Abstract:

Objective To understand the current situation of organics in printing enterprises，provide reference basis for supervision and enforcement，research and revision of occupational disease prevention and control regulations，standards and policy measures. Methods Using judgmental sampling method，46 printing enterprises in Nan'an District of Chongqing were selected to carry out occupational health status survey and hazardous factor monitoring from 2020 to 2023. The data were collated and analyzed. The risk assessment was carried out by using qualitative and semi-quantitative risk assessment models in the technical guidelines for occupational health risk assessment of chemical hazardous factors in workplaces，and the assessment results were compared. Results From 2020 to 2023，a total of 14 microenterprises，31 small enterprises and 1 medium-sized enterprise were monitored，with a total of 1 403 people exposed to occupational hazards and 615 people exposed to chemical toxins，of which the proportion of organics was relatively high，namely，benzene 28.46%，toluene 60.81%，xylene 58.54%，ethylbenzene 51.54%，1，2-dichloroethane 26.50%，n-hexane 40.81%，formaldehyde 7.97%，and trichloroethylene 0.33%. The qualitative analysis of the exposed samples revealed that the combined detection rates in 2022-2023 from high to low were xylene（73.26%），toluene（58.14%），ethylbenzene （52.33%），n-hexane（36.05%），1，2-dichloroethane（22.09%），and benzene（11.63%），and the difference in the detection rate among different years was statistically significant（P<0.05）. For different positions，the highest detection rate of toluene（74.07%） was found in the printing position，ethylbenzene and xylene were detected in the oil blending position，while toluene and xylene were detected in the laminating position. For the gluing post，the organism with the highest detection rate was xylene（61.54%），and toluene and xylene were detected at the highest rate of 90.00% in the other posts. The results of the qualitative risk assessment showed that exposure to benzene，toluene，n-hexane，and 1，2-dichloroethane had a risk level of 4（high risk） for most of the positions，and most of the risk levels for exposure to other organics were in the range of 2 and 3（low and medium risk）. The results of the semi-quantitative risk assessment method showed that most of the organotoxicants were in the low and medium risk categories for the risk levels assessed by the exposure ratio method. The composite index method assessed risk levels in which most organotoxins were in the medium risk category. Conclusions There is an occupational health risk of organic toxins in printing enterprises. The organic substances have diversity，the accurate characterization of organic substances is the basis of occupational health supervision and management and prevention of occupational diseases，and production technology is constantly updated and iterative，it is more important to strengthen the identification and monitoring of organic substances，and the combination of quantitative and qualitative detection，in order to protect the health of workers.

Key words: Printing enterprise, Organics, Exposure to occupational hazards, Risk assessment, Qualitative analysis, Quantitative analysis