Analysis of benzene air quality standards, monitoring methods and concentrations in indoor and outdoor environment
| Autor: | George K. Varghese, M.K. Ravi Varma, Abinaya Sekar |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
0301 basic medicine
Environmental management Environmental analysis Air pollution Global air quality standards Environmental engineering Environmental pollution medicine.disease_cause Article Exposure Environmental hazard 03 medical and health sciences chemistry.chemical_compound 0302 clinical medicine Environmental protection medicine media_common.cataloged_instance Civil engineering Environmental toxicology lcsh:Social sciences (General) European union lcsh:Science (General) Benzene Air quality index Risk assessment media_common Pollutant Multidisciplinary Environmental risk assessment Environmental health 030104 developmental biology chemistry Environmental chemistry Environmental science lcsh:H1-99 030217 neurology & neurosurgery lcsh:Q1-390 |
| Zdroj: | Heliyon, Vol 5, Iss 11, Pp e02918-(2019) Heliyon |
| ISSN: | 2405-8440 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02918 |
| Popis: | Benzene is a proven carcinogen. Its synergistic action with other pollutants can damage different components of the biosphere. Literature comparing the air quality standards of benzene, its monitoring methods and global concentrations are sparse. This study compiles the worldwide available air quality standards for benzene and highlights the importance of strict and uniform standards all over the world. It was found that out of the 193 United Nation member states, only 53 countries, including the European Union member states, have ambient air quality standard for benzene. Even where standards were available, in most cases, they were not protective of public health. An extensive literature review was conducted to compile the available monitoring and analysis methods for benzene, and found that the most preferred method, i.e, analyzing by Gas Chromatography and Mass spectroscopy is not cost effective and not suitable for real-time continuous monitoring. The study compared the concentrations of benzene in the indoor and outdoor air reported from different countries. Though the higher concentrations of benzene noticed in the survey were mostly from Asian countries, both in the case of indoor and outdoor air, the concentrations were not statistically different across the various continents. Based on the analyzed data, the average benzene level in the ambient air of Asian countries (371 μg/m3) was approximately 3.5 times higher than the indoor benzene levels (111 μg/m3). Similarly, the outdoor to the indoor ratio of benzene level in European and North American Countries were found to be 1.2 and 7.7, respectively. This compilation will help the policymakers to include/revise the standards for benzene in future air quality guideline amendments. Civil engineering; Environmental analysis; Environmental chemistry; Environmental engineering; Environmental hazard; Environmental health; Environmental management; Environmental pollution; Environmental risk assessment; Environmental toxicology; Air pollution, Benzene, Exposure, Global air quality standards, Risk assessment. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|