scholarly journals Development on Health Risk Assessment Method for Multi-Media Exposure of Hazardous Chemical by Chemical Accident

Author(s):  
Hyong Jin Hong ◽  
Si Hyun Park ◽  
Hui Been Lim ◽  
Cheol Min Lee

In this study, a long-term health risk assessment was conducted for complex, multimedia exposure where the exposure duration was set for the leak of a hazardous chemical spilled after an accident. The study designed a virtual chemical accident scenario where 40 tons of benzyl chloride leaked in a factory inside the Ulsan Petrochemical Industrial Complex for one hour on 1 January 2017. Using a multimedia environmental dynamics model, benzyl chloride concentrations in air and soil were estimated. The time when the atmospheric concentration was less than or equal to the background concentration was recorded as the end point. An assessment of the cancer risk via soil ingestion was carried out after dividing the subjects into four age groups (0–9 years; 10–18 years; 19–65 years; >65 years). All age groups showed an increased cancer risk where the values exceeded 1.0 × 10−6. The 0–9 years age group showed the largest distribution (4.27% of the total area) with the highest maximum and mean values. The distribution maps for all age groups exhibited a trend towards the southeast of the accident site.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui-Been Lim ◽  
Si-Hyun Park ◽  
Hyong-Jin Hong ◽  
Ji-Yun Jeong ◽  
Hee-Seok Kim ◽  
...  

Abstract We established a hypothetical acrylic acid leak accident scenario, conducted a health risk assessment of local residents, and compared an actual accident case and the hypothetical scenario. The exposed subjects were divided into four age groups, and a non-carcinogenic risk assessment was conducted for inhalation and soil ingestion. In the hypothetical scenario, 40 tons of acrylic acid were leaked in Ulsan for 1 h from 12:00 am on January 1, 2017, and in the actual accident case, 3 L of acrylic acid were leaked in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, for 1 h from 11:00 am on March 5, 2020. The environmental concentration of acrylic acid was calculated using the dynamic multimedia environmental model. Non-carcinogenic assessment of the hypothetical scenario showed the hazard index exceeded 1 across all age groups, suggesting that a health risk is likely to occur due to inhalation exposure to acrylic acid resulting from a chemical accident. Hazardacute exceeded 1 until 2 h after the accident under the hypothetical scenario, indicating the likelihood of a health risk. Thus, we propose a methodology that can assess changing concentrations in a hazardous chemical leak from a chemical accident based on the time, place, the chemical’s behaviors in different environmental media, and the health risk posed by the exposure of the chemical to local residents in the area affected by the accident.


Author(s):  
Hui-Been Lim ◽  
Si-Hyun Park ◽  
Hyong-Jin Hong ◽  
Ji-Yun Jeong ◽  
Hee-Seok Kim ◽  
...  

AbstractWe established a hypothetical acrylic acid leak accident scenario, conducted a health risk assessment of local residents, and compared an actual accident case to the hypothetical scenario. The exposed subjects were divided into four age groups, and a noncarcinogenic health risk assessment was conducted for inhalation and soil ingestion. In the hypothetical scenario, 40 tons of acrylic acid was leaked in Ulsan for 1 h from midnight on January 1, 2017. In the actual accident case, 3 L of acrylic acid was leaked in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, for 1 h from 11:00 am on March 5, 2020. The environmental concentration of acrylic acid was calculated using the dynamic multimedia environmental model. Noncarcinogenic assessment of the hypothetical scenario showed the hazard quotient exceeded 1 across all age groups, suggesting that a health risk is likely to occur due to inhalation exposure to acrylic acid resulting from a chemical accident. In addition, Hazardacute exceeded 1 until 2 h after the accident under the hypothetical scenario, indicating the likelihood of a health risk. Thus, we propose a methodology that can assess changing concentrations in a hazardous chemical leak from a chemical accident based on the time, place, the chemical’s behaviors in different environmental media, and the health risk posed by the exposure of the chemical to local residents in the area affected by the accident.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 613
Author(s):  
Samantha Jiménez-Oyola ◽  
Kenny Escobar Segovia ◽  
María-Jesús García-Martínez ◽  
Marcelo Ortega ◽  
David Bolonio ◽  
...  

Anthropogenic activities performed in the Ecuadorian Amazon have released potentially toxic elements (PTEs) into the rivers, causing severe environmental pollution and increasing the risk of exposure to the residents of the surrounding areas. This study aims to carry out a human health risk assessment using deterministic and probabilistic methods to estimate the hazard index (HI) and total cancer risk (TCR) related to multi-pathway human exposure to PTEs in polluted rivers. Concentrations of Al, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn in surface water and sediment samples from rivers on the Ecuadorian Amazon were considered to assess the potential adverse human health effects. As a result, deterministic and probabilistic estimations of cancer and non-cancer risk through exposure to surface waters and sediments were above the safety limit. A sensitivity analysis identified the concentration of PTEs and the exposure duration (ED) as the two most important variables for probabilistic health risk assessment. The highest risk for receptors was related to exposure to polluted sediments through incidental ingestion and dermal contact routes. According to the deterministic estimation, the human health risk through ingestion of water was above the threshold in specific locations. This study reveals the potential health risk to which the population is exposed. This information can be used as a baseline to develop public strategies to reduce anthropogenic pollution and exposure to PTEs in Ecuadorian Amazon rivers.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-89
Author(s):  
Jun Hyuek Yang ◽  
Hyun Soo Kim ◽  
Bon Kon Koo ◽  
Cheol Min Lee ◽  
Jong-Hyeon Jung ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
A.I. Yaradua ◽  
A. J. Alhassan ◽  
A. Nasir ◽  
S. S. Matazu ◽  
A. Usman ◽  
...  

Vegetable fields in Katsina State are increasingly being loaded with heavy metals through various pollution sources such as agricultural activities mining and traffic. Onion bulb samples from the three senatorial zones that constitute to make up Katsina state in the North West of Nigeria were collected and the concentrations of seven heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cr, Fe, Zn, Mn and Ni) in all the samples were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. The health risk assessment methods developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) were employed to explore the potential health hazards of heavy metals in the samples on the children and adult population. The highest mean concentration (mg/kg) was observed for Fe, followed by Pb, Zn and Mn. While Cd has the lowest concentration with the heavy metals Cr and Ni being below detection level (BDL). Overall hazard index (Hi) for the heavy metals were within the safety limit. The overall cancer risk to the adults based on pseudo-total metal concentrations exceeded the target value, mainly contributed by Pb.  Mn and Zn were the primary heavy metals posing non-cancer risks while Pb caused the greatest cancer risk. It was concluded that consumption of the onion samples from Katsina State may contribute to the population cancer burden.


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-77
Author(s):  
Nguyen Thanh Giao ◽  
Phan Kim Anh ◽  
Huynh Thi Hong Nhien

The study was conducted to assess the health risks of workers due to exposure to toxic gases including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m, p-xylene, o-xylene, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde at gasoline retail stations. In this study, data on the  concentrations of the toxic gases were collected from the previously published studies in the qualified scientific journals. The health risk assessment was followed by the process of the United States Environment Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). The results show that the concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m, p-xylene, o-xylene, formaldehyde, and acetaldehyde were in the range of 12.40 - 357.5, 12.47 - 574.17, 2.05 - 156.5, 4.57 - 218, 2.36 - 77.04, 3.64 - 153.93 and 1.27- 27.83 µg/m3 , respectively. Life time cancer risk for gasoline station workers due to exposure to benzene, ethylbenzene, formaldehyde, and acetaldehyde was calculated in the ranges of 2.13x10-5 - 6.14x10-4 , 4.96x10-7 - 3.79x10-5 , 4.81x10-6 - 2.03x10-4 , and 7.99x10-7 - 1.75x10-5 , respectively. For non-carcinogenic  compounds, the hazard index due to benzene, toluene, m, p-xylene, o-xylene were respectively in the range of 0.13 - 3.81, 7.97x10-4 -  0.04, 0.01 - 0.70 and 0.01 - 0.25. The findings revealed that there is high risk of cancer and non-cancer for the workers working at the gasolines stations if they are not taking good preventive measures. The calculation showed that the limit levels of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde should be reduced to 5.82x10-4 , 15.64, 4.13x10- 3 , 0.31, 7.57x10-4 and 1.59x10-3 mg/m3 , respectively to meet the safety levels for the workers at the gasoline stations. Keywords: benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, life-time cancer risk, health


Author(s):  
A.V. Lyzhina ◽  
T.N. Unguryanu ◽  
A.V. Rodimanov

Hygienic assessment of chemicals’ level in food products and health risk assessment of the population in Arkhangelsk region were carried out. Levels of heavy metal contamination of certain food groups do not exceed allowable hygienic standards. Non-cancer risk was high for a hormonal system (HI = 3,9), nervous (HI = 3,4) and immune (HI = 3,2) systems, skin (HI = 3,2). The priority pollutants of food products were arsenic and lead. Total cancer risk was high (CR = 1,4 × 10-3) and could be associated with fish contamination by inorganic arsenic (44,0 %).


2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 1223-1234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tasneem G. Kazi ◽  
Kapil D. Brahman ◽  
Jameel A. Baig ◽  
Hassan I. Afridi

Author(s):  
Mohammad Amin Karami ◽  
Yadollah Fakhri ◽  
Shahabaldin Rezania ◽  
Abdol Azim Alinejad ◽  
Ali Akbar Mohammadi ◽  
...  

Excessive intake of fluoride can cause adverse health effects. Consumption of tea as a popular drink could be a potential source of fluoride exposure to humans. This research aimed to evaluate the fluoride concentration in tea among the Iranian people using the available data in the literature and to assess the health risk related to the consumption of tea in men, women, and children. The health risk assessment was conducted using the chronic daily intake and hazard quotient according to the approach suggested by the Environmental Protection Agency. The fluoride content in published studies varied noticeably, ranging from 0.13 to 3.27 mg/L. The results revealed that the hazard quotient (HQ) in age groups of women (21–72 years) and children (0–11 years) was within the safe zone (HQ < 1) which showed that there was no potential of non-carcinogenic risk associated with drinking tea in these groups. However, in one case of the men (21–72 years), the HQ > 1 which shows a probable risk of fluorosis. The order of non-carcinogenic health risks in the studied groups was in the order of men > women > children. The results of this can be useful for organizations with the responsibility of human health promotion.


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