Issue 7, 2013

Environmental contamination and human exposure to dioxin-related compounds in e-waste recycling sites of developing countries

Abstract

E-waste recycling using uncontrolled processes is a major source of dioxin-related compounds (DRCs), including not only the regulated polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) but also non-regulated brominated and mixed halogenated compounds (PBDD/Fs and PXDD/Fs). Various studies at informal e-waste recycling sites (EWRSs) in Asian developing countries found the soil contamination levels of PCDD/Fs from tens to ten thousand picogram TCDD-equivalents (TEQ) per gram and those of DL-PCBs up to hundreds of picogram TEQ per gram. The air concentration of PCDD/Fs was reported as high as 50 pg TEQ per m3 in Guiyu, the largest Chinese EWRS. Non-regulated compounds also contributed substantially to the total DL toxicity of the DRC mixtures from e-waste, as evidenced by the high TEQ levels estimated for the currently identifiable PBDD/Fs as well as the large portion of unexplained bioassay-derived TEQ levels in soils/dusts from EWRSs. Considering the high exposure levels estimated for EWRS residents, especially children, comprehensive emission inventories of DRCs from informal e-waste recycling, the identities and toxic potencies of unidentified DRCs released, and their impacts on human health need to be investigated in future studies.

Graphical abstract: Environmental contamination and human exposure to dioxin-related compounds in e-waste recycling sites of developing countries

Article information

Article type
Frontier
Submitted
14 Feb 2013
Accepted
17 May 2013
First published
13 Jun 2013

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2013,15, 1326-1331

Environmental contamination and human exposure to dioxin-related compounds in e-waste recycling sites of developing countries

N. M. Tue, S. Takahashi, A. Subramanian, S. Sakai and S. Tanabe, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2013, 15, 1326 DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00086A

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