• Fire Science and Engineering
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.86-93
• /
• 2020

This study aims to maintain the safety of an outdoor storage tank through the fundamental case analysis of explosion and fire accidents in the storage tank. We consider an accident caused by the explosion of fire inside the tank, as a result of the gradual spreading of the residual fire generated by wind lamps flying off a workplace in the storage tank yard. To determine the cause of the accident, atmospheric diffusion conditions were derived through CCTV image analysis, and the wind direction was analyzed using computational fluid dynamics. Additionally, the amount of oil vapor inside the tank when the floating roof was at the lowest position, and the behavior of the vapor inside the tank when the floating roof was at the highest position were investigated. If the cause of the explosion in the storage tank is identified and the level of the storage tank is maintained below the internal floating roof, dangerous liquid fills the storage tank, and the vapor in the space may stagnate on the internal floating roof. We intend to improve the operation procedure such that the level of the storage tank is not under the Pontoon support, as well as provide measures to prevent flames from entering the storage tank by installing a flame arrester in the open vent of the tank.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.26 no.6
• /
• pp.615-623
• /
• 2020

In order to prevent the dangers of major marine accidents, it is very important to be aware of in advance through marine incidents in the background of Heinrich's law, formulated by the safety pioneer who is credited with focusing on workplace safety with emphasis on the human element. At least 11 cases of collision accidents occurred in the Busan VTS area from January 1st to December 31st, 2019, and 24 cases of VTS marine incidents were reported during the same period. According to Heinrich's law, there could be many more potentially risky situations besides the 24 reported cases. In this study, the criteria for VTS marine incidents were established through advanced research and a survey of VTS operators, and analysis of 24 cases of VTS marine incidents in the Busan VTS area. Traffic surveys were conducted for three days to identify potentially hazardous situations. According to the survey, there were 216 cases of VTS marine incidents, and within a year, it is estimated there could be about 26,280 cases. Even if conditions such as "missing VHF communication feedback" which is an important cause of marine incidents, are not reflected, there are many potential risks in the VTS area. Thus, it is vital to strengthen the VTS marine incident reporting system.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.17 no.11
• /
• pp.303-311
• /
• 2017

Safety accidents in railway work continue to increase every year; Engineer's negligence, trackside worker's sensory deprivation and signalman's mistake are the main reasons of such incidents. We consider this problem by far the most urgent matter in railway work because of its steady increase and risk of taking a person's life. Based on that account, a new alarm system has developed, that is called Railway Access Alarm System, to allow railway workers to sense the access of trains with not only vision, but also hearing. The detector device of this system is installed on both sides of the track locating 1.5km from the workplace. When the train enters the place, the detector device can sense the entering, sending the detect sign of train to the alarm unit, then the alarm unit warns the workers by the LED lighting and sirens. This system has several advantages compared to previous systems. First, it recognizes the train at a long distance. Secondly, there is no need for wiring work since it is a wireless system. At last, the system works by rechargeable batteries and solar charger so that it is installed in the work places where there is no external power supply. Moreover, it is proven that the system is 100% reliable by the successful on-the spot inspection evaluating the capability.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.384-392
• /
• 2013

Objective: This study inspected incident cases, legal control levels, and GHS(Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals) classification results of strong acids such as hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen chloride, nitric acid, and sulfuric acid, which have been responsible for many recent chemical accidents. As a result, it is deemed necessary for legal control levels of these strong acids to be revised and GHS classification be managed nation-wide. Methods: This study inspected incident cases and legal control levels for strong acids such as hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen chloride, nitric acid, and sulfuric acid. The study analyzed and compared chemical information status and GHS classification results. Results: There were 76 domestic incidents involving strongly acidic hazardous materials over the five years between 2007 and 2011. They include 37 leakage incidents(46.7%) within a workplace, 30 leakage incidents(39.5%) during transportation, and nine leakage incidents(13.8%) following an explosion. The strongly acidic materials in question are defined and controlled as toxic chemicals according to the classes of Substances Requiring Preparation for Accidents, Managed Hazardous Substance, Hazardous Chemical(corrosive) as set forth under the Enforcement Decree of the Toxic Chemicals Control Act and Rules on Occupational Safety and Health Standards of Occupational Safety and Health Act. Among them, nitric acid is solely controlled as a class 6 hazardous material, oxidizing liquid, under the Hazardous Chemicals Control Act. The classification results of the EU ECHA(European Chemicals Agency) CLP(Commission Regulation(EC) No. 790/2009 of 10 August 2009, for the purposes of its adaptation to technical and scientific progress, Regulation(EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on classification, labeling and packaging of substances and mixtures) and NIER (National Institute of Environmental Research) are almost identical for the three chemicals, with the exception of sulfuric acid. Much of the classification information of NITE (National Institute of Technology and Evaluation) and KOSHA(Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, KOSHA) is the same. NIER provides 12(41.4%) out of 29 classifications, as does KOSHA.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.402-411
• /
• 2013

Objectives: This study aims to assess the concentrations of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide according to task unit area at swine farms. Methods: A total of six swine farms were selected for this study. Ammonia and hydrogen sulfide were monitored using a real-time multi-gas monitor which could sample the gases simultaneously. The sampling was done in the pig building, manure storage facility and composting facility of each farm. Results: The concentration of ammonia in the pig buildings(GM 22.6 ppm, GSD 2.3) was significantly higher(p<0.0001) than in the manure storage facilities(GM 10.4 ppm, GSD 2.7) and composting facilities(GM 8.6 ppm, GSD 2.8). The concentration of hydrogen sulfide in the manure storage facilities(GM 9.8 ppm, GSD 3.2) was higher(p<0.0001) than in the pig buildings(GM 2.3 ppm, GSD 2.3) and composting facilities(GM 1.9 ppm, GSD 2.5). In particular, the levels of hydrogen sulfide in the confined manure storage facilities were higher than those in open-type facilities and the peak concentration(98 ppm) in the confined facilities was approximate to 100 ppm, at the value of Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health(IDLH). Conclusions: Suffocation accidents caused by hazardous gases at a swine farm have occurred annually. Real-time monitoring of the hazards should be done in order to protect farm workers and livestock from the sudden accidents.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.29-34
• /
• 2015

Accidents in laboratory dealing with chemicals have constantly occurred. In the case of a gas explosion or an accident related to leakage of chemical materials, the damage is much greater, thereby leading to a serious accident. Especially, the safety of laboratory in University is important because students build up knowledge and skills and accumulate experience as the main researchers. In this paper, 5 gases(CO, $NH_3$, $H_2$, $CH_4$, $N_2$) are selected to model since they are often used in university laboratories. From the scenarios where the gases are released, the diffusion process is estimated and analyzed to predict damage degree by PHAST v.6.7. Internal diffusion process is modeled through FLUENT which is Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD) tool. Also, we compare indoor damage with outdoor one when discharged to the outside through the laboratory's window. In the modeling results, the outdoor damages for accident scenarios in the results are far less than then of real plants since the vessel usually used in laboratory(i.e. the capacity of the cylinder; 47 L or less) is significantly less than workplace's one(using ton measure). However as shown in the results small amount can have high consequences for indoor accidents.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.19 no.7
• /
• pp.155-162
• /
• 2021

The purpose of this study is to investigate effects of management support for health and safety on workers' safety perception. Since the 1990s, Korea's national competitiveness has been rising rapidly, but efforts to prevent and cope with industrial accidents are still insufficient. Particularly there is a big movement to strengthen corporate responsibility for serious accidents in the 2020s. In this study structural equation model(SEM) was constructed and quantitatively analyzed in order to know how management's support affects the organization, system, and communication related to safety and health in the company, and ultimately how it has an effect on workers' safety perception. 4,169 questionnaires conducted by the Institute for Occupational Safety and Health were used as observation variables, and 5 hypotheses were established and were verified in SEM. As management support increases, organization & institution for a safe workplace, communication related with safety and health within the company become more active. Finally management support has a positive effect on workers' safety perception. The results of this study imply that management needs to increase awareness of the importance of safety and health before all measures such as organizations, institutions, and communication related to safety and health.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.59 no.1
• /
• pp.68-76
• /
• 2021

As hazardous chemicals are releasing in process industries such as chemical & petro-chemical plants, the importance of initial responses has been always emphasized. However, little attention of quantitative analysis of the consequence by different initial responses during releasing of the chemicals has been done. The main objective of current paper is to investigate the effects of initial responses for the release accidents of hydrofluoric acid. For this, a simplified equation that can easily calculate the effect distance by varying concentrations of hydrofluoric acid was firstly deduced. In addition, a causal loops for the initial response steps using the system dynamics technique was constructed during release of 50% hydrofluoric acid. The effect distances according to different scenarios of the initial actions were also quantitatively analyzed by applying the simplified equation to the causal map. As a result, the highest reduction rate on the maximum effect distance was obtained with 'start time of action after leak detection' being about 87% while the lowest was 'arrival time of professional response team' being about 50%, as expected. It is expected that the results gained from the current study can be helpful as of basics of the initial response to the workplace, dealing with the hydrofluoric acid.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.83-93
• /
• 2021

Objectives: 'Confined space' was only defined in the Safety and Health Regulations as a place where oxygen deficiency and hydrogen sulfide must be dealt with at the time of the initial enactment (1982). The danger of fire and explosion were added in 2003. We will compare and review the regulations related to confined space work under the current safety and health rules alongside regulations in other countries and prepare a plan to improve the system through enhanced clarity and execution. Methods: In a comparison of systems for the prevention of suffocation in confined spaces in major countries (Germany, United States, Japan) different concepts of the definition of confined spaces in different countries apparently due to differences in each country's legal implementation system, accident analysis methods, the status of safety and health implementation in workplaces, the precautions against actual confined space work, and the definition of confined spaces were found to be not much different between Korea and the other foreign countries. Results: In the case of Germany and the United States, a confined space is defined as a contextual concept rather than a place, so more careful attention is needed from operators or enclosed space managers as it is often necessary to judge the actual workplace. In the case of Korea and Japan, the interior of the place is mainly defined as a place, especially in the case of Japan, which concentrates on oxygen deficiency and hydrogen sulfide poisoning. Conclusions: For measures to improve regulations on the prevention of suffocation accidents in Korea, I would like to propose three major measures to improve the system in the rules on domestic industrial safety and health standards. It is necessary to prepare and provide a guide to ensure that the 18 types of confined spaces currently defined as confined spaces are clearly understood by field management supervisors or workers.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.656-664
• /
• 2023

Purpose: The Ministry of Employment and Labor manages disasters based on the standard manual for risk management of large-scale human accidents in workplaces when large-scale disasters such as fires and collapses occur in workplaces. We are going to check the standard manual currently in operation and suggest improvement plans for the insufficient items. Method: Accordingly, the standard manual was checked together with internal and external experts in the disaster management manual and disaster management staff at headquarters and local government offices, and items to be improved were identified with priority. Result: In case of a collapse accident, it is necessary for the Ministry of Public Administration and Security to accurately present the selection criteria in order to eliminate the controversy over the selection of the disaster management department. In addition, it seems necessary to supplement the details of the disaster safety communication network operation and evacuation guidelines. Conclusion: In the future, in order to improve the disaster management system that meets the public's eye level, it is expected to prepare a standard manual for risk management of large-scale human accidents in workplaces that guarantees the lives and safety of workers through the collection of opinions from experts in the relevant field, disaster management personnel, and the general public.