1,3-Butadiene: knowledge update and exposure assessment in the workplace.

1,3-butadiene, the third most used category 1A carcinogenic in France, is one of substances for which ANSES has carried out expert work in order to propose a limit value. To the extent that, at the national level, exposure data for this substance are poorly documented and can t be extended to all those potentially involved by handling/presence of 1,3-butadiene, the objectives of the study are to identify the sources of exposure to 1,3-butadiene and the associated sectors, to count employees and potentially involved establishments and to draw a picture of the technical and organizational practices in prevention implemented . This study, carried out through company visits and the sending of an on-line questionnaire, makes it possible to distinguish two categories of exposure which have a sensitivity of the "butadiene" risk correlated with their level of exposure:<br/>
Primary exposures (production and use of 1,3-butadiene) account for 6% of establishments and 30% of potentially exposed workers. They have a good knowledge and a certain control of the risks and represent the probabilities of exposure a priori the highest given the conditions of implementation of the 1,3-butadiene;<br/>
Secondary exposures represent 94% of establishments and 70% of employees. They have little or no information on the risks associated with the presence of 1,3-butadiene in their establishment. These sectors have the lowest probability of exposure a priori given the work situations (manipulation of polymerized products, low quantity of 1,3-butadiene present/used, etc.). Conversely, if the assessment of the "butadiene" risk is wrong or not realized, there may be risk situations that are not highlighted and thus not controlled.<br/>
After statistical adjustment, the study estimates that 1,100 to 2,000 establishments are affected by the handling/presence of 1,3-butadiene, representing 13,000 to 140,000 employees potentially exposed to 1,3-butadiene or working Proximity of installations implementing it.