• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.169-174
• /
• 2017

Background: We assessed the cancer risks of four different Finnish asbestos-exposed cohorts. We also explored if the cohorts with varying profiles of asbestos exposure exhibited varying relative risks of cancer. Methods: The incident cancer cases for the asbestos-exposed worker cohorts were updated to the end of 2012 using the files of the Finnish Cancer Registry. The previously formed cohorts consisted of asbestos mine workers, asbestosis patients, asbestos sprayers, and workers who had taken part in a screening study based on asbestos exposure at work. Results: The standardized incidence ratio (SIR) for mesothelioma varied from about threefold to > 100-fold in the different cohorts. In the screening cohort the SIR for mesothelioma was highest in 2003-2007, In other cohorts it was more constant in 5-year period inspection. The SIR for lung cancer was about twofold to tenfold in all except the screening cohort. Asbestos sprayers were at the highest risk of mesothelioma and lung cancer. Conclusion: The SIR for mesothelioma is high in all of the cohorts that represent different kinds of asbestos exposure. The smaller SIR for mesothelioma in the screening cohort with lowest level of asbestos exposure might suggest dose-responsiveness between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma. It does seem that the highest risk of lung cancer in these cohorts except in the youngest of the cohorts, the screening cohort, is over. The highest SIR for lung cancer of the asbestosis patient and sprayers cohort is explained by their heavy asbestos exposure.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.393-402
• /
• 2011

Asbestos is a toxic material that can lead to lung cancer and other diseases. There is no information regarding areas in Korea that contain asbestos in nature; consequently we need to manage such areas with care. The purpose of this study was to construct a local graded map of asbestos exposure risk based on the natural occurrence of asbestos in rocks. We first developed a means of evaluating the asbestos exposure risk and produced thematic maps based on a field survey. In addition, we constructed a knowledge base for asbestos through analysis, representation and processes about asbestos data and prepare for the development of an evaluation model for asbestos exposure risk. The spatial analysis of asbestos exposure risk is based on a weighted-overlay analysis using expert opinion and the literature, and a fuzzy-overlay analysis using the uncertainty in the data. The map of asbestos exposure risk, compiled according to the weighted and fuzzy operations, is expected to be used to ensure safety and to reduce the risk of exposure to asbestos.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.17 no.5
• /
• pp.68-74
• /
• 2012

The objective of this study is to examine a releasable asbestos sampler developed for measuring friable asbestos from soil to air controlled by wind velocity and water contents. Asbestos contaminated soil with 3.75% at the Sinsuk-asbestos mine was sampled, air-dried and sieved to 100 mesh, then homogenized during 24 hours' agitation. Various wind velocities, 1 m/s, 2 m/s, 3 m/s, and 5 m/s, were applied to evaluate releasable characteristics of the releasable asbestos sampler. In addition, soils with 1.0%, 3.4%, 4.4%, 11.0%, 16.2%, and 20.0% of water contents were also examined the amount of friable asbestos by the releasable asbestos sampler. Collected soil and air samples were analyzed by polarized light microscopy (PLM) and phase contrast microscopy (PCM), respectively. Those contents were applied to calculate an excess life cancer risk (ELCR). This study also discussed the relationship with risk assessment by a weeding scenario of activity based sampling (ABS) and field applied releasable asbestos sampler. The result was shown that friability of asbestos in soil increased with wind velocity and decreased with water content. In comparison with ELCR results, over 10E-4 of cancer risk was found in condition on < 5% water content and > 3m/s wind velocity.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.137-143
• /
• 2014

Asbestos is given to a variety of six naturally occurring silicate minerals. These minerals possess high tensile strength, flexibility, resistance to chemical and thermal degradation, and electrical resistance. These minerals have been used for decades in thousands of commercial products, such as insulation and fireproofing materials, automotive brakes, textile products, cement and wallboard materials. When handled, asbestos can separate into microscopic-size particles that remain in the air and are easily inhaled. It is now known that prolonged inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause serious and fatal illnesses including malignant lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis. Therefore the use of asbestos and asbestos products has dramatically decreased in recent years. Also all constructions including asbestos should be removed under strictly controlled conditions and very tightly implemented health & safety management systems. In this study, the process of the removal work of the asbestos cement slate was analyzed by IDEF-0 modeling and evaluated by 4M risk assessment method. The results show that removal work of the asbestos cement slate was classified five process and eighteen detail process. The risk of safety side the higher than the risk of health side in 4M risk assessment.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.21 no.9
• /
• pp.1069-1078
• /
• 2012

This study was performed to evaluate the asbestos exposure levels and to calculate excess lifetime cacer risks(ELCRs) in asbestos-containing buildings for maintenance and management. The range of airborne asbestos concentration of 33 buildings was 0.0018 ~ 0.0126 f/cc and one site exceeded indoor air-quality recommended limit 0.01 f/cc. And ELCRs based on US EPA IRIS(Integrated risk information system) model are 1.5E-06 ~ 3.9E-05 levels, and there was no site showed 1.0E-04 (one person per million) level or more, and 11 sites showed 1.0E-05 (one person per 100,000 people) level or more. To prevent the release of asbestos fibers, it needs operation and maintenance of asbestos-containing building materials, and there are some methods such as removal, repairment, enclosure and encapsulation. In conclusion, a risk-based air action level for asbestos in air is an appropriate metric for asbestos-containing building management.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.253-266
• /
• 2016

Objectives: This study is for characteristics of asbestos occurrence (NOA, naturally occurring asbestos) from the Gapyeong area and its host rocks, serpentinites. Methods: Representative samples are collected from the serpentinite bodies, following degrees of hydrothermal alteration and metamorphism, after about 2 year field trips. Mineralogical, morphological and optical characteristics of the asbestos and host rocks are confirmed by PLM, XRD EPMA and SEM results. Results: The serpentinites are dunites and harzburgites, and host asbestos, including chrysotile, tremolite and actinolite. The asbestos chrysotiles are found as veins ranging from several millimeters to several centimeters in thickness, while asbestos-tremolite and -actinolite occur along cracks and fractures ranging up to ten centimeters in thickness. The chryostiles occur mainly as cross and slip fibers, while the amphibole asbestos is found as vein, slip and oblique fibers. More tremolitic grains are colorless and commonly show elongated or fiber shapes, whereas the magnesio hornblende grains mainly show light green and occur as subhedral to euhedral diamond grains. Conclusions: Overall characteristics of serpentinites from the Gapyeong area are similar to worldwide orogenic-related Alpine type ultramafic rocks serpentinized and serpentinites in South Chungcheong-do Province, Korea, and occurrences of asbestos are similar to those of the ultramafic bodies in South Chungcheong-do Province.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.79-90
• /
• 2014

Objectives: The aim of this study was to suggest preliminary data for the establishment of communication methodology of asbestos risk, fit for the features of each audiences, by grasping the features of risk communication by each element for each group survey. Methods: For this study, a questionnaire survey has been conducted from May to August 2012 and responses of 617 people including 214 school asbestos managers, 95 asbestos business managers, and 308 general public have been analyzed. Results: The feature by element of risk communication shows that to give information through non-governmental organizations with reliability such as colleges, research institutes, asbestos-related associations, etc among the entire investigated groups, is most effective. Lastly, for stakeholders related to asbestos, the public feedback for governmental asbestos management policy shows that it was considered that there is lack of reality due to comprehension deficit for situation, lack of a system of asbestos general management in the country and lack of policy connectivity among the branches of the government, and between the central government and the local government. However, the general public selected lack of various information disclosure, education, publicity for asbestos and lack of communication with citizens as the biggest problems.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.135-141
• /
• 2012

This study was conducted to evaluate the characteristics of exposure to asbestos for ship repair workers in Korea by a systematic review. The number of articles studying asbestos exposure levels from ship repair workplaces was found to be 4. All asbestos concentration reported as either geometric mean and geometric standard deviation or ranges were transformed to arithmetic mean to estimate exposure level. In addition, weighted arithmetic means(WAMs) were calculated by weighing of the different number of samples. The WAM concentrations were 2.746 f/cc during asbestos dismantling work, 0.034 f/cc before asbestos dismantling work and 0.065 f/cc after working respectively. The maximum airborne concentration of asbestos during asbestos removal work was 7.02 f/cc which was 70 times higher than the occupational exposure limit of Korea, 0.1 f/cc. This study recommends that retrospective exposure to asbestos based on various ship types and operations should be assessed.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.81-87
• /
• 2009

Final purpose of this study was designed to develop the quality control(QC) sample for proficiency analytical testing of asbestos. This study consisted of two parts; first, development of manufacturing apparatus and sample preparing procedure for asbestos quality control(QC) sample: second, validation of the QC samples made by our developed method as asbestos proficiency analytical testing sample. The main results of the first part research are as followed We developed the apparatus for manufacturing the asbestos QC sample, consisted of filter hold, filter holder manifolder, vacuum system, and vacuum pump. The most proper filter of making the QC samples was a cellulose ester membrane filter with 25 mm diameter, pore size 0.8 um. And we presented the optimal procedure for preparing the asbestos QC sample by using the developed apparatus. We will verify the manufactured asbestos QC samples by this method, and present the validation results to confirm the reliability as a asbestos QC sample in next paper.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
• /
• 2022.11a
• /
• pp.17-18
• /
• 2022

In Korea, asbestos removal has been actively carried out nationwide since 2015 when asbestos was completely banned as a first-class carcinogen. Since scattering dust generated in the process of removing asbestos causes fatal diseases such as asbestos lung disease and lung cancer, concerns are growing over the safety of construction workers and building users undergoing dismantling. For this reason, regulations on asbestos sites have been strengthened and prior studies on safety and risk assessment have been conducted, but research on actual site data collection and process planning is insufficient even though safety is reduced due to delay in site construction period. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the work and delay factors of the asbestos dismantling process and develop an optimized process plan model for workers. This study is an initial step to develop an optimized process plan model that considers the safety and productivity of asbestos dismantling work, and aims to help establish an optimized process plan for asbestos dismantling process using website clone simulation.