Factors Affecting Adverse Health Effects of Gasoline Station Workers

Umakorn Tongsantia, Sunisa Chaiklieng, Pornnapa Suggaravetsiri, Sari Andajani and Herman Autrup
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Umakorn Tongsantia: Dr. PH Program in Public Health, Faculty of Public Health, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand
Sunisa Chaiklieng: Department of Environmental Health and Occupational Health and Safety, Faculty of Public Health, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand
Pornnapa Suggaravetsiri: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Public Health, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand
Sari Andajani: School of Public Health and Interdisciplinary Studies, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
Herman Autrup: Institute of Public Health, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 19, 1-12

Abstract: This cross-sectional study examined the risk factors affecting adverse health effects from benzene exposure among gasoline station workers in Khon Kean province, Thailand. An interview questionnaire of adverse symptoms relating to benzene toxicity was administered to 151 workers. Area samplings for benzene concentration and spot urine for tt-muconic acid (tt-MA), a biomarker of benzene exposure, were collected. The factors associated with adverse symptoms were analysed by using multiple logistic regression. It was found that these symptoms mostly affected fuelling workers (77.5%), and the detected air benzene reached an action level or higher than 50% of NIOSH REL (>50 ppb). The top five adverse symptoms, i.e., fatigue, headache, dizziness, nasal congestion, and runny nose, were reported among workers exposed to benzene. More specific symptoms of benzene toxicity were chest pain, bleeding/epistaxis, and anaemia. The detected tt-MA of workers was 506.7 ug/g Cr (IQR), which was a value above the BEI and higher than that of asymptomatic workers. Risk factors significantly associated with adverse symptoms, included having no safety training experience (OR adj = 5.22; 95% CI: 2.16–12.58) and eating during work hours (OR adj = 16.08; 95% CI: 1.96–131.74). This study urges the tightening of health and safety standards at gasoline stations to include training and eating restrictions while working in hazardous areas.

Keywords: gasoline station; tt-muconic acid; benzene; risk factor; adverse symptom (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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