Abstract:
In order to analyze the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks of in-car airborne benzene homologues to different receptors such as male passengers, female passengers, male drivers and female drivers, mass concentrations of airborne benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes in the cabins of 65 sedans were assessed. Meanwhile, the concepts and calculating formulas based on mass concentrations of basic cancer risk and dangerous cancer risk of in-car benzene homologues were established. Additionally, the limit levels of benzene homologues in different national and international standards were discussed. The results indicated that in the cabins of 65 vehicles, airborne benzene homologues did not result into non-carcinogenic health risks to drivers and passengers, because the maximum of complex non-cancer index (H
fz) of benzene homologues, 0.44, is less than the benchmark value (1) by US EPA. However, the average value of cancer index (H
za) for in-car benzene to drivers, 129.3×10
-6, showed its high cancer risk to drivers in vehicles. Mass concentration values of dangerous cancer risk (C
wx) for airborne benzene in cars were 450.0 μg/m
3 for male passengers, 470.0 μg/m
3 for female passengers, 67.5 μg/m
3 for male drivers and 70.4 μg/m
3 for female drivers, respectively. Furthermore, in China's national standard GB/T 27630-2011 Guideline for Air Quality Assessment of Passenger Car, the limit level of benzene results in high carcinogenic health risks to drivers because the average value of H
za for benzene to drivers, 1.59×10
-4, is over than the dangerous value of cancer risk (1×10
-4) by US EPA. The control concentrations of benzene homologues can result in non-carcinogenic health risks to drivers, because the average value of H
fz for benzene homologues to drivers is 1.15. Finally, the reasonable limit values of airborne benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes in sedans cabins are 0.068,1.000,1.350 and 1.350 mg/m
3, respectively.