Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, School of Environment, Jinan University, China.
Laboratory of Environmental Medicine and Developmental Toxicology, Shantou University Medical College, China.
Environ Int. 2020 Jun;139:105731. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.105731. Epub 2020 Apr 18.
Electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) burning and recycling activities have become one of the main emission sources of dioxin-like compounds (DLCs). Workers involved in e-waste recycling operations and residents living near e-waste recycling sites (EWRS) are exposed to high levels of DLCs. Epidemiological and experimental in vivo studies have reported a range of interconnected responses in multiple systems with DLC exposure. However, due to the compositional complexity of DLCs and difficulties in assessing mixture effects of the complex mixture of e-waste-related contaminants, there are few studies concerning human health outcomes related to DLC exposure at informal EWRS. In this paper, we have reviewed the environmental levels and body burdens of DLCs at EWRS and compared them with the levels reported to be associated with observable adverse effects to assess the health risks of DLC exposure at EWRS. In general, DLC concentrations at EWRS of many countries have been decreasing in recent years due to stricter regulations on e-waste recycling activities, but the contamination status is still severe. Comparison with available data from industrial sites and well-known highly DLC contaminated areas shows that high levels of DLCs derived from crude e-waste recycling processes lead to elevated body burdens. The DLC levels in human blood and breast milk at EWRS are higher than those reported in some epidemiological studies that are related to various health impacts. The estimated total daily intakes of DLCs for people in EWRS far exceed the WHO recommended total daily intake limit. It can be inferred that people living in EWRS with high DLC contamination have higher health risks. Therefore, more well-designed epidemiological studies are urgently needed to focus on the health effects of DLC pollution in EWRS. Continuous monitoring of the temporal trends of DLC levels in EWRS after actions is of highest importance.
电子废物（e-waste）燃烧和回收活动已成为二恶英类化合物（DLCs）的主要排放源之一。从事电子废物回收作业的工人和居住在电子废物回收场（EWRS）附近的居民暴露于高水平的 DLCs 中。流行病学和体内实验研究报告了 DLC 暴露与多个系统中的一系列相互关联的反应。然而，由于 DLCs 的组成复杂性以及评估与电子废物相关的污染物复杂混合物的混合效应存在困难，因此，有关在非正式 EWRS 中与 DLC 暴露相关的人类健康结果的研究很少。在本文中，我们回顾了 EWRS 处 DLCs 的环境水平和体内负荷，并将其与报告的与观察到的不良影响相关的水平进行了比较，以评估 EWRS 处 DLC 暴露的健康风险。一般来说，由于对电子废物回收活动的法规更加严格，近年来许多国家的 EWRS 处 DLC 浓度有所下降，但污染状况仍然很严重。与工业场所和著名的高度 DLC 污染地区的现有数据进行比较表明，源自原始电子废物回收过程的高水平 DLCs 导致体内负荷增加。EWRS 处人体血液和母乳中的 DLC 水平高于某些与各种健康影响相关的流行病学研究报告的水平。EWRS 处人们的 DLC 总日摄入量估计远远超过了世界卫生组织推荐的总日摄入量限值。可以推断，居住在高 DLC 污染的 EWRS 中的人们面临更高的健康风险。因此，迫切需要进行更多设计良好的流行病学研究，以关注 EWRS 中 DLC 污染的健康影响。在采取行动后，对 EWRS 中 DLC 水平的时间趋势进行持续监测非常重要。
