• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제14권4호
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• pp.451-456
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• 2023

Background: We conducted a case-control study to identify high-risk occupations and exposure to occupational hazards for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Methods: When patients with AML admitted to the Department of Hematology in the study hospital for the first time are referred to the Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, data on occupation are collected by investigators to evaluate work-relatedness. Community-based controls were recruited through an online survey agency, and four controls per case were matched. Occupational information was estimated using structured questionnaires covering 27 specific occupations and 32 exposure agents. Conditional logistic regression analysis was performed by pairing cases and controls. Results: In the analysis of the risk of AML according to occupational classification, a significant association was found in paint manufacturing or painting work (OR = 2.22, 95% CI: 1.03-4.81) and aircrew (OR = 6.00, 95% CI: 1.00-35.91) in males, and in pesticide industry (OR = 6.89, 95% CI: 1.69-28.07) and cokes and steel industry (OR = 2.00, 95% CI: 1.18-22.06) in ≥60 years old. Moreover, the risk of AML increased significantly as the cumulative exposure to thinners increased. In the analyses stratified by sex and age, the association between pesticide exposure and AML was significant in males (OR = 3.28, 95% CI: 1.10-9.77) and in ≥60 years old (OR = 6.22, 95% CI: 1.48-26.08). Conclusion: This case-control study identified high-risk occupational groups in the Republic of Korea including paint manufacturers and painters, aircrew, and those who are occupationally exposed to pesticides or paint thinners.

• 농촌의학ㆍ지역보건
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• 제40권4호
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• pp.228-239
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• 2015

본 연구는 2013~2014년도 한양대학교 농업안전보건센터 현장검진에 참여한 경기 일부 지역 농업인을 대상으로 급성 농약중독 증상 유병률과 이와 관련된 위험요인을 규명하고자 하였다. 연구 결과, 급성 농약중독은 농업종사기간, 농약 살포 년수, 연간 농약 살포일수, 평생 농약 살포일수가 길수록, 혼합 농약 사용 개수가 많을수록, 노지 재배를 하는 경우 위험도가 증가하는 것으로 나타났다. 향후, 급성 농약중독에 대한 취약 집단을 좀 더 체계적으로 관리 및 교육할 수 있는 방안의 마련이 필요할 것이다.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권13호
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• pp.5149-5153
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• 2014

Background: Chlorophenols (CPs) and related phenoxyacetic acids (PAs) are pesticide groups contaminated with highly toxic 2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) during production. PAs and CPs exposure is associated with risk of cancer, but the situation regarding lung cancer has not been clearly defined. We proposed a meta-analysis of published researches to evaluate relationship between chronic exposure to PAs and CPs in pesticide production workplaces and the risk of lung cancer. Materials and Methods: After searching PubMed, Scopus, Scholar Google, Web of Sciences until August 2013, the association between chronic PAs and CPs exposure in production workplace and lung cancer was studied in 15 cohort studies. The standardized mortality rate (SMR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were collected from the papers. We used random or fixed-effects models, Egger test, funnel plot and meta regression in our analysis. Results: Five papers with six reports were included in the final analysis. The standardized mortality rate for lung cancer from the random model was 1.18 (95% CI: 1.03-1.35, p=0.014) with moderate heterogeneity. Publication bias was not found for included studies in meta-analysis (p=0.9). Conclusions: Our findings has strengthen the evidence of lung cancer from chronic exposure to chlorophenol related compounds (PAs, CPs).

• 대한안전경영과학회지
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• 제12권3호
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• pp.27-35
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• 2010

In this study, we have developed the database of safety and health information for pesticide active ingredients used in Korea. There were 1,283 pesticide items among which 296 were found to be out of use in current. A total of 349 pesticide ingredients were being used in Korea. The database consists of 32 types of information including chemical characteristics, acute toxicity, chronic toxicity (carcinogenic and reproductive toxicity), specific symptoms by exposure route and first aid. When pesticide ingredients were assessed in terms of key properties such as color, odor, acute toxicity, carcinogenic and reproductive toxicity, they were white, colorless and odorless, in general. When ingredients were classified by category of acute toxicity, 'Non-hazardous' represented 29%, followed by 'Slightly hazardous' at 16%, 'Moderately hazardous' at 14%, 'Highly hazardous' at 5%, and 'Extremely hazardous' at 2%. 85 out of 349, or 24% of ingredients were found to be possibly carcinogenic to human. This database is expected to provide an easy access for farmers, agriculture supervisors, researchers and consumers, and it can ultimately be used as basic data on farmer's safety and health.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제29권4호
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• pp.541-549
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• 2019

Objectives: This study aims to examine patients who developed acute pesticide poisoning while spraying or using pesticide and presented to the emergency department in hospitals in Chungcheongnam-do Province. Based on the findings, this study will provide implications for safety and health management pertaining to the use of pesticides. Methods: Pesticide poisoning data collected by the Chungnam Center for Farmers' Safety and Health from 2014 to 2018 was cross-sectionally analyzed. A total of 331 patients with pesticide poisoning presented to one of hospitals and four of medical centers in the region(Dankuk University Hospital, Gongju and Hongsung, Cheongyang, Cheonan Medical Center). Seventeen of these patients (15 men and two women) developed poisoning while spraying pesticide. The patients' charts were reviewed to collect data on pesticide poisoning, namely currently working in farming-related occupation, means of transportation to the hospital, place of poisoning, symptoms of acute pesticide poisoning, treatment, pesticide used when poisoning occurred, and classification by technical ingredients. Results: Fifteen out of 17 patients who developed poisoning while spraying pesticide were men. Insecticide was used in 35.3% of the cases, and herbicide was used in 29.4% of the cases, which was different from cases of poisoning from ingestion poisoning. The major symptoms were vomiting (35.3%), nausea (29.4%), dizziness (29.4%), and headache (23.5%). A total 11 ingredients were identified in 12 patients, and the most common ingredient was glyphosate, which is an herbicide. Most patients showed a state of mild toxicity, but two patients showed a state of severe toxicity. These patients respectively used glyphosate and paraquat. Conclusions: Our findings can be useful for suggesting the need for a national healthcare system to manage occupational pesticide poisoning among farmers. Further, these findings can be used to increase the awareness of the risk of acute poisoning during pesticide spraying and suggest the need for a safety health education to increase farmers' awareness of pesticide poisoning.

• 농약과학회지
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• 제9권4호
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• pp.347-353
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• 2005

한국 농업환경에서 benzimidazole계 살균제의 안전사용 및 농약살포자를 보호하기 위하여 단기(30일 이내) 및 장기(6개월 이상) 노출에 대한 농작업자 위해성평가를 수행하였다. 농작업자의 노출량 산출은 일본의 EPN 45% 유제 노출시나리오를 이용하였으며, 일일 작업시간은 4시간으로 가정하였고, 작업자에 대한 급성 및 만성 허용노출량(AOEL)은 단기노출은 기형독성, 만성노출은 만성독성 NOAEL로부터 산출하였다. Benzimidazole계 농약들은 US/EPA가 $Q_1^*$를 설정하여 발암성평가를 하고 있는 농약들로서 본 연구에서도 작업자의 만성 노출에 대한 발암성평가를 평균일일노출량(LADD)를 일생 동안 농업에 종사하는 연수, 농약살포 횟수, 농업형태 등을 고려하여 평가하였다. 농작업자에 대한 농약 노출량은 benomyl, carbendazim 및 thiophanate-methyl에 대하여 각각 0.2, 0.36 및 0.42 mg/kg/day 이었고, sAOEL은 0.3, 0.1 및 0.2 mg/kg/day 이었으며, cAOEL의 경우 benomyl과 carbendazim은 0.025, thiophanate-methyl은 0.08 mg/kg/day이었다. 만성 및 발암위해성평가를 위한 LADD는 benomyl 0.0038, carbendazim 0.0067 및 thiophanate-methyl 0.0081mg/kg/day로 산출되었다. 위의 수치를 이용하여 AOEL/exposure를 산출한 결과 급성위해성은 $0.28{\sim}1.5$, 만성 위해성은 $3.73{\sim}9.88$로서 작업자에 대한 급성 위해성은 보호장비를 착용할 경우 최대 90%까지 노출량이 감소하므로 보호장비 착용시 안전할 것으로 생각되었으며, 만성 위해성은 AOEL/exposure가 1 이상으로서 안전한 것으로 판단되었다. 발암위해성평가 결과는 보호장비를 착용할 경우 $9.12{\times}10^{-7}{\sim}1.13{\times}10^{-5}$으로 실제적인 농약살포 인자를 고려하여 평가하면 농약살포자에 대한 위해성은 없을 것으로 추정되나 보다 실제적인 노출성적을 이용한 농약살포 작업자 위해성평가가 필요하리라 판단된다.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권7호
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• pp.3035-3039
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• 2014

Background: Lung cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancies in the world and both incidence and mortality rates are continuing to rise in Pakistan. However, epidemiological studies to identify common lung cancer determinants in the Pakistani population have been limited. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective case-control study, 400 cases and 800 controls were enrolled from different hospitals of all provinces of Pakistan. Information about socio-demographic, occupational, lifestyle and dietary variables was extracted by questionnaire from all subjects. Odd ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. and dose-response associations were also assessed for suitable factors. Results: Strong associations were observed for smoking (OR=9.4, 95%CI=6.9-12.8), pesticide exposure (OR=5.1, 95%CI=3.1-8.3), exposure to diesel exhaust (OR=3.1, 95%CI=2.1-4.5), red meat consumption (OR=2.9, 95%CI=1.8-4.7) and chicken consumption (OR=2.8, 95%CI=1.7-49). Other associated factors observed were welding fumes (OR=2.5, 95%CI=1.0-6.5), sedentary living (OR=2.0, 95%CI=1.6-2.6), family history (OR=2.0, 95%CI=0.8-4.9), wood dust (OR=1.9, 95%CI=1.2-3.1), tea consumption (OR=1.8, 95%CI=1.2-2.6), coffee consumption (OR=1.8, 95%CI=1.1-2.8), alcoholism (OR=1.7, 95%CI=1.1-2.5) and asbestos exposure(OR=1.5, 95%CI=0.5-4.4). Consumption of vegetables (OR=0.3, 95%CI=0.2-0.4), juices (OR=0.3, 95%CI=0.3-0.4), fruits (OR=0.7, 95%CI=0.5-0.9) and milk (OR=0.6, 95%CI=0.5-0.8) showed reduction in risk of lung cancer. Strongest dose-response relationships were observed for smoking ($X^2=333.8$, $p{\leq}0.0000001$), pesticide exposure ($X^2=50.9$, $p{\leq}0.0000001$) and exposure to diesel exhaust ($X^2=51.8$, $p{\leq}0.0000001$). Conclusions: Smoking, pesticide exposure, diesel exhaust and meat consumption are main lung cancer determinants in Pakistan. Consuming vegetables, fruits, milk and juices can reduce the risk of lung cancer risk, as in other countries.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제37권1호
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• pp.22-28
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• 2011

This study aimed to determine the feasibility of survey questionnaires for pesticide poisoning. We conducted a pilot study to develop a questionnaire for evaluating pesticide poisoning symptoms and to examine the validity of self-reported information for individual pesticides used. In December 2010 we interviewed 20 farmers with self-reported pesticide poisoning histories residing in Gyeonggi Province. For validity of pesticide information, the purchased pesticide lists from the agricultural cooperative federation were compared with individual self-reported pesticides used. Neurological symptoms were the most common among clinical symptoms related to pesticide poisoning, followed by gastrointestinal, dermal and eye symptoms. Insecticides were the main causative pesticide class for poisoning. Twenty one major symptoms were selected for screening for acute pesticide poisoning in a field study based on the pilot results and literature reviews. Substantial under-reporting was found in data on self-reported individual pesticides used (9.2%), as well as low accuracy (36%) compared with their actual purchase lists. In this pilot study, we suggest the selected symptom lists may apply to a field survey of pesticide poisoning. However, the self-reported information on individual pesticides may not be valid and alternative methods need to be developed.

• 농촌의학ㆍ지역보건
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• 제29권2호
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• pp.265-285
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• 2004

이 연구는 농약의 노출에 의해 중추신경 증상이 발생할 수 있으며, 장기간의 농약노출로 인해 중추신경계 영향이 있을 것이라는 가설을 검정하기 위해 농약 누적노출을 추정하였으며, 농약 노출 관련 요인에 따라 신경독성증상 호소의 차이를 보았다. 연구결과는 다음과 같다. 지난 1년 동안 농약살포시간은 과수농민 69.6시간, 밭농민 41.1시간, 축산농업인 25.8시간으로 통계적으로 유의한 차이가 있었으며, 누적노출지수는 과수농민 119.5g, 밭농민 63.9g, 축산농업인 23.7g으로 통계적으로 유의한 차이가 있었다(p<0.01). 누적노출지수에 의해 분류하면, 과수농민은 고노출군, 밭농민은 중간노출군. 축산농민은 저노출군에 해당하였다. 과거 농약중독 경험률은 과수농민 40.7%, 밭농민 35.1%, 축산농민 23.8%로 통계적으로 유의한 차이가 있었으며 (p<0.001), 지난 3개월 동안 농약중독 증상 경험률은 과수농민 67.2%, 밭농민 55.3%, 축산농민 20.5% 순으로 통계 적으로 유의한 차이가 있었다(p<0.001). 신경독성 자각증상의 총점과 6개 이상 증상을 호소하는 경우는 대조군 및 축산농민에 비해 밭농민 및 과수농민에서 유의하게 증가하였다(p<0.001). 연령, 교육수준, 성, 흡연, 음주를 보정한 상태에서도 6개 이상 신경독성 증상 발생의 교차 비는 비노출군에 비해 과수농민이 3.08(95% CI 1.50-6.30)배, 누적노출지수가 75% 이상 높은 군이 2.75(958% CI 1.12-6.78) 배, 과거 농약중독 경험이 있는 경우 1.97(95% CI 1.21-3.20)배, 현재 농약중독증상을 경험한 경우 정상군에 비해 경도 중독군 3.03(95% CI 1.47-6.22)배, 중등도 중독군이 6.34(95% CI 3.03-13.25)배 높게 나타났다. 이상의 결과로 볼 때, 신경독성증상의 발생에 일관되게 농약노출과 관련된 요인이 유의하게 나타나고, 농약노출이 높은 것으로 평가된 과수농민에서 중추신경계 증상 호소가 유의하게 녹게 나타나 만성 농약노출에 의해 중추신경계 영향이 발생할 가능성이 제기된다.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제24권3호
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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.