title: High levels of antimony in dust from e-waste recycling in southeastern China.
abstract: Environmental contamination due to uncontrolled e-waste recycling is an emerging global issue. Antimony (Sb) is a toxic element used in semiconductor components and flame retardants for circuit board within electronic equipment. When e-waste is recycled, Sb is released and contaminates the surrounding environment; however, few studies have characterized the extent of this problem. In this study, we investigated Sb and arsenic (As) distributions in indoor dust from 13 e-waste recycling villages in Guiyu, Guangdong Province, southeastern China. Results revealed significantly elevated concentrations of Sb (6.1-232 mg/kg) in dust within all villages, which were 3.9-147 times higher than those from the non e-waste sites, indicating e-waste recycling was an important source of Sb pollution. On the contrary, As concentrations (5.4-17.7 mg/kg) in e-waste dusts were similar to reference values from the control sites. Therefore, dusts emitted from e-waste recycling may be characterized by high Sb/As ratios, which may help identify the contamination due to the e-waste recycling activities.
authors: State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China. bixy@cug.edu.cn
authors: Xiangyang
authors: X
authors: Bi
authors: Zhonggen
authors: Z
authors: Li
authors: Xiaochun
authors: X
authors: Zhuang
authors: Zhixuan
authors: Z
authors: Han
authors: Wenlin
authors: W
authors: Yang
mesh_terms: D000965:Antimony / Q000032:analysis*; D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis*; D002681:China; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis*; D004581:Electronics; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D059027:Recycling; D012037:Refuse Disposal
chemical_list: D004391:Dust; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D000965:Antimony; D001151:Arsenic