IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i15p6494-d1445607.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Evaluation of BTEX Pollution and Health Risk for Sustainable Use of a Typical Chemical Pesticide Industrial Site

Author

Listed:
  • Ye Huang

    (Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographical Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China)

  • Yangmin Chen

    (Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science (Ministry of Education), School of Geographical Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China)

  • Qingqing Wu

    (School of Digital Creation & Animation, Shenzhen Polytechnic University, Shenzhen 518055, China)

  • Peili Shi

    (Technical Centre for Soil, Agriculture and Rural Ecology and Environment, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Beijing 100012, China)

  • Bin Yang

    (Technical Centre for Soil, Agriculture and Rural Ecology and Environment, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Beijing 100012, China)

  • Yunfeng Xie

    (Technical Centre for Soil, Agriculture and Rural Ecology and Environment, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Beijing 100012, China)

Abstract

BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes) are widely used in pesticide manufacturing industries. Due to their high volatility and toxicity, BTEX compounds often leak during production, storage, and transportation, posing significant threats to human health and the environment. In this study, soil and groundwater samples at a chemical pesticide industrial site in southern China were collected and analyzed. Soil concentrations ranged from 0.05–142 mg/kg for benzene, 0.05–315 mg/kg for toluene, 0.05–889 mg/kg for ethylbenzene, 0.05–2800 mg/kg for m-&p-xylene, and 0.05–668 mg/kg for o-xylene. Groundwater concentrations were 0.7–340,000 μg/L for benzene, 0.9–4070 μg/L for toluene, 0.5–1900 μg/L for ethylbenzene, 1.6–6000 μg/L for m-&p-xylene, and 0.6–1500 μg/L for o-xylene. While the average concentrations were relatively low, there were numerous locations where BTEX levels significantly exceeded national soil and groundwater standards. Despite the minimal health risks from soil BTEX pollution, utilizing groundwater for drinking or bathing could result in unacceptable cancer and non-cancer risks. These findings underscore the urgent need for remediation efforts, particularly concerning benzene contamination in groundwater, to ensure the sustainable utilization of the industrial site in question.

Suggested Citation

  • Ye Huang & Yangmin Chen & Qingqing Wu & Peili Shi & Bin Yang & Yunfeng Xie, 2024. "Evaluation of BTEX Pollution and Health Risk for Sustainable Use of a Typical Chemical Pesticide Industrial Site," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-14, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:15:p:6494-:d:1445607
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/15/6494/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/15/6494/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Manuela Chiavarini & Patrizia Rosignoli & Beatrice Sorbara & Irene Giacchetta & Roberto Fabiani, 2024. "Benzene Exposure and Lung Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Human Studies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(2), pages 1-19, February.
    2. Bai, Caiquan & Xie, Dongshui & Zhang, Yuwei, 2024. "Industrial land transfer and enterprise pollution emissions: Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 181-194.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Guangya Zhou & Helian Xu & Chuanzeng Jiang & Shiqi Deng & Liming Chen & Zhi Zhang, 2024. "Has the Digital Economy Improved the Urban Land Green Use Efficiency? Evidence from the National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zone Policy," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-25, June.
    2. Liu, Yishuang & Huang, Jinpeng & Xu, Jianxiang & Xiong, Shufei, 2024. "Natural resource dependence and sustainable development policy: Insights from city-level analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    3. Na Yu & Meilin Lu, 2024. "Analysis of the Dynamic Evolution Game of Government, Enterprise and the Public to Control Industrial Pollution," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-20, March.
    4. Tan, Ruipeng & Cai, Qijun & Pan, Lulu, 2024. "Faking for fortune: Emissions trading schemes and corporate greenwashing in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:15:p:6494-:d:1445607. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.