Cancer and non-cancer health risk assessment associated with exposure to non-methane hydrocarbons among roadside vendors in Delhi, India

AbstractThis study estimates the cancer and non-cancer health risk among the roadside vendors in Delhi, the capital city of India. Air samples of selected NMHCs and their derivatives were collected from four different sites (one traffic intersection, one industrial, and two residential) in Delhi and were analyzed on Gas Chromatograph (GC) to obtain their atmospheric concentrations. At each site, a survey among the roadside vendors was also conducted to obtain information about their bodyweight and exposure to outdoor ambient air. The study reveals that hazard quotient of 1,3-butadiene is greater than one at all the sites, with its maximum value occurring at the industrial site. The major contributors to the workplace cancer risk (WCR) are found to be 1,3-butadiene and chloroform. The overall WCR is observed to be the highest (9.4 × 10−4) at the traffic intersection site, followed by the industrial site (7.0 × 10−4). Cancer incidence data and the population data are also used to estimate the growth of canc...