• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.105-117
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• 2012

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the concentration of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) in blood and factors controlling their exposure among Koreans. Methods: Study subjects were selected to include 718 members of the general population residing in five metropolitan cities and the Gangwon Province area from August 2008 to January 2009. A questionnaire was administered to investigate lifestyle, socio-demographic characteristics, and other related factors. Blood samples were collected and extracted using solid-phase extraction and anion-exchange methods, and quantified by high-performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC, Agilent 1200 Series) coupled with a Triple Quad LC-MS/MS system (Agilent 6410). Results: Geometric mean concentrations of PFOA and PFOS in the blood were measured as 1.82 and 6.06 ng/ml, respectively. Mean PFOA and PFOS concentrations generally increased with age in both genders. Blood PFOA concentration was significantly different according to such variables as age, family income, residential district, and province. Blood PFOS concentration was significantly different by such variables as gender, age, lifestyle factors such as regular exercise, alcohol consumption, and smoking status. Also, family income, hazardous facilities, job classification, and province contributed significantly to differences in blood PFOS concentration levels. Conclusions: Blood PFOA and PFOS concentrations in Koreans were similar with those found in Japan, the USA, and Germany, but less than those in Australia. PFOA and PFOS exposure seems to be affected by a variety of factors in Korea. Therefore, investigation is required for each factor to assess the relative contribution of different variables.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.324-333
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• 2017

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the correlation relationship between personal exposure and urinary hippuric acid in biological monitoring for airborne toluene in an industrial complex and in general environments. Methods: Personal exposure to toluene and its metabolite, hippuric acid, in urine were simultaneously measured in occupational environments area near an industrial complex and in general environments. The study subjects were divided into three types: 137 workers who use organic solvents in the workplace, 210 residents living near a dyeing industrial complex, and 379 residents living in general environments. The toluene exposures of workers and residents were measured by a passive sampler for four days. The urine of participants was sampled when the passive samplers of personal exposure were collected. Results: The toluene and hippuric acid concentrations of workers were the highest, followed by the concentrations of residents living near a dyeing industrial complex and residents living in general environments. The coefficient of correlation between the concentrations of toluene and hippuric acid among workers was 0.749 (p<0.01) in the workplace. On the contrary, correlations between the concentrations of toluene and hippuric acid among residents living near a dyeing industrial complex and residents living in general environments were all not significant. The relationship between the concentrations of hippuric acid and toluene in three types could be described by the exponential growth model. Conclusions: This study analyzed the relationships between toluene exposure and the concentrations of hippuric acid in urine in high, middle, and low exposure environments, and could be described by the exponential growth model.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.35-44
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the health status of residents who were exposed to the Iksan industrial area in the living environment and those who were not exposed to such a source of industrial activity through a questionnaire survey designed to appraise the residents' health levels. Method: The authors conducted a health questionnaire survey of 1,012 residents around Iksan regarding their personal information, physician-diagnosed disease history, odors experienced, and more. Logistic regression was performed to identify the associations between hazardous chemical exposure and physician-diagnosed diseases. Result: Logistic regression shows significant differences in allergic rhinitis, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, dyslipidemia, liver disease, and osteoporosis. Odors were experienced by 88.0% of the survey group. The seasons were summer (71%) and spring (24.9%). Conclusion: For allergic rhinitis, cerebral cardiovascular disease, and hypertension, which were significantly higher in the case group than in the control group in the disease diagnosis and disease treatment history of physicians, it was difficult to completely eliminate the association with odor exposure in the Iksan Industrial Complex. It is considered that it has affected nearby residents. This study means that a correlation between chronic diseases has been found through regression analysis, and furthermore, this result can be used as a basis for sampling for secondary epidemiological surveys.

• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.301-310
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• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of work intensity on fit factor and affective quality of the dustproof Background: Among the victims who suffer pneumoconiosis due to the inhalation of toxic substances or the lack of oxygen during the work, the proportion of the victims is larger than the other causes. Wearing a respirator may prevent pneumoconiosis, but it can be hazardous to workers because of the leakage through filters, cartridges, exhaust valves, broken parts, and face-to-face contact. Despite leakage through the contact area between the mask and the face has various causes such as the wearer's activity, sweat accumulation, facial shape, etc., There is a lack of relevant research and regulation compared to developed countries that have already institutionalized the law 30 years ago and give the right to sell through a test Method: The work intensity was adjusted by walking or running at 6km/h and 11km/h on the treadmill, and tasks were defined with reference to the test procedure and the exercise sequence applied in the face leakage test of the dustproof mask. And fit factor was measured objectively using 'Respirator Fit Tester 8038' which measures fit factor calculated by dividing the number of dust present outside the mask by inside the mask. In addition, affective quality was classified by the ease of use, ease of breathing, and ease of wearing, and was measured using the 5-point likert scale questionnaire. Results: There was a significant difference in fit factor, ease of breathing, and wearing convenience according to work intensity and no significant difference in ease of use(${\alpha}=0.01$). And when the work intensity was high, fit factor, ease of breathing, and wearing convenience were all lower than when the work intensity was low. Conclusion: In Korea, it is necessary to consider consideration of the work intensity when testing the leakage rate of the face part for safety certification of the respiratory protective equipment, When developing a mask, it should be possible to maintain high adhesion even under intense, active situation and high temperature conditions by selecting materials, improving the wearing style, and expanding the adjustable range.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.42-50
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• 2015

Beijing and Seoul are the capital of China and Korea, and political, economic, cultural, and tourist centers as well. Beijing is most likely to follow the footsteps of Seoul in the process of urbanization. The purpose of this study is to find out differences and improvements by comparing the solid waste management system between Beijing and Seoul. China classifies waste into urban waste, industrial waste and hazardous waste, which is the same as Korea did in 1980s. Beijing's policy directions in the waste management is similar to Seoul's in the early 1990s when Seoul strived to construct incinerators and landfill. Beijing's waste management achievements are also similar to Seoul's in that the ratio of recycling and incineration is high and that of landfill is low. Hence, it is expected for the waste management policies and achievement of two cities to resemble more and more. Financial burdens of government, indifference of citizens, and decentralized organizations of waste management might be the issues for Beijing to solve. In particular, to implement the user fee system and to encourage citizens to participate in waste separation discharge appear to be key issues in Beijing. Seoul should take a look at which the Beijing government itself collects waste in station and central area.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.95-103
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• 2017

A lot of hazardous materials have been used for product processing and utility plant. Many accidents including toxic release, fire and explosions occur in the ammonia related facility and plant. Various safety and environment management program including PSM, SMS, ORA etc. are being implemented for risk management and accident prevention in the production industry. Also much study and research have been carried about risk assessment of accident scenario in the academic and research area. In this paper, firstly risk level was assessed by using a typically used KORA program and LOPA PFD method for the selected ammonia unloading and storage facility. And then risk reduction measures for the risk assessed facility were studied in 3 aspects and some measures were proposed. Those Risk Reduction measures are including a leak detection and emergency isolation, water spray, dilution tank, dike and trench, scattering protection in hardware impovement aspect, and a applicable risk criteria, conditional modifier for existing LOPA PFD, alternative supporting modeling program in risk estimation methodology aspect, and last RBPS(Risk Based Process Safety) program, re-doing of process hazard analysis, management system compliance audit in managerial activity aspect.

• Proceedings of KOSOMES biannual meeting
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.65-70
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• 2006

The regulation of HNS has been intensified by the international trends including OPRC-HNS Protocol and '96 Convention which was driven by the high amounts of cargo. Due to the characteristics of HNS that would possibly bring potential damage with personnel and assets, effective management and prompt actions are required definitely. In order to respond effectively against HNS accidents, Korea Coast Guard (KCG) is in the process q development of HNS accident response manual and information system which allows On-Scene Coordinator(OSC) and personnels for rescue including an information for hazardous materials, sensitive area to be affected, solution methods and more. Furthermore, KCG is also building up establishment of national and local contingency plans for HNS in accordance with OPRC-HNS Protocol. It is also advised to proceed for the government to solve the anticipated obstacles that include protection equipments to get close to the site, experts allowing to manage accidents and organizations specialized for overall HNS related matters. The proposed issues described above are planned to conducted on basis of government.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Navigation and Port Research Conference
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• 2017.11a
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• pp.79-85
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• 2017

It is critical that passengers should be given timely and correct escape or evacuation guidance from captain and crews when there are hazardous situations in a ship. Otherwise the consequences could be disastrous as "SEWOL Ferry" the South Korean passenger ship which sank in southern coastal area on 16th April 2014. Due to the captain's delayed evacuation decision and lack of sufficient number of crews to guide passengers' evacuation, the accident recorded many casualties, most of whom were high school students (302 passengers sank down with the ship while 172 rescued). Building a passenger ship with well-designed physical escape routes is one thing and guiding passengers to those escape routes in real disaster situation is another. Passengers get panic and move to a wrong direction, bottleneck makes situation worse, and even crews get panic also - passive static escape route signage and small number of trained crews might not be enough to take care of them. SESS (Smart Escape Support System) is being developed sponsored by South Korea Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries starting from 2016 with 4 years of roadmap. SESS comprises multiple active dynamic signage devices which communicate with real-time escape routing server software via LoRa (Long Range) proprietary wireless network.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.402-411
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• 2013

Objectives: This study aims to assess the concentrations of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide according to task unit area at swine farms. Methods: A total of six swine farms were selected for this study. Ammonia and hydrogen sulfide were monitored using a real-time multi-gas monitor which could sample the gases simultaneously. The sampling was done in the pig building, manure storage facility and composting facility of each farm. Results: The concentration of ammonia in the pig buildings(GM 22.6 ppm, GSD 2.3) was significantly higher(p<0.0001) than in the manure storage facilities(GM 10.4 ppm, GSD 2.7) and composting facilities(GM 8.6 ppm, GSD 2.8). The concentration of hydrogen sulfide in the manure storage facilities(GM 9.8 ppm, GSD 3.2) was higher(p<0.0001) than in the pig buildings(GM 2.3 ppm, GSD 2.3) and composting facilities(GM 1.9 ppm, GSD 2.5). In particular, the levels of hydrogen sulfide in the confined manure storage facilities were higher than those in open-type facilities and the peak concentration(98 ppm) in the confined facilities was approximate to 100 ppm, at the value of Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health(IDLH). Conclusions: Suffocation accidents caused by hazardous gases at a swine farm have occurred annually. Real-time monitoring of the hazards should be done in order to protect farm workers and livestock from the sudden accidents.

• Strategy21
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• s.43
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• pp.29-55
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• 2018

Arctic sea ice has been retreating as a result of the global warming. Arctic sea ice extent for April 2018 averaged 13.71 million square kilometers. This figure shows far less sea ice compared to the average extent from 1981 to 2010. Meanwhile, 287 times of maritime transits through the Northwest Passage have been made during the 2017 and the first ship traversed the Northern Sea Route without the assistant of ice-breaker in August 2017. Commercialization of the Arctic Passage means significant economic and strategic advantages by shortening the distance. In this article, 'Arctic Passage' means Northern Sea Route along the Arctic coast of Russia and Northwest Passage crossing Canadian Arctic Ocean. As climate changes, the potential feasibility of the Arctic Passage has been drawing international attention. Since navigation in this area remains hazardous in some aspects, IMO adopted Polar Code to promote safe, secure and sustainable shipping through the Arctic Passage. Futhermore, Russia and Canada regulate foreign vessels over the maritime zones with the authority to unilaterally exercise jurisdiction pursuant to the Article 234 of UNCLOS. The dispute over the navigation regime of the arctic passage materialized with Russia proclaimed Dmitrii Laptev and Sannikov Straits as historically belong to U.S.S.R. in the mid 1960s and Canada declared that the waters of the passage are historic internal waters in 1973 for the first time. So as to support their claims, In 1985, Russia and Canada established straight baseline including Northern Sea Route and Northwest Passage. The United States has consistently protested that the Northern Sea Route and Northwest Passage are straits used for international navigation which are subject to the regime of transit passage. Firstly, it seems that Russia and Canada do not meet the basic requirements for acquiring a historic title. Secondly, since the Law of the Sea had adopted before the establishment of straight baseline over the Russian Arctic Archipelago and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Ships can exercise at least the right of innocent passage. Lastly, Northern Sea Route and Northwest Passage have fulfilled the both geographical and functional criteria pertaining to the strait used for international navigation under the international law. Especially, should the arctic passage become commercially viable, it can be expected to accumulate the functional criterion. Russia and Canada regulate the ships navigate in their maritime zones by adopting the higher degree of an environmental standard than generally accepted international rules and standard mainly under the Article 234 of UNCLOS. However, the Article 234 must be interpreted restrictively as this contains constraint on the freedom of navigation. Thus, it is reasonable to consider that the Article 234 is limited only to the EEZ of coastal states. Therefore, ships navigating in the Arctic Passage with the legal status of the territorial sea and the international straits under the law of the sea have the right of innocent passage and transit passage as usual.