Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene (한국산업보건학회지)

Korean Industrial Hygiene Association (한국산업보건학회)
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Exposure Assessment and Management of Ionizing Radiation

전리방사선 노출과 관리

  • Chung, Eun-Kyo (Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency) ;
  • Kim, Kab-Bae (Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency) ;
  • Song, Se-Wook (Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency)
  • 정은교 (한국산업안전보건공단 산업안전보건연구원) ;
  • 김갑배 (한국산업안전보건공단 산업안전보건연구원) ;
  • 송세욱 (한국산업안전보건공단 산업안전보건연구원)
  • Received : 2014.11.22
  • Accepted : 2015.03.05
  • Published : 2015.03.31
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Abstract

Objectives: To investigate safety and health management, conditions in factories or facilities handling radiation-generating devices and radioactive isotopes were reviewed in terms of regulations of radiation safety control in Korea. Radiation exposure levels generated at those facilities were directly measured and evaluated for establishing an effective safety and health management plan. Methods: Government organizations with laws and systems of radiation safety and health were investigated and compared. There are three laws governing radiation-related employment such as occupational safety and health acts, nuclear safety acts, and medical service acts. We inspected 12 workplaces as research objects:four workplaces that manufacture and assemble semiconductor devices, three non-destructive inspection workplaces that perform inspections on radiation penetration, and five workplaces in textile and tire manufacturing. Monitoring of radiation exposure was performed through two methods. Spatial and surface monitoring using real-time radiation instruments was performed on each site handling radiation generating devices and radioactive isotopes in order to identify radiation leakage. Results: According to the occupational safety and health act, there is no legal obligation to measure ionizing radiation and set dose limits. This can cause confusion in the application of the laws, because the scopes and contents are different from each other. Surface dose rates in radiation generating devices such as implanters, thickness gages and accelerators, which were registered according to nuclear safety acts, using surveymeters, and seven of 36 facilities(19.4%) exceeded the international standards for surface radiation dose of $10{\mu}Sv/hr$. Conclusions: The results showed that occupational health and safety acts require a separate provision for measuring and assessing the radiation exposure of workers performing radiation work. Like noise, ionizing radiation will also periodically be controlled by including it in the object factors of work-environment measurement.

Keywords

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