• International Journal of Safety
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.33-36
• /
• 2012

Examples and experiences of risk management on radiation under prolonged exposure situation are shown. The accident of the Fukushima dai-ichi nuclear power plant after the great east Japan earthquake (11 March, 2011) elevates background level of environmental radiation around the east Japan. For example, ambient dose equivalent rate around Tohkatsu area next to Tokyo located about 200 km-south from the plant, is about 0.1-0.6 micro-Sv $h^{-1}$ mainly due to $^{134}Cs$ and $^{137}Cs$ falling on the ground soil. This level is about double or up to ten times higher than the genuine natural level around the area. International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommends how to face the existing exposure situation; that is the prolonged exposure situation. Referring to ICRP's reports and/or related international/domestic documents, we have been discussing and acting to gain public's safety and relief, who have a possibility to be exposed to prolonged lower-dose radiation. Here, we introduce our several experiences on risk management, especially focusing on risk communication, radiation education to public, and stakeholder involvements into making decision in local governments on radiation protection, relating to the accident.

• International Journal of Safety
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.6-9
• /
• 2011

Examples and experiences of risk management on radiation under prolonged exposure situation are shown. The accident of the Fukushima dai-ichi nuclear power plant after the great east Japan earthquake (11 March, 2011) elevates background level of environmental radiation around the east Japan. For example, ambient dose equivalent rate around Tohkatsu area next to Tokyo located about 200 km-south from the plant, is about 0.1-0.6 micro-Sv $h^{-1}$ mainly due to $^{134}Cs$ and $^{137}Cs$ falling on the ground soil. This level is about double or up to ten times higher than the genuine natural level around the area. International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommends how to face the existing exposure situation; that is the prolonged exposure situation. Referring to ICRP's reports and/or related international/domestic documents, we have been discussing how to manage this situation and acting to gain safety and relief of public, who have a possibility to be exposed to prolonged lower-dose radiation. Here, we introduce our several experiences on risk management, especially focusing on risk communication, radiation education to public, and stakeholder involvements into decision making in local governments on radiation protection, relating to the accident.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.44 no.1
• /
• pp.53-58
• /
• 2021

Kerma Area Product (KAP) is best indicator of radiation monitoring on radiographic examinations. KAP can be measured differently depending on the X-ray irradiation area, air kerma, souce-skin distance, type of equipment, etc. The major factors are exposure area and the air krema. The KAP currently used only considers the exposure area with X-rays and has a problem that KAP is always excessively overestimated from the dose received by an actual subject. Therefore, in this study, in order to measure the accurate KAP, a new area dose calculation that can be calculated by dividing the area where the actual X-ray is irradiated is presented, and the KAP is the real area. We compared and analyzed how much it was overestimated compared to the dose. The Skull AP projection and seven other projection were compared and analyzed, and the KAP was overestimated in each test by 52% to 60%. In this way, the effective KAP (EKAP) calculation developed through this study should be utilized to prevent extra calculation of the existing KAP, and only the accurate patient subject area should be calculated to derive the accurate area dose value. EKAP is helpful for control the patient's exposure dose more finely, and it is useful for the quality control of medical radiation exposure.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• /
• v.34
• /
• pp.16.1-16.11
• /
• 2022

Background: Antimony is used in catalysts, pesticides, brake systems, pharmaceuticals, and synthetic fire retardants in the plastic, paint, and rubber industries. Accumulation of trivalent antimony compounds in the body can cause cardiotoxic effects and increase the risk of electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities and sudden death. Antimony exposure can result in action potential prolongation, causing a cardiac repolarization delay, which appears as QTc prolongation and T-wave abnormalities on the ECG. There are no studies on antimony-associated cardiac toxicity in Korea. Case presentation: Accordingly, the present study reports cases of ECG abnormalities in workers handling antimony trisulfide at a company located in the Gyeongsangbuk-do region. Nineteen workers employed at an automobile brake lining manufacturer were exposed to antimony trisulfide dust through thermoforming, grinding, and drilling processes. In 2020, the workers were reported to work 12-hour shifts, 5 days a week. The time-weighted average (TWA) of antimony trisulfide exposure measured in workers was 0.0028 mg/m³. Two workers were excluded from the analysis due to pre-existing medical conditions (cardiovascular disease). Of the remaining 17 workers, ECG abnormalities were found in 41% (seven out of 17: four with QTc prolongation and T-wave abnormalities; two with only T-wave abnormalities; and one with only QTc prolongation). Conclusions: This case report outlines the first few cases in Korea in which potential cardiac toxicity caused by occupational exposure to antimony was identified. However, data regarding cardiac toxicity caused by antimony exposure are still lacking in Korea; thus, additional studies are needed to identify causal relationships.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.56 no.8
• /
• pp.3123-3128
• /
• 2024

The dicentric chromosome assay is a gold standard method to estimate radiation exposure by calculating the ratio of dicentric chromosomes existing in cells. The objective of this study was to propose an automatic dicentric chromosome discrimination method based on deep convolutional neural networks using radiation exposure patient data. From 45 patients with radiation exposure, conventional Giemsa-stained images of 116,258 normal and 2800 dicentric chromosomes were confirmed. ImageNet was used to pre-train VGG19, which was modified and fine-tuned. The proposed modified VGG19 demonstrated dicentric chromosome discrimination performance, with a true positive rate of 0.927, a true negative rate of 0.997, a positive predictive value of 0.882, a negative predictive value of 0.998, and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.997.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.238-246
• /
• 2024

Objectives: A collective of workers in the company's cafeteria encountered symptoms such as stinging and watering in and around the eyes, a sensation of sand in the eyes, erythema, swelling, and peeling of the skin on the face and neck. The objective of this study is to pinpoint the causes of these symptoms and propose preventive measures. Methods: Following preliminary on-site investigations, worker interviews, and literature research, it was determined that the most probable cause of the symptoms was ultraviolet rays emitted from a UV sterilizer. Consequently, the study measured and assessed the effective amount of ultraviolet radiation emitted by the sterilizer. Results: When operating with the curtain-type door of the ultraviolet sterilizer open, it was observed to surpass the 0.1 μW/cm2 8-hour work exposure standard recommended by ACGIH TLV in most kitchen workspaces. The evaluation of the maximum allowable exposure time based on the distance from the ultraviolet sterilizer indicated only 4.2 seconds at a distance of 0.2 m with the curtain door open, and merely 1.7 minutes at a distance of 1 m. Conclusions: This study confirmed that the symptoms among restaurant workers emerged immediately after the installation of the ultraviolet sterilizer, and these symptoms were consistent with those associated with exposure to ultraviolet rays. Furthermore, the assessment revealed that the exposure level to ultraviolet rays could be exceeded established exposure standards. It was recommended that the existing ultraviolet sterilizer be replaced with one featuring a glass door, and facility improvements should be made, such as implementing an automatic mechanism to turn off the ultraviolet lamp when the door is opened.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
• /
• v.6 no.5
• /
• pp.287-294
• /
• 2015

The purpose of this study, was Let's examine the exposure dose at the time of cerebral blood flow CT scan of acute ischemic stroke patients. In particular, long-term high doses of radiation sensitive organs and we Measured using phantom and a glass dosimeter. Apply the existing protocol suggested by the manufacturer (fixed time delay technique) and the proposed new convergence protocol (bolus tracking technique), reporting to measure the dose, dose reduction was to prepare the way. Results up to 39.8% as compared to the existing protocols in a new suggested convergence protocol, a minimum of 5.8% was long-term dose is reduced. Test dose of $CDTI_{vol}$ and DLP values decreased 25%, respectively, were measured at less than recommended dose. Try checking the protocol set out in the existing based on the analysis result of the above, by applying the proposed new convergence protocol by reducing the dose would have to contribute to improved public health. It is believed to be research continues to find the optimum protocol in the other tests.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.109-118
• /
• 2016

Objectives: To review reference levels by the international and domestic management and provide the basis for setting occupational exposure limits(OELs) of radon in Korea Methods: Government's organizations with laws and systems for monitoring radon exposure were investigated and compared. There are five laws governing Indoor Air Quality(IAQ) control such as Occupational Safety and Health Act, Indoor Air Quality Control in Public Use Facilities, Etc. Act, School Health Act, Public Health Control Act and Parking Lot Act in Korea. It was surveyed that a total of 32 countries including 24 countries in the European Union(EU), six countries in Asian and two countries in North America setting the reference levels for radon in the world. Results: In Korea, there are set guidelines for radon in the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Education. Reference levels of radon for existing dwellings were $150{\sim}400Bq/m^3$ for Western European countries, and $200{\sim}1,500Bq/m^3$ in Eastern European countries. Approximately 67% of those EU countries were set up $400Bq/m^3$ to the standards for existing dwellings. EU countries such as Luxembourg, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia had adopted mandatory level for radon. Radon guidelines for new dwellings were set more strictly reference level($200Bq/m^3$) than existing dwellings. Conclusions: International organizations such as ICRP, UNSCEAR and NCRP, etc. had recommended the guidelines for radon. It was calculated the relation of the dose conversion factors with the annual effective doses. the OELs of radon suggest to need to establish $150Bq/m^3$ for office room and $400{\sim}1,000Bq/m^3$ for the workplace.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.27 no.5
• /
• pp.261-268
• /
• 2014

In advanced countries, a variety of consumer exposure assessment models including CONSEXPO, are developed to manage risks of consumer products containing hazardous materials. The models are used to assess the risks of exposure to hazardous chemicals in consumer products, which serves as a foundation for regulation standards. In this study, exposure assessment models applicable for various scenarios were reviewed and a proper model was applied for the selected products and risk assessment was conducted at each stage to establish a risk assessment procedure for different types of products. Based on the exposure scenario, exposure factor was selected and according to the algorithm produced based on CONSEXPO exposure model, some level of phthalates were detected from some types of PVC flooring. However, a correlation between phthalate content and migration rate showed r-square 0.0065, little correlation, which is inadequate for estimating standard value. For this reason, it seems valid that the current standard be in place. Additionally, any new standard was not suggested as VOCs were not found harmful to human health, allowing the existing standard to be continuously applied. No migration rate was found for heavy metals and risk assessment was not performed accordingly. In this aspect, it is presumed that hazards to health through dermal exposure would be very little.

• Fire Science and Engineering
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.10-16
• /
• 2003

The main purpose of this study is to raise the point at issue and to propose reform direction about the current performance criteria of fire resistance through the examination of the fire resistance required for each use of compartment by using performance-based fire safety design method. To examine the performance criteria of fire resistance, this study compared the equivalent time of fire exposure which was calculated by using time-equivalent formulae with the required fire resistance time determined by existing prescriptive code, and surveyed factors such as the fire load energy density, ventilation factor, fire compartment materials and fire compartment geometry in order to calculate the equivalent time of fire exposure.