Ulsan Office of Education Supports Lung Screening for Food Service Workers with Over One Year of Service

The Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education will support lung screenings (low-dose lung CT) for all food service workers with more than one year of experience this year.

Last year, the Ministry of Employment and Labor excluded those with less than one year of experience (low-risk group) from the screening. Based on this, the Ulsan Office of Education has confirmed that this year’s screening target will be food service workers with more than one year of experience.

This year, lung screenings will be conducted following the resolution of the nationwide City and Provincial Superintendents’ Association to expand lung screenings, without the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s guidelines.

Last year, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s guidelines, the Ulsan Office of Education conducted lung screenings for 1,170 food service workers with over 10 years of experience or aged 55 and above. As a result of the screenings, two individuals were diagnosed with lung cancer and received industrial accident approval in June this year.

Currently, there are about 1,600 food service workers, and approximately 1,470 of them have more than one year of experience. This year, lung screenings will be conducted for about 550 applicants who wish to be screened, excluding 920 individuals who received “no abnormal findings” in last year’s screening.

The Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education plans to conduct lung health screenings by September after surveying the demand for screenings this year. For those suspected of having lung cancer, additional examination costs such as endoscopy and biopsy will be supported, and procedures for industrial accident processing will be guided.

Ulsan Office of Education.

To prevent the onset of lung diseases among food service workers, the Ulsan Office of Education will also sequentially upgrade ventilation facilities in kitchens.

As a campaign pledge by Superintendent Cheon Chang-su, approximately KRW 29.1 billion will be invested from 2023 to 2027 to improve kitchen ventilation facilities in 226 out of 259 schools.

To reduce cooking fumes in cafeterias, it is recommended to minimize fried foods to twice a week or less when planning menus, and to replace high-fume dishes such as fried and pan-fried foods with steamed, braised, or oven-cooked dishes. Multifunctional ovens have been installed in all schools throughout the Ulsan area.

An official from the Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education stated, “We will do our best to ensure that food service workers maintain their health and provide safe and healthy meals by conducting lung screenings and follow-up care.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.