Environmental and personal BTEX exposure and inhalation health risks in healthcare-waste treatment units
Abstract
This study investigated spatial and operational variations in airborne benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX), personal exposure, and inhalation health risks in eight healthcare-waste treatment units in Hamadan, Iran. A total of 64 area air samples were collected, with 16 samples for each location–condition combination (indoor inactive, indoor post-treatment, perimeter inactive, and perimeter post-treatment), and personal breathing-zone samples were obtained from 16 workers. BTEX was analyzed by gas chromatography, and health risks were estimated using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency framework. Risk estimates were based on 4 h/day of exposure, 300 exposure days/year, and the selected toxicity values. Monte Carlo simulation with 10,000 iterations characterized risk variability and sensitivity. Mean total BTEX increased significantly from 178.50 ± 15.56 to 307.57 ± 19.45 µg/m ³ indoors and from 34.54 ± 3.18 to 64.22 ± 6.69 µg/m ³ at perimeter locations. Post-treatment concentrations were positively associated with temperature and the number of autoclave cycles and inversely associated with time since the last cycle and relative humidity (RH). Post meridiem (PM)-shift workers had higher total BTEX exposure, hazard index (HI), and daily inhalation dose than ante meridiem (AM)-shift workers. Aggregate HI remained < 1 in observed and simulated estimates under the specified exposure assumptions. In contrast, benzene and cumulative carcinogenic risks exceeded 1 × 10 –6 but remained below 1 × 10 –4 . Exposure time was the dominant contributor to non-carcinogenic risk variability. These findings support continued occupational monitoring and control of autoclave-related BTEX exposure, particularly during post-treatment activities and prolonged exposure.
Related
- Longitudinal personal environmental exposure and Streptococcus pneumoniae colonisation in a cohort of children 5-14 years old in rural Gambia.
- Cancer Knowledge and Environmental Exposure Awareness Among Healthcare Workers and the General Public in Istanbul: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Living with uncertainty: associations of personal and environmental uncertainty, resilience, and self-efficacy with anxiety symptoms in young adults
- PARENTAL EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL MICROPOLLUTANTS AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL FEATURES AND EARLY TREATMENT OUTCOMES IN ACUTE LEUKEMIA
- Sun protection knowledge, attitudes and practices, skin pigmentation and personal UVB exposure among Malaysian national-level outdoor athletes
BibTeX
@article{shojaei2026environmental,
title = {{Environmental and personal BTEX exposure and inhalation health risks in healthcare-waste treatment units}},
author = {Ali Shojaei and Mohammad Khazaei and Roohollah Rostami and Abdulrahman Bahrami and Mohammad Reza Samarghandi and Mohammad Taghi Samadi},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-74540-1},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-74540-1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Environmental and personal BTEX exposure and inhalation health risks in healthcare-waste treatment units
AU - Ali Shojaei
AU - Mohammad Khazaei
AU - Roohollah Rostami
AU - Abdulrahman Bahrami
AU - Mohammad Reza Samarghandi
AU - Mohammad Taghi Samadi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-74540-1
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-74540-1
AB - This study investigated spatial and operational variations in airborne benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX), personal exposure, and inhalation health risks in eight healthcare-waste treatment units in Hamadan, Iran. A total of 64 area air samples were collected, with 16 samples for each location–condition combination (indoor inactive, indoor post-treatment, perimeter inactive, and perimeter post-treatment), and personal breathing-zone samples were obtained from 16 workers. BTEX was analyzed by gas chromatography, and health risks were estimated using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency framework. Risk estimates were based on 4 h/day of exposure, 300 exposure days/year, and the selected toxicity values. Monte Carlo simulation with 10,000 iterations characterized risk variability and sensitivity. Mean total BTEX increased significantly from 178.50 ± 15.56 to 307.57 ± 19.45 µg/m ³ indoors and from 34.54 ± 3.18 to 64.22 ± 6.69 µg/m ³ at perimeter locations. Post-treatment concentrations were positively associated with temperature and the number of autoclave cycles and inversely associated with time since the last cycle and relative humidity (RH). Post meridiem (PM)-shift workers had higher total BTEX exposure, hazard index (HI), and daily inhalation dose than ante meridiem (AM)-shift workers. Aggregate HI remained < 1 in observed and simulated estimates under the specified exposure assumptions. In contrast, benzene and cumulative carcinogenic risks exceeded 1 × 10 –6 but remained below 1 × 10 –4 . Exposure time was the dominant contributor to non-carcinogenic risk variability. These findings support continued occupational monitoring and control of autoclave-related BTEX exposure, particularly during post-treatment activities and prolonged exposure.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -