• 한국환경보건학회지
• /
• 제36권6호
• /
• pp.441-455
• /
• 2010

Researchers who work in science and engineering R&D laboratories are commonly exposed to a wide range of chemical, biological and physical hazards. They also may adopt ergonomically poor postures for long periods of time. These factors may increase the risk of adverse health outcomes in laboratory workers. Recently, there were several fatal accidents in the laboratories in universities and research institutes in Korea. Consequently, the 'Laboratory Safety Act' was enacted in 2006. However, there are concerns about the health risk associated with chronic exposures to hazards, as the management measures provided in this Act are very limited, focusing primarily on accident prevention and compensation for lab work-related accidents. In this article, the methods for assessing exposure to chemicals in laboratory environments are discussed. Also, epidemiological studies examining the association between laboratory exposure and health effects, including cancer and reproductive toxicity are extensively reviewed. Finally, the possible roles of environmental health professionals in this area are suggested, along with a list of critical research needs for properly assessing laboratory workers' exposure and risk.

• 한국산업보건학회지
• /
• 제24권2호
• /
• pp.160-168
• /
• 2014

Objectives: Chemical hazard evaluations are important for workers' health and working environments. Allyl chloride (CAS No. 107-05-1) is used in many industries, leading to concerns about the possibility of threats to the health of workers. Since only insufficient or controversial information is available about potential related hazards, an in vitro mammalian chromosomal aberration (CA) assay was conducted in order to gain additional information concerning any such hazards. Moreover, toxicological information from this study could be applied for workers' rights to know, and to prepare or update the Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for a number of industries. Methods and Results: The assay was performed using the Chinese hamster lung fibroblast cell (ATCC, CRL-1935), by the direct method (-S9) and by the metabolic activated method (+S9 mix). Using the direct method, the seven dosages in the 48-hour treatment group did not show that the frequency of CA is proportionate to the dosage. The frequency of CA is not proportionate to the dosage addition for a six-hour treatment using the metabolic activated method. Conclusions: From these findings, it was decided that this chemical does not induce chromosomal aberrations under the tested conditions.

• 한국환경보건학회지
• /
• 제39권4호
• /
• pp.299-311
• /
• 2013

Background: Environmental hazards are responsible for as much as a quarter of the total world-wide burden of disease. Therefore, appropriate management of environmental hazards is a critical part of the effort to improve human health. This review aims to summarize current issues, topics, and programs at international institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in the area of environmental health. Results: The WHO European Center for Environmental Health (ECEH) plays a significant role in implementing environmental health policies and also takes the lead in related issues in Europe. It has developed an Environmental Health Information System and environmental health inequality indicators. In the environmental health area, the OECD focuses most on chemical management programs. It foresees that air pollution and chemical risk management will become the leading environmental health issues if appropriate measures are not taken. Several topics were identified that require greater effort in Korea, including cancer as an environment-related disease, an environmental health information system, and environmental health inequality issues. Conclusions: More active roles are expected from Korea in international societies, in part because of the introduction of the Environmental Health Act of 2008, and active involvement in related activities in WHO WPRO/SEARO. Understanding recent developments and concerns at major international organizations like WHO and the OECD will assist in the implementation of effective international collaboration and the identification of a better strategies for improving environmental health performances in Korea.

• 교육시설 논문지
• /
• 제26권3호
• /
• pp.3-13
• /
• 2019

Purpose: The human body is a chemical laboratory. Artists are exposed to a variety of chemicals in art studio space and the art materials used in the creation contain toxic ingredients, exposing them to a variety of incurable diseases, including cancer. It aims to analyze the problems of the studio space environment and the risks of art materials, which are fundamental causes of the outbreak of incurable diseases, and to derive the direction of specific practices that can reduce the occurrence of incurable diseases by artists. Method: The harmfulness of an artist's creative space is the cause of a disease outbreak, and two primary factors cause it. One is the environmental hazards caused by the use of tools, air pollution, and chemical hazards caused by art materials in the architectural space environment of the studio. Necessary measures are put forward to control disease outbreaks by identifying the status and cause of intractable diseases caused by studies. Result: The plan is urgent for the establishment of safety rules and regular pre-trainthese two factors and analyzing the results of prior research and implementation investigationing, the legal provisions of studio architecture design and the introduction of labelling rules to control the distribution of harmful art materials.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• 제2권3호
• /
• pp.260-272
• /
• 2011

Objectives: The promotion of health and safety (H&S) awareness among hospital staff can be applied through various methods. The aim of this study was to assess the risk level of physical hazards in the hospital sector by combining workers' perception, experts' evaluation and objective measurements. Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed using multiple triangulation. Hospital staff (n = 447) filled in an H&S questionnaire in a general hospital in Athens and an oncology one in Thessaloniki. Experts observed and filled in a checklist on H&S in the various departments of the two hospitals. Lighting, noise and microclimate measurements were performed. Results: The staff's perception of risk was higher than that of the experts in many cases. The measured risk levels were low to medium. In cases of high-risk noise and lighting, staff and experts agreed. Staff's perception of risk was influenced by hospital's department, hospital's service, years of working experience and level of education. Therefore, these factors should be taken into account in future studies aimed at increasing the participation of hospital workers. Conclusion: This study confirmed the usefulness of staff participation in the risk assessment process, despite the tendency for staff to overestimate the risk level of physical hazards. The combination of combining staff perception, experts' evaluation and objective measures in the risk assessment process increases the efficiency of risk management in the hospital environment and the enforcement of relevant legislation.

• International Journal of Contents
• /
• 제12권3호
• /
• pp.17-21
• /
• 2016

The purpose of this study was to obtain qualitative data on Korean-American dry cleaners' concerns about work-related health and safety and their attitudes toward the use of PPE(Personal Protective Equipment). Two focus group discussions were conducted with convenient samples of Korean-American drycleaners in middle-eastern state. A total of 13 individuals participated in two focus groups. Participants had concerns as both owners and workers. As owners, they were concerned mostly about compliance of environmental regulation and economic depression. The participants knew very little about the hazards of chemical exposure and expressed vague concerns about chemical exposure and health. Majority of participants do not use PPE and had no intention of using it in the future because of their limited knowledge about the hazardous nature of chemical exposure. The findings from this study would guide the development of intervention to increase drycleaners knowledge of chemical exposure and use of PPE.

• 품질경영학회지
• /
• 제28권2호
• /
• pp.192-210
• /
• 2000

Chemical industry has contributed significantly to the enhancement of quality of human life, but it has been regarded as a major area of environmental problem due to the potential hazards in environment and safety. This paper examines environmental management programs of chemical industry such as RC(Responsible Care) and PRTR(Pollutant Release and Transfer Register). Through the survey of Dow Chernical's environmental management system, it is examined in detail how a leading company in chemical industry has coped with environmental problem companywide.

• 한국수산과학회지
• /
• 제54권6호
• /
• pp.896-903
• /
• 2021

For the safety assessment of microbiological and chemical hazards in raw short-neck clam Ruditapes philippinarum distributed in the Yeongnam and Honam areas during the spring season, the contamination levels of total viable bacteria, coliforms, Escherichia coli, and nine pathogenic bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Clostridium perfringens, Listeria monocytogenes, enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, Yersinia enterocolitica, Bacillus cereus, Campylobacter jejuni) as microbiological hazards, and heavy metals (lead, cadmium, total mercury), benzopyrene, shellfish poison (paralytic, diarrhetic, amnesic), and radioactivity (¹³¹I, ¹³⁴Cs+¹³⁷Cs) were also analyzed in 15 samples based on the methods of the Korean Food Code. The average contamination levels of total viable bacteria were 3.11 (1.40-4.49) log CFU/g, and coliforms were detected in 5 out of 15 samples (1.18-1.85 log CFU/g). E. coli and S. aureus were not detected in all samples. Furthermore, the presence of 8 pathogens were not detected in all samples. The average contamination levels of lead, cadmium, and total mercury were 0.155 (0.079-0.264), 0.160 (0.040-0.287), and 0.017 (0.008-0.026) mg/kg, respectively. Benzo(a)pyrene, shellfish poison, and radioactivity were not detected in all samples. The results of this study suggest that the safety against all microbiological and chemical hazard factors in raw short-neck clams distributed in markets has been assured.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 제어로봇시스템학회 1996년도 Proceedings of the Korea Automatic Control Conference, 11th (KACC); Pohang, Korea; 24-26 Oct. 1996
• /
• pp.87-90
• /
• 1996

Inherently safe plants are maintained through the systematic identification of potential hazards, and various hazard evaluation methods have been developed. Recently, much effort is given into the development of automated hazard evaluation system by introducing the expert system. An automated system will help to obtain consistency and to make the result more reliable. HAZOP study is one of the most systematic and logical evaluation procedure. However, it has disadvantages: experts should participate at the same time, the detailed study requires much man-hour, and the results depend on the expertise of the experts. Therefore, the automation of hazard evaluation is necessary to reduce the required time and to get the consistent evaluation results. In this study, HAxSYM, an expert system to automate HAZOP study, is developed. The case studies are performed to validate the effectiveness of the developed system, and the results are compared to the results of traditional method.

• 한국식품위생안전성학회지
• /
• 제26권3호
• /
• pp.273-282
• /
• 2011

본 연구는 파프리카 GAP 모델의 개발에 있어 기초자료를 제공하기 위해 서부경남에 소재한 파프리카 농장 3곳을 선정하여 파프리카의 재배단계에서 생물학적, 화학적 및 물리적 위해요소를 조사하였다. 생물학적 위해요소는 식물체, 재배환경, 개인위생 및 작업도구를 대상으로 위생지표세균 및 주요 병원성 미생물을 조사하였으며, 화학적 위해요소는 중금속 (재배환경 및 파프리카)과 잔류농약 (파프리카), 물리적 위해요소는 물리적인 위해를 줄 수 있는 요인을 조사하였다. 먼저 재배단계에서 생물학적 위해요소 분석 결과 위생지표에서 균인 일반세균과 대장균군의 경우 가식부인 파프리카에의 오염과 밀접한 관련이 있는 양액 및 원수에 대해서는 오염도가 양호한 것으로 나타났으나, 수확 된 파프리카와 직접적으로 접촉하는 바구니, 천막 및 작업자의 손 등에서는 최대 6.6 및 3.l log CFU의 높은 수준으로 검출되어 교차오염의 가능성이 확인되었다. 또한 병원성 미생물은 B. cereus만 1.5 log CFU 이하의 비교적 낮은 수준으로 검출되었고, 공중낙하균은 1.4 log CFU 이하로 검출되었다. 화학적 위해요소인 중금속(Cd, Pb, Cu, Cr, Zn, Ni 및 As)과 잔류농약은 재배환경 및 파프리카에서 모두 국내 허용기준치 이하로 검출되었고, 물리적 위해요소는 유리조각, 캔 등의 일반쓰레기나 경작지 폐기물 등으로 다른 위해요소들에 비해 위험도는 상대적으로 낮으나 경우에 따라서 위해를 일으킬 수 있으므로 관리가 필요할 것으로 판단된다. 결론적으로 파프리카의 재배단계에서 생물학적 위해요소의 경우 작업도구 및 개인위생에서 대장균군이 높은 수준으로 검출됨에 따라 파프리카로의 교차오염을 예방하기 위한 체계적인 관리방안이 모색되어야 할 것으로 판단된다. 또한 화학적 및 물리적 위해요소의 경우 본 연구에서는 허용기준치 이하로 농약과 중금속이 검출되고 위해가 큰 이물이 발견되지 않아 안전한 것으로 나타났으나, 농약안전사용기준의 준수 및 재배환경에 대한 주기적인 검사 등은 필히 요구된다.