Inhalation risk assessment of exposure to the selected volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from the facilities of a steel plant

Abstract

Concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were investigated in the workplace air of four processes: sintering, cokemaking, hot forming, and cold forming in an integrated iron and steel plant. In addition, the cancer risk was measured for workers in these 4 processes. Seven VOCs (chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, benzene, and ethylbenzene) were selected for cancer risk measurement. Trichloroethylene concentrations are high in the 4 processes, and carbon tetrachloride and tetrachloroethylene concentrations are high in both the cold and hot forming processes. The sequence of the total cancer risk of the 7 species was as follows: cokemaking > sintering > cold forming ≅ hot forming. About 66–93% of the cancer risk of the four processes was caused by trichloroethylene. The cancer risks (3.7 × 10−3–30 × 10−3) of the average VOC concentrations suggest that improvement of workplace air quality and protection of workers are necessary to reduce cancer risks.