This study was conducted to evaluate the characteristics of exposure to asbestos for ship repair workers in Korea by a systematic review. The number of articles studying asbestos exposure levels from ship repair workplaces was found to be 4. All asbestos concentration reported as either geometric mean and geometric standard deviation or ranges were transformed to arithmetic mean to estimate exposure level. In addition, weighted arithmetic means(WAMs) were calculated by weighing of the different number of samples. The WAM concentrations were 2.746 f/cc during asbestos dismantling work, 0.034 f/cc before asbestos dismantling work and 0.065 f/cc after working respectively. The maximum airborne concentration of asbestos during asbestos removal work was 7.02 f/cc which was 70 times higher than the occupational exposure limit of Korea, 0.1 f/cc. This study recommends that retrospective exposure to asbestos based on various ship types and operations should be assessed.

The aim of this study was to compare the carcinogen classification systems of developed countries or global organizations with domestic system under Industrial Safety and Health Act (ISHA). We selected the representative institutions which had carcinogen classification system such as International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), National Toxicological Program (NTP), Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA), American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), and European Union (EU). We collected the carcinogen lists issued by 5 institutions, and merged by CAS number of each chemical with Microsoft Access 7.0. We found that confirmed human carcinogens, probable human carcinogens and possible human carcinogens were 34, 179, and 252, respectively. All of the institutions classified chemicals as 2 (NTP), 3 (EU) or 5 (IARC, ACGIH, US-EPA) categories based on the weight of scientific evidences for carcinogenicity and periodically updated the carcinogen list by regular procedure. However, a total of 90 chemicals could be classified as carcinogen under ISHA in Korea. There was no procedure or system which periodically update the carcinogen lists. In addition, the status of carcinogen classification according to regulation was confused. In conclusion, these findings suggest that the carcinogen classification and management system should be amended by consideration of systems of advanced institutions and the domestic regulation system.

Texts and icons are used to deliver the safety and health information on pesticide labels. This study surveyed the standards or guidelines regarding the presentation formats of texts and icons used in pesticides. Also, the text and icon formats being used in the 50 pesticide products in Korea were investigated in the aspects of size, font (texts only), color. From the guideline survey, it was found that while the guidelines for the text fonts and colors in pesticides were suggested, there was no detailed guidelines about the text size. For the icon presentation, it was regulated that the icon size for the pesticides should be larger than 7mm×7mm, and this size was equivalent to the size when the reading distance of 28 ㎝ was applied to other two guidelines. From the sample survey of the 50 pesticides, it was found that the small text size being used in the 50 pesticides was 1mm (3pt), and this size was considered to be very difficult to be read, particularly by old people. The minimum size of the texts for the toxicity of the pesticide, the very important safety information, was found to be 1.5 mm, which is considered to be very uncomfortable to be read. The size of icons were varied from 2 to 12 mm, and the total average size was 4.6 mm. The 149 icons from a total 187 icons (80%) were smaller than the icon presentation guideline (7mm×7mm), and the reason for the small icon size might be the small area of the label of the pesticides. Thus, more detailed guidelines for the text size and more practical guidelines for the size of icons are required.

In this study, we have developed the database of safety and health information for pesticide active ingredients used in Korea. There were 1,283 pesticide items among which 296 were found to be out of use in current. A total of 349 pesticide ingredients were being used in Korea. The database consists of 32 types of information including chemical characteristics, acute toxicity, chronic toxicity (carcinogenic and reproductive toxicity), specific symptoms by exposure route and first aid. When pesticide ingredients were assessed in terms of key properties such as color, odor, acute toxicity, carcinogenic and reproductive toxicity, they were white, colorless and odorless, in general. When ingredients were classified by category of acute toxicity, 'Non-hazardous' represented 29%, followed by 'Slightly hazardous' at 16%, 'Moderately hazardous' at 14%, 'Highly hazardous' at 5%, and 'Extremely hazardous' at 2%. 85 out of 349, or 24% of ingredients were found to be possibly carcinogenic to human. This database is expected to provide an easy access for farmers, agriculture supervisors, researchers and consumers, and it can ultimately be used as basic data on farmer's safety and health.

This study surveyed the reading discomforts and the reasons for discomfortable reading of the safety and health information (texts and icons) presented on the agricultural vehicles/machines, pesticides, fertilizers, and feeds. Eighty seven people residing in rural area participated in the survey interview. Questionnaire survey showed that the most discomfortable product in reading the texts was pesticides. Forty three (49%) among participants had very-discomfortable or discomfortable in reading the texts used in the label of pesticides, and the main reason for the discomfort was small text size. The reading discomforts in reading the texts (varied from 4 point to 19 point and presented in 50 cm reading distance) showed different pattern according to the age groups. Three age groups (50s, 60s and older than 70s) showed a similar discomfort pattern, but different from the group of 30s and 40s. Forty four people (51%) had a problem in understanding the meaning of the icons and the main reasons were the small size and the difficulty in inferring the meaning of the icons. Thus, the more detailed and practical guidelines for the presentation format, particularly about the text heights and the size of icons, are required. Also, more comprehensive research is needed to investigate the readability and legibility of texts and icons.

Titanium oxide(TiO2) 박막을 금속 알콕사이드 물질인 (Ti(OC3H7)4(titanium isopropoxide)를 이용하여 p-Si(100) 기판위에 상압 화학 기상 증착법으로 증착시켰다. (TiO2) 박막의 증착기구는 단순경 계층 이론으로 잘 설명되었으며, 화학반응 지배 기구 영역에서 겉보기 활성화 에너지는 18.2kcal/mol이었다. 증착된 박막은 250˚C이상에서 anatase상의 결정질 박막이었으며, 고온에서 열처리를 했을 경우에 rutile상으로 전이하였다. 박막의 상전이에는 열처리 온도외에도 열처리 시간과 박막의 두께가 영향을 미쳤다. 정전용량-전압특성을 조사해 본 결과 전형적인 MOS 다이오드구조의 특성을 보였으며, 비유전율 상수는 약 80정도였다. 제조한 (TiO2) 박막의 열처리 공정 후에는 정전용량이 감소하였으며, 첨가물을 사용한 박막은 열처리 전과 같았다. 이때 VFB는 -0.5 ~ 1.5V였다. 전기전도 특성을 알아보기 위하여 전류-전압특성을 조사하였으며 증착된 박막의 전도기구는 hopping mechanism이었다. 전기적 특성을 개선하기 위해서 후열처리 방법과 박막 증착시 Nb, Sr을 첨가하였으며, 모두 누설전류의 감소와 정전파괴전압의 증가를 가져왔다.

The sacrocolpopexy has been the gold standard surgery for POP (pelvic organ prolapse). Though the rates of mesh-related complications after sacrocolpopexy are relatively low, the complications should be considered. This case report describes the clinical cases of removal of mesh eroding following hysterectomy, laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy and posterior vaginal repair. The surgery for complete mesh excision was performed at laparotomy or laparoscopy. Although any complications haven't been yet reported in two cases, careful follow-up management should be needed. Successful sacrocolpopexy without complications requires technically experienced pelvic surgeons, the most suitable surgical methods and the best graft material.