Inhalation risk assessment of airborne alcohol vapour among university laboratory workers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15282/cst.v5i2.12721Keywords:
Alcohol vapour, Personal air monitoring, Laboratory workers, EthanolAbstract
This study investigates the inhalation risks of occupational exposure to alcohol vapours among workers in university laboratories. The study focused on 3 types of alcohol which are ethanol, methanol, and isopropyl alcohol present in the university laboratories, and subsequently, the associated health risks. The research aims to assess exposure levels and potential health risks to inhaling alcohol vapour during routine laboratory activities such as disinfection and solvent preparation. The samples were collected from the breathing zones of the workers using the NIOSH 1400 method and were analysed using a gas chromatography-flame ionisation detector. Key factors influencing exposure, such as air velocity, relative humidity, and temperature were evaluated. Results showed that ethanol had the highest individual concentration at 2604.65 mm/m3. This value has exceeded the permissible exposure limit of 1880 mg/m3 according to USECCH Regulations 2000. The non-carcinogenic risk of ethanol also surpassed the reference value of 1 indicating that there are potential health risks due to the exposure to ethanol. Considering the high exposure concentrations and their associated non- carcinogenic risks, the use of personal protective equipment and the installation of ventilation systems are needed to reduce the exposure concentration of alcohol among the workers.
References
[1] National Institutes of Health, “Examples of common laboratory chemicals and their hazard class,” Office of Research Facilities (ORF). [Online]. Available: https://orf.od.nih.gov/EnvironmentalProtection/WasteDisposal/-Pages/Examples+of+Common+Laboratory+ChemicalsandtheirHazardClass.aspx
[2] S.N.H. Husin, A.B. Mohamad, S.R.S. Abdullah, N. Anuar, “Chemical health risk assessment at the chemical and biochemical engineering laboratory,” Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 60, pp. 300–307, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.09.383
[3] Gallagher, N., & Edwards, F. J. (2019). “The diagnosis and management of toxic alcohol poisoning in the emergency department: A review article,” Advanced Journal of Emergency Medicine, vol. 3, no. 3, p. e28 2019. https://doi.org/10.22114/ajem.v0i0.153
[4] U.S. Environmental protection agency (EPA), “Methanol,” 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-09/documents/methanol.pdf
[5] Meadows, “The dangers of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) - flammability, exposure, and safety,” Production automation corporation (PAC), Jan. 6, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://blog.gotopac.com/2016/01/06/the-dangers-of-isopropyl-alcohol/
[6] R.R. MacLean, G.W. Valentine, P.I. Jatlow, M. Sofuoglu, “Inhalation of alcohol vapor: Measurement and implications,” Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 238–250, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.13291
[7] G. Post, “8 Most common uses of ethyl alcohol in industrial labs,” Post Apple Scientific, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://postapplescientific.com/8-most-common-uses-of-ethyl-alcohol-in-industrial-labs/
[8] University of Kentucky, Environmental health and safety (EHS), “Laboratory disinfectants background information,” 2017. [Online]. Available: https://ehs.uky.edu/docs/pdf/bio_laboratory_disinfectants_0001.pdf
[9] L Ernstgård, B Sjögren, M Warholm, G Johanson, “Sex differences in the toxicokinetics of inhaled solvent vapors in humans 2. 2-propanol,” Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, vol. 193, no. 2, pp, 158–167, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.taap.2003.08.005
[10] P.C. Bianchi, L. Gomes-de-Souza, W. Costa-Ferreira, P. Palombo, P.E. Carneiro de Oliveira et al. “Chronic ethanol vapor exposure potentiates cardiovascular responses to acute stress in male but not in female rats,” Biology of Sex Differences, vol. 12, no. 1, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-021-00371-6
[11] J. Duan, L.B. Esberg, G. Ye, A.J. Borgerding, B.H. Ren, N.S. Aberle II et al., “Influence of gender on ethanol-induced ventricular myocyte contractile depression in transgenic mice with cardiac overexpression of alcohol dehydrogenase,” Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology, vol. 134, no. 3, pp. 607–614, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1095-6433(02)00347-1
[12] W.W. Nazaroff, C.J. Weschler, “Methanol and ethanol in indoor environments,” Indoor Environments, vol. 1, no. 4, p. 100049, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indenv.2024.100049
[13] A. Hautemanière, L. Cunat, D. Ahmed-Lecheheb, F. Hajjard, F. Gerardin, Y. Morele, “Assessment of exposure to ethanol vapors released during use of Alcohol-Based Hand Rubs by healthcare workers,” Journal of Infection and Public Health, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 16–26, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2012.09.015
[14] Y. Liu, P.K. Misztal, J. Xiong, Y. Tian, C. Arata, R.J. Weber, “Characterizing sources and emissions of volatile organic compounds in a northern California residence using space‐ and time‐resolved measurements,” Indoor Air, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 630-644, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12562
[15] A.W. Jones, “Effects of temperature and humidity of inhaled air on the concentration of ethanol in a man’s exhaled breath,” Clinical Science, vol. 63, no. 5, pp. 441–445, 1982. https://doi.org/10.1042/cs0630441
[16] A. Kramer, H. Below, N. Bieber, G. Kampf, C.D. Toma, N.O. Huebner et al., “Quantity of ethanol absorption after excessive hand disinfection using three commercially available hand rubs is minimal and below toxic levels for humans,” BMC Infectious Diseases, vol. 7, no. 1, p. 117, 2007. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2334-7-117/
[17] F. Brugnone, L. Perbellini, P. Apostoli, M. Bellomi, D. Caretta, “Isopropanol exposure: environmental and biological monitoring in a printing works,” Occupational and Environmental Medicine, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 160–168, 1983. https://doi.org/10.1136/oem.40.2.160
[18] J. Dumas-Campagna, R. Tardif, G. Charest-Tardif, S. Haddad, “Ethanol toxicokinetics resulting from inhalation exposure in human volunteers and toxicokinetic modelling,” Inhalation Toxicology, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 59–69, 2014. https://doi.org/10.3109/08958378.2013.853714
[19] S. Ghobakhloo, A.H. Khoshakhlagh, S. Morais, A.M. Tehrani, “Exposure to volatile organic compounds in paint production plants: Levels and potential human health risks,” Toxics, vol. 11, no. 2, p. 111, 2023. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11020111
[20] S. Jin, L. Zhong, X. Zhang, X. Li, B. Li, X. Fang, “Indoor volatile organic compounds: Concentration characteristics and health risk analysis on a university campus,” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 20, no. 10, pp. 5829–5829, 2023. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20105829
[21] Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Centers for disease control and prevention (CDC), “Estimating site-specific inhalation exposures,” PHA Guidance Manual, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pha-guidance/conducting_scientific_evaluations/epcs_and_exposure_calculations-/estimating_inhalation_exposures.html
[22] J.M. Boyce, “Alcohols as surface disinfectants in healthcare settings,” Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 323–328, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1017/ice.2017.301
[23] Z. Moradpour, G. Hesam, M.V. Shekarloo, S.A. Mosavi Jarrahi, “Respiratory health risk assessment of exposure to carcinogenic chemicals: EPA method,” Tanaffos, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 1–3, 2023. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37920306/
[24] J.A. Schütz, A.P. Pierlot, D.L.J. Alexander, “The effect of sanitizing treatments on respirator filtration performance,” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 19, no. 2, p. 641, 2022. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19020641
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
