Informal E-waste Recycling Research Articles

Distribution and health risk assessment of arsenic and selected heavy metals in Groundwater of Chandigarh, India

Groundwater quality of Chandigarh was assessed by collecting 80 groundwater samples from different depths varying between 10 ft and 1200 ft. These samples were analyzed for possible contamination with metal pollutants such as Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mo, Mg, Ni, Pb, V, Zn. Geospatial interpolation of the contaminants identified poor sanitary practices of waste management, agrarian activities, and industrial pollution as the prominent sources of groundwater contamination. Quality assessment of groundwater performed using Heavy metal Pollution Index (HPI), and Metal Index (MI) revealed HPI as a better method for health risk assessment. HPI indicate poor groundwater quality near municipal solid waste dumping sites and industrial areas of Chandigarh. The shallow aquifer was reported to be more contaminated than deeper aquifer. Further, health risk assessment of Chandigarh's groundwater indicated non-carcinogenic health impacts due to contamination of As, Cr, Co, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn and carcinogenic health impacts from As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb. The study suggests that groundwater should also be regularly monitored for metal contamination as over-extraction, industrialization, disposal of municipal solid waste and informal E-waste recycling activities increases the public health risks in countries worldwide, facing similar environmental pollution problems of the groundwater.

Phthalates in residential and agricultural soils from an electronic waste-polluted region in South China: distribution, compositional profile and sources.

Electronic waste (e-waste) recycling has proven to be a significant source of phthalate (PAE) contamination in the environment. A detailed investigation was conducted to understand the concentration, distribution, profile and possible source of PAEs in residential and agricultural soils from Guiyu, Shantou, China, the largest e-waste processing and recycling areas in the world. Sixteen PAEs were analysed in 46 surface soil samples from three different sampling areas in terms of individual and total concentrations, together with pH and soil organic matter. High concentrations of the total PAEs were found in residential area A (more than 20,000ngg-1), revealing a clear urban pulse, whereas in residential area B and agricultural areas, concentrations were lower than 10,000ngg-1. The dominant PAEs were bis (2-nbutoxyethyl) phthalate, bis (4-methyl-2-pentyl) phthalate and dicyclohexyl phthalate. These PAEs were high-molecular weight PAEs (alkyl chains ≥ 6 carbons) and mainly derived from polyvinyl chloride commonly used in electrical and electronic equipment, indicating a distinctive composition in relation to the e-waste area. Three individual and the total PAEs exhibited significant positive correlations with pH. Principal component analysis indicated that PAEs were mainly distributed in three groups according to the alkyl chain length and potential source. This study showed that the informal e-waste recycling has already introduced PAEs into surrounding areas as a pollutant which should draw more attention and regulatory control.

Hydrophobic Organic Pollutants in Soils and Dusts at Electronic Waste Recycling Sites: Occurrence and Possible Impacts of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers.

Concerns about the adverse consequences of informal electronic waste (e-waste) recycling is increasing, because e-waste contains some hazardous substances such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) which is used as flame retardants in electronics. There is dearth of information on the concentrations of PBDEs and the pattern of distribution at the various e-waste recycling sites in Nigeria. This study therefore measured the concentrations of 13 PBDE congeners, in top soils (0–10 cm) and in various dust samples from different e-waste recycling sites (burning, dismantling, repair). PBDE concentrations at e-waste sites were compared with the concentrations in samples from corresponding control sites in three study locations in Nigeria (Lagos, Ibadan, and Aba). There were significant differences in the level of PBDEs congeners between each of the e-waste recycling sites and the corresponding control sites. The levels of PBDEs at the e-waste recycling sites exceeded the levels at the controls sites by a factor of 100 s to 1000 s. In general, PBDE concentrations at the e-waste sites decreased with the intensity of the e-waste recycling activities: burning sites > dismantling sites > repair sites > control sites. Our results suggest that the informal e-waste recycling has negative impacts on the enviroment and human health.

Stress, health, noise exposures, and injuries among electronic waste recycling workers in Ghana

BackgroundElectronic waste (e-waste) recycling workers in low and middle-income countries have the potential for occupational injuries due to the nature of their work at informal e-waste sites. However, limited research exists on stress, noise, occupational injuries, and health risks associated with this work environment. This study evaluated injury experience, noise exposures, and stress risk factors among e-waste workers at the large recycling site in the Agbogbloshie market, Accra, Ghana.MethodsParticipants completed a survey addressing their work, health status, stress, exposures to several occupational hazards (including noise), use of personal protective equipment at work, and injury experience. A subset of participants also completed personal noise dosimetry measurements. Poisson regression was used to evaluate the association between the number of injuries experienced by participants and various factors evaluated in the survey.ResultsForty-six male e-waste workers completed the survey, and 26 completed a noise dosimetry measurement. Participants experienced an average of 9.9 ± 9.6 injuries per person in the previous 6 months (range: 1–40). The majority of injuries were lacerations (65.2%), and the most common injury location was the hand (45.7%). Use of personal protective equipment was rare. The mean time-weighted average noise level was 78.8 ± 5.9 dBA. Higher perceived stress, greater age, poorer health status, not using gloves, and involvement in dismantling activities were associated with an increased number of injuries. After controlling for each of these risk factors, perceived stress level and perceived noise exposure were associated with a significantly greater number of injuries.ConclusionsOur study identified a large number of injuries among informal e-waste recyclers, and we found that higher levels of perceived stress and perceived noise were associated with an increased number of occupational injuries, even after controlling for other injury risk factors.

Trace metals in e-waste lead to serious health risk through consumption of rice growing near an abandoned e-waste recycling site: Comparisons with PBDEs and AHFRs

Despite the endeavour to eradicate informal e-waste recycling, remediation of polluted sites is not mandatory in many developing countries and thus the hazard of pollutants remaining in soil is often overlooked. It is noteworthy that a majority of previous studies only analysed a few pollutants in e-waste to reflect the impact of informal e-waste recycling. However, the actual impact may have been largely underestimated since e-waste contains various groups of pollutants and the effect of some emerging pollutants in e-waste remains unexplored. Thus, this study examined the contamination of metals, PBDEs and AHFRs in the vicinity of an abandoned e-waste recycling site. The accumulation and translocation of these pollutants in rice plants cultivated at the nearby paddy field were measured to estimate the health risk through rice consumption. We revealed that the former e-waste burning site was still seriously contaminated with some metals (e.g. Sn, Sb and Ag, Igeo > 5), PBDEs (Igeo > 3) and AHFRs (Igeo > 3), which can disperse to the nearby paddy field and stream. The rice plants can effectively absorb some metals (e.g. Mo, Cr and Mn, BCF > 1), but not PBDEs and AHFRs (BCF < 0.15), from soil and translocate them to the leaves. Alarmingly, the health risk through rice consumption was high primarily due to Sb and Sn (HQ > 20), whereas PBDEs and AHFRs had limited contribution (HQ < 0.08). Our results imply that abandoned e-waste recycling sites still act as the pollution source, jeopardising the surrounding environment and human health. Since some trace metals (e.g. Sb and Sn) are seldom monitored, the impact of informal e-waste recycling would be more notorious than previously thought. Remediation work should be conducted promptly in abandoned e-waste recycling sites to protect the environment and human health.

Contamination and Health Risk Assessment of Exposure to Heavy Metals in Soils from Informal E-Waste Recycling Site in Ghana

The objective of this study is first, to investigate the level of heavy metals in soils from Agbogbloshie e-waste processing site (AEPS), the degree at which these heavy metals contaminate the area and finally, to assess the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risk of heavy metals on workers and residents in around the AEPS. 132 soil samples were collected from the study area and the samples analyzed for Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn heavy metals after appropriate preparations were made. Results of the analysis showed mean concentrations of Cd, Cr and Ni considered as carcinogenic were lower than permissible levels of Dutch and Canadian soil standards. Mean concentrations however of Cu, Pb and Zn were between 100% and 500% higher than the permissible levels. Assessment of the degree of Contamination indicated Ni&lt;Ba&lt;Co&lt;Cr&lt;Zn&lt;Hg&lt;Cu&lt;Cd&lt;Pb in an increasing order as contributing to the degree of contamination with according to the degree of contamination index the burning, dismantling, residential and commercial considered as very highly contaminated. The health risk analysis of individual heavy metals in soil indicated non-carcinogenic risk of Cr, Hg and Pb with hazard index above the safe level of 1 in the burning and dismantling areas and as such could trigger neurological and developmental disorders in children less than six (6) years.

Levels and Risk Assessment of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBS) in Soils from Informal E-Waste Recycling Sites in Cameroun

This study assessed the levels and human health risk of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in soils of e-waste recycling sites in Douala, Cameroun. Surface soil samples from these sites were collected and analyzed by Gas Chromatography- Electron Capture Detector to quantify the levels of 30 PCBs (including 10 dioxin-like PCBs). The investigated 30 PCBs were detected in all the soil samples. The mean and standard deviation of the total PCBs in Makea, Ngodi and New Bell recycling sites were 32.1±4.48, 31.9±0.10 and 72.8±13.5 ng/g, respectively. Between 26-46% of the Ʃ30 PCB concentrations were comprised of the dioxin-like PCB congeners. The toxic equivalent (TEQ) values of 10 dioxin-like PCBs were lower than the Canadian soil quality guidelines of dioxin (4 pg TEQ g−1). Human health risk through ingestion, dermal contact, and inhalation was lower than the values of cancer risk (10−6) indicating low adverse effects of PCBs in the recycling sites.

Birth Outcomes Associated with Maternal and Fetal Exposure to Metals from Informal Electronic Waste Recycing in Guiyu, China

Informal electronic waste (e-waste) recycling is a rapidly growing industry in developing countries, as ~50 million metric tons of e-waste are generated annually. Informal e-waste recycling creates widespread environmental contamination of a mixture of chemicals. The E-waste Recycling Exposure and Community Health (e-REACH) study enrolled pregnant women in Guiyu, an informal e-waste recycling site (n&amp;#61;314), and Haojiang, an unexposed control site, (n&amp;#61;320) at delivery. We analyzed maternal blood, cord blood, and maternal urine for lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), and manganese (Mn). We also captured data in newborns on birth weight, birth length, head circumference, body mass index (BMI), and Ponderal Index (PI). We calculated the geometric mean (GM) for each metal and calculated the ratio between sites using generalized linear models. We ran linear regression models to compare the birth outcomes between sites after adjusting for maternal age, education, occupation, BMI, gravidity, exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, and newborn sex. Maternal blood Pb, Cd, and Cr were higher in Guiyu compared to Haojiang, with a GM of Pb at 6.66 µg/dL (range: 1.87 &amp;#8211; 27.09 µg/dL) and was 1.74-fold greater than in Haojiang (95% CI: 1.60, 1.89). Pb in cord blood was 1.53-fold higher in Guiyu (95% CI: 1.38, 1.68). Urinary Cd (2.15, 95% CI:1.72, 2.69), Cr (1.63, 95% CI: 1.09, 2.45), and Mn (2.04, 95% CI: 2.04, 3.31) were also significantly higher in Guiyu compared to Haojiang. Guiyu neonates had significantly smaller head circumference (&amp;#946;: -1.58 cm, 95% CI: -2.03, -1.13), BMI (&amp;#946;: -0.75, 95% CI: -1.11, -0.38), and PI (&amp;#946;: -1.91 kg/m3, 95% CI: -2.98, -0.84). Birth weights were also lower in Guiyu (&amp;#946;:-41.98 g, 95% CI: -135.96, 51.9). We observed differences in the head size and Ponderal Index of neonates from Guiyu when compared to neonates from Haojiang. Since e-waste exposure is a complex mixture, the outcomes could be related to additional chemicals and interactions.

The Michigan-West Africa Geohealth Hub: Environmental Exposures Due to Informal E-Waste Recycling Activities and the Health of Workers

Overview: The West Africa-Michigan CHARTER II GEOHealth Hub, jointly funded by the US NIH/FIC and Canada&amp;#8217;s IDRC, integrates research and research training activities of West African Anglophone and Francophone institutions, with support from the University of Michigan and McGill University. Research Goal: To increase multi-disciplinary understanding of the risks associated with waste recycling, and to use study findings to inform evidence-based implementation activities and policy options at multi-levels. Specific Objectives: Include: 1) characterize work-related, time-varying, job-specific exposures of electronic waste recycling workers at the Agbogbloshie site, and assess biological markers of dose, to metals, organic compounds, and markers of combustion products; 2) provide estimates of potentially increased lifetime, work-exposure-associated cancer risks; and, 3) evaluate associations of exposures with measures of acute and chronic respiratory morbidity in workers. Methodology: A longitudinal design in which we enrolled a combined total of 151 study participants over a 3-week period. We collected and are analyzing, repeated measures across seasons for each participant: 1) biological samples for a) metals, b) organic compounds including flame retardants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxin-related compounds, and 2) personal air monitoring, through a combination of real-time measurements and analysis of size-specific samples collected on filters, including markers of combustion products. Results: Preliminary filter-based data show that e-waste workers have breathing zone PM2.5 concentrations of 135 &amp;#177; 188 µg m-3 (mean &amp;#177; st. dev., n &amp;#61; 89) compared to 45 &amp;#177; 18 µg m-3 (n &amp;#61; 43) of controls; these worker exposures are considerably higher than levels obtained using area monitoring at the waste site, e.g., 84 &amp;#177; 24 µg m-3 (n &amp;#61; 9). Based on real-time measurements, burning tasks resulted in exceptionally high PM2.5 exposures.

Prevention-intervention strategies to reduce exposure to e-waste.

As one of the largest waste streams, electronic waste (e-waste) production continues to grow in response to global demand for consumer electronics. This waste is often shipped to developing countries where it is disassembled and recycled. In many cases, e-waste recycling activities are conducted in informal settings with very few controls or protections in place for workers. These activities involve exposure to hazardous substances such as cadmium, lead, and brominated flame retardants and are frequently performed by women and children. Although recycling practices and exposures vary by scale and geographic region, we present case studies of e-waste recycling scenarios and intervention approaches to reduce or prevent exposures to the hazardous substances in e-waste that may be broadly applicable to diverse situations. Drawing on parallels identified in these cases, we discuss the future prevention and intervention strategies that recognize the difficult economic realities of informal e-waste recycling.

Environmental injustice of informal e-waste recycling in Agbogbloshie-Accra: urban political ecology perspective

ABSTRACTThis paper provides additional empirical knowledge of injustice embedded in the urban governance of informal-sector electronic waste (e-waste) recycling in Ghana. It uses Urban Political Ecology and Environmental Justice perspectives to explain how divergent interest and power among diverse actors in the e-waste sector engender social and environmental (in)justice in Accra. Using the case study approach, this paper reveals that the persistent struggles over interest and power which characterise the governance and management of informal e-waste recycling generate inequity, false accusations, misrecognition, disrespect, devaluation, neglect, exclusion, and abuse of freedom and rights. Inclusive of the finding is the development of local resistance and social movement in defence of interests and against state aggression, oppression, domination and neglect. The study concludes to suggest that the governance of urban socio-economic and ecological space of Accra should involve coordination, participation, holistic inclusion of diverse interest, so as to minimise trade-offs and reap synergies.

Impact of informal electronic waste recycling on metal concentrations in soils and dusts

Electronic and electrical equipment contains over 1000 different substances, including metals. During informal e-waste recycling some of these substances such as metals, are released into the environment causing environmental pollution. This study assessed the impact of different informal e-waste recycling activities (burning, dismantling, and repairing) on metal concentrations in top soils and various dust.A comparative cross-sectional study design was adopted to assess metal concentrations in top soils and in various dust samples from multiple e-waste recycling sites. Metal concentrations at e-waste recycling sites were compared to the concentrations at control sites in three study locations in Nigeria (Lagos, Ibadan, and Aba). In the three study locations, mean metal concentrations at the e-waste recycling sites exceeded the concentrations at the control sites and the Nigerian standard guideline values by 100 s to 1000 s times. Burning sites showed the highest pollution level, followed by dismantling sites, then repair sites.Our findings show serious environmental and public health concerns. The metal concentrations were also higher than levels reported in other studies at the same locations in Nigeria, indicating that the situation is worsening. This study provides scientific evidence for an urgent need to develop effective strategies to strengthen enforcement of existing e-waste regulations in Nigeria.

Assessing resident awareness on e-waste management in Bangalore, India: a preliminary case study.

The generation of e-waste has increased significantly in India, and the informal recycling of e-waste has adverse effects on environment and public health. In this article, the E-waste management is evaluated in accordance from the resident's awareness perspective in Bangalore city,India. The survey data revealed that about 58% male and 42% female responded and 35% of the participants belong to age range between 18 and 25years. About 60% of respondent's education level was either graduate or post graduate, 27% high school to higher school, 10% higher educated (> post graduate), and 3% primary to middle. Only 30% of the respondents were confident with e-waste rules and regulation, while 39% of the respondents were of very little information. Indian e-waste management has been improving for the last few years and it continues to develop. Therefore, the findings can be valuable for better understanding the resident's awareness for e-waste management and also need to promote the environmentally sound management of e-waste in Bangalore, India.

E-Waste Driven Pollution in Pakistan: The First Evidence of Environmental and Human Exposure to Flame Retardants (FRs) in Karachi City.

Informal e-waste recycling activities have been shown to be a major emitter of organic flame retardants (FRs), contributing to both environmental and human exposure to laborers at e-waste recycling sites in some West African countries, as well as in China and India. The main objective of this study was to determine the levels of selected organic FRs in both air and soil samples collected from areas with intensive informal e-waste recycling activities in Karachi, Pakistan. Dechlorane Plus (DP) and "novel" brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) were often detected in high concentrations in soils, while phosphorus-based FRs (OPFRs) dominated atmospheric samples. Among individual substances and substance groups, decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) (726 ng/g), decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) (551 ng/g), 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy) ethane (BTBPE) (362 ng/g), and triphenyl-phosphate (∑TPP) (296 ng/g) were found to be prevalent in soils, while OPFR congeners (5903-24986 ng/m3) were prevalent in air. The two major e-waste recycling areas (Shershah and Lyari) were highly contaminated with FRs, suggesting informal e-waste recycling activities as a major emission source of FRs in the environment in Karachi City. However, the hazards associated with exposure to PM2.5 appear to exceed those attributed to exposure to selected FRs via inhalation and soil ingestion.

Processes in informal end-processing of e-waste generated from personal computers in Vietnam

Informal treatment of e-waste plays an important role in many countries which have no or weak formal waste management structures. One of the challenges for assessing informal e-waste recycling technologies is to identify their disadvantages and potential technology improvement. The analysis of informal recycling processes starts with a balance of input and output materials for each of the processes. Main obstacles are the fact that in most cases, mixed or variety materials serve as input and, secondly by nature, the informal sector does not systematically measure and monitor the process. This study presents the processes and available data for informal e-waste recycling of desktop personal computer as it consists of components made of plastic and many metals within the Vietnamese context. To identify the most relevant processes, critical flows and technology gap, two scenarios are compared: (1) current situation in which recycling activities are taken in recycling craft villages and (2) appropriately selected BAT. The selected materials from e-waste cover a wide range of recycling processes and technologies: Printed Circuit Board treatment, metal (ferrous metal, aluminum and copper) and plastic recycling.

Spatial assessment of potential ecological risk of heavy metals in soils from informal e-waste recycling in Ghana.

The rapidly increasing annual global volume of e-waste, and of its inherently valuable fraction, has created an opportunity for individuals in Agbogbloshie, Accra, Ghana to make a living by using unconventional, uncontrolled, primitive and crude procedures to recycle and recover valuable metals from this waste. The current form of recycling procedures releases hazardous fractions, such as heavy metals, into the soil, posing a significant risk to the environment and human health. Using a handheld global positioning system, 132 soil samples based on 100 m grid intervals were collected and analysed for cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn). Using geostatistical techniques and sediment quality guidelines, this research seeks to assess the potential risk these heavy metals posed to the proposed Korle Ecological Restoration Zone by informal e-waste processing site in Agbogbloshie, Accra, Ghana. Analysis of heavy metals revealed concentrations exceeded the regulatory limits of both Dutch and Canadian soil quality and guidance values, and that the ecological risk posed by the heavy metals extended beyond the main burning and dismantling sites of the informal recyclers to the school, residential, recreational, clinic, farm and worship areas. The heavy metals Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn had normal distribution, spatial variability, and spatial autocorrelation. Further analysis revealed the decreasing order of toxicity, Hg>Cd>Pb> Cu>Zn>Cr, of contributing significantly to the potential ecological risk in the study area.

Informal E-waste recycling in developing countries: review of metal(loid)s pollution, environmental impacts and transport pathways.

Crude or primitive recycling practices are often adopted in material resource recovery from E-waste in developing nations. Significant human health and environmental impacts may occur because of such practices. Literature on metal(loid)s pollution during E-waste processing is fragmented. Here, I review the health and environmental impacts of E-waste recycling operations and transport pathways of metal(loid)s, dispersed during operations. This paper is organised into five sections. Section 1 relates to the background of global E-waste generation and legal/illegal trade, citing specific cases from Ghana and other developing nations. Section 2 provides a brief information on sources of metal(loid)s in E-waste. Section 3 describes characteristics of informal E-waste recycling operations in developing nations. Section 4 examines the health and environmental impacts in E-waste recycling while section 5 evaluates major transport pathways of metal(loid)s contaminants.

Health Risks Awareness of Electronic Waste Workers in the Informal Sector in Nigeria.

Insight into the health risk awareness levels of e-waste workers is important as it may offer opportunities for better e-waste recycling management strategies to reduce the health effects of informal e-waste recycling. Therefore, this study assessed the knowledge, attitude, and practices associated with occupational health risk awareness of e-waste workers compared with a control group (butchers) in the informal sector in Nigeria. A cross-sectional study was used to assess health risk awareness of 279 e-waste workers (repairers and dismantlers) and 221 butchers from the informal sector in three locations in Nigeria in 2015. A questionnaire was used to obtain information on socio-demographic backgrounds, occupational history, knowledge, attitude, and work practices. The data was analysed using Analysis of Variance. The three job designations had significantly different knowledge, attitude, and practice mean scores (p = 0.000), with butchers consistently having the highest mean scores. Only 43% of e-waste workers could mention one or more Personal Protective Equipment needed for their job compared with 70% of the butchers. The health risk awareness level of the e-waste workers was significantly lower compared with their counterparts in the same informal sector. A positive correlation existed between the workers’ knowledge and their attitude and practice. Therefore, increasing the workers’ knowledge may decrease risky practices.

Heavy metals distribution and risk assessment in soil from an informal E-waste recycling site in Lagos State, Nigeria.

Informal E-waste recycling can pose a risk to human health and the environment which this study endeavours to evaluate. The distribution of a number of heavy metals in soil from an informal recycling site in the largest market for used and new electronics and electrical equipment in West Africa was investigated. The potential bioavailability of heavy metals, extent of contamination, potential risk due to the recycling activities and impact of external factors such as rainfall were also assessed. The concentrations of all the heavy metals tested were higher in the area where burning of the waste occurred than at the control site, suggesting an impact of the recycling activities on the soil. The order of total metal concentrations was Cu > Pb > Zn > Mn > Ni > Sb > Cr > Cd for both the dry and wet seasons. The total concentrations of Cd, Cu, Mn, Ni and Zn were all significantly higher (p<0.001) in the dry season than in the wet season. The concentrations of Cu (329-7106mgkg-1), Pb (115-9623mgkg-1) and Zn (508-8178mgkg-1) were consistently higher than international soil guideline values. Using a sequential extraction method, the potential bioavailability of the heavy metals was indicated as Cd > Sb > Zn > Cu > Ni > Pb > Cr. When the risk was assessed using the Potential Ecological Risk Index (PERI), Cu was found to contribute the most to the potential ecological risk and Cd gave rise to the greatest concern due to its high toxic-response factor within the study site. Similarly, utilising the Risk Assessment Code (RAC) suggested that Cd posed the most risk in this site. This research establishes a high level of contamination in the study site and underscores the importance of applying the appropriate chemical speciation in risk assessment.

Soil contamination by halogenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from open burning of e-waste in Agbogbloshie (Accra, Ghana)

Detailed composition of chlorinated and brominated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Cl-PAHs and Br-PAHs) generated during informal recycling of e-waste and their toxic relevance are still poorly understood. This study investigated the occurrence of Cl-PAHs and Br-PAHs in surface soil samples from the Agbogbloshie e-waste recycling site (Accra, Ghana) using quantitative gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and comprehensive two-dimensional GC–time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC–ToFMS) profiling. The results of GC–MS analysis showed elevated concentrations in open e-waste burning areas (160–220 and 19–46 ng/g dry weight for Cl- and Br-PAHs, respectively) with substantial contribution from unidentified compounds (respectively, more than 36 and 70%, based on the total areas of potential peaks). Cl- and Br-PAHs from e-waste burning had a distinctive composition dominated by ring–ring compounds. Several homologue groups not monitored with GC–MS were found using GC × GC–ToFMS: PAHs with up to 5Cl or 3Br, mixed halogenated PAHs and chlorinated methylPAHs. The dioxin-like toxic equivalents of the identified Cl-/Br-PAHs in soils, estimated from their in vitro AhR agonist potencies relative to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, were much lower than the range reported for chlorinated and brominated dioxins. However, the toxicity of the unidentified halogenated PAHs remained unclear.