• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.235-240
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• 2012

The objectives are to compare the airborne asbestos concentrations resulted from mitering of abestos cement roof sheets by a high-speed motor and a hand saw, and to monitor whether other workers near the test sites are vulnerable to the fibers exceeding the occupational exposure limit. Four test cases were carried out and altogether 7 personal and 4 area air samples were collected. The NIOSH method 7400 was employed for the air samplings and analysis. Using the phase contrast microscopy, fiber counting was conducted under Rule A. The study showed that the fiber concentration medians for personal air samples gathered from the two tools were 4.11 fibers/cc (ranged: 1.33-12.41 fibers/cc) and 0.13 fibers/cc (ranged: 0.01-5.00 fibers/cc) respectively. The median for the area samples was 0.59 fibers/cc (ranged: 0.14-3.32 fibers/cc). Comparing each study case, the concentration level caused by the high-speed motor saw was more than twice that of the hand saw. According to the area samples, the workers nearby the test site are at risk from high exposure to asbestos.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.75-82
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• 2019

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the influence of injury and/or injured area classification on depression in patients with industrial injuries. Methods: The participants comprised438 patients who consented to participate and completed self-reported questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS/WIN version 22.0 for descriptive statistics, $x^2$ test, fisher's exact test, ANOVA, and post-hoc $Scheff{\acute{e}}$ test. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to identify factors influencing depression. Results: The results indicated that the effect of disease classification and injured areas on depression were significantly different in patients with industrial injuries. The results further showed that severe depression was significantly higher in cardiovascular patients and patients with an injured area of the head and waist. The most powerful predictor was age (50~59 years), return to work (reemployment), disease classification (cardiovascular), and injured area (head, including vascular disease). Conclusion: This study showed that the most influential variable of depression in patients with industrial injuries were cardiovascular issues, injury areas of the head and waist, being aged 50~59 years, and reemployment. To reduce depression in these patients, it is important to develop and implement a psychiatric rehabilitation program that helps patients to formulate a concrete plan and goal for recovery, enabling patients to actively engage in their rehabilitation.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.356-359
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• 2018

This case report attempts to present a case of acute toxic hepatitis in fire extinguisher manufacturing workers exposed to 2,2-dichloro-1,1,1-trifluoro-ethane (HCFC-123) in August 2017 in Korea. Twenty-two-year-old male workers were exposed to HCFC-123 for 1.5 hours one day and for 2.5 hours the other day, after which one worker died, and the other recovered after treatment. The workers were diagnosed with acute toxicity of hepatitis. However, exposure levels of HCFC-123 were not known with no work environment measurement done. Therefore, this study was conducted to estimate the exposure concentration of HCFC-123 via a job simulation experiment. In the simulation, the HCFC-123 exposure concentration was measured with the same working practice and working time as with the workers aforementioned. As a result, the workers who infused HCFC-123 into storage tanks were estimated to be exposed to HCFC-123 at a concentration of $20.65{\pm}10.81ppm$, and a mean concentration of area samples within a working radius were estimated as $70.30{\pm}18.10ppm$. Valve assembly workers working on valves of a fire extinguisher filled with HCFC-123 were exposed to HCFC-123 at concentrations of $91.65{\pm}4.03ppm$ and $115.55{\pm}7.28ppm$, respectively, in the simulation, and area samples simulated within the working radius were also found to be high with concentrations of $122.75{\pm}91.15ppm$ and $126.80{\pm}60.25ppm$, respectively. Nitrogen gas packing workers, who did not handle HCFC-123 directly, were exposed to the agent at a concentration of $71.80{\pm}8.49ppm$. These results suggest that exposure to HCFC-123 at high concentrations for 1.5-2.5 hours caused acute toxic hepatitis in two workers.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.50-66
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• 1998

This study was conducted to estimate crystalline silica contents in airborne respirable dust from various manufacturing industries and to compare analytical performance of two methods of quantifying crystalline silica, X-ray diffraction(XRD) and Fourie transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). For this study, various manufacturing industries with a history of having pneumoconiosis cases and also known to generate dusts containing crystalline silica were investigated. These industries include: foundry, brick, potteries, concrete, and abrasive material, etc. Both personal and area respirable dust samples were collected using 10 mm, Dorr-Oliver nylon cyclone equipped with 37mm, $5{\mu}m$ pore size, polyvinylchloride (PVC) filters as collection media. In addition, total dust samples were collected side-by-side to the respirable samples. All samples were weighed before and after sampling and were pretreated according to the NIOSH sampling and analytical methods 0500, 7500, and 7602 for dust collection and quartz analysis. In addition, bulk samples were collected and analyzed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) for minerals. In this article, only the results obtained from foundry are reported. The results from various other industries will be published in future articles. The respirable dust concentrations from personal samples by cyclone were $0.46-1.06mg/m^3$ and those from area samples were $0.34-0.73mg/m^3$. Dust concentrations of personal samples were significantly higher than those of area samples. The highest dust concentration was obtained from the personal samples of the finishing operation. Total dust concentration ranged $1.24-3.40mg/m^3$. The mean quartz contents estimated by FTIR and XRD in the personal respirable dust samples were 5.12% and 4.41%, respectively, without significant difference between them. For quartz analyses, the two techniques were highly correlated with $r^2$ ranged 0.803-0.920. But the results by FTIR were mostly higher than those by XRD. In addition, cristobalite was not detected by FTIR. Significant correlations between contents of crystalline silica and such minerals as $Al_2O_3$, CaO, $TiO_2$, and $K_2O$ suggest possible interferences from these minerals.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.166-174
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• 2001

Objectives : To obtain basic data on blood lead level and urinary level of arsenic and cadmium of children living near a petrochemical estate and a suburban area in Ulsan, Korea and to observe the trend of the changes. In the level of these metals in these children. Methods : The study subjects comprised 626 children living near a petrochemical estate and 299 children living in a suburban area of Ulsan. We analyzed the level of lead, arsenic and cadmium using atomic absorption spectrometer. Results : The mean levels of blood lead in children living near the petrochemical estate were $5.25{\mu}g/dl,\;5.24{\mu}g/dl,\;and\;7.24{\mu}g/dl$, and in the years 1997, 1999, and 2000, respectively, whereas those of children living in the suburban area were $3.81{\mu}g/dl,\;4.75{\mu}g/dl,\;and\;7.19{\mu}g/dl$ respectively. The mean levels of urinary arsenic in children living near the petrochemical estate were $4.57{\mu}g/g$ creatinine, $4.78{\mu}g/g$ creatinine, and $6.02{\mu}g/g$ creatinine in the year 1997, 1999, and 2000 respectively, whereas those of children living in suburban area were $2.35{\mu}g/g$ creatinine, $4.75{\mu}g/g$ creatinine, and $7.07{\mu}g/g$ creatinine, respectively. The mean levels of urinary cadmium in children living near the petrochemical estate were $1.15{\mu}g/g$ creatinine, $1.05{\mu}g/g$ creatinine, and $1.71{\mu}g/g$ creatinine in the year 1997, 1999, and 2000, respectively, whereas those of the children living in the suburban area were $0.74{\mu}g/g$ creatinine, $1.29{\mu}g/g$ creatinine, and $1.48{\mu}g/g$ creatinine, respectively. There were increasing trends in the level of blood lead, urinary arsenic and cadmium of children in Ulsan, and the differences in the level of these metals were disappearing between the children living in other areas year by year. Conclusions : These results suggest that the amount of exposure to lead, arsenic, and cadmium is increasing from year to year, and there is a need for periodic biological and atmospheric monitoring of these metals in Ulsan.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.293-299
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• 2014

Objectives: The main objective of this study is to investigate domestic usage amount of insecticide for vegetable cultivation to provide fundamental data for establishing job-exposure matrix(JEM) related to farmers treating agricultural insecticide. Materials and Methods: The survey on domestic usage amount of insecticide for vegetable cultivation was conducted by two research methods. The first method is to utilize agricultural pesticides published annually from Korea Crop Protection Association(KCPA). The second method is to apply cultivation area of vegetable announced officially from Statistics Korea(SK). An estimation of domestic usage amount of insecticide for vegetable cultivation through the second method was done by multiplying total cultivation area of vegetable($m^2$) with optimal spray amount of insecticide for vegetable cultivation per unit cultivation area of vegetable ($kg/m^2$). Results: As a result of analysis of public data related to insecticide for vegetable cultivation, it was found that its domestic usage amount has decreased gradually from the first sale year(1969) to current year(2012). There is, however, a considerable difference of annual usage trend of insecticide for vegetable cultivation between shipments and estimation. The annual usage trends of insecticide for vegetable cultivation based on regional classification were different from those based on total aspect. Conclusions: The region which used insecticide for vegetable cultivation the most in Korea was Jeolla-do, followed by Gyeonsang-do, Chungcheong-do, Seoul/Gyeonggi-do, Gangwon-do and Jeju-do. Substantially, mean ratio of usage amounts of insecticide based on shipments and those based on estimation by cultivation area was $281{\pm}115%$, which indicates that usage amounts of insecticide estimated by cultivation area are three times lower than those based on shipments.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.59-64
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• 2014

Objectives: The principal aim of this study is to investigate and analyze domestic usage amounts of insecticide in rice cultivation in order to provide fundamental data for establishing a job-exposure matrix(JEM) related to farmers working with agricultural insecticides. Materials and Methods: An investigation of domestic usage amounts of insecticides rice cultivation was performed through two methods. The first method utilized information on agricultural pesticides published annually by the Korea Crop Protection Association(KCPA). The second method made use of area of cultivation of rice as officially determined by Statistics Korea(SK). An estimation of domestic usage of insecticides in rice cultivation through the second method was determined by multiplying the total cultivation area of rice($m^2$) by the optimal spray volume of insecticides for rice cultivation per unit of cultivation area($kg/m^2$). Results: As a result of the analysis of public data regarding insecticides in rice cultivation, it was found that the domestic usage amount has decreased sharply from the first year of market sales(1969) to the final data year(2012). There is little difference in the annual usage trend of insecticides in rice cultivation between shipment and estimation. Also, the annual usage trends of insecticides in rice cultivation based on regional classification were nearly similar to those based on the overall aspect. Conclusions: The region which used the largest volume of insecticide in rice cultivation in Korea was the Jeolla Provinces, followed by the Gyeonsang Provinces, the Chungcheong Provinces, Seoul/Gyeonggi Province, Gangwon Province and Jeju Province. Substantially, the mean ratio of usage amounts of insecticide based on shipments and those based on estimation by cultivation area was $96{\pm}29%$, which indicates that the domestic usage amount of insecticide for rice cultivation corresponded to the optimal spray standard per unit area.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.73-86
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• 1999

This study was performed to find out factors affecting degree of satisfaction with workers' working environment. The study subjects were 165 workers who were working at painting process of twelve furniture manufacturing factories in Incheon area. We used self-administered questionnaire containing general characteristics, working conditions, the degree of satisfaction with working environment, and the degree of satisfaction with working condition. In addition, we measured the exposure levels of occupational hazardous agents. The results were as follows; 1. Correlations between the degree of satisfaction with workers' working environment and the measured of occupational hazardous agents did not affect the degree of satisfaction with workers' working environment. 2. Factors affecting the degree of satisfaction with workers' working environment were not the exposure levels of occupational hazardous agents, but the degree of satisfaction with working condition, size of industry, health status, and types of ventilation system. As the degree of satisfaction with working condition was increased, the degree of satisfaction with working environment was increased. Also, for the workers who had good health status, the degree of satisfaction with work environment was appeared to be high. To increase the degree of satisfaction, with workers' working environment, firstly, effective work management and production control are required. Also, the worker's effort to negotiate continuously with top manager on improving working conditions is required. Secondly, developing heath promotion program to be appropriate for the characteristics of worksite is required. Moreover, leading worker's participation in health promotion program is very important to increase the degree of satisfaction with workers' working environment.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.373-382
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• 2010

A number of recent studies have shown that occupational stress is closely associated with increased fatigue and decreased job satisfaction. This study was designed to assess stress in workers in the field of EIA (environment impact assessment) from July 2009 through september 2009, and questionnaires were uesd to analyze the stress scores and identify the primary factors influencing stress in this occupation. The number of respondents was 272 working in the Capital (Seoul and Kyunggido), Chungcheongdo, Jejudo area. A structured questionnaire was used to evaluate the participants' socio-demographics, job-related factors, health-related behaviors, occupational stress, reaction factor (self-perceived fatigue, job satisfaction) and buffer factor (social support). Occupational stress and self-perceived fatigue were assessed using the Korean Occupational Stress Scale-Short Form (KOSS-SF) and the Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (MFS), respectively. The analysis revealed a strong correlation between occupational stress, job satisfaction, and social support, with occupational stress being associated with an increased risk of fatigue and decreased job satisfaction. In the multiple regression analysis(stepwise), the main factors influencing occupational stress were found to be job satisfaction, supervisor, fatigue, working time, no. of personnel, career. The results of this study suggest that occupational stress is a determinant predictor of self perceived fatigue and job satisfaction. Thus, a strong recommendation is made for a stress management program for reduction of occupational stress, and for the development of relevant experts on the health and quality of life of environment impact assessment workers.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.201-208
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• 2021

Background: In the mining industry, various methods of accident analysis have utilized official accident investigations to try and establish broader causation mechanisms. An emerging area of interest is identifying the extent to which cultural influences, such as safety culture, are acting as drivers in the reoccurrence of accidents. Thus, the overall objective of this study was to analyze occupational health and safety (OHS) reports in mining to investigate if/how safety culture has historically been framed in the mining industry, as it relates to accident causation. Methods: Using a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software, 34 definitions of safety culture were analyzed to highlight key terms. Based on word count and contextual relevance, 26 key terms were captured. Ten OHS reports were then analyzed via an inductive thematic analysis, using the key terms. This analysis provided a concept map representing the 50-year data set and facilitated the use of text framing to highlight safety culture in the selected OHS mining reports. Results: Overall, 954 references and six themes, safety culture, attitude, competence, belief, patterns, and norms, were identified in the data set. Of the 26 key terms originally identified, 24 of them were captured within the text. The results made evident two distinct frames in which to interpret the data: the role of the individual and the role of the organization, in safety culture. Conclusion: Unless efforts are made to understand and alter cultural drivers and share these findings within and across industries, the same accidents are likely to continue to occur.