Johanning E, Goldberg M, Kim R
Mount Sinai Medical Center, Department of Community Medicine, New York, NY 10029.
Int J Health Serv. 1994;24(1):131-44. doi: 10.2190/27AB-6J6D-UDHK-QUPK.
The manufacture and use of asbestos-containing products has become the object of restrictive environmental and occupational health regulation in the United States and many European countries. World production, however, has not declined, but rather shifted to developing countries. Our knowledge of the working conditions in these countries is limited. This article describes an investigation conducted in 1991 into the conditions and work practices in asbestos textile manufacturing in South Korea. The findings are based on site visits to several asbestos textile manufacturing facilities, meetings with industrial safety experts, and labor and industry representatives. The authors describe the current status of exposure control technology and industrial hygiene practices, and the results of personal asbestos dust monitoring at five representative textile production workstations. In general, manufacturers and regulatory agencies have not taken the precautions necessary to adequately protect employee health and meet international standards. Worker exposure to asbestos dust well above U.S. and German standards is commonplace in South Korea. International cooperation of health and safety experts with experience in asbestos-related problems should be promoted to improve the level of industrial safety in developing countries.
在美国和许多欧洲国家，含石棉产品的制造和使用已成为环境和职业健康方面受到限制的监管对象。然而，全球产量并未下降，而是转移到了发展中国家。我们对这些国家工作条件的了解有限。本文描述了1991年对韩国石棉纺织制造业的条件和工作实践进行的一项调查。研究结果基于对几家石棉纺织制造工厂的实地考察、与工业安全专家以及劳工和行业代表的会面。作者描述了接触控制技术和工业卫生实践的现状，以及在五个有代表性的纺织品生产工作站进行的个人石棉粉尘监测结果。总体而言，制造商和监管机构并未采取必要的预防措施来充分保护员工健康并达到国际标准。在韩国，工人接触石棉粉尘的程度远高于美国和德国标准是很常见的。应促进有石棉相关问题经验的健康与安全专家开展国际合作，以提高发展中国家的工业安全水平。
