Abstract
The purpose of this study was to classify hazards at an industrial level and evaluate the exposure risks of workers exposed to dimethylformamide (DMF) used as a solvent in the workplace and to determine industries that need priority measures in managing DMF exposure. We calculated hazard quotients at an industrial level. The exposure data of DMF in the workplace were obtained from the work environment monitoring program provided by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency. The evaluation was conducted on textile manufacturing, leather manufacturing, chemical manufacturing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and rubber manufacturing industries, which have many unit work sites handling DMF. The highest central tendency exposure and reasonable maximum exposure were 2.13 and 18.66 mg/m3 for the rubber product manufacturing industry, respectively. A total of 63.8% of workplaces in the textile manufacturing sector had a hazard quotient higher than 1. The highest risk for exposure to DMF is in the rubber and plastic manufacturing industry, and the lowest risk was in the medical materials and pharmaceutical manufacturing sector. Based on this study, effective management of DMF exposure could be achieved by establishing priority management measures for the textile and rubber and plastic product industries.
Highlights
Dimethylformamide (DMF) is a colorless and water-soluble liquid used as a solvent or additive in chemical industries
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the overall risk of occupational exposure for workplaces handling DMF in Korea and to identify the differences in exposure and risk according to industry
Because detailed information on the unit workplace on non-detectable data cannot be evaluated and non-detected data account for a large part in each industry, the risk index derived by using central tendency exposure (CTE) and reasonable maximum exposure (RME) in this paper may be higher than the risk level of the whole workplace
Summary
Dimethylformamide (DMF) is a colorless and water-soluble liquid used as a solvent or additive in chemical industries. It is mainly used as a solvent in artificial leather production, textile coating processing, and urethane and acrylic fiber spinning [1]. DMF is absorbed into the human body through the respiratory system, skin, and digestive organs, causing damage to the liver. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, edema, malaise, jaundice, and nasal skin symptoms might develop due to the effects of DMF absorbed in the digestive system [3,4,5]. Because of its detrimental effect on human health, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) in Korea and American Conference of Governmental Industrial
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