• 산업경영시스템학회지
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• 제31권1호
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• pp.32-40
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• 2008

According to the statistic of industrial disaster in 2006 presented by the Ministry of Labor, there were 10,235 people with occupational diseases adding 2,740 more people (36.6%) compared to the previous year. Concerning the occupational diseases, 1,607 people had brain-cardiovascular diseases comprising more than 15% of all occupational diseases, and excessive workload and occupational stress seemed to play important parts. According to Korean Society of Occupational Stress, among 7,000 workers at 254 businesses in Korea, 73% of them were reported to be exposed to potential occupational stress and 22% of them were reported to be under severe stress. The increase of occupational stress among workers comes from excessive competition caused by business restructuring, promotion competition, annual salary system and so forth. Occupational stress threatens the heath and even the life of workers and lowers business competitiveness. Using the Korean occupational stress reduction model to the workers at small and medium businesses in Incheon area, therefore, the project intends to measure the level of stress among office workers and examine its relatedness to the VTD subjective symptoms. In addition, the project intends to present some methods to reduce occupational stress and increase business efficiency at work by studying and analyzing the various elements that workers use to reduce their occupational stress.

• 한국직업건강간호학회지
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.90-100
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• 2021

Purpose: The study aimed to identify plans to revitalize occupational health nursing at industrial worksites. Methods: First, a literature review was conducted to derive the questions. Next, we used the Delphi method with two rounds to obtain experts' opinions. The 15 expert participants were seven occupational health nurses and eight professors from nursing colleges. Results: The analysis of opinions indicated that occupational health nurses should be competent in clinical nursing care to perform health management and health promotion activities of workers. It is necessary to develop high-quality occupational nursing services that can prevent and manage occupational diseases and work-related illnesses. Moreover, an improved system for stable employment of these nurses should be implemented. Conclusion: This study confirmed that occupational health nursing is an independent and important area for improving workers' disease prevention and health promotion. It will provide basic data for initiating occupational health nursing and expanding the role of the occupational health nurses.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제10권1호
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• pp.125-129
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• 2019

The ultimate goal of the quality control program for special periodic health examination agencies is to diagnose the health condition of a worker correctly, based on accurate examination and analysis skills, leading to protect the worker's health. The quality control program on three areas, chemical analysis for biological monitoring since 1995, and pneumoconiosis, audiometric testing since 1996, has contributed to improve the reliability of occupational health screenings by improving the issues including standardization of testing methods, tools, diagnostic opinions, and reliability of analysis for biological monitoring. It has contributed to improving the reliability of occupational health monitoring by rectifying the following issues associated with previous monitoring: absence of standardized testing methods, testing tools that are not upgraded, mismatching diagnostic opinions, and unreliable results of biological specimen analysis. Nevertheless, there are issues in need of further improvement such as lack of expertise or the use of inappropriate method for health examination, and passive and unwilling participation in the quality control. We suggested solutions to these problems for each area of quality control program. Above all, it is essential to provide active support for health examiners to develop their expertise, while encouraging all the health screening agencies, employers, and workers to develop the desire to improve the system and to maintain the relevance.

• 기술사
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• 제38권4호
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• pp.16-18
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• 2005

Initiated by the Ministry of Labor, a lot of efforts have been dedicated to the area of occupational injury prevention and some achievements were obtained as well. However, we may find the reason of not having a considerable decrease of occupational injuries in our society in the overall low safety level, lacking safety awareness and lacking proper measures in conformity with the safety standard. Taking a lesson from the above facts, we hereby present measures to be taken for the success of the second Five-Year Occupational Injury Prevention Plan(2005-2009).

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제29권4호
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• pp.452-463
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate airborne concentrations of volatile organic compounds(VOCs) during nail art practice by college students. Methods: Personal samples for students were measured using passive samplers(OVM 3500) during three kinds of practice, including polish nail, gel nail and acrylic French sculpture at two universities located in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province. We also monitored area concentrations using active samplers and real-time total VOC monitors(ppbRAE 3000). All samples were analyzed with a gas chromatography flame ionized detector. Statistical analysis for monitored data were conducted using a web-based Bayesian toolkit, EXPOSTATS(www.expostats.ca). Results: Twenty-four personal samples and ten area samples were collected and five chemicals(acetone, butyl acetate, ethyl acetate, ethyl methacrylate(EMA) and methyl methacrylate(MMA)) were detected. Acetone was detected in all personal samples and ranged from 2.58 ppm to 50.3 ppm. EMA was detected in all personal and area samples with a maximum concentration of 9.78 ppm during acrylic French sculpture. Personal exposure levels to acetone, butyl acetate and mixtures were significantly higher with high occupant density (p<0.05). Geometric mean (GM) concentrations of 3.61 ppm for EMA personal samples were significantly higher than that of area samples, 1.5 ppm (p<0.05). Since there was no local ventilation, total VOC concentration continued to increase as the practice progressed. Conclusions: In order to minimize VOCs exposure for trainees, it is necessary to introduce a local ventilation system and maintain adequate occupant density.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제39권4호
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• pp.346-353
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• 2013

Objectives: The goal of this study is to identify the distribution of the foliar fluorine content of vegetation surrounding the area where hydrofluoric acid was accidently released in Gumi, Gyeongsangbuk-do on September 27, 2012. In addition, it also aims to estimate the concentration of hydrogen fluoride in the air on the day of the accident. Methods: Samples of plant leaves were collected on October 7, 2012 within 1 km from the site where the accident occurred. These samples were analyzed for soluble fluorine ion with an ion selective electrode. The ambient concentration of hydrogen fluoride was calculated using the fluoride content in the plant via the dose-rate equation (${\Delta}F$=KCT). Results: The arithmetic and geometric means of the concentrations were 2158.2 and 1183.7mg F $kg^{-1}$ for leaves and, 2.4 and 1.1 ppm HF for the air, respectively. The highest concentration of hydrogen fluoride in the air was 14.7 ppm, which is higher than the maximum concentration reported by the government (1 ppm) and the exposure limit (ceiling, 3 ppm). The concentrations of both fluorine and hydrogen fluoride decreased with increasing distance from the accident site and showed a significant decrease outside of a 500m radius from the site (p <0.05). Conclusions: The area around the accident site was highly polluted with hydrogen fluoride according to the results of this study. Considering the persistency of hydrogen fluoride in the environment, long-term monitoring and environmental impact assessment should be pursued.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제13권3호
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• pp.279-285
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• 2022

Background; In the event of an industrial accident, the appropriate choice of hospital is important for worker health and prognosis. This study investigates whether the choice of hospital by the employer in the case of industrial accidents affects the prognosis of injured employees. Methods; Data from the 2018 Panel Study of Workers' Compensation Insurance in Korea were used in an unmatched case-controlled study. The exposure variable is "hospital selection by an employer," and the outcome variable is 'worker's disability." Odds ratios (ORs) were estimated by modified Poisson regression and adjusted for age, gender, underlying disease, injury severity, and workplace size and stratified by industrial classification. The group at increased risk was analyzed and stratified by age, gender, and area. Results; In the construction industry, hospital selection by the employer was significantly associated with increased risk of disability (adjusted OR 1.26; 95% confidence interval [CI]; 1.20-1.32) and severe disability (adjusted OR 1.38; 95% CI; 1.08-1.76) among the injured. Female and younger workers not living in the Seoul capital area were more at risk of disability and severe disability than those living in the Seoul capital area. Conclusions; Hospital selection by employers affects the prognosis of workers injured in an industrial accident. For protecting workers' health and safety, workplace emergency medical systems should be improved, and the selection of appropriate hospitals to supply treatment should be reviewed.

• 대한치위생과학회지
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• 제5권2호
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• pp.105-112
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• 2022

Background: A study was conducted to check the occupational personality competency status of students enrolled in the three-year dental hygiene department and to understand the contents of vocational personality education to be prepared according to these results. Methods: For 240 students enrolled in the Department of Dental Hygiene in Area, Daegu, the College Student Occupational Personality Scale (OPSU) was administered. Results: The higher the major satisfaction (F=10.589, p<0.000) and the higher the major performance (F=3.704, p<0.01), the higher the vocational personality competency. The average occupational personality competency for job adaptation was 3.96±0.47 points (out of 5 points). As for the average for each sub-area, consideration was the highest at 4.51±0.42, and confidence was the lowest at 3.54±0.84. Among professional personality competencies, the average of each sub-area showed the highest positive correlation in the order of positivity (r=0.835, p<0.00), reliability (r=0.769, p<0.00), and community consciousness (r=0.767, p<0.00), and consideration (r=0.696, p<0.00) showed the lowest correlation. Conclusions: Personalized career and employment education should be provided in consideration of the individual occupational personality level of dental hygiene students considering the characteristics of the health and medical fields, and individual counseling should be provided in areas that are insufficient or supplemented. In addition, dental hygiene ethics education is necessary for the development of vocational personality competencies in the dental hygiene curriculum, and universities should spare no support for completing vocational personality education programs in preparation for the future society by using comparative programs.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제20권4호
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• pp.248-255
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• 2010

Airborne nanoparticle concentrations in three metrics (particle surface area concentration, particle number concentration, and particle mass concentrations) were measured by task in a laboratory making carbon nanotubes (CNTs) films using three direct reading instruments. Because of the conducted other researcher's experiment before the tasks, airborne nanoparticle surface area and number concentrations are the highest at the first time conducted weighing and mixing by sonication task, respectively. Because of the mist generated during mixing by sonication, the highest airborne nanoparticle surface area and PM1 concentrations were measured in the task among the total. Nanoparticle surface area concentrations at the researchers' breathing zones had high correlation (r=0.93, p<0.01) with those measured at an area in the laboratory. This result indicates that nanoparticles generated during the experiment contaminated the whole room air. When the experiment performed all the fume hoods weren't operated and making CNTs films task were conducted in the out of the fume hoods. In conclusion, researchers performing making CNTs film experiments were exposed to airborne nanoparticles generated during the experiment without adequate controls. We recommend that adequate controls should be implemented so that workers' exposures to airborne nanoparticle are limited to minimum levels.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제42권3호
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• pp.224-233
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• 2016

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between residential surroundings, such as a power plant, steel mill and petrochemical facilities, and urinary arsenic concentrations in Chungcheongnam-do Province, Korea. Methods: Stratified by fish consumption and residential district, median and maximum block sampling was applied. A total of 346 spot urine samples were speciated for $As^{5+}$, $As^{3+}$, monomethylarsonic acid(MMA), dimethylarsonic acid (DMA) and arsenobetaine (AsB). Exposure assessment was based on questionnaires including data on sex, age, current tobacco use, fish consumption, type of water consumed, and occupational category. Results: Urinary $As^{5+}+As^{3+}+MMA+DMA$ concentrations of people living in the vicinity of a power plant ($GM=50.39{\mu}g/g$) were 61% higher than those of people living in the inland area according to median block sampling. Urinary $As^{5+}+As^{3+}+MMA+DMA+AsB$ concentrations of people living in the vicinity of industrial complex area were higher than those of people living in the inland area according to block sampling by median and maximum. Conclusion: Urinary arsenic concentrations of people living in vulnerable areas such as around industrial complexes, especially power plants, were higher than those of people living in an inland area.