OCCUPATION AND HEALTH ›› 2026, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (11): 1544-1548.

• Treatise • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Health risk assessment of chemical pollutants in the air of four types of public places in Karamay City

LIU Hongying, SONG Shaolong, SHI Haiyun, YIN Siyu, GU Yanqi   

  1. Karamay Center for Disease Control and Prevention(Karamay Health Supervision Institute)KaramayXinjiang 834000, China
  • Received:2025-08-13 Revised:2025-09-15 Online:2026-06-01 Published:2026-06-10

Abstract:

Objective To understand the exposure status of chemical pollutants in the air of four types of public places in Karamay City,and assess the non-carcinogenic risk and carcinogenic risk(CR) for workers. Methods The exposure levels of formaldehyde,benzene,toluene,and xylene in the air of key public places,such as hotels,barber shops,beauty salons,and gyms,in Karamay City from 2022 to 2024 were analyzed. The risk assessment model was established using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency(US EPA) four-step method to evaluate the non-carcinogenic risk and CR of workers due to respiratory exposure. Results A total of 403 samples were tested over three years. The compliance rate for formaldehyde was 92.80%,for benzene was 97.77%,for toluene was 100.00%,and for xylene was 99.75%. Risk assessment demonstrated that the hazard quotient(HQ) for formaldehyde was greater than 1 in the median values of hotels,barber shops,and beauty salons,and the 75th percentile(P75) in gyms was greater than 1. The median HQ for benzene was less than 1,but the maximum value was greater than 1. The HQ for toluene and xylene was less than 1. In the four types of public places,the CR for formaldehyde had a minimum value greater than 10-6. The P75 values for hotels,barber shops and beauty salons were greater than 10-4,and the maximum value for gyms was greater than 10-4. The CR for benzene was 10-6-10-4 for both P75 and maximum values. Conclusion Formaldehyde poses a high non-carcinogenic risk and CR to workers in four types of public places in Karamay City and should be prioritized for pollution control. Although benzene has a lower non-carcinogenic risk,it presents a potential CR and should be monitored. It is recommended to carry out continuous monitoring and evaluation in the future.

Key words: Public places, Chemical pollutants, Non-carcinogenic risk, Carcinogenic risk, Health risk assessment

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