Semi-quantitative health risk assessment of exposure to chemicals in an aluminum rolling mill

Abstract

The main goal of this study was to evaluate the health risks resulting from occupational exposure to chemicals in an aluminum rolling mill to propose effective control measures. Exposure of workers to chemicals was assessed based on the Singapore Health Department’s methodology. The health risks of exposure to the identified chemicals and the relative risk of developing cancer due to exposure to benzene were assessed. According to the results, the risk level of exposure to sulfuric acid in the washing line and to manganese in the manufacturing unit were high. In assessing the risk of developing cancer arising from benzene exposure, the lifetime cancer risk was found in the range 10⁻⁴–10⁻⁶ (the possible range). The results indicated that in the aluminum rolling industry, occupational exposure to 75% of the chemicals had a low risk level, 15% had a moderate risk level and 10% had a high risk level.

Keywords:

• risk assessment
• health risk
• chemicals
• contaminants
• aluminum rolling

Acknowledgement

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of this work by the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.