• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제11권4호
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• pp.500-508
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• 2020

Background: Research on the status of many chemicals used in the semiconductor industry is needed. The purpose of this study was to describe the overall status of chemical use in the semiconductor industry in Korea and to examine it from a health perspective. Methods: Data on the status of chemical use and safety data sheets at 11 of 12 major semiconductor workplaces in Korea were collected. The number of chemical products and chemical constituents, quantities of chemicals, and trade secret ingredients used, as well as the health hazards were examined. Results: On average, 210 chemical products and 135 chemical constituents were used at the surveyed workplaces. Among all chemical products, 33% (range: 16-56%) contained at least one trade secret ingredient. Most of the trade secret ingredients were used in the photolithography process. Several carcinogens, including sulfuric acid, chromic acid, ethylene oxide, crystalline silica, potassium dichromate, and formaldehyde were also used. Only 29% (39 of 135) of the chemical constituents had occupational exposure limits, and more than 60% had no National Fire Protection Association health, safety, and reactivity ratings. Based on the aforementioned results, this study revealed the following. First, many chemical products and constituents are being used in the semiconductor industry and many products contained trade secret ingredients. Second, many products contained significant amounts of carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reproductive toxicant materials. Conclusion: We conclude that protecting workers in the semiconductor industry against harm from chemical substances will be difficult, due to widespread use of trade secret ingredients and a lack of hazard information. The findings of the status of chemical use and the health and safety risks in semiconductor industry will contribute to epidemiological studies, safe workplace, and worker health protection.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제14권2호
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• pp.153-162
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• 2023

Background: Job safety analysis (JSA) is a popular technique for hazard identification and risk assessment in workplaces that has been applied across a wide range of industries. This systematic review was conducted to answer four main questions regarding JSA: (1) which sectors and areas have used JSA? (2) What has been the aim of employing JSA? (3) What are the shortcomings of JSA? (4) What are the new advances in the field of JSA? Methods: Three main international databases were searched: SCOPUS, Web of Science, and PubMed. After screening and eligibility assessment, 49 articles were included. Results: Construction industries have used JSA the most, followed by process industries and healthcare settings. Hazard identification is the main aim of JSA, but it has been used for other purposes as well. Being time-consuming, the lack of an initial list of hazards, the lack of a universal risk assessment method, ignoring hazards from the surrounding activities, ambiguities regarding the team implementing JSA, and ignorance of the hierarchy of controls were the main shortcomings of JSA based on previous studies. Conclusion: In recent years, there have been interesting advances in JSA making attempts to solve shortcomings of the technique. A seven-step JSA was recommended to cover most shortcomings reported by studies.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제15권1호
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• pp.73-79
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• 2024

Background: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between work-related communication devices use during work outside of regular working hours and depressive symptoms in wage workers. Methods: Data from 50,538 workers aged 15 years or older who had participated in the 6th Korean Working Condition Survey (KWCS) were used. The final sample was 32,994 wage workers. The questionnaire asked the respondents how often they used communication devices for work during work outside of regular working hours. Depressive symptoms were assessed using WHO-5 Well-Being Index. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the association between work-related communication devices use during work outside of regular working hours and depressive symptoms. Results: The rate of depressive symptoms was highest among workers who did not use work-related communication devices during work outside of regular working hours. After adjusting for socio-demographic and work-related factors, the odds ratio of depressive symptoms among workers who used communication devices when working outside of regular working hours was 1.20 (95% CI: 1.09-1.32); the odds ratio of depressive symptoms in the group not using communication devices for free-time work was 1.66 (95% CI: 1.37-2.00), which was higher than that of the reference group, that is, workers who did not work outside of regular working hours, and was statistically significant. Conclusion: Regardless of whether work-related communication devices are used, working outside of regular working hours increases depressive symptoms. The use of work-related communication devices during work outside of regular working hours can reduce the rate of depressive symptoms.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제13권4호
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• pp.456-468
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• 2022

Background: This study examines quality of life (QOL) of a sample of police officers in India. The concept of QOL includes well-being, social obligations, relationships of a person, and his association with environment. The study examines the factors on which QOL of police officers depend and their relationships with each other. The issues linked with QOL are important because they directly affect the individual's ability to maintain a healthy lifestyle and affect organizational performance in the long run. This study explores relevant factors that have an impact on the QOL of the employees of police department in India. Method: In this paper, literatures review, ISM, MICMAC, and DEMATEL methodology have established eleven factors that impact the QOL of police officers in India. Mutual relations between factors have been established using the ISM approach to develop a model to represent these relationships. DEMATEL methodologies were used to analyze these factors. Results: Results indicate that "fair compensation, work overload, workplace safety, and job stress" are the top-level factors that affect QOL of police officers. Conclusion: The identification of factors and their mutual relationships that affect QOL are important for police officers and have to be dealt with according to their order of importance. The research model developed in this study shows how the factors of police officers' QOL are interrelated and presents the interrelationships among these factors. A comprehensive model depicting the relationships among these factors has been established, so that the QOL of police officers can be improved.

• 한국보건간호학회지
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• 제9권2호
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• pp.43-51
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• 1995

Many poeple has been engaged in industry is aware of the dangers from exposure to high intensity nose levels. The exposure to high intensity noise is encountered in a large number of situations. Laws governing the safety and health of employed people being to create a suitable working environment and eliminate unsafety practices and processes. Work areas should be designed and laid out so that they are satisfactory both from the environmental and safety points of view. In this connection safety also implies that noise is kept at a level which is not likety to cause hearing damage. This study was performed to measure the noise of press and assembly process in an automobile factory. and suggested the method of noise control. Consequently the effect ways of reducing level in working environment are as follows; 1. Changes to machines which would reduce noise generation. 2. Alteration of equipment to avoid impact in machinery and handing materials. 3. Enclosure of noisy machines or machine parts. 4. Mounting of attenuators on gas and air outlets as well as ventilation ducts. 5. Erection of sound absorbing screens. linings. and baffles in work areas. 6. The personal ear protectors can be chosen to protect the workers.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제10권2호
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• pp.224-228
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• 2019

Background: European policymakers encourage individuals to become self-employed because it is a way to promote innovation and job creation. It can be assumed that health and well-being among the self-employed and managers in small-scale enterprises are particularly crucial in this enterprise group because the smallness of the enterprise makes its members vulnerable. Earlier studies have indicated that the self-employed have a high working pace and work for long and irregular hours, indicating that it can be difficult to stay at home because of sickness. The purpose of this study is to investigate the occurrence of sickness presenteeism among the self-employed in relation to the organizationally employed and to analyze whether any differences can be explained by higher work demands among the self-employed. Methods: The study is based on the fifth European survey on working conditions (2010) and includes the northwestern European countries in the survey. The questions cover a wide range of topics designed to meet the European Union's political needs. The main variables in this study are sickness presenteeism and several indicators of time demands. Results: The results show that the self-employed report a higher level of sickness presenteeism than the employed: 52.4 versus 43.6%. All indicators of time demands are significantly related to the risk for sickness presenteeism, also when controlling for background characteristics. Conclusion: The results confirm that the level of sickness presenteeism is higher among the self-employed and that high time demands are a major explanation to this.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.293-300
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• 2012

Objectives: In chemical hazard communication, information receiver's perception is a important factor, but the study on the perception was few. Therefore, this study evaluated the perception of managers and workers group about chemical hazard communication by chemical hazard communication tools that were being used in fields. Methods: 91 managers and 238 workers were surveyed in two companies where use chemicals. All subjects were asked about the comprehensibility and perception for MSDS and GHS Pictograms being used in their workplaces through face-to-face interviews. Results: Most of the respondents knew MSDS, and more than half of the respondents had used MSDS once or more per year. The level of use to find the information on chemicals with MSDS was higher in the managers in comparison with workers. Also, the managers could understand and find the information on MSDS easier(p < 0.05). In the question asking the meaning of GHS Pictograms, the managers responded more correctly, as well(p < 0.05). 86.8% of the managers and 62.6% of the workers were conscious of the possible health hazards of chemicals that they could be exposed at work. However, among the respondents conscious of the health hazards, only less than 70% were well aware of the contents of the health hazards correctly. Conclusions: In chemical hazard communication, it is very important to evaluate whether information receiver have proper and correct knowledge and perception or not and actions based on the evaluations as well as provide correct information.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제5권4호
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• pp.169-174
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• 2014

We have been examining the issue of healthcare workers' exposure to antineoplastic drugs for nearly a decade and have observed that there appears to be more publications on the subject matter originating from Europe than from North America. The concern is that findings from Europe may not be generalizable to North America because of differences in handling practices, regulatory requirements, and training. Our objective was to perform a literature review to confirm our observation and, in turn, identify gaps in knowledge that warrants addressing in North America. Using select keywords, we searched for publications in PubMed and Web of Science. All papers were initially classified according to the originating continent and then categorized into one or more subject categories (analytical methods, biological monitoring, occupational exposure, surface contamination, and probability of risk/exposure). Our review identified 16 papers originating from North America and 55 papers from Europe with surface contamination being the subject matter most often studied overall. Based on our results, we are of the opinion that North American researchers need to further conduct dermal and/or urinary drug contamination studies as well as assess the exposure risk faced by healthcare workers who handle antineoplastic drugs. Trends in exposure levels should also be explored.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제13권3호
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• pp.302-307
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• 2022

Background: In Brazil, asbestos was intensively used from the 1960s until its ban in 2017. Mesothelioma, asbestosis, and pleural plaques are typical asbestos-related diseases (ARD-T). To create an ARD-T national database, death records from 1996-2017 were retrieved from several health information systems (HIS). Methods: All national HIS containing coded diagnoses (ICD-10) and death information were obtained. Linkage was performed to create a single database of ARD-T death records, either as underlying or contributory causes, in adults aged 30 years and older. Results: A total of 3,057 ARD-T death records were found, 2,405 (76.4%) of which being malignant mesotheliomas (MM). Pleural MM (n = 1,006; 41.8%) and unspecified MM (n = 792; 32.9%) prevailed. Male to female MM ratio (M:F) was 1.4:1, and higher ratios were found for non-malignant ARD-T: 3.5:1 for asbestosis and 2.4:1 for pleural plaques. Male crude annual mesothelioma mortality (CM_mm ×1,000,000) was 0.98 in 1996 and 2.26 in 2017, a 131.1% increment, while for females it was 1.04 and 1.25, a 20.2% increase, correspondingly. The small number of deaths with asbestosis and pleural plaques records precluded conclusive interpretations. Conclusions: Even with the linkage of several HIS, ARD-T in death records remained in low numbers. MM mortality in men was higher and showed a rapid increase and, along with non-malignant ARD-T, higher M:F ratios suggested a predominant pattern of work-related exposure. The monitoring of workplace and environmental asbestos exposure needs to be improved, as well as the workers surveillance, following the recent Brazilian ban.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제12권2호
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• pp.249-254
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• 2021

Introduction: Workplace violence (WPV) is a major occupational and health hazard for nurses. It affects nurses' physical and psychological well-being and impacts health service delivery. We aimed to assess the prevalence and describe the consequences of WPV experienced by nurses working in an emergency department in Kenya. Methods: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study among emergency nurses at one of the largest tertiary hospitals in Kenya. We collected data using a structured questionnaire adapted from the 'WPV in the Health Sector, Country Case Studies Research Instruments' questionnaire. We described the prevalence and effects of WPV using frequencies and percentages. Results: Of the 82 participating nurses, 64.6% were female, 57.3% were married and 65.8% were college-educated (65.8%). Participants' mean age was 33.8 years (standard deviation: 6.8 years, range: 23-55). The overall lifetime prevalence of WPV was 81.7% (n = 67, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 71.6%-88.8%) and the 1-year prevalence was 73.2% (n = 63, 95% CI: 66.3-84.8%). The main WPV included verbal abuse, physical violence, and sexual harassment. Most incidents were perpetrated by patients and their relatives. No action was taken in 50% of the incidents, but 57.1% of physical violence incidents were reported to the hospital security and 28.6% to supervisors. Perpetrators of physical violence were verbally warned (42.9%) and reported to the hospital security (28.6%). Conclusion: Workplace violence is a significant problem affecting emergency nurses in Kenya. Hospitals should promote workplace safety with zero-tolerance to violence. Nurses should be sensitised on WPV to mitigate violence and supported when they experience WPV.