• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.15-21
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• 2015

Looking at the large and small fire, explosion, or release accidents that occurred recently, we can see that the accident of subcontractor workers has been increased in the contractor workplace while a harmful or dangerous maintenance works. In this study, the actual status of subcontractor's safety management was examined by using the questionnaire to the contractor who submitted the process safety report. In order to improve the safety management of subcontractors, the responsibility and rational role-sharing between the contractors and subcontractors were reviewed. Also, Providing safety and health information and worker protection measures during maintenance were investigated. The results of this study can be used to help strengthen and improvement safety management of the subcontractor at the time of a hazardous or dangerous works. In addition, it will be utilized to reduce industrial accidents and to build mutual cooperation relationship between contractor and subcontractor.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.14-37
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• 2014

Objectives: Since information on biological factors in the workplace are currently lacking, I wanted to create a handbook of these factors that would be viewable at a glance as a means to more effectively prevent occupationally-infected diseases. Proper information on biological hazards in the workplace allowing the appropriate recognition of the harmful factors is desperately needed. Methods and Results: In this study, I intended to create a high-utility handbook of biologically hazardous agents in the workplace. To ensure its effectiveness, information and references about biologically hazardous agents in the workplace were analyzed and classified and pathogen safety data sheets(PSDS) sourced from the Public Health Agency of Canada were included. I intended to make it accessible from the point of view of workers and their employers. A more effective classification system of occupational infectious diseases is presented, and biologically hazardous agents were classified according to occupations, industries, infectious diseases, and so on. The handbook consists of 60 major kinds of biologically infectious occupational factors that are expected to be generated in workplaces in Korea, and are focused on practical utility. The pathogen safety data sheets(PSDS) of 192 species were also included. To allow more effective management, domestic and foreign laws and regulations are presented. Conclusions: This case report presents general information on the history and contents of the handbook and PSDS, it will also be useful in workplaces if download from the homepage of OSHRI, KOSHA(oshri.kosha.or.kr/bridge?menuID=901).

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.70 -77
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• 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify information on the workers at major industrial health institutions. Methods: The subjects were employees at work environment measurement institutions, specialized health management institutions, special health examination institutions, and health checkup institutions. Data on these employees was identified by age, career, region, and qualification. Results: The sample totaled 6,449 workers at major industrial health institutions. The number of doctors, nurses, and industrial hygienists was identified at 4,609. For their age groups, 34.1% were in their 30s, and 56.3% had less than five years of work experience. The distribution by region was 24.3% in Gyeonggi-do Province, 12.7% in Seoul, and 8.7% in Gyeongsangnam-do Province. Conclusions: Information on occupational health human resources has been published irregularly and is limited by specialty. Therefore, it is necessary to systematize information on human resources and disclose it regularly so that supply and demand conditions can be predicted when establishing industrial accident prevention policies.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.117-125
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• 2022

Background: External-cause mortality is an important public health issue worldwide. Considering its significance to workers' health and inequalities across industries, we aimed to describe the state of external-cause mortality and investigate its difference by industry in Republic of Korea based on data for 2018. Methods: Data obtained from the Statistics Korea and Korean Employment Information System were used. External causes of death were divided into three categories (suicide, transport accident, and others), and death occurred during employment period or within 90 days after unemployment was regarded as workers' death. We calculated age- and sex-standardized mortalities per 100,000, standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) compared to the general population and total workers, and mortality rate ratios (RRs) across industries using information and communication as a reference. Correlation analyses between income, education, and mortality were conducted. Results: Age- and sex-standardized external-cause mortality per 100,000 in all workers was 29.4 (suicide: 16.2, transport accident: 6.6, others: 6.6). Compared to the general population, all external-cause and suicide SMRs were significantly lower; however, there was no significant difference in transport accidents. When compared to total workers, wholesale, transportation, and business facilities management showed higher SMR for suicide, and agriculture, forestry, and fishing, mining and quarrying, construction, transportation and storage, and public administration and defense showed higher SMR for transport accidents. A moderate to strong negative correlation was observed between education level and mortality (both age- and sex-standardized mortality rates and SMR compared to the general population). Conclusion: Inequalities in external-cause mortalities from suicide, transport accidents, and other causes were found. For reducing the differences, improved policies are needed for industries with higher mortalities.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.109-117
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• 2020

Background: Ammonia and hydrogen sulfide are harmful gases generated during aerobic/anaerobic bacterial decomposition of livestock manure. We evaluated ammonia and hydrogen sulfide concentrations generated from workplaces at livestock farms and determined environmental factors influencing the gas concentrations. Methods: Five commercial swine farms and five poultry farms were selected for monitoring. Real-time monitors were used to measure the ammonia and hydrogen sulfide concentrations and environmental conditions during the manure-handling processes. Monitoring was conducted in the manure storage facility and composting facility. Information on the farm conditions was also collected through interview and walk-through survey. Results: The ammonia concentrations were significantly higher at the swine composting facilities (9.5-43.2 ppm) than at other manure-handling facilities at the swine and poultry farms, and high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide were identified during the manure agitation and mixing process at the swine manure storage facilities (6.9-19.5 ppm). At the poultry manure-handling facilities, the ammonia concentration was higher during the manure-handling processes (2.6-57.9 ppm), and very low hydrogen sulfide concentrations (0-3.4 ppm) were detected. The air temperature and relative humidity, volume of the facility, duration of manure storage, and the number of animals influenced the gas concentrations. Conclusion: A high level of hazardous gases was generated during manure handling, and some levels increased up to risk levels that can threaten workers' health and safety. Some of the farm operational factors were also found to influence the gas levels. By controlling and improving these factors, it would be possible to protect workers' safety and health from occupational risks.

• 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.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Rural Health Nursing
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2021

Purpose: This study was aimed to compare health promotion behaviors and safety consciousness for elderly women living alone in rural areas and elderly women in group homes, and then provide information for the development of safety awareness programs for elderly. Methods: The participants were 120 elderly women living alone in rural areas aged 65 or older and 120 elderly women living in group homes. The data collection was conducted during November 2020, and the collected data used the SPSS/WIN 25.0 program to verify frequency, percentage, average, standard deviation, and independent t test. Results: There were significant differences of health promotion behaviors between elderly women living alone and elderly women in group homes (t=15.77, p<.001). In addition, there were significant differences of safety consciousness between elderly women living alone and elderly women in group homes (t=21.42, p<.001). Conclusion: Since the safety consciousness and health promotion behaviors of the elderly in group homes are significantly higher than that of the elderly living alone, various programs should be developed to improve the safety consciousness and health promotion behaviors in the elderly living alone. Based on local government' acts, continuous support and attention is needed that elderly women in group homes can maintain a healthy life.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.25-33
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• 2023

This study analyzed the factors affecting the effectiveness of the Chemical Hazard Risk Management (CHARM). A survey was conducted on 104 learners who participated in the Risk Assessment training course at Occupational Safety and Health Training Institute. Through a self-administered questionnaire, the effect of personal characteristics, corporate characteristics, and safety and health level of the company on the effectiveness of chemical risk assessment was investigated. As a result of statistical analysis, the safety and health level of the company had a positive (+) effect on the effectiveness of Chemical Hazard Risk Management(CHARM), but personal characteristics and corporate characteristics had no relation to it. This study can be used as basic data for further research related to chemical risk assessment in workplaces.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.89-93
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• 2017

Background: Rates of overweight and obese Australians are high and continue to rise, putting a large proportion of the population at risk of chronic illness. Examining characteristics associated with preference for a work-based weight-loss program will enable employers to better target programs to increase enrolment and benefit employees' health and fitness for work. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was undertaken at two Australian mining sites. The survey collected information on employee demographics, health characteristics, work characteristics, stages of behavior change, and preference for workplace assistance with reaching a healthy weight. Results: A total of 897 employees participated; 73.7% were male, and 68% had a body mass index in the overweight or obese range. Employees at risk of developing obesity-related chronic illnesses (based on high body mass index) were more likely to report preference for weight management assistance than lower risk employees. This indicates that, even in the absence of workplace promotion for weight management, some at risk employees want workplace assistance. Employees who were not aware of a need to change their current nutrition or physical activity behaviors were less likely to seek assistance. This indicates that practitioners need to communicate the negative effects of excess weight and promote the benefits of a healthy lifestyle to increase the likelihood of weight management. Conclusion: Weight management programs should provide information, motivation. and trouble-shooting assistance to meet the needs of at-risk mining employees, including those who are attempting to change and maintain behaviors to achieve a healthy weight and be suitably fit for work.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.21 no.4 s.76
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• pp.119-126
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• 2006

Though safety signs are important since they transmit hazard information even after diverse accident prevention treatments, their functional effectiveness were never tested in Korea so that even those provided by Occupational Safety & Health Act(OSHAct) could not accomplish their objectives, "effective accident prevention", This research was carried out to understand confronted problems and improvement direction for safety signs provided by OSHAct. For them, current safety signs were analyzed with a semiotic view on one hand, and a questionnaire survey was conducted with safety-related people in industrial fields on the other hand. To summarize problems in semiotic aspects, geometric simplicity of pictograms in safety signs seemed to be so emphasized that they might fail to induce realistic action, and their esthetic sensation seemed to be lower than those of developed countries. And according to present questionnaire survey, it was pointed out that; 1) legal systems related with safety signs were not classified appropriately, 2) safety signs were recognized as difficult to understand and inapplicable to industrial fields, and eventually 3) safety signs were not effectively utilized for industrial accident prevention. Therefore, discussions for improving confronted problems and relation to international standards were added at the end.