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Health risk assessment of ambient air benzene among primary school children in urban and rural areas in Johor, Malaysia

It is a fact that children are vulnerable, and are at risk from benzene, a volatile, carcinogenic organic compound. The aim of our study is to determine the levels of ambient air benzene and examine the non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks involved Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted i...

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Main Authors:	Nabihah Ali, Shamsul Bahari Shamsudin, Haidar Rizal Toha
Format:	Article
Language:	English English
Published:	Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Airlangga 2024
Subjects:	LB1501-1547 Primary education RA565-600 Environmental health Including sewage disposal, air pollution, nuisances, water supply
Online Access:	https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42160/1/ABSTRACT.pdf https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42160/2/FULL%20TEXT.pdf https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42160/ https://doi.org/10.20473/jkl.v16i4.2024.368-377
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spelling	my.ums.eprints.421602024-12-16T02:49:31Z https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42160/ Health risk assessment of ambient air benzene among primary school children in urban and rural areas in Johor, Malaysia Nabihah Ali Shamsul Bahari Shamsudin Haidar Rizal Toha LB1501-1547 Primary education RA565-600 Environmental health Including sewage disposal, air pollution, nuisances, water supply It is a fact that children are vulnerable, and are at risk from benzene, a volatile, carcinogenic organic compound. The aim of our study is to determine the levels of ambient air benzene and examine the non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks involved Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two urban and two rural primary schools in Johor, Malaysia. Benzene concentrations were measured using BUCK Libra L-4 pumps and analyzed in the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Data were collected from 334 10-12 year old children, to calculate the exposure levels based on their body weights and heights. The hazard quotient (HQ) served to evaluate the non-carcinogenic risks, whereas the lifetime cancer risk (LCR) was determined with the aid of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Results and Discussion: Benzene concentrations were higher in rural than urban areas, surpassing the European Union (EU) standard of 5 μg/m³. It was also established that the highest average levels recorded were 6.89 ± 6.68 μg/m³. The HQ values, nonetheless, had indicated no immediate non-carcinogenic risk, while LCR estimates were found to be within a tolerable range across all sites. Findings showed that although the immediate risk from benzene exposure is low, long-term exposure still poses a significant cancer risk to children; even low levels of chronic exposure can heighten the likelihood of children to develop cancers. Conclusion: This study has produced a revelation that there are elevated benzene levels in rural areas in Johor. Despite the low, immediate non-carcinogenic risks, further investigation on the potential for long-term cancer risks is warranted. These risks can be addressed by conducting stricter air quality monitoring, enhancing vehicle emission standards, and introducing educational programs that can raise awareness about benzene exposure. Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Airlangga 2024 Article NonPeerReviewed text en https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42160/1/ABSTRACT.pdf text en https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42160/2/FULL%20TEXT.pdf Nabihah Ali and Shamsul Bahari Shamsudin and Haidar Rizal Toha (2024) Health risk assessment of ambient air benzene among primary school children in urban and rural areas in Johor, Malaysia. Jurnal Kesehatan Lingkungan, 16 (4). pp. 368-377. ISSN 1829-7285 https://doi.org/10.20473/jkl.v16i4.2024.368-377
institution	Universiti Malaysia Sabah
building	UMS Library
collection	Institutional Repository
continent	Asia
country	Malaysia
content_provider	Universiti Malaysia Sabah
content_source	UMS Institutional Repository
url_provider	http://eprints.ums.edu.my/
language	English English
topic	LB1501-1547 Primary education RA565-600 Environmental health Including sewage disposal, air pollution, nuisances, water supply
spellingShingle	LB1501-1547 Primary education RA565-600 Environmental health Including sewage disposal, air pollution, nuisances, water supply Nabihah Ali Shamsul Bahari Shamsudin Haidar Rizal Toha Health risk assessment of ambient air benzene among primary school children in urban and rural areas in Johor, Malaysia
description	It is a fact that children are vulnerable, and are at risk from benzene, a volatile, carcinogenic organic compound. The aim of our study is to determine the levels of ambient air benzene and examine the non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks involved Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two urban and two rural primary schools in Johor, Malaysia. Benzene concentrations were measured using BUCK Libra L-4 pumps and analyzed in the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Data were collected from 334 10-12 year old children, to calculate the exposure levels based on their body weights and heights. The hazard quotient (HQ) served to evaluate the non-carcinogenic risks, whereas the lifetime cancer risk (LCR) was determined with the aid of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Results and Discussion: Benzene concentrations were higher in rural than urban areas, surpassing the European Union (EU) standard of 5 μg/m³. It was also established that the highest average levels recorded were 6.89 ± 6.68 μg/m³. The HQ values, nonetheless, had indicated no immediate non-carcinogenic risk, while LCR estimates were found to be within a tolerable range across all sites. Findings showed that although the immediate risk from benzene exposure is low, long-term exposure still poses a significant cancer risk to children; even low levels of chronic exposure can heighten the likelihood of children to develop cancers. Conclusion: This study has produced a revelation that there are elevated benzene levels in rural areas in Johor. Despite the low, immediate non-carcinogenic risks, further investigation on the potential for long-term cancer risks is warranted. These risks can be addressed by conducting stricter air quality monitoring, enhancing vehicle emission standards, and introducing educational programs that can raise awareness about benzene exposure.
format	Article
author	Nabihah Ali Shamsul Bahari Shamsudin Haidar Rizal Toha
author_facet	Nabihah Ali Shamsul Bahari Shamsudin Haidar Rizal Toha
author_sort	Nabihah Ali
title	Health risk assessment of ambient air benzene among primary school children in urban and rural areas in Johor, Malaysia
title_short	Health risk assessment of ambient air benzene among primary school children in urban and rural areas in Johor, Malaysia
title_full	Health risk assessment of ambient air benzene among primary school children in urban and rural areas in Johor, Malaysia
title_fullStr	Health risk assessment of ambient air benzene among primary school children in urban and rural areas in Johor, Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed	Health risk assessment of ambient air benzene among primary school children in urban and rural areas in Johor, Malaysia
title_sort	health risk assessment of ambient air benzene among primary school children in urban and rural areas in johor, malaysia
publisher	Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Airlangga
publishDate	2024
url	https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42160/1/ABSTRACT.pdf https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42160/2/FULL%20TEXT.pdf https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42160/ https://doi.org/10.20473/jkl.v16i4.2024.368-377
_version_	1818835182635974656
score	13.226497

Health risk assessment of ambient air benzene among primary school children in urban and rural areas in Johor, Malaysia

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