Characteristics and health risks of benzene series and halocarbons near a typical chemical industrial park

Ruonan Chen; Tingzhen Li; Chengtao Huang; Yunjiang Yu; Li Zhou; Guocheng Hu; Fumo Yang; Liuyi Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117893

Characteristics and health risks of benzene series and halocarbons near a typical chemical industrial park

Environ Pollut. 2021 Nov 15:289:117893. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117893. Epub 2021 Aug 7.

Authors

Ruonan Chen¹, Tingzhen Li¹, Chengtao Huang¹, Yunjiang Yu², Li Zhou³, Guocheng Hu², Fumo Yang⁴, Liuyi Zhang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Chongqing Key Laboratory of Water Environment Evolution and Pollution Control in Three Gorges Reservoir, Chongqing Three Gorges University, Wanzhou, 404000, China.
² Chongqing Key Laboratory of Water Environment Evolution and Pollution Control in Three Gorges Reservoir, Chongqing Three Gorges University, Wanzhou, 404000, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Health Risk Assessment, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou, 510655, China.
³ School of Public Health and Management, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China.
⁴ Chongqing Key Laboratory of Water Environment Evolution and Pollution Control in Three Gorges Reservoir, Chongqing Three Gorges University, Wanzhou, 404000, China; National Engineering Research Center for Flue Gas Desulfurization, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China.
⁵ Chongqing Key Laboratory of Water Environment Evolution and Pollution Control in Three Gorges Reservoir, Chongqing Three Gorges University, Wanzhou, 404000, China. Electronic address: zhangliuyi@sanxiau.edu.cn.

PMID: 34385133
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117893

Abstract

Health risks of typical benzene series and halocarbons (BSHs) in a densely populated area near a large-scale chemical industrial park were investigated. Ambient and indoor air and tap water samples were collected in summer and winter; and the concentration characteristics, sources, and exposure risks of typical BSH species, including five benzene series (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o-xylene, m,p-xylene) and five halocarbons (dichloromethane, trichloromethane, trichloroethylene, tetrachloromethane, and tetrachloroethylene), were analysed. The total mean concentrations of BSHs were 53.32 μg m^-3, 36.29 μg m^-3, and 26.88 μg L^-1 in indoor air, ambient air, and tap water, respectively. Halocarbons dominated the total BSHs with concentrations relatively higher than those in many other industrial areas. Industrial solvent use, industrial processes, and vehicle exhaust emissions were the principal sources of BSHs in ambient air. The use of household products (e.g., detergents and pesticides) was the principal source of indoor BSHs. Inhalation is the primary human exposure route. Ingestion of drinking water was also an important exposure route but had less impact than inhalation. Lifetime non-cancer risks of individual and cumulative BSHs were below the threshold (HQ = 1), indicating no significant lifetime non-cancer risks in the study area. However, tetrachloromethane, benzene, trichloromethane, ethylbenzene, and trichloroethylene showed potential lifetime cancer risk. The cumulative lifetime cancer risks exceeded the tolerable benchmark (1 × 10^-4), indicating a lifetime cancer risk of BSHs to residents near the chemical industry park. This study provides valuable information for the management of public health in chemical industrial parks.

Keywords: Cancer risk; Exposure route; Indoor air; Ingestion; Inhalation.

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / analysis
Benzene Derivatives / analysis
Benzene* / analysis
Environmental Monitoring
Humans
Toluene / analysis
Vehicle Emissions / analysis

Substances

Air Pollutants
Benzene Derivatives
Vehicle Emissions
Toluene
Benzene