title: Evaluation of occupational exposure of shoe makers to benzene and toluene compounds in shoe manufacturing workshops in East tehran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Shoe making is among the oldest traditional occupations. Hazardous chemical substances such as adhesives containing benzene and toluene are used in the manufacturing process. Due to the lack of studies on exposure of shoemakers to benzene and toluene in Iran, this study was organized aiming at evaluating occupational exposure and risk assessment in shoemakers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Overall, 48 shoemakers (12 workshops) in East Tehran were selected randomly for this study. Personal exposure of shoemakers in four different task groups of cutting, modeling, fitting and finishing was examined during three consecutive months (October, November and December) with different climatic conditions. Sampling and analysis of samples were based on an OSHA method (Method No.12).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results of personal monitoring of subjects' exposure to benzene and toluene in each of the three consecutive months (Mean ± standard error) were 1.10± 0.11, 1.37 ± 0.14 and 1.52 ± 0.18ppm, 11.78 ± 1.77, 14.87 ± 1.71 and 16.08 ± 2.31ppm respectively. Due to climatic temperature changes from October to December and restriction of air flow due to closure of windows and shut down of general ventilation systems, a general trend of increased exposure was noticed. However, the difference among these three examinations was not statistically significant. Shoemakers in four task groups did not have statistically significant differences in exposure to benzene and toluene. The severity of shoemaker's exposure to toluene was significantly correlated with the number of manufactured shoes and the amount of glue used for the process.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Considering the magnitude of personal exposure of task groups to benzene and toluene which was higher than TLV-TWA and unacceptably high risk of cancer and non-cancerous diseases in these subjects, improvement of work conditions for shoemakers seems imperative.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Hygiene, College of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences ; Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Mansour R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Azari
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Hygiene, College of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Vajihe
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hosseini
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Hygiene, College of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Mohammad Javad
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Jafari
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Hygiene, College of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences ; Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Soori
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Hygiene, College of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Parisa
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Asadi
authors.affiliation: Senior Health Expert, Deputy of Health Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Seid Mohammad Ali
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Mousavion
keywords: Benzene; Personal Monitoring; Risk assessment; Shoemakers; Toluene