Exposure and Risk Assessment to Airborne dl-PCBs and Dioxins in the Population Living in the Neighborhood of a Cement Plant: A Pilot Study in the Valencian Region of Spain

Emissions from cement manufacturing facilities may increase health risks in nearby populations. For this reason, dioxin-like PCB (dl-PCB), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (PCDD), and polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDF) concentrations in PM(10) samples were assessed in the vicinity of a cement manufacturing plant located in the Valencian Region (eastern Spain). The total concentrations of the sum of dl-PCBs, PCDDs, and PCDFs ranged between 1.85 and 42.53 fg TEQ/m(3) at the assessed stations. The average daily inhalation dose (DID) for the sum in adults ranged from 8.93 · 10(−4) to 3.75 · 10(−3) pg WHO TEQ kg(−1) b.w. d(−1), and, for children, the DID ranged from 2.01 · 10(−3) to 8.44 · 10(−3) pg WHO TEQ kg(−1) b.w. d(−1). Risk assessment for adults and children was performed using both daily and chronic exposure. The hazard quotient (HQ) was calculated considering 0.025 pg WHO TEQ kg(−1) b.w. d(−1) to be the acceptable maximum permitted inhalation exposure. The HQ obtained was slightly higher than 1 for PCDD/Fs at one of the stations (Chiva), indicating a possible health risk for the population under study due to inhalation exposure. In the case of chronic exposure, cancer risk (>10(−6)) was observed for some samples in one of the assessed sampling sites (Chiva).