• 보건행정학회지
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• 제25권3호
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• pp.149-151
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• 2015

United Nations (UN) adopted 17 global sustainable development agenda to the year 2030 in the 68th general assembly on september, 2015. The global agendas and goals are important for 3 reasons: (1) to adopt the international standard for determining the health status; (2) to identify areas in need of attention; and (3) to advance international cooperation regarding health issues. In the area of infectious diseases, our goals include the eradication of human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome, tuberculosis, and malaria as well as a substantial reduction of hepatitis by the year 2030. In the area of non-communicable diseases, our goal is to reduce premature mortality (${\leq}70years$) at least 30% by the year 2030. Preventive activities such as smoking cessation, alcohol abstinence, nutritional measures, and physical activities, should also be promoted intensively nationwide. It is also necessary to establish stringent policies for control hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and hypercholesterolemia. Additionally, environmental health, injury by traffic accident, mental health, and drug and alcohol abuse are important health policies. Furthermore, in the area of international health and cooperation, maternal and child health remain important areas of support for underdeveloped countries. Education and training towards the empowerment of health professionals in underdeveloped countries is also an important issue. The global agenda prioritize resources(manpower and budget) allocation of international organizations such as UN, World Health Organization, United Nations Development Programme, and World Bank. The global agenda also sets the contribution levels of Official Developmental Assistance donor countries. Health professionals such as professors and researchers will have to turn their attention to areas of vital international importance, and play an important role in implementation strategies and futhermore guiding global agenda.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• 제29권
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• pp.9.1-9.3
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• 2014

Diesel exhaust particles (DEP) contain elemental carbon, organic compounds including Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), metals, and other trace compounds. Diesel exhaust is complex mixture of thousands of chemicals. Over forty air contaminants are recognized as toxicants, such as carcinogens. Most diesel exhaust particles have aerodynamic diameters falling within a range of 0.1 to $0.25{\mu}m$. DEP was classified as a definite human carcinogen (group 1) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer at 2012 based on recently sufficient epidemiological evidence for lung cancer. Significant decreases in DEP and other diesel exhaust constituents will not be evident immediately, and outworn diesel car having longer mileage still threatens health of people in spite of recent remarkable development in diesel engine technology. Policy change in South Korea, such as introduction of diesel taxi, may raise health risk of air pollution in metropolitan area with these limitations of diesel engine. To protect people against DEP in South Korea, progressive strategies are needed, including disallowance of diesel taxi, more strict regulation of diesel engine emission, obligatory diesel particulate filter attachment in outworn diesel car, and close monitoring about health effects of DEP.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제38권6호
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• pp.451-459
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• 2012

Background: In Korea, a healthy 36-year-old man developed acute interstitial pneumonitis soon after inhaling a waterproofing spray which he had applied at home to his outdoor jacket. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to review cases of varying degrees of respiratory toxicity and poisoning in connection with the use of waterproofing spray and summarize major reasons for cases of poisoning. Methods: We searched articles reporting on a combination of a waterproofing agent and/or respiratory symptoms, including acute respiratory syndrome, lung injury, pneumonia, pulmonary toxicity, and respiratory disease. Results: We reviewed a number of cases of varying degrees of respiratory toxicity and poisoning resulting from inhalation of waterproofing spray containing fluorocarbon co-polymer, solvents and propellants reported in a variety of countries. The literature searches concluded that among the ingredients of waterproofing agents, fluorinated polymer may cause acute respiratory health effects. Conclusion: Environmental policy should be implemented in order to prevent consumers from using household and industrial products including waterproofing agents. In addition, a national surveillance system should be created to collect cases of poisoning caused by the use of consumer products.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제51권6호
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• pp.275-280
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• 2018

Objectives: The project Seoul Atopy Asthma-friendly School investigated the current status of childhood asthma to enable formulation of a preventative policy. We evaluated the current prevalence of childhood asthma in Seoul and its trends and related factors. Methods: The project was conducted annually from 2011 to 2016 and involved around 35 000 children aged 1-13 years. Based on the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood guidelines, the survey involved parents. The associations of the particulate matter ($PM_{10}$) concentration, and the number of days on which the daily air quality guidance level was exceeded in the 25 districts of Seoul, with the prevalence of asthma were assessed. Results: The age-standardized asthma prevalence in 2011 and 2016 was 6.74 and 4.02%, respectively. The prevalence of lifetime asthma treatment and treatment during the last 12 months tended to decrease from 2011 to 2016. Asthma treatment was significantly correlated with the number of days on which the daily air quality guidance level was exceeded, but not with the $PM_{10}$ concentration. Conclusions: This study reports the prevalence of asthma among children in Seoul and confirmed the relationship between childhood asthma and known risk factors in a large-scale survey.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제12권3호
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• pp.370-376
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• 2021

Backround: Working condition surveys are widely recognized as useful tools for monitoring the quality of working life and the improvements introduced by health and safety policy frameworks at the European and national level. The Italian Workers' Compensation Authority carried out a national survey (Insula) to investigate the employer's perceptions related to working conditions and their impact on health. Methods: The present study is based on the data collected from the Italian survey on health and safety at work (INSULA) conducted on a representative sample of the Italian workforce (n = 8,000). This focuses on the relationship between psychosocial risk factors and self-reported health using a set of logistic and linear regression models. Results: Working conditions such as managerial support, job satisfaction, and role act as protective factors on mental and physical health. On the contrary, workers' risk perceptions related to personal exposure to occupational safety and health risks, concern about health conditions, and work-related stress risk exposure determine a poorer state of health. Conclusions: This study highlights the link between working conditions and self-report health, and this aims to provide a contribution in the field of health at work. Findings show that working conditions must be object of specific preventive measures to improve the workers' health and well-being.

• 환경영향평가
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• 제17권1호
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• pp.67-79
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• 2008

Global warming, which is one of the most serious challenges, has been the subject of intense debate and concern for many scientists, policy-makers, and citizens for at least the past decade. To protect the health and economic well-being of current and future generations, we must reduce our emissions like carbon dioxide. Alternatives to achieve an energy future without serious global warming are to change to clean and renewable sources of energy like the wind, the sun lights, rivers, the biomass, hydrogen, and oceans. To identify some of the key and new environmental impacts associated with renewable energy and hydrogen energy, we set up the new conceptual methodology. Specifically, new identified environmental and health impacts are related with the usage of hydrogen energy. When comparing with fossil fuel, the renewable energies can reduce the release of carbon dioxide when they are used except hydrogen produced from fossil fuel. However, all renewable energy technologies are not appropriate to all applications or locations. Our results suggest that all of alternatives to replace fossil fuel can release the several global and local impacts although they seems to be smaller than the impacts from fossil fuel. Therefore, the quantitative and detail analysis to assess environmental impacts of the alternative energies might be useful to make our decision for the future energy against the global warming.

• 한국입자에어로졸학회지
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• 제13권2호
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• pp.43-52
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• 2017

Policy direction for the management of air quality in Korea has been on the reduction of the average concentrations of the criteria air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and fine particles. However, recently, risk based management of air pollutants becomes an important issue. In this study, to develop an effective air quality management policy direction in Korea, (1) the fourth Multiple Air Toxics Exposure Study (MATES IV) carried out in the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SQAQMD) in the USA is reviewed and (2) the results are compared with in these in Seoul and (3) policy directions are suggested. It was found that (1) systematic integrated study comprising of measurement, modeling, emission inventory estimation, and risk assessment was essential to estimate the health risk of air pollutants reliably, (2) cancer risk of diesel particle was dominant over other air pollutants, and (3) health risk based emissions were different from amount based emissions. It was suggested that (1) reducing the exposure from hot spots might important to reduce health risk from air pollutants and (2) an integrated air quality management administration system is important for the efficient management of air pollution.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제35권6호
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• pp.517-525
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• 2009

The water quality of Lake Shihwa had been rapidly deteriorating since 1994 due to wastewater input from the watersheds, limited water circulation and the lack of a wastewater treatment policy. In 2000, the government decided to open the tidal embankment and make a comprehensive management plan to improve the water quality, especially inflowing stream water around Shihwa and Banwol industrial complex. However, the water quality and microbial community have not as yet been fully evaluated. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influent water quality around the industrial area based on chemical and biological analysis, and collected surface water sample from the Siheung Stream, up-stream to down-stream through the industrial complex, Samples were collected in July 2009. The results show that the downstream site near the industrial complex had higher concentrations of heavy metals (Cu, Mn, Fe, Mg, and Zn) and organic matter than upstream sites. A combination of DGGE (Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis) gels, lists of K-WQI (Korean Water Quality Index), cluster analysis, MDS (Multi-Dimensional Scaling) and PCA (Principal Component Analysis) has demonstrated clear clustering between Siheung stream 3 and 4 and with a high similarity and detected metal reducing bacteria (Shewanella spp.) and biodegrading bacteria (Acinetobacter spp.). These results suggest that use of both chemical and microbiological marker would be useful to fully evaluate the water quality.

• 환경정책연구
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• 제12권3호
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• pp.49-71
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• 2013

독성, 환경 노출 및 인체에 대한 위해성 유해성 등 안전성에 대한 문제점을 가지고 있는 나노물질의 확인 및 안전성 확보의 요구가 점차 높아지고 있다. 나노물질은 화학물질로 이용될 뿐만 아니라 소비자가 이용하는 제품으로 범 분야에 걸쳐 활용되기 때문에, 보다 효과적인 나노물질의 안전관리 제도화를 위해서는 각국의 정책사례를 규제 강도별, 나노 적용분야별, 규제대상 종류별로 구분하여 정책 동향을 파악하는 것이 중요하다. 나노물질의 잠재적 위험성을 최소화시키기 위해서는 사전예방원칙을 적용한 제도의 구축 또한 필요하다. 더불어 국내 실정에 적합한 정책 수립을 목표로 하고, 국제 흐름에 선제적, 능동적으로 대응할 수 있는 방안도 함께 고려해야 한다.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제40권5호
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• pp.355-366
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• 2014

Objectives: This study seeks to evaluate the vulnerability assessment of the human health sector for $PM_{10}$, which is reflected in the regional characteristics and related disease mortality rates for $PM_{10}$ in Busan over the period of 2006-2010. Methods: According to the vulnerability concept suggested by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), vulnerability to $PM_{10}$ is comprised of the categories of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. The indexes of the exposure and sensitivity categories indicate positive effects, while the adaptive capacity index indicates a negative effect on vulnerability to $PM_{10}$. Variables of each category were standardized by the rescaling method, and each regional relative vulnerability was computed through the vulnerability index calculation formula. Results: The regions with a high exposure index are Jung-Gu (transportation region) and Saha-Gu (industrial region). Major factors determining the exposure index are the $PM_{10}$ concentration, days of $PM_{10}{\geq}50$, ${\mu}g/m^3$, and $PM_{10}$ emissions. The regions that show a high sensitivity index are urban and rural regions; these commonly have a high mortality rate for related disease and vulnerable populations. The regions that have a high adaptive capacity index are Jung-Gu, Gangseo-Gu, and Busanjin-Gu, all of which have a high level of economic/welfare/health care factors. The high-vulnerability synthesis of the exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity indexes show that Dong-Gu and Seo-Gu have a risk for $PM_{10}$ potential effects and a low adaptive capacity. Conclusions: This study presents the vulnerability index to $PM_{10}$ through a relative comparison using quantitative evaluation to draw regional priorities. Therefore, it provides basic data to reflect environmental health influences in favor of an adaptive policy limiting damage to human health caused by vulnerability to $PM_{10}$.