| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 職業醫學與工業衛生研究所 === 92 === Objective：The purpose of this study is to estimate acute, chronic and carcinogenic health risks of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in Taiwan.
Methods：Hourly concentrations of 55 VOCs were measured in 7 Photochemical Assessment monitoring Stations (PAMs) in Taiwan between January 2003 and February 2004. VOC data were summarized to 1-hour maximum to estimate acute risks (HIA), and yearly averages to estimate chronic (HIC) and carcinogenic risks (Cancer Risk). Benchmark risk estimates of carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic effects for VOCs were taken from the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal-EPA) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to calculate HIA, HIC, and Cancer Risk.
Results：
Daily VOC variation showed two peaks concentrations in 6 to 9 AM and 5 to 11 PM. Annual averages showed total VOC concentrations were the highest in Fongshan (76.28 ppb), followed by Tucheng (61.73 ppb), Chunglun (55.21 ppb), Shuangyuan (54.79 ppb), Ciaotou (40.15 ppb), Cauton (34.17 ppb), and Jhushan (27.64 ppb). However, annual benzene concentrations were the highest in Tucheng (5.16 ppb), followed by Ciaotou (4.42 ppb), Shuangyuan (1.82 ppb), Fongshan (1.44 ppb), Chunglun (1.17 ppb), Jhushan (0.87 ppb), Cauton (0.84 ppb). Among the 55 VOCs, there were 5 VOCs with acute reference exposure levels (RELa), 8 VOCs with chronic reference exposure levels (RELC), and only benzene was classified as Class 1 human carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). We found that all HIA were all far less than 1 with the highest one in Tucheng (HIA=0.008). We also fount that all HIC were less than 1 with the highest one in Tucheng (HIC=0.49). Cancer risks due to benzene ranged from 5.7×10-6 to 478.8×10-6. The highest one was in Tucheng, which was36.3×10-6 to 478.8×10-6.
Conclusions：The diurnal pattern of VOCs in our data confirmed that traffic-related emissions were main sources of VOCs in Taiwan. Our findings also indicated that residents surrounding these monitoring stations might have excess cancer risks due to benzene exposures but no significant noncancer risks due to acute or chronic exposures to VOCs.
|
|---|
