Prioritizing Type of Industry through Health Risk Assessment of Occupational Exposure to Dimethylformamide in the Workplace

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.

Vulnerable Factors Affecting Urinary N-Methylformamide Concentration among Migrant Workers in Manufacturing Industries in Comparison with Native Workers in the Republic of Korea (2012–2019)

“…We found that a higher proportion of migrant workers was involved in the manufacturing industries known to lead to a high risk of exposure to DMF. The types of manufacturing products highly associated with increasing DMF exposure were rubber and plastics, leather and related products, wearing apparel, and textiles, which is consistent with the results of previous studies [ 18 , 19 , 20 ].…”

Occupational Inhalation Health Risk Assessment of TCE Exposure in the Korean Manufacturing Industry

“…The HQ was obtained by dividing the TCE concentration by RfCworknon-carcinogen and RfCworkcarcinogen according to Equations ( 4) and ( 5). If HQ exceeds 1, it represents a risk that workers cannot accept; if HQ is less than 1, it represents an acceptable risk to workers [31,38].…”

“…The calculation of RfCworknon-carcinogen was derived using quantitative correction and uncertainty coefficient correction, as shown in Table 1 [44,45]. Through quantitative correction, the NOAEL Adjusted for Duration (NOAELADJ) and the NOAEL Adjusted to a Human-Equivalent Concentration (NOAELHEC) were derived by correcting for 5 days per week, 8 h of daily exposure, and the difference in respiratory rates between workers and the public [38,44,45].…”

“…This is known as the Workplace Environmental Monitoring Program (WEMP) [35,37]. The WEMP data include information such as industry type, main products, department name, process code, process name, workplace unit, name of the measured substance, measurement time, and exposure concentrations of the substances, reported as TWA [37,38]. The risk of TCE was recognized as a substance that caused many occupational diseases in 2006.…”

Revisão Sistemática Da Literatura Sobre Os Principais Problemas Relacionados À Saúde E Segurança No Trabalho Em Indústrias Do Setor Têxtil E De Confecções

“…Constatou-se também que indústrias de fabricação de produtos têxteis, possuem maior risco de exposição à dimetilformamida (DMF), com destaque para a fiação considerado um dos processos com maior nível de exposição. A DMF é absorvida pelo corpo humano através do sistema respiratório, pele e órgãos digestivos, causando danos ao fígado, náuseas, vômitos, diarreia, entre outros sintomas (LEE et al, 2018). Segundo Bekker et al (2013), já no processo de limpeza têxtil, ainda pode haver exposições nocivas à saúde do trabalhador relacionadas a namomateriais manufaturados (NM).…”