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Background: Arsenic is a metalloid of public health significance due to its unique material properties and toxicity and the widespread pollution in the environment. Arsenic exists as inorganic arsenic and organic arsenic with distinct chemical properties. Its toxicity varies depending on the properties.
Objectives: Although the carcinogenicity of arsenic has been identified, the various diseases that occur after acute and chronic exposure to arsenic are not yet clearly known.
Methods: Research on the effects of chronic exposure to arsenic on human health was searched and the results were summarized.
Results: It has been found that cancer occurs due to exposure to high concentrations of arsenic in areas with elevated exposure to arsenic, but research results have recently been presented on health effects caused by chronic exposure to low concentrations of arsenic. Cancers have also been identified to be related to inorganic arsenic, including skin cancer, lung cancer, and bladder cancer. Significant relationships with neurological diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes mellitus have been suggested as well.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that it is necessary to evaluate the health impact on residents around abandoned metal mines and industrial complexes in South Korea.

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This case report aims to introduce the safety campaign activities for preventing chemical accidents that were cooperatively conducted by an environmental office and chemical-handling workplaces located in the Ulsan area. A chemical safety campaign was initiated to examine and manage chemical-handling facilities at high risk for chemical accidents, specifically valves, flanges, and switches (VFS) from October 2020 to December 2022. The VFS safety check campaign was conducted to raise workers’ safety consciousness based on a campaign of advertisements in the workplace from October 2020 to December 2021. In addition, a VFS plus [+] campaign was initiated to encourage actual management activities for chemical-handling facilities at high risk of chemical accidents in 2022. A total of 49 corporations participated in the VFS plus [+] campaign. In contrast to the VFS safety check campaign, which simply focused on publicity and resulted in changes in worker awareness, practicable safety management activities focusing on the handling facilities were carried out. Although notable short-term impacts have yet to be discerned from the campaigns, it is expected that they will eventually serve as a starting point for developing a proper safety culture and environment.

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Background: This paper deals with the study of natural radioactivity in rocks from Ogun State in Southwestern Nigeria. The aim is to determine radiation emissions from rocks in order to estimate radiation hazard indices.
Objectives: The following objectives were targeted: 1. To determine radiation emissions from each type of rocks; 2. To estimate radiation hazard indices based on the rocks; 3. To correlate the activity concentrations of radionuclides with major oxides.
Methods: The samples were analyzed using a NaI (Tl) gamma ray spectrometric detector and PerkinElmer AAnalyst 400 AAS spectrometer.
Results: The activity of ⁴⁰K, ²²⁶Ra, and ²³²Th were found in order of decreasing magnitude from pegmatite>granite>migmatite. In contrast, lower concentrations were found in shale, phosphate, clay stone, sandstone and limestone. The mean absorbed doses were 125±23 nGyh^–1 (migmatite), 74±13 nGy/h (granite), 72±13 nGyh^–1 (pegmatite), 64±09 nGyh^–1 (quartzite), 45±16 nGyh^–1 (shale), 41±09 nGyh^–1 (limestone), 41±11 nGyh^–1 (clay stone), 24±03 nGyh^–1 (phosphate), and 21±10 nGyh^–1 (sandstone). The outdoor effective dose rates in all rock samples were slightly higher than the world average dose value of 0.34 mSvy^–1. The percentage composition of SiO₂ in the rock samples was above 50 wt% except for in the limestone, shale and phosphate. Al₂O₃ ranged from 4.10~21.24 wt%, Fe₂O₃ from 0.39~7.5 wt%, and CaO from 0.09-46.6 wt%. In addition, Na₂O and K₂O were present in at least 5 wt%. Other major oxides, including TiO₂, P₂O₅, K₂O, MnO, MgO and Na₂O were depleted.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that Ogun State may be described as a region with elevated background radiation. It is recommended that houses should be constructed with good cross ventilation and residences should use home radiation monitoring instruments to monitor radon emanating from walls.

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Background: Exposure levels for heavy metals such as lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and cadmium (Cd) have increased due to human activities. They are known to be a public health concern.
Objectives: This study aimed to determine the exposure levels to heavy metals in the blood and urine of South Korean adults and to present the contribution rate of exposure pathways using an exposure algorithm for men aged 19~64, women aged 19~64, and all seniors aged 65 or older.
Methods: We analyzed data from the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS) Cycle 4 (2018~2020). A total of 2,646 participants aged ≥19 years were included. Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the factors affecting heavy metal concentrations. The contribution rate was calculated by applying three exposure algorithms for ingestion, inhalation, and dermal exposure.
Results: Factors that commonly affect heavy metal concentrations in blood and urine were gender and age. The main influencing factors for Pb and Cd were education level and smoking status, while frequency of fish consumption and of alcohol consumption were indicated to be the main influencing factors for mercury. The contribution rates of lead and cadmium from food ingestion were 78.03~79.62% and 88.39~92.89%, respectively. Additionally, the highest contribution for mercury was accounted for by food at 81.69~85.77%. As a result of the risk assessment, cadmium was found to pose a potential health risk a with total cancer risk (TCR) of more than 1×10^–6.
Conclusions: The KoNEHS could be an important study for determining the level of exposure to heavy metals and their influencing factors. Integrated exposure to heavy metals could assess the main exposure pathways, and this methodology could be applied to exposure management of heavy metals.

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Background: When basic local governments want to improve their air quality management policies, they need fundamental evidence, such as the effectiveness of current policies or scenario results.
Objectives: The purpose of this study is to lay the groundwork for a process to calculate air pollutant reduction from basic local government air quality policies and provide numerical estimates of PM_2.5 concentrations following improved policies.
Methods: We calculated the amount of air pollutant reduction that can be expected in the research region based on the Gyeonggi-do Air Environment Management Implementation Plan issued in 2021 and guidelines from the Korean Ministry of Environment. The PM_2.5 concentration variations were numerically simulated using the CMAQ (photochemical air quality model).
Results: The research regions selected were Suwon, Ansan, Yongin, Pyeongtaek, and Hwaseong in consideration of population, air pollutant emissions, and geographical requirements. The expected reduction ratios in 2024 compared to 2018 are CO (3.0%), NO_x (7.9%), VOCs (0.7%), SO_x (0.1%), PM₁₀ (2.4%), PM_2.5 (6.1%), NH₃ (0.05%). The reduced PM_2.5 concentration ratio was highest in July and lowest in April. The expected concentration reduction of yearly mean PM_2.5 in the research region is 0.12 μg/m³ (0.6%).
Conclusions: Gyeonggi-do is now able to quickly provide air pollutant emission reduction calculations by respective policy scenario and PM_2.5 simulation results, including for secondary aerosol particles. In order to provide more generalized results to basic local governments, it is necessary to conduct additional research by expanding the analysis tools and periods.