Environmental impact and human exposure to PCBs in Guiyu, an electronic waste recycling site in China

Guan Hua Xing; Janet Kit Yan Chan; Anna Oi Wah LEUNG; Sheng Chun Wu; Ming Hung WONG

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2008.07.025

Environmental impact and human exposure to PCBs in Guiyu, an electronic waste recycling site in China

Guan Hua Xing, Janet Kit Yan Chan, Anna Oi Wah LEUNG, Sheng Chun Wu, Ming Hung WONG^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review

193 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

PCB levels in fish (collected from local rivers), atmosphere and human milk samples have been studied to determine the exposure levels of PCBs for local residents and e-waste workers in Guiyu, a major electronic waste scrapping center in China. The source appointment and correlation analyses showed that homologue composition of PCBs in 7 species of fish were consistent and similar to commercial PCBs Aroclor 1248. PCB levels in air surrounding the open burning site were significantly higher than those in residential area. Inhalation exposure contributed 27% and 93% to the total body loadings (the sum of dietary and inhalation exposure) of the local residents, and e-waste workers engaged in open burning respectively. Total PCB concentrations in human milk ranged from N.D. to 57.6 ng/g lipid, with an average of 9.50 ng/g lipid. The present results indicated that commercial PCBs derived from e-waste recycling are major sources of PCBs accumulating in different environmental media, leading to the accumulation of high chlorinated biphenyls in human beings.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	76-82
Number of pages	7
Journal	Environment International
Volume	35
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2008.07.025
Publication status	Published - Jan 2009

Scopus Subject Areas

Environmental Science(all)

User-Defined Keywords

Dietary exposure
E-waste
Inhalation exposure
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
Risk assessment

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.envint.2008.07.025

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title = "Environmental impact and human exposure to PCBs in Guiyu, an electronic waste recycling site in China",

abstract = "PCB levels in fish (collected from local rivers), atmosphere and human milk samples have been studied to determine the exposure levels of PCBs for local residents and e-waste workers in Guiyu, a major electronic waste scrapping center in China. The source appointment and correlation analyses showed that homologue composition of PCBs in 7 species of fish were consistent and similar to commercial PCBs Aroclor 1248. PCB levels in air surrounding the open burning site were significantly higher than those in residential area. Inhalation exposure contributed 27% and 93% to the total body loadings (the sum of dietary and inhalation exposure) of the local residents, and e-waste workers engaged in open burning respectively. Total PCB concentrations in human milk ranged from N.D. to 57.6 ng/g lipid, with an average of 9.50 ng/g lipid. The present results indicated that commercial PCBs derived from e-waste recycling are major sources of PCBs accumulating in different environmental media, leading to the accumulation of high chlorinated biphenyls in human beings.",

keywords = "Dietary exposure, E-waste, Inhalation exposure, Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), Risk assessment",

author = "Xing, {Guan Hua} and Chan, {Janet Kit Yan} and LEUNG, {Anna Oi Wah} and Wu, {Sheng Chun} and WONG, {Ming Hung}",

note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by The Research Grants Council of the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong (Central Allocation, Group Research, No. HKBU 1/03C), Match Fund from Hong Kong Baptist University, and a private donation.",

year = "2009",

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doi = "10.1016/j.envint.2008.07.025",

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journal = "Environment International",

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AU - Xing, Guan Hua

AU - Chan, Janet Kit Yan

AU - LEUNG, Anna Oi Wah

AU - Wu, Sheng Chun

AU - WONG, Ming Hung

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by The Research Grants Council of the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong (Central Allocation, Group Research, No. HKBU 1/03C), Match Fund from Hong Kong Baptist University, and a private donation.

PY - 2009/1

Y1 - 2009/1

N2 - PCB levels in fish (collected from local rivers), atmosphere and human milk samples have been studied to determine the exposure levels of PCBs for local residents and e-waste workers in Guiyu, a major electronic waste scrapping center in China. The source appointment and correlation analyses showed that homologue composition of PCBs in 7 species of fish were consistent and similar to commercial PCBs Aroclor 1248. PCB levels in air surrounding the open burning site were significantly higher than those in residential area. Inhalation exposure contributed 27% and 93% to the total body loadings (the sum of dietary and inhalation exposure) of the local residents, and e-waste workers engaged in open burning respectively. Total PCB concentrations in human milk ranged from N.D. to 57.6 ng/g lipid, with an average of 9.50 ng/g lipid. The present results indicated that commercial PCBs derived from e-waste recycling are major sources of PCBs accumulating in different environmental media, leading to the accumulation of high chlorinated biphenyls in human beings.

AB - PCB levels in fish (collected from local rivers), atmosphere and human milk samples have been studied to determine the exposure levels of PCBs for local residents and e-waste workers in Guiyu, a major electronic waste scrapping center in China. The source appointment and correlation analyses showed that homologue composition of PCBs in 7 species of fish were consistent and similar to commercial PCBs Aroclor 1248. PCB levels in air surrounding the open burning site were significantly higher than those in residential area. Inhalation exposure contributed 27% and 93% to the total body loadings (the sum of dietary and inhalation exposure) of the local residents, and e-waste workers engaged in open burning respectively. Total PCB concentrations in human milk ranged from N.D. to 57.6 ng/g lipid, with an average of 9.50 ng/g lipid. The present results indicated that commercial PCBs derived from e-waste recycling are major sources of PCBs accumulating in different environmental media, leading to the accumulation of high chlorinated biphenyls in human beings.

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KW - E-waste

KW - Inhalation exposure

KW - Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

KW - Risk assessment

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Environmental impact and human exposure to PCBs in Guiyu, an electronic waste recycling site in China

Abstract

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UN SDGs

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