IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v15y2018i7p1332-d154324.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Toxic Effects of Methanol among Illegally Dispatched Workers at Aluminum CNC Cutting Process in Small-Scale, Third-Tier Subcontractor Factories of Smartphone Manufacturers in the Republic of Korea

Author

Listed:
  • Chung Won Kang

    (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, Seoul 07985, Korea)

  • Hyunjoo Kim

    (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, Seoul 07985, Korea)

  • Kyongsok Shin

    (Center for Bio-Environmental Science, Seegene Medical Foundation, Seoul 04805, Korea)

  • Jia Ryu

    (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, College of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 07985, Korea)

  • Kyunghee Jung-Choi

    (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, College of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 07985, Korea)

  • Key Hwan Lim

    (Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 07985, Korea)

  • Jin-Ha Kim

    (Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 07985, Korea)

Abstract

An outbreak of occupational methanol poisoning occurred in small-scale, third-tier factories of large-scale smartphone manufacturers in the Republic of Korea in 2016. To investigate the working environment and the health effects of methanol exposure among co-workers in the methanol poisoning cases, we performed a cross-sectional study on 155 workers at five aluminum Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) cutting factories. Gas chromatography measured air and urinary methanol concentration. In the medical examination, symptom surveys, ophthalmological examinations, and neurobehavioral tests were done. Multiple logistic regression analyses controlling for age and sex were conducted to reveal the association of employment duration with symptoms. Air concentrations of methanol in factory A and E ranged from 228.5 to 2220.0 ppm. Mean urinary methanol concentrations of the workers in each factory were from 3.5 mg/L up to 91.2 mg/L. The odds ratios for symptoms of deteriorating vision and central nervous system (CNS) increased according to the employment duration after adjusting for age and sex. Four cases with an injured optic nerve and two cases with decreased neurobehavioral function were founded among co-workers of the victims. This study showed that the methanol exposure under poor environmental control not only produces eye and CNS symptoms but also affects neurobehavioral function and the optic nerve. The role of subcontracting production and dispatched work under poor environmental control was discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Chung Won Kang & Hyunjoo Kim & Kyongsok Shin & Jia Ryu & Kyunghee Jung-Choi & Key Hwan Lim & Jin-Ha Kim, 2018. "Toxic Effects of Methanol among Illegally Dispatched Workers at Aluminum CNC Cutting Process in Small-Scale, Third-Tier Subcontractor Factories of Smartphone Manufacturers in the Republic of Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-9, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:7:p:1332-:d:154324
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/7/1332/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/7/1332/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Liemt, Gijsbert van., 2007. "Subcontracting in electronics : from contract manufacturers to providers of electronic manufacturing services (EMS)," ILO Working Papers 993979313402676, International Labour Organization.
    2. repec:ilo:ilowps:397931 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sithanonxay Suvannaphakdy & Alisa DiCaprio, 2021. "Are Asian least developed countries sidelined in advanced manufacturing production networks?," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 35(1), pages 134-152, May.
    2. An-Chi Tung & Henry Wan Jr., 2013. "Chinese Electronics Export; Taiwanese Contract Manufacturing – The Win–Win Outcome along the Evolving Global Value Chain," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(7), pages 827-842, July.
    3. Lin, Chia-Ling & Lin, Hui-Lin & Lin, Eric S., 2016. "Is There A Complementary Relationship Between Product And Process Innovation On Productivity In Taiwanese Manufacturing Firms?," Hitotsubashi Journal of Economics, Hitotsubashi University, vol. 57(2), pages 139-173, December.
    4. -, 2008. "Foreign Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2007," La Inversión Extranjera Directa en América Latina y el Caribe, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 1136 edited by Eclac, May.
    5. Craig D. Lair, 2019. "Outsourcing and the Risks of Dependent Autonomy," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(2), pages 21582440198, May.
    6. ADBI, Asian Development Bank Institute & OECD, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Developmen (ed.), 2019. "Building Partnerships for Effectively Managing Labor Migration: Lessons from Asian Countries," ADBI Books, Asian Development Bank Institute, number 2, Décembre.
    7. Goswami, Arti Grover, 2013. "Vertical FDI versus outsourcing: The role of technology transfer costs," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 1-21.
    8. An-Chi Tung & Henry Wan, 2012. "Contract Manufacturing In Late Industrialization," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 57(04), pages 1-15.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:7:p:1332-:d:154324. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.