• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Environmental Toocicology Conference
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• 2001.11a
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• pp.17-27
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• 2001

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.255-269
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• 2003

The objective of this study was to estimate human exposure to benzo (a)pyrene through multimedia/multi-pathway exposure scenario. The human exposure scenario for benzo(a)pyrene was consisted of 12 multiple exposure pathways, and the multipathway human exposure model based on this scenario constituted. In this study, the multipathway human exposure model was used to estimate the concentrations in the exposure contact media, human intake factors and lifetime average daily dose (LAD $D_{model}$) of benzo(a)pyrene in the environment. Sensitivity analysis was performed to identify the important parameters and Monte-Carlo simulation was undertaken to examine the uncertainty of the model. The total LAD $D_{model}$ was estimated to be 5.52${\times}$10$^{-7}$ mg/kg-day (2.06${\times}$10$^{-7}$ -8.65${\times}$10$^{-7}$ mg/kg-day) using the multipathway human exposure model. The inhalation dose accounted for 78% of the total LADD, whereas ingestion and dermal contact intake accounted for 20.2% and 1.8% of the total exposure, respectively. Based on the sensitivity analysis, the most significant contributing input parameter was benzo (a)pyrene concentration of ambient air. Consequently, exposure via inhalation in outdoor/indoor air was the highest compared with the exposure via other medium/pathways.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.151-158
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• 2022

Background: Chemical emissions in the environment have rapidly increased with the accelerated industrialization taking place in recent decades. Residents of industrial complexes are concerned about the health risks posed by chemical exposure. Objectives: This study was performed to suggest modeling methods that take into account multimedia and multi-pathways in human exposure and risk assessment. Methods: The concentration of benzene emitted at industrial complexes in Daesan, South Korea and the exposure of local residents was estimated using the Caltox model. The amount of human exposure based on inhalation rate was stochastically predicted for various activity stages such as resting, normal walking, and fast walking. Results: The coefficient of determination (R²) for the CalTOX model efficiency was 0.9676 and the root-mean-square error (RMSE) was 0.0035, indicating good agreement between predictions and measurements. However, the efficiency index (EI) appeared to be a negative value at -1094.4997. This can be explained as the atmospheric concentration being calculated only from the emissions from industrial facilities in the study area. In the human exposure assessment, the higher the inhalation rate percentile value, the higher the inhalation rate and lifetime average daily dose (LADD) at each activity step. Conclusions: Prediction using the Caltox model might be appropriate for comparing with actual measurements. The LADD of females was higher ratio with an increase in inhalation rate than those of males. This finding would imply that females may be more susceptible to benzene as their inhalation rate increases.