• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.207-217
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• 2002

This study was designed to investigate the characteristics of atmospheric concentrations of toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in Korea. Target compounds included 1,3-butadiene, aromatics such as BTEX, and a number of carbonyl compounds. In this paper, as the second part of the study, the seasonal and locational concentrations of atmospheric VOCs were evaluated. Sampling was conducted seasonally at seven sampling sites. each of them representing a large urban area (commercial and residential), a small urban area (commercial and residential), an industrial area (a site within the complex and a residential), and a background place in Korea. In general, higher concentrations were found in the petro-chemical industrial site than other sites, while VOCs measured in commercial (heavy -traffic) sites were higher than residential sites. Seasonality of VOCs concentrations were not so much clear as other combustion related pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, indicating that the VOCs are emitted from a variety of sources, not only vehicle exhaust and point sources but fugitive emissions. Except the industrial site, the concentrations of VOCs measured in this study do not reveal any serious pollution status, since the levels did not exceed any existing ambient standards in the U.K. and/or Japan. However, the increasing number of petrol -powered vehicles and the rapid industrialization in Korea may result in the increased levels of VOCs concentrations in many large urban areas in the near future, if there is no appropriate programme implemented for the control of these compounds.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.30-41
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• 2018

Background: The purpose of the work is to develop a system that allows processing of information for analysis and industrial risk management, to monitor the level of industrial safety and to perform necessary measures aimed at the prevention of accidents, casualties, and development of professional diseases for effective management of industrial safety at hazardous industrial sites. Methods: Risk assessment of accidents and incidents is based on expert evaluations. Based on the lists of criteria parameters and their possible values, provided by the experts, a unified information and analytical database is compiled, which is included in the final interrogation questionnaires. Risk assessment of industrial injuries and occupational diseases is based on statistical methods. Results: The result of the research is the creation of Guidelines for risk management on hazardous industrial sites of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Guidelines determine the directions and methods of complex assessment of the state of industrial safety and labor protection and they could be applied as methodological basis at the development of preventive measures for emergencies, casualties, and incidents at hazardous industrial sites. Conclusion: Implementation of the information-analytical system of risk level assessment allows to analyze the state of risk of a possible accident at industrial sites, make valid management decisions aimed at the prevention of emergencies, and monitor the effectiveness of accident prevention measures.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.975-983
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• 2020

Since the Fukushima Daiichi accident in 2011, concerns for the safety of multi-unit Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) sites have risen. This is because more than 70% of NPP sites are multi-unit sites that have two or more NPP units and a multi-unit accident occurred for the first time. After this accident, Probability Safety Assessment (PSA) has been considered in many countries as one of the tools to quantitatively assess the safety for multi-unit NPP sites. One of the biggest concerns for a multi-unit accident such as Fukushima is that the consequences (health and economic) will be significantly higher than in the case of a single-unit accident. However, many studies on multi-unit PSA have focused on Level 1 & 2 PSA, and there are many challenges in terms of public acceptance due to various speculations without an engineering background. In this study, two kinds of multi-unit Level 3 PSA for multi-unit site have been carried out. The first case was the estimation of multi-unit risk with conservative assumptions to investigate the margin between multi-unit risk and QHO, and the other was to identify the effect of time delays in releases between NPP units on the same site. Through these two kinds of assessments, we aimed at investigating the level of multi-unit risk and understanding the characteristics of risk in a multiunit context.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.569-575
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• 2007

This study was carried out to determine bioaccumulation levels of total mercury on various fish tissues in two streams (Banseok and Hasin Stream) and one lake (Yeongsan Lake) during April-May 2007. We also determined natural background levels of total mercury bioaccumulation to evaluate relative individual impacts of fish and compared the levels with reference sites as a preliminary study to evaluate heavy metal stressor using fish. For the study, we collected fishes in the sampling sites and analyzed the concentrations of total mercury in the liver, kidney, gill, vertebral column, and muscle tissues using Direct Mercury Analyzer (DMA-80, US EPA Method 7473). The levels varied depending on the types of waterbody and tissues used. Concentrations of total mercury ranged between 5.1${\mu}g$ $kg^{-1}$ and 108.6 ${\mu}g$ $kg^{-1}$ in the streams and between 5.3${\mu}g$ $kg^{-1}$ and 87.3 ${\mu}g$ $kg^{-1}$ in the reservoir, and the values were highest in the muscle tissues. Levels of natural background levels of total mercury, even though the sampling number was few, averaged 23.6 ${\mu}g$ $kg^{-1}$ in the study sites. The individual and mean values in each system was not so high in terms of US EPA criteria of fish health and human health, indicating that the impact was minor in the study site. Further studies should be done for the determination of mercury levels in the systems.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.550-556
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• 2018

Background To achieve improvements in intramuscular injection, autologous fat grafting, and gluteal artery perforator flaps in infants and children, the relationships of computed tomography (CT)-determined gluteal muscle thickness (MT) and subcutaneous tissue thickness (SCT) with age and body mass index (BMI) were analyzed. Methods Gluteal SCT and MT at ventrogluteal (VG) and dorsogluteal (DG) sites were measured in a standardized manner in 350 patients aged 0 to 6 years who had visited a tertiary hospital and had undergone abdominopelvic CT between January 2005 and December 2016. Recorded measurements were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance and stepwise multiple regression to identify the factors that were most closely related to MT and SCT. Results Subcutaneous tissue at VG sites was thinner than at DG sites, but not significantly so in any age group. Muscles tended to be thinner at VG sites in 4 to 7-year-old, but thicker at VG sites in 1 to 3-year-old, though the differences were not significant. MT in the VG and DG regions was found to be related to age, and SCT in these regions to be related to age and BMI. Conclusions The VG and DG sites should be considered as alternatives for intramuscular injection in infants and children when the anterolateral site is problematic. In addition, considering the gluteal MT and SCT of infants and children should help produce good results in autologous fat grafting and gluteal artery perforator flap harvesting.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6899-6903
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• 2013

Background: Prevalence is a statistic of primary interest in public health. In the absence of good follow-up facilities, it is difficult to assess the complete prevalence of cancer for a given registry area. Objective: An attempt was here made to arrive at complete prevalence including limited duration prevalence with respect to selected sites of cancer for India by fitting appropriate models to 1, 3 and 5 years cancer survival data available for selected population-based registries. Materials and Methods: Survival data, available for the registries of Bhopal, Chennai, Karunagappally, and Mumbai was pooled to generate survival for breast, cervix, ovary, lung, stomach and mouth cancers. With the available data on survival for 1, 3 and 5 years, a model was fitted and the survival curve was extended beyond 5 years (up to 35 years) for each of the selected sites. This helped in generation of survival proportions by single year and thereby survival of cancer cases. With the help of survival proportions available year-wise and the incidence, prevalence figures were arrived for selected cancer sites and for selected periods. Results: The prevalence to incidence ratio (PI ratio) stabilized after a certain duration for all the cancer sites showing that from the knowledge of incidence, the prevalence can be calculated. The stabilized P/I ratios for the cancer sites of breast, cervix, ovary, stomach, lung, mouth and for life time was observed to be 4.90, 5.33, 2.75, 1.40, 1.37, 4.04 and 3.42 respectively. Conclusions: The validity of the model approach to calculate prevalence could be demonstrated with the help of survival data of Barshi registry for cervix cancer, available for the period 1988-2006.

• The Journal of Society for e-Business Studies
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.19-34
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• 2002

The main objective of this research is to find out whether there exist any user interface factors that influence service information management professionals(SIMP)'s business activities on the web. The result of this study shows that there exists a significant level of difference between two groups of office Professionals： SIMP and general office management professionals on user interface factors. We analyzed the past and current research results and focused on four major evaluation categories： (1) web design, (2) structure, (3) navigation, and (4) interaction and identified 26 evaluation items in those categories. The study has been initiated by an intuition that there might be a significant difference in sets of user interface factors that influence SIMP and general office professionals. From the list of Best 100 Web Sites the best 30 information-providing web sites and the best 30 service-providing web sites were carefully chosen by a panel of 10 members for each group. To evaluate 60 web sites, another panel was formed by 30 professionals from each group, and they conducted evaluation in their own work settings. Reliability analysis on user interface factors and T-test to find out any influencing factors on SIMP were performed. As a result of this study, we have recognized that clarity, formation, consciseness, economics, and robustness are the most influencing user interface factors for web designers to concern when they develop web sites for SIMP. The study result can be improved by enhancing reliability of choosing target web sites In investigate and panel members. Also, in the future study it is recommended to investigate influencing factors for office professionals in terms of. age, sex, experience, academic background, etc.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.356-365
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• 2021

Background: Concerns have been raised regarding the criteria of groundwater, in particular in Gwangwon-do Province where many residents drink groundwater due to the poor supply of tap water and a high nonconformity rate with water quality criteria nationwide. Objectives: Water quality monitoring and risk assessment were conducted for groundwater in Hoengseong, Gangwon-do Province. Methods: A total of 46 items required for meeting drinking water criteria were analyzed from 258 samples collected from March 2017 through August 2018 (152 sites in 2017 and 106 sites in 2018). Risk assessment was conducted for two non-carcinogens (F^- and NO₃-N), and one carcinogen (i.e., arsenic) based on their high nonconformity to water quality criteria. Results: Water quality analysis revealed that the total proportion of nonconformities was determined to be 27.9%. The nonconformity rate for each content item is as follows: total colony counts (1.6%), total coliform (6.2%), Escherichia coli (1.2%), F^- (8.1%), arsenic (4.7%), NO₃-N (8.1%), pH (1.2%), manganese (0.4%), and turbidity (5.8%). Risk assessment indicated that fluoride induced a hazard quotient greater than 1 with the 95% UCL (Upper Confidence Limit) concentration of the total 258 sites and average, median, and 95% UCL concentrations of nonconformity sites. For NO₃-N, there was no human health risk. For arsenic, the excess cancer risk exceeded the acceptable cancer risk of 1×10^-6 with the average and 95% UCL concentrations of total 258 sites and average, median, and 95% UCL concentrations of nonconformity sites. Conclusions: This study suggests that it is necessary to expand water quality monitoring of groundwater and conduct a more detailed risk assessment in order to establish a health care plan for the residents of Hoengseong, Gangwon-do Province.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.114-126
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• 2016

Many cohort studies have reported associations of individual-level long-term exposures to $PM_{10}$ and health outcomes. Individual exposures were often estimated by using exposure prediction models relying on $PM_{10}$ data measured at national regulatory monitoring sites. This study explored spatial and temporal characteristics of regulatory $PM_{10}$ measurement data in South Korea and suggested $PM_{10}$ concentration metrics as long-term exposures for assessing health effects in cohort studies. We obtained hourly $PM_{10}$ data from the National Institute of Environmental Research for 2001~2012 in South Korea. We investigated spatial distribution of monitoring sites using the density and proximity in each of the 16 metropolitan cities and provinces. The temporal characteristics of $PM_{10}$ measurement data were examined by annual/seasonal/diurnal patterns across urban background monitoring sites after excluding Asian dust days. For spatial characteristics of $PM_{10}$ measurement data, we computed coefficient of variation (CV) and coefficient of divergence (COD). Based on temporal and spatial investigation, we suggested preferred long-term metrics for cohort studies. In 2010, 294 urban background monitoring sites were located in South Korea with a site over an area of $415.0km^2$ and distant from another site by 31.0 km on average. Annual average $PM_{10}$ concentrations decreased by 19.8% from 2001 to 2012, and seasonal $PM_{10}$ patterns were consistent over study years with higher concentrations in spring and winter. Spatial variability was relatively small with 6~19% of CV and 21~46% of COD across 16 metropolitan cities and provinces in 2010. To maximize spatial coverage and reflect temporal and spatial distributions, our suggestion for $PM_{10}$ metrics representing long-term exposures was the average for one or multiple years after 2009. This study provides the knowledge of all available $PM_{10}$ data measured at national regulatory monitoring sites in South Korea and the insight of the plausible longterm exposure metric for cohort studies.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.120-127
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• 2015

Background: Musculoskeletal pain (MSP) is a common and disabling problem among carpet weavers and is linked to physical and psychosocial factors of work. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of MSP, its psychosocial risk factors, and association of pain in each pair of anatomical sites among carpet weavers. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed among 546 hand-woven carpet weavers in rural small-scale workshops of Iran. Data were collected by using parts of a standardized CUPID (Cultural and Psychosocial Influences on Disability) questionnaire focused on MSP in 10 body sites, including the low-back, neck, both right and left shoulders, elbows, wrists/hands, individual, physical and psychosocial risk factors. Statistical analysis was performed applying logistic regression models. Results: Prevalence of MSP in at least one body sitewas 51.7% over the past month. The most common sites were low back and right shoulder pain 27.4% and 20.1%, respectively. A significant difference was found between the mean number of painful anatomical sites and the level of education, age, physical loading at work, time pressure, lack of support, and job dissatisfaction. In pairwise comparisons, strongest association was found between pain in each bilateral anatomical site (odds ratio = 11.6-35.3; p < 0.001). Conclusion: In home-based workshops of carpet weaving, psychosocial factors and physical loading were associated with MSP. This finding is consistent with studies conducted among other jobs. Considering the preventive programs, the same amount of attention should be paid to psychosocial risk factors and physical loading. Also, further longitudinal studies are needed to investigate the relationship of psychological factors.