Department of Occupational Health & Safety Engineering, Inje University, Republic of Korea.
Ind Health. 2018 Jul 27;56(4):285-291. doi: 10.2486/indhealth.2017-0119. Epub 2018 Mar 10.
With economic growth, the use of chemicals has continually increased, resulting in an increase of chemical accidents. Chemical accidents pose a life threat and can lead to many health problems among the residents living in close proximity to chemical plants. This study aimed to investigate the awareness of the residents living near chemical plants about hazardous chemicals, as well as to survey the awareness of workers who do not directly handle chemicals at chemical plants (WNHCs). To this end, a questionnaire survey was conducted among a total of 600 residents and 160 WNHCs. The questionnaire was composed of three items: awareness of chemical risk, awareness of countermeasures in chemical accidents, and imperious necessity of PPE (personal protective equipment). Statistical analysis of the data was performed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18.0. The results show that the government needs to complement the notification system of chemical risk for residents who live close to chemical plants. The highest priority of PPE which residents want to prepare for chemical accidents was respiratory protective equipment (RPE). They responded that, if necessary to purchase PPE, they could bear a portion of the expenses (up to US $30). This study provides basic data for the development of programs and policies on chemical safety relevant for the residents living in close proximity to chemical plants in South Korea.
随着经济的增长，化学品的使用不断增加，导致化学事故的增加。化学事故对生命构成威胁，并可能导致居住在化工厂附近的居民出现许多健康问题。本研究旨在调查居住在化工厂附近的居民对危险化学品的认识，以及调查不直接接触化工厂化学品的工人（WNHCs）的认识。为此，对总共 600 名居民和 160 名 WNHCs 进行了问卷调查。问卷由三个项目组成：对化学风险的认识、对化学事故对策的认识以及对 PPE（个人防护设备）的迫切需求。使用社会科学统计软件包（SPSS）版本 18.0 对数据进行了统计分析。结果表明，政府需要为居住在化工厂附近的居民补充化学风险通知系统。居民为应对化学事故准备的 PPE 的首要任务是呼吸防护设备（RPE）。他们回应说，如果需要购买 PPE，他们可以承担一部分费用（最高 30 美元）。本研究为制定与韩国居住在化工厂附近的居民相关的化学安全计划和政策提供了基本数据。
