Kang Seong-Kyu, Lee Mi-Young, Kim Tae-Kyun, Lee Jeong-Oh, Ahn Yeon Soon
Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute (OSHRI), Korea Occupational Safety and Health agency (KOSHA), 34-4 Gusan-dong, Bupyeong-gu, Incheon 403-711, Republic of Korea.
Chem Biol Interact. 2005 May 30;153-154:65-74. doi: 10.1016/j.cbi.2005.03.011. Epub 2005 Apr 9.
Benzene has been used in various industries as glues or solvents in Korea. Since 1981, a preparation containing more than 1% benzene is not allowed to be manufactured, used or dealt with in the workplace, except in laboratories and in those situations benzene must be used in a completely sealed process as specified in Industrial Safety and Health Act (ISHA). Claims for compensation of hematopoietic diseases related to benzene have been rising even though the work environment has been improved. This study was conducted to assess the status of benzene exposure in different industries in Korea. We reviewed the claimed cases investigated by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) between 1992 and 2000. The Survey of National Work Environment Status in 1998 was analyzed to assume the number of workers and factories exposed to benzene. In 2000, six factories were investigated to evaluate benzene exposure. Personal air monitoring was performed in 61 workers and urine samples were collected from 57 workers to measure trans,trans-muconic acid (t,t-MA). Hematologic examination has performed. Thirty-four cases of hematopoietic diseases were investigated by KOSHA including eight cases of myelodysplastic syndrome and eight cases of acute myelocytic leukemia. Eight cases were accepted as related to benzene exposure. The number of workers possibly exposed to benzene can be estimated to be 196,182 workers from 6219 factories based on the database. The geometric mean of benzene in air was 0.094 (0.005-5.311) ppm. Seven samples were higher than 1 ppm but they did not go over the 10 ppm occupational exposure limit (OEL) value in Korea. The geometric mean of trans,trans-muconic acid in urine was 0.966 (0.24-2.74) mg/g creatinine. The benzene exposure level was low except in a factory where benzene was used to polymerize other chemicals. The ambient benzene from 0.1 to 1 ppm was significantly correlated with urine t,t-MA concentration (r=0.733, p<0.01). Hematologic parameters did not show significant difference among groups divided into the level of exposure. Korean workers were not highly exposed to benzene and the level of exposure was mostly less than 1 ppm. However, there might be an excessive risk of hematopoietic disorders due to relatively high past exposure. The OEL value of benzene was amended to 1 ppm from 10 ppm in 2002 and was effective since July 2003.
在韩国，苯曾在各个行业用作胶水或溶剂。自1981年起，除实验室外， workplace内禁止制造、使用或处理含苯量超过1%的制剂，且在这些情况下，苯必须按照《工业安全与健康法》（ISHA）的规定在完全密封的过程中使用。尽管工作环境已有所改善，但与苯相关的造血系统疾病的赔偿索赔仍在增加。本研究旨在评估韩国不同行业的苯暴露状况。我们回顾了韩国职业安全与健康局（KOSHA）在1992年至2000年期间调查的索赔案例。分析了1998年的全国工作环境状况调查，以推测接触苯的工人和工厂数量。2000年，对六家工厂进行了调查以评估苯暴露情况。对61名工人进行了个人空气监测，并从57名工人中采集了尿液样本以测量反式，反式-粘康酸（t,t-MA）。进行了血液学检查。KOSHA调查了34例造血系统疾病病例，其中包括8例骨髓增生异常综合征和8例急性髓细胞白血病。8例被认定与苯暴露有关。根据数据库估计，6219家工厂中可能接触苯的工人数量为196,182人。空气中苯的几何平均值为0.094（0.005 - 5.311）ppm。7个样本高于1 ppm，但未超过韩国的10 ppm职业接触限值（OEL）值。尿液中反式，反式-粘康酸的几何平均值为0.966（0.24 - 2.74）mg/g肌酐。除了一家使用苯聚合其他化学品的工厂外，苯暴露水平较低。0.1至1 ppm的环境苯与尿液t,t-MA浓度显著相关（r = 0.733，p < 0.01）。血液学参数在按暴露水平划分的组间未显示出显著差异。韩国工人的苯暴露程度不高，且暴露水平大多低于1 ppm。然而，由于过去相对较高的暴露，可能存在造血系统疾病的过度风险。苯的OEL值于2002年从10 ppm修订为1 ppm，并于2003年7月起生效。
