Objective To assess occupational health risk of wood furniture manufacturing factories.
Methods According to registered occupational hazards and exposure modes of wooden furniture manufacturing factories, cancer and non-cancer inhalation risk assessment models proposed by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) were used to evaluate the occupational health risk in workers from four wooden furniture manufacturing factories in Ningbo City.
Results The formaldehyde inhalation risk values of the workers at stock preparation workstation of all factories were (0.69-4.15)& #215;10-5, indicating the risk of squamous cell carcinoma; the benzene inhalation risk values of the workers at painting workstation were (5.85-34.55)& #215;10-6, the related hazard quotient (HQ) values were 1.98-3.96, and the workers were imposed to the risk of lymphocyte count change and leukemia; the HQ values of toluene and xylene inhalation were 0.29-3.70 and 4.27-45.14 respectively, both indicating the risk of motor nerve coordination function injury and even the risk of nervous system damage for some factories;the lowest risk values of benzene inhalation of the workers at drying workstation were (0.48-1.72)& #215;10-6, the related HQ values were 0.59-1.19, indicating the risk of leukemia and even the risk of lymphocyte count change for some factories; the HQ values of toluene and xylene inhalation were 0.06-0.51 and 2.26-5.58, and both indicated the risk of motor nerve coordination function injury. The occupational health risks of inhalation of wood dust and ethyl acetate and exposure to noise were not eligible to the selected USEPA models.
Conclusion The workers of the wooden furniture manufacturing factories are imposed to both cancer and non-cancer occupational health risks. Preventive measures such as using non-toxic or low toxic materials, improving production process, strengthening protection and management are recommended to reduce occupational health risks.
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