• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.424-430
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to analyse the characteristics and spreading laws of parameters such as fire smoke, concentration of CO, visibility, and temperature at fire scene in high-rise residential buildings under the different conditions of fire doors and automatic fire extinguishing systems. Using Pyrosim to simulate diverse fire scenes in a high-rise apartment with corridors, to analyze the changes in those parameters. The results show that when a fire occurs, closing the fire-fighting corridor will increase the smoke temperature and concentration of CO in the stairwell, and reduce the height and visibility of the smoke layer; the automatic fire extinguishing system effectively suppresses the increase in the temperature of the fire smoke and the sedimentation of the smoke layer. Reasonable setting and operation of the automatic fire extinguishing system could effectively inhibit the spread of fire. Although closing fire corridor can slow down the direct upward spread of smoke through the corridor, it will force the fire smoke into the stairwell, which will seriously affect evacuation through the stairs. Therefore, in order to reduce risks, it is forbidden to close the fire doors of the firefighting corridor and stacking combustible materials in the corridor, Also, intensifying inspections and ensuring the normal operation of the automatic fire extinguishing system are indispensable. Based on the research results, the significance of installing fire-fighting facilities in the construction of high-rise apartments was discussed and proved.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.22-33
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• 2023

The number of fire and explosion accidents caused by pyrolysis oil and gas at waste plastic pyrolysis plants is increasing, but accident status and safety conditions have not been clearly identified. Therefore, the aim of the study was to identify the risks of the waste plastic pyrolysis process and suggest appropriate safety management measures. We collected information on 19 cases of fire and explosion accidents that occurred between 2010 and 2021 at 26 waste plastic pyrolysis plants using the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) database and media reports. The mechanical, managerial, personnel-related, and environmental problems within a plant and problems related to government agencies and the design, manufacturing, and installation companies involved with pyrolysis equipment were analyzed using the 4Ms of Machines, Management, Man, and Media, as well as the System-Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP) methodology for seven accident cases with accident investigation reports. Study findings indicate the need for establishing legal and institutional support measures for waste plastic pyrolysis plants in order to prevent fire and explosion accidents in the pyrolysis process. In addition, ensuring safety from the design and manufacturing stages of facilities is essential, as are measures that ensure systematic operations after the installation of safety devices.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.488-491
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• 2023

This study aims to ascertain occupations potentially at greatest risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 based on pre-lockdown working conditions in France. We combined two French population-based surveys documenting workplace exposures to infectious agents, face-to-face contact with the public, and working with colleagues just before the pandemic. Then, for each 87-level standard French occupational grouping, we estimated the number and percentage of the French working population reporting these occupational exposure factors, by gender, using survey weights. As much as 40% (11 million) of all workers reported at least two exposure factors. Most of the workers concerned were in the healthcare sector. However, army/police officers, firefighters, hairdressers, teachers, cultural/sports professionals, and some manual workers were also exposed. Women were overrepresented in certain occupations with potentially higher risks of exposure such as home caregivers, childminders, and hairdressers. Our gender-stratified matrix can be used to assign prelockdown work-related exposures to cohorts implemented during the pandemic.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.7 no.8
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• pp.234-244
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• 2007

Both competent authorities and private entrepreneurs face plenty of risks when negotiating BTO(Build Transfer Operation) methods of PPI(Private Participations in Infrastructures) projects. Also, success and failure of projects largely depend on the concession agreement contract. In this study, for more efficient negotiation, major issues are examined, and quantitatively analyzed to find out not only the relationship but also the characteristics of which these issues share. Questionnaire research was conducted through both research and by experts who were divided into an ordering agency, design company and constructor. Characteristics of major issues were quantitatively analyzed using the Likert index method, ANOVA(ANalysis of VAriance) and AHP(Analytic Hierarchy Process) analysis. Case studies were examined in order to estimate construction cost, rates of return, government finance support, level of operation-revenues guarantees, estimating operational costs and usage fees. With these 6 items, relative priority, relative impression which is sensible to risk and extent of difficulty in presenting data which is objective were quantitatively analyzed by the ordering agency, design company and constructor groups. From the analysis, there were some similarities between the design company and constructor groups while there was less of similarities between the ordering agency and design company or constructor. The government is diversifying the methods of project promotion, and PPI project from infrastructure-centered to public culture facilities are being expand. The current study will provide not only supporting efficient negotiation but also revitalizing PPI projects.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.137-146
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• 2008

Both competent authorities and private entrepreneurs face plenty of risks when negotiating BTO(Build Transfer Operation) methods of PPI(Private Participations in Infrastructures) projects. Also, success and failure of projects largely depend on the concession agreement contract. In this study, for more efficient negotiation, major issues are examined, and quantitatively analyzed to find out not only the relationship but also the characteristics of which these issues share. Questionnaire research was conducted through both research and by experts who were divided into an ordering agency, design company and constructor. Characteristics of major issues were quantitatively analyzed using the Likert index method, ANOVA(ANalysis of VAriance) and AHP(Analytic Hierarchy Process) analysis. Case studies were examined in order to estimate construction cost, rates of return, government finance support, level of operation-revenues guarantees, estimating operational costs and usage fees. With these 6 items, relative priority, relative impression which is sensible to risk and extent of difficulty in presenting data which is objective were quantitatively analyzed by the ordering agency, design company and constructor groups. From the analysis, there were some similarities between the design company and constructor groups while there was less of similarities between the ordering agency and design company or constructor. The government is diversifying the methods of project promotion, and PPI project from infrastructure-centered to public culture facilities are being expand. The current study will provide not only supporting efficient negotiation but also revitalizing PPI projects.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.609-619
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• 2017

A Manufacturing Readiness Assessment (MRA) was adapted to prevent the probable ascending expense, poor quality, and delay from the development to production phase and assess the level of manufacturing readiness in 2012. Consequently, there are positive effects on improving the quality to identify the manufacturing risks during the production of military supplies and manage the issues in advance. On the other hand, because the appraisee is becoming accustomed to preparing for MRA checklists tailoring, it was found to intensify the MRA points more than before, which damages the goal of the MRA. This paper proposes the quantitative MRA methodology using MWV (Manufacturing Readiness Level 8 Weighted Value) to define and measure the HOM8, DOM8, ICOM8, and M8RA to reflect the history of MRA, the difficulties of MRA checklists, the intrinsic cruciallity and risk assessment of program, which can overcome the problems mentioned before. This paper shows the MWV of four weapon system programs to be carried out and an analysis of the proposed MRL 8 methodology.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.12-18
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• 2023

Objectives: Personal protective equipment (PPE) is an essential means for protecting workers against hazardous agents or risks that threaten their safety and health. Governmental organizations related to safety and health in the workplace regulate the PPE rules to protect workers and to minimize damage from hazardous agents. This study discussed current PPE rules overseen by the Korea Ministry of Environment and explores future perspectives on the matter. Methods: This study was based on a review of PPE regulations with which every stakeholder should comply in the workplace. Both South Korean regulations enforced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Environment and cases from other countries were reviewed. Results: Regulations related to the PPE required for handling chemical substances in the workplace are enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Enforcement Decree, Enforcement Rules, and Notification of Protective Equipment Certification under the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The Ministry of Environment also regulates the PPE standards for 97 substances requiring preparation for accidents and adjustment of work conditions, but a recent amendment (partially amended on September 30, 2022) loosened some unreasonable or excessive provisions. It requires workers simply to carry or otherwise keep PPE handy instead of wearing it for some tasks in which hazardous chemicals are not handled directly. Conclusions: It is important to regularly review provisions that need to be improved or supplemented to help all stakeholders. Considerations should be also made to build a reasonable regulatory system that can induce more mature safety management in each workplace.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.237-245
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• 2022

Background: The current study reports measurements of activity concentrations of radon (²²⁰Rn) and thoron (²²⁰Rn) in dwellings, followed by inhalation dose assessment of the public, and then by the development of regulation and the national radon action plan (NRAP) in Cameroon. Materials and Methods: Radon, thoron, and thoron progeny measurements were carried out from 2014 to 2017 using radon-thoron discriminative detectors (commercially RADUET) in 450 dwellings and thoron progeny monitors in 350 dwellings. From 2019 to 2020, radon track detectors (commercially RADTRAK) were deployed in 1,400 dwellings. It was found that activity concentrations of radon range in 1,850 houses from 10 to 2,620 Bq/㎥ with a geometric mean of 76 Bq/㎥. Results and Discussion: Activity concentrations of thoron range from 20 to 700 Bq/㎥ with a geometric mean of 107 Bq/㎥. Thoron equilibrium factor ranges from 0.01 to 0.6, with an arithmetic mean of 0.09 that is higher than the default value of 0.02 given by UNSCEAR. On average, 49%, 9%, and 2% of all surveyed houses have radon concentrations above 100, 200, and 300 Bq/㎥, respectively. The average contribution of thoron to the inhalation dose due to radon and thoron exposure is about 40%. Thus, thoron cannot be neglected in dose assessment to avoid biased results in radio-epidemiological studies. Only radon was considered in the drafted regulation and in the NRAP adopted in October 2020. Reference levels of 300 Bq/㎥ and 1,000 Bq/㎥ were recommended for dwellings and workplaces. Conclusion: Priority actions for the coming years include the following: radon risk mapping, promotion of a protection policy against radon in buildings, integration of the radon prevention and mitigation into the training of construction specialists, mitigation of dwellings and workplaces with high radon levels, increased public awareness of the health risks associated with radon, and development of programs on the scientific and technical aspects.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.521-529
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• 2020

Forest fires are one of the most important environmental risks that have adverse effects on many aspects of life, such as the economy, environment, and health. The early detection, quick prediction, and rapid response of forest fires can play an essential role in saving property and life from forest fire risks. For the rapid discovery of forest fires, there is a method using meteorological data obtained from local sensors installed in each area by the Meteorological Agency. Meteorological conditions (e.g., temperature, wind) influence forest fires. This study evaluated a Data Mining (DM) approach to predict the burned area of forest fires. Five DM models, e.g., Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD), Support Vector Machines (SVM), Decision Tree (DT), Random Forests (RF), and Deep Neural Network (DNN), and four feature selection setups (using spatial, temporal, and weather attributes), were tested on recent real-world data collected from Gyeonggi-do area over the last five years. As a result of the experiment, a DNN model using only meteorological data showed the best performance. The proposed model was more effective in predicting the burned area of small forest fires, which are more frequent. This knowledge derived from the proposed prediction model is particularly useful for improving firefighting resource management.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.530-535
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• 2021

Background: Despite the lack of official COVID-19 statistics, various workplaces and occupations have been at the center of COVID-19 outbreaks. We aimed to compare legal measures and governance established for managing COVID-19 infection risks at workplaces in nine Asia and Pacific countries and to recommend key administrative measures. Methods: We collected information on legal measures and governance from both general citizens and workers regarding infection risks such as COVID-19 from industrial hygiene professionals in nine countries (Indonesia, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Republic of the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand) using a structured questionnaire. Results: A governmental body overseeing public health and welfare was in charge of containing the spread and occurrence of infectious diseases under an infectious disease control and prevention act or another special act, although the name of the pertinent organizations and legislation vary among countries. Unlike in the case of other traditional hazards, there have been no specific articles or clauses describing the means of mitigating virus risk in the workplace that are legally required of employers, making it difficult to define the responsibilities of the employer. Each country maintains own legal systems regarding access to the duration, administration, and financing of paid sick leave. Many workers may not have access to paid sick leave even if it is legally guaranteed.