This report aims to provide an overview of the intensity of work and work satisfaction in Korea by comparing the first Korean Working Conditions Survey with the results of the fourth European Working Conditions Survey in 2005. According to the comparison, Korean workers work longer hours than workers in the majority of EU countries. However, work intensity in the EU 27 was 1.5 times stronger than Korea. In Korea, the rate of violence, bullying and harassment in the workplace is much lower than the EU 27, but in terms of work satisfaction, EU workers responded more positively than Korean workers. The amount of leave in Korean workers was much lower than the EU counterparts, yet the average number of accidentrelated or other work-related leaves was greater in Korean workers than workers in the EU. The pattern of exposure to physical factors, namely the most frequent hazards, such as, repetitive movement and painful or tiring posture, is similar in Korean and EU workers. However, the proportion of each exposure is larger in Korean workers than EU workers. In Korea, the most frequently reported work-related symptoms are musculoskeletal disorders followed by stress and fatigue. These patterns are quite similar in Korea and EU countries.
BackgroundThis study describes 17 families with 38 lung injury patients (14 males, 24 females; 22 preschool-age children less than six years of age and 16 individuals of 13–50 years) who used disinfectant added to humidifiers in the home.MethodsClinical examination and humidifier disinfectant-use histories were taken, and a thorough home investigation was performed to assess exposure to humidifier disinfectant.ResultsNine of the patients (three pregnant females, six preschool-age children) died soon after they first developed lung damage. Six (16%) were pregnant females and 22 (58%) were preschool-aged children younger than six years. The patients used humidifier disinfectant products containing either polyhexamethylene guanidine phosphate (PHMG, n = 36) or oligo(2-(2-ethoxy)ethoxyethyl guanidinium chloride (PGH, n = 2). Twenty-six patients (68%) used the brand "Oxy"®, which contains PHMG. Of the ten patients with fatal lung injury, nine were found to have used PHMG.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that the use of humidifier disinfectant products containing either PGH or PHMG can cause lung injury, especially in preschool-age children younger than six years and pregnant women.
ObjectivesThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the tire manufacturing work environments extensively and to identify workers' exposure to hazardous substances in various work processes.MethodsPersonal air sampling was conducted to measure polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, carbon disulfide, 1,3-butadiene, styrene, methyl isobutyl ketone, methylcyclohexane, formaldehyde, sulfur dioxide, and rubber fume in tire manufacturing plants using the National Institute for Occupational Safety Health Manual of Analytical Methods. Noise, carbon monoxide, and heat stress exposure were evaluated using direct reading instruments. Past concentrations of rubber fume were assessed using regression analysis of total particulate data from 2003 to 2007, after identifying the correlation between the concentration of total particulate and rubber fume.ResultsWorkers were exposed to rubber fume that exceeded 0.6 mg/m3, the maximum exposure limit of the UK, in curing and production management processes. Forty-seven percent of workers were exposed to noise levels exceeding 85 dBA. Workers in the production management process were exposed to 28.1℃ (wet bulb globe temperature value, WBGT value) even when the outdoor atmosphere was 2.7℃ (WBGT value). Exposures to other substances were below the limit of detection or under a tenth of the threshold limit values given by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists.ConclusionTo better classify exposure groups and to improve work environments, examining closely at rubber fume components and temperature as risk indicators in tire manufacturing is recommended.
The aims of this study were to investigate the concentrations and characteristics of nanoparticle exposure at various workplaces. We compared the concentration and characteristics of nanoparticles at nine workplaces of three types; i.e., small laboratories (LAB), large-scale engineered nanoparticle manufacturing workplaces (ENP), and unintended nanoparticle-emitting workplaces (UNP), using real-time monitoring devices including scanning mobility particle sizers (SMPS), condensation particle counters (CPC), surface area monitors (SAM), and gravimetric sampling. ANOVA and Scheffe's post hoc tests were performed to compare the concentration based on the type of workplace. The concentrations at UNPs were higher than those at other types of workplace for all measured metrics followed by (in order) ENP manufacturing workplaces and LAB (p < 0.01). Geometric means and geometric standard deviations of LAB, ENP, and UNP for total number concentration measured using SMPS were 8,458 (1.41), 19,612 (2.18), and 84,172 (2.80) particles cm , respectively. The characteristics of exposure and size distributions differed among the workplaces. Some tasks or processes at LAB exhibited higher concentrations than those at ENP or UNP workplaces, and LAB showed the lowest concentration. In conclusion, we observed different exposure characteristics at LAB, ENP, and UNP suggesting that different risk management strategies are required.
BackgroundPrimary tracheal tumors occur infrequently, accounting for less than 0.1% of all tumors. Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is the second most common type of malignancy of the trachea after squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Little has been reported on the risk factors for tracheal ACC. The purpose of this study is to describe a case of tracheal ACC in a patient who had been exposed to rubber fumes, and to review the relationship between tracheal ACC and rubber fumes.Case reportA 48-year-old man who had been experiencing aggravation of dyspnea for several months was diagnosed as having ACC of the trachea on the basis of a pathologic examination of a biopsy specimen obtained via laser microscopy-guided resection. The patient had been exposed to rubber fumes for 10 years at a tire manufacturing factory where he worked until ACC was diagnosed. His job involved preheating and changing rubber molds during the curing process.ConclusionACC of both the trachea and the salivary glands show very similar patterns with regard to histopathology and epidemiology and are therefore assumed to have a common etiology. Rubber manufacturing is an occupational risk factor for the development of salivary gland tumors. Further, rubber fumes have been reported to be mutagenic. The exposure level to rubber fumes during the curing process at the patient’s workplace was estimated to be close to or higher than British Occupational Exposure Limits. Therefore, tracheal ACC in this case might have been influenced by occupational exposure to rubber fumes.
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