Hygiena 2025, 70(4):149-152 | DOI: 10.21101/hygiena.a1894

Assessment of benzene emissions from the Prachovice cement plant operation – an example of using the health risk assessment method for an existing source

Jaroslav Říha

Krajská hygienická stanice Pardubického kraje se sídlem v Pardubicích, Pardubice, Česká republika

In 1979, a new cement production plant was established in Prachovice near Chrudim. Between 1994 and 2001, it underwent significant modernization. Most notably, natural gas as the energy source for lime firing was replaced by coal dust and crushed or liquid waste materials. Besides limestone, socalled corrective materials were used for cement production: ferruginous (dust from steel mills) and siliceous (originally natural sands, later foundry sands). Starting in 2017, residents in surrounding municipalities began reporting occasional odour complaints. Simultaneously, the cement plant started experiencing problems complying with emission limits for total organic carbon. A study commissioned by the cement plant and sub-sequent flue gas analyses uncovered another serious issue: a significant increase in benzene emissions in the flue gas. Specifically, annual reports showed an increase from 4,459 kg/year to 11,328 kg/year during the period 2018-2020. The Regional public health authority mandated that the operator develop a health risk assessment focused specifically on benzene. Although the health risk assessment results indicated that the increase in benzene emissions posed a negligible risk to residents near the cement plant, the situation was environmentally unsustainable. Following a series of measures and investigations, the operator ultimately identified the source of the benzene: the foundry sands. After their exclusion and replacement with natural sands, there was a fundamental decrease in both total organic carbon and benzene emissions. This practical case is presented as an example of utilizing the health risk assessment method for an existing pollution source.

Keywords: air pollution, total organic carbon (TOC), benzene, health risk assessment (HRA)

Received: September 2025; Accepted: November 10, 2025; Published: December 31, 2025  Show citation