Contribution to ambient benzene concentrations in the vicinity of petrol stations: Estimation of the associated health risk

This work examines the contribution of petrol stations to the ambient benzene concentrations and attempts to estimate the possible health risks for the people living in the vicinity of such installations. Three monitoring sites (urban, suburban and rural) were used as reference points and the benzene concentrations were recorded at several distances along their perimeter. In order to evaluate the net contribution of the petrol station to the ambient benzene concentrations, the urban background concentration, measured by passive samplers and the contribution of the roads, estimated with both the COPERT and the linear source model CALINE 4, were deduced. Validation and optimization of the modeling system COPERT and CALINE4 was done in advance to ensure the reliability of the results. It seems that petrol stations have a significant contribution to ambient benzene concentrations in their vicinity. Finally, a risk assessment evaluation was attempted in terms of increased cancer risk due to the presence of the petrol stations in an area. The results show remarkable increase of the population risks in the vicinity, ranging from 3% to 21% in comparison to the population in the rest of the town. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Atmospheric Environment