Effects of seasons and weather on occupational exposure to BTEX concentrations in a changing climate

Abstract

Climatic variations in the workplace may change concentration patterns. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of seasons and weather on the occupational concentrations of BTEX compounds. A systematic review was conducted in five digital bibliographic databases. Adhering to PRISMA protocols, an algorithm in the search strategy was employed that incorporated four groups of search terms. The pooled values were also computed using a random-effect model. The results of the qualitative analysis showed that the values of occupational exposure concentrations for BTEX were higher in the winter and summer seasons compared to other seasons. In the non-industrial settings, the pooled values of exposure concentration (μg/m³) to benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylene(s) were calculated as 6.74, 28.84, 3.64, and 6.20 in summer and 15.95, 33.09, 6.30, and 8.23 in winter, respectively. In the industrial settings, the pooled values of exposure concentration (μg/m³) to benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylene(s) were measured as 9.36, 555.51, 42.09, and 290.54 in summer and 77.44, 2254.84, 1024.21, and 2733.98 in winter, respectively. Occupational exposure to BTEX compounds increases during the winter followed by the summer season. These results might be a recommendation for introducing probable hazardous seasons of exposure for human health.