Human Health Risk Assessment Of Workers In The Manufacturing Facility Of Endosulfan

Endosulfan is a broad-spectrum cyclodiene insecticide that has been used extensively on variety of vegetables, fruits, cereal grains, and cotton. It is extremely toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates and affects the central nervous system. Studies concerning effects of endosulfan on human health and environment are needed in order to evaluate its toxicity. In this paper, the air and soil samples were collected from a manufacturing facility in China. We measured the total concentrations in air and soil and found that very high concentrations in air and soil samples from this site. The mean air and soil concentrations are792pg/m3and147ng/g, which were much higher than other cities in China. The soil concentrations decreased with increasing the distance from the facility and the facility air emission is the important source for soil. The atmospheric transport is the vital pathway for soil contaminant. Human exposure is calculated based on air and soil concentrations. The total human health risk for multiple exposure pathways was assessed by the hazard index (HI), and the calculated HI value <1indicates that a human is likely to consume a dose amount at which adverse health effects are not likely to occur. The results showed that dietary intake is a much more important pathway compared with the inhalation and soil contact for the workers who were working in this facility. We can control the air emission and wastewater discharge to reduce the exposures for the workers to protect their health.