Exposure to Benzene at Different Work Places in Sweden

Nordlinder, Rolf; Ramnäs, Olle Jerker

doi:10.1093/annhyg/31.3.345

Cited by 48 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Two samples exceeded the project-specific guideline limit for benzene (300 µg/m 3 ). Elsewhere, much higher benzene exposures have been reported in other studies from Europe and the USA, especially in the past (Bates et al 1994 ; Burns et al 2016 ; Capleton and Levy 2005 ; Claydon et al 2000 ; Coker et al 1987 ; Gaffney et al 2010 , 2011 Kreider et al 2010 ; Nordlinder and Ramnas 1987 ; Panko et al 2009 ; Verma et al 2001 ), with AM exposures in the range of a few hundred to thousands of µg/m 3 . The majority of the samples were below 1 ppm (about 3200 µg/m 3 ), which is the OEL value applied in several countries (Capleton and Levy 2005 ; Health Council of the Netherlands 2014 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Low personal exposure to benzene and 1,3-butadiene in the Swedish petroleum refinery industry

Almerud

Åkerström

Andersson

et al. 2017

Int Arch Occup Environ Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

PurposePetroleum refinery workers are exposed to the carcinogens benzene and 1,3-butadiene. Declining exposures have been reported internationally but information on current exposure in the Swedish refinery industry is limited. The aim was to examine refinery workers’ personal exposure to benzene and 1,3-butadiene and increase awareness of exposure conditions by collaboration with involved refineries.MethodsAltogether 505 repeated personal exposure measurements were performed among workers at two refineries. Full-shift measurements were conducted in different exposure groups using Perkin Elmer diffusive samplers filled with Carbopack X. Mean levels were calculated using mixed-effects models. A large fraction of measurements below the limit of detection (LOD) required imputation of computer-generated data.ResultsMean benzene exposure among process technicians was 15.3 µg/m3 (95% CI 10.4–22.5 µg/m3) and 13.7 µg/m3 (95% CI 8.3–22.7 µg/m3) for Refinery 1 and 2, respectively. Process technicians working outdoors had higher exposure than maintenance workers (20.7 versus 5.9 µg/m3, p < 0.01). Working in the harbour and tank park (Refinery 1), compared with the process area, was associated with higher exposure. The 1,3-butadiene exposure was low, 5.4 and 1.8 µg/m3, respectively. The total variation was generally attributed to within-worker variability.ConclusionsLow benzene and 1,3-butadiene levels were found among refinery workers. Mean benzene exposure was about 1% of the Swedish occupational limit (1500 µg/m3) and for 1,3-butadiene, exposure was even lower. A large fraction of values below the LOD can be managed by carefully modelled, computer-generated data.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Low personal exposure to benzene and 1,3-butadiene in the Swedish petroleum refinery industry

Almerud

Åkerström

Andersson

et al. 2017

Int Arch Occup Environ Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Figure 4 shows the mean benzene concentrations for each dataset identified from these studies that used averaging times of ≥3 hours, along with maximum detected values when reported. More details regarding these and other relevant studies from the literature (10,(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43) figure 4 also shows the mean and maximum non-task airborne benzene concentrations for Baton Rouge dock workers from this study based on samples collected before 1990 (0.28 and 6.3 ppm, respectively) and for samples collected during 1990 and later years (0.15 and 15.3 ppm, respectively). The mean airborne benzene concentration for dock workers from this study based on non-task samples (0.28 ppm) lies within the range of means from the published studies, and below 82% of the mean concentrations reported from the studies depicted in figure 4, despite the fact that the Baton Rouge data set was targeted to over-represent benzene handling activities as discussed elsewhere (4).…”

Section: Task Exposure Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 95%

Airborne concentrations of benzene for dock workers at the ExxonMobil refinery and chemical plant, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA (1977–2005)

Widner¹,

Gaffney²,

Panko³

et al. 2010

Scand J Work Environ Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…It is a confirmed human carcinogen [ 4 ] and epidemiological studies have shown it causes the occurrence of acute and chronic leukemia, even at low concentrations [ 5 ]. Acute exposure to high benzene concentrations can also affect the central nervous system and cause dizziness, headaches and nausea, while chronic exposure can give rise to more serious adverse health effects such as blood disease, haematotoxicity, genotoxicity, increased levels of persistent chromosome aberrations, reproductive effects and mortality [ 6 , 7 , 8 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Risk Assessment for Exposure to Benzene in Petroleum Refinery Environments

Edokpolo

Qian

Connell

2015

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The health risk resulting from benzene exposure in petroleum refineries was calculated using data from the scientific literature from various countries throughout the world. The exposure data was collated into four scenarios from petroleum refinery environments and plotted as cumulative probability distributions (CPD) plots. Health risk was evaluated for each scenario using the Hazard Quotient (HQ) at 50% (CEXP50) and 95% (CEXP95) exposure levels. Benzene levels were estimated to pose a significant risk with HQ50 > 1 and HQ95 > 1 for workers exposed to benzene as base estimates for petroleum refinery workers (Scenario 1), petroleum refinery workers evaluated with personal samplers in Bulgarian refineries (Scenario 2B) and evaluated using air inside petroleum refineries in Bulgarian refineries (Scenario 3B). HQ50 < 1 were calculated for petroleum refinery workers with personal samplers in Italian refineries (Scenario 2A), air inside petroleum refineries (Scenario 3A) and air outside petroleum refineries (Scenario 4) in India and Taiwan indicating little possible adverse health effects. Also, HQ95 was < 1 for Scenario 4 however potential risk was evaluated for Scenarios 2A and 3A with HQ95 > 1. The excess Cancer risk (CR) for lifetime exposure to benzene for all the scenarios was evaluated using the Slope Factor and Overall Risk Probability (ORP) methods. The result suggests a potential cancer risk for exposure to benzene in all the scenarios. However, there is a higher cancer risk at 95% (CEXP95) for petroleum refinery workers (2B) with a CR of 48,000 per 106 and exposure to benzene in air inside petroleum refineries (3B) with a CR of 28,000 per 106.

show abstract

Exposure to Benzene at Different Work Places in Sweden

Cited by 48 publications

References 10 publications

Low personal exposure to benzene and 1,3-butadiene in the Swedish petroleum refinery industry

Low personal exposure to benzene and 1,3-butadiene in the Swedish petroleum refinery industry

Airborne concentrations of benzene for dock workers at the ExxonMobil refinery and chemical plant, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA (1977–2005)

Health Risk Assessment for Exposure to Benzene in Petroleum Refinery Environments

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About