Risk Assessment of VOCs from Cooking Fumes

Volatile organic compounds(VOCs) emitted from cooking fumes can affect indoor and outdoor environments and human health through chemical reactions,odor effects and toxic effects.In this study,the compositions of VOCs from cooking fumes in a medium-sized restaurant in Tianjin were monitored in summer(June) and winter(December) using the method of re-concentration-GC-MS.The results showed that ethanol and propane were the major components of VOCs from the cooking fumes.The removal rate of cooking fumes was less than 30%,so there was a significant impact on the environment.The odor index of the cooking fumes was similar to that of butyraldehyde,and aldehydes were the primary components.The reaction rate of VOCs with OH radical was calculated as 3.8×10-12,which was roughly the same as that of n-hexane.The values of lifetime cancer risk(LCR) were estimated in order to conduct relevant health risk assessment under the risk assessment system of the US EPA.The results showed that there was a large potential cancer risk for 1,3-butadiene and benzene,whose LCR values were 1.3×10-3 and 1.6×10-5 respectively.