• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.451-462
• /
• 2011

The purpose of this study was to examine the level of concern and the level of knowledge of endocrine disruptors, and the level of dietary behaviors to decrease exposure to endocrine disruptors, to determine the factors affecting the level of knowledge and behaviors, and to assess the causal relationship between them. The data were collected from 579 adults in Seoul, Incheon, Daejeon, Daegu, Busan and Gwangju provinces. Frequencies, t tests, analysis of variance, Cronbach's alpha, Pearson's correlation coefficient analysis, multiple regression analyses, and path analysis were carried out by SPSS for Win V.18.0. The results of this study were as follows: The level of concern about endocrine disruptors was higher than the medium level. The respondents were most concerned about a container of cup ramen among products related to foods. The levels of both knowledge and behaviors in order to decrease exposure to endocrine disruptors in dietary life were not high. The factors affecting the level of knowledge of endocrine disruptors were educational level, attendance in education for endocrine disruptors, and concern about endocrine disruptors. On the other hand, sex, age, concern about endocrine disruptors, and the level of knowledge of endocrine disruptors affected the level of behaviors to decrease exposure toward endocrine disruptors. The results of the path analysis showed that educational level and education of endocrine disruptors had an indirect influence on the level of behaviors in order to decrease exposure to endocrine disruptors in dietary life. The concern about endocrine disruptors had both a direct and an indirect effect on the level of behaviors to decrease exposure to endocrine disruptors in dietary life. In addition, sex, age and the level of knowledge of endocrine disruptors directly affected the level of behaviors to decrease exposure to endocrine disruptors in dietary life.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.55-72
• /
• 1986

This study was made to determine the factors involving personal exposure levels of nitrogen dioxide for housewives living in urban area in two seasons, winter and summer. Nitrogen dioxide was measured with a small passive sampler containing triethanolamine. The samplers were set for 24 hours at three points. They were places: on the collar of the housewife to investigate the personal exposure level, near the TV in the living room (indoor level), and near the porch of their house (outdoor level). The subjects recorded the times of cooking using a gas range, using a kitchen ventilator, passive smoking, kerosene heater, total number of minutes at an open window, going out of home, etc.$\ldots. There was an apparent increase in personal exposure level in the case of the unvented heater and also an increase by cooking on a gas range. There was no marked increase in the other situations. There was an increase in the indoor level by cooking on a gas range, only in western style cooking in the winter season. Through these observations, we concluded that personal exposure level of nitrogen dioxide was strongly related to indoor nitrogen dioxide level, and factors involving indoor nitrogen dioxide level seemed different between winter and summer. The most significant difference in nitrogen dioxide level was indoor pollution in the winter and the outdoor environment in the summer. The maximum personal exposure level appeared in the western and tenement house in the winter and the traditional korean house in the summer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.14
• /
• pp.5845-5851
• /
• 2014

Reducing fear of cancer is significant in developing cancer screening interventions, but the levels of fear may vary depending on the degrees of media exposure as well as individuals' socioeconomic positions (SEP). However, few studies have examined how the SEP influences the fear of cancer under the moderating process of general and specific forms of media exposure. We investigated the moderating effect of media exposure on the relationship between SEP and the level of fear of cancer by assuming that cancer knowledge is a covariate between those two. In particular, this study examined how exposure to both general and specific media changes the series of processes from SEP to fear of cancer. We conducted path analyses with three types of media - television, radio and the Internet- using data from a health communication survey of 613 adults in Massachusetts in the United States. We found that SEP influences cancer knowledge directly and fear of cancer indirectly, as moderated by the level of media exposure. Health-specific exposure, however, had a more consistent effect than general media exposure in lowering the fear of cancer by increasing knowledge about cancer. A higher level of health-specific exposure and greater amount of cancer knowledge lessened the fear of cancer. In addition, the more people were exposed to health information on television and the Internet, the lower the level of fear of cancer as a result. These findings indicate a relationship between SEP and fear of cancer, as moderated by the level and type of media exposure. Furthermore, the findings suggest that for early detection or cancer prevention strategies, health communication approaches through mass media need to be considered.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.46 no.5
• /
• pp.213-225
• /
• 2013

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between Agent Orange exposure and self-reported diseases in Korean Vietnam veterans. Methods: A postal survey of 114 562 Vietnam veterans was conducted. The perceived exposure to Agent Orange was assessed by a 6-item questionnaire. Two proximity-based Agent Orange exposure indices were constructed using division/brigade-level and battalion/ company-level unit information. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for age and other confounders were calculated using a logistic regression model. Results: The prevalence of all self-reported diseases showed monotonically increasing trends as the levels of perceived self-reported exposure increased. The ORs for colon cancer (OR, 1.13), leukemia (OR, 1.56), hypertension (OR, 1.03), peripheral vasculopathy (OR, 1.07), enterocolitis (OR, 1.07), peripheral neuropathy (OR, 1.07), multiple nerve palsy (OR, 1.14), multiple sclerosis (OR, 1.24), skin diseases (OR, 1.05), psychotic diseases (OR, 1.07) and lipidemia (OR, 1.05) were significantly elevated for the high exposure group in the division/brigade-level proximity-based exposure analysis, compared to the low exposure group. The ORs for cerebral infarction (OR, 1.08), chronic bronchitis (OR, 1.05), multiple nerve palsy (OR, 1.07), multiple sclerosis (OR, 1.16), skin diseases (OR, 1.05), and lipidemia (OR, 1.05) were significantly elevated for the high exposure group in the battalion/company-level analysis. Conclusions: Korean Vietnam veterans with high exposure to Agent Orange experienced a higher prevalence of several self-reported chronic diseases compared to those with low exposure by proximity-based exposure assessment. The strong positive associations between perceived self-reported exposure and all self-reported diseases should be evaluated with discretion because the likelihood of reporting diseases was directly related to the perceived intensity of Agent Orange exposure.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.48-58
• /
• 1995

This study was performed to find out the exposure level of mixed organic solvents, excretion of urinary hippuricacid and subjective symptoms according to the exposure of organic solvents of female workers who works on 5 shoes manufacturing industries in Taejon City from 24, september to 20, october 1993. The studied groups were divided into 3 groups that were consist of direct exposure group(48 workers), indirect exposure group(49 workers) and non-exposure group(68 workers) to the organic solvents. The exposure levels of toluene of direct exposure group which $89.86{\pm}56.20ppm$ had higher than that of indirect exposure group which had $40.23{\pm}47.21ppm$. In the exposure level of mixed organic solvent(R-value), direct exposure group was $2.84{\pm}1.53$ and exceeded approximatly 3 times the R-value. Whereas, indirect exposure group was not exceeded the R-value as $0.80{\pm}0.61$. In the excretion level of urinary hippuric acid, direct exposure group was $1.78{\pm}1.25g/l$, indirect exposure group was $1.22{\pm}0.93g/l$ and non-exposure group was $0.51{\pm}0.18g/l$ respectively. Therefore both direct exposure group and indirect exposure group were significantly higher than non-exposure group(P<0.01). In the correlation between toluene levels and urinary hippuric acid level, the direct exposure group had positive correlation(R=0.8309, P<0.01), also indirect exposure group had positive correlation(R=0.5859, P<0.05) and also in the correlation between the R value of mixed organic solvents and the urinary hippuric acid levels, the direct exposure group had positive correlation(R=0.4492, P<0.05), and indirect exposure group had ositive correlation(R=0.7911, P<0.01). In the complain rates of the worker's subjective symptoms at work, both direct exposure group and indirect exposure group were higher than non-exposure group(P<0.05, P<0.01). But the sujective symptoms of "floating sensation" of direct exposure group had significantly higher than indirect exposure group. In the percent of subjective symptoms complaints during the worker's daily life, both direct exposure group and indirect exposure group had generally more statistical significance than nonexposure group(P<0.01), direct exposure group had not statistical significant difference from indirect exposure group. As the results mentioned above, it has been analysed that the indirect at the adjacent manufaturing process are exposed to the considerable amount of solvent. Therefore, I think that there should be the betterment of surrounding through the complete working environment management to the occurrence source of the organic solvent, the changes of health management system to the indirect-exposed workers, and the systematic management of the special medical examination and the like.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.573-583
• /
• 2015

Objectives: This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of noise exposure and aging on changes in hearing threshold level and the relationship between age and noise. Materials: The author selected 274 male shipyard and assembly line workers as the noise exposed group and 582 males not exposed to noise as the general population group. Data were collected from five years of consecutive annual audiometric tests performed from 2008 to 2012. Results: In the general population and noise exposed groups, there was a reverse phenomenon that hearing threshold level for 2009 was lower than that of 2008, which seemed to be due to the learning effect, but from 2010 hearing threshold level increased. In the noise exposed group, the mean hearing threshold level in the left ear was significantly higher than that for right ear. In the general population group, the older was the age, the higher was the hearing threshold level, especially at 4000 Hz. In the general population and noise exposed groups, frequency, age group and noise exposure independently affected hearing threshold level, and there was no relationship between age and noise exposure. Over all frequencies, the change of hearing threshold level was larger in the noise exposed group than in the general population group. In the noise exposed group below thirty years old, the change at 4000 Hz was remarkable. Conclusions: Age and noise exposure seem to affect hearing threshold level independently and contribute to an additive effect on hearing threshold level.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
• /
• v.3 no.3
• /
• pp.97-103
• /
• 1999

As the noise of ship engine room is too loud, the engineer who works in a ship engine-room has the trouble of hearing. In this paper deals the investigation of the noise of ship engine room and cabins with the internationally allowable noise exposure level and noise exposure time. Recently, the problem of engine-room noise is more serious because of shipowner wants to make small number and larger size of cylinder. Therefore, engineers work in a ship engine-room for a long time have the trouble of hearing when they are exposed the high noise level. In this study, two kinds of vessels were used to investigate the noise of engine room, engine-control room, bridge, offices and cabins. As criteria of sound levels, A-weighted sound pressure level and octave band pressure level were used.

• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.199-206
• /
• 2016

Pesticides are widely used to prevent loss of agricultural production but extensive exposure can induce health problems to pesticide operators. This study was performed to evaluate the health risk of highly produced pesticides used in fruit growing farm land by comparison of estimated exposure level with AOEL using KO-POEM program. AOEL was driven based on NOAEL of each pesticide evaluated by JMPR, EFSA or KRDA. In calculation of exposure level, types of formulation, dilution factors, spraying duration and motor type and exposure protection device were allocated according to actual condition of use. Dermal absorption rate was differently applied among EFSA default values (25% or 75%), general default value (10%) or real test result values to know the plausibility of default values and safety of pesticide to operators in outline. Twenty pesticide ingredients (fungicides and insecticides) were produced more than 30 tons per year, which were mancozeb, chlorothalonil, imidaclopirid and etc in order. Dermal absorption rates obtained from studies were various from 0.07 to 81% but mostly under 10%. The estimated exposure levels showed big differences more than 10 times higher when using EFSA default rate and up to 5 times higher when using general rate of 10% comparing using rates of test results. Mancozeb, chlorthalonil, diazinon and chlorpyrifos presented still higher exposure level than AOEL even when using test absorption rate from study, which suggests that re-evaluation of AOEL or dermal exposure absorption rate or strict management are required for health protection of operators who use those four pesticides in farm land.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.98-105
• /
• 2024

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify the exposure level of airborne hexavalent chromium in the plating industry and the exposure level compared to domestic and international occupational exposure limits. Methods: A total 92 samples were collected from ten industrial plating sites. Hexavalent chromium samples were collected using a three-stage cassette equipped with a 37 mm, 5 ㎛ pore size PVC filter. The analysis was performed by ion chromatography. Results: The geometric mean of hexavalent chromium concentration in the plating industry was 0.052 ㎍/m², and it was found that the average exposure level was 0.8 times the South Korean exposure limit. When applying the US ACGIH TLV, however, the average concentration was more than twice as high. Conclusions: The South Korean exposure limit for hexavalent chromium needs to be strengthened due to significant differences in exposure levels according to domestic and international occupational exposure limits. Furthermore, respiratory and dermal sensitization should be labeled.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.44 no.1
• /
• pp.44-54
• /
• 2018

Objectives: To protect individuals working at the site as well as the surrounding general population from a chemical accident, several emergency exposure guidance levels have been used to set a level of concern for certain chemicals. However, a level of concern has not been established for many substances that are frequently used or produced in large quantities in Korean workplaces. In the present study, we investigated the guidance levels for protecting populations from chemical exposure and the estimation of level of concern using acute inhalation and oral toxicity data. Methods: The number of chemicals to which emergency exposure guidance levels (e.g., ERPG-2, AEGL-2, PAC-2, and IDLH) can be applied were determined among 822 hazardous chemicals according to the 'Technical Guidelines for the Selection of Accident Scenarios (revised December 2016)'. The ERPG and AEGL values were compared across all three tiers for the 31 substances that appeared on both lists. We examined the degree of difference between the emergency exposure guidance levels and the estimates of level of concern calculated from acute inhalation or acute oral toxicity data. Results: Among the 822 hazardous chemicals, emergency exposure guidance levels can be applied to 359 substances, suggesting that the estimates of level of concern should be calculated using acute toxicity data for 56.3% of the hazardous chemicals. When comparing the concordance rates of ERPG and AEGL for 31 substances, the difference between the two criteria was generally small. However, about 40% of the substances have values diverging by more than three-fold in at least one tier. Such discrepancies may cause interpretation and communication problems in risk management. The emergency exposure guidance levels were similar to the estimates of level of concern calculated using acute inhalation toxicity data, but the differences were significant when using acute oral toxicity data. These results indicate that the level of concern derived from acute oral toxicity data may be insufficient to protect the population in some cases. Conclusion: Our study suggests that the development of standardized guidance values for emergency chemical exposure in the Korean population should be encouraged. It is also necessary to analyze acute toxicity data and fill the information gaps for substances that are important in Korean workplace situations.