No abstract

No abstract

Korea was one of the major consumers of asbestos in the late 1900s, and asbestos-related disease patients have been reported continuously to date, owing to long disease latency. Several studies have been conducted to predict the future incidence of malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer in Korea, but little is understood about the latency time. Therefore, the aim of this study is to estimate the latency period of malignant mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer in Korea and its determinants. We obtained information from the Environmental Health Centers for Asbestos in Korea on the history of asbestos exposure and demographic characteristics of 1933 patients with malignant mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer. In our study, the latency periods for malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer were 33.7 and 40.1 years, respectively. Regardless of the disease type, those with a history of exposure related to the production of asbestos-containing products or asbestos factories had the shortest latency period. In addition, we observed that those who worked in or lived near asbestos mines tended to have a relatively long disease latency. Smoking was associated with shorter latency, but no linear relationship between the lifetime smoking amount (expressed in pack years) and latent time was observed. In addition, the age of initial exposure showed a negative linear association with the latency period for mesothelioma and lung cancer.

No abstract

The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) has applied Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS), but the effectiveness of OHSMS is being questioned due to continuous industrial accidents that continue to occur. Although OHSMS, which has been generally applied in enterprises, has more potential for improper implementation in the military, there are few studies on OHSMS in the military. Therefore, this study verified the effectiveness of OHSMS in the ROKN and derived improvement factors. This study was conducted in a two-step process. First, we surveyed 629 workers at the ROKN workplaces to confirm the effectiveness of OHSMS by comparing occupational health and safety (OHS) efforts according to whether OHSMS was applied and the period of application. Second, 29 naval OHSMS experts evaluated the factors for improving OHSMS using two decision-making tools: Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)-entropy and Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA). The study results indicate that the OHS efforts of OHSMS-applied workplaces were similar to that of unapplied. Also, no better OHS efforts were identified in workplaces with more extended OHSMS application periods. There were five improvement factors of OHSMS applied to the ROKN workplaces, with the highest weight in the following order: consultation and participation of workers; resources; competence; hazard identification and risk assessment; and organizational roles, responsibilities, and authorities. The effectiveness of OHSMS in the ROKN was insufficient. Therefore, the ROKN needs focused improvement efforts on the five requirements to implement OHSMS practically. These results can be helpful information for the ROKN to apply OHSMS more effectively for industrial safety.