• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.39-49
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• 2020

Objectives: We investigated the status of accidents and deaths caused by chemical leakage and skin contact in Korea. The purpose of this study was to produce and provide technical reference data for the efficient management of accidents and the rational management of accidental chemicals. Methods: Accidents and deaths caused by chemical leakage and skin contact in industry were investigated. Based on 68 accident reports related to chemical leakage and skin contact, the causes of accidental deaths were analyzed. In addition, we investigated the chemical substances and articles that caused these accidents and deaths. Based on the results of the investigation, the causes of accidents caused by chemical leakage and skin contact were identified and practical management measures for the chemicals were suggested. Results and Conclusions: In 2018, 372 people suffered from chemical leaks and skin contact, up by 123 (about 49.4%) from the previous year. The number of accident deaths was 14, an increase of five (about 55.6%) from the previous year. In the last three years (2016-2018), 91 chemical substances and article groups were involved in accidents caused by chemical leakage and skin contact. There were 16 chemical substance and article groups involved in accidental deaths. There were ten cases of accidents involving two or more casualties due to chemical leakage and skin contact, and 23 deaths occurred. Most of these accidental deaths were caused by subcontractor workers outsourcing risks. Therefore, there is an apparent need to strengthen the responsibility for safety and health among subcontractors.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.336-347
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• 2011

Objectives: In Korea, an average of 258 workers claim compensation for their noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) on an annual basis. Indeed, hearing disorder ranks first in the number of diagnoses made by occupational medical check-ups. Against this backdrop, this study analyzed the impact of 19 types of noise-generating machines and equipment on the sound pressure levels in workplaces and NIHL occurrence based on a 2009 national survey on work environments. Methods: Through this analysis, a series of statistical models were built to determine posterior probabilities for each worksite with an aim to present risk ratings for noise levels at work. Results: It was found that air compressors and grinding machines came in first and second, respectively in the number of installed noise-generating machines and equipment. However, there was no direct relationship between workplace noise and NIHL among workers since noise-control equipment and protective gear had been in place. By building a logistic regression model and neural network, statistical models were set to identify the influence of the noise-generating machines and equipment on workplace noise levels and NIHL occurrence. Conclusion: This study offered NIHL prevention measures which are fit for the worksites in each risk grade.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.425-435
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• 2014

Objectives: This study was performed in order to establish reliable and relative selection criteria for hazardous substances requiring management(HSRM) in the Occupational Safety and Health Act in Korea. Methods: To determine the relative criteria and weight of evidence for HSRM, we analyzed the difference between the selection method of priority substances in studies by KOSHA(Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency) and the European Union Risk Ranking Method(EURAM). In addition, 597 hazardous substances with exposure limit valueswereanalyzed and the posted health hazards classification by MOEL(Ministry of Employee and Labor), MOE(Ministry of Environment), and EU CLP(Classification, Labelling and Packaging regulation) were compared based on GHS(Globally Harmonized System of classification and labelling of chemicals) criteria. The existing HSRM(167 substances) were evaluated for suitability by the proposed criteria in this study. Results: As a result of this study, the criteria and procedures for selecting HSRM in the Occupational Safety and Health Act were arranged utilizing GHS health hazard classification results, occupational disease cases and domestic use situations. Conclusions: The applicability of the proposed criteria was proved via the evaluation of existing HSRM(167 substances). Most HSRM (161 substances) were found to correspond to a significant health effect or substantial health effect. The question of whether to include the six substances that have been found to have general health effects as HSRM would be require further research.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.17-30
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• 2023

The human reproductive system can be affected by occupational exposure to many physical and chemical risk factors. This study was carried out to review the studies conducted on the issue of the pathophysiological effects of occupational physical and chemical risk factors on the reproductive system of females and males. In this systematic review, the databases such as "Google Scholar," "Pub-Med," "Scopus," and "Web of Science" were used. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020), the studies included in our study were published between 2000 and 2021. In order to extract the required data, all sections of the articles were reviewed. Out of 57 articles we reviewed, 34 articles were related to field studies and 23 articles to clinical studies. Among them, 43 studies dealt with the pathophysiological effects of chemical agents, six studies dealt with the pathophysiological effects of physical factors, and 8 studies dealt with the pathophysiological effects of physicochemical factors on the human reproductive system. Physical (noise, heat, and radiofrequency radiation) and chemical (such as carbamate and organophosphate pesticides, benzene, toluene, xylene, formaldehyde, NO2, CS2, manganese, lead, nickel, and n-hexane) risk factors had pathophysiological effects on the human reproductive system. The presence of these risk factors in the workplace caused damage to the human reproductive system. The rate of these negative pathophysiological effects can be reduced by performing appropriate managerial, technical, and engineering measures in work environments.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.140-148
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• 2010

Objectives: Determining the work-relatedness of lung cancer developed through occupational exposures is very difficult. Aims of the present study are to develop a decision tree of occupational lung cancer. Methods: 153 cases of lung cancer surveyed by the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute (OSHRI) from 1992-2007 were included. The target variable was whether the case was approved as work-related lung cancer, and independent variables were age, sex, pack-years of smoking, histological type, type of industry, latency, working period and exposure material in the workplace. The Classification and Regression Test (CART) model was used in searching for predictors of occupational lung cancer. Results: In the CART model, the best predictor was exposure to known lung carcinogens. The second best predictor was 8.6 years or higher latency and the third best predictor was smoking history of less than 11.25 pack-years. The CART model must be used sparingly in deciding the work-relatedness of lung cancer because it is not absolute. Conclusion: We found that exposure to lung carcinogens, latency and smoking history were predictive factors of approval for occupational lung cancer. Further studies for work-relatedness of occupational disease are needed.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.83-94
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• 2003

The purpose of this study is to analysis the awareness and opinion of occupational health managers on the deregulation of occupational safety and health. The data were collected by using constructed questionnaires from December 1 to December 20, 2000. The subjects for this study were 107 respondents. The results were as follows ; 1. The highest awareness score was voluntary employment for occupational health doctor. High awareness score was exemption from obligatory education for occupational health manager, and expansion cover range of group occupational health agencies. 2. Most of the occupational health managers had a negative opinion on the deregulation of occupational safety and health. In particular, one of the most negative opinions was no restrictions on occupational health managers holding other jobs. 3. The correlation between awareness and opinion on the deregulation of occupational safety and health was negative, showing that the negative opinion on the deregulation of occupational safety and health tended to increases as awareness increases.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.156-163
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• 2012

Objectives: The aim of the present study was undertaken to investigate the association between communication for chemical hazard information and characteristics of occupational safety and health managers. Subjects and Methods: We surveyed 78 occupational safety and health managers(64 male and 14 female) in 78 chemical manufacturing plants. Data were obtained using a self-reported questionnaire about size and type of company, products, communication system for chemicals and work-related characteristics of occupational safety and health managers. All analyses in this study were performed using SPSS program 12.0. Results: 64.1% of the study participants were occupational health managers aged 39.3 years on average and were graduated from college and university around 90%. 30.0% and of them were majoring in chemistry (engineering chemistry), 18.0% occupational health, 16% nursing and 30.0% others. Occupational safety managers were aged 39.4 years on average, 42.9% of them were majoring in chemistry (engineering chemistry), 21.4% environmental engineering, 10.7% occupational safety and 25% others. 86% of occupational health managers and 71.4% of occupational safety managers were classified as office job. Over 94% of the hazards information for chemicals were delivered by occupational safety and health managers, but about 28.2% workers preferred outside experts who have a profound knowledge about occupational safety and health and understandable. Occupational safety and health managers and workers had difficulties in understanding toxicological information, hazards identification, stability/reactivity, composition/information on ingredients, physical/chemical properties and ecological information. On multiple logistic regression analysis for the 16 heading of material safety data sheet, content of material safety data sheet was significantly associated with education level (odds ratio=0.286, 95% confidence interval=0.105-0.780). The hazard identification (odds ratio=3.947, 95% confidence interval=1.092-14.271) and toxicological information (odds ratio=0.841, 95% confidence interval=0.705-0.998) were significantly associated with type of occupation. Conclusions: This finding implies that the education level, type of occupation and speciality of occupational safety and health managers may affects hazards information delivery.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.365-374
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• 2011

Objectives: This study was designed to investigate whether long-term, low-level exposure to monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (MAHs) induced insulin resistance. Methods: The subjects were 110 male workers who were occupationally exposed to styrene, toluene, and xylene. One hundred and ten age-matched male workers who had never been occupationally exposed to organic solvents were selected as a control group. Cytokines, which have played a key role in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance, and oxidative stress indices were measured. Assessment of exposure to MAHs was performed by measuring their ambient levels and their urinary metabolites in exposed workers, and the resulting parameters between the exposed group and non-exposed control groups were compared. Results: There was no significant difference in general characteristics and anthropometric parameters between the two groups; however, total cholesterol, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance levels were significantly higher in the exposed group. Phenylglyoxylic acid levels showed significant association with tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$, total oxidative status, and oxidative stress index via multiple linear regression analysis. Further, there was a negative correlation between methylhippuric acid levels and total anti-oxidative capacity, and there was a significant relationship between MAHs exposure and fasting glucose levels, as found by multiple logistic regression analysis (odds ratio = 3.95, 95% confidence interval = 1.074-14.530). Conclusion: This study indicated that MAHs increase fasting glucose level and insulin resistance. Furthermore, these results suggested that absorbing the organic solvent itself and active metabolic intermediates can increase oxidative stress and cytokine levels, resulting in the changes in glucose metabolism and the induction of insulin resistance.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.26-33
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• 2011

Objectives: The purpose of this retrospective cohort study was to investigate the relationship between exposure of Korean workers to petrochemicals in the refinery/petrochemical industry and lymphohematopoietic cancers. Methods: The cohort consisted of 8,866 male workers who had worked from the 1960s to 2007 at one refinery and six petrochemical companies located in a refinery/petrochemical complex in Korea that produce benzene or use benzene as a raw material. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated for 1992-2007 and 1997-2005 based on the death rate and cancer incidence rate of the Korean male population according to job title (production, maintenance, laboratory, and office workers). Results: The overall mortality and most cause-specific mortalities were lower among these workers than those of the general Korean population. Increased SMRs were observed for leukemia (4/1.45; SMR 2.77, 95% CI: 0.75-7.09) and lymphohematopoietic cancers (5/2.51; SMR 2, 95% CI: 0.65-4.66) in production workers, and increased SIRs were also observed in leukemia (3/1.34; SIR 2.24, 95% CI: 0.46-6.54) and lymphohematopoietic cancers (5/3.39; SIR 1.47, 95% CI: 0.48-3.44) in production workers, but the results were not statistically significant. Conclusion: The results showed a potential relationship between leukemia and lymphohematopoietic cancers and exposure to benzene in refinery/petrochemical complex workers. This study yielded limited results due to a short observational period; therefore, a follow-up study must be performed to elucidate the relationship between petrochemical exposure and cancer rates.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.322-334
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• 2007

This study covers the investigation of the actual condition in the workplace to produce plastics products using synthetic resins and the investigation on the trends amount of the domestic production of thermoplastic resins. To analyze the monomers included in thermoplastic resins frequently used in the workplace, we analyzed thermal characteristics for test compounds using thermogravimetric analysis and did the qualitative analysis using Pyrolyzer GC-MSD & TDS GC-MSD. And then we classified the health hazard of monomers based on GHS classification criteria using information toxicity & carcinogenicity. The number of the workplace to produce plastics products among all domestic manufacturers of 73,884 was 4,391 (5.94%). The number of workers to produce plastics products among all workers of 2,522,750 in all domestic manufacturers was 104,971 (4.16%). The amount of production per year for thermoplastic resins is in the order of PP, HDPE, LDPE, PVC, ABS, PS and such compounds was producing over 1 Million ton per year each. The classification result based on GHS classification criteria for 22 main compounds included thermoplastic resins says 2 compounds of acrylonitrile, naphthalene are in Acute oral category 3 and benzene is in Acute dermal category 1. The classification results of health hazard of carcinogenicity based on IARC & ACGIH carcinogen classification says 2 compounds of benzene, vinyl chloride are in category 1A (known to be human carcinogens).