• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.401-412
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• 2020

This study analyzed the causes of warehouse fires using a creative problem-solving technique called TRIZ. It identified preventive measures by applying 4M. The results are as follows. First, this study examined the inconsistency among the causes of warehouse fires using TRIZ. Second, it analyzed human factors and fire prevention measures in warehouses such as safety standards for managers, and methods for the promotion of safety consciousness among workers, and for the reinforcement of construction technology for sandwich panel workers. Third, it identified the mechanical and facility factors and fire prevention measures in warehouses such as safety facilities, the expanded installation of safety devices, the adoption and development of fire suppression equipment, and the deployment of methods to improve the fire resistance of sandwich panels. Fourth, it presented working and environmental factors and fire prevention measures in warehouses such as the tightening of safety precautions and the supervision of working methods, and setting fire partitions both in loading places and based on performance-based design. Finally, it proposed managerial factors and fire prevention measures in warehouses such as specific targeting for firefighting with low fire hazards, reviewing the material quality regulations of non-combustible or higher for sandwich panels in the specific target of firefighting that cannot apply fire safety standards, installing sprinklers in cold storage, and mandating the installation of automated facilities with retroactive application regardless of the floor area in the warehouse with a sandwich panel structure.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.246-249
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• 2009

Test and launch facilities which use oxygen as the propellant of a launch vehicle have hazards of fire and explosion by the leakage of oxygen. Also, the personnel operating the facilities, which use the high-pressured gases like nitrogen and helium in the closed room, is exposed to the hazard of death from suffocation. Consequently, we should keep out of the hazards and the accidents by monitoring the contents of oxygen in the air. The method and the system construction for monitoring oxygen contents in the air and the results from its application to Naro space center are described on this paper.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.91-110
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• 2020

The reliability of structures is affected by various impacts that generally have a negative effect, from extreme weather conditions, due to climate change to natural or man-made hazards. In recent years, extreme loading has had an enormous impact on the resilience of structures as one of the most important characteristics of the sound design of structures, besides the structural integrity and robustness. Resilience can be defined as the ability of the structure to absorb or avoid damage without suffering complete failure, and it can be chosen as the main objective of design, maintenance and restoration for structures and infrastructure. The latter needs further clarification (which is done in this paper), to achieve the clarity of goals compared to robustness which is defined in Eurocode EN 1991-1-7 as: "the ability of a structure to withstand events like fire, explosions, impact or the consequences of human error, without being damaged to an extent disproportionate to the original cause". Many existing structures are more vulnerable to the natural or man-made hazards due to their material deterioration, and a further decrease of its loadbearing capacity, modifying the structural performance and functionality and, subsequently, the system resilience. Due to currently frequent extreme events, the design philosophy is shifting from Performance-Based Design to Resilience-Based Design and from unit to system (community) resilience. The paper provides an overview of such design evolution with indicative needs for Resilience-Based Design giving few conducted examples.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.184-190
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• 2014

Decommissioning process of nuclear facilities consist of a sequence of problem solving activities, because there may exist not only working environments contaminated by radiological exposure but also industrial hazards such as fire, explosions, toxic materials, and electrical and physical hazards. Therefore, not a few countries in the world have been trying to develop appropriate counter techniques in order to guarantee safety and efficiency of the process. In spite of that, there still exists neither domestic nor international standard. Unfortunately, however, there are few workers who experienced decommissioning operations a lot in the past. As a solution, it is quite necessary to utilize experts' opinions for risk assessment in decommissioning process. As for an individual hazard factor, risk assessment techniques are getting known to industrial workers with advance of safety technology, but the way how to integrate those results is not yet. This paper aimed to find out an appropriate technique to integrate individual risk assessment results from the viewpoint of experts. Thus, on one hand the whole risk assessment activity for decommissioning operations was modeled as a sequence of individual risk assessment steps which can be classified into two activities, decontamination and dismantling, and on the other, a risk assessment structure was introduced. The whole model was inferred with Fuzzy theory and techniques, and a numerical example was appended for comprehension.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2023

Background: Firefighting involves exposure of firefighters to risks related to this activity, serious injuries, and occupational diseases are recorded. There are other consequences such as thermal and emotional stress. This systematic review is proposed in order to analyze the risks and consequences faced by these workers and thus provide elements to improve safety management systems in institutions. Method: A descriptive observational study of systematic literature review on the risks and consequences of exposure to firefighters' activity was proposed, and the information was analyzed and described based on the available data and according to the variables determined. Results: The studies showed data on mechanical, physical, chemical, psychosocial risks, workers' perception and resilience, and epidemiological data. Information related to firefighters' activity on falls and slips, exposure to noise, and high concentrations of carbon monoxide is detailed. In addition, the relationship between burnout, cognitive, and physical fatigue as adverse effects on health and performance is mentioned. Conclusions: Among the preventive measures, the use of personal protective equipment is suggested, incorporation in prevention programs of information on exposure to risk factors, as well as the implementation of models that can predict the perception of workers, additionally, the generation of management systems with safety climate models for fire departments.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.865-874
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• 2020

Offshore drilling units have a very dangerous working conditions due to the harsh working environment of the ocean and the high possibility of fire or explosion. This study would identify the hazards that emerge from the marine environment in the operation and maintenance phase of offshore drilling units and show how these hazards can be reduced through risk assessment/management. Various risk reduction and management measures were first reviewed, and Job Safety Analysis (JSA) was selected as the risk assessment technique of this study. In order to understand the characteristics of offshore drilling operations, accident statistics of onshore and offshore drilling were analyzed and compared with each other, and major risk factors for offshore drilling were derived. The jobs in which offshore drilling accidents occur more frequently than onshore drilling was analyzed as the job of fastening, transporting and moving pipes and various materials. This result is due to the limited space of the ocean and the work environment that is prone to being shaken by wind, waves and ocean currents. Based on these statistical results, the job of picking and making up drill pipes was selected as a high-risk job, and JSA was performed as an example. A detailed safety check procedure is proposed so that workers can fully recognize the danger and perform work in a safe state that has been confirmed.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.72-75
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• 2002

Objectives : To evaluate the health hazards in the underground storage facilities of ginger roots. Methods : The authors reviewed the emergency rescue records from the Seosan fire department over the period Jan 1, 1996 to Aug 31, 1999. The atmospheres in 3 different underground storage locations were analyzed for $O_2,\;CO_2,\;CO,\;H_2S\;and\;NH_4$. Results : From the emergency records, we were able to identify 20 individuals that had been exposed to occupational hazards in the underground storage facilities. Among these 20 cases, 13 were due to asphyxiation (resulting in f deaths) and 7 were due to falls. In the first atmospheric tests, peformed on Feb 25, 1998, the O2 level inside the underground storage facility, located about $5{\sim}6$ meters below the surface, was 20.6% and the $CO_2$ level was about 1,000 ppm. CO, $H_2S\;and\;NH_4$ were not detected. In the second tests on Jul 6, 1999, measurements of the $O_2$ level at 3 meters below the surface in two different storage locations were 15.3 and 15.1%. And the $O_2$ levels inside the storage facilities were 12.2 and 12.1%. The $CO_2$ level was above 5,000 ppm (beyond upper limits of measurement). CO, $H_2S\;and\;NH_4$ were not detected. Conclusions : We conclude that asphyxiation in the underground storage facilities for ginger roots was not due to the presence of toxic gases such as CO, $H_2S\;and\;NH_4$, but rather the exclusion of oxygen by carbon dioxide was responsible for causing casualties. For the development of a hazard free working environment, safety education as well as improvements in storage methods are needed.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.84-92
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• 2001

In today's world, rise in the establishment of social infrastructure resulting from population saturation in large cities has led to more extensive and frequent use of chemical materials on facilities. A result, unexpected and serious accidents, hazards, contingencies and disasters are more prevalent than ever. Such phenomenon calls for more devoted and concerted efforts towards finding ways to reduce the safety hazards that are seen to take place more often than before with the increase in the number of facilities that are prone to bring disaster and hazard coupled with the conventional safety problems that continue to exist even today. In developed countries, such challenge is addressed by various appropriate countermeasures drawn up by local professional committees on industrial facilities, whose members conduct offsite and onsite evaluation un the potential industrial disasters and its seriousness and provide their advice thereof. Against this backdrop, this study aims at identifying a comprehensive safety allowance level (safety acceptable level) when imposing limitation on the development of conventional or new facilities, for the fur pose of establishing a safety allowance level of disastrous and dangerous facilities in Korea. This is done by assessing and applying the level of danger each individual is exposed to in a randomly selected region (disastrous and dangerous areas in Seoul) based on probability of quantitative hazards, as well as simulation and calculation methods which include: i) social disaster evaluation method applying Quantified Risk Assessment of Health & Safety Executive of UK and Matrix of Risk of Evaluated Sources of Hazard; ii) Fault Tree or Event Tree Analysis and etc.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.14-21
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• 2020

This paper presents the study of a fire risk to the backside of two miniatures of ISO 9705 2/5 using a lightweight partition for indoor space division and reproduction of the ISO 9705 test. An SGP partition, stud partition, glass wool panel, urethane foam panel, sandwich panel, and glass partition were selected as the test specimens, which are frequently used in construction. According to the ISO 9705 test standard, stabilization was achieved using a measuring device that recorded data before the ignition of a burner and continued recording for 120 s thereafter. After ignition was achieved, the power was increased to 300 kW for 600 s and then reduced to 100 kW for 600 s. The specimens were subsequently observed for 180 s, and the fire risk to the backside and the fire pattern of the wall unit were analyzed. Owing to the amount of heat generated by the ignition source, the maximum temperature of the backside was observed to be 67.7 ℃ for the SGP partition, 55.1 ℃ for the stud partition, 52.4 ℃ for the glass wool panel, 727.4 ℃ for the sandwich panel, 561 ℃ for the urethane foam panel, and 630.5 ℃ for the glass partition. In the cases of the sandwich and urethane foam panels, the explosion of flammable gas occurred by virtue of fusion of the interior materials. The reinforced glass was fractured owing to the temperature difference between the heat- and nonheat-responsive parts. Ultimately, the fire risk to the nearby section room was deemed to be high.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2020

In this study, boron/silicon sol compounds were applied to wood for construction and durable materials, and fire risks were investigated in terms of smoke performance index (SPI), smoke growth index (SGI), and smoke intensity (SI). The compound was synthesized by reacting tetraethoxyorthosilicate with boric acid and boronic acid derivatives. Smoke characteristics were investigated using a cone calorimeter (ISO 5660-1) equipment for cypress wood. The fire intensity fixed the external heat flux at 50 kW/㎡. The smoke performance index measured after the combustion reaction increased between 13.4% and 126.7% compared with cypress wood. The fire risk due to the smoke performance index decreased in the order of cypress, phenylboronic acid/silicon sol (PBA/Si), (2-methylpropyl) boronic acid/silicon sol (IBBA/Si), boric acid/silicon sol (BA/Si). The smoke growth index decreased between 12.0% and 57.5% compared to the base specimen. The risk of fire caused by the smoke growth index decreased in the order of cypress, PBA/Si, IBBA/Si, BA/Si. The fire risk due to smoke intensity decreased between 3.2% and 57.8%, and in the order of cypress, PBA/Si, IBBA/Si, BA/Si. CO_peak concentrations ranged between 85 and 93 ppm, and decreased between 37% and 43% compared to the base specimen. A comprehensive assessment of the fire risk on smoke hazards decreased in the order of cypress, PBA/Si, IBBA/Si, BA/Si.