Severe PCDD/F and PBDD/F pollution in air around an electronic waste dismantling area in China.
The presence of chlorinated and brominated compounds in electronic waste (EW) results in the formation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PBDD/Fs) during the EW dismantling process. In this study, we investigated the dioxins present in ambient air around the EW dismantling area Guiyu in Guangdong, China. Atmospheric PCDD/F (tetra to octa) abundances and toxic equivalent (TEQ) values were 64.9-2365 pg/m3 and 0.909-48.9 pg of W-TEQ/m3, respectively; these are the highest documented values of these compounds found in ambient air in the world. PBDD/Fs (eight 2,3,7,8-substituted congeners) were also found at high pollution levels (concentrations of 8.124-61 pg/m3 and 1.6-2104 pg of I-TEQ/m3). Profiles of the 2,3,7,8-PCDD/F homologues in the air of Guiyu differed from typical urban air patterns reported in the literature, and the concentration of homologues increased with the chlorination degree of 2,3,7,8-PCDD/Fs except for OCDF. The severe dioxin pollution present in Guiyu substantially influences the adjacent area of Chendian, where atmospheric PCDD/F and 2,3,7,8-PBDD/F levels are higher than those of common urban areas in the world. Our tentative inhalation risk assessment showed that residents in Guiyu are at a high risk of exposure to dioxins. The total PCDD/F intake doses far exceed the WHO 1998 tolerable daily intake limit of 1-4 pg of W-TEQ kg(-1) day(-1).
Li
Huiru
H
State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
Yu
Liping
L
Sheng
Guoying
G
Fu
Jiamo
J
Peng
Ping'an
P
D000397:Air Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D001272:Atmosphere / Q000737:chemistry; D001572:Benzofurans / Q000032:analysis*; D002681:China; D004581:Electronics; D005740:Gases; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012621:Seasons
D001572:Benzofurans; D005740:Gases; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; C023614:dibenzofuran