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Characteristics of Occupational Exposure to Benzene during Turnaround in the Petrochemical Industries

OBJECTIVES: The level of benzene exposure in the petrochemical industry during regular operation has been well established, but not in turnaround (TA), where high exposure may occur. In this study, the characteristics of occupational exposure to benzene during TA in the petrochemical companies were...

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Autores principales: Chung, Eun-Kyo, Shin, Jung-Ah, Lee, Byung-Kyu, Kwon, Jiwoon, Lee, Naroo, Chung, Kwang-Jae, Lee, Jong-Han, Lee, In-Seop, Kang, Seong-Kyu, Jang, Jae-Kil
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2010
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3430938/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22953163
http://dx.doi.org/10.5491/SHAW.2010.1.1.51
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author Chung, Eun-Kyo
Shin, Jung-Ah
Lee, Byung-Kyu
Kwon, Jiwoon
Lee, Naroo
Chung, Kwang-Jae
Lee, Jong-Han
Lee, In-Seop
Kang, Seong-Kyu
Jang, Jae-Kil
author_facet Chung, Eun-Kyo
Shin, Jung-Ah
Lee, Byung-Kyu
Kwon, Jiwoon
Lee, Naroo
Chung, Kwang-Jae
Lee, Jong-Han
Lee, In-Seop
Kang, Seong-Kyu
Jang, Jae-Kil
author_sort Chung, Eun-Kyo
collection PubMed
description OBJECTIVES: The level of benzene exposure in the petrochemical industry during regular operation has been well established, but not in turnaround (TA), where high exposure may occur. In this study, the characteristics of occupational exposure to benzene during TA in the petrochemical companies were investigated in order to determine the best management strategies and improve the working environment. This was accomplished by evaluating the exposure level for the workers working in environments where benzene was being produced or used as an ingredient during the unit process. METHODS: From 2003 to 2008, a total of 705 workers in three petrochemical companies in Korea were studied. Long- and short-term (< 1 hr) samples were taken during TAs. TA was classified into three stages: shut-down, maintenance and start-up. All works were classified into 12 occupation categories. RESULTS: The long-term geometric mean (GM) benzene exposure level was 0.025 (5.82) ppm (0.005-42.120 ppm) and the short-term exposure concentration during TA was 0.020 (17.42) ppm (0.005-61.855 ppm). The proportions of TA samples exceeding the time-weighted average, occupational exposure level (TWA-OEL in Korea, 1 ppm) and the short-term exposure limit (STEL-OEL, 5 ppm) were 4.1% (20 samples of 488) and 6.0% (13 samples of 217), respectively. The results for the benzene exposure levels and the rates of exceeding the OEL were both statistically significant (p < 0.05). Among the 12 job categories of petrochemical workers, mechanical engineers, plumbers, welders, fieldman and scaffolding workers exhibited long-term samples that exceeded the OEL of benzene, and the rate of exceeding the OEL was statistically significant for the first two occupations (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the periodic work environment must be assessed during non-routine works such as TA.
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spelling pubmed-34309382012-09-05 Characteristics of Occupational Exposure to Benzene during Turnaround in the Petrochemical Industries Chung, Eun-Kyo Shin, Jung-Ah Lee, Byung-Kyu Kwon, Jiwoon Lee, Naroo Chung, Kwang-Jae Lee, Jong-Han Lee, In-Seop Kang, Seong-Kyu Jang, Jae-Kil Saf Health Work Original Article OBJECTIVES: The level of benzene exposure in the petrochemical industry during regular operation has been well established, but not in turnaround (TA), where high exposure may occur. In this study, the characteristics of occupational exposure to benzene during TA in the petrochemical companies were investigated in order to determine the best management strategies and improve the working environment. This was accomplished by evaluating the exposure level for the workers working in environments where benzene was being produced or used as an ingredient during the unit process. METHODS: From 2003 to 2008, a total of 705 workers in three petrochemical companies in Korea were studied. Long- and short-term (< 1 hr) samples were taken during TAs. TA was classified into three stages: shut-down, maintenance and start-up. All works were classified into 12 occupation categories. RESULTS: The long-term geometric mean (GM) benzene exposure level was 0.025 (5.82) ppm (0.005-42.120 ppm) and the short-term exposure concentration during TA was 0.020 (17.42) ppm (0.005-61.855 ppm). The proportions of TA samples exceeding the time-weighted average, occupational exposure level (TWA-OEL in Korea, 1 ppm) and the short-term exposure limit (STEL-OEL, 5 ppm) were 4.1% (20 samples of 488) and 6.0% (13 samples of 217), respectively. The results for the benzene exposure levels and the rates of exceeding the OEL were both statistically significant (p < 0.05). Among the 12 job categories of petrochemical workers, mechanical engineers, plumbers, welders, fieldman and scaffolding workers exhibited long-term samples that exceeded the OEL of benzene, and the rate of exceeding the OEL was statistically significant for the first two occupations (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the periodic work environment must be assessed during non-routine works such as TA. Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2010-09 2010-09-30 /pmc/articles/PMC3430938/ /pubmed/22953163 http://dx.doi.org/10.5491/SHAW.2010.1.1.51 Text en Copyright © 2010 by Safety and Health at Work (SH@W) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0 This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Original Article
Chung, Eun-Kyo
Shin, Jung-Ah
Lee, Byung-Kyu
Kwon, Jiwoon
Lee, Naroo
Chung, Kwang-Jae
Lee, Jong-Han
Lee, In-Seop
Kang, Seong-Kyu
Jang, Jae-Kil
Characteristics of Occupational Exposure to Benzene during Turnaround in the Petrochemical Industries
title Characteristics of Occupational Exposure to Benzene during Turnaround in the Petrochemical Industries
title_full Characteristics of Occupational Exposure to Benzene during Turnaround in the Petrochemical Industries
title_fullStr Characteristics of Occupational Exposure to Benzene during Turnaround in the Petrochemical Industries
title_full_unstemmed Characteristics of Occupational Exposure to Benzene during Turnaround in the Petrochemical Industries
title_short Characteristics of Occupational Exposure to Benzene during Turnaround in the Petrochemical Industries
title_sort characteristics of occupational exposure to benzene during turnaround in the petrochemical industries
topic Original Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3430938/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22953163
http://dx.doi.org/10.5491/SHAW.2010.1.1.51
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