Evaluation of BTEX concentrations in selected industries producing and applying paint based on human health risks through inhalation /

Download

index.pdf

Date

2014

Author

Dölek, Gizem Naz

Metadata

Show full item record

Item Usage Stats

362
views

250
downloads

In Turkey, ambient air quality control is managed by the Ministry of Environment and Urban Affairs (MoEU) with Air Quality Evaluation and Management Regulation, Industrial Sourced Air Pollution Control Regulation, Large Combustion Plants Regulation and Heating Sourced Air Pollution Control Regulation. These regulations stated that “indoor air of workplaces which are under occupational health and safety legislation are out of the scope” and “regulations are prepared for ambient air pollution prevention sourced by industrial facilities”. This situation indicates that legislation of MoEU is responsible only for ambient air quality. The task of providing a safe and healthy working environment for employees is given to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MoLSS). For this purpose, Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (ISGUM) of MoLSS measures chemical exposures of employees at workplaces, compares these concentrations with national legislative limits and stores the results in reports. It is seen that there is not any national legislation evaluating Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and limiting indoor air pollutants. IAQ is evaluated by the amount of hazardous chemicals in indoor air. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) which are considered in this evaluation are emitted from especially paint, varnish, thinners and adhesives production and usage. In this study, health risks are calculated for employees who are exposed to benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) during paint production and usage. 195 BTEX concentrations, measured at 57 different workplaces by ISGUM between 2006 and 2013, are used. Data is evaluated with respect to two classifications: type of industries and type of actions. By using the data, health risk assessment of inhalation exposure is conducted via using methodology provided by Environmental Protection Agency, RAGS, Volume I: Human Health Evaluation Manual (Part F, Supplemental Guidance for Inhalation Risk Assessment) (U.S. EPA, 2009). The results of the study demonstrate that employees of shipyard, automotive and furniture painting are exposed to BTEX more than employees of paint production and other industries. Furthermore, although concentrations are below the legislative limits, when HRA is conducted, it has been seen that health risks of exposure to these concentrations significantly exceed the acceptable cancer risk (1x10-6) and Hazard Index (1).

Subject Keywords

Environmental health., Industrial hygiene., Industrial safety., Air quality., Indoor air quality., Pulmonary toxicology., Gases, Asphyxiating and poisonous

URI

http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12617501/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/23747

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis

Suggestions

OpenMETU
Core

Assessment of the best available wastewater management techniques for a textile mill: cost and benefit analysis Doğan, Buğçe; Yetiş, Ülkü; Department of Environmental Engineering (2008) The Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive from the European Union strives to achieve a high level of environmental protection by preventing or reducing the pollution emanating from industrial installations directly at the source. The Directive implies that the emission limit values should be set in accordance with each industry’s Best Available Techniques (BAT). In the present study, water recovery and wastewater treatability alternatives developed beforehand were evaluated towards th...
A geochemical equilibrium modeling approach to assessing soil acidification impacts due to depositions of industrial air emissions Ünlü, Kahraman; Soyupak, S; Yurteri, C (1999-07-01) Soil acidification impacts arising from depositions of industrial air emissions may become a serious environmental concern. Currently, in the literature quantitative mechanistic modeling and the experimental acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) approach and a qualitative evaluation approach classifying soils into various levels of sensitivity to acid additions have been reported to assess the long-term soil acidification impacts due to industrial air emissions. Another alternative quantitative approach proposed...
Assessment of indoor air quality in crowded educational spaces Betuz, Naima Ebru; Elias Özkan, Soofia Tahira; Department of Building Science in Architecture (2012) Indoor air quality has become a challenge together with the global aim ‘decreasing energy consumption’. Increasing insulation levels of building envelopes but implementing inaccurate building system details has caused excessive heat, accumulation of pollutants, etc. in spaces. In terms of educational spaces, the increase in complaints and illnesses due to unfavorable indoor air conditions leads to a decrease in concentration and so academic performance of students and staff. In the context, the aim of the s...
Assessment of carbon dioxide transmission through porous building materials in relation to indoor air quality Yüncü, Başak; Tavukçuoğlu, Ayşe; Saltık, Emine Nevin; Department of Building Science in Architecture (2016) There is lack of knowledge on breathing features adequacy of porous building materials for sustaining indoor air quality. There is necessity to examine gas diffusion characteristics of breathing porous building materials and the relation of those characteristics with IAQ. A comprehensive study, therefore, was conducted on mud brick as a traditional building material and AAC as a contemporary building material which are well-known by their high breathable characteristics. Their air permeability features were...
Investigation of natural ventilation in a public place in winter season with the comparison of experimentation and CFD results Bayer, Özgür (2016-12-01) In educational buildings, efficient ventilation is vital for better indoor air quality and less contaminant level. High level of carbon dioxide concentration causes to drop in concentration and learning capacities of students in addition to headache, dizziness and rapid spreading of infections. In order to provide high indoor air quality; indoor temperature, carbon dioxide level, air humidity and air flow rate should be in the comfortable zone defined by standards. Natural ventilation is preferable solution...

Citation Formats

G. N. Dölek, “Evaluation of BTEX concentrations in selected industries producing and applying paint based on human health risks through inhalation /,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2014.