• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제2권1호
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• pp.83-86
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• 2011

New epidemics of infectious diseases often involve health care workers. In this short communication we present a case report of a health care professional who became the first case of influenza H1N1 virus to be notified in the United Arab Emirates. There are several issues related to workplace considerations and general public health, including preventive measures, the need for isolation of the patient, dealing with contacts, return to work, and communication with the workforce.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제3권4호
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• pp.243-256
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• 2012

This article schematically reviews the clinical features, diagnostic approaches to, and toxicological implications of toxic encephalopathy. The review will focus on the most significant occupational causes of toxic encephalopathy. Chronic toxic encephalopathy, cerebellar syndrome, parkinsonism, and vascular encephalopathy are commonly encountered clinical syndromes of toxic encephalopathy. Few neurotoxins cause patients to present with pathognomonic neurological syndromes. The symptoms and signs of toxic encephalopathy may be mimicked by many psychiatric, metabolic, inflammatory, neoplastic, and degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Thus, the importance of good history-taking that considers exposure and a comprehensive neurological examination cannot be overemphasized in the diagnosis of toxic encephalopathy. Neuropsychological testing and neuroimaging typically play ancillary roles. The recognition of toxic encephalopathy is important because the correct diagnosis of occupational disease can prevent others (e.g., workers at the same worksite) from further harm by reducing their exposure to the toxin, and also often provides some indication of prognosis. Physicians must therefore be aware of the typical signs and symptoms of toxic encephalopathy, and close collaborations between neurologists and occupational physicians are needed to determine whether neurological disorders are related to occupational neurotoxin exposure.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제28권2호
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• pp.175-189
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• 2018

Objectives: In this study, we analyze statistics on industrial accidents caused by chemical skin contact and provide skin toxicity hazard information on the related domestic system and circulation volumes. Methods and Results: We analyzed occupational fatalities and skin diseases caused by chemical leaks and contact from 2007 to 2016(10 years) and surveyed data on occupational skin diseases using the 2014 work environment survey data. The NIOSH Skin Notation Profiles for 57 chemical substances, which are provided to prevent occupational skin diseases, were searched and hazard information on skin contact with chemical substances was classified. In order to identify skin toxicity information among domestically distributed and legally regulated substances and to investigate skin-toxic substances, MSDS basic data on 19,740 chemical substances provided on the homepage of Korea Occupational Safety & Health Agency were searched. Acute toxicity(dermal) category 1-4 substances totaled 1,020, and the number of chemical substances classified as category 1 and 2 substances were 135 and 137, respectively. In the chemical substances prescribed by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, 173 substances were classified into acute toxicity(dermal) categories 1-4, 58 of which correspond to category 1 or 2. Conclusions: Within the present range of industrial accidents, the proportion of skin diseases due to contact with chemicals is not high. However, there is always a risk of occupational skin diseases due to increasing chemicals and due to the use of new chemicals. It is hoped that this information will be used by workplace safety and health officials and health and safety experts to prevent acute toxity(dermal) due to chemical skin contact.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제11권4호
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• pp.543-549
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• 2020

Background: The working conditions of bus drivers are difficult; they lead to occupational diseases and require careful study, particularly in Ukraine. The objective of the article is the description of occupational health risks of passenger bus drivers that lead to deteriorating health. Methods: The risk assessment was performed using a modified Risk Score method, which allowed determining the generalized level of danger to the driver's health. The hygienic hazards level was assessed as based on Stevenson's law, which was generalized later. Results: Based on the modification of the Risk Score method, it was possible to depart from expert assessments method of the risk level and calculate the general indicator based on the degree of dependence of the impact on the human body on its intensity, proposed by V. Minko. This allows objective determining of the impact of hygiene hazards on the health of the driver and to predict the occurrence of occupational diseases associated with the cardiovascular system, musculoskeletal system, and partial or complete disability due to the accumulation of emotional fatigue. The hazard assessment was carried out for three brands of passenger buses common in Ukraine, in which the driver is exposed to the dangers of fever, vibration, noise, harmful impurities in the bus cabin, and emotional load. Conclusion: The health of drivers in the cabins of passenger buses is most affected by hygiene hazards: fever, vibration, and emotional stress. The generalized level of risk is calculated by the modified method of Risk Score is 0.83; -0.99, -0.92 respectively.

• 대한인간공학회지
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• 제23권4호
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• pp.45-56
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• 2004

The purpose of this study is to evaluate perceived discomfort of working postures in terms of upper body (back, shoulder, and elbow) flexions when an external load varies. Eighteen subjects participated in an experiment of appraising perceived discomfort of varying upper body postures with three levels of external loads given. The ANOVA results showed that the perceived discomfort of upper body postures was significantly affected by the external load. It was also apparent that the interactions between external load and upper body posture were significant (p< 0.001). The result implies that a new posture classification scheme for workload assessment methods may be in need to reflect such interactions between external load and upper body posture. In order to support the statement, a regression model of perceived discomfort of upper body postures obtained from the experiment was developed and compared to that of perceived discomfort of seven work-related postures found in automobile assembly operations. The correlation coefficient between predicted and actual values of perceived discomfort was about 0.96. It is expected that the result help to properly estimate the body stress resluting from worker's postures and external loads and can be used as a valuable design guideline on preventing work-related musculoskeletal diseases in industry.

• 한국직업건강간호학회지
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• 제18권2호
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• pp.194-204
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was done to learn the status of occupational injuries and illnesses among Korean nurses. Methods: Thirty four articles published between 1990 and 2007 were selected using keywords as nurse and back pain, musculoskeletal symptom, violence, needle stick injuries and latex allergy from the database. The 609 RN cases among the workers' compensation data from 2005 to 2007 were analyzed by descriptive statistics. Results: Based on the analysis of the articles, the most frequent work-related illness and injuries were the musculoskeletal symptoms including back pain. The prevalence of back pain was ranged from 36.5% to 98.5%. Tuberculosis cases were the most frequent and the musculoskeletal cases were the second rank in the workers' compensation data. In the case of violence, there has been an increasing tendency since 2000 in the articles and workers' compensation data. The relatively high percentage of compensation cases occurred among the ones working in small institutions and with less than one year experience. Conclusion: The further research on the nurses' work-related illness and injuries needs to consider the measurement tool selection and longitudinal design. The various types of contribution to the occupational health in nursing is suggested to improve the nurses' health and safety.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제8권2호
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• pp.130-142
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• 2017

Background: Osteoarthritis of the knee is considered to be related to knee straining activities at work. The objective of this review is to assess the exposure dose-response relation between kneeling or squatting, lifting, and climbing stairs at work, and knee osteoarthritis. Methods: We included cohort and case-control studies. For each study that reported enough data, we calculated the odds ratio (OR) per 5,000 hours of cumulative kneeling and per 100,000 kg of cumulative lifting. We pooled these incremental ORs in a random effects meta-analysis. Results: We included 15 studies (2 cohort and 13 case-control studies) of which nine assessed risks in more than two exposure categories. We considered all but one study at high risk of bias. The incremental OR per 5,000 hours of kneeling was 1.26 (95% confidence interval 1.17-1.35, 5 studies, moderate quality evidence) for a log-linear exposure dose-response model. For lifting, there was no exposure dose-response per 100,000 kg of lifetime lifting (OR 1.00, 95% confidence interval 1.00-1.01). For climbing, an exposure dose-response could not be calculated. Conclusion: There is moderate quality evidence that longer cumulative exposure to kneeling or squatting at work leads to a higher risk of osteoarthritis of the knee. For other exposure, there was no exposure dose-response or there were insufficient data to establish this. More reliable exposure measurements would increase the quality of the evidence.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• 제17권2호
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• pp.18.1-18.10
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• 2019

Prediction of the relations among drug and other molecular or social entities is the main knowledge discovery pattern for the purpose of drug-related knowledge discovery. Computational approaches have combined the information from different sources and levels for drug-related knowledge discovery, which provides a sophisticated comprehension of the relationship among drugs, targets, diseases, and targeted genes, at the molecular level, or relationships among drugs, usage, side effect, safety, and user preference, at a social level. In this research, previous work from the BioNLP community and matrix or matrix decomposition was reviewed, compared, and concluded, and eventually, the BioNLP open-shared task was introduced as a promising case study representing this area.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제10권3호
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• pp.265-274
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• 2019

Background: Methyl alcohol poisoning in mobile phone-manufacturing factories during 2015-2016 was caused by methyl alcohol use for cleaning in computerized numerical control (CNC) processes. To determine whether there were health complications in other workers involved in similar processes, the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute conducted a survey. Methods: We established a national active surveillance system by collaborating with the Ministry of Employment and Labor and National Health Insurance Service. Employment and national health insurance data were used. Overall, 12,048 employees of major domestic mobile phone companies and CNC process dispatch workers were surveyed from 2016 to 2017. We investigated methyl alcohol poisoning by using the national health insurance data. Questionnaires were used to investigate diseases due to methyl alcohol poisoning. Results: Overall, 24.9% of dispatched workers were employed in at least five companies, and 23.9% of dispatched workers had missing employment insurance history data. The prevalence of blindness including visual impairment, optic neuritis, visual disturbances, and alcohol toxicity in the study participants was higher than that reported in the national health insurance database (0.02%, 0.07%, 0.23%, and 0.03% versus 0.01%, 0.07%, 0.13%, and 0.01%, respectively, in 2015). Moreover, 430 suspicious workers were identified; 415 of these provided an address and phone number, of whom 48 responded (response rate, 11.6%). Among the 48 workers, 10 had diseases at the time of the survey, of whom 3 workers were believed to have diseases related to methyl alcohol exposure. Conclusion: This study revealed that active surveillance data can be used to assess health problems related to methyl alcohol poisoning in CNC processes and dispatch workers.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• 제34권
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• pp.7.1-7.10
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• 2022

Background: Occupational skin diseases are skin conditions that occur or worsen in relation to work and known to be the second most common type of occupational disease affecting individuals in the United States. In Korea, epidemiological reports related to occupational skin diseases are rare. But, no cases of occupational contact dermatitis caused by welding and grinding work have been reported previously. Case presentation: Nine male workers working in the production department for liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships in Ulsan complained of erythematous papules/patches and itching in various areas of the body after welding and grinding work. The work environment monitoring report revealed that the amount of nickel dust exceeded the time weighted average (TWA) and poor local ventilation status. Based on the symptoms and the overall results of surveys, several tests, and work environment monitoring report, the 2 workers who had positive patch-test reactions to nickel were diagnosed with nickel dust-induced allergic contact dermatitis. The other 7 workers were diagnosed that there was a high probability that they had nickel dust-induced irritant contact dermatitis. The 2 workers who had nickel dust-induced allergic contact dermatitis were recommended to switch their jobs. Conclusions: Nickel is one of the most common cause of allergic contact dermatitis. In this case, the dust was assumed to be created by welding work with a high nickel content new welding rod and subsequent grinding work, and the concentration of this dust exceeded the time weighted average. Thus, it is thought that the nickel dust may have caused contact dermatitis through continuous contact with the workers' exposed skin in a poorly ventilated space. Currently, several domestic shipbuilding companies are manufacturing LNG tankers using a new construction method. Consequently, it is highly likely that similar cases will occur in the future, which makes this case report meaningful.