• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제28권1호
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• pp.18-34
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• 2018

Objectives: This study aims to identify and solve problems in the consistency, procedural justification, effectiveness, and other matters concerning approaches to occupational safety and health legislation, administrative rules, and administrative guidelines. Methods: In this study of policy on the industrial safety and health law of Korea, problems were raised based on important information on the approach to occupational safety and health legislation and administrative guidelines such as notices, ordinances, and instructions, as well as on their interpretation and operation standards. Secondly, based on the identified problems in the occupational safety and health law policy, core practical methods to present improvement directions for occupational safety health policy in Korea were sought. Results: It is absolutely necessary to actively promote the infrastructure for occupational safety and health by developing and disseminating notices, guidelines, and manuals that act as contact points between laws and the field in various ways at the administrative institution level. In addition to sanctions, efforts to systematically guide and promote complex professional matters must be supported. Efforts should be made to strengthen administrative expertise so that administrative authorities can secure professional authority and fully enforce legal policies according to the purpose of legislation. In order to ensure the effectiveness of occupational safety and health law policies, it is necessary to shift the focus of the legal policy toward confirming and guiding substantial compliance with legal standards. Conclusions: As a result of the above efforts, when reliable occupational safety and health law policy is implemented, the understanding and acceptance of the legal policy for the administrative object will be increased, and the safety and health management of the enterprise will be maximized to its full extent.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제6권2호
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• pp.128-133
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• 2015

Background: To investigate the relationship between musculoskeletal disorders and comorbid health problems, including depression/anxiety disorder, insomnia/sleep disorder, fatigue, and injury by accident, and to determine whether certain physical and psychological factors reduce comorbid health problems. Methods: In total, 29,711 employees were selected from respondents of the Third Korean Working Conditions Survey and categorized into two groups: Musculoskeletal Complaints or Musculoskeletal Sickness Absence. Four self-reported health indicators (overall fatigue, depression/anxiety, insomnia/sleep disorder, and injury by accident) were selected as outcomes, based on their high prevalence in Korea. We used multiple logistic regression analysis to determine the relationship between comorbid health problems, musculoskeletal complaints, and sickness absence. Results: The prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints and musculoskeletal sickness absence due to muscular pain was 32.26% and 0.59%, respectively. Compared to the reference group, depression/anxiety disorder and overall fatigue were 5.2-6.1 times more prevalent in the Musculoskeletal Complaints Group and insomnia/sleep disorder and injury by accident were 7.6-11.0 times more prevalent in the Sickness Absence Group. When adjusted for individual and work-related physical factors, prevalence of all four comorbid health problems were slightly decreased in both groups. Conclusion: Increases in overall fatigue and depression/anxiety disorder were observed in the Musculoskeletal Complaints Group, while increases in insomnia/sleep disorder and injury by accident were observed in the Sickness Absence Group. For management of musculoskeletal complaints and sickness absence in the workplace, differences in health problems between employees with musculoskeletal complaints and those with sickness absence as well as the physical and psychological risk factors should be considered.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제2권2호
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• pp.105-121
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• 2011

Objectives: This paper presents the framework and protocol design for a construction industry risk management toolbox. The construction industry needs a comprehensive, systematic approach to assess and control occupational risks. These risks span several professional health and safety disciplines, emphasized by multiple international occupational research agenda projects including: falls, electrocution, noise, silica, welding fumes, and musculoskeletal disorders. Yet, the International Social Security Association says, "whereas progress has been made in safety and health, the construction industry is still a high risk sector." Methods: Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) employ about 80% of the world's construction workers. In recent years a strategy for qualitative occupational risk management, known as Control Banding (CB) has gained international attention as a simplified approach for reducing work-related risks. CB groups hazards into stratified risk 'bands', identifying commensurate controls to reduce the level of risk and promote worker health and safety. We review these qualitative solutions-based approaches and identify strengths and weaknesses toward designing a simplified CB 'toolbox' approach for use by SMEs in construction trades. Results: This toolbox design proposal includes international input on multidisciplinary approaches for performing a qualitative risk assessment determining a risk 'band' for a given project. Risk bands are used to identify the appropriate level of training to oversee construction work, leading to commensurate and appropriate control methods to perform the work safely. Conclusion: The Construction Toolbox presents a review-generated format to harness multiple solutions-based national programs and publications for controlling construction-related risks with simplified approaches across the occupational safety, health and hygiene professions.

• 한국환경독성학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국환경독성학회 1999년도 춘계학술대회 발표논문집
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• pp.71-71
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• 1999

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제6권3호
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• pp.184-191
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• 2015

Chemical mutagenicity is a major hazard that is important to workers' health. Despite the use of large amounts of allyl chloride, the available mutagenicity data for this chemical remains controversial. To clarify the mutagenicity of allyl chloride and because a micronucleus (MN) test had not yet been conducted, we screened for MN induction by using male ICR mice bone marrow cells. The test results indicated that this chemical is not mutagenic under the test conditions. In this paper, the regulatory test battery and several assay combinations used to determine the genotoxic potential of chemicals in the workplace have been described. Further application of these assays may prove useful in future development strategies of hazard evaluations of industrial chemicals. This study also should help to improve the testing of this chemical by commonly used mutagenicity testing methods and investigations on the underlying mechanisms and could be applicable for workers' health.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제3권4호
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• pp.298-304
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• 2012

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has experienced tremendous economic and industrial growth in the petroleum, airline, maritime and construction sectors, especially since the discovery of oil reserves. Mass recruitment of low skilled or unskilled laborers from less-developed countries has been utilized to satisfy the manpower demands of these fast paced industrial developments. Such workforce recruitment has created an unusual populace demographic, with the total UAE population estimated at 8.3 million, composed of 950,000 Emiratis, with the remainder being multinational expatriate workers, with varying educational qualifications, work experience, religious beliefs, cultural practices, and native languages. These unique characteristics pose a challenge for health and safety professionals tasked with ensuring the UAE workforce adheres to specific occupational health and safety procedures. The paper discusses two case studies that employ a novel multimedia approach to raising health and safety awareness among a multinational workforce.

• 한국직업건강간호학회지
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• 제23권4호
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• pp.245-253
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• 2014

Purpose: School foodservice employees (SFEs) could be exposed to the risk of musculoskeletal disease and of job stress due to their job characteristics. This study was to evaluate the level of job stress and the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal symptoms (WRMS) in Seoul city's SFEs, and to determine associations between job stress and WRMS. Methods: The study design was cross-sectional, and 975 SFEs were recruited. Self-administered questionnaire included the 'Korean occupational stress scale-short form' and the 'KOSHA GUIDE H-9-2012' instrument to evaluate the job stress and WRMS, respectively. SFEs' medians of job stress were compared to the reference values of published study in Korean workers. Results: The participants reported greater levels of job demand and physical environment than the general Korean population. WRMS were reported in 89.0% of participants at any body part, and 41.1% were presumed to need for medical intervention. High levels of job demand and of physical environment were significantly associated with WRMS. Conclusion: Subscales of job demand and physical environment were relatively high in SFEs and those were related to the occurrence of WRMS. To reduce the WRMS prevalence, a job stress management program focused on job demand and physical environment may be required.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제19권2호
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• pp.127-138
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• 2009

Rock wool, a kind of asbestos substitutes, was analyzed for its physicochemical properties. After fivers of rock wool were instilled into rat lungs, These pathological changes were evaluated. In addition, the fibers in the lungs were counted and characterized after the lungs were treated for electron microscopical analysis. The lungs of rats showed pathological lesions such as granulomatous changes, but these lesions disappeared at 28 days groups after instilled rats. The rock wool fibers in the lungs decreased more 50 % after 28 days instilled into rat lungs. And rock wool showed early change in fiber compositions after 3 days compare with chrysotile showed after 7 days instilled into rat lungs. This study showed that the durability of rock wool in the lungs is more milder than chrysotile.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제6권3호
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• pp.159-173
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• 2015

The hand coordinate systems for measuring vibration exposures and biodynamic responses have been standardized, but they are not actually used in many studies. This contradicts the purpose of the standardization. The objectives of this study were to identify the major sources of this problem, and to help define or identify better coordinate systems for the standardization. This study systematically reviewed the principles and definition methods, and evaluated typical hand coordinate systems. This study confirms that, as accelerometers remain the major technology for vibration measurement, it is reasonable to standardize two types of coordinate systems: a tool-based basicentric (BC) system and an anatomically based biodynamic (BD) system. However, these coordinate systems are not well defined in the current standard. Definition of the standard BC system is confusing, and it can be interpreted differently; as a result, it has been inconsistently applied in various standards and studies. The standard hand BD system is defined using the orientation of the third metacarpal bone. It is neither convenient nor defined based on important biological or biodynamic features. This explains why it is rarely used in practice. To resolve these inconsistencies and deficiencies, we proposed a revised method for defining the realistic handle BC system and an alternative method for defining the hand BD system. A fingertip-based BD system for measuring the principal grip force is also proposed based on an important feature of the grip force confirmed in this study.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제31권5호
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• pp.117-123
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• 2016

After the Se-wol ferry disaster in Korea, the safety issue was highly spotlighted in a number of media, and consequently the ministry of public safety and security was newly established under the public attention. In addition to this, a recent earthquake in Gyeonju suggested the training issues for public such as evacuation and public safety. Regarding the industry, one of significant reasons causing the accidents were inadequate training, in execution of safety manual or inexperienced first response. Although the engineering or scientific study provided a basis of the industry safety and health in Korea a study focusing on the safety and health education system should be highlighted in that the law is the only way to execute the policy. In this manner, the goal of current study was to compare the safety and health education system in Korea to other countries including America, England and Germany. Especially, the law for training method, contents, supervision and punishment was analyzed. Result showed (1) lack of a structured training course for educating safety and health education trainer, (2) no training system of safety and health education to public or workers, and (3) less specific law for supervision and punishment as compared to the America, England and Germany.