Comparing pollution patterns and human exposure to atmospheric PBDEs and PCBs emitted from different e-waste dismantling processes.

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (E-waste) recycling provides post-consumption economic opportunities, can also exert stress on environment and human health. This study investigated emissions, compositional profiles, and health risks associated with polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at five workshops (electric blowers to treat mobile phones (EBMP), electric heating furnaces to treat televisions (EHFTV) and routers (EHFR), and rotatory incinerators to treat televisions (RITV) and hard disks (RIHD)) within an e-waste dismantling industrial park. Total suspended particulate (TSP), PBDE, and PCB concentrations were 490-1530 μg m, 26.6-11,800 ng m and 6.4-19.8 ng m in different workshops, respectively. Tetra-BDEs were dominant in TV recycling workshops, whereas deca-BDEs were in other workshops. BDE-47, -99, and -209 were the most abundant PBDEs during e-waste recycling activities (expect in RIHD workshop). Penta-CBs were present at high levels in TV workshops, as were tetra-CBs in RIHD workshop. Low brominated BDEs contributed a large portion during working and non-working time. The percentages of octa-BDEs and nona-BDEs were higher during non-working than working time. PBDEs posed a higher non-cancer risk; PCBs posed cancer risk to workers through inhalation in TV workshops. This study provides insights into environmental characterization of PBDEs and PCBs during e-waste recycling processes.