Health risk assessment for exposure to heavy metals in soils in and around E-waste dumping site

Abstract

Electrical and electronic waste recycling is done mainly by the informal (unauthorised) sector in developing countries. People usually dump these wastes in an open area leading to contamination of air, soil, and water. The objective of this study was to assess heavy metals contamination of soil and quantify and compare human health risks based on two different methods i.e., using epidemiological data, and US EPA’s methodology for risk assessment due to exposure to toxic heavy metals. The study was conducted by collecting soil samples from an electronic waste dumping site in Sangrampur, West Bengal (India) in 2018. Sangrampur is well-known for its informal electronic waste management activities. Heavy metals such as Pb, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Cd were detected in the soil from the dumping site using i-CAP Q Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. Based on epidemiological data, the Relative Risk and Attributable Risk were 1.377 (95% confidence interval of 1.2314–1.4249) and 0.069, respectively. The Odds Ratio was 1.501 (95% confidence interval of 1.3456–1.6733). Relative Risk and Odds Ratio values are statistically significant implying that the workers treating these waste without safety measures have a higher risk of cancer compared to the general population. The non-carcinogenic risk for a child was greater than for an adult in the study area. Based on chromium data alone, the carcinogenic risk was found to be 6.1 × 10−7 in children and 1.57 × 10−7 in an adult. These values are less than the permissible limit of 10−6 for residential areas.