Occupational health risk assessment of workplace solvents and noise in the electronics industry using three comprehensive risk assessment models

BACKGROUND: Occupational hazards such as solvents and noise in the electronics industry are serious. Although various occupational health risk assessment models have been applied in the electronics industry, they have only been used to assess the risks of individual job positions. Few existing studies have focused on the total risk level of critical risk factors in enterprises. METHODS: Ten electronics enterprises were selected for this study. Information, air samples and physical factor measurements were collected from the selected enterprises through on-site investigation, and then the data were collated and samples were tested according to the requirements of Chinese standards. The Occupational Health Risk Classification and Assessment Model (referred to as the Classification Model), the Occupational Health Risk Grading and Assessment Model (referred to as the Grading Model), and the Occupational Disease Hazard Evaluation Model were used to assess the risks of the enterprises. The correlations and differences between the three models were analyzed, and the results of the models were validated by the average risk level of all of the hazard factors. RESULTS: Hazards with concentrations exceeding the Chinese occupational exposure limits (OELs) were methylene chloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, and noise. The exposure time of workers ranged from 1 to 11 h per day and the frequency of exposure ranged from 5 to 6 times per week. The risk ratios (RRs) of the Classification Model, the Grading Model and the Occupational Disease Hazard Evaluation Model were 0.70 ± 0.10, 0.34 ± 0.13, and 0.65 ± 0.21, respectively. The RRs for the three risk assessment models were statistically different (P < 0.001), and there were no correlations between them (P > 0.05). The average risk level of all of the hazard factors was 0.38 ± 0.18, which did not differ from the RRs of the Grading Model (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The hazards of organic solvents and noise in the electronics industry are not negligible. The Grading Model offers a good reflection of the actual risk level of the electronics industry and has strong practicability.