Characterization of PBDEs in soils and vegetations near an e-waste recycling site in South China
Highlights
► PBDE levels of vegetable from e-waste site were quantified. ► High concentration of PBDEs in vegetable may pose a potential risk to the consumer. ► Inconsistencies of PBDEs and PCBs may suggest different e-waste types processed. ► Using the single BDE 209 percentage to evaluate e-waste source is inappropriate.
Introduction
Uncontrolled electronic-waste (e-waste) recycling has led to serious environmental problems due to the toxic contaminant release during the disposal activitives (Halluite et al., 2005, Wu et al., 2008, Luo et al., 2011). Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), used as brominated flame retardants in electronic circuit boards, are among the toxic chemicals emitted or formed during the recycling operations (Wang et al., 2005). Rude e-waste processing was recognized as one of the important pathways by which PBDEs enter the environment (Wong et al., 2007).
It is estimated that 50–80% of the global e-waste is legally or illegally imported to Asia each year, and 90% of which is destinated to China, making China to be the largest dumping site of e-waste in the world (Chen et al., 2009). Driven by the profit, rude e-waste recycling techniques, such as manual disassembling, open incineration and acid dipping, are extremely active, and have become a new important source of environmental pollution in a few locations of South China (Bi et al., 2007, Leung et al., 2008). High levels of heavy metals (Cu 11,140, Pb 4500, and Zn 3690 mg/kg), and persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (3206 ng/g), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (1443 ng/g) and PBDEs (44,473 ng/g), were detected in the soil, water and ambient environment around e-waste recycling sites, indicating a severe risk to the local ecosystem and inhabitants’ health (Wong et al., 2007, Zhao et al., 2009b, Luo et al., 2011). Strikingly high concentration of PBDEs was observed in the blood of e-waste recycling workers, especially BDE 209 (3436 ng/g lipid wt.) (Qu et al., 2007). Moreover, most of these persistent substances can undergo long-range transport through air or water, and threaten the ecosystem and organisms far away from the e-waste recycling sites. Some research suggested that the PBDEs in marine sediments (Mai et al., 2005, Wurl et al., 2006) and Katsuwonus pelamis (Ueno et al., 2004) from South China Sea might originate from the disposal of e-waste in Qingyuan or Guiyu of Guangdong Province. Although literatures concerning PBDEs in air, dust, soil, sediment, and biota samples from the e-waste recycling sites in South China are increasing (Leung et al., 2007, Luo et al., 2007, Wong et al., 2007, Liu et al., 2008, Wu et al., 2008), little research has evaluated the PBDE levels in vegetations at these locations, especially in the vegetables commonly consumed by the local residents.
The present study was carried out in Longtang Town of north Guangdong Province, one of the important e-waste recycling areas in South China. Intensive e-waste recycling processes were active, and millions of tones of e-waste were processed annually. In general, most of the uncontrolled e-waste processing sites were located on or within 500 m away from the agricultural fields where vegetables and rice were planted. Food produced from these soils was mainly consumed by the local residents, and a potential health risk might be involved (Zhao et al., 2009b). The purpose of the present research was to investigate the effect of uncontrolled e-waste recycling activities on the contamination of the surrounding soils and vegetations by PBDEs. Emphasis was placed on the local vegetables which played an important role in the daily exposure of PBDEs to the local community. The results may be useful for designing management measures and for protecting the residents from potential health hazards in the e-waste affected areas.
Section snippets
Sampling site
The sampling site is located in Guangdong Province, South China [23° 34′ N, 113° 0′ E]. Intensive uncontrolled e-waste processing operations made many e-waste open burning sites and electronic scraps scattered in or close to agricultural fields. Meanwhile, agricultural activities, such as rice and vegetable planting, are still going on in this area. As shown in Fig. 1, all the sampling locations in the present study can be classified into five different groups: e-waste open burning site (BS),
Levels of PBDEs in the soil samples
Table 1 presents the level of the 8 PBDE congeners measured in the soil samples (dry-weight basis). The ΣPBDEs of all soil samples ranged from 4.8 to 533 ng/g with an average of 78.0 ng/g, while the concentrations of BDE 209 were from 3.2 to 284 ng/g with an average of 46.3 ng/g. The highest concentration of PBDEs was found in the soil from the e-waste burning site due to the extensive e-waste recycling activitives, and the average concentration of ΣPBDEs at this site was above 1 order of
Conclusions
The inappropriate recycling and disposal of e-waste became an important source for a number of toxic chemicals, including PBDEs. This study is one of the little research on the contamination of PBDEs in vegetable near the e-waste recycling site in China. The results demonstrated that past uncontrolled e-waste recycling had resulted in the occurrence and migration of PBDEs into the surrounding environment. The paddy and vegetable fields near the e-waste dismantling site were all contaminated
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the Joint Funds of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (NSFC-GDNSF U0933002), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 40821003 and 40739001) and the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong SAR Government (PolyU 5212/08E).
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