• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제33권4호
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• pp.412-418
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• 2023

As advances in artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly approach areas once relegated to the realm of science fiction, there is growing public interest in using these technologies for practical everyday tasks in both the home and the workplace. This paper explores the applications of and implications for of using ChatGPT, a conversational AI model based on GPT-3.5 and GPT-4.0, in the field of occupational health and safety. After gaining over one million users within five days of its launch, ChatGPT has shown promise in addressing issues ranging from emergency response to chemical exposure to recommending personal protective equipment. However, despite its potential usefulness, the integration of AI into scientific work and professional settings raises several concerns. These concerns include the ethical dimensions of recognizing AI as a co-author in academic publications, the limitations and biases inherent in the data used to train these models, legal responsibilities in professional contexts, and potential shifts in employment following technological advances. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of these issues and to contribute to the ongoing dialogue on the responsible use of AI in occupational health and safety.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제4권2호
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• pp.77-83
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• 2013

There is still a considerable burden of occupational diseases and injuries in the world. It is not well known which interventions can effectively reduce the exposures at work that cause this burden. The objective of this article is to summarize evidence from systematic reviews of interventions to prevent occupational diseases and injuries. We included systematic reviews of interventions to reduce the incidence of work-related cancer, dust-related diseases, occupational asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, noise induced hearing loss, back pain, and occupational injuries. We searched Medline and Embase with predefined search strategies to locate systematic reviews of these interventions. We found 23 systematic reviews of which the results are also applicable to low- and middle income countries. Effective measures to reduce exposure leading to work-related cancer, dust-related diseases, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, noise, and injuries are available. However, better implementation of these measures is needed. Regulation, enforcement of regulation, and incentives for employers are effective interventions to achieve this goal. There is evidence that feedback and rewards for workers help in reducing occupational injuries. There is no evidence in many studies that back pain can be prevented. Personal protective equipment technically has the potential to reduce exposure but this is difficult to put into effect. There is no evidence in the studies regarding the effectiveness of education and training, preventive drugs, or health examinations. There is evidence that the implementation of technical measures enforced by regulation can prevent occupational diseases and injuries. For other interventions such as education or health examinations, there is no evidence that supports their effectiveness. More systematic reviews are needed in the area of injury prevention.

• 한국학교보건학회지
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• 제33권3호
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• pp.194-202
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to develop educational materials on field practice safety based on existing field practice data and accident cases regarding vocational high schools and apply them to identify their impact. Methods: The existing data, accumulated since 2010, on field practices of vocational high schools were analyzed, and educational materials regarding field practices were developed by six experts. 195 students in three vocational high schools were surveyed before and after being taught with the materials. The survey asked about their knowledge of industrial safety and health and attitudes toward industrial safety and health. Results: As a result of the study, harmful environments for field practices of vocational high schools were physical, chemical, ergonomic, and emotional labor, and the consequences were accidents, death by overwork, musculoskeletal diseases, etc. The materials covered students' rights and how to respond to workplace accidents in the 1st round, how to organize a workshop in the 2nd round, workplace safety and health signs in the 3rd round, prevention of musculoskeletal diseases in the 4th round, management of physical risk factors in 5th round, management of hazardous chemicals in 6th round, wearing and managing protective equipment in 7th round, first aid depending on the situation in the 8th round, CPR and defibrillator in the 9th round, sexual harassment in the 10th round, and prevention of sexual violence in the 11th round. After completing the education, their knowledge of industrial safety and health increased significantly from 6.52 points to 7.01 points. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest: first, to statistically organize the data on accidents that have occurred during field practices of vocational high schools; second, to develop a systematic curriculum for high school 1st to 3rd graders on accidents that may happen during field practices of vocational high schools.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제34권2호
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• pp.156-165
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• 2024

Objectives: This study aims to identify and analyze the exposure status of welding students in specialized high school welding labratories, compare it with the exposure to welding hazards of industrial workers, and seek to improve the educational environment for youth through domestic and international exposure standards. Methods: This study compares the level of exposure to hazardous factors in a welding laboratory of a vocational high school in Jeollanam-do and a welding process in a general industrial site by measuring the work environment. A 10-question survey was conducted to review the effects of welding hazards on the human body, carcinogenicity information, international (US, UK, France) exposure standards, general characteristics between the two groups, and awareness of occupational health. Results: Exposure to hazardous factors in both groups was below the standards set by MOEL. Specialized high school students were exposed to higher levels than workers, and some hazardous factors exceeded the standards when compared to international exposure standards. During the survey, students were less aware of the hazards of welding, safety and health education, and the need for work environment measurement than workers. Conclusions: For the respiratory protection of students in vocational high school welding labs, it is necessary to create a comfortable training environment. Exposure standards for harmful factors should be strictly applied, such as overseas standards, or exposure should be limited by setting a limit on the number of hours of welding practice per week. In addition, it is necessary to conduct safety and health education for welding students to raise their awareness of the importance of measuring the working environment and wearing appropriate protective equipment.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• 제55권2호
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• pp.215-225
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• 2022

Background/Aims: The Thai Association for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy published recommendations on safe endoscopy during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to assess the practicality and applicability of the recommendations and the perceptions of endoscopy personnel on them. Methods: A validated questionnaire was sent to 1290 endoscopy personnel globally. Of these, the data of all 330 responders (25.6%) from 15 countries, related to the current recommendations on proper personal protective equipment (PPE), case selection, scope cleaning, and safety perception, were analyzed. Ordinal logistic regression was used to determine the relationships between the variables. Results: Despite an overwhelming agreement with the recommendations on PPE (94.5%) and case selection (95.5%), their practicality and applicability on PPE recommendations and case selection were significantly lower (p=0.001, p=0.047, p<0.001, and p=0.032, respectively). Factors that were associated with lower sense of safety in endoscopy units were younger age (p=0.004), less working experience (p=0.008), in-training status (p=0.04), and higher national prevalence of COVID-19 (p=0.003). High prevalent countries also had more difficulty implementing the guidelines (p<0.001) and they considered the PPE recommendations less practical and showed lower agreement with them (p<0.001 and p=0.008, respectively). A higher number of in-hospital COVID-19 patients was associated with less agreement with PPE recommendations (p=0.039). Conclusions: Using appropriate PPE and case selection in endoscopic practice during a pandemic remains a challenge. Resource availability and local prevalence are critical factors influencing the adoption of the current guidelines.

• 한국지진공학회논문집
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• 제19권1호
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• pp.29-36
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• 2015

Base isolation is considered as a seismic protective system in the design of next generation Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). If seismic isolation devices are installed in nuclear power plants then the safety under a seismic load of the power plant may be improved. However, with respect to some equipment, seismic risk may increase because displacement may become greater than before the installation of a seismic isolation device. Therefore, it is estimated to be necessary to select equipment in which the seismic risk increases due to an increase in the displacement by the installation of a seismic isolation device, and to perform research on the seismic performance of each piece of equipment. In this study, modified NRC-BNL benchmark models were used for seismic analysis. The numerical models include representations of isolation devices. In order to validate the numerical piping system model and to define the failure mode, a quasi-static loading test was conducted on the piping components before the analysis procedures. The fragility analysis was performed by using the results of the inelastic seismic response analysis. Inelastic seismic response analysis was carried out by using the shell finite element model of a piping system considering internal pressure. The implicit method was used for the direct integration time history analysis. In addition, the collapse load point was used for the failure mode for the fragility analysis.

• 보건교육건강증진학회지
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• 제18권3호
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• pp.59-75
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• 2001

It is necessary to examine from primary school children's viewpoint to perception of safety as to how they cope with a condition threatening safety at the realistic world with risky environment and whether knowledge obtained through education is transmitted to action in a correct way. For this, this study explored and analyzed children's perspective to safety felt in life, their achievement of education to safety as trainees, and their perception extent to safety. As a result of it, following conclusion could be obtained. First, as for safety on their way to school and home, the lower grade they were, the more they felt safe, but the higher they were, the more they felt uneasy, which was examined that they generally had uncomfortable mind. Second, as for whether safety education was performed or not, it was indicated that safety education was generally executed, but lower graders responded that safety education was executed, but high graders responded that it was not executed. Third, as for observance of traffic rules, it was examined lower graders kept them well, but higher graders did not do so. Fourth, as for safety of play, it was indicated lower graders wore protective equipment by parents' concern, but higher graders did not wear them since they were full of confidence counting on their capability. Fifth, as for life safety, it was indicated the area most preferentially educated from parents' viewpoint was traffic safety, and the next ones were gas and fire safety. Sixth, as for fire safety, it was indicated they did not play with fire, but higher graders compared to lower ones, played with fire as the means of curiosity and play. Thus, curricula for children's safety education executed from adults' viewpoint should be established, and assessment of children's safety education should get out of the limitation of execution of safety education to habituated action by the transmission of children's knowledge. Also it is urgent to develop programs with which to perform children;'s education at the level of children, establish and operate safety education facilities for practice education that teachers and children can receive safety education through experience by building up children's safety education related entities. And it is thought that safety should not left to only children, but their safety would be kept by developing and training safety education programs to all organizations and individuals related to safety.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제23권4호
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• pp.367-373
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• 2013

Objectives: Employee exposure record refers to a record containing information about environmental (workplace) monitoring or measuring of a toxic substance or harmful physical agent. The aims of this study were to examine problems related to exposure records and provide some amendments to the Korean Industrial Safety & Health Act for the effective management of chemical substances under the law. Methods: This study performed a literature search and review on legal provisions related to exposure records of a number of different countries, including Korea, the USA, Japan, EU, Germany, and the UK. They were compared and investigated and the amendment of articles was suggested. Results: The results of this study were provided as suggested amendments to the related act. There were a variety of ways of improvement, including a 30-year retention period and the introduction of new access methods, contents, transfer, and maintenance methods. All exposure data elements have to be standardized, including reference to a similar exposure group (SEG), sampling strategy, and circumstances of exposure (e.g., date, shift length, use of personal protective equipment, etc.). The SEGs are described by process, job, task, and environmental agent. Conclusions: This study is expected to provide for the amendment of the related act in order to ensure effective management of exposure records and is helpful for solving the cause and result of occupational disease by keeping exposure records according to the Industrial Safety & Health Act.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제4권3호
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• pp.160-165
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• 2013

Background: Occupational accidents are unplanned events that cause damage. The socio-economic impacts and human costs of accidents are tremendous around the world. Many fatalities happen every year in workplaces such as electricity distribution companies. Some electrical injuries are electrocution, electric shock, and burns. This study was conducted in an electricity distribution company (with rotational 12-hour shift work) in Iran during an 8-year period to survey descriptive factors of injuries. Methods: Variables collected included accident time, age of injured worker, employment type, work experience, injury cause, educational background, and other information about accidents. Results: Results indicated that most of the accidents occurred in summer, and 51.3% were during shift work. Worker negligence (malpractice) was the cause of 75% of deaths. Type of employment had a significant relationship with type of injuries (p < 0.05). Most injuries were electrical burns. Conclusion: High rate of accidents in summer may be due to the warm weather or insufficient professional skills in seasonal workers. Shift workers are at risk of sleep complaints leading to a high rate of work injuries. Acquiring knowledge about safety was related to job experiences. Temporary workers have no chance to work all year like permanent workers, therefore impressive experiences may be less in them. Because the lack of protective equipment and negligence are main causes of accidents, periodical inspections in workshops are necessary.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제10권3호
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• pp.370-376
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• 2019

Background: Respirator fit testing is a method to assess if the respirator provides an adequate face seal for the worker. Methods: Workers from four Norwegian smelters were invited to participate in the study, and 701 respirator fit tests were performed on 127 workers. Fourteen respirator models were included: one FFABE1P3 and 11 FFP3 respirator models produced in one size and two silicone half masks with P3 filters available in three sizes. The workers performed a quantitative fit test according to Health and Safety Executive 282/28 with 5-6 different respirator models, and they rated the respirators based on comfort. Predictors of overall fit factors were explored. Results: The pass rate for all fit tests was 62%, 56% for women, and 63% for men. The silicone respirators had the highest percentage of passed tests (92-100%). The pass rate for the FFP3 models varied from 19-89%, whereas the FFABE1P3 respirator had a pass rate of 36%. Five workers did not pass with any respirators, and 14 passed with all the respirators tested. Only 63% passed the test with the respirator they normally used. The mean comfort score on the scale from 1 to 5 was 3.2. The respirator model was the strongest predictor of the overall fit factor. The other predictors (age, sex, and comfort score) did not improve the fit of the model. Conclusion: There were large differences in how well the different respirator models fitted the Norwegian smelter workers. The results can be useful when choosing which respirators to include in respirator fit testing programs in similar populations.