Monitoring and Simulating Environmental Asbestos Dispersion from a Textile Factory

Although workplace asbestos concentrations (AC) have been reported several times, the past environmental AC are relatively poorly studied. Due to the harmful effects of the asbestos industry, production has moved from early industrialized countries (Japan), to late industrialized countries (Korea), and finally to industrializing countries (Indonesia). The purpose of this study was to determine current occupational exposure levels and evaluate neighborhood environmental exposure levels in an Indonesian asbestos textile factory through collaboration among three generation of industrialized countries. Asbestos concentrations were measured inside and outside of the factory and compared with simulated data. ACs in the factory were similar to those of 1980s and 1990s levels in the Korean factory that transferred the machines. Environmental ACs were dispersed according to wind direction. There were no significant differences between monitored and simulated data, and correlation coefficients between downwind, upwind, and middle wind directions were high, with some statistical significance. This study can be used to estimate past environmental ACs to understand the causality of asbestos related diseases. Because of the small sample size and specific weather conditions, a large-scale study of various asbestos exposure sources, including asbestos cement factories, shipyards, and mines, and various atmospheric conditions is required

Differences in the Incidence of Symptomatic Cervical and Lumbar Disc Herniation According to Age, Sex and National Health Insurance Eligibility: A Pilot Study on the Disease’s Association with Work

The aim of this research was to identify the differences in the incidence of symptomatic cervical and lumbar disc herniation according to age, sex, and national health insurance eligibility. We evaluated the hospital documents of patients who received medical treatment for symptomatic cervical and lumbar disc herniation between 2004 and 2010 and excluded those who claimed to have expenses at oriental medical clinics or pharmacies. Furthermore, any duplicate documents from the labor force population aged 20–69 years were excluded from the analysis. The results showed that the number of individuals diagnosed with symptomatic cervical and lumbar disc herniation increased with age, and the incidence of these diseases was higher in women than in men. Additionally, the incidence differed depending on the subject’s qualification for health insurance. The incidence of lumbar disc herniation showed differences depending on the degree of the lumbar burden. The present study findings may help determine whether lumbar disc herniation is associated with tasks performed at the patient’s workplace. Further research is needed to classify the risk of lumbar disk herniation in the workplace into detailed categories such as types of business, types of occupation, and lumbar compression force

Effects of Long Working Hours and Night Work on Subjective Well-Being Depending on Work Creativity and Task Variety, and Occupation: The Role of Working-Time Mismatch, Variability, Shift Work, and Autonomy

This study explored the effects of long working hours (LW) and night work (NW) on subjective well-being and the modifying effects of work creativity and task variety (WCTV) and occupation. In addition, we examined the influence of working time-related variables including working-time mismatch, variability, shift work, and autonomy on the effects of LW and NW. This study used data from the 5th Korean Working Conditions Survey on 50,205 workers. LW and NW were defined as 52–60 h (L1) or >60 h (L2) per week, and 1–10 days (N1) or >10 days (N2) of night work per month. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine the effects of LW and NW and the modifying influences of WCTV and occupation. Differences in ORs of LW and NW caused by working time-related variables were investigated, to determine effect sizes and directions. A high level of WCTV alleviated the risks of LW and NW. White-collar workers were more vulnerable to the risk associated with NW. Regarding working-time related variables, working-time mismatch and variability increased the risks of LW and NW, respectively, while shift work alleviated the risks of NW. In countries where flexible work systems are not well utilized, working-time autonomy might not be associated with the risk of LW or NW. This study showed that it is necessary to comprehensively consider the occupation and task characteristics of individual workers performing LW or NW. Further studies of the modifying effects of working time-related variables on LW and NW are needed

Developing Asbestos Job Exposure Matrix Using Occupation and Industry Specific Exposure Data (1984–2008) in Republic of Korea

Background: The goal of this study is to develop a general population job-exposure matrix (GPJEM) on asbestos to estimate occupational asbestos exposure levels in the Republic of Korea. Methods: Three Korean domestic quantitative exposure datasets collected from 1984 to 2008 were used to build the GPJEM. Exposure groups in collected data were reclassified based on the current Korean Standard Industrial Classification (9th edition) and the Korean Standard Classification of Occupations code (6th edition) that is in accordance to international standards. All of the exposure levels were expressed by weighted arithmetic mean (WAM) and minimum and maximum concentrations. Results: Based on the established GPJEM, the 112 exposure groups could be reclassified into 86 industries and 74 occupations. In the 1980s, the highest exposure levels were estimated in “knitting and weaving machine operators” with a WAM concentration of 7.48 fibers/mL (f/mL); in the 1990s, “plastic products production machine operators” with 5.12 f/mL, and in the 2000s “detergents production machine operators” handling talc containing asbestos with 2.45 f/mL. Of the 112 exposure groups, 44 groups had higher WAM concentrations than the Korean occupational exposure limit of 0.1 f/mL. Conclusion: The newly constructed GPJEM which is generated from actual domestic quantitative exposure data could be useful in evaluating historical exposure levels to asbestos and could contribute to improved prediction of asbestos-related diseases among Koreans

Comparison of Asbestos Victim Relief Available Outside of Conventional Occupational Compensation Schemes

The asbestos victim relief schemes were introduced to resolve the issue of victims of asbestos-related diseases not receiving compensation through conventional legal orders. This article seeks to derive the differences and commonalities of various asbestos victim relief schemes available outside of the conventional occupational compensation system along with a systematic understanding and to propose plans for improvement through a comparative study. After the degree of asbestos exposure, the population, and the period of implementation were corrected, the recognized claims of the total of conventional occupational compensation schemes and the asbestos victim relief schemes could be ranked in the order of South Korea (KOR) (1867, total), France (FRA) (1571), Japan (JPN) (966), KOR (847, asbestosis grade 2,3 excluded), the United Kingdom (GBR) (670), and the Netherlands (NLD) (95). The average amount of compensation per person, in the case of mesothelioma, was higher in the order of FRA (4.60 times), KOR (1.46 times), GBR (1.03 times), and NLD (0.73 times) of the median income per year. The differences between countries were largely caused by the purpose of institutional design and influenced by the level of qualification, the existence of an expiration date, type of disease, type of benefit, level of judgment criteria, the existence of a procedure for appeals, and recognition rate (GBR: 102%, FRA: 84%, NLD: 81%, JPN: 76%, KOR: 73%, and BEL: 54%). Based on this analysis, suggestions could be made regarding the expansion of disease types, benefit types, and the overall review of judgment criteria

Chemical Pneumonitis Caused by the Inhalation of Zinc Oxide Fumes in an Arc Welder

Acute respiratory illness caused by exposure to welding-associated zinc oxide fumes is known as metal fume fever (MFF). MFF is generally characterized as a self-limiting disease. Few studies have reported chemical pneumonitis associated with zinc fume inhalation. We report a case study involving severe episodes of MFF accompanied by chemical pneumonitis due to the inhalation of zinc oxide fumes while operating an arc welder. A 54-year-old man developed flu-like symptoms after arc welding galvanized steel in a poorly ventilated area. Despite intravenous antibiotics therapy, his clinical course worsened, and his urine zinc concentration was remarkably elevated (3579 μg/24 h; reference range, 0–616 μg/24 h). A chest computed tomography revealed extensive consolidation, ground-glass opacity in the lungs, and right pleural effusion. After corticosteroid treatment, the patient’s symptoms and radiologic findings significantly improved. It should be noted that the inhalation of zinc oxide fumes can occasionally induce acute lung injury via inflammatory responses and oxidative stress

Development of Nationwide Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk Evaluation Methods with Comprehensive Past Asbestos Exposure Reconstruction

Although exposure to asbestos via various routes has been acknowledged, comprehensive exposure and risk assessment methods have not been developed at the national level. We conducted a study to reconstruct comprehensive past asbestos exposure estimations and to suggest a method to calculate the Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR) of Koreans. The past occupational exposure reconstruction was conducted by rebuilding the previous general population job-exposure matrix (JEM). The para-occupational and household exposure estimation was based on the pooled analysis of data from other countries as well as Korea. The neighborhood exposure from occupational sources by distance was estimated by the exponential decay model. As a result, 141 JEM exposure groups across four periods including ~79, the 80s, 90s, 2000s with a ratio of 2.0:1.0:0.5:0.05 were reconstructed. The para-occupational and household exposures were 11% and 1% of the JEM respectively. The environmental exposure source concentration from outside occupational exposure was 2.5% of the inside concentration. The ratio of the concentration of environmental exposure source (C0) to distance d (Cd) was exp−kd  with a decay constant k of 6.834. The mean concentrations (f/cc) were 2.28 × 10−3 for outdoor, 4.65 × 10−5 for indoor, 1.95 × 10−2 for transportation activity, 4.44 × 10−2 for agricultural activity, and 4.68 × 10−2 for daily life activity in naturally occurring asbestos areas. Indoor and outdoor asbestos concentrations from living in a slate roof house were 1.73 × 10−6 and 2.70 × 10−8, respectively. For improved generalizability, validity, and applicability of the proposed method, further studies on each route with real assessments and experiments are required