Poudel Kritika, Ketema Rahel Mesfin, Thi Thu Ngo Hien, Ikeda Atsuko, Minatoya Machiko
Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
Judith Lumley Centre, School of Nursing and Midwifery, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia.
Rev Environ Health. 2023 Feb 9;39(3):391-406. doi: 10.1515/reveh-2022-0233. Print 2024 Sep 25.
Informal electronic waste (e-waste) dismantling activities contribute to releasing hazardous compounds in the environment and potential exposure to humans and their health. These hazardous compounds include persistent organic pollutants (POPs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals. This review searched papers addressing hazardous compounds emitted from e-waste recycling activities and their health effects in Vietnam. Based on the keywords searched in three electronic databases (PubMed, Psych Info, and Google scholar), we found 21 relevant studies in Vietnam. The review identifies extensive e-waste dismantling activities in Vietnam in the northern region. To measure the environmental exposure to hazardous compounds, samples such as e-waste recycling workshop dust, soil, air, and sediments were assessed, while human exposure levels were measured using participants' hair, serum, or breast milk samples. Studies that compared levels of exposure in e-waste recycling sites and reference sites indicated higher levels of PBDEs, PCBs, and heavy metals were observed in both environmental and human samples from participants in e-waste recycling sites. Among environmental samples, hazardous chemicals were the most detected in dust from e-waste recycling sites. Considering both environmental and human samples, the highest exposure difference observed with PBDE ranged from 2-48-fold higher in e-waste processing sites than in the reference sites. PCBs showed nearly 3-fold higher levels in e-waste processing sites than in reference sites. In the e-waste processing sites, age-specific higher PCB levels were observed in older recycler's serum samples. Among the heavy metals, Pb was highly detected in drinking water, indoor soil and human blood samples. While high detection of Ni in cooked rice, Mn in soil and diet, Zn in dust and As in urine were apparent. Exposure assessment from human biomonitoring showed participants, including children and mothers from the e-waste processing areas, had higher carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks than the reference sites. This review paper highlights the importance of further comprehensive studies on risk assessments of environmentally hazardous substances and their association with health outcomes at e-waste processing sites.
非正规电子垃圾拆解活动会导致环境中释放出有害化合物，并可能使人类接触这些物质从而影响健康。这些有害化合物包括持久性有机污染物（POPs）、多环芳烃（PAHs）和重金属。本综述检索了有关越南电子垃圾回收活动中排放的有害化合物及其健康影响的论文。基于在三个电子数据库（PubMed、Psych Info和谷歌学术）中搜索的关键词，我们在越南找到了21项相关研究。该综述指出越南北部地区存在广泛的电子垃圾拆解活动。为了衡量环境中有害化合物的暴露情况，对电子垃圾回收车间灰尘、土壤、空气和沉积物等样本进行了评估，同时使用参与者的头发、血清或母乳样本测量人体暴露水平。比较电子垃圾回收场地和对照场地暴露水平的研究表明，在电子垃圾回收场地的环境和人体样本中，多溴二苯醚（PBDEs）、多氯联苯（PCBs）和重金属的含量更高。在环境样本中，电子垃圾回收场地的灰尘中检测到的有害化学物质最多。综合考虑环境和人体样本，多溴二苯醚的最高暴露差异在电子垃圾处理场地比对照场地高2至48倍。多氯联苯在电子垃圾处理场地的含量比对照场地高出近3倍。在电子垃圾处理场地，老年回收者的血清样本中特定年龄段的多氯联苯含量较高。在重金属中，饮用水、室内土壤和人体血液样本中铅的检测率很高。同时，煮熟的米饭中镍、土壤和饮食中的锰、灰尘中的锌以及尿液中的砷的高检出率也很明显。人体生物监测的暴露评估表明，包括电子垃圾处理区的儿童和母亲在内的参与者，其致癌和非致癌风险高于对照场地。这篇综述文章强调了进一步全面研究电子垃圾处理场地环境有害物质风险评估及其与健康结果关联的重要性。
