Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene (한국산업보건학회지)

Korean Industrial Hygiene Association (한국산업보건학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Comparison of Regulatory Systems for Safety and Health Management in Research Laboratories - Case Review between Korea and Germany

연구 실험실 안전보건 관리제도 비교 - 한국과 독일 사례 고찰

  • Park, Jihoon (Environmental Safety Group, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) Europe Forschungsgesellschaft mbH) ;
  • Sung, Baeckkyoung (Environmental Safety Group, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) Europe Forschungsgesellschaft mbH) ;
  • Altmeyer, Matthias Oliver (Environmental Safety Group, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) Europe Forschungsgesellschaft mbH) ;
  • Kim, Young Jun (Environmental Safety Group, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) Europe Forschungsgesellschaft mbH)
  • 박지훈 (한국과학기술연구원 유럽연구소 환경안전성연구단) ;
  • 성백경 (한국과학기술연구원 유럽연구소 환경안전성연구단) ;
  • 마티아스 올리버 알트마이어 (한국과학기술연구원 유럽연구소 환경안전성연구단) ;
  • 김용준 (한국과학기술연구원 유럽연구소 환경안전성연구단)
  • Received : 2020.05.26
  • Accepted : 2020.06.23
  • Published : 2020.06.30
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the regulatory systems for laboratory safety and health management between Korea and Germany and discuss the implications. Methods: Laboratory safety and health regulations for legal enforcement and relevant technical guidelines in Korea and Germany were reviewed. Results: Lab safety and health management is enforced by the Act on the Establishment of Safe Laboratory Environment in Korea. Most provisions focus on supervisory control, that is, the principal's liability is emphasized. In addition, there is a lack of laboratory-specific procedures for safety and health management in the act since it is stipulated that other relevant regulations apply to some technical contents. Non-compulsory technical guidelines for lab safety and health management are also provided by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) in order to enable researchers to follow safe procedures. There is no independent regulation for lab safety and health in Germany, and it is also governed by several regulations. The German Social Accident Insurance Institute provides technical guidelines on lab safety and health, and these contain more specific content to allow them to be followed more easily compared to the KOSHA guidelines. The most remarkable differences between the regulation of each country were contents of the risk assessment and specific protect measures from hazardous agents. Conclusions: Regulatory control is an essential way to prevent accidents, but it is more important to create an environment in which all stakeholders, including individual lab members, are allowed to participate actively in safety and health management activities.

Keywords

References

  1. Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung(DGUV, The German Social Accident Insurance Institution). Working safely in laboratories - Basic principles and guidelines (DGUV 213-850/851). 2017. [Accessed on 13 April 2020] Available from: https://www.bgrci.de/fachwissen-portal/topic-list/laboratories/guidelines-for-laboratories/
  2. Hong HD, Cho ES. A study on the factors affecting the status and achivement of laboratory safety management. Korean Public Manage Rev 2018;32(4):227-249. https://doi.org/10.24210/kapm.2018.32.4.010
  3. Health and Safety Executive(HSE). Annual Statistics: Health and safety statistics in the United Kingdom, 2019 - Comparison with the European Union. 2019. [Accessed on 12 April 2020] Available from: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/
  4. Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency(KOSHA). Technical guidance. 2020. [Accessed on 13 April 2020] Available from: http://www.kosha.or.kr/
  5. Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency(KOSHA). Technical guide for laboratory safety and health. 2018. [Accessed on 13 April 2020] Available from: http://www.kosha.or.kr/
  6. Lee TH, Lee DJ, Park JD, Shin CH. Study for the characteristics analysis of laboratory chemical accidents. Fire Sci Eng 2016;30(3):110-116. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7731/KIFSE.2016.30.3.110
  7. Ministry of Science and ICT(MSICT). The Act on the Establishment of Safe Laboratory Environment. 2018. [Accessed on 30 March 2020] Available from: http://www.law.go.kr/
  8. Olewski T, Snakard M. Challenges in applying process safety management at university laboratories. J Loss Prev Process Ind 2017;49:209-214. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlp.2017.06.013
  9. Schroder I, Huang DYQ, Ellis O, Gibson JH, Wayne NL. Laboratory safety attitudes and practices: A comparison of academic, government, and industry researchers. J Chem Health Saf 2016;23(1):12-23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chas.8b23106
  10. Statistisches Bundesamt(DESTASIS). Statistics for Education, Research and Culture: Research and Development. 2020. [Accessed on 12 April 2020] Available from: https://www.destatis.de/
  11. Statistics Korea(KOSTAT). Korean Statistical Information Service: Statistical Database. 2019. [Accessed on 5 December 2019] Available from http://www.kosis.kr/
  12. University News Network(UNN). News Article: Is the university a blind spot for safety? Safety accidents in universities has exceeded 30,000 in 5 years. 2019a. [Accessed on 12 April 2020] Available from: http://news.unn.net/
  13. University News Network(UNN). News Article: Safety accidents in the university laboratories has increased 1.6 times for last 4 years. 2019b. [Accessed on 12 April 2020] Available from: http://news.unn.net/
  14. Woo IS, Hwang MH, Lee HJ. A study on the system and operation of laboratory safety inspection and diagnosis. J Korean Inst Gas 2019;23(2):45-54. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7842/kigas.2019.23.2.45
  15. Yang Y, Reniers G, Chen G, Goerlandt F. A bibliometric review of laboratory safety in universities. Saf Sci 2019;120:14-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2019.06.022