• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.122-129
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• 2014

Objectives: Because of its properties such as resistance to heat, chemicals and corrosion; tensile strength; sound absorption; and affordable price, asbestos has been widely used as a building material, fire resistant and retardant, thermal and heat insulator, soundproofing material, and electrical insulation. Since the prolonged inhalation of asbestos can cause serious illnesses such as lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis after an incubation period of 20 to 40 years, the mineral was classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an intergovernmental agency forming part of the World Health Organization. Children and infants are more at risk than are adults if they are exposed to carcinogens, due to aweaker immunity that has not yet been fully developed. Most childcare centers are operated all day and children tend to spend a great amount of time in the centers. This is why it is important for them to be systematically isolated from environments that may expose them to asbestos. Materials: In order to understand both indoor and outdoor hazards to which children may have been exposed, the study focused on actual surveys of asbestos used in childcare centers, paying special attention to slate-roofed buildings in the vicinity of the centers. Results: A survey of a total of 211 childcare centers showed that the buildings of 18.1% of the centers contained asbestos, with 60.53% of the material being found in classroom ceilings. "Tex" was the most used material for ceilings, making up 89.47% of all ceilings. An outdoor survey showed that childcare centers in Daegu Metropolitan City had an average of 143 slate-roof buildings within a distance of 1km. Conclusions: Buildings housing mainly toddlers, children, teenagers and others more vulnerable to the toxicity of asbestos are not subject to asbestos investigation by law. A legal and practical basis for asbestos control is required for such buildings. In particular, housing materials which contain asbestos in day care centers require asbestos control. GIS should be used to identify the location of buildings with slate roofing materials in the vicinity of daycare centers in order to gauge toxicity of exposure to asbestos caused by potential asbestos friability possibility in outdoor conditions.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.549-560
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• 2015

The priorities of siting restriction was derived from quantification of environmental hazard according to industrial classification based on 'Chemical Ranking and Scoring System(CRS)' which is handling the discharge characteristics of 31 industrial classifications regulated from locating at 'Industrial Complex in Rural Area(ICRA)'. CRS that is utilizing the data of 'Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers(PRTR)' is applied to determine human health risk and ecological risk which are calculated by discharged amount and materials $LC_{50}$ according to water, soil and air media based on industrial classification. From this process, exposure assessment and toxicity assessment for integrating the adverse environmental impact and the mitigation effect of environmental risk according to the development of environmental technologies into establishing the rational landuse management method for the 31 industrial classifications regulated from locating at ICRA was analyzed. From the assessment result of the siting restriction removal at ICRA for 31 industrial classifications, based on 2012 year reference 6 industries that includes Manufacture of Guilt Coloration Surface Processing Steel Materials, Manufacture of Biological Product, Manufacture of Smelting Refining and Alloys of Copper, Dyeing and Finishing of Fibers and Yarns, Manufacture of Other Basic Iron and Steel n.e.c., Rolling Drawing and Extruding of Non-ferrous Metals n.e.c. are calculated as having relatively lower environmental hazards, thus it is judged that the siting restriction mitigation at ICRA is possible for the 6 industrial classifications that are not discharging the specific hazardous water contaminants during manufacturing process.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.83-101
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• 2005

Because of its strong potential for health hazards, the concentration levels of airborne lead (Pb) have been circumscribed by environmental laws in many countries. In this study, we made a comparative study on the environmental behavior of Pb for the acquisition of its distribution characteristics using data sets collected from major cities in Korea for a period of 6 years (1998 through 2003). According to this study, Pb concentration decreased slowly in most industrialized cities of Koreathroughout the whole study. period. In contrast, such temporal signals were not evident in data sets collected from residential, commercial, and grassland areas. Although seasonal patterns generally exhibited the occurrences of high Pb concentration during the spring, results appear to reflect the influence of Asian Dust (AD) in the springtime. The results of our study clearly indicate that Pb distribution is strongly influencedby source types in relation to their land use patterns. Comparison of our Pb data sets with that of other countries indicates that Pb concentration levels obtained from relatively cleaner districts of Korea are still significantly higher than other countries. The results of this analysis generally indicate that Pb concentrations in most areas are affected by the type and strength of man-made activities. Considering that most areas are affected by a variety of pollutants, continuous efforts are needed to control Pb concentrations in the atmosphere.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.3233-3238
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• 2014

Background: The aim of this study was to analyze the demographic and clinical characteristics of male breast cancer patients in Serbia, and furthermore to determine overall survival and predictive factors for prognosis. Materials and Methods: In the period of 1996-2006 histopathological diagnosis of breast cancer was made in 84 males at the Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia. For statistical analyses the Kaplan-Meier method, long-rank test and Cox proportional hazards regression model were used. Results: The mean age at diagnosis with breast cancer was $64.3{\pm}10.5$ years with a range from 35-84 years. Nearly 80% of the tumors showed ductal histology. About 44% had early tumor stages (I and II) whereas 46.4% and 9.5% of the male exhibitied stages III and IV, respectively. Only 7.1% of male patients were grade one. One-fifth of all patients had tumors measuring ${\leq}2cm$, and 14.3% larger than 5 cm. Lymph node metastasis was recorded in 40.4% patients and 47% relapse. Estrogen and progesterone receptor expression was positive in 66.7% and 58.3%, respectively. Among 14.3% of individuals tumor was HER2 positive. About two-thirds of all male patients had radical mastectomy (66.7%). Adjuvant hormonal (tamoxifene), systematic chemotherapy (CMF or FAC) and adjuvant radiotherapy were given to 59.5%, 35.7% and 29.8% patients respectively. Overall survival rates at five and ten years for male breast cancer were 55.0% and 43.9%, respectively. According to the multivariate Cox regression predictive model, a lower initial disease stage, a lower tumor grade, application of adjuvant hormone therapy and no relapse occurrence were significant independent predictors for good overall survival. Conclusions: Results of the treatment would be better if disease is discovered earlier and therefore health education and screening are an imperative in solving this problem.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.3483-3487
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• 2016

Background: Cigarette smoking is one of the leading causes of death in the world. Tobacco consumption has grave negative consequences for health so that it is important to understand the reasons and motivations towards cigarette smoking and barriers against quitting smoking among the young generation for developing effective policies to control this widespread problem. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional survey was carried out at the Faculty of Medicine, Rabigh, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A total of 438 young smokers participated from the University and the general population. Data were collected through anonymous, self-administered questionnaires in the Arabic language that contained questions about the reasons and motivations towards cigarette smoking and barriers against quitting smoking. The questionnaire also contained several questions regarding knowledge and attitude of the participants towards cigarette smoking. The data was analyzed on SPSS-16. Results: The mean age of the respondents was $22.9{\pm}3.48$, out of 438 subjects 87 (19.9%) were married, and 351 (80.1%) were unmarried, and 331 (75.6%) belonged to urban areas while 107 (24.5%) were from the rural areas. Responding to a question about a number of cigarettes smoked per day, 31% answered 11-20, 29% answered 21-30, and 25% answered 1-10. Questioned about smokers in the family, 34.5% responded more than one, with 19% for brother and 13% for father. About the reasons for not quitting smoking, 26% described lack of willpower, 25% had no reason, 22% said that people around me smoke, and 15.3% responded stress at home/work. The major motivation for smokers was smoker friends (42%), for 33.8% others, for 12% father/brother and 7.8% media. Conclusions: There are several avoidable and preventable reasons and barriers against quitting smoking. However, knowledge and attitude about smoking were good, and the majority of the smokers were well aware of the associated hazards. Therefore, there is a need to search out ways and means to help them to quit this addiction.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.595-606
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• 2018

Objective: The Fusarium mycotoxins of deoxynivalenol (DON) and zerolenone (ZEN) cause health hazards for both humans and farm animals. Therefore, the main intention of this study was to reveal DON and ZEN effects on the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and other immune related genes in the liver of piglets. Methods: In the present study, 15 six-week-old piglets were randomly assigned to the following three different dietary treatments for 4 weeks: control diet, diet containing 8 mg DON/kg feed, and diet containing 0.8 mg ZEN/kg feed. After 4 weeks, liver samples were collected and sequenced using RNA-Seq to investigate the effects of the mycotoxins on genes and gene networks associated with the immune systems of the piglets. Results: Our analysis identified a total of 249 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), which included 99 upregulated and 150 downregulated genes in both the DON and ZEN dietary treatment groups. After biological pathway analysis, the DEGs were determined to be significantly enriched in gene ontology terms associated with many biological pathways, including immune response and cellular and metabolic processes. Consistent with inflammatory stimulation due to the mycotoxin-contaminated diet, the following Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathways, which were related to disease and immune responses, were found to be enriched in the DEGs: allograft rejection pathway, cell adhesion molecules, graft-versus-host disease, autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD), type I diabetes mellitus, human T-cell leukemia lymphoma virus infection, and viral carcinogenesis. Genome-wide expression analysis revealed that DON and ZEN treatments downregulated the expression of the majority of the DEGs that were associated with inflammatory cytokines (interleukin 10 receptor, beta, chemokine [C-X-C motif] ligand 9), proliferation (insulin-like growth factor 1, major facilitator superfamily domain containing 2A, insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2, lipase G, and salt inducible kinase 1), and other immune response networks (paired immunoglobulin-like type 2 receptor beta, Src-like-adaptor-1 [SLA1], SLA3, SLA5, SLA7, claudin 4, nicotinamide N-methyltransferase, thyrotropin-releasing hormone degrading enzyme, ubiquitin D, histone $H_2B$ type 1, and serum amyloid A). Conclusion: In summary, our results demonstrated that high concentrations DON and ZEN disrupt immune-related processes in the liver.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.223-230
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of HACCP implementation. The HACCP education was provided twice within one month to 20 employees of a contracted food service operation in Daegu. Critical control points (CCP) were determined based on food preparation processes: non-heating, preparation after heating, and heating. We evaluated the effects of HACCP implementation by checking microbiological quality, time and temperature at each of the CCPs during the receiving, preparation, cooking, and serving stages. After HACCP implementation, the biggest changes in microbiological qualities were in heated foods. At the cooking and serving stages, the microbiological qualities of heated foods improved to the standard levels. HACCP education helped employees ensure that the internal temperatures of the heated foods were kept higher than the standard (74 $^{\circ}C$) and the food holding temperature avoided the dangerous zone (5-6$0^{\circ}C$), thus lowering microbiological levels. At the serving stage, the microbiological levels of utensils also improved after HACCP education. This result strongly suggests that it is essential to educate employees in managing the temperature to treat foods safely. However, HACCP education didn't affect the microbiological levels of non-heated foods and foods prepared after heating, which continued to be higher than the standard. The reason for this was that poor microbiological quality seasonings were added to those types of foods. This indicates that seasoning factories as well as food service operations should implement HACCP to reduce hazards.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.313-318
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• 2014

From 2008 to 2013, the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis were collected from a major area of mussel production (Changseon area), which is a designated shellfish-cultivating area for export, located on the southern coast of Korea. The samples were analyzed for mercury (Hg) using a direct Hg analyzer and for other metals, such as cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), arsenic (As), chromium, copper, nickel, and zinc, using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The concentrations and bioaccumulation of the heavy metals were determined, and a potential risk assessment was conducted to evaluate their hazards towards human consumption. The concentration and bioaccumulation ratio of Cd were the highest of the three hazardous metals (Cd, Pb, and Hg). The concentrations of hazardous metals in all samples were within the limits set by Korea and other countries. The estimated dietary intake (EDI) was compared to the provisional tolerable daily intake (PTDI) adopted by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EDIs of all heavy metals tested for mussel samples ranged from 0.01 to 4.99% of the PTDI; the highest value was measured for As. The hazard index (HI) can be used to assess the risk of heavy metal consumption associated with contaminated food. The HI for all samples was far less than 1.0, which indicates that the mussels produced in the Changseon area do not represent an appreciable hazard to humans and are fit for consumption.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.127-138
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• 2014

As increasing concerns about potential risks and hazards in children's products, the laws and regulations for heavy metals and phthalate retardants contained in the children's products have been reinforced in many countries. Especially, in Korea, environment and health laws and regulations for children's products was declared in 2009. This study was researched in terms of contents and migration of phthalates and heavy metals in 124 children's products sold in the Korean market. The results for contents of heavy metals showed that 123 products contained different 14 heavy metals depending on kinds of products. As the results of migration by sucking, the heavy metals in the products such as black, plastic dolls, wood toys, and bottom mat for swimming were transferred into extraction solution. Ba, Cu, Zn, and Sn were transferred from most of these products into the extraction solution and Co, Ni and Pb were additionally transferred into several products. As the results of migration through a skin, while Ba, Cu, and Zn were transferred from most products containing the heavy metals, as for accessories, Cr, Ba, Ni, Zn, and Cu were migrated. The results of contents of phthalates presented that 21 products contained DBP, DEHP and DINP. Only 2 products showed the migration of DEHP by sucking. DEHP in most products were transferred and DBP for 2 products and DINP for 7 products were migrated.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.617-629
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• 2007

To ensure the microbiological safety of food items prepared after cooking process, this study was aimed to identify the hazards related with cooked foods donated to foodbanks through quantitative microbial analysis. Five foodbanks located in Incheon and Gyeonggi area among government-dominant foodbanks were surveyed from February to June, 2007. Manager, recipient, donator, type and quantity of donated foot and facility and equipment were examined for the general characteristics of foodbank. The time and temperature of food md environment were measured at steps from after-production to before-distribution, and the microbial analysis was performed mainly with indicator organism and major pathogens. The amount of cooked foods donated to each foodbank was about 20 to 30 servings and consisted of 80% of total donated foods. Only three foodbanks had separate offices for foodbank operation and four institutions had at least one temperature-controlled vehicle. The flow of donated foods was gone through the steps; production, meal service and holding at donator, collection by foodbank, transport (or holding after transport) and distribution to recipients. It took about 3.8 to 6.5 hours at room temperature from after-production to before-distribution. Only aerobic plate counts (APC) and coliforms were found in microbial analysis. The APC after production were relatively high in $8.2{\times}10^5,\;7.4{\times}10^5,\;6.9{\times}10^5$ and $4.2{\times}10^5 CFU/g$ while $2.8{\times}10^6, \;9.4{\times}10^5,\;1.0{\times}10^6$ and $5.4{\times}10^5CFU/g$ before distribution in mixed Pimpinella brachycarpa, mixed chard mixed amaranth and mixed spinach, respectively. The levels of coliforms in mixed chard and mixed spinach were complied with the standards of the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Management The level of APC in boiled pork was increased from $< 1.0{\times}10 CFU/g$ to $4.0{\times}10^2 CFU/g$. One of delivery vessels was shown $6.2{\times}10^3 CFU/100 cm^2$ in APC, which was over the standards for environment. One of serving tables also showed the high level of $1.2{\times}10^3 CFU/100 cm^2$ in APC and $6.6{\times}10^2 CFU/100 cm^2$ in coliforms. These results suggest the sanitary management of holding at donator and the time-temperature control are key factors to ensure the safety of cooked foods donated to foodbank.