Abstract
ABSTRACTIn this study, we characterized the concentration of heavy metals in PM2.5 in the community with e-waste dismantling, Guiyu, China and assessed potential public health risk associated with heavy metal composition of PM2.5 for local residents. Daily samples of PM2.5 were collected with Harvard Impactors on the roof of 3-story buildings from March 2012–April 2013 in Guiyu (n = 133) and seasonal samples were collected in a reference site, Haojiang (n = 33). The concentrations of PM2.5 mass and heavy metals were analyzed gravimetrically and by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry, respectively. The geometric mean concentrations of PM2.5, Pb and Cd in Guiyu were higher than in the reference area (PM2.5: 49.9 µg m–3 vs. 37.6 , p 0.05; Mn: 17 ng m–3 vs. 16 ng m–3, p > 0.05). The metal concentrations in PM2.5 from Guiyu were also higher when compared to other Asian cities. We observed higher heavy metal concentrations during winter and spring than summer and fall. Human health risk assessment showed that the total potential cancer risk for both adults and children are higher than the safe acceptable range recommended by the US EPA. Furthermore, the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic elements in PM2.5 pose higher public health risk to children than adults. The results indicate that air pollution emitted from informal e-waste recycling activities might be affecting the health of local residents, especially children.
Highlights
Electronic equipment production and consumption has exponential growth in the last two decades, resulting in an increase of electronic waste (e-waste)
The geometric mean (GM) PM2.5 concentrations obtained for both Guiyu and the reference site exceeded the current World Health Organization (WHO, 2014) 24h PM2.5 ambient air quality guidelines (25 μg m–3) and Chinese 2012 National Ambient Air Quality Standards Level I (NAAQS I, 35 μg m–3) (GB 3095-2012), but were lower than Chinese NAAQS, Level II (75 μg m–3)
The concentrations of Pb, Cd, and PM2.5 mass in an informal e-waste recycling site were significantly higher than the reference site
Summary
Electronic equipment production and consumption has exponential growth in the last two decades, resulting in an increase of electronic waste (e-waste). E-waste includes end-of-life electronic products such as computers, printers, mobile phones, television sets, stereos, radios that contain persistent organic pollutants (polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs], polybrominated diphenyl ethers [PBDEs]) and heavy metals which include lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), Zheng et al, Aerosol and Air Quality Research, 16: 388–397, 2016. Our previous studies showed that children living in Guiyu had significantly higher Pb, Cd, Cr and Mn levels in blood compared to the reference area (Huo et al, 2007; Zheng et al, 2008; Liu et al, 2011; Yang et al, 2013; Zheng et al, 2013a; Xu et al, 2015). Guiyu neonates had higher Pb, Cd and Mn levels in blood (Li et al, 2008a, b, 2011; Xu et al, 2012) These findings highlight the importance of the assessment of heavy metal exposure and risk for people living in e-waste recycling area
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