Monitoring Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylene (BTEX) Levels in Mixed-Use Residential-Commercial Buildings in Shiraz, Iran: Assessing the Carcinogenicity and Non-Carcinogenicity Risk of Their Inhabitants

Zahra Baberi, Abooalfazl Azhdarpoor, Mohammad Hoseini, Mohammadali Baghapour, Zahra Derakhshan and Stefanos Giannakis
Additional contact information
Zahra Baberi: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 7153675541, Iran
Abooalfazl Azhdarpoor: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 7153675541, Iran
Mohammad Hoseini: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 7153675541, Iran
Mohammadali Baghapour: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 7153675541, Iran
Zahra Derakhshan: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz 7153675541, Iran
Stefanos Giannakis: Unidad docente Ingeniería Sanitaria, Departamento de Ingeniería Civil: Hidráulica, Energía y Medio Ambiente, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 2, 1-11

Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the concentration of Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylene (BTEX) compounds in the indoor air of residential-commercial complexes and to compare it with other residential buildings (control) as well as to assess the carcinogenicity and non-carcinogenicity risk of these pollutants. BTEX concentration was investigated in the indoor air of 30 ground floor restaurants, 30 upper residential units of the complexes, 20 adjacent residential units (control), and their corridors. The mean BTEX concentration measured in the upper residential units was reported higher than in the control residential units, though they were not significantly different. The lifetime cancer risk (LTCR) value calculated for benzene in the upper residential units was lower than 10 −4 and higher than 10 −6 across all ages, indicating a carcinogenicity risk. Furthermore, the mean hazard quotient (HQ) for all compounds was obtained lower than 1, suggesting no concern about the non-carcinogenicity risk of these compounds in the studied region. Nevertheless, considering the sources of benzene production in the indoor air as well as the carcinogenicity of these pollutants and the risk they pose in human health, application towards the reduction of the sources and concentration of benzene in the indoor air are necessary.

Keywords: BTEX; indoor air; risk assessment; residential-commercial buildings (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/2/723/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/2/723/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:2:p:723-:d:721173

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().