Each time a car's brakes are used, asbestos is dispersed in the air. Breathing the air in enclosed parking lots can expose people working in these places to asbestos. This study aimed to evaluate the airborne asbestos dispersion in enclosed parking lots. In this study, 35 air samples were collected from six enclosed parking lots in Tabriz City. The samples were analyzed quantitatively by phase contrast microscopy (PCM) and qualitatively by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an energy-dispersive X-ray analyzer. The mean of fiber concentrations was found 0.155 ± 0.069 PCM f/cc. The SEM data demonstrated that the fibers consisted of synthetic fibers (69.57%) and asbestos (30.43%). Fiber concentrations in many enclosed parking lots in the city were higher than the threshold limit value-time weighted average of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists and Occupational Exposure Limits of Iran. However, further investigations are needed to clarify asbestos exposure in such places.
Keywords: Airborne asbestos; occupational exposure; parking lots.