title: Health risk equations and risk assessment of airborne benzene homologues exposure to drivers and passengers in taxi cabins.
abstract: Interior air environment and health problems of vehicles have attracted increasing attention, and benzene homologues (BHs) including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, and styrene are primary hazardous gases in vehicular cabins. The BHs impact on the health of passengers and drivers in 38 taxis is assessed, and health risk equations of in-car BHs to different drivers and passengers are induced. The health risk of in-car BHs for male drivers is the highest among all different receptors and is 1.04, 6.67, and 6.94 times more than ones for female drivers, male passengers, and female passengers, respectively. In-car BHs could not lead to the non-cancer health risk to all passengers and drivers as for the maximal value of non-cancer indices is 0.41 and is less than the unacceptable value (1.00) of non-cancer health risk from USEPA. However, in-car BHs lead to cancer health risk to drivers as for the average value of cancer indices is 1.21E-04 which is 1.21 times more than the unacceptable value (1.00E-04) of cancer health risk from USEPA. Finally, for in-car airborne benzene concentration (X, μg/m(3)) to male drivers, female drivers, male passengers, and female passengers, the cancer health risk equations are Y = 1.48E-06X, Y = 1.42E-06X, Y = 2.22E-07X, and Y = 2.13E-07X, respectively, and the non-cancer health risk equations are Y = 1.70E-03X, Y = 1.63E-03X, Y = 2.55E-04X, and Y = 2.45E-04X, respectively.
authors.affiliation: College of Civil Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, China. xkchen@msn.com.
authors.forename: Xiaokai
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Yunnan University of Nationalities, Kunming, 650500, China.
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: College of Civil Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, China.
authors.forename: Huilong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: College of Civil Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, China.|National Environmental Protection Engineering Center for Industrial Resource Recycling, Kunming, 650500, China.
authors.forename: Heming
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001336:Automobiles; D001554:Benzene; D001555:Benzene Derivatives; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014481:United States; D014484:United States Environmental Protection Agency
chemical_list: D001555:Benzene Derivatives; D001554:Benzene
keywords: Benzene homologues; Drivers and passengers; Health risk assessment; Health risk equations; Indoor air evaluation; Interior air pollution (IAP); Taxi cabins; Vehicle interiors