EXPOSURE AND RISK ASSESSMENT OF BTEX AND ALIPHATIC TPH BY GEO-ENVIRONMENTAL RISK ASSESSMENT SYSTEM (GERAS-1)

Abstract

The exposure rates, the distribution of exposure paths and the risk level of BTEX and aliphatic TPH have been evaluated by using Geo-environmental Risk Assessment System. The major exposure paths to the human are different due to the kind of the oil contents. The human are mainly exposed to BTEX from inhalation of indoor air, groundwater intake and crops intake, whereas they are mainly exposed to TPH (C5-12) from inhalation of indoor air. On the other hand, the main exposure paths of TPH (C12-34) are direct ingestion of soil, inhalation of indoor air and crops intake. The leaching concentrations of exposure limit are estimated at 0.03mg/dm³ for benzene, 1mg/dm³ for toluene, 1.3mg/dm³ for xylene and 0.4mg/dm³ for ethylbenzene. In the case of aliphatic TPH, the soil contents of the exposure limit are calculated at 200-40000 mg/kg.