• International journal of advanced smart convergence
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.240-246
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• 2022

In order to measure the respiratory rate, one of the major vital signs, many devices have been developed and related studies have been conducted. In particular, as the number of wearers of respirators increases in the COVID-19 pandemic situation, studies have been conducted to measure the respiratory rate of the wearer by attaching an electronic sensor to the respirator, but most of them are cases in which an air flow sensor or a microphone sensor is used. In this study, we design and develop a system that measures the respiratory rate of the wearer using an air pressure sensor in a respirator. Air pressure sensors are inexpensive and consume less power than the other sensors. In addition, since the amount of data required for calculation is small and the algorithm is simple, it is suitable for small-scale and low-power processing devices such as Arduino. We developed an algorithm to measure the respiratory rate of a respirator wearer by analysing air pressure change patterns. In addition, variables that can affect air pressure changes were selected, and experimental scenarios were designed according to the variables. According to the designed scenario, we collected air pressure data while the respirator wearer was breathing. The performance of the developed system was evaluated using the collected data.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.72-78
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• 1996

The breakthrough curves of a sampling tube were studied to predict the service life of a respirator cartridge for organic vapors. The fixed bed adsorption model was applied to respirator cartridge and it's variables were calculated from tile experiment of sampling tube. By the experiment and simulation, it was possible to predict the service life of a respirator cartridge, however, not adequate at low $CCl_4$ concentration less than 700ppm and at high air humidify. The breakthrough curves of sampling tube were irregular compare to that of respirator cartridge due to .packing density.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.38-54
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• 1996

Respirator fit testing is required before entering specific work environmentals to ensure that the respirator worn satisfies a minimum of fit and that the user knows when the respirator fits properly. The fit of a respirator can be determined by qualitative (QLFT) or quantitative fit test (QNFT). The QNFT, having been universally accepted more than the QLFT, provide an objective and numerical basis by measuring a fit factor (FF). Until a few years age, only one QNFT technigue was available and accepted by U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. In the 1980's and 1990's, several new and fundamentally different QNFT methods were developed. Two of the newer methods are commercially availale and are accepted by OSHA as suitable alternatives. In this articles, the principle of operation of each ONFT technique is explained and each technique's major advantages and disadvantages are pointed out. Emphasis is given to negative-pressure air-purifying respirators, as they are in most frequent use today. The requirements and recommendations for fit testing positive-pressure respirators are discussed as well. Finally, the presently available QNFT standards and regulations are summarized to assist the user in making fit testing decisions.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.133-145
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• 1998

The purposes of this study were to assess current status of respirator usage among workers in the small-scale industries and to identify those factors causing respirator wearers not to continuously wear respirators during work. Total 168 workers participated voluntarily in the survey. In order to cover all possible reasons, though not exclusive, 33 diverse questions were developed based upon the results in the published literatures and from researchers' own experience. The most common type of respirator worn was the disposable single-use respirator(42%). However, masks made of gauze, which should not be considered as a respirator, were widely used (38%). Only 28% of respondents indicated they wear respirators continuously during work. The major reasons for removing respirators include, in descending order of frequency, difficulty in breathing (46%), sweating (39%), bothered by frequent removal (21%), inadequate mask size (19%) and hot air temperature inside the respirator (19%), etc. In addition, minor reasons including mask design, administrative, and personal reasons were also identified. These reasons should be considered in a well designed respirator program in order to improve workers' acceptance and usage of respirators.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.1-14
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• 2022

This study is a plan on the way to strengthen the survival ability by increasing the use time of air respirator by applying emergency breathing method in the situation where firefighter has to wait for RIT (Rapid Intervention Teams) because it is impossible to escape by himself or emergency escape during isolation during field activities. The research procedure first drew problems by conducting a survey on fire fighters under the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters, and conducted an experiment to compare normal breathing and emergency breathing with 20 members of the Seoul 119 Special Rescue Team, and suggested emergency breathing method and training process modeling that can be applied to each field situation based on the data obtained. The experiment was conducted over 9 weeks, and it was divided into three categories: field activity situation, movement (emergency escape assumption) situation, and place (assume waiting for RIT). In the field activity situation experiment, it was confirmed that the application of skip breathing method was appropriate and the use time of air respirator increased about 1.6 ~ 1.9 times. In the moving situation or the in-situ situation, wheel breathing method was appropriate and the use time of air respirator increased about 1.6 ~ 2.4 times. However, when conducting intense activities in the field activity situation, it is recommended to use it limitedly because it is difficult to apply the emergency breathing method. If emergency breathing is not clearly learned in the body, it is difficult to use in the field, so I think systematic and continuous training is necessary. This study suggests that the application of emergency breathing method is effective enough to strengthen the survival ability of firefighters in the field.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.19-31
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• 1999

Most breakthrough tests are conducted at higher concentration levels compared to those in the field of air-purifying respirator applications. For example, typical challenge concentrations for breakthrough tests agains tcarbon tetrachloride are ranged between 250-1000 ppm although applicable concentrations range for air-purifying cartridge is 5-50 ppm for carbon tetrachloride. However, no guarantee has been made that isotherms derived from the experiment at high challenge concentrations could estimate adsorption capacity at the lower concentration range where workers wear usually air-purifying respirators. Three models of adsorption isotherms (Freundlich, Langmuir and Dubinin/Radushkevich(D/R) isotherms) that have been commonly applied for respirator cartridge testing were evaluated. Adsorption capacity at each challenge concentration was calculated from the Reaction Kinetic equation fitted for the breakthrough data. These data were used for derivation of three isotherms. In general, the D/R isotherm has given the best agreement between estimated adsorption capacities and experimentally measured. If the challenge concentration of 100 ppm is included for derivation of models, Freundlich and D/R models could succes sfully produced good estimations for adsorption capacities at 50 ppm level. Estimated adsorption capacities by both models ranged in 94 - 109 % of the experimentally measured. However, Langmuir model gives underes timation in all cases.

• International journal of advanced smart convergence
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.378-385
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• 2023

The importance of wearing respiratory protective equipment has been highlighted even more during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even if the suitability of respiratory protection has been confirmed through testing in a laboratory environment, there remains the potential for leakage points in the respirators due to improper application by the wearer, damage to the equipment, or sudden movements in real working conditions. In this paper, we propose a method to detect the occurrence of leak holes by measuring the pressure changes inside the mask according to the wearer's breathing activity by attaching an IoT sensor to a full-face respirator. We designed 9 experimental scenarios by adjusting the degree of leak holes of the respirator and the breathing cycle time, and acquired respiratory data for the wearer of the respirator accordingly. Additionally, we analyzed the respiratory data to identify the duration and pressure change range for each breath, utilizing this data to train a neural network model for detecting leak holes in the respirator. The experimental results applying the developed neural network model showed a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 94.29%, and accuracy of 97.53%. We conclude that the effective detection of leak holes can be achieved by incorporating affordable, small-sized IoT sensors into respiratory protective equipment.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.93-98
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze the rate of change of air respirator consumption based on field fire fighting activities, The results of the experiment are as follows. The mean air consumption of the Five subjects was $15.56{\ell}/min$ when standing still, $32.43{\ell}/min$ when walking with normal pace, $43.07{\ell}/min$ when the fire hoses was expanded and arranged, $55.28{\ell}/min$ when climbing stairs, The situation of running up the stairs and hitting the hammer continuously increases to $127.14{\ell}/min$, which means that the consumption of air increases according to the energy consumption. Despite being the oldest, Experimental subject A was $13.23{\ell}/min$ when standing still, $29.33{\ell}/min$ when walking normally, and $41.08{\ell}/min$ when the fire hose was deployed and arranged. This is a result of familiarity with deep and slow breathing methods. The average respiratory use rate of subjects D was $63.58{\ell}/min$. The reason for this is that obesity seems to increase the air consumption, and it is considered that the physical strength is exhausted by the action of the hammer, which has a greater influence on the increase of air consumption. The subject E had significantly lower air respiratory use rate of $49.90{\ell}/min$. The reason for this is that the age of E is the youngest among the subjects, and it is presumed that it possesses strong physical strength.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2024

Objectives: The study was performed to investigate characteristics of hazardous factors regarding chemical(liquid lime) tank dredging workers by case survey. Methods: Field data such as working condition, MSDS and respirators applied to chemical tank dredging work were analyzed and the work environmental factors of noise and indoor air quality were measured to compare existing data with actual work situations. Results: No health hazards to workers due to working conditions were confirmed during dredging work inside the chemical storage tank. All air quality measurement data during dredging work satisfied the management standards, and there were no by-products. During dredging work, there was a significant change in noise depending on the type of work, but considering the noise reduction rate(NRR) of the earplugs worn by workers, there was no actual health hazard due to noise exposure. Conclusions: A fit test for respirator and the expiration date of the safety helmet should be observed to ensure an appropriate level of safety and health for dredging workers in the chemical storage tank.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.30-36
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• 2001

This review begins with a brief expression of aerosol capture mechanism of fibrous filter(s) and performance of particulate removing respirators. The more complicated and detailed discussion is not included in this articles. Filtration efficiency and pressure drop are introduced as quality factor ( $q_{F}$) and the way in which filtration efficiency varies with particle size is discussed. Quality factors fro filters recently certified in USA were found to be very higher than those of filters made in Korea, China and USA filters certified with old certified standards. Electrically charged filters are widely used because they have high filtration efficiency and low pressure drop, but their efficiency decreases sharply at the condition occurring wet and oil mist. A discussion is given of respirator leakage through face seal and filter media with fit testing and total inward leakage testing. Since fit factor (FF) refers to the reciprocal of the fraction of the total air entering a respirator through face seal leakage , the degree of fitting performance for respirators is expected with FF. Because respirators made in Korea had generally lower FFs than respirators made in USA, it is necessary to develope respirators that fit properly for Koreans or establish regulations for fit testing.g.