Health risk assessment of inhalation exposure to formaldehyde and benzene in newly remodeled buildings, Beijing.
OBJECTIVE
To assess health risks associated with inhalation exposure to formaldehyde and benzene mainly emitted from building and decoration materials in newly remodeled indoor spaces in Beijing.


METHODS
We tested the formaldehyde and benzene concentrations in indoor air of 410 dwellings and 451 offices remodeled within the past year, in which the occupants had health concerns about indoor air quality. To assess non-carcinogenic health risks, we compared the data to the health guidelines in China and USA, respectively. To assess carcinogenic health risks, we first modeled indoor personal exposure to formaldehyde and benzene using the concentration data, and then estimated the associated cancer risks by multiplying the indoor personal exposure by the Inhalation Unit Risk values (IURs) provided by the U.S. EPA Integrated Risk Information System (U.S. EPA IRIS) and the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), respectively.


RESULTS
(1) The indoor formaldehyde concentrations of 85% dwellings and 67% offices were above the acute Reference Exposure Level (REL) recommended by the OEHHA and the concentrations of all tested buildings were above the chronic REL recommended by the OEHHA; (2) The indoor benzene concentrations of 12% dwellings and 32% offices exceeded the reference concentration (RfC) recommended by the U.S. EPA IRIS; (3) The median cancer risks from indoor exposure to formaldehyde and benzene were 1,150 and 106 per million (based on U.S. EPA IRIS IURs), 531 and 394 per million (based on OEHHA IURs).


CONCLUSIONS
In the tested buildings, formaldehyde exposure may pose acute and chronic non-carcinogenic health risks to the occupants, whereas benzene exposure may pose chronic non-carcinogenic risks to the occupants. Exposure to both compounds is associated with significant carcinogenic risks. Improvement in ventilation, establishment of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emission labeling systems for decorating and refurbishing materials are recommended to reduce indoor VOCs exposure.
Institute of Built Environment, Department of Building Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China ; Key Laboratory of Eco Planning & Green Building, Ministry of Education (Tsinghua University), Beijing, China.
Lihui
L
Huang
Jinhan
J
Mo
Jan
J
Sundell
Zhihua
Z
Fan
Yinping
Y
Zhang
D000393:Air Pollutants; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor; D001554:Benzene / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D002681:China; D005557:Formaldehyde / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D018570:Risk Assessment
D000393:Air Pollutants; D005557:Formaldehyde; D001554:Benzene