• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• 제31권
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• pp.25.1-25.9
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• 2016

Objectives After the initial investigations by the Korea Centers for Disease Control in 2011, over 1000 suspicious cases of humidifier disinfectant (HD) victims were subsequently reported by 2015, and numbers are still increasing dramatically in 2016 in the midst of the prosecutors' office investigation. This study attempts to summarize the current understandings of the related health effects of HD based upon a systemic review of published epidemiologic studies and toxicology investigations. Methods Published studies of HDs were searched through PubMed and TOXLINE under the search words 'humidifier disinfectant,' and related reports were identified from the references and published report list of regulatory agencies including the Korean National Institute of Environmental Research, US Environmental Protection Agency, and EU European Chemicals Agency. Results Case reports and epidemiologic studies have reported the clinical features of severe forms of HD lung damage, together with epidemiologic findings of seasonal occurrence and demographic variations, including the heightened susceptibility of young children. Toxicological studies have reported inhalation toxicities together with positive findings of in vitro genotoxicity studies. Conclusions This study examined unsolved issues based on cases of upper respiratory diseases and diseases of other organs, including cancers, among suspected victims of HDs. These issues should be clarified in future research for the management and prevention of health effects from HDs and chemicals of other related household products.

• 기술사
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• 제38권1호
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• pp.59-63
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• 2005

A Tsunami was generated by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake which occurred near Indonesia. An energetic Tsunami will display vertical water displacement of the order of ten meters and lateral scales of the order of tens of kilometers. The Tsunami destroyed many coastal villages in Asia. So, there are many victims in southeastern part Asia by Tsunami. Therefore, the construction of Tsunami prediction and warning system is needed for minimize the damage by seismic sea waves.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• 제31권
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• pp.19.1-19.7
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• 2016

A large portion of the Korean population has been exposed to toxic humidifier disinfectants (HDs), and considering that the majority of the victims are infants, the magnitude of the damage is expected to be considerably larger than what has currently been revealed. The current victims are voicing problems caused by various diseases, including but not limited to lung, upper respiratory tract, cardiovascular, kidney, musculoskeletal, eye, and skin diseases, etc. However, there has been difficulty in gaining validation for these health problems and identifying causal relationships due to lack of evidence proving that toxic HD is the specific causes of extrapulmonary diseases such as allergic rhinitis. Furthermore, the victims and bereaved families of the HD case have not received any support for psychological distress such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, feelings of injustice, and anger caused by the trauma. In addition, because the underlying mechanisms of the toxic materials within the HDs such as polyhexamethylene guanidine phosphate, poly(oxyalkylene guanidine) hydrochloride, chloromethylisothiazolinone /methylisothiazolinone have yet to be determined, the demand for information regarding the HD issue is growing. The victims of the HD cases require support that goes beyond financial aid for medical costs and living expenses. There is a desperate need for government-led integrated support centers that provide individualized support through health screenings; in other words, we need an integrated facility that provides the appropriate social support to allow the victims to recover their physical and mental health, so as to well prepare them to return to a normal life. The implementation of such a plan requires not only the close cooperation between those departments already directly involved such as the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, but also active support on a national scale from pan-governmental consultative bodies.

• 의료법학
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• 제10권1호
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• pp.213-260
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• 2009

While the medical supplies have positive functions such as extending lifespan, recovering health, and preventing diseases, they also cause unexpected tragic consequences due to their side effects, and the magnitude of such damage inevitably increases due to the mechanism of mass production, mass distribution, and mass consumption of those medical supplies. Therefore, needless to say, the optimal way to prevent or reduce such damage is rather through medical supply manufacturers' producing non-defective products, or through the government's controlling production and sales of medical supplies with more aggressive exercise of regulatory authority on medical supply manufacturers, than through a remedy by a legal relief after using medical supplies. In this case, although the victim died due to the defect of the cold medicine, 'CONTAC 600', the drug company's responsibility to cover damages was not recognized because a defect could not be found in the then-manufacturing process. Thus, while pharmaceutical companies are gaining economic profits by producing and selling a medical supplies, if they do not take any remedy measures for the victims of their products' side effects, the victims have to use medical supplies under their own responsibility of taking a risk, and they have to accept the full damage of the potential consequence. Therefore, to remove such absurdity and contradiction, and to practically remedy the victim of medical supplies' side effects, the pharmaceutical side effects remedy project pending in the the Drugs, Cosmetics and Medical Instruments Lawneeds to be actively implemented.

• 한국콘텐츠학회논문지
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• 제20권1호
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• pp.470-484
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• 2020

2017년 11월 15일 포항지역에서 규모 5.4로 지진이 발생하여 건물 및 시설이 피해를 입었고, 최대 1,797명의 이재민이 생겼다. 발생 당시 신속하게 피해 파악, 대피소 운영 등의 초기대응은 이루어졌지만, 지진재해 복구대응에서 몇 가지 문제점이 발생했다. 복구대응으로 임시주거시설 제공, 재난지원금 지급과 같은 지원이 이루어졌는데, 복구지원 제도에 대한 안내 및 홍보가 부족하여, 지진 피해자들 중 일부는 지원을 받지 못하는 문제가 있었다. 일본에서는 잦은 지진의 경험으로 실효성 높은 복구대책을 마련하고 있었는데, 그 중 지진피해 복구지원 제도를 정리한 가이드북을 제작·배급하여 피해자들이 신속히 일상생활로 복귀하도록 하고 있다. 본 연구에서는 포항지진 피해 복구 사례를 토대로 국내 지진재해 복구대응 현황과 문제점을 분석하고, 일본 지진 피해 복구·부흥대응의 선진사례 조사를 통해 국내 지진재해 복구대책의 개선방안을 도출하고 있다. 나아가 국내의 실질적인 지진피해 복구대책 방안마련으로 한국형 지진피해자 지원 가이드북을 개발·제안하고자 하였다.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제38권4호
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• pp.379-385
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• 2005

The impact of the next influenza pandemic is difficult to predict. It is dependent on how virulent the virus is, how rapidly it spreads from population to population, and the effectiveness of prevention and response efforts. Despite the uncertainty about the magnitude of the next pandemic, estimates of the health and economic impact remain important to aid public health policy decisions and guide pandemic planning for health and emergency sectors. Planning ahead in preparation for an influenza pandemic, with its potentially very high morbidity and mortality rates, is essential for hospital administrators and public health officials. The estimat ion of pandemic impact is based on the previous pandemics- we had experienced at least 3 pandemics in 20th century. But the epidemiologi cal characteristics - ie, start season, the impact of 1st wave, pathogenicity and virulence of the viruses and the primary victims of population were quite different from one another. I reviewed methodology for estimation and modelling of pandemic impact and described some nations's results using them in their national preparedness plans. And then I showed the estimates of pandemic influenza impact in Korea with FluSurge and FluAid. And, I described the results of pandemic modelling with parameters of 1918 pandemic for the shake of education and training of the first-line responder health officials to the epidemics. In preparing influenza pandemics, the simulation and modelling are the keys to reduce the uncertainty of the future and to make proper policies to manage and control the pandemics.

• Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives
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• 제9권6호
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• pp.314-324
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• 2018

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze research and development projects in mental health services in Korea, using priority evaluation of mental health promotion policies to determine direction of the service. Methods: An online survey was conducted that targeted experts in the mental health service regarding promotion of mental health in Korea in 2016. The survey was based on 32 policy projects that resulted from 12 strategies according to 4 policy objectives. Results: Analysis of 32 mental health projects were assessed regarding the possibility of technology development success, magnitude of the ripple effect, and necessity of a national response. It was observed that 3 policy projects relevant to suicide, had a high relative priority. This was followed by policies for improvement of health insurance and the medical benefit cost system, and policies for reinforcement of crisis psychological support such as those for disaster victims. Conclusion: The prioritization of mental health services should place an emphasis on promotion of a healthy mental lifestyle, rehabilitation support for patients with serious mental illness, and reinforcement of social safety networks for suicide prevention.

• 의료법학
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• 제12권1호
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• pp.133-173
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• 2011

Since mid-1960s the reports from the Surgeon General, the World Health Organization, and other health experts state that there is no risk-free level exposure to smoking and secondhand smoke. Tobacco smoke is made up of more than 7,000 chemicals. Hundreds are toxic, and at least 70 are carcinogens. The chemicals in tobacco smoke reach smoker's lungs quickly every time smoker inhale causing damages immediately. Inhaling even the smallest amount of tobacco smoke can also damage smoker's DNA, which can lead to cancers. Smoking is responsible for more than 87% of lung cancers, but there are a host of other chronic diseases directly related to exposure to tobacco smoke. It's also a major cause of heart disease, stroke, aortic aneurysm, peripheral arterial disease and most of the other diseases. In the United States, each year with more than from 440,000 to 520,000 deaths caused by smoking and exposure to involuntary smoke. They conclude that smoking is the single most important source of preventable morbidity and mortality. The United States of America have about 60-year history of tobacco litigation. Tobacco litigation has been an important tool in tobacco control strategies aimed at limiting the activities of tobacco companies and providing redress to people who have become ill as a result of their use of tobacco products. Tobacco litigation is a kind of tort litigation. Quite often, as in the asbestos and other mass tort litigation episodes, tobacco litigation can play an educational role, warning the public about the magnitude of health risks that might otherwise be less clearly perceived. Tobacco litigation allows smokers, their families or other victims of smoking to sue tobacco companies in order to be compensated for the harm they have suffered. Potential benefits of tobacco litigation include compensation for smoking-related damages, strengthening regulatory activity, publicity, documents disclosure and changing tobacco industry behavior. And also tobacco litigation can limit the political activities of tobacco industry, protect human rights of smokers and non-smokers, increase burden to tobacco price-up and enhance the effects of law and politics in public health.