• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.210-217
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• 2023

Background: N-nitrosamines are carcinogenic substances often found in rubber products. They are produced when certain additives of rubber products react with nitrite in saliva or air. Exposure assessment for the proper management and communication of N-nitrosamines in rubber balloons should be carried out. Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the concentrations of N-nitrosamines in rubber balloons in the South Korean market and assess exposure among Korean children. Methods: Forty eight rubber balloon products in the domestic market were purchased and a total of 68 balloons were analyzed for N-nitrosamines and N-nitrosatable substances. Chemical analysis was conducted by HPLC-MS/MS according to the method EN 71-12. For exposure assessment, an exposure algorithm and coefficients were obtained from previous studies. Results: Among the 68 rubber balloons, N-nitrosamines were detected in 18 (26.5%) with an average level of 60.77 ㎍/kg. N-Nitrosatable substances were detected in 44 products (64.7%) with an average level of 1353.33 ㎍/kg. As a result of the exposure evaluation, the exposure dose differed according to how exposure coefficients were applied. The median exposure (50th percentile) was higher in the age group of 6~12 years, and high exposure (95th percentile) was higher in the age group of 13~18. Conclusions: We evaluated the N-nitrosamines contained in rubber balloons purchased in the domestic market and assessed oral exposure among South Korean children. For integrated risk management of N-nitrosamines, further studies and discussion regarding exposure and risk assessment are required.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.14-24
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• 2018

Several typical hyper-elastic constitutive models that encompass both conventional and advanced ones were investigated for the application of instability problems, including the biaxial tension of a rubber patch and inflation of spherical or cylindrical balloons. The material models included the neo-Hookean model, Mooney-Rivlin model, Gent model, Arruda-Boyce model, Fung model, and Pucci-Saccomandi model. Analyses can be done using membrane equations with particular strain energy density functions. Among the typical strain energy density functions, Kearsley's bifurcation for the Treloar's patch occurs only with the Mooney-Rivlin model. The inflation equation is so generalized that a spherical balloon and tube balloons can be taken into account. From the analyses, the critical material parameters and limit points were identified for material models in terms of the non-dimensional pressure and inflation volume ratio. The bifurcation was then identified and found for each material model of a balloon. When the finite element method was used for the structural instability problems of rubber-like materials, some careful treatments required could be suggested. Overall, care must be taken not only with the analysis technique, but also in selecting constitutive models, particularly the instabilities.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.228-235
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• 2023

Background: As the public interest in chemical substances found in daily life has increased, environmental health education content has been developed and related studies have been conducted. However, there is still insufficient research on methodologies for environmental health education. Objectives: This study aimed to explore risk communication strategies by focusing on N-nitrosamines in rubber balloons. Methods: In this study, two different health messages were composed: a gain-framed message emphasizing the advantages of practicing the health behavior and a loss-framed message emphasizing the negative consequences of not practicing the health behavior. The effect of the message containing risk information was evaluated by measuring the health beliefs and health behavior potential for female caregivers. As the Environmental Health Act defines a child as "a person under the age of 13," a total of 131 women with children under the age of 13 were studied. Results: The age, awareness, and interest of the participants in the gain frame group and these in the loss frame group were similar. In terms of message framing effect, the gain-framed message was more effective in terms of health belief and potential health behavior than was the loss-framed message. As a result of an independent t-test, among the six variables of health belief model the message effect was statistically significant at the level of p<0.05 in three variables: perceived severity (t=2.287, df=129, p=0.024), self-efficacy (t=2.123, df=129, p=0.036), and health behavior potential (t=2.094, df=129, p=0.038). Conclusions: This study presented a direction for effective environmental health education by studying the effects of risk communication messages based on scientific evidence. It is necessary to extend the scope of environmental health education research by expanding research into various household products.