Journal of Occupational
Health and Epidemiology
Rafsanjan university Of medical sciences
Volume 6, Issue 3 (Summer 2017)
J Occup Health Epidemiol 2017, 6(3): 171-177 |
Back to browse issues page
Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
Laal F, Hormozi M, Fallah Madvari R, Noorizadeh N, Firouzi Chahak A. Health risk assessment of occupational exposure to harmful chemical agents in a pesticide manufacturing plant. J Occup Health Epidemiol 2017; 6 (3) :171-177
URL: http://johe.rums.ac.ir/article-1-257-en.html
URL: http://johe.rums.ac.ir/article-1-257-en.html
Related article in
Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Similar articles
1- Health Promotion Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran.
2- Health Promotion Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran. ,hormozym@yahoo.com
3- , Dept. of Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
4- Student Research Committee, Dept. of Occupational Health, Health School, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
5- Dept. of Occupational Health, Faculty of Health, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Gonabad, Iran.
2- Health Promotion Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran. ,
3- , Dept. of Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
4- Student Research Committee, Dept. of Occupational Health, Health School, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
5- Dept. of Occupational Health, Faculty of Health, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Gonabad, Iran.
Article history
Received: 2017/07/15
Accepted: 2017/10/2
ePublished: 2017/11/28
Accepted: 2017/10/2
ePublished: 2017/11/28
Subject:
Occupational Health
Abstract: (7823 Views)
Background: In most industries, employees are in contact with various chemical agents. The objective of this study was to assess the health risks posed by occupational exposure to harmful chemical agents in a pesticide manufacturing plant in Zahedan, Iran, in 2013.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in different units of a pesticide manufacturing plant. In order to evaluate the health risks associated with occupational exposure, a method provided by the Singapore Health Department was used. After identifying the pollutants, including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX), CO, NO, NO2, and H2S, the degree of risk, the degree of exposure of the employees to the chemical agents, and the level of health risk were calculated.
Results: The results showed that the highest hazard rate (HR) in all units was related to benzene and the lowest HR was related to NO and H2S. In the powder unit, the exposure rate (ER) and risk rate (RR) of NO2 were higher than other pollutants. Additionally, in different units, the RR of benzene was 2.23, which was the highest among the pollutants. Generally, the RR of all pollutants was very low (insignificant) and low.
Conclusions: By using information related to the risks of chemical agents and results of assessments of the health risks of exposure to chemical pollutants, different occupations can be ranked in terms of exposure to chemical risk factors. This ranking can be used to prioritize the allocation of resources for control measures and reduce exposure levels to acceptable levels.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in different units of a pesticide manufacturing plant. In order to evaluate the health risks associated with occupational exposure, a method provided by the Singapore Health Department was used. After identifying the pollutants, including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX), CO, NO, NO2, and H2S, the degree of risk, the degree of exposure of the employees to the chemical agents, and the level of health risk were calculated.
Results: The results showed that the highest hazard rate (HR) in all units was related to benzene and the lowest HR was related to NO and H2S. In the powder unit, the exposure rate (ER) and risk rate (RR) of NO2 were higher than other pollutants. Additionally, in different units, the RR of benzene was 2.23, which was the highest among the pollutants. Generally, the RR of all pollutants was very low (insignificant) and low.
Conclusions: By using information related to the risks of chemical agents and results of assessments of the health risks of exposure to chemical pollutants, different occupations can be ranked in terms of exposure to chemical risk factors. This ranking can be used to prioritize the allocation of resources for control measures and reduce exposure levels to acceptable levels.
References
1. McDermott HJ. Air monitoring for toxic exposures. 2nd ed. Hoboken, New Jersey, United States: John Wiley & Sons, Inc; 2004. [Book] [DOI]
2. Roberts SM, James RC, Williams PL. Principles of toxicology: environmental and industrial applications. 3rd ed. Hoboken, New Jersey, United States: John Wiley & Sons, Inc; 2015. [Book]
3. Jahangiri M, Motovagheh M. Health risk assessment of harmful chemicals: case study in a petrochemical industry. Iran Occupational Health 2011; 7(4):18-24. [Article]
4. Guo H, Kwok NH, Cheng HR, Lee SC, Hung WT, Li YS. Formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds in Hong Kong homes: concentrations and impact factors. Indoor Air 2009; 19(3):206-17. [DOI] [PubMed]
5. Golbabaie F, Eskandari D, Rezazade Azari M, Jahangiri M, Rahimi M, Shahtaheri J. Health risk assessment of chemical pollutants in a petrochemical complex. Iran Occupational Health 2012; 9(3):11-21. [Article]
6. Karimi A, Jamshidi Slukloei HR, Eslamizad S. Designing SQCRA as a software to semi-quantitative chemical risk assessment in workplace. Journal of Occupational Hygiene Engineering 2014; 1(2):47-56. [Article]
7. Pease CK, Gentry RP. Systematic review in chemical risk assessment - A chemical industry perspective. Environ Int 2016; 92-93:574-7. [Article] [DOI]
8. McKenzie LM, Witter RZ, Newman LS, Adgate JL. Human health risk assessment of air emissions from development of unconventional natural gas resources. Sci Total Environ 2012; 424:79-87. [DOI] [PubMed]
9. Vahabi M, Mazinani M, Kdakaram S, Rezazadeh M, Khiri H, Mosavi AA, et al. Irritation risk assessment of occupational exposure to formaldehyde from Melamine dinnerware workshops in Tehran. Iran Occupational Health 2016; 13(2):50-7. [Article]
10. García-García CR, Parrón T, Requena M, Alarcón R, Tsatsakis AM, Hernández AF. Occupational pesticide exposure and adverse health effects at the clinical, hematological and biochemical level. Life Sci 2016; 145:274-83. [DOI] [PubMed]
11. Damalas CA, Eleftherohorinos IG. Pesticide exposure, safety issues, and risk assessment indicators. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2011; 8(5):1402-19. [DOI] [PubMed]
12. Kim KH, Kabir E, Jahan SA. Exposure to pesticides and the associated human health effects. Sci Total Environ 2017; 575:525-35. [DOI] [PubMed]
13. Mehrpour O, Karrari P, Zamani N, Tsatsakis AM, Abdollahi M. Occupational exposure to pesticides and consequences on male semen and fertility: a review. Toxicol Lett 2014; 230(2):146-56. [DOI] [PubMed]
14. Bian Q, Xu LC, Wang SL, Xia YK, Tan LF, Chen JF, et al. Study on the relation between occupational fenvalerate exposure and spermatozoa DNA damage of pesticide factory workers. Occup Environ Med 2004; 61(12):999-1005. [DOI] [PubMed]
15. Maroni M, Fanetti AC, Metruccio F. Risk assessment and management of occupational exposure to pesticides in agriculture. Med Lav 2006; 97(2):430-7. [PubMed]
16. Ministry of Manpower, Occupational Safety and Health Division Singapore. A semi-quantitative method to assess occupational exposure to harmful chemicals. Singapore: Ministry of Manpower. Available from: https://www.wshc.sg/files/wshc/upload/cms/file/2014/A%20Semiquantitative%20Method%20to%20Assess%20Occupational%20Exposure%20to%20Harmful%20Che.pdf [Report]
17. Huang D, Zhang J, Liu M. Application of a health risk classification method to assessing occupational hazard in China. Paper presented at: The 3rd International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering; 2009 June 11-13; Beijing, China. [Conference Paper] [DOI]
18. Moosavifard SA, Ardestani M, Zarei F, Asgarianzadeh M. Semi-quantitative risk assessment of TDI and MDI in car paint shops in Alborz province, Iran. Journal of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences 2016; 25(132):82-90. [Article]
19. Zare Jeddi M, Yunesian M, Ahmadkhaniha R, Kashani H, Rastkari N. Semi-quantitative and quantitative health risk assessment of gas station workers exposure to benzene. Iranian Journal of Health and Environment 2015; 8(3):391-400. [Article]
20. Wang T, Bo P, Bing T, Zhaoyun Z, Liyu D, Yonglong L. Benzene homologues in environmental matrixes from a pesticide chemical region in China: occurrence, health risk and management. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2014; 104:357-64. [Article] [DOI]
21. Beheshti MH, Firoozi Chahak A, Alinaghi Langari AA, Rostami S. Semi-quantitative risk assessment of health exposure to hazardous chemical agents in a petrochemical plant. Journal of Occupational Health and Epidemiology 2015; 4(1):1-8. [Article] [DOI]
22. Harati A, Shahtaheri SJ, Yousefi HA, Askari A, Abdolmohamadi N, Sayyahi Z, et al. Risk assessment of chemical pollutants in a petrochemical company. Peper presented at: The 6th Iranian Conference Energy Management and Environment; 2016 Dec 22; Tehran, Iran. [Conference Paper]
23. Ding G, Bao Y. Revisiting pesticide exposure and children's health: focus on China. Sci Total Environ 2014; 472:289-95. [Article] [DOI]
Send email to the article author
| Rights and permissions | |
 |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
