Spatial Variation of Heavy Metals Contamination in Soil at E-waste Dismantling Site, Buriram Province, Thailand

Abstract

The uncontrolled informal e-waste dismantling activities in the rural areas of Buriram province, Thailand, have posed the heavy metal emissions and contaminated in the soils. Spatial variation of heavy metals contamination in soil at the e-waste dismantling site in Daeng Yai subdistrict, Ban Mai Chaiphot district, Buriram province, was then investigated in April 2019. The surface soil was taken from e-waste and non-e-waste dismantling houses, open dumping and burning site, and reference site located 5 km away from the e-waste dismantling site. The heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in the samples were extracted using acid digestion and analyzed by ICP-OES. The mean values of all heavy metals, except As, were highest in the burning site where the open-burning of wires and dumping of unwanted electronic materials are carried out, followed by those in e-waste and non-e-waste dismantling houses. The concentration of all heavy metals in the burning site was significantly higher than that found in the reference area (p < 0.05). The concentration of all heavy metals were still compliance with Thai standard for residential and agricultural soils; however, Cu concentration (1,117.87 ± 2.09 mg/kg soil) at the burning site exceeded the Intervention Values of Netherlands (190 mg/kg soil). The results suggest that informal e-waste dismantling activities could lead to the contamination of heavy metals in soil. Therefore, a good manner of the environmental management system should be recommended for protecting the soil pollution from e-waste dismantling activities in the long run.