Safety and Health at Work

Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (산업안전보건연구원)
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Development of Korean CARcinogen EXposure: Assessment of the Exposure Intensity of Carcinogens by Industry

  • Koh, Dong-Hee (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, International St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic Kwandong University) ;
  • Park, Ju-Hyun (Department of Statistics, Dongguk University) ;
  • Lee, Sang-Gil (Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency) ;
  • Kim, Hwan-Cheol (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Inha University) ;
  • Jung, Hyejung (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, International St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic Kwandong University) ;
  • Kim, Inah (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, College of Medicine, Hanyang University) ;
  • Choi, Sangjun (Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea) ;
  • Park, Donguk (Department of Environmental Health, Korea National Open University)
  • Received : 2022.02.15
  • Accepted : 2022.05.17
  • Published : 2022.09.30
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Abstract

Background: Occupational cancer is a global health issue. The Korean CARcinogen EXposure (K-CAREX), a database of CARcinogen EXposure, was developed for the Korean labor force to estimate the number of workers exposed to carcinogens by industry. The present study aimed to estimate the intensity of exposure to carcinogens by industry, in order to supply complementary information about CARcinogen EXposure intensity to the K-CAREX. Methods: We used nationwide workplace monitoring data from 2014 to 2016 and selected target carcinogens based on the K-CAREX list. We computed the 95th percentile levels of measurements for each industry by carcinogens. Based on the 95th percentile level relative to the occupational exposure limit, we classified the CARcinogen EXposure intensity into five exposure ratings (1-5) for each industry. Results: The exposure ratings were estimated for 21 carcinogenic agents in each of the 228 minor industry groups. For example, 3,058 samples were measured for benzene in the manufacturing industry of basic chemicals. This industry was assigned a benzene exposure rating of 3. Conclusions: We evaluated the CARcinogen EXposure ratings across industries in Korean workers. The results will provide information on the exposure intensity to carcinogens for integration into the K-CAREX. Furthermore, it will aid in prioritizing control efforts and identifying industries of concern.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea, funded by the Ministry of Education (grant number 2017R1D1A1B04032379). This study was also supported by the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute grant (2021-OSHRI-795), funded by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency.

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