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Measurements of benzene and formaldehyde in a medium sized urban environment. Indoor/outdoor health risk implications on special population groups

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Abstract

In the present study, the results of a measurement campaign aiming to assess cancer risk among two special groups of population: policemen and laboratory technicians exposed to the toxic substances, benzene and formaldehyde are presented. The exposure is compared to general population risk. The results show that policemen working outdoor (traffic regulation, patrol on foot or in vehicles, etc.) are exposed at a significantly higher benzene concentration (3–5 times) than the general population, while the exposure to carbonyls is in general lower. The laboratory technicians appear to be highly exposed to formaldehyde while no significant variation of benzene exposure in comparison to the general population is recorded. The assessment revealed that laboratory technicians and policemen run a 20% and 1% higher cancer risk respectively compared to the general population. Indoor working place air quality is more significant in assessing cancer risk in these two categories of professionals, due to the higher Inhalation Unit Risk (IUR) of formaldehyde compared to benzene. Since the origin of the danger to laboratory technicians is clear (use of chemicals necessary for the experiments), in policemen the presence of carbonyls in indoor air concentrations due to smoking or used materials constitute a danger equal to the exposure to traffic originated air pollutants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry, Department of Biological Applications and Technologies, University of Ioannina, 45110, Ioannina, Greece

    Georgios A. Pilidis & Spyros P. Karakitsios

  2. Laboratory of Meteorology, Department of Physics, University of Ioannina, 45110, Ioannina, Greece

    Pavlos A. Kassomenos

  3. Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, 45110, Ioannina, Greece

    Elias A. Kazos & Constantine D. Stalikas

Authors
  1. Georgios A. Pilidis
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  2. Spyros P. Karakitsios
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  3. Pavlos A. Kassomenos
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  4. Elias A. Kazos
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  5. Constantine D. Stalikas
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Correspondence to Georgios A. Pilidis.

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Pilidis, G.A., Karakitsios, S.P., Kassomenos, P.A. et al. Measurements of benzene and formaldehyde in a medium sized urban environment. Indoor/outdoor health risk implications on special population groups. Environ Monit Assess 150, 285–294 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-008-0230-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-008-0230-9

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