• 대한안전경영과학회지
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• 제16권4호
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• pp.53-62
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• 2014

According to the statistics of occupational injuries in 2013, the work platforms were main objects causing fall injuries in construction sites. But many scaffold and platform workers use and install the work platforms and the fixed and mobile scaffolding without considering about safety and health standards. We had done a nationwide survey about how the platform workers obey safety and health standards. As the result of this survey, in order to ensure the safety of the work platforms, we founded that the platform workers must obey the safety and health standards when using and installing the work platforms. To improve the safety and health conscious of the workers, it needs to educate a worker on safety and health standards for work platforms. Also, to effectively prevent constructin injuries for the work platforms, it is rextricted for workers to use only safety certified work platforms. And, before installing and using work platforms, it needs to make a work plan for work platforms and obey it.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제33권1호
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• pp.88-94
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• 2018

The improvement of safety and health education method in construction site was investigated through the survey for workers and delphi technique. The results of preliminary survey done for workers were analyzed using the multi variance analyses, and the questionnaires for delphi survey were composed based on the results of preliminary survey. Finally, the participatory safety and health education method was suggested. The result showed that most of workers were very interested in accident prevention and health. On the contrary, they did not actively participate in safety activities in sites including safety and health education. In order to improve workers' levels of safety consciousness and prevent the construction accident, the participatory safety and health education method that construction workers directly examine and give presentations about accident causes and measures was suggested and verified by tests. One-way instructor-led safety and health education used widely and participatory safety and health education with workers were carried out by dividing participants into two groups. After education, the examination is done for two groups. The test results found that the average score of safety consciousness of the worker group that received participatory safety education was higher than that of the work group that received instructor-led safety education. And the Delphi technique utilizing experts was analyzed that participatory safety education has a great effect on improvement of workers' level of safety consciousness.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제10권3호
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• pp.384-388
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• 2019

The horse stable hand workers are one of the most important occupations in horse-racing industry. However, suicide problem of the horse stable hand workers in Korea has raised the necessity of new study on how these workers experience mental health problems such as occupational stress and depression in organizational situation. Therefore, this study investigated the occupational stress and depression level of the horse stable hand workers and identified the structural relationship in the horse-racing industry through a detailed interview. A total of 207 horse stable hand workers participated in this study, and occupational stress and depression level were surveyed using the Korean Occupational Stress Scale (KOSS) and Korean version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). The results of this study showed that the occupational stress level of horse stable hand workers was higher than the median of Korean population. The significant difference in occupational stress among the detail job grade was also identified. In addition, 34% of the horse stable hand workers showed high risk of depression, and job demand, organizational system, and inappropriate compensation as the subfactors of occupational stress were showed to mainly affect depression. Although there are some limitations according to the field survey, this study also has significant meaning in that it identifies the relationship between the occupational characteristics of the horse stable hand workers and the mental health. It will be necessary to study the diverse organizational situation and individual mental health for new occupations.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제11권2호
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• pp.165-172
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• 2020

Background: To gain a better understanding of nonfatal injuries in Alaska, underutilized data sources such as workers' compensation claims must be analyzed. The purpose of the current study was to utilize workers' compensation claims data to estimate the risk of nonfatal, work-related injuries among occupations in Alaska, characterize injury patterns, and prioritize future research. Methods: A dataset with information on all submitted claims during 2014-2015 was provided for analysis. Claims were manually reviewed and coded. For inclusion in this study, claims had to represent incidents that resulted in a nonfatal acute traumatic injury, occurred in Alaska during 2014-2015, and were approved for compensation. Results: Construction workers had the highest number of injuries (2,220), but a rate lower than the overall rate (34 per 1,000 construction workers, compared to 40 per 1,000 workers overall). Fire fighters had the highest rate of injuries on the job, with 162 injuries per 1,000 workers, followed by law enforcement officers with 121 injuries per 1,000 workers. The most common types of injuries across all occupations were sprains/strains/tears, contusions, and lacerations. Conclusion: The successful use of Alaska workers' compensation data demonstrates that the information provided in the claims dataset is meaningful for epidemiologic research. The predominance of sprains, strains, and tears among all occupations in Alaska indicates that ergonomic interventions to prevent overexertion are needed. These findings will be used to promote and guide future injury prevention research and interventions.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제8권4호
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• pp.410-412
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• 2017

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious problem not only among workers who experience industrial accidents but also among workers who witness such accidents. Early intervention is needed to prevent prolonged psychological problems. There has been no study conducted regarding the psychological problems of and interventions for bystander workers in Korea. This study introduces the experience of intervention on psychological problems at the Busan Workers' Health Center workers who witnessed their colleagues' death. An investigation and an intervention were conducted according to the Korean Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) Guide. In total, 21 individuals including indirect observers showed statistical differences on scores of the Impact Event Scale Revised and the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 after the intervention. Future interventions and research involving a larger sample size over a longer period are needed. The KOSHA Guide could be a useful tool for urgent psychological intervention in the event of major workplace disasters.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제10권1호
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• pp.3-20
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• 2019

This review aimed to identify risk factors for occupational accidents and illnesses among young workers in the Nordic countries and to attain knowledge on specific vulnerable groups within the young working force that may need special attention. We conducted a systematic review from 1994 to 2014 using five online databases. Of the 12,528 retrieved articles, 54 met the review criteria and were quality assessed, in which data were extracted focusing on identifying occupational safety, health risk factors, and vulnerable groups among the young workers. The review shows that mechanical factors such as heavy lifting, psychosocial factors such as low control over work pace, and organizational factors such as safety climate are all associated with increased injury risk for young Nordic workers. Results show that exposures to chemical substances were associated with skin reactions, e.g., hand eczema. Heavy lifting and awkward postures were risk factors for low back pain, and high job demands were risk factors for mental health outcomes. The review identified young unskilled workers including school drop-out workers as particularly vulnerable groups when it comes to occupational accidents. In addition, apprentices and young skilled workers were found to be vulnerable to work-related illnesses. It is essential to avoid stereotyping young Nordic workers into one group using only age as a factor, as young workers are a heterogeneous group and their vulnerabilities to occupational safety and health risks are contextual. Politicians, researchers, and practitioners should account for this complexity in the education, training and organization of work, and workplace health and safety culture.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제2권3호
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• pp.243-249
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• 2011

Objectives: Cement contains hexavalent chromium, which is a human carcinogen. However, its effect on cancer seems inconclusive in epidemiologic studies. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to elucidate the association between dust exposure in the cement industry and cancer occurrence. Methods: The cohorts consisted of male workers in 6 Portland cement factories in Korea. Study subjects were classified into five groups by job: quarry, production, maintenance, laboratory, and office work. Cancer mortality and incidence in workers were observed from 1992 to 2007 and 1997-2005, respectively. Standardized mortality ratios and standardized incidence ratios were calculated according to the five job classifications. Results: There was an increased standardized incidence ratio for stomach cancer of 1.56 (27/17.36, 95% confidence interval: 1.02-2.26) in production workers. The standardized mortality ratio for lung cancer increased in production workers. However, was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Our result suggests a potential association between cement exposure and stomach cancer. Hexavalent chromium contained in cement might be a causative carcinogen.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제9권2호
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• pp.184-191
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• 2018

Background: Due to an increasing number of workers aged 50 years and above, the number of those employed is also on the rise, and those workers aged 50 and over has exceeded 50% of the total fatal occupational injuries. Therefore, it is necessary to implement the selection and concentration by identifying the characteristics of high-risk groups necessary for an effective prevention against and reduction of fatal occupational injuries. Methods: This study analyzed the characteristics of high-risk groups and the occupational injury fatality rate per 10,000 workers among the workers aged 50 and over through a multi-dimensional analysis by sex, employment status of workers, industry and occupation by targeting 4,079 persons who died in fatal occupational injuries from January 2007 to December 12. Results: The share of the workers aged 50 years and above is increasing every year in the total fatal occupational injuries occurrence, and the high-risk groups include 'male workers' by sex, 'daily workers' by worker's status, 'craft and related-trades workers' by occupation, and 'mining' by industry. Conclusion: The most frequent causal objects of fatal occupational injuries of the workers aged 50 years and above are found out to be 'installment and dismantlement of temporary equipment and material on work platforms including scaffold' in the construction industry and 'mobile crane, conveyor belt and fork lifts' in the manufacturing industry.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.276-283
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• 2012

Objectives: This study was conducted to survey the viewpoints on the material safety data sheets(MSDS) training for safety and health managers(SHMs) and workers. Subjects and Methods: A surveillance was made using a self-reported questionnaire for 78 SHMs and 122 workers to survey their viewpoints on the MSDS training. Survey results were analyzed using the SPSS program(Version 12.0 SPSS Inc., USA). Results: The result of the study shows that there are contrasts with the cognition of SHMs' and workers' on the education of MSDS and the program preference for education efficiency of MSDS. Workers were significantly more interested in the MSDS education than the SHMs did. Workers preferred the education program which is easily to be understood, to voluntarily participate on MSDS education, but SHMs did the quiz program. Also we found that the SHMs wanted to learn the education program via the expert(37.3%) rather than education resources(33.3%) which were served by government or relevant agency. In contrast, workers wanted the audio-visual education program, which is mainly consisted of accident cases (33.3%), rather than periodical education program(22.1%). Conclusions: This study showed that effectiveness of MSDS education was associated with the program served by company, and the education program for the voluntary participation of the workers should be made practical and attractive.

• 웰빙융합연구
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• 제6권2호
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• pp.15-26
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• 2023

Purpose: It is necessary to prepare more groundbreaking measures to prevent recurrence in order to reduce the number of industrial accidents in Korea that occur steadily. In particular, since workers with disabilities are much more vulnerable to disaster safety than non-disabled workers, there is a great need to build a customized safety environment system suitable for the characteristics of the work in which workers with disabilities work and to promote management efficiency. Research design, data and methodology: Based on the analysis of the actual status of safety and health management of workplaces for the disabled, such as small, medium-sized and major businesses in Korea, an app was designed and developed to improve safety and health management efficiency of workplaces for the disabled. First, it was designed so that managers of workplaces with disabilities can understand at a glance key legal information that managers need to know and it was improved to suit the eye level of disabled workers so that they could self-evaluate the risk of their work by applying the risk assessment model for workplaces with disabilities. In addition, a mobile education environment was created in which safety and health education contents suitable for the characteristics of disabled workers can be learned by themselves. Results: When this app is applied to domestic workplaces, it is possible to check the exact contents of occupational safety and health education and easily search and check various legal information anytime, anywhere, allowing managers and disabled workers to quickly and efficiently manage various safety information. Conclusions: In addition, the establishment of a mobile safety and health management system that can quickly identify and clearly respond to various legal standards and risks of workplaces with disabilities can be expected to help prevent industrial accidents at workplaces with disabilities in Korea.