Health risk assessment of occupational exposure to BTEX in the painting unit of a bicycle industry in Quchan city

BTEX is one of the most important pollutants in organic compounds in paint compounds, the toxic effects of which are well known. Therefore, the aim of this study was to health risk assissment of exposure of the painting unit workers of a bicycle industry to BTEX compounds and to provide control solutions.

In this cross-sectional study, 48 personal exposure samples of workers during of two seasons of winter and spring were collected using NIOSH 1501 method from six sections of painting unit in a bicycle industry and then analyzed by GC-FID and their risk was estimated by EPA method.

The cancer risk of benzene and ethylbenzene in all sections was exceeded from the EPA acceptable criteria. The paint preparation cabin had the highest cancer risk, with  8.2 per 1,000 cases for benzene and with 1.2 per 1,000 workers for ethyl benzene. Non cancer risk of benzene in all sections, toluene in the primer paint cabin, polishing and finishing paint cabin and xylene in the paint preparation cabin and cascade painting exceeded the EPA criteria.

Due to the high level of cancer risk of benzene and ethylbenzene in all sections as well as the high non-cancer risk of BTEX compounds in some sections and in general due to the simultaneous presence of all vapors of BTEX, all sections of Paint unit need to improve the work environment such as engineering controls and modify work procedures.