• 한국안전학회지
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• 제28권3호
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• pp.95-99
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• 2013

The goal of this study was to investigate some significant factors to influence level of safety at plant construction field and analyze degree of risk by work classification. Currently, there are lots of construction fields for the nuclear power plant for electricity generation, and our government also planned constructing more nuclear power plant in near future. However, much of the safety literature neglected the degree of risk factors on the plant construction field. Safety managers participated in the brainstorming session for drawing decision criteria of the degree of risk (i.e., significant factors). Then, they were asked to answer a structured questionnaire which was developed for drawing most important factors. Finally, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to analyze level of risk by work classification. The following results were obtained. First, total twelve factors judging degree of risk were found in the brainstorming session. Second, the questionnaire showed four significant factors, including number of workers, working environments, skill of craft and accident experience. Third, the results of AHP showed Architecture work is the most dangerous work among 6 work types. The results could be used to reduce degree of risk in construction field of the nuclear power plant.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제1권1호
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• pp.51-60
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• 2010

Objectives: The level of benzene exposure in the petrochemical industry during regular operation has been well established, but not in turnaround (TA), where high exposure may occur. In this study, the characteristics of occupational exposure to benzene during TA in the petrochemical companies were investigated in order to determine the best management strategies and improve the working environment. This was accomplished by evaluating the exposure level for the workers working in environments where benzene was being produced or used as an ingredient during the unit process. Methods: From 2003 to 2008, a total of 705 workers in three petrochemical companies in Korea were studied. Long- and short-term (< 1 hr) samples were taken during TAs. TA was classified into three stages: shut-down, maintenance and start-up. All works were classified into 12 occupation categories. Results: The long-term geometric mean (GM) benzene exposure level was 0.025 (5.82) ppm (0.005-42.120 ppm) and the short-term exposure concentration during TA was 0.020 (17.42) ppm (0.005-61.855 ppm). The proportions of TA samples exceeding the time-weighted average, occupational exposure level (TWA-OEL in Korea, 1 ppm) and the short-term exposure limit (STEL-OEL, 5 ppm) were 4.1% (20 samples of 488) and 6.0% (13 samples of 217), respectively. The results for the benzene exposure levels and the rates of exceeding the OEL were both statistically significant (p < 0.05). Among the 12 job categories of petrochemical workers, mechanical engineers, plumbers, welders, fieldman and scaffolding workers exhibited long-term samples that exceeded the OEL of benzene, and the rate of exceeding the OEL was statistically significant for the first two occupations (p < 0.05). Conclusion: These findings suggest that the periodic work environment must be assessed during non-routine works such as TA.

• 방사성폐기물학회지
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• 제12권4호
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• pp.335-344
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• 2014

우리나라 중 저준위 방사성폐기물의 처분시설개발을 위해 Safety Case 종합프로그램을 구축하였다. Safety Case 종합프로그램은 단계별 처분시설 종합개발을 위한 안전성판단과 계획수립을 목적으로 IAEA 등 국제기준을 참고하여 국내 환경에 적합하도록 구축하였다. 처분시설 종합안전성 확보체계는 최적화전략, 강건성전략, 논증가능성전략 및 심층방어전략에 따라 안전목표와 안전원칙을 만족하도록 구성하였다. 처분시설의 안전성은 평가기반의 품질에 따라 불확실성 저감을 위한 단계별 안전성평가와 안전성 수준의 확인 및 의사결정판단을 위한 다양한 신뢰성증진을 통해서 확보하도록 하였다.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제2권2호
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• pp.105-121
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• 2011

Objectives: This paper presents the framework and protocol design for a construction industry risk management toolbox. The construction industry needs a comprehensive, systematic approach to assess and control occupational risks. These risks span several professional health and safety disciplines, emphasized by multiple international occupational research agenda projects including: falls, electrocution, noise, silica, welding fumes, and musculoskeletal disorders. Yet, the International Social Security Association says, "whereas progress has been made in safety and health, the construction industry is still a high risk sector." Methods: Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) employ about 80% of the world's construction workers. In recent years a strategy for qualitative occupational risk management, known as Control Banding (CB) has gained international attention as a simplified approach for reducing work-related risks. CB groups hazards into stratified risk 'bands', identifying commensurate controls to reduce the level of risk and promote worker health and safety. We review these qualitative solutions-based approaches and identify strengths and weaknesses toward designing a simplified CB 'toolbox' approach for use by SMEs in construction trades. Results: This toolbox design proposal includes international input on multidisciplinary approaches for performing a qualitative risk assessment determining a risk 'band' for a given project. Risk bands are used to identify the appropriate level of training to oversee construction work, leading to commensurate and appropriate control methods to perform the work safely. Conclusion: The Construction Toolbox presents a review-generated format to harness multiple solutions-based national programs and publications for controlling construction-related risks with simplified approaches across the occupational safety, health and hygiene professions.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제2권4호
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• pp.365-374
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• 2011

Objectives: This study was designed to investigate whether long-term, low-level exposure to monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (MAHs) induced insulin resistance. Methods: The subjects were 110 male workers who were occupationally exposed to styrene, toluene, and xylene. One hundred and ten age-matched male workers who had never been occupationally exposed to organic solvents were selected as a control group. Cytokines, which have played a key role in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance, and oxidative stress indices were measured. Assessment of exposure to MAHs was performed by measuring their ambient levels and their urinary metabolites in exposed workers, and the resulting parameters between the exposed group and non-exposed control groups were compared. Results: There was no significant difference in general characteristics and anthropometric parameters between the two groups; however, total cholesterol, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance levels were significantly higher in the exposed group. Phenylglyoxylic acid levels showed significant association with tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$, total oxidative status, and oxidative stress index via multiple linear regression analysis. Further, there was a negative correlation between methylhippuric acid levels and total anti-oxidative capacity, and there was a significant relationship between MAHs exposure and fasting glucose levels, as found by multiple logistic regression analysis (odds ratio = 3.95, 95% confidence interval = 1.074-14.530). Conclusion: This study indicated that MAHs increase fasting glucose level and insulin resistance. Furthermore, these results suggested that absorbing the organic solvent itself and active metabolic intermediates can increase oxidative stress and cytokine levels, resulting in the changes in glucose metabolism and the induction of insulin resistance.

• 대한안전경영과학회지
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• 제15권4호
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• pp.145-152
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of risk awareness on injury experience in quick delivery service workers. Risk awareness has complicate characteristics such as its level of worker and worker's decision about the level of other's risk perception. Data were collected by interview survey with structured questionnaire about injury experience, risk perception, work characteristics, and socio-demographic characteristics of quick delivery service workers by cross sectional survey design in 2012. The sample size was 120 respondent of quick delivery service workers. Statistical method for this study was hierarchical logistic regression method with 3 different models using socio-demographic characteristics and work characteristics and risk perception, etc. The difference between the level of risk perception of quick delivery service and other's was statistically significant effect on the experience of injury. Especially the higher the level of risk perception of quick delivery service workers is than other's, the lower the injury experience of quick delivery service worker is. The limitation of this study can be found in survey design. The future study for investigation of mechanism of the combined effect of risk perception of quick delivery service workers and others on injury experience.

• 대한한방내과학회지
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• 제31권3호
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• pp.612-619
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• 2010

Background : Low level laser therapy may be an effective method to protect tissue damage in acute stroke. Recently, series of clinical studies on the basis of animal experiments report efficacy and safety of laser therapy at early stages of acute stroke. Laser promotes mitochondrial ATP synthesis to reduce cell death by ischemic infarction. Objectives : To report possibility of non-invasive laser therapy for acute stroke by reviewing literature about its effectiveness, safety and mechanism. Methods : We searched papers using PubMed and 'Web of Knowledge' of Thomson ISI, using the keywords "Laser Therapy, Low-Level" and "Stroke". Limitations were last 10 years of publications and only in English. Search range includes RCTs, clinical reports, reviews and animal experiments. Papers not matched with inclusion criteria were excluded. Results : A total 223 studies were found, 203 excluded during title and extract screening. After scanning 20 papers the final 2 serial RCTs were selected and analyzed. They reported that transcranial laser therapy led in neuroprotective effect for acute stroke patents. Clinical evaluation factors showed favorable trend and initial safety. Conclusions : Non-invasive laser secured safety of clinical application. It may be a favorable choice for the acute stage of stroke.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.41-48
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• 2004

A safety assessment code, called SAGE (Safety Assessment Groundwater Evaluation), has been developed to describe post-closure radionuclide releases and potential radiological doses for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste (LILW) disposal in an engineered vault facility in Korea. The conceptual model implemented in the code is focused on the release of radionuclide from a gradually degrading engineered barrier system to an underlying unsaturated zone, thence to a saturated groundwater zone. The radionuclide transport equations are solved by spatially discretizing the disposal system into a series of compartments. Mass transfer between compartments is by diffusion/dispersion and advection. In all compartments, radionuclides ate decayed either as a single-member chain or as multi-member chains. The biosphere is represented as a set of steady-state, radionuclide-specific pathway dose conversion factors that are multiplied by the appropriate release rate from the far field for each pathway. The code has the capability to treat input parameters either deterministically or probabilistically. Parameter input is achieved through a user-friendly Graphical User Interface. An application is presented, which is compared against safety assessment results from the other computer codes, to benchmark the reliability of system-level conceptual modeling of the code.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.80-85
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• 2014

A survey of risk perception in South Korea was conducted in 2007 to evaluate relative riskiness of typical industrial and technological risks. This article summarizes the characteristics of risk perception using psychometric analyses. The survey with a sample size of 1,194 reviews the perceived level of 25 risk items in the areas of transportation, chemicals, environment, industry, nuclear power generation, and newly-introduced risks. Six categories of risk identified by a factor analysis show that the level of perceived risk does not correspond to the statistical level. Psychometric analyses including voluntariness, severity, effect manifestation, exposure pattern, controllability, familiarity, benefit and necessity demonstrate that voluntary, familiar and immediate risks are perceived as less risky than involuntary, unfamiliar and delayed ones. Risk communication is critical in reducing the discrepance between objective and subjective level of risk. However, the amount of risk information does not always justify a successful risk communication. A safety policy, risk communication strategy in particular, should take into account diverse dimensions of risk reviewed by psychometric analyses in the study. Social policy toward safety can be improved by integrating policy, human, and social factors as well as technological advances.

• 대한안전경영과학회지
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• 제17권3호
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• pp.185-193
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• 2015

There are so many definition of good work but generally job quality can be useful to analyze the good work. Good work may include some factors about health or working environment. This paper was planned to investigate the level of job quality in Korean employees. Especially comparison of health status between low an high job quality can be analyzed. Korean Working Conditions Survey was used. The various job characteristics were categorized into 6 component of job quality using factor analysis. Statistically mean difference test and cross-tabulation analysis were used to identify the difference of health status and distribution of the level of job quality. The result has shown the different distribution of the level of job quality by the economic sectors and occupations statistically significant. The positive cases of all of six components of job quality was 2.1% of Korean employees and the negative cases of all six components of job quality was 1.5%. The subjective general health status was correlated with job quality but work-related stress was negatively correlated with the level of job quality. This study was heuristic one, more depth analysis will be needed to identify the relationship and causation of job quality and health status.