• Title/Summary/Keyword: industrial safety

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Firefighters' Exposures to Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Volatile Organic Compounds by Tasks in Some Fire Scenes in Korea (일부 화재현장에서 소방공무원의 직무별 다핵방향족탄화수소 및 휘발성유기화합물 노출평가)

  • Jin, Suhyun;Byun, Hyaejeong;Kang, Taesun
    • Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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    • v.29 no.4
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    • pp.477-487
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    • 2019
  • Objectives: Firefighters are known to be exposed to a variety of toxic substances, but little information is available on the exposure profile of firefighting activities. The aims of this study were to conduct exposure monitoring of toxic chemicals at fire scenes, to compare the concentrations of respective chemicals among firefighting tasks, and to assess the main factors influencing the concentrations of chemicals. Methods: Researchers performed sampling at firefighting scenes during four weeks in 2013. At the scene, we collected samples based on firefighters' own activities and examined the situation and scale of the accident. Collected samples were classified into three categories, including fire extinguishing and overhaul, and were analyzed in the laboratory according to respective analysis methods. Results: A total of fourteen fire activity events were surveyed: five fire extinguishing, six overhaul, and three fire investigations. Although no substance exceeded the ACGIH TLV, PAHs were detected in every sample. Naphthalene ranged from 0.24 to 279.13 mg/㎥ (median 49.6 mg/㎥) and benzo(a)pyrene was detected in one overhaul case at 10.85 ㎍/㎥. Benzene (0.01-12.2 ppm) was detected in every task and exceeded the ACGIH TLV. No significant difference in concentrations between tasks was shown. Conclusions: These results indicate that all firefighting tasks generated various hazardous combustion products, including possible carcinogens.

Current Status and Perspective and Future Task in Korea of Crop Genetic Transformation (작물형질전환의 현황과 한국내의 발전전망 및 과제)

  • Harn, Chee-Hark
    • Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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    • v.33 no.3
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    • pp.171-184
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    • 2006
  • According to ISAAA report, the global area of genetically modified (GM) crops increased more than 50 fold during the ten-year period from 1996 to 2005 with a sustained double-digit growth rate of 10%. This biotechnology adoption is one of the highest rates of technology adoption in agriculture history and this phenomenon indicates that the industrial value of the GM crops is highly perspective. In addition, the year 2010, 60% of cereal seeds in the global market would be GM or biotechnology related seeds so that the GM crop regards as the second green revolution that could provide a huge impact to food and agriculture. Nevertheless, there has not been any GM variety ever successfully commercialized in Korea and even none of the GM crops has ever been approved for safety testing by risk assessment. This seems that Korean agriculture industry might be indeed lost in the war of future seed market. However, lots of evidence show that Korean scientists have established advanced technologies and protocols to develop GM crops for last 20 years. Actually there have been many cases of successful transformation of crops that were previously known very difficult in transforming. Therefore, Korean agbiotechnology arena firmly holds an infrastructure for developing GM crops with a superior technology. Then what were the problems? Why has even a single GM crop not been commercialized in Korea? The tardiness shown by business in adopting the GM crop is caused by many factors: academical weakness, poor research funding, short knowledge of risk assessment, public concern, no successful experience, lack of professional leaders on GM variety development, lack of systems toward industrialization and inappropriate target transgenes from the beginning. In order to catch up in the race for the new green industry, each one of us in private sectors alongside academia and national research institutes needs to focus altogether on what can be done best in terms of choosing crops, investing fund and establishing a road map for commercialization of GM crops.

Assessment of dust exposure and personal protective equipment among dental technicians (치과기공사의 분진노출 수준 및 개인보호구 착용 실태 - 대구지역을 중심으로 -)

  • Park, Soo-Chul;Jeon, Man-Joong;SaKong, Joon
    • Journal of Technologic Dentistry
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    • v.33 no.1
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    • pp.93-102
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    • 2011
  • Purpose: The study aimed to evaluate working environment for dental technician by measuring dust level, ventilation conditions and the use of personal protective equipment and to provide basic information required to improve working environment and develop health education programs for dental technician. Methods: A total of 240 dental technician who are registered with the Daegu Association of Dental technician and working at 34 dental laboratories participated in the study. And the dust level was measured at 21 different spots in 16 dental laboratories out of 34. Results: Of 34 dental laboratories, 31 (91.2%) were equipped with a ventilator, but the remaining 3 (8.8%) did not have a ventilator. By the number of ventilator, 1 to 3 ventilators were found in 22 dental laboratories (71.0%), 4 to 6 ventilators were in 7 laboratories (22.5%) and more than 7 ventilators in 2 laboratories(6.5%). According to the frequence of changing filters in dust collector, 20 dental laboratories (58.9%) changed filters every four weeks, 10 laboratories (29.4%) changed them every six weeks and 4 laboratories (11.7%) changed them every eight weeks. Of total respondents, 114 (61.3%) said they wore a mask all the time while working, 56 (29.6%) said they frequently wore a mask, 19 (10.1%) said they did not wear a mask. As for the type of masks, 159 (84.1%) used a disposable mask, 25 (13.2%) used a cotton mask and 5 (2.7%) used an anti-dust mask. For dust sat on their outfits while working, 102 (54.0%) shook their uniforms inside workplace to keep dust off the uniforms, 64 (33.9%) did not anything until they wash their uniforms and 23 (12.1%) shook their uniforms outside workplace to keep dust off the uniforms. Of total respondents, 182 (96.3%) had a particle in their eyes while carrying out grinding work. Based on the measurement of floating dust at workplace, 3 dental laboratories showed dust concentration exceeding the minimum level of 10 mg/$m^3$ allowed under the permit for environment. Of those, 1 laboratory had the dust concentration that was more than 1.5 times higher than the minimum level. Dust concentration was higher in laboratories that used a dust collector with 0.5 horse power and changed filters more than 3 weeks ago. Dust comprised of nickel (more than 70%), chrome (9%) and others. The mean chrome concentration was more than twice higher than the minimum permissible level of 0.5 mg/$m^3$. There were two laboratories that showed chrome concentration exceeding the level of 0.4 mg/$m^3$. Like dust concentration, chrome level was higher in laboratories that used a dust collector with 0.5 horse power and changed filters more than 3 weeks ago. There were six laboratories that had nickel concentration exceeding the minimum permissible level of 1 mg/$m^3$. Of those, one laboratory had nickel concentration that was more than three times higher than the minimum permissible level. Nickel concentration was also higher in laboratories that used a dust collector with 0.5 horse power and changed filters more than 3 weeks ago. Conclusion: It is not likely that heavy metal concentrations found in the study constitute respiratory dust. It is however necessary for health of dental technician to apply the Industrial Safety and Healthy Law to dental laboratories and make recommendations for the use of personal protective equipment, installation of a proper number of ventilators, more frequent change of filters in dust collector and improved ventilation for polishing work. At the same time, dental technician need education on how to use personal protective equipment and how to efficiently remove dust from their uniforms.

The Physical and Thermal Properties Analysis of the VOC Free Composites Comprised of Epoxy Resin, and Dicyandiamide (VOC Free Epoxy Resin/Dicyandiamide 경화물의 배합비 변화에 따른 물리적 특성 및 열적특성 분석)

  • Kim, Daeyeon;Kim, Soonchoen;Park, Young IL;Kim, Young Chul;Lim, Choong-Sun
    • Clean Technology
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    • v.21 no.1
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    • pp.76-82
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    • 2015
  • Volatile organic compounds (VOC) free adhesives have been interested by many scientists and engineers due to environmental regulations and the safety of industrial workers. In this work, a series of composites composed with bisphenol A epoxy resin used as solvent, dicyandiamide, and promoter were prepared to investigate the most appropriate molar ratio for steel-steel adhesion. The cured test specimen of each composite were measured with universal testing machine (UTM) to figure out mechanical properties such as tensile strength, Young’s modulus, and elongation. Furthermore, the lap shear strength of the specimen was tested with UTM while impact resistance was measured with Izod impact tester. The composite whose molar ratio of epoxy resin to curing agent is 1 : 0.9 (sample 3), showed better tensile strength, coefficient of elastic modulus, elongation, and impact strength than other composites did. The highest tanδ from dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) was observed from sample 2 (epoxy resin: dicy = 1 : 0.7) while sample 3 showed slightly lower tanδ than that of 2. The morphology of the fracture surface of the cured composites from SEM showed that the number of subtle lines on the surface caused by impact increase as the contents of amine curing agent accrete. Furthermore, the viscosity change of sample 5 (epoxy resin: dicy = 1 : 1.3) was observed to confirm its storage stability.

Failure Properties of Common Tendon Origins at the Human Elbow after Static and Repetitive Loading (정적 및 반복하중 시의 주관절 Tendon의 파괴 물성치 측정)

  • Han, Jeong-Su;Lee, Gwan-Hui;Yu, Jae-Yeong
    • Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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    • v.19 no.4
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    • pp.393-401
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    • 1998
  • Based on clinical observations, it is suspected that the bone-tendon origin is the site where piratical failure, leading to pathophysiological changes in the humeral epicondyle after repetitive loading, is initiated Mechanical properties and failure patterns of the common extensor and flexor tendons of the humeral epicondyle under static and repetitive loading have not been well documented. Our goal was to determine mechanical properties of failure strength and strain changes, to correlate strain changes and the number of cyclic repetitions, and to identify the failure pattern of bone-tendon specimens of common extensor and flexor tendons of the humeral epicondyle. Mechnaical properties of human cadaver bone-tendon specimens of the common extensor and flexor tendons of the humeral epicondyle were tested under two different loading rates. No statistically significant difference in ultimate tensile strength was found between male and female specimens or between slow (10 mm/sec) and fast elongation (100 mm/sec) rates. However, a statistically significant difference in ultimate tensile strength between the common extensor (1190.0 N/$cm^2{\pm}$388.8) and flexor 1922.0 N/$cm^2{\pm}$764.4)tendons was found (p<0.05). When loads of 25%, 33%, and 41% of the ultimate tensile strength of their contralateral sides were applied, the number of cycles required to reach 24% strain change for the common extersor and flexor tendons were approximately 8,893, 1,907, and 410, respectively. The relationship between cycles and loads was correlated ($R^2$=0.46) Histological observation showed that complete or partial failure after tensile or cyclic loadings occurred at the transitional zone, which is the uncalcified fibrocartilage zone between tendon and bone of the humeral epicondyle. Sequential histological sections revealed that failure initiated at the upper, medial aspect of the extensor carpi radialis brevis tendon origin. Biomechanical and hstological data obtained in this study indicated that the uncalcified fibrocartilage zone at the bone-tendon origin of the common extensor and flexor tendons is the weak anatomical structure of the humeral epicondyle.

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Comparative Study of Litsea japonica Leaf and Fruit Extract on the Anti-inflammatory Effects (까마귀쪽나무 열매와 잎의 항염증 효과 비교 연구)

  • Namkoong, Seung;Jang, Seon-A;Sohn, Eun-Hwa;Bak, Jong Phil;Sohn, Eunsoo;Koo, Hyun Jung;Yoon, Weon-Jong;Kwon, Jung-Eun;Jeong, Yong Joon;Meng, Xue;Han, Hyo-Sang;Kang, Se Chan
    • Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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    • v.28 no.2
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    • pp.145-152
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    • 2015
  • The present study aimed to investigate comparative anti-inflammatory effects of Litsea japonica fruit and leaf extract considering the balance of safety and efficacy. Dose response studies were performed to determine the inhibitory effects of 70% EtOH extract of leaf (L70%) on the pro-inflammatory enzymes expression, COX-2/PGE2 and NO/iNOS, and pro-inflammatory cytokines production, IL-$1{\beta}$, IL-6, and TNF-$\alpha$ in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. We also examined comparative effects of 30 and 70% EtOH extract of fruits (F30% and F70%) at low concentration ($10{\mu}g/ml$ ) in the same conditions. L70% at 50 and $100{\mu}g/ml$ showed inhibitory effects on almost all the inflammatory mediators we examined except for COX-2 regulation, but there were no effects at $10{\mu}g/ml$. Since $100{\mu}g/ml$ of L70% have 18.2% cytotoxicity, we compared the effects of fruit extract, F30% and F70% at $10{\mu}g/ml$ on the regulation of NO/iNOS, PGE2, IL-$1{\beta}$, IL-6, and TNF-$\alpha$ and obtained that fruit extacts are more efficacious and safe than leaf. This study suggests that the 30% EtOH fraction of L. japonica fruit could be a good candidate for development as a functional food supplement in the prevention of inflammatory disorders.

New Perspectives on Sunday School of Korean Church for Next Generation (다음 세대와 한국교회 주일학교의 새 전망)

  • Kim, Jeong Joon
    • Journal of Christian Education in Korea
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    • v.67
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    • pp.11-44
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    • 2021
  • In the early 21st century, the global COVID-19 pandemic, which has arisen during the development of the technological science of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, has been a great challenge in all fields including politics, economy, industry, education and religion in Korean society. To prevent the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Korean government announced 'social distancing guidelines,' focused on the 'prohibition of three conditions'(crowd, closeness, airtight) for safety reasons. These quarantine guidelines made it more difficult for Korean churches and Sunday schools to operate. In general, looking at the statistical data of the major denominations of the Korean Church in the second half of the 20th century, shows that the Church has entered a period of stagnant or declining growth. Data also show that the number of students attending Sunday School is decreasing. The researcher identified four causes of the crisis faced by the Korean church and Korean Sunday school entering the 21st century. These trends are influenced by the tendencies of postmodernism, the deconstruction of modern universalism, the certainty and objectivity of knowledge, and the grand narrative and worldview of diffusion. Moreover, it is a phenomenon in which the young population decreases in contrast to the increasing elderly population in the age of population cliff in Korean society. Sunday Schools are also facing a crisis, as the youth population, who will become the future heroes of the Korean church, is declining. Finally, constraints of Church and Sunday school education activities are due to COVID-19 Pandemic. As analysis shows the loss of the Church's educational vision and a decrease in the passion for education. Accordingly, the researcher suggests four new strategies for the next generation of Korean Sunday schools, whose ranges from 200 members or less; this range covers the majority of Sunday School program run by churches in Korea. First, in the age of postmodernism, a time of uncertainty and relativism, Christian Societies requires teachers who are certain of absolute Christian truth and faith. Second, in an era of declining population cliffs for younger generations, a shift to a home-friendly Sunday school paradigm is needed. Third, during the COVID-19 pandemic, educational activities must appropriately utilize face-to-face and non-face-to-face communication. Finally, even in difficult times, Korean Sunday school should nevertheless remember the Lord's great commandment(Matthew 28:18-20) and restore the vision and passion of education to announce and teach the gospel. The researcher hopes that this study will provide small, positive steps in rebuilding Korean Sunday school educational activities for future generations in difficult times.

Exposure and Risk Assessments of Multimedia of Arsenic in the Environment (환경 중 비소의 매체통합 노출평가 및 위해성평가 연구)

  • Sim, Ki-Tae;Kim, Dong-Hoon;Lee, Jaewoo;Lee, Chae-Hong;Park, Soyeon;Seok, Kwang-Seol;Kim, Younghee
    • Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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    • v.28 no.2
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    • pp.152-168
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    • 2019
  • The element arsenic, which is abundant in the Earth's crust, is used for various industrial purposes including materials for disease treatment and household goods. Various human activities, such as the disposal of soil waste, metal mining and smelting, and combustion of fossil fuels, have caused the pollution of the environment with arsenic. Recently, guidelines for arsenic in rice have been adopted by the Korean ministry of food and drug safety to prevent health risks based on rice consumption. Because of the exposure to arsenic and its accumulation in the human body through various channels, such as air inhalation, skin contact, ingestion of drinking water, and food consumption, integrated multimedia risk assessment is required to adopt appropriate risk management policies. Therefore, integrated human health risk assessment was carried out in this study using integrated exposure assessment based on multimedia (e.g., air, water, and soil) and multi-route (e.g., oral, inhalation, and dermal) scenarios. The results show that oral uptake via drinking water is the most common pathway of arsenic into the human body, accounting for 57%-96% of the total arsenic exposure. Among various age groups, the highest exposures to arsenic were observed in infants because the body weight of infants is low and the surface areas of infant bodies are large. Based on the results of the exposure assessment, the cancer and non-cancer risks were calculated. The cancer risk for CTE and RME is in the range of 2.3E-05 to 6.7E-05 and thus is negligible because it does not exceed the cancer probability of 1.0E-04 for all age groups. On the other hand, the cancer risk for RME varies from 6.4E-05 to 1.8E-04 and from 1.3E-04 to 1.8E-04 for infants and preschool children, exceeding the excess cancer risk of 1.0E-04. The non-cancer risks range from 5.4E-02 to 1.9E-01 and from 1.5E-01 to 6.8E-01, respectively. They do not exceed the hazard index 1 for all scenarios and all ages.

Characteristics of Inclusive Playground Guidelines (통합놀이터 가이드라인의 특성)

  • Kim, Yun-Geum;Kim, Hana;Maeng, Soo-hyun
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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    • v.46 no.6
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    • pp.75-84
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    • 2018
  • The inclusive playground is a playground where disabled children and non-disabled children can play together, not a playground for the disabled. It started with the change of social awareness of the citizenship rights of disabled people in the 1960s and the resulting playgrounds. Since then, inclusive playgrounds have been developed in many countries, and these are organized in the form by guidelines. In Korea, social interest in inclusive playgrounds is increasing, but there are no systematic guidelines in Korea, and the application of overseas cases or guidelines is limited. The purpose of this study is to classify the concept of inclusive playgrounds and design guidelines, that were previously presented in inclusive playground design guideline of various countries and analyze the characteristics of, design scope, and design principles, and provide a basic framework for creating guidelines. The purpose of the design guideline was to present specific numerical values to the inclusive playground design guidelines, to link with academic research and industrial products, to present pursuit values, and to expand the value of pursuing design methods. The contents were covered by scope, conceptualization, principles of design and design process, design guidelines, and checklists. Most of the guideline covers specific autonomous governments or countries that can apply the related systems or laws, but the composition of the detailed contents is different. The guiding value of inclusive playgrounds presented in each guideline is not a playground for the disabled but a playground for all, and some guidelines refer to the difficulty in playgrounds considering non-disabled children. Based on these concepts, design guidelines are presented in each guideline. Improving the accessibility in design principles is a common theme and adds to the principles of safety, independence, convenience, and playability. None of the guidelines do not provide design guidelines. Although there is a difference in the degree and method of specificity provided by each of the guidelines, the design guidelines can be generally summarized as space, copper line, and unit facilities. As mentioned in many guidelines, an inclusive playground is not only a playground for children with disabilities. Therefore, in the design guidelines, it is also important to the support play of children with disabilities and to induce inclusive play. The design guidelines presented in the guideline can be rearranged into three stages of 'supporting the play of children with disabilities', 'securing the dimensions and materials of spaces and facilities', 'adding auxiliary devices' and 'designing new facilities'. There are three design guidelines for inducing inclusive play. First, by creating various difficulty levels and intersecting spaces, children with various abilities can play with each other, and at the same time, they can interact witheach other. Second, all children can cooperate and play without distinction between children with disabilities and non-disabled children. Finally, the guardian provides the conditions for efficient support so that the disabled child can fully enjoy the inclusive playground.

Current status and future of insect smart factory farm using ICT technology (ICT기술을 활용한 곤충스마트팩토리팜의 현황과 미래)

  • Seok, Young-Seek
    • Food Science and Industry
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    • v.55 no.2
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    • pp.188-202
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    • 2022
  • In the insect industry, as the scope of application of insects is expanded from pet insects and natural enemies to feed, edible and medicinal insects, the demand for quality control of insect raw materials is increasing, and interest in securing the safety of insect products is increasing. In the process of expanding the industrial scale, controlling the temperature and humidity and air quality in the insect breeding room and preventing the spread of pathogens and other pollutants are important success factors. It requires a controlled environment under the operating system. European commercial insect breeding facilities have attracted considerable investor interest, and insect companies are building large-scale production facilities, which became possible after the EU approved the use of insect protein as feedstock for fish farming in July 2017. Other fields, such as food and medicine, have also accelerated the application of cutting-edge technology. In the future, the global insect industry will purchase eggs or small larvae from suppliers and a system that focuses on the larval fattening, i.e., production raw material, until the insects mature, and a system that handles the entire production process from egg laying, harvesting, and initial pre-treatment of larvae., increasingly subdivided into large-scale production systems that cover all stages of insect larvae production and further processing steps such as milling, fat removal and protein or fat fractionation. In Korea, research and development of insect smart factory farms using artificial intelligence and ICT is accelerating, so insects can be used as carbon-free materials in secondary industries such as natural plastics or natural molding materials as well as existing feed and food. A Korean-style customized breeding system for shortening the breeding period or enhancing functionality is expected to be developed soon.