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:
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;
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.
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.