Health Risk Assessment of Occupational Exposure to Perchloroethylene and Trichloroethylene in Dry Cleaning in Sfax City (Tunisia)

The use of chlorinated solvents in dry cleaning poses risks to human health. The current study is the first in Tunisia and Sfax city that aims to assess the occupational exposure and health risks of perchloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE) in the dry cleaning industry. Forty-seven dry cleaning facilities were identified by door-to-door canvassing within a 5 km radius from the city centre, but only 33 accepted to join this study. The exposure assessment was conducted by indoor air measurements for 16 randomly selected facilities. The exposure levels were compared to occupational exposure limit values (OELV). Hazard quotient (HQ) method was used and cancer risks were evaluated. Hazard quotients for both solvents are enormously above 1, with an order of magnitude equal or higher than 10³. Corresponding risks are developmental and immune effects for TCE and neurotoxicity for PCE. These results showed that inhalation exposure levels might induce many adverse effects that are probably threatening the occupationally exposed population and even the general one, because of the location of all facilities in residential settings. As for carcinogenic effects, high kidney, hematologic or liver cancer risks were noticed if the lifetime exposure would have these average levels. This study is significant for a better understanding of the dry cleaning industrial sector in Tunisia. Indeed, it responded to many interrogations and suspicions about the qualitative and quantitative exposure conditions, and thus the health status of dry cleaning workers in Sfax.