Health Risk Assessment of PM2.5 Exposure and Respiratory Symptoms among Residents Living Near a Stone Crushing Plant in Chonburi, Thailand
Keywords:
PM2.5, Health Risk Assessment, Hazard Quotient, Respiratory Symptoms, Stone Crushing PlantAbstract
Background: Air pollution from industrial activities remains an environmental health concern among communities living near stone crushing plants. Objective: This study aimed to assess non-carcinogenic health risk using Hazard Quotient (HQ) based on PM2.5 exposure and identify factors associated with respiratory symptoms among residents living near a stone crushing plant in Chonburi Province, Thailand. Methods; A cross–sectional study was conducted among 368 residents from seven villages within a 5–km radius. PM2.5 concentrations were measured at two fixed–site air monitoring stations from 25–27 March 2026 using two low–volume air samplers operated continuously for 72 hours and analyzed by the gravimetric method. Results: The mean PM2.5 concentration was 28.06 µg/m³, and mean HQ was 0.96. Respiratory symptoms were reported by 57.9% of participants. Underlying medical conditions (AOR = 3.146, 95% CI: 1.393–7.105, p = 0.006), age <40 years (AOR = 2.065, 95% CI: 1.210–3.523, p = 0.008), opening windows all the time (AOR = 2.642, 95% CI: 1.335–5.229, p = 0.005) or during daytime only (AOR = 1.941, 95% CI: 1.010–3.733, p = 0.047), and low preventive behavior (AOR = 0.254, 95% CI: 0.076–0.843, p = 0.025) were significantly associated with respiratory symptoms. Although 47.3% of participants had HQ values ≥1, HQ was not significantly associated with respiratory symptoms. The HQ estimates were derived from short–term fixed–site PM2.5 monitoring and should be interpreted as preliminary estimates of community–level exposure. Conclusion: From a public health perspective, strengthening long–term environmental monitoring, respiratory health surveillance, community awareness, and effective dust control measures may help reduce the health impacts of particulate matter exposure. Future studies should incorporate long–term environmental monitoring, exposure assessment, and respiratory health surveillance.
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