• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제27권1호
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• pp.1-12
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• 2017

Objectives: The major objectives of this study are to review the requirements for the advancement of occupational safety and health administrative organization and to propose measures to establish an Occupational Safety and Health Executive. Methods: The problems of occupational safety and health administrative organization in korea were examined empirically and cases of occupational safety and health administrative organizations in developed countries were investigated (United Kingdom, United States, Germany, and Japan). A plan for establishing an Occupational Safety and Health Executive was proposed over the short and medium term. Results: An occupational safety and health administration is characterized by a professional and technical nature, and even more so in modern society. Therefore the greatest value required by an occupational safety and health administrative organization is expertise. In addition, administrative values it requires include efficiency, specificity, independence, and activity. The Korean occupational safety and health administrative organization has a number of problems in terms of these values. The most appropriate way to realize these values is to establish an Occupational Safety and Health Executive. It is desirable to establish such an Occupational Safety and Health Executive in a phased manner taking into consideration its relationship with Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency(KOSHA), including KOSHA's functional adjustment Conclusions: In order to solve the deep-seated problems in occupational safety and health administrative organization and to advance occupational safety and health administration in Korea, it is necessary to establish an Occupational Safety and Health Executive as a foundation for achieving an advanced industrial safety and health administration.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제13권3호
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• pp.286-293
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• 2022

Background: The death rate of workers due to industrial accidents in South Korea (3.61 persons in 2017) is higher than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average (2.43) and the fifth highest among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member countries. Although the pandemic of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has changed, the socioeconomic aspects of Korean society, the number of Koreans suffering accidents and the number of deaths in 2020 have increased. It is necessary to take measures to prevent accidents and make comprehensive efforts to return to work. This study proposes research questions about the effect of workers' positive perception on whether to work after accidents and the impact of the experience of rehabilitation services on the return to work. Methods: This research performed a panel logistic regression analysis using data on workers' compensation insurance in Korea for two years (2018-2019). Results: This research finds that workers' positive perceptions of workability and life satisfaction contributed affirmatively to their re-employment. Several factors related to employment (e.g., work period, the number of job qualifications) also positively affect their return to work. However, the experience of rehabilitation services did not have a significant effect on re-employment. The variables of their health conditions (e.g., disability grade, feelings of health problems, age) negatively influenced their return to jobs. Conclusion: These results suggest the importance of workers' mental recovery and the need to innovate rehabilitation services for their employment. Positive thinking and self-rehabilitation could be critical for workers, parallel with social welfare policies.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제14권4호
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• pp.347-357
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• 2023

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic turned biological hazards in the working environment into a global concern. This systematized review of published reviews aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of the specific jobs and categories of workers exposed to biological hazards with the related prevention. Methods: We extracted reviews published in English and French in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science. Two authors, working independently, subsequently screened the potentially relevant titles and abstracts recovered (step 1) and then examined relevant full texts (step 2). Disagreements were resolved by consensus. We built tables summarizing populations of exposed workers, types of hazards, types of outcomes (types of health issues, means of prevention), and routes of transmission. Results: Of 1426 studies initially identified, 79 studies by authors from every continent were selected, mostly published after 2010 (n = 63, 79.7%). About half of the reviews dealt with infectious hazards alone (n = 38, 48.1%). The industrial sectors identified involved healthcare alone (n = 16), laboratories (n = 10), agriculture (including the animal, vegetable, and grain sectors, n = 32), waste (n = 10), in addition of 11 studies without specific sectors. The results also highlighted a range of hazards (infectious and noninfectious agents, endotoxins, bioaerosols, organic dust, and emerging agents). Conclusion: This systematized overview allowed to list the populations of workers exposed to biological hazards and underlined how prevention measures in the healthcare and laboratory sectors were usually well defined and controlled, although this was not the case in the agriculture and waste sectors. Further studies are necessary to quantify these risks and implement prevention measures that can be applied in every country.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제14권4호
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• pp.390-397
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• 2023

Introduction: Biological risks are a major global problem in the workplace. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for a more comprehensive understanding of the biological risks at work. This study presents data on both communicable infectious biological agents and noncommunicable factors leading to death and disability for the year 2021. Methods: We followed the methodology established by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in their past global estimates on occupational accidents and work-related diseases. We used relevant ILO estimates for hazardous substances and related population attributable fractions derived from literature, which were then applied to World Health Organization mortality data. The communicable diseases included in the estimates were tuberculosis, pneumococcal diseases, malaria, diarrheal diseases, other infectious diseases, neglected tropical diseases, influenza associated respiratory diseases and COVID-19. Noncommunicable diseases and injuries considered were Chronic Obstructive Diseases (COPD) due to organic dusts, asthma, allergic reactions and risks related to animal contact. We estimated death attributable to biological risk at work and disability in terms of disability adjusted life years (DALYs). Results: We estimated that in 2022, 550,819 deaths were caused by biological risk factors, with 476,000 deaths attributed to communicable infectious diseases and 74,000 deaths caused by noncommunicable factors. Among these, there were 223,650 deaths attributed to COVID-19 at work. We calculated the rate of 584 DALYs per 100,000 workers, representing an 11% increase from the previous estimate of the global burden of work-related disabilities measured by DALYs. Conclusion: This is a first update since previous 2007 ILO estimates, which has now increased by 74% and covers most biological risks factors. However, it is important to note that there may be other diseases and deaths are missing from the data, which need to be included when new information becomes available. It is also worth mentioning that while deaths caused by major communicable diseases including COVID-19 are relatively rare within the working population, absences from work due to these diseases are likely to be very common within the active workforce.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제19권3호
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• pp.213-232
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• 2009

This document was prepared to review and summarize the analytical methods for airborne and bulk asbestos. Basic principles, shortcomings and advantages for asbestos analytical instruments using phase contrast microscopy(PCM), polarized light microscopy(PLM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), scanning electron microscopy(SEM) were reviewed. Both PCM and PLM are principal instrument for airborne and bulk asbestos analysis, respectively. If needed, analytical electron microscopy is employed to confirm asbestos identification. PCM is used originally for workplace airborne asbestos fiber and its application has been expanded to measure airborne fiber. Shortcoming of PCM is that it cannot differentiate true asbestos from non asbestos fiber form and its low resolution limit ($0.2{\sim}0.25{\mu}m$). The measurement of airborne asbestos fiber can be performed by EPA's Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) method, World Health Organization (WHO) method, International Standard Organization (ISO) 10312 method, Japan's Environmental Asbestos Monitoring method, and Standard method of Indoor Air Quality of Korea. The measurement of airborne asbestos fiber in workplace can be performed by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 7400 method, NIOSH 7402 method, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ID-160 method, UK's Health and Safety Executive(HSE) Methods for the determination of hazardous substances (MDHS) 39/4 method and Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) CODE-A-1-2004 method of Korea. To analyze the bulk asbestos, stereo microscope (SM) and PLM is required by EPA -600/R-93/116 method. Most bulk asbestos can be identified by SM and PLM but one limitation of PLM is that it can not see very thin fiber (i.e., < $0.25{\mu}m$). Bulk asbestos analytical methods, including EPA-600/M4-82-020, EPA-600/R-93/116, OSHA ID-191, Laboratory approval program of New York were reviewed. Also, analytical methods for asbestos in soil, dust, water were briefly discussed. Analytical electron microscope, a transmission electron microscope equipped with selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and energy dispersive X-ray analyser(EDXA), has been known to be better to identify asbestiform than scanning electron microscope(SEM). Though there is no standard SEM procedures, SEM is known to be more suitable to analyze long, thin fiber and more cost-effective. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) imaging protocol was developed to identify asbestos fiber. Although many asbestos analytical methods are available, there is no method that can be applied to all type of samples. In order to detect asbestos with confidence, all advantages and disadvantages of each instrument and method for given sample should be considered.

• 농촌의학ㆍ지역보건
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• 제35권4호
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• pp.417-427
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• 2010

본 연구는 한국형 농업인 참여형 개선활동 기법(Participatory Action Oriented Training, PAOT) 교육 프로그램을 개발하고 적용함으로써 더 많은 지역으로 이 프로그램이 확산되는 데 기여하고자 시도하였다. 연구진은 농작업 환경 체크리스트를 노지, 과수, 시설, 축산, 복합농 등의 5개 범주로 구분하여 실제 우리나라 농작업 현장에 적합한 것으로 개발하였다. 체크리스트는 농작물 운반과 보관, 작업대와 연장 도구, 안전한 농기계 사용, 농작업 환경관리, 휴식과 일의 분담, 기초안전관리 등 6개의 대분류에 38개의 문항으로 구성하였다. 각 대분류별로 4-7개의 문항으로 구성이 된다. 또한 체크리스트와 교육에 포함할 모범사례들은 연구진이 직접 촬영한 사진과 외국의 사례를 참고로 하여 삽화 전문가에게 의뢰하여 제작한 삽화로 구성하였다. 이렇게 개발한 교재를 바탕으로 한국형 PAOT 프로그램을 개발하여, 경상북도의 4개 농촌 마을의 농업인 94명을 대상으로 2007년 7월에서 2008년 10월까지 4회의 참여형 농작업환경 개선교육을 수행하였다. 교육이 종료 3개월 후 연구진들이 직접 참여 농업인들의 농가를 방문하여 농업인들의 개선계획 실천여부를 확인하였고, 1시간 30분 정도 소요되는 "개선성과 중간 평가회"를 개최하여 개별 마을민들의 개선 성과를 전체 참가자들이 공유하는 시간을 가졌다. 전체 대상자 307명(남자 142명, 여자 165명)중 남자 59(41.5%)명, 여자 35(21.2%)명 등 총 94(30.6%)명이 PAOT 교육에 참가하였다. 전체 교육의 진행시간에 대한 적절성에서는 94.8%가 '만족한다' 이상으로 응답하였고, 교육의 전반적인 내용에는 98.9%가 '만족한다' 이상으로 응답하였고, 농작업 체크리스트 실습에는 100.0%가 '만족한다'고 응답하는 등 만족도 조사 문항 모두 90% 이상에서 만족한다고 응답하였다. 본 연구에서 개발된 농작업 환경 개선을 위한 PAOT 기법은 자발적이면서 지속적으로 농업인의 안전과 건강을 유지할 수 있는 하나의 대안이 될 수 있을 것으로 기대된다. 이를 위해서는 향후 보다 객관적인 연구가 수행되어야 할 것이며 더 많은 실제적인 적용 경험을 축적하는 것이 필요할 것이다.