• Title/Summary/Keyword: workers' health and safety

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A Study on Improvement of Emergency Medical System for forestry accident (임업 사고 응급대응체계의 개선방안에 관한 연구)

  • Nam, Ki-Hun;Park, Young-Soo;Kim, Kwang-Il;Cho, Koo-Hyun;Lee, Eun-Jai;Baek, Seung-An
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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    • v.22 no.6
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    • pp.665-671
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    • 2019
  • The estimated on-site accident rate in Forestry is relatively high. According to statistics of the accident, in the recent 5 years, from 2014 to 2018, forestry accidents have resulted in 98% of injuries and 87% of fatalities. Especially, there are significant geographical constraints to access to the scene in case of an accident. Even though the capacity of first aid capacity is notably emphasized its importance to minimize the scale of damages, the relevant employees have been educated only basic first aid, which is not considered circumstances or geographic limitations, by Occupation Safety and Health Acts. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to derive a direction for a forest emergency service system to increase forestry workers' survival and prevent secondary injury through securing 'Golden Time.' This study conducts analyzing relevant laws and regulations in domestic and international settings as well as looking at several concerned accident cases. The outcome of analysis presents an issue regarding the implementation of onsite first aid in forestry and existing risk factors depending on the working process. Finally, we suggest two ways to improve the forest emergency service that are 1) an appropriate curriculum and kit for forest first aid; and 2) a system for emergency transfer through sharing information between National Fire Agency (NFA) and emergency medical service center, and emergency and rescue mission using helicopter from NFA and Korea Forest Service.

The Status of 3D Printing Industry and Researches on Exposure to Hazards When Using Metal Materials (3D프린팅 산업 및 금속소재 사용시 유해인자 노출 연구 현황)

  • Hae Dong Park;Leejun HUH
    • Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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    • v.25 no.1
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    • pp.7-14
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    • 2023
  • We attempted to provide an overview of the laws and current state of the 3D printing industry in South Korea and around the world, using the annual industry surveys and the Wohler report. Additionally, we reviewed articles relating to the potential exposure to hazards associated with 3D printing using metal materials. In South Korea, there were 406 3D printing-related businesses, employing 2,365 workers, and the market size was estimated at 455.9 billion won in 2021. Globally, the average growth rate of the 3D printing industry market over the past 10 years was 27.4%, and the market size was estimated at $11.8 billion in 2019. The United States had the highest cumulative installation ratio of industrial 3D printers, followed by China, Japan, Germany, and South Korea. A total of 6,168 patents related to 3D printing were registered in the US between 2010 and 2019. Harmful factors during metal 3D printing was mainly evaluated in the powder bed fusion and direct energy deposition printing types, and there is a case of material extrusion type with metal additive filaments. The number, mass, size distribution, and chemical composition of particles were mainly evaluated. Particle concentration increases during the opening of the chamber or post-processing. However, operating the 3D printer in a ventilated chamber can reduce particle concentration to the background level. In order to have a safe and healthy environment for 3D printing, it is necessary to accumulate and apply knowledge through various studies.

Nano-safety Management and Exposure Assessment of Nanomaterials Producing Facilities (나노물질 생산시설의 환경노출 평가와 안전관리)

  • Umh, Ha Nee;Roh, Jinkyu;Park, Junsu;Kwak, Byoung Kyu;Lee, Byung Cheon;Choi, Kyunghee;Yi, Jongheop;Kim, Younghun
    • Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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    • v.50 no.1
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    • pp.112-117
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    • 2012
  • With the development of nanotechnology, nano-consumer products have been popularized. For the past 10 years, potential risk of nanomaterials to human and environment have been raised carefully. Especially, workers, who directly handle nanomaterials in laboratories and manfacturers, will lead to direct exposure of nanomaterials. Therefore, direct exposure assessment and field monitoring of nanomaterials are required to assess and manage the nanomaterial exposure to human and environment. In this work, two nano-manufacturing companies, which had plasma and sol-gel processes, were selected to analyze the main exposure source and process with in-situ SMPS (scanning mobility particle sizer) and ex-situ TEM (transmission electron microscopy). The results showed that the colloidal nanoparticle in liquid phase was easily evaporated and monitored by SMPS. Most serious thing is that the workers does not know about the potential risk of nanomaterials, and thus they are not taking proper protection activities, such as PPE (personal protective equipment). Therefore, exposure assessment for nanomaterial handling facilities should be additionally carried out, and nano-safety management protocols are also provided.

Developing the Joint Employment System of Occupational Nurse Practitioners for the Minor Enterprises in Korea (part 1) (보건관리자 공동채용 모형 개발 (I) -산업간호사 의견을 중심으로-)

  • Lee, Sung Eun;Kim, Young Im;Chun, Kyung Za;Kim, Hwa Joong
    • Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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    • v.7 no.1
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    • pp.97-114
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    • 1998
  • The occupational health services for the minor enterprises are poor comparing with that of large enterprises in Korea. In 1997, Korean government announced officially the law on joint employment system of occupational health practitioners to solve the problems. This study is to develop the model on the joint employment system of occupational nurse practitioners for minor enterprises in Korea based on the opinions of occupational health nurses (OH Ns). The data were collected by questionnares from October to November in 1997. The number of subjects was 210 occupational health nurses who had participated the mandatory nursing education program provided by the Korean Occupational Health Nurses Association(KOHNA). The response rate was 47.1%. The contents of questionnaires were general characteristics, occupational & job characteristics of OHNs, and the views on the joint employment system. The SAS-PC program was used for the statistical analysis. The results were as followed, (1) The proper number of industies was 3 and the appropriate number of workers was 448 for one joint employed occupational nurse practitioner (J EONP). (2) 44.7% of the OHNs wanted that the Ministry of Labor monitored the way and content of contraction b/w JEONP and minor emterprises, 82.6% of the OHNs wanted that KOHNA managed the employment informations. (3) The OHNs of occupational health agencies showed more positive attitude than the OHNs of private industries on the joint employment system. (4) 88.3% of the OHNs wanted the education training for JEONP. Especially in occupational hygiene and safety control. (5) The OHNs expected the role expansion of Occupational Health Nursing by JEONP system. At the same time they worried the adverse effects. For the successful execution of this system, it is necessary the cooperation among the Ministry of Labor, KOHNA, the minor enterprises, and the OHNs.

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Assessment of natural radionuclides and heavy metals contamination to the environment: Case study of Malaysian unregulated tin-tailing processing industry

  • Rahmat, Muhammad Abdullah;Ismail, Aznan Fazli;Rodzi, Nursyamimi Diyana;Aziman, Eli Syafiqah;Idris, Wan Mohd Razi;Lihan, Tukimat
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.54 no.6
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    • pp.2230-2243
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    • 2022
  • The tin tailing processing industry in Malaysia has operated with minimal regard and awareness for material management and working environment safety, impacting the environment and workers in aspects of radiation and heavy metal exposure. RIA was conducted where environmental samples were analyzed, revealing concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K between the range of 0.1-10.0, 0.0-25.7, and 0.1-5.8 Bq/g respectively, resulting in the AED exceeding UNCEAR recommended value and regulation limit enforced by AELB (1 mSv/y). Raeq calculated indicates that samples collected pose a significant threat to human health from gamma-ray exposure. Assessment of heavy metal content via pollution indices of soil and sediment showed significant contamination and enrichment from processing activities conducted. As and Fe were two of the highest metals exposed both via soil ingestion with an average of 4.6 × 10-3 mg/kg-day and 1.4 × 10-4 mg/kg-day, and dermal contact with an average of 5.6 × 10-4 mg/kg-day and 6.0 × 10-4. mg/kg-day respectively. Exposure via accidental ingestion of soil and sediment could potentially cause adverse non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health effect towards workers in the industry. Correlation analysis indicates the presence of a relationship between the concentration of NORM and trace elements.

A Study on the HSE Monitoring System based on Smart Device for Establishing Evaluation System of the Combined Safety Index (종합 안전지수 평가체계 수립을 위한 스마트디바이스 기반 HSE 모니터링 시스템에 관한 연구)

  • Woo, Jong-Hun;Lim, Hyun-Kyu;Youn, Kyung-Won;Ham, Dong-Kyun
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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    • v.21 no.4
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    • pp.437-448
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    • 2015
  • In this paper, smartphone based measuring device was developed by integration of several sonsors such as moving, temperature, pulsation, respiration and hearing and sever/client programs was developed for the data acquisition and communication between smartphone and server computer. Then, the concept of CSI(combined safety index) was proposed for the comprehensive diagnositcs of workers status. For the validation of the proposed concept, the real data was acquired by boarding at training ship of korea maritime and ocean university. The acquired data was analyzed with the stochastical method of regressionn, then the meaningful result was driven that could explain the relation between the risky situation and the measured chronical data.

Real-time automated detection of construction noise sources based on convolutional neural networks

  • Jung, Seunghoon;Kang, Hyuna;Hong, Juwon;Hong, Taehoon;Lee, Minhyun;Kim, Jimin
    • International conference on construction engineering and project management
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    • 2020.12a
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    • pp.455-462
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    • 2020
  • Noise which is unwanted sound is a serious pollutant that can affect human health, as well as the working and living environment if exposed to humans. However, current noise management on the construction project is generally conducted after the noise exceeds the regulation standard, which increases the conflicts with inhabitants near the construction site and threats to the safety and productivity of construction workers. To overcome the limitations of the current noise management methods, the activities of construction equipment which is the main source of construction noise need to be managed throughout the construction period in real-time. Therefore, this paper proposed a framework for automatically detecting noise sources in construction sites in real-time based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) according to the following four steps: (i) Step 1: Definition of the noise sources; (ii) Step 2: Data preparation; (iii) Step 3: Noise source classification using the audio CNN; and (iv) Step 4: Noise source detection using the visual CNN. The short-time Fourier transform (STFT) and temporal image processing are used to contain temporal features of the audio and visual data. In addition, the AlexNet and You Only Look Once v3 (YOLOv3) algorithms have been adopted to classify and detect the noise sources in real-time. As a result, the proposed framework is expected to immediately find construction activities as current noise sources on the video of the construction site. The proposed framework could be helpful for environmental construction managers to efficiently identify and control the noise by automatically detecting the noise sources among many activities carried out by various types of construction equipment. Thereby, not only conflicts between inhabitants and construction companies caused by construction noise can be prevented, but also the noise-related health risks and productivity degradation for construction workers and inhabitants near the construction site can be minimized.

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A Survey on Annual Exceedance Trends for the Domestic Permissible Exposure Limit for Benzene (벤젠의 국내 허용기준에 대한 연도별 초과 경향 연구)

  • Lee, Kyunghwa;Kim, Ki-Youn
    • Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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    • v.28 no.2
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    • pp.144-150
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    • 2018
  • Objectives: The purpose of this study is to analyze the trend for exceedance of the domestic permissible exposure limit of benzene based on a review of the previous literature. Materials and methods: From among 13 chemical substances regulated through a PEL (Permissible Exposure Limit) in the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the research object of this study is benzene. The information utilized is work environment measurement data from 2004 to 2013. The highest level among the concentration data measured at various workplaces was selected as a representative value through the data process. N.D. (Not Detected) data was considered as 1/2 of the LOD (limit of detection). Results: Among the work environment measurement data between 2004 and 2013, the highest number of exceeding workplaces and the excess rate (12 sites and 5.4%) was observed in the 2006 data when applying the current PEL for benzene. When compared with the action level, which means a level one-half of the PEL, 2005's data showed the highest number of exceeding workplaces and greatest excess rate (89 sites & 13.3%). The number of exceeding workplaces and excess rate relative to the PEL for benzene showed an increasing trend in 2004, but tended to decrease after 2007. Conclusions: Based on the results obtained from this study, the exposure level for benzene among domestic workers is not considered to be in a safe phase regardless of the year of work environment measurement. Thus, strict preventive management in workplaces should be provided for reducing exposure to benzene.

Analysis of Major Issues in the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (SAPA) (중대재해처벌법의 주요쟁점 해소 방안)

  • Cho Choonhwan
    • Journal of the Korea Institute of Construction Safety
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    • v.5 no.1
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    • pp.17-24
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    • 2023
  • The purpose of this study is to clearly recognize critical issues and to suggest relevant solutions for the issues since too many deaths and injuries due to industrial accidents has been going on for a long time, also the deaths of workers is a problem that affects not only one person's death but also many people connected with it and society as a whole. And the need for a strict Serious Accidents Punishment Act is sympathetic. However, the current Severe Accident Punishment Act is not welcomed by both labor and management due to its ambiguity, and it is suggested that the punishment and legislative content of the management manager who violated the duty to ensure safety and health is abstract and the level of punishment is excessive. In addition, due to the ambiguous part of the management manager's interpretation and serious industrial accidents, most companies appoint large law firms to receive legal interpretation and advice, so only law firms are getting full, and the cost that companies invest to protect the CEO is actually a safety accident. It is suggested that the current enforcement ordinance, which has ambiguity, needs to be revised because it must be entered into as a preventive cost.

A Study on the Application of BIM for the Improvement of the Effectiveness of the Safety Assessment Regulations (유해·위험방지계획서 현장 활용도 제고를 위한 BIM 적용 필요성에 관한 연구)

  • Lee, Mi-Hyeon;Lim, Hyoung-Chul
    • Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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    • v.21 no.4
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    • pp.384-391
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    • 2020
  • An annual average of more than 100 casualties occur on construction sites designated by the occupational safety and health law despite the safety assessment regulations from Korea Occupational Safety & Health Agency. Even if those sites involve more harmful or hazardous work than other sites, the result creates doubt regarding the effectiveness of the safety assessment regulations. The safety of construction sites is difficult to maintain continuously and instantly because ofthe variability in the construction industry despite inspecting workers, equipment, and facilities by managers. Many discussions on how to utilize BIM have been made to improve the productivity of construction projects, and BIM-based modeling and simulation would bring many benefits to safety. This study examined the hindrance factors of field utilization of the safety assessment regulations through a research literature survey, disaster situation analysis and questionnaire, and suggests the necessity of the application of BIM that enhances the effectiveness of safety assessment regulations by identifying the relationship between the hindrance factors and the function of BIM.