Ma Jing, Kannan Kurunthachalam, Cheng Jinping, Horii Yuichi, Wu Qian, Wang Wenhua
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China.
Environ Sci Technol. 2008 Nov 15;42(22):8252-9. doi: 10.1021/es8017573.
Environmental pollution arising from electronic waste (e-waste) disposal and recycling has received considerable attention in recent years. Treatment, at low temperatures, of e-wastes that contain polyvinylchloride and related polymers can release polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs). Although several studies have reported trace metals and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) released from e-waste recycling operations, environmental contamination and human exposure to PCDD/Fs from e-waste recycling operations are less well understood. In this study, electronic shredder waste and dust from e-waste facilities, and leaves and surface soil collected in the vicinity of a large scale e-waste recycling facility in Taizhou, Eastern China, were analyzed for total PCDD/ Fs including 2,3,7,8-substituted congeners. We also determined PCDD/Fs in surface agricultural soils from several provinces in China for comparison with soils from e-waste facilities. Concentrations of total PCDD/Fs were high in all of the matrices analyzed and ranged from 30.9 to 11400 pg/g for shredder waste, 3460 to 9820 pg/g dry weight for leaves, 2560 to 148000 pg/g dry weight for workshop-floor dust, and 854 to 10200 pg/g dry weight for soils. We also analyzed surface soils from a chemical industrial complex (a coke-oven plant, a coal-fired power plant, and a chlor-alkali plant) in Shanghai. Concentrations of total PCDD/Fs in surface soil (44.5-531 pg/g dry wt) from the chemical industrial complex were lower than the concentrations found in soils from e-waste recycling plants, but higher than the concentrations found in agricultural soils. Agricultural soils from six cities in China contained low levels (3.44-33.8 pg/g dry wt) of total PCDD/Fs. Profiles of dioxin toxic equivalents (TEQs) of 2,3,7,8-PCDD/Fs in soils from e-waste facilities in Taizhou differed from the profiles found in agricultural soils. The estimated daily intakes of TEQs of PCDD/ Fs via soil/dust ingestion and dermal exposure (2.3 and 0.363 pg TEQ/kg bw/day for children and adults, respectively) were 2 orders of magnitude higher in people at e-waste recycling facilities than in people at the chemical industrial site (0.021 and 0.0053 pg TEQ/kg bw/day for children and adults, respectively), implying greater health risk for humans from dioxin exposures at e-waste recycling facilities. The calculated TEQ exposures for e-waste workers from dust and soil ingestion alone were 2-3 orders of magnitude greater than the exposures from soils in reference locations.
近年来，电子垃圾（电子废弃物）处置和回收所产生的环境污染受到了广泛关注。低温处理含有聚氯乙烯及相关聚合物的电子垃圾会释放出多氯二苯并对二噁英和二苯并呋喃（PCDD/Fs）。尽管已有多项研究报道了电子垃圾回收作业中释放的痕量金属和多溴二苯醚（PBDEs），但对于电子垃圾回收作业所造成的环境污染以及人类接触PCDD/Fs的情况，人们了解得还较少。在本研究中，对来自中国东部台州一家大型电子垃圾回收设施的电子碎料机废料和灰尘，以及在该设施附近采集的树叶和表层土壤进行了分析，以测定包括2,3,7,8 - 取代同系物在内的总PCDD/Fs含量。我们还测定了中国几个省份表层农业土壤中的PCDD/Fs，以便与电子垃圾处理设施的土壤进行比较。在所分析的所有基质中，总PCDD/Fs浓度都很高，碎料机废料中的浓度范围为30.9至11400 pg/g，树叶中为3460至9820 pg/g干重，车间地面灰尘中为2560至148000 pg/g干重，土壤中为854至10200 pg/g干重。我们还分析了上海一个化工园区（包括一个炼焦厂、一个燃煤发电厂和一个氯碱厂）的表层土壤。该化工园区表层土壤中总PCDD/Fs的浓度（44.5 - 531 pg/g干重）低于电子垃圾回收厂土壤中的浓度，但高于农业土壤中的浓度。中国六个城市的农业土壤中总PCDD/Fs含量较低（3.44 - 33.8 pg/g干重）。台州电子垃圾处理设施土壤中2,3,7,8 - PCDD/Fs的二噁英毒性当量（TEQs）谱与农业土壤中的不同。通过土壤/灰尘摄入和皮肤接触途径，电子垃圾回收设施中的儿童和成人每天摄入PCDD/Fs的TEQs估计值分别为2.3和0.363 pg TEQ/kg体重/天，这比化工园区的儿童和成人（分别为0.021和0.0053 pg TEQ/kg体重/天）高出两个数量级，这意味着电子垃圾回收设施中的人群因二噁英暴露而面临更大的健康风险。仅通过灰尘和土壤摄入途径计算得出的电子垃圾处理工人的TEQ暴露量比参考地点土壤中的暴露量高出2 - 3个数量级。
