• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제6권1호
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• pp.62-70
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• 2015

Background: Animal skin provides an ideal medium for the propagation of microorganisms and it is used like raw material in the tannery and footware industry. The aim of this study was to evaluate and identify the microbial load in oropharyngeal mucosa of tannery employees. Methods: The health risk was estimated based on the identification of microorganisms found in the oropharyngeal mucosa samples. The study was conducted in a tanners group and a control group. Samples were taken from oropharyngeal mucosa and inoculated on plates with selective medium. In the samples, bacteria were identified by 16S ribosomal DNA analysis and the yeasts through a presumptive method. In addition, the sensitivity of these microorganisms to antibiotics/antifungals was evaluated. Results: The identified bacteria belonged to the families Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, Neisseriaceae, Alcaligenaceae, Moraxellaceae, and Xanthomonadaceae, of which some species are considered as pathogenic or opportunistic microorganisms; these bacteria were not present in the control group. Forty-two percent of bacteria identified in the tanners group are correlated with respiratory diseases. Yeasts were also identified, including the following species: Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis, Candida albicans, and Candida krusei. Regarding the sensitivity test of bacteria identified in the tanners group, 90% showed sensitivity to piperacillin/tazobactam, 87% showed sensitivity to ticarcillin/clavulanic acid, 74% showed sensitivity to ampicillin/sulbactam, and 58% showed sensitivity to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. Conclusion: Several of the bacteria and yeast identified in the oropharyngeal mucosa of tanners have been correlated with infections in humans and have already been reported as airborne microorganisms in this working environment, representing a health risk for workers.

• 청정기술
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• 제10권1호
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• pp.27-35
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• 2004

현재 국내 피혁 업체에서는 대표적인 공해 산업으로 인식되어 있는 피혁 산업의 환경 문제를 해결하기 위하여 심혈을 기울이고 있다. 피혁 선진국에서는 피혁 전문 연구소 및 약품회사, 피혁 업체가 공동으로 대응하여 기술 개발 및 진단, 친환경 약품을 개발하고자 노력하고 있으며 본 연구는 청정 피혁 생산을 위한 저크롬 탄닝 공정 기술 보급 사업을 통하여 환경 문제의 해결하기 위하여 진행되었다. 특히 폐수나 고형폐기물의 형태로 존재하는 크롬의 처리에 환경적, 경제적 문제점으로 인해서 크롬을 적게 사용하는 저크롬 유제 공정과 크롬의 사용을 완전히 배제한 비크롬 유제 공정 기술을 대표적인 4개의 대상기업을 선정하여 기술 이전을 실시한 대표적인 친환경 제혁 기술을 소개 하고자 한다. 아울러 경량성 피혁 소재의 개발을 위해서 비금속을 이용하는 연구를 진행하고 있다.