Monitoring the Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOCs) and Benzene Emitted at Different Locations in Malaysia

This study measured the amount of benzene and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) at three locations in Malaysia with contaminant emissions from different sources. The chosen locations included an evening market, a site on a roadside and an indoor environment at the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). Our results showed that the mean concentration of benzene during a painting project in the School of Civil Engineering at USM was 2.05 ppm, and the maximum benzene concentration at the evening market was 0.6 ppm. The mean concentration of TVOCs at the roadside location was 1.21 ppm. There are currently no health-related guidelines that set an exposure limit for benzene in Malaysia; hence, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permissible exposure limit of 0.5 parts per million (ppm) of benzene in the workplace during an 8 hours work-day and a 40 hours work-week was used as an interim guideline value. Our results showed that the current concentrations of TVOCs and benzene were higher than the permissible limits set by OSHA.