• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.47 no.3
• /
• pp.183-195
• /
• 2024

Additional functional upgrades to the large-area compton camera (LACC) measurement device that can provide characteristics evaluation information (nuclear species and radioactivity) and two-dimensional or three-dimensional distribution imaging information of radioactive materials existing in surface or internal of concrete structures are required in terms of work stability and efficiency in order to apply to actual decommissioning sites such as nuclear power plants or medical cyclotron facilities by using this measurement device. To this purpose, the technology that allows radiation workers to intuitively and visually check the distribution of radioactive materials in advance by matching the two-dimensional distribution imaging information of radioactive materials obtained through the LACC measurement device and visual imaging of the measurement zone (10 m × 5 m) was developed. In addition, the separate system that can automatically adjust the position (height) in units of the measurement area size (0.7 m × 0.3 m × 0.8 m) of the LACC measurement device was developed and the integrated management system for characteristics evaluation information and two-dimensional or three-dimensional distribution imaging information obtained per unit of measurement for radioactive materials was developed. These functional upgrades related to LACC measurement device can improve work efficiency and safety when measuring radioactivity of concrete structures and enable the establishment of appropriate decommissioning strategies using radioactivity measurement information for decommissioning nuclear power plants or medical cyclotron facilities.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.50 no.3
• /
• pp.221-228
• /
• 2024

Background: Social interest is increasing due to frequent accidents caused by chemicals in the electronics industry. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to present a management plan by evaluating the exposure characteristics of dichloromethane (DCM), trichloromethane (TCM), and tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH), which are high-risk substances to which people may be exposed in the electronics industry in South Korea. Methods: To investigate the handling companies and status of the hazardous chemicals DCM, TCM, and TMAH, the handling status of the three substances was classified based on electronics industry-related codes from the 2019 Work Environment Survey (Chemical Handling and Manufacturing) data with work environment measurement results for five years. Results: DCM, TCM, and TMAH are commonly used as cleaning agents in the electronics industry. For DCM, it was found that all work environment measurement results from 2018 to 2021 but not 2022 exceeded the exposure standard. Conclusions: Identifying the distribution channels of hazardous chemicals is an intervention point that can reduce exposure to hazardous chemicals. It requires management through tracking systems such as unique verification numbers at the import and manufacturing stages, and proper cultivation of and related support for handling chemicals by business managers.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.270-279
• /
• 2020

Objective: The aim of this study was to propose revision of the occupational exposure limit(OEL) for 1-Bromopropane(1-BP) following a review of the appropriateness of the standard in light of increasing epidemiological data and handling risk. Materials and Methods: The results of toxicity and epidemiologic investigations for 1-BP and agencies' OELs were compared and reviewed through a literature review. In order to investigate the status of 1-BP handling in South Korea, data from work environment actual condition survey results and work environment measurement results were used. Results: The toxicity of 1-BP, such as central nervous system(CNS) damage, peripheral neuropathy, hematological adverse effects, and developmental and reproductive toxicity(male and female) has been reported. ACGIH recommends 0.1 ppm as a TLV-TWA value, but the OEL of South Korea stands at 25 ppm, which is 250 times higher than the TLV-TWA. Although 1-BP is a specially managed substance under the Industrial Safety and Health Law, the currently applied OEL cannot be said to be a safe level based on the results of epidemiological studies to date. In a work environment measurement in 2017, the total number of samples was 626, which were derived from 78 industries, and the average concentration was 1.173 ppm(standard deviation 2.88). Conclusions: To protect the health of workers handling 1-BP, estimated to be 780 in South Korea, it is necessary to strengthen the OEL(TWA) to a level of 0.3 ppm(lower than the 0.34 ppm with known toxic effects), which is believed to be safe as a result of epidemiological investigation. "Skin" notation should be recommended.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.322-335
• /
• 2019

Objectives: The goal of this study is to standardize industry, process, and job within work environment measurement information. Methods: We selected 180 work environment measurement reports on 30 industries from a database monitored from 2014 to 2016 by the Korea Industrial Health Association. Ten industrial hygienists, each with over five years of experience in measurement, conducted a primary standardization of 180 reports. Two professional industrial hygienists with more than 20 years of experience each reviewed and revised the results of the primary standardization. We also examined the validity on the usefulness of the standardized database by the two industrial hygienists. Results: The final standardization results were classified into eight major categories, 23 sub-major categories, 39 minor categories, 53 unit categories and 70 sub-unit categories in the Korean Standard Industrial Classification (KSIC) 10th revision. A total of 161 processes were standardized, and there were 148 processes with K2B codes. Standard job was coded into 13 job groups including operator, automobile maintenance, nurse, maintenance, manager, excavating machine operator, forklift driver, radiologist, clinical pathologist, signer, researcher, kitchen assistant, and concrete reinforcement ironworker. Conclusions: Although the standardized information in this study may be only a part of the total information, it can be useful for improvement of the K2B system. Additional research is needed for an ongoing clean-up of data in the K2B and re-calibration and reclassification of standard processes until the future national exposure monitoring system is fully established.

• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.50-61
• /
• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a valid tool for measuring the work environment of Korean nurses and test the validity and reliability of the instrument. Methods: This is a methodological study for developing and testing a measurement tool. The conceptual framework for the tool was formed through a literature review and in-depth interviews with clinical nurses. 260 meaningful statements were derived through this process, and 59 of the primary items were generated out of these statements. On the basis of the content validity test, 41 items were selected for the preliminary tool. A total of 350 nurses from 7 hospitals responded to the preliminary questionnaire in October 2011. Results: After the item analysis and the principal component analysis using varimax rotation methods, 11 items were deleted. Considering the conceptual framework and the scree plot, we extracted 4 factors from the final 30 items. These factors were organizational support, head nurse's leadership, support system, and relationship with coworkers, and their total variance was 54.4%. The value of Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ of the final tool was 0.92. Conclusion: The above findings revealed that the Korean Nursing Work Environment Scale (K-NWES) is an appropriate, valid, and reliable tool for evaluating the work environment of Korean nurses. Further research to perform a criterion validity test of the K-NWES is needed.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.128-137
• /
• 2021

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to propose a smart work environment management service model that can measure and maintain work environments in real time. Methods: How existing private consignment business is being carried out was identified and a simpler method was applied to the model. Results: Common support was provided according to the Korea Standard Industrial Classification. Hazards suitable for the relevant industry classification were selected and information on safety and health education, etc. was provided. Theme-specific support provides services focusing on hazards that can be measured through applications. Hazards are evaluated by applying new standards divided into 'Good', 'Average', 'Inadequate', and 'Faulty'. Conclusions: This model is designed to help employers identify health and safety conditions in small businesses where it is difficult to hire health and safety professionals. Using the app proposed in this study, anyone can easily measure their work environment at any time.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.109-122
• /
• 2000

The present study examined the causal relationships among nurses' perceived autonomy, job satisfaction, work environment (work overload, role conflict, situational support, head nurses' leadership), personal aspects(experiences, need for achievement, professional knowledge and skill) by constructing and testing a theoretical framework. Based on literature review nurses' perceived autonomy and job satisfaction were conceived of as outcomes of the interplay among work environment and personal characteristics. Work environment factors involved work overload, role conflict, situational support, and head nurses' leadership (task oriented leadership, relation oriented leadership). Personal charateristics included experiences, need for achievement, and professional knowledge and skill. Three large general hospital in Chonbuk were selected to participate. The total sample of 516 registered nurses represents a response rate of 92 percent. Data for this study was collected from July to September in 1998 by Questionnaire. Path analyses with LISREL 7.16 program were used to test the fit of the proposed conceptual model to the data and to examine the causal relationship among variables. The result showed that both the proposed model and the modified model fit the data excellently. It needs to be notified, however, that path analisis can not count measurement errors; measurement error can attenuate estimates of coefficient and explanatory power. Nevertheless the model revealed relatively high explanatory power. 42 percent of nurses' perceived autonomy was explained by predicted variables; 32 percent of nurses' job satisfaction was explained by by predicted variables. Tn predicting nurses' perceived autonomy the findings of this study clearly demonstrated the work overload might be the most important variable of all the antecedent variables. Head nurses' relation oriented leadership, situational supports, need for achievement, and role conflict were also found to be important determinants for nurses' perceived autonomy. As for the job satisfaction, role conflict, situational supports, need for the achievement, and head nurses' relation oriented leadership were in turn important predictors. Unexpectedly the result showed perceived autonomy have few influence on job satisfaction. The results were discussed, including directions for the future research and practical implication drawn from the research were suggested.

• IE interfaces
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.196-203
• /
• 2012

In the postal delivery service, both the standardization of business process and the workload measurement is very important part of saving the cost and improving the efficiency. However, these are not easy to apply to real situation because of the labor-intensive and diversification of delivery environment. In this study, we develop the methodology for the standardization of business process and workload measurement model of the postal delivery service. Firstly, we introduce the work factor analysis on the postal delivery process. Then, we propose the methodology workload measurement model based on diversification of delivery environment.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.169-175
• /
• 1999

The study was purposed to know the status of health management in small-scale-industries which have less than 50 employees. A total of 330 small-scale-industries were surveyed by nurses and industrial-hygienists who were affiliated with industrial health care agency from January, 1993 to December, 1994. The contents of survey include status of work environment, occupational accident and its disease availability, protective evice, health education and settlements. The results were as follows: 1. The number of industrial accidents(death, injury arid occup. disease) in 1994 was 83 which was reduced from that of the 1993 which was 126. 2. As a result of the measurement of work environment the excessive ratio of permitted criteria was reduced to 20.6% in 1994 from 264% in 1993, and the improvement ratio of work environment was increased to 39.5% in 1994 from 29.7% in 1993. 3. The contents of health education at work place were as follows: general disease(25.4%), work environment(20.2%), protective device(16.7%), disease prevension(14.2%), occupational disease(85%), and health promotion(8.3%). 4. In terms of industrial safty and prevention of occupational disease, only 10.6% was satisfactory or excellent, and the 89.4% was poor, inadequate or required reexamination.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
• /
• v.56 no.4
• /
• pp.817-819
• /
• 2007

The purpose of this work is to develop a measurement system of the pendulum test with minimal restriction of experimental environment and little influence of noise. In this work, we developed a vision system without any line between markers and a camera. The system performance is little influenced by the experimental environment, if light are sufficient to recognize markers. For the validation of the system, we compared knee joint angle trajectories measured by the developed system and by the magnetic sensor system during the nominal pendulum test and the maximum speed voluntary knee joint rotation. The joint angle trajectories of the developed system during both tests matched well with those of the magnetic system. Therefore, we suggest the vision system as an alternative to the previous systems with limited practicality for the pendulum test.