• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.410-422
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• 2020

Objectives: According to the Act on Registration, Evaluation, Etc. of Chemicals, new and existing chemicals must be registered by 2030. In addition, industries need to submit hazard data as an attachment during the registration process. Therefore, we constructed a nationwide chemical database to support small industry by providing hazard data and original sources. During the process, we developed a new standard procedure for minimizing errors and increasing reliability. Methods: We analyzed the categories of errors and the cause of the errors through the verification results of the 2019 project. We present an improved database construction methodology and system. Results: Errors are categorized according to their causative factors into simple, technical, and structural type errors. Simple errors arise simply because of decreased concentration or negligence in following the instructions. Technical errors are caused by a discrepancy between the professional field and the type of data. Structural errors indicate systemic errors such as incomplete forms on the excel database or ambiguity in the guidelines. Lessons from the errors collected in the 2019 project are used to update the procedures for database authorization and technical guidelines. The main update points are as follows; 'supplementation of review process', 'giving regular training to external reviewers', 'giving additional information to authors, like physico-chemical properties of substances, degradability, etc.', 'amendment of excel form', and 'guideline upgrades'. Conclusions: We conducted this study with the aim of improving the accuracy and reliability of the database of hazard information for chemical substances. The new procedures and guidelines are now being used in the 2020 project for construction of a hazard information database for Korea.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.441-449
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• 2014

As people seek a healthy, wealthy, and quality life more than before, interests in mineral water are picking up and the consumption continues to increase accordingly. In an experiment to examine changes in the water quality after mineral water on the market was kept indoor and outdoor for four weeks, there seemed to be no problem in external appearance. Water kept in an outdoor storage contained more odor-savor than water kept in an indoor storage. Odor was not detected in 90% of the sample, and savor not in 80% of it. As for the mechanism of odor-savor generation, the elution of chemical substances from a container may be taken into consideration. In general, odor and savor have turned out to be in close correlation to each other. The average number of bacteria in the sample mineral water was $200{\pm}10CFU/mL$, and such factors as area of storage and ozone post-treatment did not cause significant effects on the reproduction of common microbes. Hence, it is thought that strict regulations on a production process and reduction of the period of circulation will contribute to customers consumption rates.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.210-217
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• 2023

Background: N-nitrosamines are carcinogenic substances often found in rubber products. They are produced when certain additives of rubber products react with nitrite in saliva or air. Exposure assessment for the proper management and communication of N-nitrosamines in rubber balloons should be carried out. Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the concentrations of N-nitrosamines in rubber balloons in the South Korean market and assess exposure among Korean children. Methods: Forty eight rubber balloon products in the domestic market were purchased and a total of 68 balloons were analyzed for N-nitrosamines and N-nitrosatable substances. Chemical analysis was conducted by HPLC-MS/MS according to the method EN 71-12. For exposure assessment, an exposure algorithm and coefficients were obtained from previous studies. Results: Among the 68 rubber balloons, N-nitrosamines were detected in 18 (26.5%) with an average level of 60.77 ㎍/kg. N-Nitrosatable substances were detected in 44 products (64.7%) with an average level of 1353.33 ㎍/kg. As a result of the exposure evaluation, the exposure dose differed according to how exposure coefficients were applied. The median exposure (50th percentile) was higher in the age group of 6~12 years, and high exposure (95th percentile) was higher in the age group of 13~18. Conclusions: We evaluated the N-nitrosamines contained in rubber balloons purchased in the domestic market and assessed oral exposure among South Korean children. For integrated risk management of N-nitrosamines, further studies and discussion regarding exposure and risk assessment are required.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.40-48
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• 2011

This study was intended to resolve problems caused by different classification criteria and management methods of carcinogenicity, which have made industrial safety & health institutions and business employers difficult to execute projects or to carry out occupational safety and health related works, and have affected how civic groups perceive carcinogens. The content of this study contained the comparison of management and categorization standards for carcinogens between Korea and other countries as well as the current carcinogenicity-related information supply status of each professional institution. Furthermore, this research examined the current state of supplying information on carcinogenicity among major institutional information supply according to the categorization standard for carcinogens by UN GHS, Ministry of Employment and Labor in Korea(KMoEL), and GHS MSDS provided by Korea Occupational Safety & Health Agency(KOSHA). Now, professional agency provide 927 kinds of IARC, 237 kinds of NTP, 351 kinds of ACGIH and 1,006 kinds of EU ECHA information on carcinogenic agents. KMoEL provides carcinogenicity-related information of 58 chemical agents in accordance with the category of carcinogens guided by ACGIH. KOSHA offers 13,232 kinds of GHS MSDS information including 2,484 carcinogenic substances. Therefore, carcinogenicity-related information of chemical substances, which are not available on the existing GHS MSDS DB, should be updated for the future reference.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.41-49
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to examine the green management evaluation criteria and Employee Awareness and analyze their impact on management performance. A survey was conducted using a questionnaire form that was given to companies with fewer than 300 regular workers and less than 30 billion won in sales. The three-step mediated effect analysis proposed by Baran and Kenny was performed to verify the roles of the parameters. The research results are summarized as follows. First, awareness of greenhouse gases and environmental pollution play a mediating role affecting the management performance. Second, awareness of harmful chemical substances play a mediating role affecting the management performance. Lastly, The survey subjects were limited to SMEs in Chungcheong province and thus, this may not be applicable to all companies.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.88-101
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• 2013

The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship's Ballast Water and Sediments was adopted at 2004 and then various BWMS (ballast water management system) have been developed. In this study, WET (whole effluent toxicity) test with algae (diatom) Skeletonema costatum as primary producer, invertebrate (rotifera) Brachionus plicatilis as 1st consumer and fish (olive flounder) Paralichthys olivaceus as predator, chemical analysis and ERA (environmental risk assessment) were conducted to assess the unacceptable effect on marine ecosystem by emitting the discharge water treated with AquaStar$^{TM}$ BWMS using electrolysis as main treatment equipment for removing the marine organisms in the ship's ballast water. The most sensitive test organism on discharge water treated with AquaStar$^{TM}$ BWMS was S. costatum that gave the NOEC value of 25.00%, LOEC value of 50.00% and 72hr-$EC_{50}$ value of 69.97% from WET test result for 20 psu salinity treated discharge water. NOEC and LOEC value of B. plicatilis and P. olivaceus exposed at 20 psu salinity treated discharge water were 50.00% and 100.00%, respectively. In the chemical analysis results, total number of substances produced by AquaStar$^{TM}$ BWMS was 18 which were bromate, 7 volatile halogenated organic compounds, 7 halogenated acetic acids, 3 halogenated acetonitriles and chloropicrin. Eighteen substances did not consider as persistence and bioaccumulative chemicals. Uncertainty of toxic property of 18 substances was high. PECs of 18 substances calculated by MAMPEC model were ranged from $4.58{\times}10^{-4}$ to $4.87{\mu}g\;L^{-1}$, PNECs of them were ranged from $1.6{\times}10^{-2}$ to $3.2{\times}10^2{\mu}g\;L^{-1}$. And, the PEC/PNEC ratio of 18 substances did not exceed 1. Therefore, ERA for produced substances indicate that the discharge water treated with AquaStar$^{TM}$ BWMS does not pose unacceptable effect on marine life. And $EC_{50}$ value of S. costatum on discharge water treated by BWMS using the electrolysis had positive correlation with initial TRO concentration, concentration and kind & level of HAAs.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.90-98
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• 2014

Lately accidents of harmful chemical substance in korea were repeatedly replaying. We studied problems and preparation plan in 2008 years~2014 years through analysis cases of harmful chemical substance. Leakage of chemical substance's accident situation shows that leakage in the workplace is the most 10 cases, accounting for 58.6% is the largest proportion in 2009. Leakage according to explosion accounting for 50% (5 cases) in 2004, 25% (4 cases) in 2007 and 33.3% (4 cases) in 2011 has very irregular change. Therefore, A major cause of accidents is lack of safety management. Harmful chemical substance showed various aspects, high residual substance and non-visible characteristic so response and recovery was easy. And the second damage to move a distance causes environment pollution. So a mutual-assistance system and integrated system of related organization have to build and expert of chemical incident response and therapist of chemical substance response have to establish to do efficient and rapid response.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.346-354
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• 2023

Objectives: Chemical accidents cause extensive human and environmental damage. Therefore, it is important to prepare measures to prevent their recurrence and minimize future damage through accident investigation. To this end, it is necessary to identify the accident occurrence process and analyze the extent of damage. In this study, the development process and damage range of actual chemical leakage accidents were analyzed using CFD. Methods: For application to actual chemical leakage accidents using FLACS codes specialized for chemical dispersion simulation among CFD codes, release rate calculation and 3D geometry were created, and scenarios for simulation were derived. Results: The development process of the accident and the dispersion behavior of materials were analyzed considering the influencing factors at the time of the accident. In addition, to confirm the validity of the results, we compared the results of the actual damage impact investigation and the simulation analysis results. As a result, both showed similar damage impact ranges. Conclusions: The FLACS code allows the detailed analysis of the simulated dispersion process and concentration of substances similar to real ones. Therefore, it is judged that the analysis method using CFD simulation can be usefully applied as a chemical accident investigation technique.

• Industry Promotion Research
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.57-64
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• 2024

In 2015, the paradigm of hazardous chemical substance management in Korea shifted from the workplace to the regional level due to the complete revision of the Chemicals Control Act. Although regional chemical accident response plans were established in 2020, there were slight differences in the scope and criteria of each local government. Therefore, this study compared and analyzed chemical accident response plans established in four different regions to provide insights into effective chemical accident response plans. Based on publicly available information, the current status of accident preparedness, chemical accident response systems, and resident evacuation response and education/training were compared and analyzed. The results showed that there were not significant differences in the accident preparedness and response systems between the regions. However, there was a lack of discussion on the preparedness system linked to the characteristics of each workplace in each region. Additionally, there were differences in education and training for residents between regions. In the future, each local government needs to establish a response organization that fits the characteristics of their region and develop strategies for agile and effective accident response through cooperation with relevant agencies.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.12-18
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• 2023

Objectives: Personal protective equipment (PPE) is an essential means for protecting workers against hazardous agents or risks that threaten their safety and health. Governmental organizations related to safety and health in the workplace regulate the PPE rules to protect workers and to minimize damage from hazardous agents. This study discussed current PPE rules overseen by the Korea Ministry of Environment and explores future perspectives on the matter. Methods: This study was based on a review of PPE regulations with which every stakeholder should comply in the workplace. Both South Korean regulations enforced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Environment and cases from other countries were reviewed. Results: Regulations related to the PPE required for handling chemical substances in the workplace are enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Enforcement Decree, Enforcement Rules, and Notification of Protective Equipment Certification under the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The Ministry of Environment also regulates the PPE standards for 97 substances requiring preparation for accidents and adjustment of work conditions, but a recent amendment (partially amended on September 30, 2022) loosened some unreasonable or excessive provisions. It requires workers simply to carry or otherwise keep PPE handy instead of wearing it for some tasks in which hazardous chemicals are not handled directly. Conclusions: It is important to regularly review provisions that need to be improved or supplemented to help all stakeholders. Considerations should be also made to build a reasonable regulatory system that can induce more mature safety management in each workplace.