• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• 제28권3호
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• pp.391-401
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• 2017

This study was conducted to evaluate the relationships between exposure level to pyrethroid pesticide and wearing of protective equipment in 194 Chung-nam orchard male farmers. The urinary metabolites of pyrethroid pesticides, including Cis, Trans, DBCA, and 3-PBA, were analyzed by GC/MSD. As a result of this study, the detection rate and exposure level of 3-PBA was the highest among pyrethroid metabolites discovered by orchard farmers. As a result of analyzing the actual conditions of wearing protective equipment by the subjects of this study, the rate of agricultural farmers who wore four pieces of protective equipment compared to agricultural farmers wearing a single piece of protective clothing was as high as 35.1%. Pyrethroid exposure levels were low when farmers wore more personal protective equipment (PPE). In conclusion, training with regards to pesticide hazards and protective equipment for farmers who spray pesticides will help reduce pesticide exposure levels.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• The 6th International Conference on Construction Engineering and Project Management
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• pp.313-316
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• 2015

Construction is one of the most dangerous job sectors, which reports tens of thousands of time-loss injuries and deaths every year. These disasters incur delays and additional costs to the projects. The safety management needs to be on the top primary tasks throughout the construction to avoid fatal accidents and to foster safe working environments. One of the safety regulations that are frequently violated is the wearing of personal protection equipment (PPE). In order to facilitate monitoring of the compliance of the PPE wearing regulations, this paper proposes a vision based method that automatically identifies whether workers wear hard hats and safety vests. The method involves three modules - human body detection, identification of safety vest wearing, and hard hat detection. First, human bodies are detected in the video frames captured by real-time on-site construction cameras. The detected human bodies are classified into with/without wearing safety vests based on the color features of their upper parts. Finally, hard hats are detected on the nearby regions of the detected human bodies and the locations of the detected hard hats and human bodies are correlated to reveal their corresponding matches. In this way, the proposed method provides any appearance of the workers without wearing hard hats or safety vests. The method has been tested on onsite videos and the results signify its potential to facilitate site safety monitoring.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• 제24권5호
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• pp.655-665
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• 2022

This study evaluated the validity of a newly developed mobility protocol examining the comfort functions and requirements of personal protective equipment (PPE) for COVID-19 healthcare workers. Eight males (age: 24.7 ± 3.0 y, height: 173.4 ± 2.3 cm, and body weight 69.9 ± 3.7 kg) participated in the following three PPE conditions: (1) Plastic gown ensemble, (2) Level D ensemble, and (3) Powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) ensemble. The mobility protocol consisted of 10 different tasks in addition to donning and doffing. The 10 tasks were repeated twice at an air temperature of 25oC with 74% RH. The results showed significant differences among the three PPE conditions in mean skin temperature, local skin temperatures (the forehead, thigh, calf, and foot), clothing microclimate (the chest and back), thermal sensation, thermal comfort, and humidity sensation, while there were no significant differences in heart rate or total sweat rate. At rest, the subjects felt less warm and more comfortable in the PAPR than in the Level D condition (P<0.05). However, subjective perceptions in the PAPR and Level D conditions became similar as the tasks progressed and mean skin and leg temperature became greater for the PAPR than the Level D condition (P<0.05). An interview was conducted just after completing the mobility test protocol, and suggestions for improving each PPE item were obtained. To sum up, the mobility test protocol was valid for evaluating the comfort functions of PPE for healthcare workers and obtaining requirements for improving the mobility of each PPE item.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• 제11권4호
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• pp.71-78
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of wearing clothes, Level B, and Level C PPE on normal CPR using mannequins. The paramedics who participated in this experiment were 20 paramedics with more than 5 years of experience in firefighting area C. It was found that chest compressions in the process that hand off time was 11.9 seconds in the uniform wearing group, 11.4 seconds in the level C PPE wearing group, and 13.1 seconds in the SCBA wearing group. In other words, wearing personal protective equipment prevents the movement of paramedics and uses compensatory movements, which may increase the difficulty of efficient first aid. If this situation persists, it may cause fatigue and damage to the body of paramedics. Rescue and paramedics should wear level personal protective equipment in case of emergencies and conduct rescue and CPR training.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• 제3권2호
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• pp.15-20
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• 2017

We are investigated about the Hepatitis infection risk of the funeral director related to wearing PPE(Personal Protect Equipment) within Metropolitan, Chungcheong and Gyeongsang regions in Korea. We are classified that the vaccinated group was classified as low risk group and the non-vaccinated group was classified as high risk group. And we are analyzed the risk rate of infection based on whether or not to wear PPE(personal protective equipment) among high-risk groups. The result is as follows. The mask wearing rate of high-risk group about HAV(hepatitis A virus) is three times lower than that of low-risk group. The surgical glove wearing rate of high-risk group about HBV(hepatitis B virus) is twice lower than that of low-risk group. The surgical glove and mask not wearing rate among the high-risk group observe that potential infection risk was high 4.23 times and 3.5 times, respectively. We are concluded that increasing the risk of potential infection risks from the funeral director could result in increased risk of infection to national public health, including the bereaved family. We are suggested that the funeral director must be bound to vaccinate against hepatitis and make PPE mandatory. It is deemed necessary for the government to develop policies to promote personal health and national health care.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• 제20권2호
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• pp.172-180
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• 2016

This study was conducted to evaluate the relations between the exposure level of organophosphates (OPs) pesticide and application factors among rural farmers. The urinary dialkylphosphates, metabolites of organophosphorus pesticides, including DMP, DEP, DMTP and DETP were analyzed by GC/MSD and GC/MS/MS. The DMP and DMTP were detected more in the use of a speed sprayer without cap than with a capped one. Also, the less farmers wore the personal protective equipment (PPE), the more these were detected. The amount of organophosphorus exposure was the highest in the use of a power sprayer. However, it was low when a farmer applied pesticides with a speed sprayer with cap and wore more PPE. In this study, the detection rate was analyzed by chi-square test, the exposure level of OPs was analyzed by a generalized linear model.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• 제29권3호
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• pp.37-44
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• 2023

Purpose: To decrease cross-infection, it's essential to analyze the spatial composition of the 'PPE doffing area'. Instead of solely relying on manpower standards, we should focus on responding to infectious diseases within the context of space planning. By doing so, we can lower the risk for healthcare workers' infection and ensure a level of safety in various environmental changes or new manpower input situations. Methods: This analysis is conducted specifically for facilities with negative pressure isolation wards. Additionally, interview surveys to obtain feedback from healthcare workers and incorporate their expertise into the design of the 'PPE doffing area' have been carried. Results: In a PPE doffing area, the standard spaces include a PPE doffing room, a shower room, and a clothing room. Depending on the facility environment or the level of infectious diseases, a Decontamination room or Anteroom can be optionally added. Healthcare workers who remove their PPE in the PPE doffing room should avoid re-entering the Negative pressure room. The shower room is often underutilized. When planning for a future PPE doffing area, an aisle space or passageway must be included even if a shower room is planned. Implications: This study examined the space used by healthcare workers rather than patients, with a focus on infection prevention through architectural planning rather than individual efforts. However, the investigation was limited to facilities that have been converted from general wards to negative pressure isolation wards, so it cannot be generalized to all infectious disease facilities.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• 제28권5호
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• pp.83-89
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• 2013

Occupational Safety and Health Act provides that industrial safety helmets are personal protective equipment(PPE) to protect heads against falls from a height. Relevant domestic regulations are distinguished and different from other countries' cases. This study investigated industrial safety helmet's protective purposes and characteristics related to falls and the notion of fall prevention. A comparative analysis of regulations on safety helmets and fall prevention as well as standards on safety helmet's impact test requirements is followed by a literature review. It is also suggested that the term "fall" related to safety helmets should be changed to "impact on the upper part of head" in domestic regulations and standards.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제13권2호
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• pp.163-169
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• 2022

Background: It is estimated that about 13 million artisanal and small-scale miners carry out their activities under harsh, precarious, unfriendly, and risky conditions. Yet, our understanding of the extent to which these workers use personal protective equipment (PPE) and navigate through the various risks and hazards they face is still limited. This article has two main objectives. First, it explores the extent of usage of PPE among artisanal and small-scale miners for the prevention of hazards and risks. Second, it examines the coping strategies used by these miners as a response to experiences of occupational injuries and risks Methods: A cross-sectional survey of small-scale miners was conducted in six communities across three districts in Ghana, West Africa. The mixed methods approach was adopted. A total of 148 small-scale miners participated in the study. Six focus group discussions (FGDs) were held across the six communities. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Chi-square tests were used to analyse the relationship between some socio-demographic characteristics (sex, age, and educational background) and the usage of PPE. Open-ended questions and responses from FGDs were analysed based on the content and verbatim quotations from miners. Results: Findings suggest that 78% of the miners interviewed do not use the appropriate PPE citing reasons such as cost, and their personal discomfort associated with use of PPE. There was no significant relationship between socio-demographic characteristics (i.e., sex, age, education and major mining activity) and the usage of PPE. The study further revealed four main coping strategies used by miners to handle the risks. These are rest, taking unprescribed medication and hard drugs, registration with health insurance scheme and savings and investments. Conclusion: This study shows that very few artisanal miners use PPE despite the significant hazards and risks to which they are exposed. The study recommends to the government to put in place measures to ensure that miners adhere to health and safety regulations before undertaking mining activities. This means that health and safety plans and use of PPE should be linked to the license acquisition process for miners.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• 제14권4호
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• pp.639-645
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• 2003

This study was purposed to apply Aizen's Theory of Planned Behavior to workers using personal protective equipment. For this purpose, occupational health nurses conducted a survey of 173 male workers who were working at 6 different factories during the period from August to October 2003. The score of each variable related to the Theory of Planned Behavior was calculated: attitude (3.74); subjective norm(4.10); and perceived behavioral control (3.48). Four preceding factors were also assessed: behavioral belief(3.63); outcome evaluation(4.05); normative belief (4.20); and motivation to comply(4.03). Analysing the results, we found that two factors of the Theory of Planned Behavior are important in this case, which were subjective norm and perceived behavioral control that were found to be in a strong positive linkage with the use of personal protective equipment. Thus enhancing subjective norm and perceived behavioral control must be the most important goal of health education for workers who must use personal protective equipment. In addition, though behavioral intention, an intermediate factor of the Theory of Planned Behavior, was not measured in this study, subsequent studies are expected to include the factor in their models.