Health Risk Assessment of Acrylonitrile Vapors in a Petrochemical Industry Using the United States Environmental Protection Agency Method

Background and Objective: Acrylonitrile is a potential carcinogen for humans and exposure to its vapors can have a variety of adverse effects on employees in the petrochemical industry. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the level of exposure and assess the quantitative health risk of exposure to acrylonitrile vapors in the exposed personnel of a petrochemical complex. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, which was conducted in a petrochemical complex, a total of 45 inhaled air (3 samples per person) was sampled. Samples were collected using absorbent tubes containing activated charcoal from SKC. The samples were prepared and analyzed according to the 1601 NIOSH method using the VARIAN CP-3800 gas chromatography. Finally, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) method was used to determine the level of employee exposure and the health or non-cancer risk index (HQ). Data analysis was performed using SPSS software version 25. In order to investigate the differences between different sections in terms of exposure and health risk, Kruskal-Wallis statistical test was used at a significance level of less than 0.05. Results: The results of the present study showed that the average concentration of acrylonitrile vapors in the studied petrochemical complex is 71.1±122.8 micrograms per cubic meter (0.033±0.056 ppm) on average. The non-carcinogenic risk was also calculated to be 4.04±6.93. It was found that 47.6% of the subjects were within the permissible non-carcinogenic range (HQ <1) and 53.3% of the subjects were within the allowable range (HQ> 1). Conclusion: Considering that the health risk of exposure to acrylonitrile vapors in the studied petrochemical complex was more than the recommended range (2 ppm or 4.34 mg/m3), taking engineering and management measures to control and reduce the risk levels to an acceptable level, including modification of local and general ventilation systems, as one of the main reasons for the respiratory exposure of the workers, is essential for the improvement of the situation.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC

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