• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.110-115
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• 2011

Objectives: The aim of this study is to survey for finding asbestos containing equipment at the laboratories using picture based questionnaire and polarized light microscopic analysis. Methods: This study was conducted from 2009 to 2010 at a university in Seoul. In 2009, picture based questionnaire was distributed to 100 laboratories during the regular laboratory air quality monitoring. In 2010, we emailed all professors of the same university who have laboratories to participate voluntarily this survey. For the laboratories consented to participate survey, picture based questionnaire was distributed and collected. Suspected asbestos containing material and apparatus were collected at the laboratories which replied they have suspected material and equipment. Collected samples were analyzed with polarized light microscope at the laboratory accredited by ministry of employment and labor in Korea. Results: Total of 18 out of 100 laboratories reported that they had suspected asbestos containing equipment in 2009. Twenty-three samples were collected and three samples (13%), one heating mantle and two pairs of insulation gloves, contained asbestos. Thirty four laboratories reported they had suspected asbestos containing material or equipment in 2010. Sixty samples were collected and four of them (6%), two pairs of insulation gloves, one packing rope in dry oven and, one pair of tongs, contained asbestos. All founded asbestos was chrysotile and the content of chrysotile was more than 90% for all equipment except heating mantle which has less than 1%. Conclusions: We confirmed that asbestos was still used at the laboratories though strict regulations on asbestos use in Korea. The method of picture based questionnaire invented in this study could be applied for asbestos survey to other research institute or university where there are many laboratories because of its simplicity and accessibility without huge man power, cost and time.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.523-532
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• 2009

Changing health awareness has had an important effect on the functional food industry and is creating greater market opportunities. Unfortunately, there is no statement on functional dairy products in the Processing of Livestock Products Act. As a result, there is confusion in the market and legal difficulties with regard to the advertising of functional dairy products. This study was carried out to improve the current standardization of functional dairy products by comparing the domestic Health/Functional Food Act with the Japanese Health Promotion Law, and by investigating scientific data and articles from various literature and the Internet. In Japan, the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare (MHLW) officially presented the Food with Health Claims (FHC) system that consists of Food with Nutrient Function Claims (FNFC), and innovated Food for Specified Health Uses (FOSHU). In 2005, the FOSHU system was changed to include several new subsystems: Current, Standardized, Reduction of disease risk, and Qualified FOSHU. Finally, to manufacture FOSHU, scientific evidence pertaining to such products must be examined by MHLW. Since FNFC was allowed, only 12 vitamins, ${\beta}-carotene$, and five minerals were approved, though without scientific evidence of efficacy. The Korean Health/Functional Food Act requires that health/functional foods (HFFs) be marketed in measured doses. There are two types of HFFs: generic and product-specific. There are 67 ingredients listed in the act for generic HFFs, and if an HFF has a new active ingredient, it is considered a product-specific HFF. Product-specific HFFs must be approved by the Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). With the present standards, it is impossible to label and advertise functional dairy products with health/functional claims. Government agencies must cooperate to solve this problem, and standardization should be carried out by considering existing health/functional products and claims/indications from other countries.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.90-103
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• 2005

Objective: This study was carried out to assess the status of working environments, to improve the working environments, and to be helpful to prevent occupational disease. Methods: The authors measured the noise level, concentration of dust, heavy metals, organic solvents, and other chemicals at 95 industries (22 working processes) by type of working process in manufacturing industry of parts and accessories for motor vehicles and its engines from January to December 2003. Samples were measured and analyzed by regulations of Korea Ministry of Labor, manuals of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Results: Results are as follows. 1. Major processes exceeding mean noise levels provided the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Value (TLV) were shakeout [97.5 dB(A)]. shot-blast [94.2 dB(A)], pressing [92.9 dB(A)], crushing [91.2 dB(A)], and cleaning [90.6 dB(A)]. 2. Mean concentrations of dusts were not exceeded to the TLV. But concentration on some points of processes as like welding (6.50 mg/m3), foundry (5.24 mg/m3) were exceeded. 3. Mean concentrations of heavy metals were not exceeded to the TLV. 4. Mean concentrations of organic solvents and chemicals were not exceeded to the TLV. 5. Improving rate for working environment were significantly higher in industries with health manager than without (p<0.05), and by increasing the year of working environmental measurement (p<0.01). Conclusions: The results suggest that working processes of exceeding to the TLV will be needed rapid improvement of the working environment, and also the others will be needed positive management of the working environment. Health managers must be recommended to employ in the workplace, and further studies for relationship between working environment and health effects for the workers must be carried out.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.245-253
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• 2007

This research was performed to evaluate the airborne personal concentration of hazardouse materials during the process of ship construction and surveyed from May 23 to June 30, 2007 in Kyungnam West Distirct, Korea. The subject was 94 ship construction workers exposed to welding fume and respirable particulate. The airborne concentrations of those were compared to Permissible Exposure Limit(PEL) from the Ministry of Labor in Korea. The airborne concentration of 23 samples(48.9%) of welding fumes was less than $5mg/m^3$, that of 16 (34.0%) was between 5 and $10mg/m^3$, and that of 8 (17.0%) was greater than $10mg/m^3$. The airborne concentration of 27 (57.4%) of respirable particulate masses was less than $5mg/m^3$ and the othere are greater than $5mg/m^3$. The welding fumes were identified containing the heavy metasl such as Fe, Mn, Zn, Mg, Ca, and Cu. The respirable particulates has similiar tendency with welding fumes in the component of heavy metals. But the concentration of Ca, Cu, Cr, and Ni turned out to be higher in welding fumes. Twenty (42.6%) of the 47 samples of welding fumes were exceeded PEL. In the heavy metals in welding fumes, ten (21.3%) of the 47 samples of Mn were exceeded PEL. Based on the results, the higher airborne hazardous materials were still exposed to wokers in ship construction process. It is suggested that the appropriate engineering control be applied to minimize the exposed cocnetration in ship building processes.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.153-161
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• 2009

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate 1) blood lead levels of workers at auto repair shops as Biological Exposure Indices (BEI) of toxic substances such as lead and toluene that are produced during automotive painting process, 2) the differences depending on personal characteristics of workers who have been exposed to toluene by using urine hippuric acid concentration as a marker and 3) the correlation between the concentration of hazardous chemicals in each workplace and the BEL. All subjects were male with a mean age of 36.2 years. In terms of age, most were in the 30 to 40 age group (13 persons, 48.1%). In relation to the length of work experience, the highest proportion had experience of 10 years of less (18 persons, 66.7%). Twenty three workers were cigarette smokers (85.2%) while 4 (14.8%) were non-smokers. In addition, more than 80% of the workers drank alcohol. Dust concentration and toluene exposure during automotive painting showed no significant difference with age, length of work experience, smoking and drinking while a significant difference (p<0.05) has been detected between lead concentration and smoking. The geometric mean of dust concentration, lead concentration and toluene concentration were $0.38mg/m^3,\;0.0021mg/m^3$ and 1.08ppm respectively. In addition, the geometric mean of blood lead levels and urine hippuric acid concentration were $1.70{\mu}g/dl$ and 0.25g/g respectively, which were lower than the standard levels suggested by the Ministry of Labor. To determine the influential factors on blood lead and urine hippuric acid concentrations, a correlation analysis has been conducted with variables of air, lead and toluene concentrations, age, length of work experience and amount of cigarette smoking. According to the analysis, a relatively high correlation (p<0.01) has been observed between air lead concentration and biological sample concentration.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.71-83
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• 2023

Since last year, the government has enforced the 'Act on the Punishment of Severe Accidents, Etc.' (hereafter referred to as the 'Serious Accident Punishment Act'), which punishes business owners and business managers who fail to fulfill their duty of safety measures with 'imprisonment of one year or more' and the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Based on this, various occupational safety and health policies were developed, including the operation of a system related to entrusting the work of safety managers. Despite these efforts, the effect of implementing the Severe Accident Punishment Act is a groundbreaking change in the current disaster prevention policy, which has increased by 0.02%P and 0.03‱P, respectively, from the previous year to 0.65% of the total accident rate and 1.10‱ of the death rate per 10,000 people as of 2022. As the need emerged, attention was paid to 'collaboration and governance with safety management institutions' in the 'Severe Disaster Reduction Roadmap' announced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor in November 2022. In this study, a meaningful result was derived by comparing and analyzing the industrial accident status of workplaces entrusted by "A" safety management institutions with the national average based on the industrial accident survey table, and the types of industrial accidents that occurred in consigned workplaces were selected as intensive management targets. The policy direction for industrial accident prevention was established. It is necessary to develop safety management work manuals based on the results of this study, expertise, discover best cases of risk assessment and develop guides, and educate and train consigned workers. In addition, it suggests that the government's guidance and supervision are needed to advance the professionalism of safety management entrusted tasks, and that safety management institutions should strengthen their roles and functions for preventing and reducing industrial accidents. However, due to difficulties in disclosing information of specialized safety management institutions, the limitation of the provision, collection, and viewing of research-related data to "A" specialized safety management institutions remains a limitation of the research. It seems likely that more thorough research will be conducted.

• 한국유가공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2004.06a
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• pp.21-39
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• 2004

Fermented milks have been recognized as healthy foods since ancient times, but those using intestinal bacteria such as Bifidobacterium and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are even more valuable from the standpoint of view of maintaining health. They have also now come to be recognized as important in the field of preventive medicine. Although advances in the medical sciences in the last 50 years have significantly increased the human lift span, an unfortunate fact is that many of us are now living long enough to experience chronic disorders such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, osteoporosis, diabetes and cancer. In recent years there has been renewed interest in health promotion and disease prevention by incorporating probiotic bacteria into foods to counteract harmful bacteria in the intestinal tract. Therefore, there are now a wide variety of commercial products containing prospective probiotics that claim health-promoting effects, such reductions in large botvel carcinogens and mutagens, antitumor properties, cholesterol-lowering effects, increased lactose digestion, relief from con-stipation, stimulation of immunocomponent cells and enhancement of phagocytosis. Two well-known representative probiotic is LAB and Bifidobaclerium. Traditional probiotic dairy strains of LAB which have been designated as GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) bacteria have a long history of safe use and most strains are considered comestible microorganisms with no pathogenic potential. Accordingly, there is considerable interest in extending the range of foods containing probiotic organisms from dairy foods to infant formulas, baby foods, and pharmaceuticals. In addition, the ingestion of probiotics, prebiotics, and symbiotic as wll as combinations of pro- and prebiotics has recently aroused renewed interest as enhancing the beneficial relationship between the host and intestinal microflora in both healthy and diseased indivisuals. Non-communicable chronic diseases such as cancer, cerebral hemorrhage, is chemic heart disease, and diabetes mellitus has recently been recognized as adult diseases in Japan as well as other countries. and are considered to be inevitably associated with aging. These diseases occur as a result of individual life styles. The Japanes Government. Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has proposed substituting the term 'adult diseases' with 'lifestyle-related diseases'. It has emphasized the importance of prevention rather than treatment. since the well-known increase in the elderly population in Japan is predicted to result in a variety of socioeconomic problems. n this lecture on the Present status of fermented milk products in Japan, I will report a strategy for the development of fermented milk products in Japan from the standpoint of view of research in Japan on LAB and Bifidobacteria. They could play an important role in preserving human health by controlling intestinal microflora capable of producing toxic effects on the host.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.37-45
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• 2019

The characteristic of fire and explosion related to electrostatic discharge is that it is difficult to reproduce the electrostatic charge and discharge phenomenon in addition to the large human and material damage. Therefore, in order to prevent accidents and disasters related to electrostatic in fire and explosion hazard areas, it is important to manage the level of electrostatic in a safe manner from the perspective of system between industrial facilities and human bodies. Rule 325 of the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations, "Prevention of Fire / Explosion due to Electrostatic", requires the use of grounding, conductive materials, humidification and electrification in order to prevent the risk of disaster caused by static explosion and electrostatic in the production process. In order to comply with these measures, related technologies, standards and systems are needed from the viewpoint of preventive measures related to electrostatic in fire and explosion hazard areas, but in Korea, it is still insufficient. Therefore, technical, institutional and managerial measures are needed as a precautionary measure to improve the level of ESD safety in fire and explosion hazard areas and prevent electrostatic related injury. In Korea, we analyzed the current status and characteristics of electrostatic related disaster by using the statistics of industrial accident and fire statistics of the Ministry of Employment and Labor. We also analyzed the current status and characteristics of electrostatic related disasters in Japan using JNIOSH accidents and disasters investigation cases and JNIOSH fire accident data of Japan Fire Bureau. The purpose of this study is to compare and analyze the current status of electrostatic related accidents and disasters in Korea and Japan in order to improve the safety management of electrostatic in fire and explosion hazard areas. In order to prevent accidents and disasters in the industrial field, The technical, institutional, and managerial measures to manage the level of electrostatic in a safe state were derived from the system point of view.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.209-220
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• 2021

The noise is defined as unwanted sound that causes discomfort and physical changes. This study was conducted to evaluate intensity of noise in the pediatric dental clinic and to investigate noise environment of a pediatric dentist. Human ear shaped microphone and mobile noise level meter were used for recording noise and calculating intensity of noise. By recording according to the method specified by Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) of Korea Ministry of labor and employment, the following results were obtained. For 16 experimental days, 8 hour time weighted average (8hr-TWA) was 49.33 dBA (A-weighted deci-Bell) on daily average with maximum 58.54 dBA and minimum 33.97 dBA. And Dose was 0.49% on daily average with maximum 1.28%, minimum 0.04%. These values are less than criteria of KOSHA standard (85 dBA, 100%). Comparing the highest noise level for each patient, pulp therapy group and Frankel grade I group were the highest. The intensity of dental noise of pediatric dental clinic didn't meet standard of KOSHA. It is necessary to re-evaluate noise environment by establishing new standards considering environment of pediatric dental clinic.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.224-238
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• 2008

The aim of this study is to confirm the physicochemical property and hazard of thinner (012), which is a diluent of enamel paint used for floor coating for waterproofing and oil painting for the outer wall. The literatures of physicochemical property and hazard of thinner were surveyed and its physicochemical property were evaluated. And then, the inhalation toxicity of thinner affecting the central nervous system and reproductive organs in rats were examined by subchronic (6 h./day. 5 days/ week for 13 weeks) inhalation test. 1) According to the 13-week subchronic inhalation test, there were no significant changes in clinical test and body weight. However, a significant evidence of toxicity was observed in the hematological test and organ weight such as heart, kidney, liver and brain (p<0.01) in the 200 ppm and 1,000 ppm exposure groups in a dose response manner. In the histopathology analysis, there were no significant evidence of toxicity. Therefore, thinner was not classified as an organ targeted toxic agent. In case of Harmfulness, it could be classified as a chronic toxic agent 3($500 ppm/4hr, rat). 2) The reproductive toxicity such as extension of the period of estrous cycle, reduction of serum estradiol concentration and increase of frequency of the abnormal sperm was observed in the 1,000 ppm exposed animals. 3) The result of the physicochemical property of the test material showed that the specific gravity was 0.793, boiling point $155.8^{\circ}C$, steam pressure 2.1 kPa, ignition point $34.5^{\circ}C$, and spontaneous ignition point $280^{\circ}C$. The endothermic and exothermic values were 371.4 J/g and 159.1 J/g. respectively. The explosion limit was 214 mg/l. These data showed that thinner could be classified as an explosion agent level 1.2 and ignitive liquid agent 3 ($23-60^{\circ}C$) according to the notification No. 2008-1 of the Labor Ministry, "Classifying Standard of Chemical Materials."