PM2.5, PM10 and health risk assessment of heavy metals in a typical printed circuit noards manufacturing workshop

A typical Printed Circuit Board (PCB) manufacturer was chosen as the object of this study. During PCB processing, fine particulate matter and heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Cd and Ni) will be released into the air and dust, which then impact workers' health and the environment. The concentrations of total suspended particle (TSP), PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 in the off-site were 106.3, 90.0 and 50.2 μg/m³, respectively, while the concentrations of TSP, PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 in the workshops ranged from 36.1 to 365.3, from 27.1 to 289.8 and from 22.1 to 212.3 μg/m³, respectively. Almost all six of the heavy metals were detected in all of the particle samples except Cd. For each workshop, it was obvious that Zn was the most enriched metal in TSP, followed by Cu > Pb (Cr) > Ni > Cd, and the same trend was found for PM₁₀ and PM_2.5. In the dust samples, Cu (which ranged from 4.02 to 56.31 mg/g) was the most enriched metal, followed by Zn, Cr, Pb, Ni and Cd, and the corresponding concentrations ranged from 0.77 to 4.47, 0.37 to 1.59, 0.26 to 0.84, 0.13 to 0.44 and nd to 0.078 mg/g, respectively. The health risk assessment showed that noncancerous effects are unlikely for Zn, Pb, Cr, Cu, Cd and Ni. The carcinogenic risks for Cd and Ni were all lower than 10^− 6, except for Cr. This result indicates that carcinogenic risks for workers are relatively possible in the workshops. These findings suggest that this technology is advanced from the perspective of environmental protection in the waste PCB's recycling industry.