The health concern of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in a notorious e-waste recycling site

HBM4EU E-waste study: Assessing persistent organic pollutants in blood, silicone wristbands, and settled dust among E-waste recycling workers in Europe

E-waste recycling is an increasingly important activity that contributes to reducing the burden of end-of-life electronic and electrical apparatus and allows for the EU's transition to a circular economy. This study investigated the exposure levels of selected persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in workers from e-waste recycling facilities across Europe. The concentrations of seven polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and eight polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) congeners were measured by GC-MS. Workers were categorized into five groups based on the type of e-waste handled and two control groups. Generalized linear models were used to assess the determinants of exposure levels among workers. POPs levels were also assessed in dust and silicone wristbands (SWB) and compared with serum. Four PCB congeners (CB 118, 138, 153, and 180) were frequently detected in serum regardless of worker's category. With the exception of CB 118, all tested PCBs were significantly higher in workers compared to the control group. Controls working in the same company as occupationally exposed (Within control group), also displayed higher levels of serum CB 180 than non-industrial controls with no known exposures to these chemicals (Outwith controls) (p < 0.05). BDE 209 was the most prevalent POP in settled dust (16 μg/g) and SWB (220 ng/WB). Spearman correlation revealed moderate to strong positive correlations between SWB and dust. Increased age and the number of years smoked cigarettes were key determinants for workers exposure. Estimated daily intake through dust ingestion revealed that ΣPCB was higher for both the 50th (0.03 ng/kg bw/day) and 95th (0.09 ng/kg bw/day) percentile exposure scenarios compared to values reported for the general population. This study is one of the first to address the occupational exposure to PCBs and PBDEs in Europe among e-waste workers through biomonitoring combined with analysis of settled dust and SWB. Our findings suggest that e-waste workers may face elevated PCB exposure and that appropriate exposure assessments are needed to establish effective mitigation strategies.

Establishment of compound database of emerging antioxidants and high-resolution mass spectrometry screening in lake sediment from Taihu Lake Basin, China

Antioxidants are ubiquitous in various environmental samples, leading to increasing concern regarding their potential risk to environments or humans. However, there is dearth of information regarding the environmental fate of antioxidants and unknown/unexpected antioxidants in the environment. Here, we established a compound database (CDB) containing 320 current-used antioxidants by collecting the chemicals from EPA's functional use database and published documents. Physical-chemical characteristics of these antioxidants were estimated, and 19 ones were considered as persistent and bioaccumulative (P&B) substances. This CDB was further coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) technique, which was employed for suspect screening of antioxidants in extracts of sediments (n = 88) collected from Taihu Lake basin. We screened 119 HRMS features that can match 135 chemical formulas in the CDB, and 20 out of them exhibited the detection frequencies ≥ 90%. The total concentrations of suspect antioxidants in sediments ranged from 6.41 to 830 ng/g dw. Statistical analysis demonstrated that concentrations of suspect antioxidants in Taihu Lake were statistically significantly lower than those in Shihu and Jiulihu Lake, but greater than those from other small lakes. Collectively, this study provided a CDB that could be helpful for further monitoring studies of antioxidant in the environments, and also provided the first evidence regarding the ubiquity of antioxidants in aquatic environment of Taihu Lake basin.

Concentrations and co-occurrence of 101 emerging and legacy organic pollutants in the ultrafine, fine and coarse fractions of airborne particulates associated with treatment of waste from electrical and electronic equipment

Occupational exposure to airborne particles can increase the development of morbidity, also because of the chemical composition of particulate matter (PM). In workplace, where manual and mechanical disassembly of electric and electronic equipment (EEE) take place, there are evident risks of respiratory exposure to a great number of different toxic organic compounds present in the electrical and plastic materials of which the equipment is made. Airborne particles are numerous, cover a wide range of sizes and are rich in toxic organic compounds. In the present work, a sampling program was conducted and ultrafine, fine and coarse airborne particles were collected in three EEE waste treatment plants. Afterwards, the extraction and analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), their nitro and oxygenated derivatives (nitroPAHs, oxyPAHs), organophosphorus compounds (OPEs), Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs), and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFASs) was performed. The percentage ratio of the mass of organic compounds and the mass of the ultrafine fraction of PM (PM0.1) was higher than those of the fine and coarse fractions. Even with low concentrations, the co-occurrence of numerous potentially toxic compounds capable of easily reaching other organs passing by the lung vasculature, through the lymph makes the working environment unhealthy.

The derivation of soil generic assessment criteria for polychlorinated biphenyls under the agricultural land scenario in Pearl and Yangtze River Delta regions, China

The agricultural soils in China are suffered from serious polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) contamination, however, the valid management standards for farmland are absent to efficiently control the health risks of PCBs exposure. This study analyzed the contamination characteristics and main composition of PCBs in agricultural soils of the southeastern China from the published literature over the past 20 years, and derived the regional generic assessment criteria (GAC) using an exposure modelling approach for individual and total PCBs (∑PCBs) via multiple exposure pathways such as ingestion of soil and dust, consumption of vegetables, dermal contact with soil and dust, ingestion of soil attached to vegetables, and inhalation of soil vapour and soil-derived dust outdoors under the agricultural land scenario. It is identified that the averaged ∑PCBs concentration of 80.03 ng g^-1 under the 95 % lower confidence limit with an unacceptable health risk of 4.8 × 10^-6 has significantly exceeded the integrated generic assessment criteria (expressed as GAC_int) of 16.5 ng g^-1. Accordingly, the exposure pathways from the consumption of agricultural produces and indirect ingestion of soil attached to vegetables contributed up to 62 %-88 % of the total exposure, followed by 11 %-33 % of the soil ingestion and 2 %-6 % of dermal contact. The derived GAC_int for ∑PCBs is extremely valuable to effectively assess and manage the PCBs contamination in agricultural soils of China.

Concepts of circular economy for sustainable management of electronic wastes: challenges and management options

The electronic and electrical industrial sector is exponentially growing throughout the globe, and sometimes, these wastes are being disposed of and discarded with a faster rate in comparison to the past era due to technology advancements. As the application of electronic devices is increasing due to the digitalization of the world (IT sector, medical, domestic, etc.), a heap of discarded e-waste is also being generated. Per-capita e-waste generation is very high in developed countries as compared to developing countries. Expansion of the global population and advancement of technologies are mainly responsible to increase the e-waste volume in our surroundings. E-waste is responsible for environmental threats as it may contain dangerous and toxic substances like metals which may have harmful effects on the biodiversity and environment. Furthermore, the life span and types of e-waste determine their harmful effects on nature, and unscientific practices of their disposal may elevate the level of threats as observed in most developing countries like India, Nigeria, Pakistan, and China. In the present review paper, many possible approaches have been discussed for effective e-waste management, such as recycling, recovery of precious metals, adopting the concepts of circular economy, formulating relevant policies, and use of advance computational techniques. On the other hand, it may also provide potential secondary resources valuable/critical materials whose primary sources are at significant supply risk. Furthermore, the use of machine learning approaches can also be useful in the monitoring and treatment/processing of e-wastes. HIGHLIGHTS: In 2019, ~ 53.6 million tons of e-wastes generated worldwide. Discarded e-wastes may be hazardous in nature due to presence of heavy metal compositions. Precious metals like gold, silver, and copper can also be procured from e-wastes. Advance tools like artificial intelligence/machine learning can be useful in the management of e-wastes.

A Facile and Rapid Strategy for Quantifying PCBs in Cereals Based on Dispersive Solid-Phase Extraction and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry: A Reference for Safety Concerns in Sustainable Textiles

Cereals and their derivative products such as starch and cyclodextrin are significant natural materials for sustainable textile processing (e.g., sizing, dispersing, etc.). However, the contamination of cereals with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is often neglected, which has led to increasing concerns due to the adverse effects on end users. Therefore, monitoring PCBs in cereals is of great importance in preventing health risks. However, high starch, protein, and fat contents make cereals a complicated matrix and can challenge the analysis of PCBs in cereals. This work describes a facile and rapid strategy for quantifying 18 PCBs in cereals that included corn, wheat, and rice through dispersive solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. Importantly, this was the first time that carboxyl-modified, multi-walled carbon nanotubes were incorporated in the detection of PCBs in cereals. The influences of several parameters on the extraction and clean-up efficiency were investigated; these included the type and volume of extraction solvent, sonication time, and the type and dosage of the adsorbent. The matrix effects on quantification were also evaluated. This approach exhibited a better clean-up performance. All the analytes showed weak matrix effects, and thus a solvent standard plot could be prepared for their quantification. Spiking experiments in the selected matrices at three concentration levels from 0.5 to 10 μg/kg resulted in satisfactory recoveries that ranged from 79.2% to 110.5% with relative standard deviations (RSDs; n = 6) less than 10.3%. The limits of detection (LODs) and quantification (LOQs) ranged from 0.04 to 0.1 μg/kg and 0.1 to 0.4 μg/kg, respectively. The practical application of this method was investigated by analyzing actual cereal samples, which demonstrated that the proposed approach was a facile and efficient strategy for PCB determination and provided a reference for the safety evaluation of sustainable textiles. The method also could be generalized to other troublesome samples for testing of multiple PCBs.

Direct evidence on occurrence of emerging liquid crystal monomers in human serum from E-waste dismantling workers: Implication for intake assessment

Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) are widely used chemicals and ubiquitous emerging organic pollutants in the environment, some of which have persistent, bio-accumulative, and toxic potentials. Elevated levels of LCMs have been found in the e-waste dismantling associated areas. However, information on their internal exposure bio-monitoring is scarce. For the first time, occurrences of LCMs were observed in the serum samples of occupational workers (n = 85) from an e-waste dismantling area in South China. Twenty-nine LCMs were detected in serum samples of the workers, with a median value of 35.2 ng/mL (range: 7.78-276 ng/mL). Eight noticed LCMs were found to have relatively high detection frequencies ranging from 52.9% to 96.5%. The correlation analysis of individual LCMs indicated potential common applications and similar sources to the LCMs in occupational workers. Fluorinated LCMs were identified as the predominant monomers in the workers. Additionally, the estimated daily intake of the LCMs in the occupational workers was significantly higher than those in residents from the reference areas (p < 0.05, Mann-Whitney U Test, median values: 1.46 ng/kg bw/day versus 0.40 ng/kg bw/day), indicating a substantially higher exposure level to e-waste dismantling workers.

Spatial distribution and ecological risks of polychlorinated biphenyls in a river basin affected by traditional and emerging electronic waste recycling in South China

With development of e-waste related legislation in China, formal recycling activities are designated in some areas while informal ones are illegally transferred to emerging areas to avoid supervision. However, the resulting environmental impact and ecological risks are not clear. Here, we investigated the discharge of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to soil and aquatic environments by e-waste recycling activities in the Lian River Basin, China. The study area included a designated industrial park in the traditional e-waste recycling area (Guiyu, known as the world's largest e-waste center), several emerging informal recycling zones, and their surrounding areas and coastal area. A total of 27 PCBs were analyzed, and the highest concentration was found in an emerging site for soil (354 ng g^-1) and in a traditional site for sediment (1350 ng g^--1) respectively. The pollution levels were significantly higher in both the traditional and emerging recycling areas than in their respective upstream countryside areas (p = 0.0356 and 0.0179, respectively). Source analysis revealed that the traditional and emerging areas had similar PCB sources mainly associated with three PCB technical mixtures manufactured in Japan (KC600) and the USA (Aroclor 1260 and Aroclor 1262). The PCB pollution in their downstream areas including the coastal area was evidently affected by the formal and informal recycling activities through river runoff. The ecological risk assessments showed that PCBs in soils and sediments in the Lian River Basin could cause adverse ecotoxicological consequences to humans and aquatic organisms.

Environmental contamination and human exposure of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in China: A review

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), together with 11 other organic compounds, were initially listed as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) by the Stockholm Convention because of their potential threat to ecosystems and humans. In China, many monitoring studies have been undertaken to reveal the level of PCBs in environment since 2005 due to the introduced stricter environmental regulations. However, there are still significant gaps in understanding the overall spatial and temporal distributions of PCBs in China. This review systematically discusses the occurrence and distribution of PCBs in environmental matrices, organisms, and humans in China. Results showed that PCB contamination in northern and southern China was not significantly different, but the PCB levels in East China were commonly higher than those in West China, which might have been due to the widespread consumption of PCBs and intensive human activities in East China. Serious PCB contamination was found in e-waste disassembling areas (e.g., Taizhou of Zhejiang Province and Qingyuan and Guiyu of Guangdong Province). Higher PCB concentrations were also chronicled in megalopolises and industrial clusters. The unintentionally produced PCBs (UP-PCBs) formed during industrial thermal processes may play an increasingly significant role in PCB pollution in China. Low PCB levels were recorded in rural and underdeveloped districts, particularly in remote and high-altitude localities such as the Tibetan Plateau and the South China Sea. However, these data are limited. Human exposure to PCBs is closely related to the characteristics of environmental pollution. This review also discusses existing issues and future research prospects on PCBs in China. For instance, the accumulation characteristics and migration regularities of PCBs in food webs should be further studied. More investigations should be undertaken to assess the quantitative relationship between external and internal exposure to PCBs. For example, bioaccessibility and bioavailability studies should be supplemented to evaluate human health risks more accurately.

The Potential Risk of Electronic Waste Disposal into Aquatic Media: The Case of Personal Computer Motherboards

Considering that electronic wastes (e-wastes) have been recently recognized as a potent environmental and human threat, the present study aimed to assess the potential risk of personal computer motherboards (PCMBs) leaching into aquatic media, following a real-life scenario. Specifically, PCMBs were submerged for 30 days in both distilled water (DW) and artificial seawater (ASW). Afterwards, PCMBs leachates were chemically characterized (i.e., total organic carbon, ions, and trace elements) and finally used (a) for culturing freshwater (Chlorococcum sp. and Scenedesmus rubescens) and saltwater (Dunaliella tertiolecta and Tisochrysis lutea) microalgae for 10 days (240 h), (b) as the exposure medium for mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis (96 h exposure), and (c) for performing the Cytokinesis Block Micronucleus (CBMN) assay in human lymphocytes cultures. According to the results, PCMBs could mediate both fresh- and marine algae growth rates over time, thus enhancing the cytotoxic, oxidative, and genotoxic effects in the hemocytes of mussels (in terms of lysosomal membrane impairment, lipid peroxidation, and NO content and micronuclei formation, respectively), as well as human lymphocytes (in terms of MN formation and CBPI values, respectively). The current findings clearly revealed that PCMBs leaching into the aquatic media could pose detrimental effects on both aquatic organisms and human cells.

Study on Rheological Properties of Bituminous Binders and Mixtures Containing Waste Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) and SBR Compound Modified Bitumen

Improper handling of waste printed circuit boards (PCBs) can cause serious pollution to the water and soil environments. In order to explore a new method of recycling waste PCBs, this study investigated the effect of PCBs and butadiene styrene rubber (SBR) on the rheological properties of neat bitumen. The dynamic shear rheological (DSR) test was used to study the effect of different PCB contents on the high-temperature rheological properties of SBR-modified bitumen. Fluorescence microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy were used to study the microstructure change law and modification mechanism of PCB and SBR composite modified bitumen. Finally, the feasibility of the bitumen properties was verified through a test of the bituminous mixture properties. The DSR test results showed that the addition of PCBs improves the elastic recovery modulus, dynamic shear modulus, and rutting factor of SBR-modified bitumen, indicating that the high-temperature properties were improved. Infrared spectroscopy analysis revealed that a new absorption peak was generated in the infrared spectrum of the compound bitumen after the addition of PCBs, and the intensity of the original absorption peak also changed, indicating that PCBs and SBR-modified bitumen were mainly physically blended and accompanied by a weak chemical reaction. It was further found that the absorption peak of the unsaturated C=C double bond was significantly enhanced, and the increase in the content of the unsaturated bond C=C in the main chain of the polymer significantly increases the stiffness of the bitumen. Macroscopically, the high-temperature rutting resistance was improved to a certain extent. The fluorescence diagram shows that when PCBs do not exceed 10%, the PCBs can form a homogeneous structure and be dispersed in SBR-modified bitumen. The road test of PCBs and SBR composite modified bituminous mixtures showed that PCBs can significantly improve the rutting resistance and water stability of SBR-modified bitumen at high temperatures at the recommended optimum content. The crack resistance at low temperatures is weakened but still meets actual engineering requirements. The correlation analysis between the properties of bitumen and bituminous mixtures is carried out based on grey correlation theory. The results show that the index of modified bitumen has a very good guiding effect on the bituminous mixture properties. The development of PCBs and SBR composite-modified bitumen provides a new practical method for recycling waste PCBs.

Liquid Crystal Monomers (LCMs) in Sediments: Method Validation and Detection in Sediment Samples from Three Typical Areas

Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) have been proposed to be persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) substances; however, there is a dearth of information regarding their occurrence in sediment samples. Here, an analytical method was developed for the quantitative determination of LCMs in sediment samples, and n = 76 sediment samples were collected and analyzed to determine accurate concentrations of LCMs. Our results indicated that the developed pretreatment procedure was applicable for the determination of LCM concentrations in sediments. We observed that LCMs were detected in 75 out of the 76 sediment samples, and 23, 18, and 14 out of the 39 target LCMs were quantified in at least one of the analyzed sediments from rivers around LCM or liquid crystal device (LCD) manufacturers, Taihu Lake, and rivers around e-waste recycling sites, respectively. The LCMs in the samples from rivers around LCM/LCD manufacturers exhibited the greatest mean concentrations of 26.1 ng/g dry weight (dw), followed by those from e-waste recycling site areas (1.15 ng/g dw) and Taihu Lake (0.076 ng/g dw). Collectively, this study provided the first analytical method that was able to quantify the concentrations of LCMs in sediment samples and provided the first evidence for the occurrence of LCMs in sediment samples.

Environmental and health impacts due to e-waste disposal in China - A review

E-waste is discarded and shipped mostly to developing countries located in Asian continent for disposal from other developed countries. Especially 70% of the world's e-waste ends up in Guiyu, a small town located in Guangdong Province of China. As little as 25% is recycled in formal recycling centers with adequate protection for workers and the other e-waste arrived in those areas is not handled in organized manner. As per reports only roughly 12.5% of e-waste is actually recycled, and the recycling efforts in those regions are primitive and result in toxic substances being leached into the surrounding ecosystems. In addition to persistent organic pollutants, there are many heavy metals found in the ground and river sediments in Guiyu, exceeding the threshold set to protect human health. Those areas are no longer suitable for growing food, and water is unsafe for drinking, due to the amount of toxins leached into the groundwater and land. Hazardous threats to environment and human health due to hazardous substances of e-waste all around China, as well as the current e-waste management were documented in this review. The article concludes with controlled contamination sources, and eco-friendly and efficient remediation technologies to solve e-waste problem in China.

Residual effects of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in an e-waste recycling area compared with heavy metal pollution

Disposal of e-waste is a global issue and has caused serious pollution in recycling areas. Most of these areas had once developed intensive agriculture and might incur organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) pollution. However, this used to be neglected. Here we discuss the joint effects via analyzing OCPs and heavy metals in a notorious e-waste recycling area. The OCPs showed higher (p = 0.005) pollution levels in soils from agricultural zone than in core e-waste recycling zone, which is opposite for heavy metals (p = 0.02). The OCPs and heavy metals showed the highest concentrations in the open burning site locating in the boundary between the e-waste and agricultural zones. Composition profiles further indicated that the land use changes from agriculture to e-waste industry might accelerate the release of buried OCPs. Worse still, the OCPs and heavy metals might pose carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks to local residents, respectively.