Determination of PBDEs in e-waste polymers from two solid waste landfills in Mexico

Abstract

Solid waste disposal sites receive an increasing quantity of products with polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) from inadequate management of end of life products containing them. These chemicals are released in the landfill leachate and can represent a risk to health and the environment. In this study, concentration of eight PBDE congeners was analyzed in polymer samples from e-waste from two landfills in Mexico City (East and North). Total PBDE content ranged from non-detectable to 90.8 ± 1.9 µg/g in a total of 40 samples. An association with the use of the commercial mixtures was done. From these, and using official data of flows and composition of the wastes, a total flow of PBDEs into the landfills was estimated as 110.56 g PBDEs/day into the North side landfill (28 ha and 850 tons day−1 of solid waste) and 15,470 g PBDEs/day into the East side landfill (375 ha and 13,300 tons day−1 of solid waste until closure). These chemicals can contaminate underground water.