The problem of risk exposure of examiners involved in olfactometric analysis is still unresolved and understudied. At the same time, determining the complete chemical composition of odour emissions remains a complex scientific and technological issue, rendering the assessment of examiners exposure risk challenging. As a result, the present research work focused on these two complementary topics: the study of the potential exposure risk for examiners involved in olfactometric analyses during their work as panellists, and the investigation of the best available techniques for obtaining the most complete chemical characterisation of odour emissions. To assess the exposure risk for panellists, the study started with a preliminary evaluation of the scientific and technical literature to identify the strategies already available to evaluate the risk and protect these workers. After applying the models available in the literature and observing some related criticalities, a new methodological model for risk assessment for this category of workers was proposed and the possibility of applying a probabilistic approach for conducting risk estimates was investigated, focusing on real occupational exposure scenarios. In parallel, to obtain a robust estimation of exposure risk, a deep investigation of sampling methods and analytical techniques useful for the detection and characterisation of complex mixtures, such as odour matrices, was conducted. From the performed comparison experiments, the selection of the sampling material can significantly influence the detection of compounds. Furthermore, from investigating the currently used analytical techniques, it is evident that gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) alone, although extremely useful, presents certain limitations in the detection and quantification of specific classes of odour-relevant compounds (e.g. sulphur compounds).
La valutazione del rischio espositivo degli esaminatori coinvolti nelle analisi olfattometriche è ancora oggi una questione aperta e poco esplorata all’interno della letteratura scientifica e tecnica di settore. Allo stesso modo, anche l’indagine sulla natura chimica delle emissioni odorigene, per la completa rilevazione degli odoranti presenti in esse, risulta essere una problematica ancora complessa dal punto di vista scientifico, senza la quale valutare il rischio espositivo associato all’odore risulta non praticabile. Il presente lavoro di ricerca si è focalizzato dunque su due temi in particolare: lo studio del potenziale rischio espositivo per gli esaminatori, anche detti panellisti, coinvolti nelle analisi olfattometriche durante la loro attività lavorativa e l’investigazione delle migliori tecniche disponibili per l’ottenimento della più completa caratterizzazione chimica delle emissioni odorigene. Per valutare il rischio espositivo per i panellisti, lo studio è partito da una preliminare valutazione della letteratura scientifica e tecnica di settore per identificare le strategie già disponibili per valutare il rischio espositivo di questi lavoratori. In seguito all’applicazione dei modelli descritti in letteratura, si è proposto una nuova procedura per la valutazione del rischio per questa categoria di lavoratori. In aggiunta, si è investigato la possibilità di applicare, nella valutazione del rischio espositivo, un approccio probabilistico, partendo da scenari di esposizione professionale reali. Parallelamente, al fine di poter ottenere una completa valutazione del rischio espositivo, sono state investigate le tecniche di campionamento e analisi chimica utili per la detezione e la caratterizzazione di miscele complesse, quali le matrici odorigene. Dai confronti effettuati, la selezione del materiale di campionamento può significativamente influenzare la detezione di specifici composti. Inoltre, dall’investigazione sulle tecniche analitiche, appare evidente come la sola gascromatografia accoppiata alla spettrometria di massa (GC-MS), seppur estremamente utile, presenta alcune limitazioni, in particolare nella rilevazione e quantificazione di specifiche classi di composti non trascurabili dal punto di vista odorigeno (e.g. composti solforati).
Chemical characterization and toxicological evaluation of odorous volatile organic pollutants emitted from industrial plants : focus on workers involved in dynamic olfactometry
POLVARA, ELISA
2023/2024
Abstract
The problem of risk exposure of examiners involved in olfactometric analysis is still unresolved and understudied. At the same time, determining the complete chemical composition of odour emissions remains a complex scientific and technological issue, rendering the assessment of examiners exposure risk challenging. As a result, the present research work focused on these two complementary topics: the study of the potential exposure risk for examiners involved in olfactometric analyses during their work as panellists, and the investigation of the best available techniques for obtaining the most complete chemical characterisation of odour emissions. To assess the exposure risk for panellists, the study started with a preliminary evaluation of the scientific and technical literature to identify the strategies already available to evaluate the risk and protect these workers. After applying the models available in the literature and observing some related criticalities, a new methodological model for risk assessment for this category of workers was proposed and the possibility of applying a probabilistic approach for conducting risk estimates was investigated, focusing on real occupational exposure scenarios. In parallel, to obtain a robust estimation of exposure risk, a deep investigation of sampling methods and analytical techniques useful for the detection and characterisation of complex mixtures, such as odour matrices, was conducted. From the performed comparison experiments, the selection of the sampling material can significantly influence the detection of compounds. Furthermore, from investigating the currently used analytical techniques, it is evident that gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) alone, although extremely useful, presents certain limitations in the detection and quantification of specific classes of odour-relevant compounds (e.g. sulphur compounds).| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/216313