• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.54-67
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• 2006

This study was performed to deduct the extension possibility of the standards establishment for $NO_2$, $O_3$, Asbestos, Radon, total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) excluded in the indoor air part of Industrial Safety Acts in Korea. The air pollutants were sampled for 30 office buildings from August to September, 2005 in the metropolitan area. The airborne concentrations of $NO_2$, $O_3$, Radon and TVOC were 0.0092 ppm, 0.0035 ppm, 0.57 pCi/L and $423{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively. The management plan and reduction methods is required in the aspect of indoor air quality(IAQ) because the emission sources of those also exist in indoor as well as outdoor even though those were not exceeded the standards of the Ministry of Environment in Korea. The standard for TVOC in the new and remodeling office has to be established based on the risk assessment when hazard index exceeded "1" in the worst case scenario. In the state of art, the management of each volatile organic compounds has a difficulty due to not enough data for toxicological reference. Therefore, it is suggested that first of all, the standard for TVOC be established and then expanded to each materials for decision-making of improvement of IAQ in office.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.139-145
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• 2009

An analytical solution of groundwater flow is applied to design soil vacuum extraction for removing volatile organic compounds from the unsaturation zone. The governing equation of gas or vapor flow in porous media is nonlinear in that gas density depends on gas pressure. A linear equation suggested by researcher is similar to that of groundwater flow. The pressure drawdowns of confined and leaky aqufiers are calculated using Massmann's field data, and the pressure drawdowns are compared. A solution of Theis equation calculated by Massmann is modified using GASSOLVE9 program in this paper. The pressure drawdown using Hantush's analytical solution for leaky aquifer also compared to that of Massmann. Hantush's analytical solution gives good approximations to pressure drawdown.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.12-26
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• 2013

In concert with the development of new materials in the last decade, the need for toxicological studies of these materials has been increasing. These new materials include a group of rare earths (RE). The use of RE nanotechnology is being considered in some green applications, to increase their efficiency by using nano-sized RE compounds, and therefore hazard evaluation and risk assessment are highly recommended. This review was conducted through an extensive contemplation of the literatures in toxicology with in vitro and in vivo studies. Major aspects reviewed were the toxicological evaluations of these elements and metallic compounds at the molecular and cellular level, animal and human epidemiological studies and environmental and occupational health impacts on workers. We also discuss the future prospect of industries with appliances using RE together with the significance of preventive efforts for workers' health. To establish a safe and healthy working environment for RE industries, the use of biomarkers is increasing to provide sustainable measure, due to demand for information about the health risks from unfavorable exposures. Given the recent toxicological results on the exposure of cells, animals and workers to RE compounds, it is important to review the toxicological studies to improve the current understanding of the RE compounds in the field of occupational health. This will help to establish a sustainable, safe and healthy working environment for RE industries.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.178-186
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• 2014

Background: This study was conducted to assess health risks in regard to exposure by children to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in children's products. Methods: Ten VOCs were measured by head-space gas chromatography in children's products, including toys, oil pastels, sign pens, furniture, ball pools, and playmats. We estimated the average daily dose (ADD) via inhalation during the use of these children's products and calculated hazard quotient (HQ) by dividing ADD by reference dose of VOCs. Results: Among the measured VOCs, five compounds were identified in children's products: benzene, ethylbenzene, styrene, toluene, and xylene. The detection rates of VOCs in toys, ball pools, furniture, playmats, sign pens, and oil pastels were 85%, 100%, 100%, 30%, 100%, and 60%, respectively. The maximum levels of VOCs were 0.18 mg benzene/kg in toys, 5.92 mg toluene/kg in playmats, 10.37 mg ethylbenzene/kg in ball pools, 24.85 mg xylene/kg in toys, and 118.29 mg styrene/kg in ball pools. From exposure levels of VOCs in the children's products HQs were calculated within a range of $5.71{\times}10^{-10}$ to $4.77{\times}10^{-4}$. The HQ of xylene was the highest for children aged 0-6 playing on the playmats. However, the HQ via inhalation exposure to VOCs in individual products did not exceed 1.00. Conclusion: Based on the results, it was concluded that the use of these children's products do not pose health risks to children.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.65-83
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• 2008

It is noted that illegal hazardous foods containing unauthorized drugs or synthetic drung analogues are increasing. Especially, reported are unknown compounds that have the modified chemical structures of the anti-impotence drugs such as sildenafil, vardenafil, and tatalafil. In addition, it is very reserved, since illegal synthetic compounds having similar chemical structures modified from anti-impotence drug to avoid the government inspection are not proved their safety at all. This review in ulation to food safety, lists the illegal compounds added to foods and describes about the analytical methods to chanacterize 16 anti-impotence drug analogues such as homosildenafil, hongdenafil, pseudovardenafil, aminotadalafil, hydroxyhomosildenafil, hydroxyhongdenafil, dimethylsildenafil, xanthoanthrafil, hydroxyvardenafil, norneosildenafil, demethylhongdenafil, piperidinohongdenafil, carbodenafil, thiosildenafil, dimethylthiosildenafil, and acetylvardenafil.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.39 no.7
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• pp.403-411
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• 2017

In this study, the occurrence and temporal variation of eight pharmaceuticals comprising antibiotics (clarithromycin, sulfathiazole, sulfamethazine, sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim), scabicide (carbamazepine) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (acetylsalicylic acid, naproxen) in main stream and its tributary of the Nakdong River basin, were investigated. Concentrations of the target compounds ranged from $1.076{\mu}g/L$. The highest average concentration was observed for clarithromycin ($0.0316{\mu}g/L$), followed by sulfamethazine ($0.0170{\mu}g/L$), sulfamethoxazole ($0.0161{\mu}g/L$), naproxen ($0.0129{\mu}g/L$), carbamazepine ($0.0093{\mu}g/L$), acetylsalicylic acid ($0.0047{\mu}g/L$), sulfathiazole ($0.0024{\mu}g/L$) and trimethoprim ($0.0022{\mu}g/L$). The decreasing pattern of pharmaceutical concentrations was observed along with Nakdong River and the higher concentrations in downstream were observed than those in upstream. There was no temporal variation of the target compounds although the highest level was found in February. The calculated hazard quotients (HQs) for eight pharmaceuticals were below 1, indicating no environmental hazard in Nakdong River. However, further monitoring is still needed due to the other pharmaceuticals widely used in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.75-80
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• 2015

Aluminum dusts, from micro to nano-scale, are widely used in various applications such as propulsion and pyrotechnic compounds because of high burning rate. In this study, the pyrolysis hazard of aluminum dusts with different median size (sized by 70 nm, 100 nm, $6{\mu}m$, $15{\mu}m$) were investigated experimentally. The thermal decomposition characteristics of aluminum dusts with the variation of heating rate were investigated using TGA (Thermo gravimetric analysis) and was estimated the minimum ignition temperature from temperature of weight gain in nano and micro-sized aluminum dusts with different diameter. In the same condition of heating rate, the temperature of weight gain in aluminum dust layers increased with increasing of particle size and increased with increasing of heating rates in air. From the results, it was estimated that the pyrolysis hazard of aluminum dusts decrease with increasing of mean diameter.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.193-201
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• 2024

Objectives: Paints contain various types of metal substances. However, our review of MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) for paints found that their components were often kept secret or exact content information was otherwise not provided. We analyzed the metal elements in various inorganic pigment-based paints available in South Korea in this study and checked whether they contain hazardous metal substances as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Acts. We investigated issues of health hazard classification related to the metal elements. The study is intended to contribute to strengthening the management of hazardous substances by suggesting improvements to MSDS. Methods: We randomly selected 19 samples that were predicted to contain hazardous inorganic pigments after reviewing MSDS among paints currently in use. The samples were analyzed using XRF (X-ray Fluorescence spectrometry), ICP_OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy) and SP-ICP-MS (Single Particle-ICP-Mass Spectroscopy). Results: The most common elements in the samples were Al (aluminum), Fe (iron), Ti (titanium), Ca (calcium), and Si (silica). One sample contained more lead than allowed by the limits. There were ten samples that could potentially contain nanoforms, seven samples that contained titanium dioxide, and six samples that contained complex inorganic color pigments (CICPs). Conclusions: Inorganic pigments in paints should be evaluated for hazards separately from other metallic compounds and reflected in the MSDS because they have different characteristics than other metallic compounds. These include particle size, crystal structure, and complex substances. The results of this study can be helpful for determining whether a paint contains sufficient hazardous metal compounds to affect its classification, and it can be a guideline for improving MSDS through comparative review and rationalization with the manufacturer's MSDS. This would make it possible to contribute to the management of chemical substances in the workplace through the proper MSDS disclosure of paints.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.157-163
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• 2005

Because of their widespread occurrence and substantial biological activity, halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons are one of the important classes of contaminants in the environment. We have performed comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) on structurally diverse ligands of Ah (dioxin) receptor to explore the physico-chemical requirements for binding. All CoMFA models have given $q^{2}$ value of more than 0.5 and $r^{2}$ value of more than 0.83. The predictive ability of the models was validated by an external test set, which gave satisfactory predictive $r^{2}$ values. Best predictions were obtained with CoMFA model of combined modified training set ($q^{2}=0.631,\;r^{2}=0.900$), giving predictive residual value = 0.002 log unit for the test compound. We have suggested a model comprises of four structurally different compounds, which offers a good predictability for various ligands. Our QSAR model is consistent with all previously established QSAR models with less structurally diverse ligands. The implications of the CoMFA/QSAR model presented herein are explored with respect to quantitative hazard identification of potential toxicants.

• Food Quality and Culture
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.32-36
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• 2008

This study identified and compared the volatile flavor components of two commercial rice wines: one fermented using the mycelium of Phellinus linteus and a regular commercial rice wine. The volatile flavor components were isolated from the infusions by Porapak Q (50-80 mesh) column adsorption. The concentrated aroma extracts were then analyzed and identified by GC and GC-MS. Thirty-four kinds of flavor components were identified in the mycelium-fermented rice wine, including 11 alcohols, 8 esters, 3 ketones, 6 acids, 3 hydrocarbones, and 4 others. In the regular commercial rice wine, 36 kindss of flavor compounds were identified, including 9 alcohols, 6 esters, 4 ketones, 6 acids, 9 hydrocarbones, and 2 others. Therefore, the data indicate that the primary flavor components in the rice wines were alcohols and esters.