• Title/Summary/Keyword: safety hazards

Search Result 922, Processing Time 0.023 seconds

ICOH Statement on Protecting the Occupational Safety and Health of Migrant Workers

  • International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH),;Salmen-Navarro, Acran;Schulte, Paul
    • Safety and Health at Work
    • /
    • v.13 no.3
    • /
    • pp.261-262
    • /
    • 2022
  • Globally, it is estimated that the number of people living outside of their country of origin reached 281 million in 2020. The primary drive of those migrants when migrating voluntarily is work to increase their income and provide for their families left behind in their home countries. Those who migrate immediately seek means of income to sustain themselves through a perilous process as currently evidenced in the war in Ukraine and not too long ago in Syria and Venezuela. Unfortunately, migrant workers are globally known to predominantly be working in "4-D jobs"- dirty, dangerous, and difficult and discriminatory; the fourth D was recently added to acknowledge the discriminatory aspect and other social determinants of health migrant workers face in their host country while exposed to precarious work. Consequently, migrant workers are at considerable risk of work-related illnesses and injury but their health needs are critically overlooked in research and policy. Recognizing the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights "Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment", we cannot consider any human life - thus, the life of migrant workers - as dispensable through a structural discriminatory process that undervalues their occupational safety and health, livelihood and the contribution these workers bring to their host countries. This was seen during the preparation for the upcoming world cup in Qatar where migrant workers were exposed to a multiplicity of serious hazards including deadly heat hazards.

Occupational Hazards in Firefighting: Systematic Literature Review

  • Maria F. Cuenca-Lozano;Cesar O. Ramirez-Garcia
    • Safety and Health at Work
    • /
    • v.14 no.1
    • /
    • pp.1-9
    • /
    • 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.

Multihazard capacity optimization of an NPP using a multi-objective genetic algorithm and sampling-based PSA

  • Eujeong Choi;Shinyoung Kwag;Daegi Hahm
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
    • /
    • v.56 no.2
    • /
    • pp.644-654
    • /
    • 2024
  • After the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami (Japan, 2011), regulatory efforts to mitigate external hazards have increased both the safety requirements and the total capital cost of nuclear power plants (NPPs). In these circumstances, identifying not only disaster robustness but also cost-effective capacity setting of NPPs has become one of the most important tasks for the nuclear power industry. A few studies have been performed to relocate the seismic capacity of NPPs, yet the effects of multiple hazards have not been accounted for in NPP capacity optimization. The major challenges in extending this problem to the multihazard dimension are (1) the high computational costs for both multihazard risk quantification and system-level optimization and (2) the lack of capital cost databases of NPPs. To resolve these issues, this paper proposes an effective method that identifies the optimal multihazard capacity of NPPs using a multi-objective genetic algorithm and the two-stage direct quantification of fault trees using Monte Carlo simulation method, called the two-stage DQFM. Also, a capacity-based indirect capital cost measure is proposed. Such a proposed method enables NPP to achieve safety and cost-effectiveness against multi-hazard simultaneously within the computationally efficient platform. The proposed multihazard capacity optimization framework is demonstrated and tested with an earthquake-tsunami example.

Derivation of Cause Variables necessary for Electrostatic Fire/Explosion Risk Assessment and Accident Investigation (정전기 화재·폭발 위험성평가 및 사고조사에 필요한 발생원인 변수 도출)

  • Junghwan Byeon;Hyeongon Park
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
    • /
    • v.39 no.2
    • /
    • pp.9-21
    • /
    • 2024
  • Static-electricity-induced fires and explosions persistently occur every year, averaging approximately 80 and 20 cases annually according to fire statistics provided by the National Fire Agency and industrial accident statistics provided by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, respectively. Despite the relatively low probabilities of these accidents, their potential risks are high. Consequently, effective risk assessment methodologies and accident investigation strategies are essential for efficiently managing static-electricity hazards in fire- and explosion-prone areas. Accordingly, this study aimed to identify the causal variables essential for accident investigations, thereby facilitating risk assessments and the implementation of effective recurrence prevention measures to mitigate static-electricity hazards in fire-and explosion-prone regions. To this end, industrial accident statistics recorded over the past decade (2012 to 2021) by the Ministry of Employment and Labor were analyzed to identify major fire and explosion incidents and related industrial accidents wherein static electricity was identified as a potential ignition source. Subsequently, relevant investigation reports (63 cases) were thoroughly analyzed. Based on the results of this analysis, existing electrostatic fire and explosion risk assessment techniques were refined and augmented. Moreover, factors essential for investigating electrostatic fire and explosion disasters were delineated, and the primary causal variables necessary for effective risk assessments and scientific investigations were derived.

Overview of the Management Characteristics of Food (Livestock Products) Transportation Systems on International- and National-level HACCP Application (HACCP 적용을 중심으로 본 해외 식품운반 관리체계의 특징과 우리나라 축산물 유통단계 안전관리 현황 조사 연구)

  • Kim, Hyoun-Wook;Paik, Hyun-Dong;Hong, Whan-Soo;Lee, Joo-Yeon
    • Food Science of Animal Resources
    • /
    • v.29 no.4
    • /
    • pp.513-522
    • /
    • 2009
  • HACCP is a scientific and systematic program that identifies specific hazards and gives measures for their control to ensure the safety of foods. Based on the Livestock Products Processing Act, the HACCP system is now being applied to Korean livestock products since December 1997, and Korea is accelerating its application from farm to table, including in farms, slaughterhouses, livestock product industries, retail markets, and transportation. The transport of livestock and its products is one of the vulnerable sectors in terms of food safety in Korea. Meats are transported in trucks in the form of carcasses or packaged meats in boxes. Carcasses may be exposed to microbiological, physical, and chemical hazards from the environment or through cross-contamination from other meats. Poor cleaning or maintenance of vehicles and tools may also raise the exposure of carcasses to microbiological or chemical hazards. HACCP application and its acceleration in distribution, particularly in transport, is regarded as critical to the provision to consumers of ultimately safe livestock products. To achieve this goal, steady efforts to develop practical tools for HACCP application should be carried out.

An Analysis of Damage Mechanism of Semiconductor Devices by ESD Using Field-induced Charged Device Model (유도대전소자모델(FCDM)을 이용한 ESD에 의한 반도체소자의 손상 메커니즘 해석)

  • 김두현;김상렬
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
    • /
    • v.16 no.2
    • /
    • pp.57-62
    • /
    • 2001
  • In order to analyze the mechanism of semiconductor device damages by ESD, this paper adopts a new charged-device model(CDM), field-induced charged nudel(FCDM), simulator that is suitable for rapid routine testing of semiconductor devices and provides a fast and inexpensive test that faithfully represents ESD hazards in plants. The high voltage applied to the device under test is raised by the fie]d of non-contacting electrodes in the FCDM simulator. which avoids premature device stressing and permits a faster test cycle. Discharge current md time are measured and calculated The FCDM simulator places the device at a huh voltage without transferring charge to it, by using a non-contacting electrode. The only charge transfer in the FCMD simulator happens during the discharge. This paper examine the field charging mechanism, measure device thresholds, and analyze failure modes. The FCDM simulator provides a Int and inexpensive test that faithfully represents factory ESD hazards. The damaged devices obtained in the simulator are analyzed and evaluated by SEM Also the results in this paper can be used for to prevent semiconductor devices from ESD hazards.

  • PDF

Chemical Composition of Painting Materials used in Some Korean Shipyards (조선업의 도장 작업시 취급하는 도료중 유해물질 성분에 관한 연구)

  • Shin, Yong Chul;Yi, Gwang Yong
    • Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
    • /
    • v.9 no.1
    • /
    • pp.156-172
    • /
    • 1999
  • Potential chemical hazards encountered in painting operation of four shipyards and a ship-repair shop were investigated through the material safety data sheets (MSDS). Material safety data sheets (MSDS) for 307 paints, 50 thinners and 34 binders were collected and reviewed. It was shown that various organic solvents such as aromatic hydrocarbons, aliphatic hydrocarbons, ketones, alcohols, glycols, glycol ether acetates and esters were contained in painting materials. Of these solvents, xylene was found in the largest number of painting materials. sixty percent of the thinners contained xylene in the contents of 20-100%. Other most frequently found solvents were 1-methoxypropanol, 1-methoxypropyl acetate, n-butanol, methyl isobutyl ketone, toluene, isopropanol, and n-butyl acetate, etc. Glycol ethers such as 2-methoxyethanol (2-ME), 2-methoxyethyl acetate (2-MEA), 2-ethoxyethanol (2-EE), 2-ethoxyethyl acetate (2-EEA) and 2-butoxyethanol (2-BA) were regarded as having the potential to cause adverse reproductive effects, embryotoxic effect and hematotoxic effects, and were found in some epoxy panting materials. Coal tar pitch was included in some paints(13%) where polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) could be contaminated. Inorganic pigments such as lead chromate and zinc potassium chromate were found in some paints (8%). The epoxy resin based paints, which may contain isocyanates such as toluene diisocyanates and hexamethylene diisocyanates causing potential sensitization and asthma to upper respiratory organ, were mostly used in the shipyards. The constituents in the MSDS were significantly different from the results analyzed using gas chromatography/mass detector: minor constituents or impurities were omitted in many MSDS. In conclusion, xylene was the most frequent organic solvent in painting materials, and glycol ethers, including 2-ME, 2-MEA, 2-EE, 2-EEA and 2-BA, were found some products. Also, painting workers may be exposed to PAHs, lead, chromate, isocyanates, organic tin and other various chemicals. The compositions of chemicals in painting materials were variable significantly, and the hazards were changed. These facts should be considered in environmental monitoring and control of the hazards.

  • PDF

A Study on the Analysis of Environmental Hazards when Dismantling Non-Structure of Old Residential Buildings (노후 주거용 건축물 비구조체 해체 시 환경유해인자 분석)

  • Son, Byeung-Hun
    • Journal of Urban Science
    • /
    • v.10 no.1
    • /
    • pp.29-37
    • /
    • 2021
  • The number of old buildings older than 30 years in Korea continues to increase from 29.9% in 2005 to 38.8% in 2020. Considering the growing urban regeneration projects, urban maintenance projects, the suppression of urban expansion, and the lack of idle land in the city, the dismantling of old buildings is expected to increase further in the future. As major accidents at building dismantling sites continue to occur, related agencies are also strengthening safety management of building dismantling works. While physical safety management such as collapse and fall is strengthened, there is a relative lack of interest in the health of workers at dismantling sites due to environmental hazards. Since relevant laws stipulate that construction waste should be separated and discharged, old buildings need to be considered for environmental hazards such as fine dust, floating bacteria, and floating molds when dismantling. In this study, we intend to find important safety management elements in the management of building dismantling sites, measure environmental factors harmful to dismantling workers, and present basic data for the management of dismantling sites in the future. "Safety management" was the highest priority, followed by "dust," "vibration," "noise," "bacteria," and "smell." The perception of the importance of "physical damage prevention" with workers working on dismantling and managers managing the site came out similar, but the perception of "work efficiency" and "health disorder prevention" through environmental hazard management showed different priorities. In the process of dismantling, floating bacteria and floating mold were collected, cultured, and measured the concentration in the indoor air. The measurement was measured by dividing it into pre-dismantling and during dismantling.

A Collision Analysis Technique for Prevention Actions of Accident in Safety Critical System (Safety Critical 시스템에서 사고의 예방동작간 충돌 분석 기법)

  • Kwon, Jang-Jin;Hong, Jang-Eui
    • KIPS Transactions on Software and Data Engineering
    • /
    • v.2 no.10
    • /
    • pp.661-668
    • /
    • 2013
  • A safety critical system is a system that leads to injury of people, damage of property and environment due to functional failures or occurrence of undesired condition. Therefore, to ensure the safety of a system, system engineers should consider the inherent hazards of the system at design phase of the system development, and also should design the prevention actions to minimize damage when an accident occurred. The objective of these actions is preventing the serious damage from accidents that can occur due to unforeseen circumstance. Recently, many studies have been performed to identify and analyze their hazards at design phase of safety critical systems. This paper suggests a safety analysis technique for analyzing the collision among those prevention actions to reduce accident and its effect by the collision of these actions that did not mentioned in previous studies. Through the proposed technique, it would improve robustness of safety and would help the design of prevention actions into system for the occurrence of accidents.