Journal of Environmental Health and Sustainable Development

en Health Risk Assessment of Exposure to SO2 and NO2 Resulting from Power Plant Fuel Change Using Monte Carlo Simulation Air and waste management Original articles <div style="text-align: justify;">Introduction: Exposure to air pollutants is a serious concern that leads to numerous health issues. Power plants are one of the main sources of pollutant emissions, including sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. This study aimed to estimate the non-carcinogenic risk associated with exposure to SO2 and NO2 at a power plant in northwestern Iran. Materials and Methods: SO2 and NO2 concentrations in the power plant exhaust gas and the power plant area were collected from official data recorded during regular monitoring. The health risk of exposure to the detected concentrations of SO2 and NO2 was assessed by calculating the hazard quotient based on the estimated chronic daily intake. Results:  The analysis showed that the concentrations of SO2 and NO2 in the studied area were 12.60 and 20.18 μg/m3, respectively. However, the concentrations of the total studied pollutants in winter were 45.10% higher than those in summer. In addition, the mean hazard quotient of exposure to SO2 and NO2 was calculated as 0.0369 and 0.0905, respectively. But, the use of diesel for energy production in a power plant resulted in a 65.07% higher non-carcinogenic risk than the use of gas as a power plant fuel. Conclusion: Although the health risk of exposure to the studied pollutants was not significant (HI = 0.127) in the current situation, the use of diesel significantly increased the health risk owing to increased pollutant emissions.</div> Air Pollution, Sulfur Dioxide, Nitrogen Dioxide, Non-Carcinogenic Risk. 2870 2877 http://jehsd.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1052-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Amir Sheikhmohammadi asheikh1359@gmail.com 0000-0001-9556-149X No Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Khoy University of Medical Sciences, Khoy, Iran Amir Mohammadi mohammadiurm@gmail.com 0000-0003-3932-0688 No Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Clinical Research Institute, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran Zahra Atafar zahra_atafar@yahoo.com 0000-0002-0046-5962 No Research Center for Environmental Determinants of Health (RCEDH), Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran Ahmad Shakuri Ahmad.shakori.74@gmail.com 0009-0002-6911-0374 No West Azarbaijan Power Generation Management Company, HSE Responsible Expert of the Company, Urmia, Iran Shiva Rasoulzadeh hdd1625@gmail.com 0009-0005-8047-6467 No Student Research Committee, Khoy University of Medical Sciences, Khoy, Iran Mohammad Aghanaghad aqanaghad.eh@gmail.com 0000-0002-9458-737X Yes Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Khoy University of Medical Sciences, Khoy, Iran