• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.10-19
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• 2021

Background: Traditional safety concept, which is called Safety-I, and its relevant methods and models have much contributed toward enhancing the safety of industrial systems. However, they have proved insufficient to be applied to complex socio-technical systems. As an alternative, Safety-II and resilience engineering have emerged and gained much attention for the last two decades. However, it seems that safety professionals have still difficulty understanding their fundamental concepts and methods. Accordingly, it is necessary to offer an introductory guide to them that helps safety professionals grasp them correctly in consideration of their current practices. Methods: This article firstly explains the limitations of Safety-I and how Safety-II can resolve them from the four points of view. Next, the core concepts of resilience engineering and Functional Resonance Analysis Method are described. Results: Workers' performance adjustment and performance variability due to it should be the basis for understanding human-related accidents in socio-technical systems. It should be acknowledged that successful and failed work performance have the same causes. However, they are not well considered in the traditional safety concept; in contrast, Safety-II and resilience engineering have conceptual bases and practical approaches to reflect them systematically. Conclusion: It is necessary to move from a find-and-fix and reactive approach to a proactive approach to safety management. Safety-II and resilience engineering give a set of useful concepts and methods for proactive safety management. However, if necessary, Safety-I methods need to be properly used for situations where they can still be useful as well.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.340-346
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• 2023

Background: Truck driving is a highly sedentary occupation that places workers at risk for chronic health conditions, such as obesity and high blood pressure. The primary purpose of this study was to objectively describe truck drivers' typical physical activity (PA) patterns. Methods: We used ~7-10-day baseline PA actigraphy data samples from drivers in the Safety & Health Involvement For Truckers (SHIFT) study (n = 394). Driver PA patterns (e.g., average number of ≥10 minute Freedson bouts per week, time in bouts, and common days/times for PA) were summarized with descriptive analyses. We also compared objective accelerometer data to self-reports. Results: Drivers' weekly PA averaged 14.4 minutes (SD = 37.0), and most PA occurred between 5-6 pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Drivers overestimated self-reported weekly exercise by over 60 min/week compared to accelerometer data. Conclusion: Our results suggest that objective PA assessment may be warranted over self-report when possible, and timing may be key in future PA intervention work with truck drivers.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.143-145
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• 2015

Three occupational safety and health (OSH) activities, one international and two national workshops, were documented as part of OSH activities conducted under the International Labor Organization/Korea Partnership Program in the year 2011-2012. This study aimed to provide information on what the three OSH activities were implemented and how they contributed to the improvement of OSH in Asian countries. The international workshop was useful for the participants to understand a variety of information on OSH as well as participatory action-oriented training (PAOT) approaches at the regional and global levels. The two national workshops were practical for participants to strengthen their knowledge and skills on the PAOT at the enterprise and national levels. The study shows that the three OSH activities contributed to the understanding of the participants on OSH and PAOT, and that the activities promoted the improvement of OSH across countries in Asia.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.282-283
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• 2021

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.493-499
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• 2022

Background: The purpose of this study is to construct a job-exposure matrix for lead that accounts for industry and work processes within industries using a nationwide exposure database. Methods: We used the work environment measurement data (WEMD) of lead monitored nationwide from 2015 to 2016. Industrial hygienists standardized the work process codes in the database to 37 standard process and extracted key index words for each process. A total of 37 standardized process codes were allocated to each measurement based on an automated key word search based on the degree of agreement between the measurement information and the standard process index. Summary statistics, including the arithmetic mean, geometric mean, and 95th percentile level (X95), was calculated according to industry, process, and industry process. Using statistical parameters of contrast and precision, we compared the similarity of exposure groups by industry, process, and industry process. Results: The exposure intensity of lead was estimated for 583 exposure groups combined with 128 industry and 35 process. The X95 value of the "casting" process of the "manufacture of basic precious and non-ferrous metals" industry was 53.29 ㎍/m³, exceeding the occupational exposure limit of 50 ㎍/m³. Regardless of the limitation of the minimum number of samples in the exposure group, higher contrast was observed when the exposure groups were by industry process than by industry or process. Conclusion: We evaluated the exposure intensities of lead by combination of industry and process. The results will be helpful in determining more accurate information regarding exposure in lead-related epidemiological studies.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.379-386
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• 2022

Emergency medical services (EMS) personnel are at high risk for adverse mental health outcomes during disease outbreaks. To support the development of evidence-informed mitigation strategies, we conducted a scoping review to identify the extent of research pertaining to EMS personnel's mental health during disease outbreaks and summarized key factors associated with mental health outcomes. We systematically searched three databases for articles containing keywords within three concepts: EMS personnel, disease outbreaks, and mental health. We screened and retained original peer-reviewed articles that discussed, in English, EMS personnel's mental health during disease outbreaks. Where inferential statistics were reported, the associations between individual and work-related factors and mental health outcomes were synthesized. Twenty-five articles were eligible for data extraction. Our findings suggest that many of the contributing factors for adverse mental health outcomes are related to inadequacies in fulfilling EMS personnel's basic safety and informational needs. In preparation for future disease outbreaks, resources should be prioritized toward ensuring adequate provisions of personal protective equipment and infection prevention and control training. This scoping review serves as a launching pad for further research and intervention development.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.98-105
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was to analyze the current preventive measures on alcohol-involved accident and the factors that affect such preventive measures in the construction industry. Method: The survey was administered to examine how the preventive measures on alcohol-involved accident were executed using the data of '2005 Occupational Safety and Health Survey' conducted in 2005 by the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute. For this study, we analyzed 944 work places in the construction industry. Result: The preventive measures on alcohol-involved accident were being executed in 62.1% of construction companies. As for the number of actual preventive measures on alcohol-involved accident, work places in Jeolla-do executed 2.63 times more frequently than those in Chungcheong-do, and work places with the Occupational Safety and Health Conference executed 2.22 times more frequently than those without such a measure. Conclusion: Joining the Occupational Safety and Health Conference was to be one of the most influential ways of preventive measures on alcohol-involved accident in the construction industry. Accordingly, if workers and employers look for active measures and administer them through the Occupational Safety and Health Conference, it will reduce alcohol-involved accident in the construction industry and contribute to the better preventive measures on alcohol-involved accident in the construction and other industries.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.118-122
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• 2024

To understand biosafety's current situation in laboratory animal research and risk factors affecting occupational health. Compliance surveys were conducted by questionnaire via Questionnaire Star (an application app on the Internet) in Chinese. Thirty-nine anonymous questionnaires were collected. The surveyed institution has established 24 types of ABSL (Animal Biosafety Laboratory) and biosafety management organizations and systems equipped with safety equipment. Our study also suggests that the principal of the laboratory establishment fails to perform supervision and inspection responsibilities, the inappropriate design of the animal biosafety laboratory, non-standardized personnel training and health management, non-strict waste management, and insufficient emergency management. The administrative department and work units should address certain safety and occupational health risks in laboratory animal research. The author proposes control strategies based on organizational guarantee, personnel management, emergency management, etc., to help prevent risks and ensure occupational health. Due to regional limitations and small sample size, the results may not be generalisable to all parts of the world. However, some of the key common issuesmay also be present in other regions, sowe believe that this research still has some relevance.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.84-87
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• 2013

National industrial accidents, most recently occurred in the small to medium-sized industries. These companies' management for the prevention of industrial accidents, the role of the supervisor has emerged as an important issue. Small to medium-sized industries to enhance their effectiveness in the prevention of industrial accidents supervisors of work status survey and direct interviews were conducted. Proposal paper was based on the results of analysis for the role of supervisors by providing safety and health work systematically to participate.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.177-186
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• 2013

The use of nanoparticles (NPs) in industry is increasing, bringing with it a number of adverse health effects on workers. Like other chemical carcinogens, NPs can cause cancer via oxidative DNA damage. Of all the molecules vulnerable to oxidative modification by NPs, DNA has received the greatest attention, and biomarkers of exposure and effect are nearing validation. This review concentrates on studies published between 2000 and 2012 that attempted to detect oxidative DNA damage in humans, laboratory animals, and cell lines. It is important to review these studies to improve the current understanding of the oxidative DNA damage caused by NP exposure in the workplace. In addition to examining studies on oxidative damage, this review briefly describes NPs, giving some examples of their adverse effects, and reviews occupational exposure assessments and approaches to minimizing exposure (e.g., personal protective equipment and engineering controls such as fume hoods). Current recommendations to minimize exposure are largely based on common sense, analogy to ultrafine material toxicity, and general health and safety recommendations.