title: Metals and polybrominated diphenyl ethers leaching from electronic waste in simulated landfills.
abstract: Landfills established prior to the recognition of potential impacts from the leaching of heavy metals and toxic organic compounds often lack appropriate barriers and pose significant risks of contamination of groundwater. In this study, bioavailable metal(oids) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in leachates from landfill columns that contained intact or broken e-waste were studied under conditions that simulate landfills in terms of waste components and methods of disposal of e-wastes, and with realistic rainfall. Fourteen elements and PBDEs were analysed in leachates over a period of 21 months. The results demonstrate that the average concentrations of Al, Ba, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sb and V in leachates from the column that contained broken e-waste items were significantly higher than the column without e-waste. BDE-153 was the highest average PBDEs congener in all columns but the average of ∑PBDEs levels in columns that contained intact e-waste were (3.7 ng/l) and were not significantly higher than that in the leachates from the control column.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Campus, Adelaide 5095, Australia.
authors.forename: Peeranart
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kiddee
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Naidu
authors.forename: Ming H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis; D059029:Electronic Waste; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000032:analysis*; D008670:Metals / Q000032:analysis*; D011891:Rain; D012037:Refuse Disposal; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D008670:Metals; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001151:Arsenic