Personal exposure to 1,3-butadiene in a petrochemical plant, assessed by use of diffusive samplers

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Abstract
Objective This study assessed personal exposure to 1,3-butadiene in a petrochemical plant after the threshold limit value (TLV) had been lowered to 1 part per million (ppm). Air samples were collected from the breathing zone of ten workers by use of diffusive samplers. The number of samples per participant was from three to 18. Methods Samples were collected by use of 3M 3500 passive monitors and analysed with a gas chromatograph (GC). Sampling proved to be simple and inexpensive, and laboratory analysis of 1,3-butadiene (BD) permits the analysis of 0.01 ppm in an 8 h sample. Results Altogether, 117 samples were analysed, of which 32 samples were under the limit of quantification (LOQ), 81 samples were between the LOQ and 1 ppm, and four samples exceeded the TLV. Conclusions This study draws a new picture about the exposure level during BD production and how well adherence to the new TLV is being implemented. The data demonstrated that the TLV was rarely exceeded.

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