PCDD/Fs profile in ambient air of different types factories and human health risk assessment in Suzhou of Jiangsu province, China

The objective of this study was to assess the potential health risks of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) in ambient air of different factories. In this study, fifty-five locations were selected and represented eleven type factories, including municipal solid waste incineration factory (MSWI), hazardous solid waste incineration factory (HSWI), sewage sludge treatment factory (SST), medical waste incineration factory (MWI), electronic factory (EF), pharmaceutical factory in large infusion (PILI), oral medication class factory (OMC), inorganic chemical factory (IC), organic chemical factory (OC), paper mills factory (PM) and mechanical factory (MF). We found that toxic equivalent concentration of PCDD/Fs (TEQ) ranged from 0.236 ± 0.198 to 0.48 ± 0.442 pg I-TEQ/Nm3 in 11 kinds of factories, and average value of TEQs in 11 factories were lower than atmospheric PCDD/F standard (0.6 pg I-TEQ/m3) announced in Japan, and the mean values of TEQ in ambient air of factories were in the decreasing order of MWI > MSWI > PILI > MF > OC > SST > HSWI > OMC > PM > EF > IC. In addition, lifetime average daily doses (LADDs) and their resultant excess cancer risks (ECRs) for workers in those factories were calculated. The results suggested that potential health risk might be occurred in those ambient air.