• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2022

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate exposure characteristics of lead using data from the domestic occupational exposure literature. Methods: Occupational airborne exposure data on lead reported in the domestic literature from 1981 to 2018 were collected and re-analyzed. The exposure levels in the data were expressed as an estimated arithmetic mean and a weighted arithmetic mean (WAM) of the number of samples. Lead exposure characteristics were analyzed by industry, process, and year. Results: From a total of 14 documents, 8,305 airborne lead measurements for 17 industries were identified, and the WAM concentration in eight industries exceeded the occupational exposure limit of 50 ㎍/m³. Three industries (battery manufacturing, lead smelting, and litharge manufacturing) accounted for 95% of the total data, and exposure trends could be confirmed over 10 years. Exposure levels continue to decrease in all three industries. Conclusions: Considering the distribution outlook of lead and lead compounds, the main management targets are lead storage battery manufacturing and secondary smelting for lead regeneration.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.12-16
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• 2002

Workers' exposure to lead particles with diverse characteristics was assessed using personal cascade impactors in four different industries. Correlation analyses found that total airborne lead (PbA) concentrations could not explain the variation on MMAD of lead particles. From regression analysis, the concentrations of lead particles smaller than 1 um in AD were found to rise very slowly with increases in total PbA. They rarely contributed more than 50 ㎍/㎥ of total PbA over the range of 5.6-7,740 ㎍/㎥ although there are a few high values greater than 100 ㎍/㎥ while respirable lead concentrations significantly increased with increasing total PbA concentrations. In the secondary smelting and radiator manufacturing industries requiring high temperatures, the average fraction of respirable concentration in total PbA was 43.3% and 48.9%, respectively, which indicated an important contribution to the total PbA. In lead powder and battery manufacturing, it was less than 27%. Our study results concluded that workers' exposure to lead particles with diverse characteristics might not be effectively monitored by the current total PbA sampling alone. To protect workers exposed to different sizes of lead particles generated in many operations, an occupational standard for respirable lead particles should be added to the current total lead standard.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.1-8
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• 1999

The research centers on the concentration profile and risk assessment of toxic metals for ambient air in Taejon industrial complex. Airborne concentrations of each toxic metal for risk assessment were obtained from 2-year sampling by high volume air sampler and analysis by ICP-MS and ICP-AES in the complex. The long-term arithmetic mean of human carcinogen, arsenic, hexavalent chromium and nickel subsulfide was 5.53, 2.16 and $3.46ng/m^3$ while the mean of probable human carcinogen, beryllium, cadmium and lead was 0.08, 2.35, $293.29ng/m^3$, respectively. And the long-term arithmetic mean concentration of non-carcinogenic metal, manganese was $55.91ng/m^3$. The point risk estimate for the inhalation of carcinogenic metals was $3.6{\times}10^{-5}$, which was higher than a risk standard of $10^{-5}$. About 75% of the cancer risk was to the inhalation of human carcinogen, arsenic. Thus, it is necessary to properly manage arsenic risk in Taejon industrial complex. The point hazard index by the inhalation of manganese was 1.1. Therefore, an investigation into Taejon industrial complex is needed to obtain more fine long-term concentration data for airborne non-carcinogenic metals including manganese.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.181-195
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• 1997

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors affecting the composition and concentrations of fumes generated from various types of welding processes. The results are as follows. 1. Iron(Fe), zinc(Zn) and manganese(Mn) were predominant in Welding fumes. The Fe content in total fumes was 25.5% in coated electrode and 28.2% in $CO_2$ are welding, and the Zn content was 4.5% and 9.1%, respectively, and the Mn was 3.6% and 7.8%, respectively. 2. It was found that the important factors determining composition and concentration of fumes were type of industries, type of welding processes, type and composition of electrodes, composition of base metals, confinement of workplaces or condition of ventilation, work intensity, coated metals such as lead and Zn in paint. 3. The Mn content in airborne fumes was highly correlated with that of electrode(r=0.77, p<0.01) and was about 4 times higher than that in electrodes or base metals. The results lindicate that Mn is well evaporated into air during welding. The higher vapor pressure of Mn may explain this phenomenon. 4. the airborne total fume concentrations were significantly different among types of industries(p<0.001). The airborne total fume concentration was higher in order of sleel-structure manufacturing($GM=15.1mg/m^3$), shipbuilding($GM=13.2mg/m^3$), automobile-component manufacturing ($GM=7.8mg/m^3$) and automobile assembling industry($GM=3.0mg/m^3$) 5. The airbone total fume concentration was 6 times higher in $CO_2$ welding than in coated electrode welding, and approximately 3 times higher in confined area than in open area, in steel-structure manufacturing industry. 6. The concentration of welding fume outside welding helmet was about 2 times higher than that inside it. It is recommened that air sampling be done inside helmet to evaulate worker's exposure accurately, for it has an outstanding effect on reducing worker exposure to fumes and other contaminants.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.10-18
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• 2010

To provide necessary information for future environmental monitoring of smelting and litharge making industries in Korea, environmental monitoring dataset of air lead concentration of 4 lead industries(1 primary smelting, 2 secondary smelting and 1 litharge making industry) were analyzed from 1994 to 2007. Data were compared using geometric mean and standard deviation with minimum and maximum values according to year of measurement, type of lead industries and type of operation of lead industries. The geometric mean and standard deviation of air concentration for a total of 1140 samples in all lead industries for overall 14 years were 70.7${\mu}g/m^3$ and 5.51 with minimum of 1${\mu}g/m^3$ and maximum of 9,185 ${\mu}g/m^3$. The overall geometric means of air concentration were above the permissible exposure levels(PEL) until year of 2001 and thereafter they were remained at the level of half of PEL. The geometric means of primary smelting, secondary smelting and litharge making industry for overall 14 years were 21.7${\mu}g/m^3$(number of samples: 353), 82.5${\mu}g/m^3$(number of samples: 357) and 164.2 ${\mu}g/m^3$(number of samples: 430) respectively. In primary smelting industry, the highest geometric mean air concentration was 35.4 ${\mu}g/m^3$ in the secondary smelting operation; followed by casting operation (24.9 ${\mu}g/m^3$) and melting operation (14.9 ${\mu}g/m^3$), respectively. On the other hand, in secondary smelting industries, the highest geometric mean air concentration was 125.4${\mu}g/m^3$ in melting operation; followed by casting operation (90.5${\mu}g/m^3$) and pre-treatment operation (43.4${\mu}g/m^3$), respectively. However, in litharge making industries, there were no significant differences of geometric mean air concentrations between litharge operation and stabilizer operation. The proportion of over PEL (50${\mu}g/m^3$) was highest in litharge industry and followed by secondary smelting industries. However The proportions of over PEL(${\mu}g./m^3.$) were decreased by the years of environmental monitoring. The significant reduction of mean air lead concentration since year of 2000 was observed due to more active environmental engineering control and new introduction of new operation in manufacturing process, but may be also influenced by non-engineering method such as reduction of operation hours or reduction of exposure time during actual environmental measurement by industrial hygienist according to more strict enforcement of occupational and safety law by the government.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.261-271
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• 2007

To provide necessary information for future environmental monitoring of storage batteries in Korea, authors analyzed environmental monitoring dataset of air lead concentration of 12 storage battery industries measured during 1989-2006. We calculated geometric mean and standard deviation with minimum and maximum value of each year dataset. Air lead concentration data were analyzed according to year of measurement, type of grid manufacturing method (grid casting type or expander type), size of industries and type of operation (casting, lead powder & pasting, assembly and others). The geometric mean and standard deviation of all lead industries for overall 18 years were $72{\mu}g/m^3$ and 3.65 with minimum of $6{\mu}g/m^3$ and maximum of $7,956{\mu}g/m^3$. The geometric mean air lead concentrations of years between 1989-1999 were above the Korean PEL($50{\mu}g/m^3$), whereas those of years after year 2000 were below the Korean PEL showing 50% of it. The geometric mean concentration of air lead was significantly lower in expander method battery industries than that of grid method battery industries and was lower in large sized battery industries than small & medium sized ones throughout the whole 18 years period. The distributions of over PEL($50{\mu}g/m^3$) were decreased by the years of environmental monitoring and those were lower in expander method battery industries than grid method battery industries. The significant reduction of mean air lead concentration during last 10 years may be induced partly due to more active environmental engineering control and new introduction of new operation in grid method battery industries, but may be also influenced by non-engineering method such as reduction of operation hours or reduction of exposure time during actual environmental measurement by industrial hygienist which is not concrete evidence, but just circumstantial evidence.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.83-101
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• 2005

Because of its strong potential for health hazards, the concentration levels of airborne lead (Pb) have been circumscribed by environmental laws in many countries. In this study, we made a comparative study on the environmental behavior of Pb for the acquisition of its distribution characteristics using data sets collected from major cities in Korea for a period of 6 years (1998 through 2003). According to this study, Pb concentration decreased slowly in most industrialized cities of Koreathroughout the whole study. period. In contrast, such temporal signals were not evident in data sets collected from residential, commercial, and grassland areas. Although seasonal patterns generally exhibited the occurrences of high Pb concentration during the spring, results appear to reflect the influence of Asian Dust (AD) in the springtime. The results of our study clearly indicate that Pb distribution is strongly influencedby source types in relation to their land use patterns. Comparison of our Pb data sets with that of other countries indicates that Pb concentration levels obtained from relatively cleaner districts of Korea are still significantly higher than other countries. The results of this analysis generally indicate that Pb concentrations in most areas are affected by the type and strength of man-made activities. Considering that most areas are affected by a variety of pollutants, continuous efforts are needed to control Pb concentrations in the atmosphere.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.833-838
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• 2004

The analysis of Pb in both PM$_{2.5}$ and PM$_{10}$ fraction of aerosols was made consecutively for every spring season during four year period of 2001 through 2004. To diagnose the impact of the Asian Dust (AD) on metal concentration levels, we compared our Pb measurement data after dividing the whole data sets into AD and NAD period. The results of our analysis indicated that the concentrations of coarse particles increased significantly during the AD period, whereas an increase in the fine counterpart was of moderate degree. However, when Pb concentrations between AD and NAD were compared, the patterns were quite different. From all particle fractions, the Pb concentrations of NAD were slightly or moderately higher than those of AD. The overall results of our study suggest that an increase in particle concentrations during the AD period can cause a rather slight reduction in Pb concentration levels; this can be explained by the dilution effect associated with the increase of Pb-depleted coarse particles.s.s.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.235-240
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• 2001

This study was performed to compare the lead levels of 20 quality control standard samples(KOSHA:18-2000) and 72 field samples in lead-acid battery manufacturing plant between ICP and portable-XRF methods. 1. While the proficiencies of 20 quality control standard samples by ICP were 100%, those of analytic result values by XRF were 75%. 2. The correlation coefficient(r) between the reference values for quality control (REF) and the analytic result values by ICP (ICP) was 1.0(p<0.05), and simple linear regression equation and the coefficient(R2) were REF = -0.0009 + 1.016 ICP and 0.9997, respectively. 3. The correlation coefficient(r) between the analytic result values of quality control standard samples by ICP (ICP) and by XRF (XRF) was 0.975(p<0.05), and simple linear regression equation and the coefficient(R2) were ICP = -0.0003 + 1.002 XRF and 0.950, respectively. 4. The correlation coefficient(r) between the analytic result values for lead samples of a lead-acid battery manufacturing plant by ICP (ICP) and by XRF (XRF) was 0.993(p<0.05), and simple linear regression equation and the coefficient(R2) were ICP = -2.058 + 0.996 XRF and 0.987, respectively. 5. While the frequency distributions of XRF /ICP(Ratio) for each ICP concentration levels in a lead-acid battery manufacturing plant revealed high proportion in ratio range of 0.876-1.125 than in ration range of 1.126-1.375. Also, ICP concentration level in ration range of 0.786-1.125 was increased with increase of frequency distribution of XRF/ICP. 6. The limit of detection of XRF on lead was determined to be $6.11{\mu}g$/filter The data presented in this study indicated that relationship for lead level of quality control samples and field samples in a lead -acid battery manufacturing plant by ICP and portable-XRF methods was proved. The practicing industrial hygienist can use portable-XRF to produce a rapid on-site determination of lead exposure that can immediately becommunicated to workers and help identify appropriate levels of personal protection.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.271-276
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• 2000

The research centers on the health risk assessment of airborne toxic metals in Taejon third and fourth industrial complexes. Total suspended particulates were collected on glass microfibre filters by high volume air samplers. Fifteen toxic metals including 6 carcinogenic metals were analyzed by ICP-MS and ICP-AES after the pre-treatment of mixed acid extraction. The following results were summarized from the research : 1) the concentrations of TSPs were $17.7{\sim}219.6{\mu}g/m^3$ while the arithmetic mean concentration was $101.7{\mu}g/m^3$; 2) the arithmetic mean concentrations of human carcinogens such as arsenic, hexavalent chromium and nickel subsulfide were 10.22, 6.96 and 6.42 $ng/m^3$, respectively while those of probable human carcinogens such as beryllium, cadmium and lead were 0.13, 3.41, 97.65 $ng/m^3$, respectively; 3) the point risk estimate for the inhalation of carcinogenic metals was $1.5{\times}10^{-4}$, which was much higher than a risk standard of $10^{-5}$; 4) approximately 93% of the cancer risk were to the inhalation of human carcinogens, arsenic and hexavalent chromium, which should be properly managed in Taejon third and fourth industrial complexes.