Toxicology Unit, Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Paseo Blas Cabrera Felipe s/n, 35016 Las Palmas, Spain.
Toxicology Unit, Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Paseo Blas Cabrera Felipe s/n, 35016 Las Palmas, Spain; Spanish Biomedical Research Centre in Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBERObn), Paseo Blas Cabrera Felipe s/n, 35016 Las Palmas, Spain.
Environ Pollut. 2017 Nov;230:817-828. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.07.036. Epub 2017 Jul 19.
Africa's economy is growing faster than any other continent and it has been estimated that the middle class in Africa now exceeds 350 million people. This has meant a parallel increase in the importation of consumer goods and in the implementation of communication and information technologies (ICT), but also in the generation of large quantities of e-waste. However, inadequate infrastructure development remains a major constraint to the continent's economic growth and these highly toxic residues are not always adequately managed. Few studies have been conducted to date assessing the possible association between socioeconomic development factors, including e-waste generation, and blood levels of inorganic elements in African population. To disclose the role of geographical, anthropogenic, and socioeconomic development determinants on the blood levels of Ag, Al, As, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sb, and V -all of them frequently found in e-waste-, an immigrant population-based study was made including a total of 245 subjects from 16 countries recently arrived to the Canary Islands (Spain). Women presented higher levels of blood elements than men, and Northern Africans (Moroccans) were the most contaminated. People from low-income countries exhibited significantly lower blood levels of inorganic elements than those from middle-income countries. We found a significant association between the use of motor vehicles and the implementation of information and communication technologies (ICT) and the level of contamination. Immigrants from the countries with a high volume of imports of second-hand electronic equipment, telephone and internet use had higher levels of inorganic elements. In general terms, the higher level of economic development the higher the blood levels of inorganic pollutants, suggesting that the economic development of Africa, in parallel to e-waste generation and the existence of informal recycling sites, have directly affected the level of contamination of the population of the continent.
非洲经济的增长速度超过了其他任何一个大陆，据估计，非洲的中产阶级现在已经超过 3.5 亿人。这意味着消费品的进口、通信和信息技术（ICT）的实施以及电子垃圾的产生都在平行增长。然而，基础设施发展的不足仍然是非洲经济增长的主要制约因素，这些剧毒残留物并不总是得到妥善处理。迄今为止，很少有研究评估包括电子垃圾产生在内的社会经济发展因素与非洲人口血液中无机元素水平之间可能存在的关联。为了揭示地理、人为和社会经济发展决定因素对血液中 Ag、Al、As、Be、Cd、Co、Cr、Hg、Ni、Pb、Sb 和 V 等经常在电子垃圾中发现的无机元素水平的影响，进行了一项基于移民的研究，共纳入了来自 16 个国家的 245 名最近抵达加那利群岛（西班牙）的移民。女性的血液元素水平高于男性，而来自北非（摩洛哥）的人污染最严重。来自低收入国家的人血液中无机元素的水平明显低于来自中等收入国家的人。我们发现使用机动车辆和实施信息和通信技术（ICT）与污染水平之间存在显著关联。来自二手电子设备进口量大、电话和互联网使用率高的国家的移民血液中的无机元素水平更高。总的来说，经济发展水平越高，无机污染物的血液水平就越高，这表明非洲经济的发展，以及电子垃圾的产生和非正式回收场的存在，直接影响了非洲大陆人口的污染水平。
