BTEX air concentrations and self-reported common health problems in gasoline sellers from Cotonou, Benin

Abstract

To examine the relation between BTEX exposure levels and common self-reported health problems in 140 gasoline sellers in Cotonou, Benin, a questionnaire documenting their socioeconomic status and their health problems was used, whereas 18 of them went through semi-directed qualitative individual interviews and 17 had air samples taken on their workplace for BTEX analysis. Median concentrations for BTEX were significantly lower on official (range of medians: 54–207 μg/m³, n = 9) vs unofficial (148–1449 μg/m³, n = 8) gasoline-selling sites (p < 0.05). Self-reported health problems were less frequently reported in sellers from unofficial vs official selling sites (p < 0.05), because, as suggested by the semi-directed interviews, of their fear of losing their important, but illegal, source of income. Concluding, this study has combined quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches to account for the complex socioeconomic and environmental conditions of the investigated sellers, leading to their, in some cases, preoccupying BTEX exposure.

Keywords:

• BTEX
• developing countries
• gasoline sellers
• human health
• occupational exposure

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Professor Sami Haddad, from Université de Montréal, Canada, for proofreading the manuscript of this paper. We would also like to express our sincere appreciation to all on-site personnel who contributed to the success of this work, as well as the investigated workers. This project was partially funded by a scholarship provided by the Agence de cooperation technique Belge au Benin. In-kind contributions from the Laboratory of atmospheric chemistry of Brussels Environment, Brussels, Belgium, as well as from École de Santé Publique de l’Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium are also acknowledged.