Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) used on ships and to consider measures for preventing worker exposure to asbestos fibers. Methods: A total of 17 ships including 16 ships under repair and a ship under construction at shipyards in Korea were investigated. Bulk samples were collected from suspected ACMs on engine exhaust pipes, boiler steam pipes, generator exhaust pipes, and etc. in ships in order to identify the presence of ACMs. Types and contents of asbestos were determined using polarized light microscopy (PLM). Results: ACMs were found from 14 ships out of 17 ships investigated. Only chrysotile asbestos was found from all samples. ACMs were mainly found from samples collected at the exhaust pipes of the engine, generator and incinerator, and boiler steam pipes where exhaust gases or steam of high temperature pass through. In most cases, types of ACMs were asbestos-containing fabrics such as asbestos tape. Friable ACMs were also found in some cases. Use of ACMs on ships was relevant to built time and owner of the ships rather than type and tonnage of the ships. Conclusions: ACMs were found from most ships built prior to 2000s. Therefore, measures for preventing asbestos-related diseases such as preparation of asbestos map on the ship and installation of warning signs, hazard communication with workers (ship-repairing workers, engine room workers and etc.), and follow-up for worker's health management are needed.

Objectives: It has been pointed out that there are problems in handling and managing chemicals due to trade secrets of Material Safety Data Sheet(MSDS). To date, some company intentionally leave out of several parts and use an inaccurate expression in MSDS. In particular, with the result of the inspection of the government and labour community, it is required that the 2nd section in MSDS included the composition and information on ingredients has to be provided with comprehensive expression to secure more reliability. Methods: Therefore, this study is aimed: 1) to recognize the current status of trade secrets of MSDS in workplaces with both domestic manufacturers of chemical products and multinational corporations; 2) to make contributions to prevention of the industrial accidents by providing the accurate information of MSDS; 3) to improve the risk communication system related with chemicals; 4) to impress workers on the importance of right of known for MSDS. With the result we analyzed the status of trade secrets in MSDS in 73 companies, such as petrochemistry production, paint production, metal processing oil production, detergent production, and international company related with chemicals, we have found that 38,150 (45.5%) have the trade secrets parts in the total number of 83,832 in MSDS. Also, based on the 288 MSDS gathered by the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute (OSHRI) from 2005 to 2009, 41.7% of the MSDS are classified into the trade secrets. Conclusions: Therefore, to procure an assurance system of MSDS, we suggest that a MSDS picking up and checking system be legislated in the Occupational Safety and Health Act to protect workers from the unidentified chemical hazards due to the secret trade of MSDS.

Objectives: This investigation is purposed to evaluate the airborne asbestos concentrations in the public buildings having asbestos containing materials(ACMs) in Seoul. Methods: The Seoul Metropolitan Government carried out an asbestos survey to the city-owned public buildings to identify the level of risk exposure, classified into low, moderate and high risk. To evaluate the airborne concentration of asbestos, 11 sampling sites in ten buildings based on the survey were selected. The air samples from the eleven sites were analyzed by Phase Contrast Microscopy(PCM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and compared the analytical results from the both. Results: 1. The airborne fiber concentrations by PCM were less than the detection limit($7f/mm^2$) in 9(82%) out of 11 sampling sites. The highest concentration was 0.0043 f/cc, but it was below the guideline value for indoor air quality(0.01 f/cc), proposed by the Ministry of Environment, Korea. 2. In two sampling sites, having moderate risk level, the chrysotile was identified and showed it's concentrations of 0.0102 s/cc and 0.0058 s/cc, less than $5{\mu}m$ lengths. 3. The ACMs identified in the two sampling sites were a packing material(65% of chrysotile) in mechanical area and a thermal system insulation(5% of chrysotile) in a boiler room. Having more possibility of asbestos emission in the mechanical area, it would be required to set up and carry out the asbestos management plan. Conclusions: Based on the result of this study, the airborne asbestos concentrations in the public buildings with ACMs were generally lower than the guideline value for indoor air quality. There are widespread concerns about the possible health risk resulting from the presence of airborne asbestos fibers in the public buildings. Most of the previous studies about airborne asbestos analysis in Korea were performed based on PCM method that asbestos and non-asbestos fibers are counted together. In the public and commercial buildings, having ACMs, it is suggested that the asbestos be analyzed by TEM method to identify asbestos due to concerns about asbestos exposure to workers and unspecified people.

Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the association between job stress and mental health among male and female workers in a large electric manufacture company. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 3,228 employees who participated in annual medical check-up working in a large electric manufacture company in Gyeonggi Province. Medical check-up and self-administrated questionnaire were performed at the same time. Korean Occupational Stress Scale Short Form (KOSS-SF) and Psychosocial Wellbeing Index Short Form (PWI-SF) were applied to assess occupational stress and mental health. Hierarchical multiple linear regression and multiple logistic regression were performed to estimate the association between job stress and mental health. Results: The proportion of high risk of mental health was 17.1% in male, and 46.9% in women. Job stress had a greater effect on mental health than other general and work characteristics. All subscales of job stress were revealed to affect mental health. Bad occupational climate and lack of reward are the strongest risk factors in mental health of male and female respectively. Conclusions: Our results suggest that job stress could affect mental health among large electronic manufacture workers.

Objectives: Tetrahydrofuran (THF) is a colorless, water-miscible organic liquid with low viscosity at standard temperature and pressure. THF has been used as a solvent and a precursor for various syntheses of polymers. However, THF is known to irritate to the eyes, skin and mucus membranes. Overexposure by inhalation, ingestion or skin contact may produce nausea, dizziness, headaches, respiratory irritation and possible skin burns. The purpose of this study is to evaluate of the worker exposure and characteristics of workers in the workplaces that use or manufacture THF. Methods: Sixteen factories in Korea, which manufacture or use THF, were selected for this study and a total of 130 air samples including 104 time-weighted average (TWA) samples and 26 short-term exposure limit (STEL) samples, were collected. Air samples were collected with charcoal tube (100mg/50mg) and analyzed by gas chromatograph/flame ionization detector(GC/FID). Results: The TWA concentration of THF was 16.05ppm (GM) at PS script printing, 2.32ppm (GM) at PVC stabilizer, 1.03ppm (GM) at Lithium triethylborohydride, 0.63ppm (GM) at Polytetramethylene ether glycol(PTMEG), 0.42ppm (GM) at Manufacturing THF, 0.13ppm (GM) at Glue and 0.12ppm (GM) at synthetic rubber/resins. Two out of sampes for PS script printing exceeded 50ppm as 8-hour exposure limit of MOEL. The short term exposure to THF was 54.77ppm (GM) at PS script printing, 17.10ppm (GM) at PTMEG, 13.76ppm (GM) at Manufacturing THF, 2.86ppm (GM) at Lithium triethylborohydride, 0.87ppm (GM) at synthetic rubber/resins and 0.13ppm (GM) Glue. We found that the highest exposure process for both the TWA and STEL samples was PS script process. Two samples exceeded 100ppm as short term exposure limit of Ministry of Employment and Labor(MOEL). Conclusions: Characteristic of STEL concentration for THF is considerably different from TWA concentration in workplaces because workers could exposure high concentration of THF in a moment when they work irregularly schedule. So exposure controls for momentary works have to be prepared, and considered the skin absorption and inhale of THF.

To identify the relationship between types of job classification (typical and atypical) and the levels of recognition of noise and the hearing threshold shift, a total of 457 workers in a cosmetic company were studied utilizing a questionnaire and the audiometric hearing test. The results were analyzed by factor analysis, t-test, and general linear model, as appropriate. The results showed that atypical workers had higher level of noise recognition but had lower levels of hearing ability, noise exposure, and the knowledge on hearing loss prevention, compared with those of typical workers. The high noise level group of typical workers showed higher threshold shift levels than that of atypical workers. Significant differences were found at 4 kHz for both ears and in right ear only for hearing threshold shift after adjusting age.

Objectives: Hundreds of thousands of call center workers are wearing an acoustic device for their businesses, such as telemarketing and customer counseling, and the number of the workers are increasing sharply. Because call center workers always talk to dozens of customers over the headset, they would be placed under the state of a higher risk with their hearing ability. The purpose of this study is to investigate factors that affect the hearing thresholds for the call center workers. Methods: This study investigated hearing losses of 101 workers of 5 call centers in Korea by executing puretone audiometry and self-administered questionnaires. A cross table analysis was processed to compare gender differences between male and female. Male and female hearing thresholds were compared with the Students' t-test, and one-way ANOVA was conducted to observe the difference between non-occupational and occupational characteristics in 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 kHz hearing thresholds for the female workers. Additionally, multiple regression analysis was conducted to find the factors that affect the 4 kHz hearing thresholds. Results and Conclusions: Male hearing thresholds were higher than those of female except for 8 kHz. In the group having an ear related disease, hearing threshold of male left ear was highly affected rather than that of female in 4 kHz. There were significant differences in the variables of alcohol drinking (2 kHz) and headset volume (8 kHz) in both ears. While this study does not show any significant factors that affect the hearing thresholds in the occupational characteristics, the gender and the previous ear related diseases, non-occupational characteristics, were found as the factors in 4 kHz. It is suggested that the more detailed survey be performed to identify the occupational factors that affect the hearing thresholds in the call center workers based on the result derived from this study.

Occupational exposure to silicon carbide dust of manufacturing industries has seldom been evaluated in Korea. Accordingly, we evaluated various silicon carbide dust concentrations in the breathing zone of workers between May 2010 and July 2010. To compare silicon carbide dust concentrations, three dust samplers including the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) sampler, 37mm cassette sampler, and Aluminum cyclone sampler were used. A total of 5 manufacturing industries producing abrasive and refractory materials using silicon carbide were investigated. The geometric mean concentrations were 2.04, 0.97, and $0.48mg/m^3$ in inhalable, total and respirable silicon carbide dust, respectively. The geometric mean concentrations of silicon carbide in abrasive material manufacturing industries were slightly higher than that of refractory manufacturing industries, and finishing operations were higher than that of other operations. It was found that the results of exposure assessment in airborne dust at manufacturing industries using silicon carbide in Korea showed exceeding rate to American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists Threshold Limit Value ($3mg/m^3$) was 10% in respirable dust samples. Therefore, with the consideration of the close relationship between smaller dust size and the occurrence of occupational respiratory diseases, it is suggested to promulgate the new occupational exposure limit for respirable silicon carbide dust.