Assessing and mitigating health risks of workers exposed to volatile organic compounds in contaminated soils during active pit excavation: Accounting for exposure variability and uncertainty

被引:2
作者
Li, Jihong [1 ]
Zhong, Maosheng [1 ]
Jiang, Lin [1 ]
Zhang, Wenyu [1 ]
Ma, Lin [1 ]
机构
[1] Beijing Municipal Res Inst Ecoenvironm Protect, Natl Engn Res Ctr Urban Environm Pollut Control, Key Lab Risk Modeling & Remediat Contaminated Site, Beijing, Peoples R China
基金
中国国家自然科学基金;
关键词
Pit excavation; Volatile organic compounds; Construction workers; Healthrisk assessment; Two-dimensional Monte Carlosimulation; MODEL; EMISSIONS; SHANGHAI; BEHAVIOR; WATER;
D O I
10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.143227
中图分类号
X [环境科学、安全科学];
学科分类号
08 ; 0830 ;
摘要
Health risks to workers involved in the active pit excavation of volatile organic compound (VOC)-contaminated soils have been overlooked, despite the prevalence of ex-situ remediation practices in China. This study developed a new VOC exposure in pit excavation (VEPE) model that comprehensively accounts for the release of gasphase VOCs in soil pores, surface volatilization of newly exposed agglomerates, and volatilization of newly exposed excavation pit bottom surfaces. Additionally, the model incorporates the concentration variation of soil contaminants, spatial heterogeneity of soil properties, and the variability and uncertainty of worker exposure using two-dimensional Monte Carlo simulation (2D MCS), highlighting the importance of controlling area of new exposure surfaces, soil saturation, and air exchange during the pit excavation to mitigate risks. The study evaluated worker-health-based risks during the excavation of a VOC-contaminated site in Beijing and revealed that the inhalation cancer risk for trichloroethylene (2.35 x 10(-6)) and its hazard quotient (143.92) exceed the acceptable levels (10(-6) and 1.0, respectively). The comparison of models demonstrated the theoretical advancements of the VEPE model over existing pit excavation models, while the field test comparison showed a significant improvement in the predication accuracy. This study addresses the under-researched area of worker safety in contaminated excavation sites. The findings have the potential to promote cleaner and more sustainable practices in ex-situ contaminated site remediation by providing valuable insights for implementing effective control measures to mitigate the emission of toxic VOCs, thereby reducing adverse social and environmental impacts.
引用
收藏
页数:10
相关论文
共 73 条
[1]   Variability of groundwater fluoride and its proportionate risk quantification via Monte Carlo simulation in rural and urban areas of Agra district, India [J].
Ali, Shahjad ;
Agarwal, Manish Baboo ;
Verma, Sitaram ;
Islam, Raisul ;
Deolia, Rajesh Kumar ;
Singh, Shailendra ;
Kumar, Jitendra ;
Mohammadi, Ali Akbar ;
Gupta, Manoj Kumar ;
Fattahi, Mehdi ;
Nguyen, P. U. .
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, 2023, 13 (01)
[2]  
[Anonymous], 2009, National research council (US) committee on improving risk analysis approaches used by the U.S. EPA., uncertainty and variability: the recurring and recalcitrant elements of risk assessment
[3]   Evaluation of statistical treatments of left-censored environmental data using coincident uncensored data sets: I. Summary statistics [J].
Antweiler, Ronald C. ;
Taylor, Howard E. .
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, 2008, 42 (10) :3732-3738
[4]  
Asante-Duah K., 2017, Public Health Risk Assessment for Human Exposure to Chemicals, P331, DOI [10.1007/978-94-024-1039-6_12, DOI 10.1007/978-94-024-1039-6_12]
[5]  
ASTM, 2004, Standard guide for risk-based corrective action, DOI [10.1520/E2081-22, DOI 10.1520/E2081-22]
[6]   TCE and PCE diffusion through five geomembranes including two coextruded with an EVOH layer [J].
Battista, Vanessa Di ;
Rowe, R. Kerry .
GEOTEXTILES AND GEOMEMBRANES, 2020, 48 (05) :655-666
[7]   Navigating Data Uncertainty and Modeling Assumptions in Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment in an Informal Settlement in Kampala, Uganda [J].
Byrne, Diana M. ;
Hamilton, Kerry A. ;
Houser, Stephanie A. ;
Mubasira, Muwonge ;
Katende, David ;
Lohman, Hannah A. C. ;
Trimmer, John T. ;
Banadda, Noble ;
Zerai, Assata ;
Guest, Jeremy S. .
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, 2021, 55 (08) :5463-5474
[8]   Prediction and quantification of occupational health risk in road construction workers exposed to asphalt emissions [J].
Chong, Dan ;
Wang, Chong ;
Hao, Gengren ;
Jia, Siqi ;
Guo, Xiaobo .
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION, 2024, 434
[9]   VOC emissions from asphalt pavement and health risks to construction workers [J].
Cui, Peng ;
Schito, Gabriella ;
Cui, Qingbin .
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION, 2020, 244
[10]   VOC characteristics and inhalation health risks in newly renovated residences in Shanghai, China [J].
Dai, Haixia ;
Jing, Shengao ;
Wang, Hongli ;
Ma, Yingge ;
Li, Li ;
Song, Weimin ;
Kan, Haidong .
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, 2017, 577 :73-83