Concentrations of 22 volatile organic hydrocarbons (VOCs) were measured at the airport apron of Taipei International Airport, Taiwan, for 48 d in July, September, October, and December of 2011. Forty-eight air samples were collected using stainless steel canisters and analyzed using gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector (GC/FID) and gas chromatography with a mass selective detector (GC/MSD). The five most abundant VOC species on all sampling days were toluene, m,p-xylene, o-xylene, i-pentane, and styrene. Total concentrations of VOCs (TVOC) were 85.38 ± 26.61, 89.70 ± 13.14, and 86.21 ± 14.51 μg/m 3 in summer, autumn, and early winter, respectively. Aromatics (36.6-41.4%) represented the largest proportion of TVOCs, followed by i-alkanes (22.9-25.5%), n-alkanes (20.3-21.8%), alkenes (11.5-13.3%) and alkynes (3.0-4.4%). The benzene-to-toluene (B/T) ratio was used to differentiate between exhaust from aircraft ignition and that from ground vehicles at the airport apron. The absolute principal component score (APCS) receptor model was then applied to quantify the contributions of these sources of VOCs at the airport apron.
Concentrations of 22 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were estimated for individual particle-size distributions at the airport apron of the Taipei International Airport, Taiwan, on 48 days in July, September, October, and December of 2011. In total, 672 integrated air samples were collected using a micro-orifice uniform deposition impactor (MOUDI) and a nano-MOUDI. Particle-bound PAHs (P-PAHs) were analyzed by gas chromatography with mass selective detector (GC/MSD). The five most abundant species of P-PAHs on all sampling days were naphthalene (NaP), phenanthrene (PA), fluoranthene (FL), acenaphthene (AcP), and pyrene (Pyr). Total P-PAHs concentrations were 152.21, 184.83, and 188.94 ng/m(3) in summer, autumn, and winter, respectively. On average, the most abundant fractions of benzo[a]pyrene equivalent concentration (BaPeq) in different molecular weights were high-weight PAHs (79.29 %), followed by medium-weight PAHs (11.57 %) and low-weight PAHs (9.14 %). The mean BaPeq concentrations were 1.25 and 0.94 (ng/m(3)) in ultrafine particles (<0.1 μm) and nano-particles (<0.032 μm), respectively. The percentages of total BaPeq in nano- and ultrafine particulate size ranges were 52.4 % and 70.15 %, respectively.
Concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) were estimated for different particle size distributions in a carbon black feeding process at a tire manufacturing plant on 15 days in March and April of 2014. A total of 75 integrated air samples were collected using a micro-orifice uniform deposition impactor (MOUDI). Particle-bound PCDD/Fs were analyzed using a high-resolution gas chromatograph/high-resolution mass spectrometer (HRGC/HRMS). Concentrations of thoracic particles and total particles produced in the carbon black feeding process of a tire manufacturing plant were measured in ranges of 0.19-2.61 and 0.28-4.22 mg/m(3), respectively. On all sampling days, the three most abundant species of PCDD/Fs were OCDD, 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDF, and OCDF. The mean concentrations of total PCDD/Fs were 0.74-6.83 pg/m(3) within five particle size ranges. Total I-TEQ in particulate matter (PM)<1.0 was 2.2 and 3.2 times higher than those in PM>18 and PM2.5-10, respectively. However, the total I-TEQ of thoracic PM contributed approximately 74 % of the total I-TEQ of total PM. The assessment of health risk indicates that exposure to fractions of thoracic PM by inhalation poses a significant cancer risk (>10(-6)).
The study investigated the exposure of spray painters to organic solvents, toxic metals, and hexavalent chromium over 21 working days in 2017. The results found these concentrations of 12 VOCs to be below the short-term exposure limit (STEL) established by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The mass concentration of total particulate matter (PM) exposure to workers was 20.01 ± 10.78 mg/m, which exceeds OSHA's permissible exposure level of 15 mg/m. The mean concentration of the total metals for all particle sizes was 109.1 ± 12.0 μg/m, and those for lead (496,017.0 ng/m) and iron (252,123.8 ng/m) were the highest of metal elements. Significantly, the mean concentrations of Pb and As exceeded OSHA's permissible exposure limits (PELs) of 0.05 and 0.01 mg/m, respectively. The total hexavalent chromium concentration was 1163.01 ng/m, and the individual particle sizes (PM, PM, and PM) were strongly and positively correlated with the Cr(VI) concentrations for PM. The study determined that approximately 56.14% of the hexavalent chromium inhaled during the spray-painting process was deposited in the upper respiratory system of the head airway region, followed by the alveolar and tracheobronchial regions, with fractions of 11.93 and 0.05%, respectively. Although the mean ratio of hexavalent chromium to total chromium was only 3.6% for all particle sizes, the cancer risk of the total particles in Cr(VI) (1.6 × 10) exceeded the acceptable risk value (10). The cancer risks of As and Cr(VI) associated with quasi-ultrafine particles, PM, PM, and PM, also exceeded 10. Comparison of the carcinogenicity risk of VOCs and metals suggests that the adverse health effect of inhaled particles on spray-painting workers is more serious than that from VOC exposure.
The health and environmental effects of metal-containing carbon black (CB) particles emitted from a CB feeding area near a tire manufacturing plant were investigated.
In Taiwan, relevant mid-term plans and projects of mitigating occupational hazards have been launched in recent years in the hopes of lowering the incidence of occupational hazards. In light of the lack of objective methodologies for researches on issues pertaining occupational safety and health, this research aims to explore the priorities of safety and health issues through focal groups, expert questionnaires and interviews on relevant issues such as hazard installations identified in R181 Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents Recommendation, 1993 proposed during the 18th World Congress on Safety and Health at work in Seoul 2008. Results revealed that distribute reports of major domestic/foreign occupational disasters to relevant sectors for the prevention of major accidents is needed, both from the importance and feasibility analysis. It is the only topic that scored over 4 points in average for expert and focal group consensus. Furthermore, the experts and focal groups came to consensus in the ranking of priority for 4 items, namely: 1) Installations containing/using large quantities of hazardous materials should be prioritized for inspection, 2) Incorporation of hazard installation review/inspection into OSH management system accreditation, 3) Impose operation shutdown as a means of penalty) and 4) Prioritize the promotion of preliminary PHA.
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