An industrial nanocoating process air emissions impact on public health was quantified by using the burden of disease (BoD) concept. The health loss was calculated in Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), which is an absolute metric that enables comparisons of the health impacts of different causes. Here, the health loss was compared with generally accepted risk levels for air pollution. Exposure response functions were not available for Ag nanoform. The health loss for TiO2 nanoform emissions were 0.0006 DALYs per 100,000 persons per year. Moreover, the exposure risk characterization was performed by comparing the ground level air concentrations with framework values. The exposure levels were ca. 3 and 18 times lower than the derived limit values of 0.1 μg-TiO2/m3 and 0.01 μg-Ag/m3 for the general population. The accumulations of TiO2 and Ag nanoforms on the soil top layer were estimated to be up to 85 μg-TiO2/kg and 1.4 μg-Ag/kg which was considered low as compared to measured elemental TiO2 and Ag concentrations. This assessment reveals that the spray coating process air emissions are adequately controlled. This study demonstrated how the BoD concept can be applied to quantify health impacts of nanoform outdoor air emissions from an industrial site.
Keywords: burden of disease (BoD); disability adjusted life year (DALY); emission; gaussian plume model; inhalation exposure; nanomaterial; risk assessment; safety; soil accumulation; spray coating.