Assessment of occupational exposure to VOCs at the Gantry gasoline Terminal

The gasoline components dispersed in the workplace environment have direct impact on human health because of their carcinogenic and mutagenic potential. The volatile portion of these compounds generally consists of a mixture of monoaromatics such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes and substituted benzene compounds. Investigation of levels of these chemicals at the petroleum liquid storage, and distribution facilities is of growing importance for assessing the occupational exposure of workers at these locations. A continuous monitoring was conducted at the Gantry Terminal of a refinery with portable samplers for determining 8-hr TWA at various locations involving petroleum liquid loading and distribution in road tank trucks, rail cars, and drums. After thermal desorption, the concentrations were determined in the laboratory with advanced Varian Model 2200GC/MS system. TVOCs level ranged between 0.10 to 1.97 mg/m3.The 8-hr TWA for benzene, toluene, and xylenes were low and within the limits for occupational exposure of gasoline components.