Determination of Benzene, Toluene and Xylene in Ambient Air Inside Three Major Steel Plant Airsheds and Surrounding Residential Areas

Abstract

Concentration of benzene, toluene and xylene were measured in three steel plants and the nearby residential areas. A simple packed column Gas Chromatograph was used for analysis and samples were collected using fabricated activated carbon traps. The study was carried out over a two year period of 4 to five months. Mean concentration of benzene µg/m3 inside the three plants were found to be 717 µg/m3, 918 µg/m3 and 576 µg/m3. For toluene the concentrations were 183 µg/m3, 258 µg/m3 and 198 µg/m3 and for xylene they were 6 µg/m3, 124 µg/m3 and 32 µg/m3 respectively. Concentration of benzene in the nearby residential areas were 228 µg/m3, 783 µg/m3 and 552 µg/m3. For toluene they were 160 µg/m3, 412 µg/m3 and 155 µg/m3 and for xylene thay were 9 µg/m3, 265 µg/m3 and 33 µg/m3 respectively. The compositional pattern was found to be very different from that found in other studies. The projected lifetime cancer risk from exposure to atmospheric benzene has been estimated to vary from 2.92 per 1000 to 5.92 per 1000 for plant workers and 1.62 per 1000 to 4.02 per 1000 respectively for the people living in the nearby residential areas.