실내 침적먼지 내 중금속 노출에 따른 어린이와 성인의 건강위해평가 및 노출기준 설정

Health Risk Assessment and Establishment of Exposure Limits for Children and Adults from Heavy Metals in Indoor Dust

Background: The increase in population density and human activities due to urbanization and industrialization has led to the release of environmental pollutants through various pathways. These include air, water, and soil and result in environmental contamination. Objectives: This study aimed to conduct exposure and risk assessments for five non-carcinogenic and three carcinogenic heavy metals in indoor dust and sought to propose dust exposure limits for children and adults. Methods: The study collected and analyzed indoor dust from 20 households in Myeodo-dong, Yeosu, between June 28 and 30, 2023. The exposure scenario for indoor dust was assessed for children and adults, calculating inhalation, dermal, and ingestion exposures, followed by a risk assessment categorized into noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic substances. Exposure limits for heavy metals in indoor dust were determined by calculating concentrations where the hazard index (HI) for non-carcinogenic substances remains below 1 and the total cancer risk (TCR) for carcinogenic substances stays below 1×10-6. Results: The highest concentration of heavy metals in indoor dust was found for Zn, with a maximum value of 4912.01 μg/g, while Cd had the lowest concentration at 0.001 μg/g. There were strong positive correlations observed between Cu-Ni (0.590), Mn-Ni (0.706), Co-Zn (0.601), Co-Pb (0.930), Co-Cr (0.961), Zn-Pb (0.728), Zn-Ni (0.611), Zn-Cr (0.709), and Pb-Cr (0.982) (p<0.01). The assessment revealed no significant health risks for the five non-carcinogenic metals, as the HI remained below 1. However, two of the carcinogenic metals (Cd, Ni) exceeded the recommended exposure limits (TCR>1×10-6). The exposure limits for carcinogenic substances were found to be relatively lower compared to those for non-carcinogenic substances, and children had lower exposure limits than adults. Conclusions: This study focused on Myeodo-dong in Yeosu, a region vulnerable to environmental pollution, assessing the potential health risks and proposing exposure standards for eight heavy metals found in indoor dust. The results showed no significant health risk for the five non-carcinogenic metals (HI<1), while three of the two carcinogenic metals (Cd, Ni) exceeded safe exposure limits (TCR>1×10-6).