• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.275-289
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• 2005

In Korea, health-related items under current EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) system can only be found in the categories of hygiene and public health. However, environment and public health are not adequately connected and also health is underestimated even though health is an important component of environmental assessments. As a result, health is not well integrated within criteria for investigating the impacts on environment. International trends in HIA (Health Impact Assessment) to strengthen the connection between environment and health were investigated in this research. Definitions, functions, circumstances, and merits of HIA in foreign countries were compared. By collecting and analyzing international organizations' and other countries' data related with HIA and EIA, preceding conditions and execution plans were suggested to link EIA and HIA from SEA (Strategic Environmental Assessment) aspects and to successfully accomplish EIA in Korea. According to this research, EHIA (Environmental Health Impact Assessment) can predict and manage the results of economical development only under the principles of inhabitants' participation, sustainability, and social justice. EHIA should be modified and improved towards increasing regional and national capabilities. For this, preparation of adequate procedure is required to connect EIA and HIA.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.309-322
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• 2006

During the last decade, Health Impact Assessment (HIA) has been discussed worldwide as being an important tool for the development of healthy public policy. HIA has been advanced as a means of bringing potential health impacts to the attention of policy makers, particularly in sectors where health impacts may not otherwise be considered. HIA, a systematic assessment of potential health impacts of proposed public polices, programs, and projects, offers a means to advance population health by bringing public health research to bear on questions of public policy. In Korea, health-related items under current EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) system can only be found in the categories of hygiene and public health. However, environment and public health are not adequately connected and also health is underestimated even though health is an important objective component for the implementation of Environmental Assessments (EA). As a result, health is not well integrated within criteria for investigating the impacts on environment. This study examines linkages for HIA from the related and relatively well-developed field of Prior Environmental Review System (PERS) which is similar to SEA and EIA in Korea.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.201-209
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• 2011

Objectives: This study examined the use of health impact assessment (HIA) as a tool for intersectoral collaboration using the case of an HIA project conducted in Gwang Myeong City, Korea. Methods: A typical procedure for rapid HIA was used. In the screening step, the Aegi-Neung Waterside Park Plan was chosen as the target of the HIA. In the scoping step, the specific methods and tools to assess potential health impacts were chosen. A participatory workshop was held in the assessment step. Various interest groups, including the Department of Parks and Greenspace, the Department of Culture and Sports, the Department of Environment and Cleansing, civil societies, and residents, discussed previously reviewed literature on the potential health impacts of the Aegi-Neung Waterside Park Plan. Results: Potential health impacts and inequality issues were elicited from the workshop, and measures to maximize positive health impacts and minimize negative health impacts were recommended. The priorities among the recommendations were decided by voting. A report on the HIA was submitted to the Department of Parks and Greenspace for their consideration. Conclusions: Although this study examined only one case, it shows the potential usefulness of HIA as a tool for enhancing intersectoral collaboration. Some strategies to formally implement HIA are discussed.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.511-524
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• 2007

Korea has 30 years of experiences in environmental impact assessment (EIA). Although EIA includes sanitation-public health factor, considering health impacts, among 74 unit projects of 17 sections, health impacts haven't been properly considered or have been ignored in many cases. The increasing awareness on the importance of health impacts has triggered this study to seek an optimal introduction scheme of health impact assessment (HIA). The processes of EIA already include screening, scoping, analysis, impact assessment, consultation, document review, decision making and monitoring, in which they would be the essential parts of HIA. In this context, integrating HIA into the existing EIA process could be the most effective way to use the benefits in both legal and procedural processes existed and to avoid the confusion and overlapping since the close relationships between environment and health impacts might be. Furthermore, it is desirable that the existing sanitation-public health factor should be substituted by and extended to environment-health factor with sufficient determinants to properly consider health impacts. When considering the first step of HIA, the prospective and qualitative approach is suitable more than the retrospective and quantitative one due to the lack of database accumulated. Similarly, an approach based on epidemiology and toxicology could analyze the limited evidences and impacts related to human disease, whereas one based on socio-science and psychology could provide the effective means available for predicting how the people and community will act by the change of surroundings. Checklist approach with various and comprehensive health determinants focused on prospective and qualitative methods will be very useful for more convenient and progressive dissemination of HIA. Various checklist approaches of toolkits could be found from HIA documents elsewhere, for example Westminster Toolkit, and they would be helpful to figure out how to develop common procedures and health determinants for checklist, in which the unique characteristics on korean cultural and political context compared to abroad should be carefully considered since checklist would be the most basic and essential part of HIA. After the establishment of checklist and procedural processes, the pilot projects should be conducted. Main purpose of pilot projects is to apparently prove the effectiveness and profitability of HIA. Pilot projects should be implemented to decide the effectiveness and suitability of HIA for future projects, programs and policies, and should be provided as the positive cases that can be achieved through the proper implementation and progress.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.115-130
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• 2011

Objective: This study aimed to introduce Health Impact Assessment using the case of a HIA on 2008 Dream Start Project in Cheongju. Methods: We followed the typical procedure of HIA recommended by the Merseyside Guidelines on HIA. In scoping, the steering committee decided 5 key domains of child health to be assessed: prenatal care, vaccination, nutrition, access to health care, and child abuse and also the methods of collecting the evidence. The HIA appraisal team collected information from various sources including literature, community survey, and focus group interviews. The HIA appraisal team also synthesized the collected information in terms of the nature of health impacts and equity and made recommendations accordingly. Results: Positive impacts were expected in prenatal care, vaccination, and nutrition, while negative impacts were expected in access to health care. The impact of Dream Start on child abuse was uncertain. Several recommendations were made and submitted to the Dream Start team for their consideration. About 2 years later, we found many of them were implemented in 2009 Dream Start project. Conclusion: HIA was found to be applicable and effective to make decision makers in the welfare sector consider health in their work.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.129-141
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• 2007

With its more than 35 years of experience with EIA of NEPA in United States, the extensive knowledge base of EIA could be the most suitable place for initial field of HIA to explore lessons available for. However, caution is needed as the technical differences in analysis, different policy context, and distinct professional culture between EIA and HIA might be. The successe of EIA of NEPA is the integration of environmental goals into decision making process, improved planning, and increased transparency and public involvement, whereas shortcomings of it were defined as the excessive volume and complexity of EIA documents, the limited and adversarial public involvement, the procedural process (not substantive), focus on projects (not on policies and programs), and the limited consideration of health impacts. Integrating HIA into existing EIA process is positive in two reasons that the human health is closely related with natural environment and EIA process is a fully established process that effectively cuts across bureaucratic and sectoral boundaries. Also, integrating of HIA into EIA might be a way with least resistance for the widespread use. A freestanding HIA separated from EIA is desirable in terms of excessive volume of EIA documents and the procedural and legal focus of EIA. It is needed to develop the formulated methodologies for advancing HIA whether it is a part of or separated from EIA, and to estimate the potential values of HIA in the substantial society context. When possible, HIA should be established on the ways that EIAs have been used successfully.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.15-28
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• 2010

Because deterioration of air quality and urban heat island directly harm health of citizens, Health Impact Assessment (HIA) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for urban development projects needs to conduct analysis of their impacts objectively. This study aims to review appropriate methods for assessment of air quality used at each stage of urban development and to investigate prediction and assessment methods of urban heat island. In addition, by evaluating impacts of climate change following supposed urban construction performed in the central area of Korea on public health, it examines usefulness of HIA for urban construction. When urban heat island prediction and HIA method suggested in this study are applied to an imaginary city, they predict urban heat island properly and the impacts of climate changes on public health inside the city could be determined clearly by calculating life-climate index and bio-climate index related with thermal environment from the model.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.439-446
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• 2007

In order to reduce the health inequalities within a society changes need to be made in broad health determinants and their distribution in the population. It has been expected that the Health impact assessment(HIA) and Healthy Cities can provide opportunities and useful means for changing social policy and environment related with the broad health determinants in developed countries. HIA is any combination of procedures or methods by which a proposed 4P(policy, plan, program, project) may be judged as to the effects it may have on the health of a population. Healthy city is one that is continually creating and improving those physical and social environments and expanding those community resources which enable people to mutually support each other in performing all the functions of life and in developing to their maximum potential. In Korea, social and academic interest regarding the HIA and Healthy Cities has been growing recently but the need of HIA and Healthy Cities in the perspective of reducing health inequality was not introduced adequately. So we reviewed the basic concepts and methods of the HIA and Healthy Cities, and its possible contribution to reducing health inequalities. We concluded that though the concepts and methods of the HIA and Healthy Cities are relatively new and still in need of improvement, they will be useful in approaching the issue of health inequality in Korea.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.19 no.4 s.54
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• pp.34-47
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• 2004

Although Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA) in Korea has been improved markedly over the past two decades, by enlarging the range of projects for assessment, instituting pub lic participation and environmental monitoring, and similar measures, it remains deficient in its coverage of human health in Environmental Impact Statements(EISs). Health Impact Assessment(HIA) can supply the necessary correctives. HIA is a combination of procedures, methods and tools by which a policy, programme, projects or legislative procedure may be judged for its potential effects on the health of a population, and the distribution of these effects within it. The principle of health protection is, however, established as a primary concern in EIA processes, in practice health is scarcely mentioned or the discussion is limited to a description of effects through the biophysical environment. The whole range of possible effects on health, including those mediated by socio-economic factors is often ignored, and no effective mechanism are in place to successfully incorporating health criteria and expertise into environmental, assessment(EA) that include ElA, SEA. These are foremost among the current issues facing EIA in Korea.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.11-19
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• 2009

We conducted human risk assessment due to inhalation exposure to heavy metals emitted from incinerator. The process of health impact assessment(HIA) on incinerator is as follows: The first step is to presume and calculate the amount of heavy metals emitted using emission factor. The second step is to conduct an exposure assessment using the K-SCREEN model which is used for predicting the concentration in a conservative method. The last step is to carry out a risk assessment on carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic substances. This study revealed that rank of carcinogenic human risk was $Cr^{+6}$ > As > Ni > Cd, and values of human risk assessment on carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic substances is lower than the US criteria for risk assessment except $Cr^{+6}$. It is expected that the technique of HIA, especially human risk assessment on heavy metals, would be applied to the incinerator construction project. In addition, more systematic studies are needed to overcome some weak points and limits found in this study.