Abstract
This research focused on the contents of the five most bio-toxic heavy metals, As, Cd, Hg, Cr, and Pb of 26 municipal solid waste (MSW) samples from the Eastern Guangdong Area. To investigate the apportion of the heavy metal source, Pearson correlation and principal component analysis (PCA) were introduced as major approaches. The health risks posed to MSW workers exposed to heavy metals in MSW were assessed using a Monte Carlo simulation combined with the US Environmental Protection Agency Health Risk Assessment Model. The As, Cd, Hg, Cr, and Pb contents of the east Guangdong MSW were (0.76 ± 0.75), (2.14 ± 4.44), (0.11 ± 0.14), (55.42 ± 31.88), and (30.67 ± 20.58) mg/kg, respectively. Hg, Cr, and Pb were potentially derived from glass, textile, food waste, and white plastic, while As and Cd were mainly derived from soil and food waste in the MSW. The non-carcinogenic risks of heavy metal in MSW exposure to MSW workers could be ignored. However, the heavy metals in MSW might pose carcinogenic risks, with the probabilities for male and female workers being 35% and 45%, respectively. The non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk indices were slightly higher for female workers under the same exposure situations.
Highlights
The net volume of municipal solid waste (MSW) in China is 215 million tons per year with an annual growth rate of 3~5%, and the number of MSW workers is over 4 million [1]
The result showed that the MSW was majorly constituted by soil, glass, metal, paper, plastic, textile, grass, food waste, and white plastic
Among all of the components, food waste accounts for 13.71~35.09%, with an average of 24.64%; plastic accounts for 10.53~28.90%, with an average of 17.95%; soil accounts for 8.86~32.32%, with an average of 16.98%; paper accounts for 4.83~26.78%, with an average of 13.99%; glass accounts for 0~20.87%, with an average of 8.06%; grass accounts for 0.90%~14.77%, with an average of 6.60%; textile accounts for 0~14.04%, with an average of 5.58%; white plastic accounts for 0.33~9.95%, with an average of
Summary
The net volume of municipal solid waste (MSW) in China is 215 million tons per year with an annual growth rate of 3~5%, and the number of MSW workers is over 4 million [1]. In many cities of China, including Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian, Chengdu and Nanchang, the mean As, Cd, Hg, Cr, and Pb concentrations in MSW were found to exceed their corresponding threshold values of the national standard [6,7,8]. MSW workers are the main force of waste collection, sorting, transportation, and disposal of waste. This leads to serious considerations regarding potential health risk of MSW workers due to long working time and high frequency exposed to MSW heavy metals. It is of great significance to discuss the possible sources of heavy metals in MSW and quantitatively evaluate their effects on the health of MSW workers
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