The underappreciated role of fugitive VOCs in ozone formation and health risk assessment emitted from seven typical industries in China
Shexia Ma , Zhiling Liang , Yunjiang Yu , Bingbing Sun , Qian Yao , Xihua Lin , Yongsheng Wang , Jianping Zhang , Yingzi Li , Xuefeng Wang , Zhengzheng Tang
DOI:10.1016/j.jes.2022.12.037
Received August 04, 2022,Revised , Accepted December 30, 2022, Available online January 06, 2023
Volume 36,2024,Pages 647-657
Fugitive emission from industrial sources may result in ozone formation and health risk, while the exact contribution of this source remains incompletely understood. In this study, emission characteristics, ozone formation potential (OFP) and health risk of fugitive VOCs in 7 representative industries were investigated. Chemical material industry was the dominant contributor to VOCs of fugitive emission in comparison with other industries. The OFP of VOCs from fugitive emission was in the range of 1.45 × 103-3.98 × 105 µg/m3, with a higher value than that of organized emission in seven industries except for the coking industry and the chemical material industry, suggesting that fugitive VOCs should be taken into account while developing control strategies. Acetaldehyde, m,p-xylene, n-nonane, ethylene, vinyl chloridethe and other high OFP-contributing species were the major reactive species that should be targeted. Health risk assessment investigated non-cancer and cancer risks of fugitive VOCs in 7 industries were all above safe level (HR > 1 and LCR > 1 × 10−4), posing remarkable health threats to human health. OVOCs were the main contributor to non-cancer risk, while halohydrocarbons and aromatics contributed most to cancer risks, posing remarkable health threat on human health. Our findings highlighted the contribution of fugitive VOCs on ozone formation and health risk was underestimated, indicating which should be considered in emission control strategies of industrial sources.
