• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.102-110
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• 2010

Personal exposure relies on characteristics of time activity patterns of the population of concern as human activities impact the timing, location, and level of personal exposure. The information about time spent in microenvironments plays a critical role for personal exposure to air pollutants. It is useful to determine the precise times of the day that the subjects are in certain locations or engaging in specific activities because exposure to some air pollutants can depend on temporal trends. This study investigated time activity pattern for workers of Korean population over 19 years old with 8,778 workers in weekday. The residential indoor times were 12 hours. Time activity was different by gender and the mean times stayed at home in weekday were 12.9 hours in female and 11.42 hours in male, respectively. The major factors on residential indoor time and workplace time were age, monthly income, occupation and industry type, work position, education, and gender. Considering shorter than those in other countries, Korean workers spent less time at home after the working hours. Determinants of time activity pattern need to be taken into account in exposure assessment, epidemiological analyses, exposure simulations, as well as in the development of preventive strategies. Since there are substantial difference of Korean worker activity pattern, this information can be critical for exposure assessment in Korea.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.273-284
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• 2019

Objective: This study was performed to estimate the number of those who used humidifier disinfectants (HDs) and experienced health effects from exposure to HDs in Korea between 1994 and 2011. Methods: A nationwide interview survey was conducted for the representative sample to identify the proportion of those who used HDs among the general population (n=3,001). Another online survey was conducted for those exposed to HDs to find the proportion of those who experienced health effects among those who were exposed to HDs (n=3,993). Statistics for population size by region and year (1994-2011) were used to estimate the cumulative number of those exposed to HDs and those who experienced health effects. In terms of the proportion of those exposed to HDs, those less than 30 years of age were excluded due to an issue related to information bias. Various approaches for estimation included the capture-recapture method for estimation of those who experienced health effects. Results: The cumulative proportion of those exposed to HDs was 6.7% among the general population, and the proportion of those who experienced health effects among those who were exposed to HDs was 13.9%. Based on these factors, it was estimated that 3.5 to 4.0 million people were exposed to HDs and 350 to 400 thousand experienced health effects at least requiring visiting a hospital. Conclusion: It is suggested that a nationwide representative sample may be essential for population size estimation of those exposed to environmental risk factors and of those who experienced health effects.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.156-162
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• 2012

This paper presents differences of road traffic noise maps were generated by using the draft map and two digital maps with different versions. As a first step, the calculation of the areas of excessive noise exposure was made for the draft map and each digital map version. Subsequently, the areas of excessive noise exposure were compared so as to determine how different from each other. Then, comparison of the populations exposed to excessive noise was also conducted in the same way. It was found that the most accurate noise map was obtained when using the combination of the draft map containing all attribute information and the digital map Ver 2.0. This result indicates that more information on the height and the number of floors of the individual building is required in order to obtain more accurate population exposed to excessive noise, thus creating a more accurate noise map.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.370-379
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• 2018

Objectives: Bisphenol A (BPA) has been extensively used in a variety of consumer products, resulting in widespread non-occupational human exposure. It is often detected in the human body. Studies have reported many health effects associated with endocrine and metabolic disruptions, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases. This study was performed to explain the relationship between BPA exposure and obesity in the Korean adult population. Methods: The second stage of the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNHES) was conducted from 2012 to 2014 with 6,478 persons participating. Using the results of the survey, we analyzed the exposure levels for BPA and the influence on obesity of BPA. Results: In model 1, the volume-based measure concentration of BPA, total, female and the 30s to 60s age group were positively related with BMI. In model 2, creatinine adjusted as a covariate and positive associations for BPA with BMI were observed in the female group and was marginally significantly associated in low body weight group. In model 3, creatinine adjusted (g/g-creatinine), BPA exposure, and BMI were positively related with sex, in females, and there was a marginally significant association with the low body weight group in the BMI categories. BMI was significantly associated with BPA in the female group in all three models. Conclusion: This study added further evidence that exposure to EDCs, include bisphenol A, is related with obesity among the general population. Given the environmental health concerns over BPA, it is necessary to develop comprehensive measures to reduce BPA exposure.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.384-389
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• 2023

Background: Exposure to welding fume is associated with adverse effects on worker health. The use of various control measures can reduce levels of exposure and the resulting health effects. However, little is known about the factors that may influence workers' use of control measures in the workplace and their perceived intervention needs. This study aimed to investigate workers' and other stakeholders' views on ways to improve the use of welding fume control measures in Australian workplaces. Methods: We conducted a series of online focus group discussions and individual interviews with participants who have some occupational involvement in welding, whether as workers, employers or industry representatives, union representatives, or regulators. A semi-structured question guide was used, and all discussions and interviews were recorded and transcribed for analysis. Results: Five focus group discussions and five individual interviews were conducted with a total of 21 participants. Three major themes emerged. The first addressed the current awareness of welding fume harms and concern about exposure; the second focussed on the current use of control measures, and barriers and facilitators to their use; and the last centred around intervention needs and the contents of a potential effective intervention. Conclusion: Improving the use of control measures to prevent exposure to welding fume requires knowledge around the barriers and facilitators of control, use, and the intervention needs of stakeholders. This study has provided such knowledge, which will facilitate the design and implementation of an intervention to reduce welding fume exposure and ultimately protect the health of workers.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.156-156
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• 2015

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.96-98
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• 2010

Medical use of radiation is increasing in recent times and its influence on the population creates almost the same amount of annual natural background radiation in industrialized countries in particular. Thus, medical radiation has become a social issue. This paper is a brief report on the status of medical exposure in Korea by way of consulting from the radiation-related medical societies in Korea.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.266-271
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• 2022

Background: The selection of distributions of input parameters is an important component in probabilistic exposure assessment. Goodness-of-fit (GOF) methods are used to determine the distribution of exposure factors. However, there are no clear guidelines for choosing an appropriate GOF method. Objectives: The outcomes of probabilistic consumer exposure assessment were compared by using five different GOF methods for the selection of input distributions: chi-squared test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (K-S), Anderson-Darling test (A-D), Akaike information criterion (AIC) and Bayesian information criterion (BIC). Methods: Individual exposures were estimated based on product usage factor combinations from 10,000 respondents. The distribution of individual exposure was considered as the true value of population exposures. Results: Among the five GOF methods, probabilistic exposure distributions using the A-D and K-S methods were similar to individual exposure estimations. Comparing the 95th percentiles of the probabilistic distributions and the individual estimations for 10 CPs, there were 0.73 to 1.92 times differences for the A-D method, and 0.73 to 1.60 times differences (excluding tire-shine spray) for the K-S method. Conclusions: There were significant differences in exposure assessment results among the selection of the GOF methods. Therefore, the GOF methods for probabilistic consumer exposure assessment should be carefully selected.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers C
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.97-102
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• 2004

The objective of this survey is to characterize personal magnetic field exposure of the general population in Korea. Participants for the survey on magnetic field exposure were selected randomly in some occupations. Those wore the magnetic field meter for about 25∼28 hours and the measured data were stored in the meter. In this first step survey, the number of participant is 244 and for the second step, about 400 participants will be surveyed in the near future. The statistics of the 24-hour exposure data are the major concern of this survey. However the survey provided the opportunity to analyze exposures corresponding to different types of activities. It was analyzed by separating periods of time corresponding to the following activities: entire 24-hour period, in bed, at work and by occupation. Therefore the database will be able to be established to analyze the status of personal magnetic field exposure and safety.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.353-364
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• 2016

Objectives: Determining the time activity patterns of urban populations is critical when performing an exposure assessment. The purposes of this study were to classify urban populations in Korea by their time activity patterns and to identify factors that influence these patterns. Methods: The time activity patterns of 31,634 and 20,263 individuals were obtained from two national databases collected in 2004 and 2009, respectively. The two largest metropolitan cities in Korea, Seoul and Busan, were selected for this analysis. For each city, multivariate linear regressions were performed to determine factors affecting the time spent in a residence and in transit. We also used cluster analysis to classify each urban population by activity pattern. Results: Nine distinctive activity patterns were identified in the Seoul and Busan populations, respectively, and the resulting classified population groups had specific characteristics. The identified patterns were similar for Seoul and Busan. The most significant factors affecting time spent in a residence were employment status, age, marriage status, education, and gender. Gender, education, employment status, and monthly income were significant factors affecting time spent in transit. Conclusion: These results indicate that, in addition to region, exposure scientists in Korea should consider classifying populations based on age, gender, and occupation.