Estimation of heavy metal exposure in workplace and health risk exposure assessment in steel industries in Iran

Measuring air pollutants such as heavy metals in the workplace, usually takes a long time, equipment and budget and due to variation in concentration, the results of short term researches are not reliable. To assess the health risk of workers in the smelting unit of an alloy steel factory to long term exposure to heavy metals, a simple, fast and less expensive method was used for evaluation with the combination of suspended dust analysis and PM10 measuring. The results showed that the highest and lowest concentration value was respectively recorded for Pb and Cd. Although, the average concentrations of heavy metals were lower than the recommended levels of occupational exposure, their occupational carcinogenic risks were different. The carcinogenic risk of Pb, Ni and Cd was low and acceptable, but was higher and unacceptable for Cr; therefore, using protective respiratory equipment and more efficient local ventilation was recommended.