Evaluation of the health impacts of volatile organic compound emissions on municipal wastewater treatment plant operators

The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential adverse health impacts of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions on municipal wastewater treatment plant operators. These impacts included potential acute effects and cancer from chronic exposure.;Influent wastewater quality data for 18 wastewater treatment plants across the USA was used to establish the VOC concentration expected in both typical and residential wastewaters. This typical wastewater had industrial, commercial, and residential components while the residential wastewater had virtually no commercial or industrial components.;The results showed that the emission of VOC compounds do not present an acute health risk. The predicted concentrations for these compounds are well below any established threshold limit values. The additional cancer risk incurred from a forty year working career was approximately ;An evaluation of the human epidemiologic studies used to establish a relationship between cancer and exposure to benzene, vinyl chloride, and trichloroethylene was completed. The data for benzene do suggest the potential existence of a threshold dose while those for vinyl chloride and trichloroethylene were insufficient to make a determination.