Abstract
Formaldehyde (FA) and acetaldehyde (AA) were determined in the ambient air of five gas stations (GS) in the city of Salvador, Bahia State, Brazil, using three passive samplers exposed simultaneously for 8 h and analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection (HPLC-UV). The concentration ranges found were 3.31-5.78 µg m−3 for FA and 10.5-28.2 µg m−3 for AA. These values were below the exposure limits recommended by national and international agencies for occupational environments, however, FA concentrations were above the more restrictive limit (3.30 µg m−3) stablished by Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for long-term outdoor exposure. The lifetime cancer risks (LCR) found associated with the exposure of GS employees to these aldehydes over the 30-year period varied between 4.51 × 10−6-8.00 × 10−6 for FA and 2.46 × 10−6-6.60 × 10−6 for AA. These values are above the acceptable limit set by the USEPA (1.0 × 10−6), reinforcing the need for actions to minimize the occupational exposure, mainly to FA, which is associated with nasopharyngeal cancer.
Highlights
Air quality in occupational environments, including gas stations (GS), has become a research subject because of the need to evaluate the possible risks to workers’ health due to the long time they are exposed to polluted air in the workplace.[1]
The results show that for a sampling period of 8 h, concentrations of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde are in the range of 3.26-5.8 and 10.5-28.2 μg m−3, respectively
This study contributed to the monitoring of the air quality in gas stations in the city of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, with the use of passive sampling, at low cost, allowing the estimation of the non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks to workers’ health associated with exposure to formaldehyde and acetaldehyde compounds
Summary
Air quality in occupational environments, including gas stations (GS), has become a research subject because of the need to evaluate the possible risks to workers’ health due to the long time they are exposed to polluted air in the workplace.[1] In Brazil, the GS are establishments which carry out resale activities of different fuels, such as diesel with addition of biodiesel, compressed natural gas, hydrous ethyl alcohol (HEA) and anhydrous ethanol-gasoline blends (gasohol), with equipment and facilities available for measuring and storing these fuels.[2] According to the National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency of Brazil (ANP),[3] a total of 41,984 GS were installed until 2017 in Brazil, being São Paulo the first and Bahia the fifth state with the largest number of GS in operation In these occupational environments, the workers are exposed daily to various volatile hazardous fuels, usually without using personal protective equipment, via different routes of absorption, as dermal absorption, ingestion and mainly by inhalation.[4,5,6] Two previous studies[4,5] were performed in Brazilian GS, indicating a strong correlation. After being mixed with the additive, it is called type C gasoline.[9]
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