Health risk assessment for multimedia exposure of formaldehyde emitted by chemical accident

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 28; no. 8; pp. 9712 - 9722
• Main Authors: Park, Si-Hyun, Lim, Hui-Been, Hong, Hyong-Jin, Kim, Hee-Seok, Yoon, Dan-Ki, Lee, Hye-Won, Kong, Hye-Kwan, Jeon, Jeong-In, Choi, Ji-Won, Cho, Eun-Min, Cho, Yong-Sung, Lee, Cheol-Min
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.02.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Accidents; Age; Age groups; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; carcinogenicity; Carcinogens; Chemical Hazard Release; chronic exposure; Cities; Dilution; dynamic models; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Exposure; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Exposure; extinction; Formaldehyde; Formaldehyde - toxicity; health effects assessments; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Humans; Inhalation; inhalation exposure; Korean Peninsula; Multimedia; Pollutants; Republic of Korea; Research Article; Respiration; risk; Risk Assessment; Soils; toxic substances; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Republic of Korea; Cities; Korean Peninsula; Multimedia exposure; Health risk assessment; Environmental dynamic model; Formaldehyde; Chemical accident; Chronic exposure
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-11403-w

This study was conducted to provide basic data for chemical accident response by assessing the health risks of residents living near a chemical accident site due to long-term exposure. The study considered the temporal concentration changes of the leaked chemical (i.e., its behavior in the environment and dilution) until its extinction. A virtual chemical accident was assumed, in which 40 t of formaldehyde was accidentally discharged for 1 h in Ulsan Metropolitan City, Korea. Formaldehyde concentrations over time in each environmental medium after the accident were calculated using a multimedia environmental dynamics model. Exposure subjects divided into four age groups were considered. Carcinogenic risks due to respiration and non-carcinogenic risks due to soil intake were assessed. For all the age groups, the excess cancer risk did not exceed 1.0 × 10 −6 , indicating that no harmful health impact was caused by inhalation exposure to formaldehyde. The hazard index exceeded 1 for all the age groups, confirming that harmful health impacts were caused by exposure to soil containing the formaldehyde. This study is the first to assess chronic health risks by reflecting long-term residual and temporal concentration changes of a pollutant released in a chemical accident in each environmental medium until its extinction. This work is also significant in that it reflects the exposure characteristics of the toxic chemical.