• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.198-207
• /
• 1994

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of environmental intervention of work place, metal mercury concentration in air and in urine of the total 43 workers for 3years from December 1991 to October 1993 in a fluorescent lamp manufacturing industry exposed to mercury, was measured before and after implementation of controls such as establishing exhaust ventilation at the department of exhaustion, coating the floor of work place with epostane, cleaning of the floor, improved housekeeping, and etc. The results were as follows. 1. Before the intervention(December 1991) 39.0% exceeded metal mercury Threshold Limit Value(TLV, $0.05mg/m^3$). After the intervention(October 1993) 10.0% exceeded TLV and geometric mean of mercury in air was $0.1mg/m^3$, and showed effectiveness rate of intervention to be 74.4% 2. After the intervention, geometric means of mercury concentrations in air were 0.013, $0.019mg/m^3$ and showed effectiveness rate of intervention to be 76.6%, 65.5% in A factory(right tube lamp)and at exhaustion department, respectively, A follow up survey fround statistically significant reductions in mercury concetration in air three years later. 3. Mercury concentration in urine of 11 workers(29.7%) exceeded warning level of $100{\mu}l/l$ before the intervention. After the intervention, of 3workers(8.8%) exceeded warning level and geometric mean of mercury concentration($26.5{\mu}l/l$) in urine was 2.4 times than that of before the intervention. Geometric means of mercury concentrations in urine of workers at exhaustion department, at sealing and aging department were 44.0, $77.7{\mu}l/l$, respectively and they decreased 2.3, 3.2 times than that of before the intervention.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.43 no.6
• /
• pp.457-466
• /
• 2017

Objectives: This study was carried out to investigate the characteristics of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from sewerage facilities such as a sanitary sewers, outlets, and catch basins. In addition, the dominant malodorous VOCs among the compounds in this study were studied. Methods: Waste gas samples were collected at 27 points in a sanitary sewer in commercial and residental areas. The concentrations of seven volatile organic compounds, including benzene and toluene, in the samples were analyzed by gas chromatograph mass spectrophotometer (GC/MS). Odor concentrations were estimated using the concentration data of the VOCs and each compound's threshold limit value. Results: As a result, it appeared that the average concentration of total observed data for acetaldehyde was 15.98 ppb and benzene 1.87 ppb, toluene 82.31 ppb, ethyl benzene 63.12 ppb, m+p-xylene 15.66 ppb, oxylene 18.73 ppb, and styrene 4.39 ppb. VOC concentrations in the commercial area were higher than those in the residential area. VOC concentrations of waste gas emitted from sewer lines was also higher than those at the outlet and in the catch basins. It was estimated that the main malodorous VOC among the seven VOCs was acetaldehyde. Conclusions: As there is little data on VOC concentrations inside sewer facilities in Korea, these data will be helpful for estimating impact assessment of VOCs and establishing a counter-plan for the abatement of VOCs from sewer facilities in the future.

• Particle and aerosol research
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2021

The purpose of this study is to assess respirable crystalline silica (RCS) exposure levels in workers who collect and dispose used coal briquette ash (CBA) in sanitation companies that are subcontracted by one medium-sized local government on the collection of municipal household waste (MHW), and to analyze the quartz content in CBA. When the CBA powder that undergone specialized pretreatment in several steps were subjected to mineral identification and quantitative analysis using X-ray diffraction (XRD), it was found that quartz represented 18%, and in addition, mullite, and plagioclase were included. For two CBA collectors, samples were collected by the personal sampling evaluation method. After respirable dust was collected in accordance with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 7500 method, the concentration of quartz was analyzed using XRD. Meanwhile, a portable real-time dust monitor (Sidepak AM520, TSI Inc., USA) was also used to observe the dust exposure level for each time zone and job task. The RCS exposure level of one worker was as high as 0.024 mg/㎥, which was the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Values (TLV) level. The other worker also exhibited a concentration of 0.013 mg/㎥, which was more than half of TLV. The Sidepak results revealed that the work of collecting CBA and loading it onto a vehicle was hardly exposed to the dust of a significant level. It was found, however, that the work of transferring the collected CBA to a container through a conveyor belt was exposed to a very high average respirable dust concentration of 2.238 mg/㎥. The results of this study confirmed that quartz, which is crystalline silica and a carcinogen, is contained in CBA, one of municipal household waste (MHW), in high concentration. It was also confirmed that workers are exposed to high RCS concentrations while transferring collected CBA into a container. Although each local government in South Korea handles CBA in different ways, it is imperative to investigate the CBA exposure level of sanitation workers and improve their working conditions.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.168-175
• /
• 2023

Tramadol is an opioid analog used to treat chronic and acute pain. Intradermal injections of tramadol at hundreds of millimoles have been shown to produce a local anesthetic effect. We used the whole-cell patch-clamp technique in this study to investigate whether tramadol blocks the sodium current in HEK293 cells, which stably express the pain threshold sodium channel Na_v1.7 or the cardiac sodium channel Na_v1.5. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration of tramadol was 0.73 mM for Na_v1.7 and 0.43 mM for Na_v1.5 at a holding potential of -100 mV. The blocking effects of tramadol were completely reversible. Tramadol shifted the steady-state inactivation curves of Na_v1.7 and Na_v1.5 toward hyperpolarization. Tramadol also slowed the recovery rate from the inactivation of Na_v1.7 and Na_v1.5 and induced stronger use-dependent inhibition. Because the mean plasma concentration of tramadol upon oral administration is lower than its mean blocking concentration of sodium channels in this study, it is unlikely that tramadol in plasma will have an analgesic effect by blocking Na_v1.7 or show cardiotoxicity by blocking Na_v1.5. However, tramadol could act as a local anesthetic when used at a concentration of several hundred millimoles by intradermal injection and as an antiarrhythmic when injected intravenously at a similar dose, as does lidocaine.

• Neonatal Medicine
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.131-135
• /
• 2018

Hyponatremia is defined as a plasma sodium concentration of <135 mEq/L. It is a common electrolyte imbalance in newborns. We report the case of a term neonate with cleft lip, cleft palate, imperforate anus, normal male karyotype, and chronic hyponatremia. On the 4th day of life, he showed hyponatremia (plasma sodium concentration 130 mEq/L) with low serum osmolality (275 mOsm/kg), high urine sodium (116.7 mEq/L), and high urine osmolality (412 mOsm/kg). His thyroid and adrenal functions were normal. Despite intravenous and oral sodium supplementation and hydrocortisone treatment, hyponatremia persisted. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed normal results. He was diagnosed as having reset osmostat, a rare subtype of the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone characterized by a subnormal threshold for antidiuretic hormone secretion, with hypotonic hyponatremia.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Combustion
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.75-82
• /
• 1996

Laser induced incandescence, LII, recently developed technique for measuring soot concentration in flames, can overcome most of limitations of conventional laser extinction measurement. In this study, experiments were performed to investigate the effect of laser intensity, detection wavelength, and also laser beam quality on both LII signal at a particular position and peak-to-centerline LII signal ratio. The results of LII signal with increasing laser intensity shows its near-independence of laser intensity once threshold level of laser intensity has been reached. However, this near-independence depends on laser beam quality and the incident optical setup. The peak-to-centerline LII signal ratio slowly but continuously increases with laser power. This fact is due to the dependence of LII signal on particle mean diameter. LII signal is attenuated during it passes through the flame containing soot particles. The attenuation rate is inversely proportional to detection wavelength. In this study, LII signal at 680 nm band is 10% greater than the signal at 400 nm band.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.71-80
• /
• 1994

This study was conducted to evaluate worker exposure to welding fume in automobile body shop and to evaluate metal components by type of welding. The results are summarized as follows: 1. Average concentrations of total welding fume without and with ventilation were $5.2mg/m^3$ and $2.49mg/m^3$, respectively. Thus, the average reduction rate of total fume by ventilation was 52.1 %. 2. The highest fume concentration was indicated at shielded arc welding, followed by $CO_2$ gas welding, argon arc welding, and spot welding in order of decreasing concentration. 3. Average respirable fume concentrations without and with ventilation were $2.97mg/m^3$ and $1.64mg/m^3$, respectively. 4. Further analysis of welding fume indicated that total fume consisted of $Fe_2O_3$, ZnO, Mn, Pb, and CuO, in order of decreasing amount. Combined effect of metals was below the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH)Threshold Limit Values (TLVs).

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
• /
• 2004.09a
• /
• pp.450-452
• /
• 2004

Using factor analysis and bivariate comparisons of major components in ground water, three geochemical processes were identified as controlling factors of ground water chemistry; 1) natural mineralization by water rock interactions, 2) effect of seawater which includes salinization by seawater near seashores and deposition of sea salt, and 3) nitrate contamination by N fertilization. Contribution of rainfall was also estimated from the measured composition of wet deposition. The geochemical processes were separated using total alkalinity as an indicator for natural mineralization, Cl for effect of seawater, and nitrate for N fertilization. Relatively high correlation of major components with nitrate suggests that nitrification of nitrogenous fertilizers significantly affects ground water chemistry. Total cations derived from nitrate sources have good linearity for nitrate in equivalent basis with a slope of 1.8, which is a mean of proton production coefficients in nitrification of two major compounds in nitrogenous fertilizers, ammonium and urea. Contribution of nitrate sources to base cations, Cl, and SO$_4$ in ground water was determined considering maximum contribution of natural mineralization to estimate a threshold of the effect of N fertilization for ground water chemistry, which shows W fertilization has a greatest effect than any other processes in ground water with nitrate concentration greater than 50 mg/L for Ca, Mg, Na and with concentration greater than 30 mg/L for Cl and SO$_4$.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.47-54
• /
• 1993

A series of laboratory tests was performed with soil-columns which were compacted with sands and different amount of silt collected from the mid-stream of Gumgang, Korea. A known degree of concentration of PCP(Pentachlorophenol) was poured into the soil-columns and concentration of PCP was monitored and analyzed with time and depth. The results of the study are summarized as follows : 1. PCP was transported into soil along with the movement of moisture under gravitational force. The amount of PCP transported through soil or absorbed by soil varied with soil types. 2. The great amount of PCP was remained at 4~8cm section for the specimen No.2 and at 0~4cm section for the specimen Nos. 3 and 4. Based upon this result it is said that the amount of silt between 30 and 40% may be a threshold value for PCP transported through soil. 3. The amount of PCP remained in the specimen Nos. 2, 3 and 4 is greater than that in the specimen No.1 due to high specific surface of silt and high attraction force between PCP and silt particles in the specimen Nos. 2, 3 and 4. 4. It is said that groundwater under highly permeable soil layer such as specimen No.1 is easily polluted by PCP. That is because the PCP is basically migrated with water under the gravitational force.

• 한국해양학회지
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.35-43
• /
• 1978

Short-term acute toxicity of mercury, cadmium and copper to arkshell, Anadara broughtonii, and to oyster, Crassostrea gigas, was determinedby static bioassays from 20 May to 27 June in 1977. During the observations of the opening rate of the shell mercury was the most sensitive toxicant of the three toxic substances to the test animals and caused them to close their shellvalves together after being exposed to a mercury solution for an hour during the test. Opening rate to cadmium and copper increased gradually at the higher concentration. the 96hr-LC50 values for the test animals are 4.84mg/l for mercury and 1.86mg/l for cadmium, while the 72hr-LC50 value for copper is 0.31mg/l. the death rate of oysters for cadmium showed lower than that of the mercury and copper test solutions. The 96hr-LC50 values of mercury, copper and cadmium were 1.1mg/l, 2.54mg/l and 19.5mg/l, respectively. For oysters mercury was the most toxic substance, and cadmium was the least toxic one. the medium lethal time (LT 50) value decreased gradually at higher concentration of heavy metals. The LT 50 of 2mg/l was found within 96 hours ofr copper, 104 hours for mercury and 121 hours for cadmium. The lethal threshold concentrations for 7 days were found to be about 1mg/l for mercury and copper, and 2mg/l for cadmium.