• Title/Summary/Keyword: Potential risks

검색결과 812건 처리시간 0.024초

Infection Risks Faced by Public Health Laboratory Services Teams When Handling Specimens Associated With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

  • Wong, Chun-Kwan;Tsang, Dominic N.C.;Chan, Rickjason C.W.;Lam, Edman T.K.;Jong, Kwok-Kwan
    • Safety and Health at Work
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    • 제11권3호
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    • pp.372-377
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    • 2020
  • Infection risks of handling specimens associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by public health laboratory services teams were assessed to scrutinize the potential hazards arising from the work procedures. Through risk assessments of all work sequences, laboratory equipment, and workplace environments, no aerosol-generating procedures could be identified except the procedures (mixing and transfer steps) inside biological safety cabinets. Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) such as surgical masks, protective gowns, face shields/safety goggles, and disposable gloves, together with pertinent safety training, was provided for laboratory work. Proper disinfection and good hand hygiene practices could minimize the probability of SARS-CoV-2 infection at work. All residual risk levels of the potential hazards identified were within the acceptable level. Contamination by gloved hands was considered as a major exposure route for SARS-CoV-2 when compared with eye protection equipment. Competence in proper donning and doffing of PPE accompanied by hand washing techniques was of utmost importance for infection control.

The Recommendation on Power Saving through the Measuring of the Standby Power of OA Equipments (OA기기의 대기전력 측정을 통한 절전 평가 제안)

  • Kim, Man-Geon;Choi, Don-Mook
    • Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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    • 제15권1호
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    • pp.161-167
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    • 2013
  • The purpose of this study was to assess power loss in the computer and office automation equipment and identified a way to save power consumptions through field measurement. In this study, the meaning of standby power was to consume power while waiting for the use of any electronic equipment. This standby consumption was about 11% of total power consumption even though we did not seriously realize it. Therefore, it was very important to measure accurate power consumption at the standby status of electronic equipment. In addition, it also helped to reduce potential risks of electricity associated disasters. This study proposed the way to reduce power losses through automatic turn off switches for power outlets and switches. Finally, this study can evaluate power consumption patterns that can reduce power consumptions and potential risks of power related disasters. This also can achieve the goals of sustainability that can reduce environmental impacts by lowering energy consumptions and greenhouse gas emissions.

Stabilization of fluorine in soil using calcium hydroxide and its potential human health risk

  • Jeong, Seulki;Kim, Doyoung;Yoon, Hye-On
    • Environmental Engineering Research
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    • 제24권4호
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    • pp.654-661
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    • 2019
  • This study assessed the stabilization of fluorine (F)-contaminated soil using calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) and the consequent changes in human health risk. The bioavailable F decreased to 3.5%, (i.e., 57.9 ± 1.27 mg/kg in 6% Ca(OH)2-treated soil sample) from 43.0%, (i.e., 711 ± 23.4 mg/kg in control soil sample). This resulted from the conversion of water-soluble F to stable calcium fluoride, which was confirmed by XRD spectrometry. Soil ingestion, inhalation of fugitive dust from soil, and water ingestion were selected as exposure pathways for human health risk assessment. Non-carcinogenic risks of F in soils reduced to less than 1.0 after stabilization, ranging from 4.2 to 0.34 for child and from 3.0 to 0.25 for adult. Contaminated water ingestion owing to the leaching of F from soil to groundwater was considered as a major exposure pathway. The risks through soil ingestion and inhalation of fugitive dust from soil were insignificant both before and after stabilization, although F concentration exceeded the Korean soil regulatory level before stabilization. Our data suggested that substantial risk to human health owing to various potential exposure pathways could be addressed by managing F present in soil.

On Enhancing Test and Evaluation Process of Weapon Systems Development using DSM-Based Risk and Safety Management (DSM기법에 의한 위험 및 안전 관리를 통해 무기체계 시험평가 프로세스의 개선에 관한 연구)

  • Sim, Sang Hyun;Lee, Jae-Chon
    • Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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    • 제17권2호
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    • pp.89-96
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    • 2015
  • The weapon systems development has some distinct characteristics in that a big size of government budget (derived from national tax) has been expended frequently and the completion of the development projects seems to take long. Thus, the impact of the potential changes in the required operational capability on the development activities can induce some type of project risks. As such, proper management of project risk has been one of crucial subjects in the weapon systems development. Although a variety of methods can be considered, an approach based on the test and evaluation (T&E) process has been selected in this paper in order to appropriately handle those potential risks. In the study of the underlying T&E process, the safety consideration (for instance, explosiveness) of weapon systems is also included. To achieve the objective of the paper, a step-by-step procedure is first presented in the analysis of the T&E process. Then, to pursue some enhancement on the process, a set of necessary and useful activities are added in terms of risk and safety management. The resultant process is further analyzed and tailored based on a design structure matrix method. The case study of a tank development is also discussed.

Study on Development of Construction Management Module based on Risk factor classification system at Construction Phase (시공단계 위험요소 분류체계 구축을 통한 건설 프로젝트 관리모듈 개발에 관한 연구)

  • Lee, Joo-Sung;Moon, Sung-Kon;Jun, Yeong-Jin;Kim, Ju-Hyung;Kim, Jae-Jun
    • Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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    • 한국건축시공학회 2009년도 춘계 학술논문 발표대회 학계
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    • pp.199-202
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    • 2009
  • Turn-key and CMF(CM for Fee) have been selected as procurement paths of large public projects in Korea. However, recently, researches and discussions on CMR(CM at Risk) have been popular as the Korean government seeks for alternative procurement paths to enhance the performance. In the CMR projects, the part who is responsible for construction management should predict and control the potential risks for guaranteeing benefits. In this research, CMR projects in which a general contractor plays the role as CMr is mainly analyzed. We give attentions to risk management during construction process given that subcontractors, main parts in this phase, work in various ways and thus more chances for faults exist. In this case, CMr manages risks to control the procedure of project. So, potential risk factors can constitute the database, and that database can be matched to following activity. And construction manager can forecast measures of risk using the result of matching. This chain of activities increase efficiency in roles of CMr on CMR(CM at Risk). Furthermore this study will propose one of the solution of Construction Management Module.

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Seoul PACT : Principles of Artificial Intelligence Ethics and its Application Example to Intelligent E-Government Service (인공지능 윤리 원칙 Seoul PACT를 적용한 지능형 전자정부 서비스 윤리 가이드라인)

  • Kim, Myuhng Joo
    • Journal of Information Technology Services
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    • 제18권3호
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    • pp.117-128
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    • 2019
  • The remarkable achievements of the artificial intelligence in recent years are also raising awareness about its potential risks. Several governments and public organizations have been proposing the artificial intelligence ethics for sustainable development of artificial intelligence by minimizing potential risks. However, most existing proposals are focused on the developer-centered ethics, which is not sufficient for the comprehensive ethics required for ongoing intelligent information society. In addition, they have chosen a number of principles as the starting point of artificial intelligence ethics, so it is not easy to derive the guideline flexibly for a specific member reflecting its own situation. In this paper, we classify primitive members who need artificial intelligence ethics in intelligent information society into three : Developer, Supplier and User. We suggest a new artificial intelligence ethics, Seoul PACT, with minimal principles through publicness (P), accountability (A), controllability (C), and transparency (T). In addition, we provide 38 canonical guidelines based on these four principles, which are applicable to each primitive members. It is possible for a specific member to duplicate the roles of primitive members, so that the flexible derivation of the artificial intelligence ethics guidelines can be made according to the characteristics of the member reflecting its own situation. As an application example, in preparation for applying artificial intelligence to e-government service, we derive a full set of artificial intelligence ethics guideline from Seoul PACT, which can be adopted by the special member named Korean Government.

WHEN CM AT RISK MEETS VIRTUAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION (VDC) IN CONSTRUCTION PHASE: CASE STUDY OF PRACTICIES IN U.S.

  • Joo-Sung, Lee;Sung-Kon, Moon;Ju-Hyung, Kim;Jae-Jun, Kim
    • International conference on construction engineering and project management
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    • The 3th International Conference on Construction Engineering and Project Management
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    • pp.566-572
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    • 2009
  • Turn-key and CMF(CM for Fee) have been selected as procurement paths of large public projects in Korea. However, recently, researches and discussions on CMR(CM at Risk) have been popular as the Korean government seeks for alternative procurement paths to enhance the performance. In the CMR projects, the part who is responsible for construction management should predict and control the potential risks for guaranteeing benefits. In this paper, CMR projects in which a general contractor plays the role as CMr is mainly analyzed. We give attentions to risk management during construction process given that subcontractors, main parts in this phase, work in various ways and thus more chances for faults exist. In this case, for the general contractor, to recognize potential risks in previous to start construction works of subcontractor by means of virtual design and construction (VDC) must be essential to this end. The case study of practices on VDC in U.S in which CMR has been introduced can provide considerable aspects to implement it in Korea.

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Intent to Use a Smartphone Application for Radiation Monitoring in Correlation with Anxiety about Exposure to Radiation, Recognition of Risks, and Attitudes toward the Use of Radiation

  • Han, Eunkyoung;Rott, Carsten;Hong, Seung-Woo
    • Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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    • 제42권4호
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    • pp.205-211
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    • 2017
  • Background: Radiation is used in a variety of areas, but it also poses potential risks. Although radiation is often used with great effectiveness in many applications, people perceive potential risks associated with radiation and feel anxious about the possibility of radiation exposure. Various methods of measuring radiation doses have been developed, but there is no way for the general public to measure their doses with ease. Currently, many people use smartphones, which provide information about the location of an individual phone through network connections. If a smartphone application could be developed for measuring radiation dosage, it would be a very effective way to measure individuals' radiation doses. Thus, we conducted a survey study to assess the social acceptance of such a technology by the general public and their intent to use that technology to measure radiation doses, as well as to investigate whether such an intention is correlated with anxiety and attitudes toward the use of radiation. Materials and Methods: A nationwide online survey was conducted among 355 Koreans who were 20 years old or older. Results and Discussion: Significant differences were found between the genders in attitudes, perceptions of radiation risk, and fears of exposure to radiation. However, a significant difference according to age was observed only in the intent to use a smartphone dose measurement application. Attitudes towards the use of radiation exerted a negative effect on radiation risk perception and exposure anxiety, whereas attitudes towards the use of radiation, risk perception, and anxiety about exposure were found to have a positive impact on the intent to use a smartphone application for dose measurements. Conclusion: A survey-based study was conducted to investigate how the general public perceives radiation and to examine the acceptability of a smartphone application as a personal dose monitoring device. If such an application is developed, it could be used not only to monitor an individual's dose, but also to contribute to radiation safety information infrastructure by mapping radiation in different areas, which could be utilized as a useful basis for radiation research.

A Study on Quantitative methodology to Assess Cyber Security Risks of EMS (스마트그리드 체제에 따른 EMS의 보안 평가를 위한 정량적 방법론에 관한 연구)

  • Woo, Pil Sung;Kim, Balho H.
    • Journal of Energy Engineering
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    • 제24권1호
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    • pp.123-131
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    • 2015
  • This paper aims to identify and clarify the cyber security risks and their interaction with the power system in Smart Grid. The EMS and other communication networks interact with the power system on a real time basis, so it is important to understand the interaction between two layers to protect the power system from potential cyber threats. In this study, the optimal power flow(OPF) and Power Flow Tracing are used to assess the interaction between the EMS and the power system. Through OPF and Power Flow Tracing based analysis, the physical and economic impacts from potential cyber threats are assessed, and thereby the quantitative risks are measured in a monetary unit.

Heavy metals leaching behavior and ecological risks in water and wastewater treatment sludges

  • Wuana, Raymond A.;Eneji, Ishaq S.;Ugwu, Ezekiel C.
    • Advances in environmental research
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    • 제6권4호
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    • pp.281-299
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    • 2017
  • Single (0.005 M DTPA), sequential (six-step) and kinetic (0.05 M EDTA) extractions were performed to assess Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn mobilization and their potential ecological risks in Abuja (Nigeria) water (WTS) and wastewater (WWTS) treatment sludges. Total metal levels (mg/kg) in WTS and WWTS, respectively were: Cd(3.67 and 5.03), Cr(5.70 and 9.03), Cu(183.59 and 231.53), Ni(1.33 and 3.23), Pb(13.43 and 17.87), Zn(243.45 and 421.29). DTPA furnished metal extraction yields (%) in WTS and WWTS, respectively as: Cd(11 and 6), Cr (15 and 7), Cu(17 and 13), Ni(23 and 3), Pb(11 and 12), and Zn(37 and 33). The metals were associated with the soluble/exchangeable, carbonate, Mn/Fe-oxide, organic matter and residual forms to varying degrees. Kinetic extractions cumulatively leached metal concentrations akin to the mobilizable fractions extracted sequentially and the leaching data fitted well into the Elovich model. Metal mobilities were concordant for the three leaching procedures and varied in the order:WTS>WWTS. Calculated ecological risk indices suggested moderate and considerable metal toxicity in WTS and WWTS, respectively with Cd as the worst culprit. The findings may be useful in predicting heavy metals bioavailability and risks in the sludges to guide their disposal and use in land applications.