Received: December 2015, Accepted: February 2016 Background: Chemical contaminants present in the work environments include gases, vapors, and solid and liquid suspended particles. The number of factories producing chemicals has increased significantly. Each year, new products are introduced into the market. Consequently, the number of employees at risk of exposure to these materials is increased. Hazardous chemicals are used in the petrochemical industry that is one of the major industries in the country's economic development. Therefore, the aim of this study was a semi-quantitative risk assessment of health exposure to hazardous chemical agents in a petrochemical plant. Materials and Methods:This was a descriptive analytical study for assessing the sanitary risks of hazardous chemical factors in the work environment through a risk assessment method provided by the Occupational Health Department of Singapore. Thus, initially, occupational tasks and processes were determined. Subsequently, all hazardous chemical factors were detected, and then, the degree of risk, the degree of exposure, and risk rating were determined. Results: In total, 24 tasks were examined and risk assessment was performed for 19 hazardous chemical substances in this study. Among these materials, benzene and xylene had the highest risks and were used in various occupations. In this study, mean and standard deviation of age and experience of participants were 30.28 ± 7.87 and 5.98 ± 5.66, respectively. Moreover, 25.3% of participants in this study were single and 74.7% were married. Conclusions: It can be concluded that 81% of chemicals used in this industry are rated at moderate and high risk. In order to control the identified risks, this study recommended programs and control measures based on the hierarchy of elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and use of personal protective equipment.

Received: January 2016, Accepted: April 2016 Background: Taxi drivers have the most important role in the public transport services. They are exposed to various harmful agents and occupational hazards. Noise is a harmful occupational factors and hearing loss is its most important effect. Protection of drivers against hearing loss is essential. This study was performed to determine the prevalence of hearing loss among taxi and agency drivers. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 95 drivers (43 taxi drivers and 52 agency drivers) who were selected via simple random sampling. The threshold of drivers' hearing was measured by an audiometer. After data extraction, data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis test to compare the average level of hearing between the left and right ears and drivers. Results: The average age of taxi drivers and agency drivers was 43.5 ± 10.8 and 40.7 ± 8.3 years, respectively. In addition, the average work experience of taxi drivers and agency drivers was 9.5 and 6.5 years, respectively. The average of hearing threshold level in right and left ears of agency drivers was 12.96 ± 4.2 and 12.74 ± 4.64 dB and of taxi drivers was 12.53 ± 5.16 and 15.61 ± 12.7 dB, respectively. A hearing threshold of less than 25 dB in each ear illustrates the lack of hearing loss; thus, the studied drivers did not have hearing loss. Conclusions:The results showed that the drivers hearing status was satisfactory. Furthermore, the prevalence of hearing loss in taxi drivers was higher than agency drivers.

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