Issue 32, 2023, Issue in Progress

Characteristics and health risk assessment of heavy metals in dust of a waste printed circuit board recycling workshop, China

Abstract

Physical separation is the most widely used technology concerning waste printed circuit board (WPCB) recycling in practical terms. The dust generated from the process poses a significant environmental and human health risk. Amounts of heavy metals in dust present in each processing zone of the workshop showed differences. However, to date, few studies have reported this. The mean metal concentrations in workshop dust from different processing zones were investigated in this study and it was found that Zn, Pb, and Sn appeared in higher levels than other metals, followed by Mn > Cr > Ni > V > As > Cd. The enrichment factors (EFs) ranged from 1.15 to 207.4, and decreased in the order of Cu > Sn > Pb > Zn > Cd > Cr > Ni > V > As, which was exactly consistent with the geo-accumulation index values. The comparison of the EF values of workshop dust in and outside showed that the EFs in workshop dust were mostly smaller. Metals in the dust of the crushing zone (CrZ) showed significant and strong enrichment. The non-carcinogenic risk for different processing zones was all less than 1, which is recognized safety for people's health. The total carcinogenic risk from Cr, and Ni in all zones and As in the CrZ exposure was not negligible. The carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks in the CrZ were significantly higher than in the other zones. Masks to filter dust, a ventilation system, daily work hours reduction, and automation improvement was proposed for reducing workers' exposure to heavy metal.

Graphical abstract: Characteristics and health risk assessment of heavy metals in dust of a waste printed circuit board recycling workshop, China

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
12 May 2023
Accepted
17 Jun 2023
First published
24 Jul 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

RSC Adv., 2023,13, 22216-22225

Characteristics and health risk assessment of heavy metals in dust of a waste printed circuit board recycling workshop, China

Y. Wang, J. Xu and G. Liu, RSC Adv., 2023, 13, 22216 DOI: 10.1039/D3RA03164K

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