• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.105-113
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• 1968

The following experiments were carried out at rock method oyster field at Uduri, Dolsan-myon, Yeocheon-gun, Jeon-nam, Korea, in 1966. In this experiment, the settling rate of oyster at each exposure level and their growth rate were checked. 1. The settling rate of oyster spats was highest at 4 hour exposure level in the day-time during spring tide, and the growth rate became greater the lower stratum until 3 hours and 30 minutes exposure level. 2. Rocks applied at the place higher than 5 to 6 hour exposure level which amount 26 percents of applied rocks, were not utilized properly because the settling rate of spats and their growth rate were very bad. 3. For the future application of rocks for oyster culture, effort should be paid to instruct the oyster farmers to apply all rocks at proper exposure Ie el with bottom leveling and the rocks should be spaced properly for better barvest.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.323-331
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• 2007

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are well known for strong carcinogen. However, the human exposure analysis of PAHs is quite difficult and unreliable because of hard for estimation of actual expose dose. Then urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) has been a biological marker of exposure to PAHs. The purpose of this study was to investigate total amount from exposure to PAHs soused by indoor occupational exposure, and residence at Seoul metropolitan area and Kyeonggi province in Korea. Thirty-five housewives were included in this study from April 2003 through February 2004. Dietary habit and general characteristics such as age, type of building, existence of passive smoking, period of residence, fuel type for heating and ventilation type were obtained by self administered questionnaire. Urine samples were collected at morning and freeze quickly. Urinary creatinine was measured for converting into 24 hr urine. Concentration of the indoor PAHs was examined by NIOSH method number 5506. Urinary 1-OHP and PAHs were analysed by HPLC. Correlation coefficient between urinary 1-OHP levels and pyrene concentration of indoor air was 0.66 and statistically significant(P<0.01). The difference of urinary 1-OHP level due to dietary habits were not significant. Urinary 1-OHP level of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter were $0.21{\pm}0.12,\;0.10{\pm}0.17,\;0.16{\pm}0.12,\;0.17{\pm}0.14{\mu}g/g$ cr, respectively. The arithmetic means of urinary 1-OHP for four season tee $0.16{\pm}0.14 {\mu}g/g$ cr. There was a trend that urinary 1-OHP level of residents who dwelling in apartment were higher compared with detached home, Comparison of 1-OHP level between heating by kerosene and LPG, Much higher gas heating type than kerosene type (P<0.05). This result implies that the urinary 1-OHP can be applied as the PAHs exposure indices.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.385-394
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• 2023

Objectives: Firefighters could be exposed to a range of toxic chemicals during firefighting. When tyre burns, various toxic chemicals including volatile organic compounds(VOCs) could be emitted. In this study, the researchers assessed the VOC exposure of firefighters during tyre fire suppression through biomonitoring. Methods: There was a big tyre fire on 12 March 2023. Of the responding firefighters, we recruited 14 participants to collect their urine after firefighting. One week later, researchers collected firefighters' urine again right after their off-duty period. We analyzed each metabolite of benzene, toluene, xylene, and styrene in urine and compared their exposure level based on sampling time. Results: The detection rate for metabolite of benzene, toluene, styrene, and xylene in urine sampled at each time was 43%-64%, 100%, 86%-100%, and 100%, respectively. Except for the benzene, metabolite levels measured in urine after firefighting were similar to that from off-duty period. However, the median concentration of benzene metabolite in urine sampled after firefighting was three times higher compared to that from off-duty period(34.2 ㎍/g crea. and 10.9 ㎍/g crea., respectively.) The estimated airborne concentration of benzene calculated from metabolite level in urine was 0.16 ppm, which exceeded the recommended exposure level set by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Conclusions: This study shows that firefighters could be exposed to the high level of VOCs including benzene during their firefighting especially at tyre fire. These results could be used as a valuable data to prove firefighters' exposure to hazardous chemicals during their duty.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.223-232
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• 2012

Objective: We performed this study to determine the association between childhood asthma and residential environment risk factors including VOCs and formaldehyde exposure. Methods: We selected an asthma group (30) and a control gorup (30) through physicain diagnosis and assessed the VOCs and formaldehyde levels of exposure of elementary school children in Seoul. Results: In the results, there were no significant differences in socioeconomic factors between case and control groups. However, there were significant differences in family asthma history, amount of sunlight, level of humidity and number of household residents (p < 0.05). The level of VOC (toluene, ethylbenzene, stylene, m,p-xylene) exposure level of the case group was significantly higher than that of the control group (p < 0.05) and the result of logistic regression showed that asthma family history, amount of humidity and number of household residents were significant predictors of childhood asthma (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Some residential environments such as lower amounts of sunlight, greater amounts of humidity and smaller numbers of household residents and VOC exposure were determinded as risk factors for childhood asthma.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.147-154
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• 2003

To develop fast and sensitive biomarkers for metal exposures in Antarctic marine organisms we examined histological alterations of an Antarctic sentinel bivalve species Laternula elliptica following a short-term exposure to a sublethal-level of Cd. Distinct histological alterations of tissues and cells of the gills, kidneys, and digestive glands were observed after 8-to 16-hours of exposure to Cd while an increase of Cd concentrations in tissues was not detectable. Most alterations were highly localized in the epithelium of the three tissues; epithelia were found to be detached from the remaining tissue parts. In addition ultra-structural changes such as cytosolic vacuolization, dilation of nucleus and rER membranes were detected in all three tissues, which suggested that the clams are subject to sublethal stresses. Thus, histological and ultrastructural changes on localized tissue parts were rapid and sensitive, suggesting that they may serve biomarkers for Cd exposures. Linkages between the shown ulrastructural changes and higher biological organization level responses are to be established by longer-term exposure experiments.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.37-42
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• 1999

Long-term exposure to loud noise affects performance since it changes arousal level, distracts attention, and also is able to evoke subjective stress accompanied by negative emotional states. The purpose of the study was to analyze dynamics of subjective and physiological variables during a relatively long-lasting (30 min) exposure to white noise (85 dB[A]). Physiological signals were recorded on 15 college students during 30 min of intense auditory stimulation. Autonomic variables, namely skin conductance level , non-specific SCR number, inter-best intervals in ECG, heart rate variability index (HF/LF ratio of HRV), skin temperature, as well as respiration rate were analyzed on 5 min epoch basis. Psychological assessment (subjective rating of stress level) was also repeated every 5 min. Statistical analysis was employed to trace the time course of the dynamics of subjective and autonomic physiological variables and their relationships. Results showed that the intense noise evoked subjective stress as well as associated autonomic nervous system responses. However it was shown that physiological variables endured specific changes in the process of exposure to the loud white noise. Discussed were probable psychophysiological mechanisms mediating reactivity to long-term auditory stimulation of high intensity, namely short-term activation, followed by transient adaptation (with relatively stable autonomic balance) and then a subsequent wave of arousal due to tonic sympathetic dominance.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.213-223
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• 2016

Objectives: This study was designed to assess the level of physical exposure to heavy metals among residents who live around a Chungcheongnam-do Province industrial complex and to provide baseline data on the effects and harms of heavy metals on the human body by comparing their exposure levels to those of people from control regions. Methods: We measured blood lead and cadmium levels and urine mercury and chromium levels and conducted a survey among 559 residents from the affected area and 347 residents of other areas. Results: Blood lead and cadmium levels and urine mercury levels were significantly higher in the case region than among those in the control region (p=0.013, p<0.001, p<0.001, respectively). In the thermoelectric power plant area, blood cadmium and urine mercury levels were significantly higher than in the control region (p<0.001, p<0.001, respectively). In the steel mill and petrochemical industry areas, blood cadmium level was significantly higher than that in the control region (p<0.001). Dividing groups by the reference level of blood cadmium ($2{\mu}g/L$), the odds ratios between the case and control regions were 2.56 (95% CI=1.83-3.58), 3.11 (95% CI=2.06-4.71) for the thermoelectric power plant area, 1.78 (95% CI=1.19-2.65) for the steel mill area and 4.07 (95% CI=2.40-6.89) for petrochemical industry area. Conclusion: This study showed that the levels of exposure to heavy metals among residents living near a Chungcheongnam-do Province industrial complex were significantly higher than those in the control region. This seems to be attributable to exposure to heavy metals emissions from the industrial complex. Further research and safety measures are required to protect residents' health.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.185-193
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• 2017

Objectives: An on-site study was conducted in order to quantify indoor exposure levels and the emission rate of particulate matter for domestic poultry buildings. Materials and methods: Three types of poultry building (caged layer house, broiler house, and layer house with manure belt) as classified by mode of manure treatment and ventilation were investigated in this study. Nine sites per each poultry building were selected and visited for measuring exposure levels and emission rate of particulate matter. Total dust and respirable dust among the particulate matter were analyzed based on the weight method. Emission rates were estimated by dividing emission amount, which was calculated through multiplying indoor concentration ($mg/m^3$), by the ventilation rate ($m^3/h$), into indoor area ($m^2$) and number of poultry reared in the poultry building. Results: Mean exposure levels for total dust and respirable dust in the poultry buildings were $3.91({\pm}1.99)mg/m^3$ and $1.99({\pm}0.89)mg/m^3$, respectively. The emission rates of particulate matter in the poultry buildings were estimated as $4.75({\pm}1.22)mg\;head^{-1}h^{-1}$ and $64.39({\pm}24.95)g\;m^{-2}h^{-1}$ for total dust and $0.58({\pm}0.23)mg\;head^{-1}h^{-1}$ and $7.52({\pm}2.51)mg\;m^{-2}h^{-1}$ for respirable dust, respectively. The distribution patterns for total dust and respirable dust were similar regardless of poultry building type. Among poultry buildings, broiler house showed the highest exposure level and emission rate of total dust and respirable dust, followed by layer house with manure belt and caged layer house. Conclusions: The finding that the broiler house showed the highest exposure level and emission rate of particulate matter can be attributed to sawdust utilized as bedding material, which can be dispersed into the air by movements of the chickens. Thus, a work environmental management solution for optimally reducing dust concentrations is necessary for broiler houses.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.88-96
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• 2010

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to clarify effects of long term, low-level monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure (MAHs) such as styrene, toluene and xylene on physiological levels of epinephrine (EP) and norepinephrine (NEP) and these hormones influences diagnosis indices of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Methods: Blood pressure and serum biochemical parameters were measured using digital sphygmomanometer and autochemical analyzer. EP and NEP were analyzed by using ELISA kit and exposure level of MAHs was measured by NIOSH method. Results: The differences of general characteristics such as age, smoking and drinking habits in both groups were not significantly different except working hours per day. In exposed workers, exposure levels of MAHs showed very low concentrations. Serum HDL-cholesterol concentration was significantly higher in exposed group, but concentration of NEP was significantly higher in control group. On multiple logistic regression analysis for the diagnosis indices of MetS, EP was WC (OR=0.970), NEP was blood pressure (OR=1.002) and MAHs exposure were significantly associated with HDL-cholesterol (OR=0.257), fasting glucose (OR=3.028) and MetS (OR=0.372). Conclusion: These findings suggest that the chronic exposure of low level MAHs maycontribute to glucose metabolism and induction of MetS. And also, changes of EP and NEP levels by exposure of MAHs affect blood pressure.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.445-453
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• 2012

The aim of this paper was to prove that if the risk level in combined tasks was improved through evaluation of postural load of liquid weight measurement process, the workload level and ratio of exposure time would be changed, and the time of process would be seen concurrently. Background: According to results of epidemiological studies conducted by Korea Occupational Safety & Health Agency, 122 musculoskeletal disorders occurred during 1992 to 2008, in which manufacturing industry covers 96(78.7%) of total. However, this is an insufficient level and only occupies 39% based on the South Korea's manufacturing standard industrial classification(246 industries). Method: Firstly, the number of batches weighed on one day(460min) was investigated based on the work performed and Weight measured weekly. VCR recording was taken based on the level of liquid ingredients prescribed for 1batch using the Camcorder. After dividing a 356 sec video into 1 sec using the screen capture function in Gom player, the job classification was performed by analyzing the change of working postures, which revealed 148 working postures. Time measurement was decided by time of the postures was being maintained. Then, the REBA analysis was performed for the working postures. The ratio of Exposure time was calculated based on the measurement time and REBA Score. In addition, the recommendations were designed and implementation was carried out for the working postures with REBA Score higher than 3. Finally, after the intervention, REBA measurement, time measurement, and ratio of exposure time were calculated for the comparison of works before and after improvement. Results: The number of work elements was decreased by 30.4% from 148 to 103 after improvement. The results of time measurement showed that the time was reduced by 46.3% from 356 sec to 191 sec. And the ratio of exposure time was also improved by 52.1% from 0% to 52.1% after improvement. Conclusion: The reduction of time was found to improve the productivity of management. Furthermore, because the reduction of ratio of exposure time and the improvement of workload level are the improvement of discomfort, it would contribute to the improvement of the worker's psychological working posture. Application: These results would contribute to musculoskeletal disease prevention and management performance. Further studies for other industries would be needed based on this case study.