Environmental contamination from electronic waste recycling at Guiyu, southeast China |
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Authors: | Anna Leung Zong Wei Cai Ming Hung Wong |
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Institution: | (1) Croucher Institute for Environmental Sciences and Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, G/F, Block 5, Low-Rise Buildings, 32 Renfrew Road, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, SAR, China;(2) Dioxin Laboratory, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, SAR, China |
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Abstract: | The disposal, recycling, and part salvaging of discarded electronic devices such as computers, printers, televisions, and
toys are now creating a new set of waste problems. This study is aimed at identifying the sources and quantifying the pollution
levels generated from electronic waste (e-waste) activities at Guiyu, Guangdong Province, China, and their potential impacts
on the environment and human health. The preliminary results indicate that total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in
soil obtained from a printer roller dump site was 593 μg/kg dry weight (dry wt.) and in sediment from a duck pond, the PAH
concentration was 514 μg/kg (dry wt.). Sediment from the Lianjiang River was found to be contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyls
(743 μg/kg) at a level approaching three times the Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines probable effect level of 277 μg/kg.
Total mono- to hepta-brominated diphenyl ether homologue concentrations (1140 and 1169 μg/kg dry wt.) in soils near dumping
sites were approximately 10–60 times those reported for other polybrominated diphenyl ether-contaminated locations in the
world. In-house study on the open burning of cable wires showed extremely high levels of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans resulting in 12419 ng toxic equivalents (TEQ)/kg of waste input and 15 610 ng TEQ/kg for two separate
tests, respectively, which were about three orders of magnitude higher than those for the open burning of household waste.
High levels of Cu (712, 528, and 496 mg/kg), exceeding the new Dutch list action value, were determined for soil near the
printer roller dumping area, sediment from Lianjiang River, and soil from a plastic burn site, respectively. A more thorough
study is underway to elucidate the extent of contamination of toxic pollutants in different ecological compartments to establish
whether these pollutants are bioaccumulated and biomagnified through food chains. Assessments of human health impacts from
oral intake, inhalation, and dermal contact will be subsequently investigated.
An erratum to this article is available at. |
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Keywords: | E-waste PAHs PCBs PBDEs PCDD/Fs Heavy metals |
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