• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.66-72
• /
• 2018

This study analyses the types, related operations, facilities, and causes of chemical accidents in Korea based on the RISCAD classification taxonomy. In addition, human error analysis was carried out employing different human error classification criteria. Explosion and fire were major accident types, and nearly half of the accidents occurred during maintenance operation. In terms of related facility, storage devices and separators were the two most frequently involved ones. Results of the human error-based analysis showed that latent human errors in management level are involved in many accidents as well as active errors in the field level. Action errors related to unsafe behavior leads to accidents more often compared with the checking behavior. In particular, actions missed and inappropriate actions were major problems among the unsafe behaviors, which implicates that the compliance with the work procedure should be emphasized through education/training for the workers and the establishment of safety culture. According to the analysis of the causes of the human error, the frequency of skill-based mistakes leading to accidents were significantly lower than that of rule-based and knowledge based mistakes. However, there was limitation in the analysis of the root causes due to limited information in the accident investigation report. To solve this, it is suggested to adopt advanced accident investigation system including the establishment of independent organization and improvement in regulation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.137-147
• /
• 2013

Objectives: This study was conducted in order to evaluate the limitations of the regulations on the safety and health standards for special management materials(SMM) under the Industrial Safety and Health Act in Korea. Methods: Hazardous chemicals management systems in Germany(Hazardous Substances Ordinance), the UK(Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations), Japan(Ordinance on Prevention of Hazards due to Specified Chemical Substances) and Korea(Regulation of Occupational Safety and Health Standards, ROSHS) were investigated and compared in terms of 14 items. Results: Among the 14 items, we eventually found seven items which should be amended: 1) definition and scope, 2) general duties clause, 3) principles of management, 4) preventive measures, 5) control measures, 6) risk assessment, and 7) record keeping. The principal limitations of Korean regulations in comparison with those of other countries were that there were no preventive measures such as substitution, and no principles of good practices for the control of exposure to SMM. In terms of control measures, there were no regulations on suitable workplace design, reducing the number of exposed workers, reducing the level and duration of exposure, and reducing the quantity of hazardous substances in ROSHS. Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, ROSHS should be complemented with preventive measures and the principles of management related to SMM. According to the suggestions, an employer who deals with SMM should preferably consider the possibility of substitution and perform substitution so far as is reasonably practicable.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.77-85
• /
• 2017

As industrialization progresses, mass production becomes a smart production system. However, industrial accidents do not decline, and during the course of industrialization, due to the logic of economic agents that have an economical and effective employment environment, they are changed to non-regular workers. The Occupational Safety and Health Act stipulates that the safety managers must be distinguished and the safety managers perform the task of conducting industrial accidents by balancing the duties and regulations specified in the Act on Special Measures for Deregulation. Safety administrators providing advice on issues needed to prevent industrial accidents and preventive measures We would like to present the problems and improvements that may arise due to safety managers' replacement due to accidents caused by industrial accidents or accidents.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.226-236
• /
• 2021

Objectives: Concerns have been raised about the possible health effects of radon on both workers and consumers with the spread of social attention to the impact of radon exposure. Thus, an entire raw material handling workshop was investigated, and standards for radon levels in the workplace were newly established at 600 Bq/m³. However, regulations on the management of workers exposed to radon are still insufficiently developed. Therefore, by comparative analysis of overseas and domestic radon-related regulations for workplaces, this study aims to suggest improvement plans of protection regulations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) for the prevention of health disorders of radon-exposed workers. Methods: For overseas case studies, we consulted radon-related laws and reports officially published on the websites of the European Union (EU), the United States (U.S.) and the United Kingdom (UK) government agencies. Domestic law studies were conducted mainly on the Act on Protective Action Guidelines against Radiation in the Natural Environment and the OSH Act. Results: In Europe, the basic safety standards for protection against risks arising from radon (Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM of 5 December 2013) was established by the EU. They recommend that the Member States manage radon level in workplaces based on this criterion. In the U.S., the standards for workplaces are controlled by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). Action on radon in the UK is specified in "Radon in the workplace" published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Conclusions: The Act on Protective Action Guidelines against Radiation in the Natural Environment mainly refers to the management of workplaces that use or handle raw materials but does not have any provisions in terms of protecting naturally exposed workers. In the OSH Act, it is necessary to define whether radon is included in radiation for that reason that its current regulations have limitations in ensuring the safety workers who may be exposed to naturally occurring radon. The management standards are needed for workplaces that do not directly deal with radon but are likely to be exposed to radon. We propose that this could be specified in the regulations for the prevention of health damage caused by radiation, not in Article 125 of the OSH Act.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.1-13
• /
• 2014

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to review the debate on the Article 28(Prohibition of Inhouse-Contract for Harmful Work) of the Industrial Safety and Health Law. Methods: Literatures and recent debate for prohibition and permission of inhouse-contract for harmful work were reviewed. Proposals of revision for the Article 28 of the Industrial Safety and Health Law were also reviewed. Results: It was not found reasonable to revise the Article 28 based on increased fatal accidents or diseases in the electroplating work and heavy metals handling works that are currently listed in the Presidential Decree under the law as the harmful works. Regulation types of prohibition or authorization for any harmful work shall have inherently poor coverage since the scope of application is extremely limited. Contractors for maintenance and repair of chemical facilities may not be included in the scope of application if the harmful works are defined as chemical handling works. If harmful works are prohibited, the contractor workers may loose their jobs. Therefore, it is necessary to consider balancing job security and occupational safety and health safety. Conclusions: Various limitations were found in the Article 28 and the proposals to revise it. Currently in-house subcontracting is widely spread in the workplace. Therefore, it may be inappropriate to set one or two Article such as the Article 28 and 29 to protect in-house subcontract workers from injury and illness. It is believed that it needs fundamental redirection and new approach with new paradigm to impose occupational safety and health duty to prime contractors.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.121-140
• /
• 2006

Objectives: Safety is a primary health promotion issue in worksite because injury induces multi-fold loss of the human and economic resources to profit organization. The purposes of this study were to describe worksite health and safety education and management status in Korean manufacturing companies. Methods: The original population size of Korean manufacturing industry in 2004 was 74,398 and 2,960 factories were selected by the multiple stratified sampling method for this study. The health and safety manager or representatives of the selected 2,960 companies successfully finished in the face-to-face interview survey about company's general characteristics, health and safety management style, health and safety education hours conducted by the Korean Occupational Safety and Health Agency. Results: The manufacturing companies in Seoul and Kyunggi areas, small size, and clothes and press industries were related to low health and safety management and education status. The companies which assigned at least one safety manager were 70.5% and which had a health and safety room within the company were only 9.3%. The companies which took the health and safety education for their regular blue-collar employees more than the legal education hours were under 56.1% and the percentage of the companies which took their health and safety education for newcomers less than the legal limits was lower than any other types of health and safety education in workplace. The significant strong workplace health and safety management variables in predicting employee health and safety education were psycho-social variables such as the company own health and safety regulation and the workplace health and safety management committee organization. rather than physical variables such as health manager employment, safety manager employment. Conclusions: Systematic and legal approaches are effective to encourage workplace health and safety education, specifically, through sustaining health and safety managers and building the company-wide health and safety management system. Furthermore, theses approaches should primarily focus on the small companies of which sizes were under 50.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.85-91
• /
• 2001

The regulation of Material safety data sheets(MSDS) was required for the chemicals in use in the workplace from July 1976. Under the provisions of the workplace hazardous materials information system, employers in Korea must be provided with accurate and comprehensive MSDS. To examine the reliability of MSDS for organic solvents, 63 organic solvents and MSDS were collected from the workplace of 39 companies located in Kyonggi province. Manufacture\`s MSDS were compared with the actual composition of the collected samples, and further examined the reliability by checking whether the chemicals analyzed were included in the MSDS correctly. 38 solvents were able to analyze their composition by gas chromatography-mass selective detector(GC-MSD). Among them, 28 solvents were incorrect in their composition and contents. In some case, health hazardous or carcinogenic chemicals which were not included in the MSDS were detected from samples. As a result of evaluating whether the MSDS correspond to the regulation required by Industrial Safety and Health Act (ISHA), the information in the MSDS including hazard classification, occupational exposure level, toxicity, regulatory information were incorrectly provided, and some MSDS did not disclose carcinogenic in their MSDS, and some MSDS were not written in the standard format. From this survey, continuous monitoring and promoting correct MSDS, and analyzing the components of the solvents were required to endure the reliability of MSDS for organic solvents.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.34-42
• /
• 2011

Death disaster among the disasters in construction field is mainly occurred by crash, and the work plate is the main objects causing crash. This study was performed by interview with workers in construction field to evaluate the consciousness on safety and to analyze the type of use and the state. Finally the problems while using work plate were appeared with its requirements for the improved use. Based on the results from this study, amendments were proposed for some parts of regulation related, and further four types of development on the safe work plate were presented. It is expected that the safer construction environment could be composed by using the results.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.747-757
• /
• 2017

Of safety check regulation, 'Construction Technology Promotion Act' and 'Special Act on the Safety Control of Public Structures' contain provisions about the content of safety in construction works and the items of safety checks in the maintenance aspect and thus contribute to accident prevention in the construction industry. Of the regulations responsible for the practical safety of workers, the safety check regulation of Ministry of Employment and Labor demand for safety check from the start of construction based on an agreement with a concerned agency to the completion of construction solely based on 'Guidance Standards for the Specialized Disaster Prevention Instruction in Article 32 of Occupational Safety and Health Act' and 'Appropriation and Usage Standards of Safety and Health Management Costs in the Construction Industry'. There is, however, a huge gap, as well, in them according to client agencies. In small construction sites ordered by a private organization, checks are done formally with no detailed regulations. As a result, the costs of checks continue to drop with only the contract kept intact. This study examined the forms of safety checks practically done in the Jeju region, distinguished and compared them by the construction costs, calculated proper costs based on each construction act, and further proposed improvement measures for the detailed regulations.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.18-26
• /
• 2000

Since the regulation of MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) had started from July 1996, employers were required to furnish MSDS for the chemicals in use in their workplace. However, many MSDS did not contain upright information for the chemicals, and they were not updated regularly, and were not written in the standard format required by the Industrial Safety and Health Act (ISHA). The purposes of this study were 1) to examine the reliability of MSDS for mixed solvents, 2) to provide reliable MSDS to employers or employees, 3) to find out any difficulties in implementing MSDS after the initiation, and 4) to promote regular MSDS updating and to ensure the reliability of MSDS for chemical manufacturers. To check the reliability of MSDS of mixed chemicals, 21 samples of mostly degreasing solvents were collected along with their MSDS from the work place. The samples were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass selective detector(GC-MSD). Their components were classified as saturated hydrocarbon, cyclic hydrocarbon, aromatics, and halogen containing hydrocarbon, and the amount of each class were measured. Manufacture's MSDS were compared with the actual composition of the collected samples, and further examined the reliability by checking whether the chemicals analyzed were included in the MSDS correctly. Finally, each item of MSDS was evaluated whether the MSDS correspond to the regulation required by ISHA. The results were following: 1) most of the degreasing solvents in MSDS were incorrect in their composition and contents, 2) the information in the MSDS including hazard classification, exposure level, toxicity, regulatory information were incorrectly provided, and 3) some MSDS did not disclose carcinogens in their MSDS. Continuous monitoring of MSDS was required to ensure reliability of MSDS. The Chemicals containing hydrocarbons from C10-C15 need to be tested to provide toxicity data. In addition, governmental support for providing correct MSDS was recommended to ensure reliability of MSDS. The MSDS regulation relating to the confidential business information may need to be revised to ensure reliability of MSDS.