Emission sources and probabilistic health risk of volatile organic compounds emitted from production areas in a petrochemical refinery in Hainan, China

Abstract

The emission sources and health risks of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were analyzed and evaluated in a typical petrochemical refinery in Hainan, China. The sources and levels of 9 VOCs in five production areas were identified and qualified, and the probabilistic risk assessment method was employed to obtain more reasonable and scientific outcomes specifically realized by inhalation risk model and Monte Carlo simulation. Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis were also conducted to determine the influential factors in the risk evaluation process. The results indicated that for the refinery benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylene were the primary pollutants in these production areas, where the aromatic hydrocarbon extraction device (AHED) and xylene fractionation device areas are main contributors. In terms of non-carcinogenic risk, the largest hazard index existed in AHED area. The non-carcinogenic risk values for all production areas were not more than 1. The risk value of substances such as benzene still exceed the carcinogenic risk value of 10⁻⁶, indicating these substances existed potential carcinogenic risk to workers. Meanwhile, the findings can help to accumulate basic data for VOCs research in different installations of refineries, and provide evidence for VOCs pollution prevention and control.

Keywords:

• carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk
• environmental health risk
• inhalation risk assessment model
• Monte Carlo simulation
• volatile organic compounds