Reconstruction of the Korean Asbestos Job Exposure Matrix

Our plain-English summary of Reconstruction of the Korean Asbestos Job Exposure Matrix, by D. Kang, S. Jung, Y.J. Kim, et al (Safety and Health at Work, 2021).

The study

• Authors: D. Kang, S. Jung, Y.J. Kim, J. Kim, S. Choi, S.Y. Kim, Y. Kim
• Journal: Safety and Health at Work
• Published: 2021;12(1):74-95
• Cited by: 10 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Background: A job-exposure matrix (JEM) is an important surrogate indicator to evaluate past exposure levels. Although a Korean asbestos JEM has been constructed previously, this JEM includes only a few industrial and occupational groups. This study aimed to reconstruct the JEM by integrating the latest organized data to improve its utility.

Methods: We used recent Korean standard industry and occupation codes and extracted 36 articles from a systematic literature review to initiate the reconstruction of the previous Korean asbestos JEM. The resulting data consisted of 141 combinations of industrial and occupational groups. Data from the Netherlands's JEM were also reviewed and categorized into 70 industrial and 117 occupational groups by matching with the Korean data. We also utilized Germany's data, which consisted of 10 industrial and 14 occupational groups.

Results: The reconstructed Korean asbestos JEM had 141 combinations of industries and occupations. The time periods are from the 1980s to the 2000s in 10-year intervals. Most of the data were distributed between the 1990s and the 2000s. Occupations with high exposure to asbestos included knitting and weaving machine operators, automobile mechanics or assemblers, ship mechanics or assemblers, mineral ore and stone products processing mechanics, and metal casting machine operators or mold makers.

Conclusions: The reconstructed Korean asbestos JEM has expanded the type and duration of the occupational groups of the previous JEM and can serve as an important reference tool for evaluating asbestos exposure and designing compensation and prevention policies in Korea.

© 2020 The Authors.

In plain English

This study rebuilt Korea's asbestos job-exposure matrix (JEM), which estimates airborne asbestos levels by industry, occupation and period. The authors combined an earlier Korean JEM, 36 articles from a literature review, and Dutch and German JEM data matched to Korean job codes. The new matrix covered 141 industry-occupation combinations, up from 112, with Korean data grouped by decade from the 1980s to the 2000s. The highest exposure category (E1) held six of 14 combinations (42.9%) in the 1980s, five of 54 (9.3%) in the 1990s and six of 117 (5.1%) in the 2000s. All of the 2000s E1 jobs involved handling talc-containing asbestos. The share above 0.1 fibers per cc, Korea's current exposure limit, was 92.9%, 22.3% and 31.6%. The authors said the 2000s rise reflected talc-related measurements, which biased the trend. Asbestos textile processing had the highest level, 7.48 f/cc in the 1980s. The authors concluded the matrix can serve as a reference for evaluating exposure and for compensation and prevention policy. They cautioned that small samples and the narrow time overlap with the European data can make estimates inaccurate.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Construction (reconstruction) of a job-exposure matrix combining an earlier Korean asbestos JEM, a systematic literature review, and Netherlands and German JEM data
• Who was studied: Korean industry-occupation combinations (141 in the final matrix). Sources were Korean literature from 1984 to 1996, a Seoul National University database (1995 to 2006), a Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency database (2005 to 2008), and 36 articles analyzed from a literature search covering up to 2017
• Exposure: Airborne asbestos concentrations (fibers per cubic centimeter, f/cc) for each industry-occupation combination, by decade (1980s, 1990s, 2000s). This included jobs handling talc-containing asbestos. Fiber types were not specified for the matrix overall
• Main results:
  • Number of industry-occupation combinations with Korean data: 14 in the 1980s, 54 in the 1990s, 117 in the 2000s
  • Combinations in the highest exposure category (E1): six (42.9%) in the 1980s, five (9.3%) in the 1990s, six (5.1%) in the 2000s
  • Proportion of combinations above 0.1 f/cc (Korea's current occupational exposure limit): 92.9% in the 1980s, 22.3% in the 1990s, 31.6% in the 2000s
  • All E1 occupations in the 2000s were jobs handling talc-containing asbestos
  • Asbestos textile processing (IOC 48) had the highest exposure level, 7.48 f/cc in the 1980s
  • The matrix expanded from the previous 112 combinations to 141 combinations
  • Most of the Netherlands and German data showed peak exposure levels from the 1950s to the 1970s
  • Occupation groups the authors identified with high exposure included knitting and weaving machine operators, automobile mechanics or assemblers, ship mechanics or assemblers, mineral ore and stone products processing mechanics, and metal casting machine operators or mold makers
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the reconstructed JEM can serve as a reference tool for evaluating asbestos exposure in Korean workers and can provide basic data for compensation and prevention policies
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Estimates based on small data samples need caution, and asbestos exposure in Korea differs from that in countries on other continents
  • The narrow period of overlap between the Korean data and the Netherlands or German data is a major cause of inaccurate estimates
  • The increase in the 2000s in the share of groups above 0.1 f/cc was biased, because the KOSHA database measured talc-containing occupations
  • Quantitative comparison of exposure levels between Korea and the Netherlands is less meaningful because their exposure categories differ
  • The authors could not use the Australian asbestos JEM because they could not access its raw data

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Systematic Review, Asbestos Exposure.

Related studies

• Polytetrafluoroethylene or Acellular Dermal Matrix for Diaphragmatic Reconstruction? — J.K. Bassuner, D.C. Rice, et al. (2017)
• Development of Nationwide Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk Evaluation Methods with Comprehensive Past Asbestos Exposure Reconstruction — D. Kang, S.H. Lee, et al. (2021)
• CT Characteristics of Pleural Plaques Related to Occupational or Environmental Asbestos Exposure from South Korean Asbestos Mines — Y. Kim, J.P. Myong, et al. (2015)
• Developing Asbestos Job Exposure Matrix Using Occupation and Industry Specific Exposure Data (1984-2008) in Republic of Korea — S. Choi, D. Kang, et al. (2017)
• Epidemiologic characteristics of compensated occupational lung cancers among Korean workers — Y.S. Ahn, K.S. Jeong (2014)
• Asbestos hazard evaluation in South Korean textile production — E. Johanning, M. Goldberg, et al. (1994)

Browse more research in Safety and Health at Work, or return to medical research.