Abstract:Objective To assess the occupational health risk of key positions in leather manufacturing enterprises. Methods The US Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)inhalation risk assessment method was applied to evaluating occupational hazards in key positions of three leather manufacturing enterprises with complete production processes. Results The main occupational hazards in leather manufacturing enterprises were dimethylformamide,toluene and butanone. The concentrations of toluene and butanone in all positions(dosing,coating,feeding,bonding,and re-coloring)of the three enterprises did not exceed occupational exposure limits,while the concentrations of dimethylformamide in some positions exceeded occupational exposure limits. The hazard quotient(HQ)of dimethylformamide in each position of the three enterprises ranged from 3.77 to 1 561.46,which was at high risk. The HQ of toluene in three edition dosing of B enterprise was 2.22,for butanone was 2.83,which were at high risk. For A and C enterprise,the HQ of toluene and butanone were all less than 1,which were at low risk. Conclusio The US EPA inhalation risk assessment method could be used for the occupational health risk assessment of dimethylformamide,toluene and butanone in leather manufacturing enterprises.