Application of multiple occupational health risk assessment models in occupation health risk prediction of trichloroethylene in the electroplating and electronics industries

Abstract

Objectives. This study assessed the occupational health risks of work group exposure to trichloroethylene (TCE) in the electroplating and electronics industries in China. Methods. The UK Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Essential, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Singapore and the Chinese semiquantitative risk assessment models were used to assess the risks of TCE. Twenty degreasing groups and 14 cleaning groups were recruited in the companies selected. Results. The concentrations of TCE in 66.7% of the cleaning groups and 35.0% of the degreasing groups exceeded the permissible concentration time-weighted average (PC-TWA) in China, and the concentrations of TCE in 100.0% of the cleaning groups and 70.0% of the degreasing groups exceeded the permissible concentration short-term exposure limit (PC-STEL) in China. Over 60.0% of the work groups were evaluated at high risk and over half of the work groups were evaluated at high cancer risk by the risk assessment models. Conclusion. Most work groups exposed to TCE in the electroplating and electronics industries in China are at high risk. The cleaning groups may have a higher risk for TCE exposure. The Chinese exposure index method and the synthesis index method are more practical than the other methods.

Keywords:

• occupational health
• risk assessment
• trichloroethylene
• electroplating industries
• electronics industries

Acknowledgements

The first two authors contributed equally to this work and should be regarded as co-first authors. All data relevant to the study are included in the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was sponsored by Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Occupational Disease Prevention and Treatment [No. 2017B030314152]; Science and Technology Project of Guangzhou of China [No. 202103000012]; National Standard System Construction Project of China (No. 131031109000160010).