Health risk assessment of chefs intake of cooking fumes: Focusing on Sichuan cuisine in China

Abstract

Cooking fumes pose huge threats to air deterioration and human health, yet occupational health risk assessment of chefs is scarce, risk analysis taking Sichuan cuisine as research object, which is a typical kind of Chinese cuisines with higher edible oil consumptions and spicy flavor has not been done as per our concern. For this reason, in this study, health assessment models were established to calculate both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks posed by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with Sichuan cuisine chefs as concerned receptors based on the inhalation risk model and the Monte Carlo method. The results show that the total carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of VOCs were 1.11E − 4 ± 6.50E − 5 and 4.44E + 0 ± 2.77E + 0, respectively, which mainly due to 1,3-butadiene. Risk values of PAHs differed from different cooking styles, indicating no potential carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk, which occurred primarily because of BaP and PYR. Sensitivity analyses revealed that exposure duration had the greatest impact on the total uncertainty. The paper then presented preventive measures aimed at managing and preventing health risks in Sichuan cuisine cooking sources based on the evaluation results, which may contribute to implement managerial measures and publicize policies to minimize air pollution and health risk in catering industry.