strategy for occupational safety and health systems should be provided to give direction to workers' needs and right to know.