Determining indoor air quality and investigating employees' personal exposure in different workplaces

In this study, indoor air quality and personal exposures of the employees were investigated in 7 selected workplaces (bakery, photocopy center, restaurant, hairdresser, dry cleaning, market, hotel) in Eskişehir where different activities and processes are performed. In this context, SO2, NO2, O3, 43 VOC and PM2.5 concentrations were measured simultaneously in indoor and outdoor environments during the winter and summer seasons. While passive sampling method was used for inorganic gases and VOCs, portable measurement devices were used for PM2.5. In addition, personal sampling studies were conducted for inorganic pollutants and VOCs in order to determine the exposure concentrations of employees. When the obtained data were evaluated, it was seen that the specific activities performed in the workplaces played an important role in the indoor air pollutant concentrations. In general, SO2 and NO2 levels were measured at the highest values in the restaurant and hairdresser, O3 levels were higher in the copy center, VOC levels were higher in the hairdresser and dry cleaning, while PM2.5 levels were higher in the restaurant and hairdresser. In addition, as a result of the evaluation of the health risks originating from the VOCs, the total cancer risk for the 10 employees with personal sampling exceeded the limit accepted by the EPA (1.0 E-06). It has been determined that the hazard index values calculated for non-carcinogenic VOCs exceed the reference value (1) in restaurant, photocopy center and hotel employees. Keywords: Indoor and outdoor air quality measurement, Workplace, Occupational exposure measurement, NO2, SO2, O3, VOC, PM2.5, Health risk assessment.