• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.14 no.5
• /
• pp.347-353
• /
• 2005

The risk assessment is the qualitative or quantitative evaluation of the risk posed to human health and the environment by the actual or potential presence or release of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants. The environmental impact assessment (EIA) is assessed by the environmental criteria, and risk assessment is assessed by the risk rate. Risk rate based on dose-response values may not be easy to apply on regulatory basis like EIA for uncertainty. Internationally there is an example of OECD program. Risk assessment of High Production Volume (HPV) Chemicals has started since the OECD Program with the 1990 Council Act on the Co-operative Investigation and Risk Reduction of Existing Chemicals. These HPV chemicals include all chemicals produced or imported at levels greater than 1,000 tonnes per year in at least one Member country or in the European Union region. The SIDS called the Screening Information Data Set is regarded as the minimum information needed to assess an HPV chemical to determine whether any further work should be carried out or not. All the data elements of SIDS including assessment for environment and health are prepared as three formats of the full SIDS Dossier, the SIDS Initial Assessment Report (SIAR), and the SIDS Initial Assessment Profile (SIAP) of an HPV chemical. In 1998 the global chemical industry through the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) has joined to work with OECD. The OECD has assessed approximately 1,000 chemicals from 1991 through 2004 with ICCA. Till the February of 2005, 592 chemicals of those chemicals completed SIDS reports. Member countries have been targeted the goal of 1,000 new chemicals from 2005 to 2010 and Korea shared 36 chemicals from the 1,000 new chemicals. Currently Korea has completed SIDS reports of 7 chemicals among sponsored 24 chemicals. In conclusion SIDS project will be linked to national program for outputs application with more reliable production. Both the OECD and industry will carry out their commitment to complete assessments for more and the remaining chemicals assessment. The major outputs will contribute to cope with international chemical management.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.45 no.3
• /
• pp.231-237
• /
• 2019

Objective: The objective of this study was to propose a method using population risk to assess the local background exposure effect of harmful pollutants from chemical accidents in Ulsan. Methods: The benzene was selected as representative harmful pollutant. The concentrations of benzene were measured and analyzed at 40 sites in Ulsan city in September, 2018. The data from National Statistics office in Korea were used for population density, and the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) data from US EPA were used for unit risk. Results: The risk assessment can be carried out by considering the background population risk. The background population risk was calculated as 5.01 persons per million for exposure to benzene in Ulsan, and therefore may be used as a adjusted background method in case of chemical accident caused by benzene. Conclusions: This study may provide the evidence that background exposure effect and risk to harmful pollutants from chemical accidents would be useful.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.1-6
• /
• 2013

This study was conducted to compare the value of the working environment measurement with the expected exposure value drawn by using a program, thereby going to investigate whether it is available to the risk assessment of domestic workplace. We used the ECETOC TRA program which is one of the exposure predictive models. Four kinds of substances were measured in two workplace which was exposed to organic solvents and one kind of substance was measured in three workplace which was exposed to dusts and then an exposure assessment of chemical risk factors was conducted. The result value of the working environment measurement, solid substance exceeded standard in one site, and it was found that the other solid and liquid substances were within the standard. The value of the exposure assessment program showd the same result; it was higher than the value of the working environment measurement, suggesting that due to its nature, the exposure assessment program is run only on the worst situation. Therefore, it was found that when the exposure assesment program is used, variables should be substituted only after accurately assessing the workplace and it is a good idea to assess the risk beforehand with the exposure assessment program in the case of the workplace which employs no more than 5 people and where it is hard to assess the working environment.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.45 no.1
• /
• pp.9-17
• /
• 2019

Objectives: This study examined the safety of tattoo ink by analyzing the phenol contents in tattoo inks and its risk assessment of selected phenol. Methods: A sample of 30 tattoo inks was purchased, the phenol contents were analyzed, and a risk assessment on dermal exposure from tattooing was carried out. Hazard identification was collected from toxicity data on systemic effects caused by dermal exposure to phenol, and the most sensitive toxicity value was adopted. Exposure assessment ($Exposure_{phenol}$) was calculated by applying phenol contents and standard exposure factors, while dose-response assessment was based on the collected toxicity data and skin absorption rate of phenol, assessment factors (AFs) for derived no-effect level ($DNEL_{demal}$). In addition, the risk characterization was calculated by comparing the risk characterization ratio (RCR) with $Exposure_{phenol}$ and $DNEL_{dermal}$ Results: The phenol concentration in the 30 products was from 1.4 to $649.1{\mu}g/g$. The toxicity value for systemic effects of phenol was adopted at 107 mg/kg. $Exposure_{phenol}$ in tattooing was from 0.000087 to 0.040442 mg/kg. $DNEL_{dermal}$ was calculated at 0.0072 mg/kg (=toxicity value 107 mg/kg ${\div}$ AFs 650 ${\times}$ skin absorption rate 4.4%). Thirteen out of 30 products showed an RCR between 1.02 and 5.62. The RCR of all red inks was above 1. Conclusions: Phenol was detected in all of the 30 tattoo inks, and the RCR of 13 products above 1 indicates a high level of risk concern, making it necessary to prepare safety management standards for phenol in tattoo inks.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.9 no.3
• /
• pp.249-256
• /
• 2018

This article aims to provide a systematic review of the exposure assessment methods used to assign wafer fabrication (fab) workers in epidemiologic cohort studies of mortality from all causes and various cancers. Epidemiologic and exposure-assessment studies of silicon wafer fab operations in the semiconductor industry were collected through an extensive literature review of articles reported until 2017. The studies found various outcomes possibly linked to fab operations, but a clear association with the chemicals in the process was not found, possibly because of exposure assessment methodology. No study used a tiered assessment approach to identify similar exposure groups that incorporated manufacturing era, facility, fab environment, operation, job and level of exposure to individual hazardous agents. Further epidemiologic studies of fab workers are warranted with more refined exposure assessment methods incorporating both operation and job title and hazardous agents to examine the associations with cancer risk or mortality.

• 대한예방의학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 1994.02a
• /
• pp.450-468
• /
• 1994

Scientists have long used conventional toxicological methods to establish 'safe levels of exposure' for chemicals presumed to have threshold health effects or doses below which significant effects are unlikely to occur. These same methods cannot be used to establish safe levels of exposure for non-threshold pollutants. such as carcinogens. Therefore. Federal regulatory agencies in the United States are using risk assessment methods to provide information for public health policy decisions concerning increases in risk associated with increases in exposure to carcinogenic and other non-threshold pollutants. Acceptable exposure/risk levels are decided by policymakers who consider descriptions and estimates of risks together with social and economic benefits from the uses of the chemical. 1bis paper focuses on the development of quantitative risk assessment approaches by Federal regulatory agencies in the United States, and identifies the mathematical models currently being used for risk extrapolation. including their inherent uncertainties. The uncertainties and limitations of these methods have led some scientists to question the utility of quantitative risk extrapolation. The experience of the; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). as summarized in this paper. can provide a realistic basis for evaluating the pros and cons. Finally. shortcomings in current risk assessment methods and their use in policy decisions are explored. and areas for possible improvement. given current scientific knowledge. are identified.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.18 no.5
• /
• pp.373-381
• /
• 2002

Benzene, Ethyl-benzene, Toluene and Xylene (BTEX) can be released to a groundwater in case of the oil leakage from underground storage tank of a gas station. These chemicals are found to contribute to the total inhalation risk from contaminated indoor air. This study presents the assessment of a human exposure to such chemicals released from the groundwater into indoor air. At first, a 2-compartment model is developed to describe the transfer and distribution of the chemicals released from groundwater in a house through showering, washing clothes, and flushing toilets. The model is used to estimate a daily human exposure through inhalation of such BTEX for adults based on two sets of exposure scenarios. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is used to identify important parameters. The results obtained from the study would help to increase the understanding of risk assessment issues associated with the indoor pollution by BTEX released from contaminated groundwater.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.20 no.6
• /
• pp.1-7
• /
• 2015

The most critical health effect of lead exposure is the neurodevelopmental effect to children caused by the increased blood lead level. Therefore, the endpoint of the risk assessment for lead-contaminated sites should be set at the blood lead level of children. In foreign countries, the risk assessment for lead-contaminated sites is conducted by estimating the increased blood lead level of children via oral intake and/or inhalation (United States Environmental Protection Agency, USEPA), or by comparing the estimated oral dose to the threshold oral dose of lead, which is derived from the permissible blood lead level of children (Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, RIVM). For the risk assessment, USEPA employs Integrated-Exposure-Uptake-Biokinetic (IEUBK) Model to check whether the estimated portion of children whose blood lead level exceeds 10 µg/dL, threshold blood lead level determined by USEPA, is higher than 5%, while Dutch RIVM compares the estimated oral dose of lead to the threshold oral dose (2.8 µg/kg-day), which is derived from the permissible blood lead level of children. In Korea, like The Netherlands, risk assessment for lead-contaminated sites is conducted by comparing the estimated oral dose to the threshold oral dose; however, because the threshold oral dose listed in Korean risk assessment guidance is an unidentified value, it is recommended to revise the existing threshold oral dose described in Korean risk assessment guidance. And, if significant lead exposure via inhalation is suspected, it is useful to employ IEUBK Model to derive the risk posed via multimedia exposure (i.e., both oral ingestion and inhalation).

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.64-72
• /
• 2007

Humans are exposed by a range of pollutants in soil via exposure routes such as ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact. Risk assessment is a process of evaluating the adverse health effects of chemicals as a result of exposure to stressors, and it is a very useful tool to establish the cleanup goals in contaminated lands. In the exposure assessment that is one of main process in risk assessment, exposure factor plays a significant role to quantify the intake of soil pollutants. However there is a very limited study about the exposure factor applicable to Korea. In this study, we compared the exposure factors applied by the developed countries including the United States and representative European countries, and suggested the exposure factor that might be suitable in our situation. The exposure factors considered in this study include average lifetime, body weight, (exposed) skin surface area, life time, skin absorption, soil-skin adherence factor, and soil ingestion rate. This information is needed to quantitatively estimate the intake of soil pollutants in contaminated lands.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
• /
• v.10 no.1_2
• /
• pp.21-35
• /
• 1995

Risk assessment processes, which include processes for the estimation of human cancer potency using animal bioassay data and calculation of human exposure, entail uncertainties. In the exposure assessment process, exposure scenarios with various assumptions could affect the exposure amount and excess cancer risk. We compared risk estimates among various exposure scenarios of vinyl chloride, trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene in tap water. The contaminant concentrations were analyzed from tap water samples in Seoul from 1993 to 1994. The oral and inhalation cancer potencies of the contaminants were estimated using multistage, Weibull, lognormal, and Mantel-Bryan model in TOX-RISK computer software. In the first case, human excess cancer risk was estimated by the US EPA method used to set the MCL(maximum contaminant level). In the second and third case, the risk was estimated for multi-route exposure with and without adopting Monte-Carlo simulation, respectively. In the second case, exposure input parameters and cancer potencies used probability distributions, and in the third case, those values used point estimates(mean, and maximum or 95% upper-bound value). As a result, while the excess cancer risk estimated by US EPA method considering only direct ingestion tended to be underestimated, the risk which was estimated by considering multi-route exposure without Monte-Carlo simulation and then using the maximum or 95% upper-bound value as input parameters tended to be overestimated. In risk assessment for volatile organic compounds, considering multi-route exposure with adopting Monte-Carlo analysis seems to provide the most reasonable estimations.