Health risk assessment of total volatile organic compounds, particulate matters and trace elements in PM10 in typical living rooms in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

ABSTRACT Nowadays, particulate matter and total volatile organic compounds in the air are the primary environmental concern of the world due to their health impact. Therefore, the present work was focused on the assessment of short-term exposure to particulate matter (PMs) in the air samples of different particle size (PM1, PM2.5, PM4, PM7, PM10) and total suspended particles (TSP), total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) and trace elements in PM10 in the living room (a place where inhabitants spent more of their indoor time). PMs and TVOCs were measured by simple and portable sensors, respectively. The elemental composition of PM10 was analysed by using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The geometric mean (GOM) of PMs in the living room ranged from 5.68 to 99.0 µg m−3, whereas the TVOCs were found to be 289 µg m−3. The health risk due to exposure to PM2.5, PM10, and TSP was performed according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency prescription using hazard quotient calculation (HQ) and hazard index calculation (HI). The results showed that HI and HQ for PM2.5, PM10 and TSP were less than one indicating that the non-carcinogenic effect is not significant. The levels of trace elements (Fe, Cd, As, Cr, Pb, B, Ni, Co, Sn, Cu, and Zn) in PM10 were found in the range: 0.001–0.026 µg m−3. The carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks due to elements in PM10 exposure were also not significant.