本研究已結合紅外線定位系統、化學感測器、網路伺服器及資料庫管理系統，成功開發出一套新式勞工個人總暴露劑量警報器(The Exposure-based Personal Alarm System，簡稱E-PAS)。此警報系統可即時偵測、收集勞工工作時的活動位置、停留時間與暴露濃度，並能結合這些暴露資訊來即時估算出勞工個人的暴露量，且在檢查出有勞工個人暴露量超過警報設定值時，可立即對該名特定勞工發出警報，實現個人化警報的理想。另外，本研究已開發一套操作簡便的校正系統，以供進行E-PAS系統之基本性能測試。 依據系統基本性能測試結果顯示，在動態操作下，本系統之定位正確率高達95%以上；在靜態/動態操作下，其警報正確率高達100%。且其警報延遲時間小於3秒。根據時間-活動模式記錄性能的測試結果顯示，在佈點良好的測試環境中，本系統對於勞工時間-活動模式的記錄相當精準，其與人工觀察之標準方法間相關係數(r2)高達0.91~0.99，屬高度相關。而由模擬現場環境警報的測試結果可知，本系統在警報發佈上的性能良好，其警報正確率為100%，可即時對暴露量已過量之勞工發出警報。 A new personal exposure monitor and alarm system (called E-PAS) has been developed in this research. The E-PAS can precisely detect the positions of thirty-two different workers, determine the durations within the exposed area, measure the levels of exposure in that area, and record these exposure data into an internet database. The E-PAS continuously calculates doses of each individual worker and sends various alarm parameters to a particular worker if his/her doses should exceed upper limits. The worker, therefore, can take proper actions based on these personalized alarm messages. In addition, an automatic calibration system has also been developed as a substitute of the conventional golden standard, the direct observation method, for laboratory tests of the E-PAS. The reproducibility tests indicated that the E-PAS had 95 to 100% accuracy in determining the worker’s positions, and that it made no mistake to generate alarms based on commands from the remote host computer. The laboratory tests showed that the worker’s time-activity pattern measured by the E-PAS were highly correlated with that obtained by human observations (R2=0.91~0.99). Furthermore, when a worker’s exposure data exceeded the permissible exposure limit, the E-PAS created alarms with 100% accuracy, and the average delay time of these alarms was 2.8(±1.5) seconds. Since E-PAS has good performance in personal alarm, it is a great tool for the protection of workers’ safety and health.
