Cancer risk assessment of exposure to asbestos during old building demolition

Years ago, the use of asbestos in construction materials was common. Although asbestos has been recently banned in many countries, exposure to asbestos during old building demolition is not unexpected.

The aim of this study is to assess the concentration of exposure to asbestos and estimate its cancer risk among old building demolition workers.

In this study, personal air samples were collected during building demolition. The number of asbestos fibers in collected samples were determined according to the NIOSH-7400 standard method. Chemical compositions of fibers were assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The carcinogenic risk of exposure to asbestos was determined based on the recommended United State Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) method and Monte-Carlo simulation used to estimate the probability of cancer.

Chemical analysis confirmed the presence of asbestos in collected air samples, and 67% of counted fibers were asbestos. In a number of buildings, workers had exposed to asbestos that was higher than occupational exposure limit (0.10 f/ml). Results of cancer risk estimation showed that cancer risk were considerable among workers.

Implementation of asbestos risk management program such as separation of asbestos containing material, personal protective equipment's and use of wet method in demolition could minimize asbestos exposure during old building demolition.