title: Heavy metal contamination of soil and water in the vicinity of an abandoned e-waste recycling site: implications for dissemination of heavy metals.
abstract: Illegal e-waste recycling activity has caused heavy metal pollution in many developing countries, including China. In recent years, the Chinese government has strengthened enforcement to impede such activity; however, the heavy metals remaining in the abandoned e-waste recycling site can still pose ecological risk. The present study aimed to investigate the concentrations of heavy metals in soil and water in the vicinity of an abandoned e-waste recycling site in Longtang, South China. Results showed that the surface soil of the former burning and acid-leaching sites was still heavily contaminated with Cd (>0.39 mg kg(-1)) and Cu (>1981 mg kg(-1)), which exceeded their respective guideline levels. The concentration of heavy metals generally decreased with depth in both burning site and paddy field, which is related to the elevated pH and reduced TOM along the depth gradient. The pond water was seriously acidified and contaminated with heavy metals, while the well water was slightly contaminated since heavy metals were mostly retained in the surface soil. The use of pond water for irrigation resulted in considerable heavy metal contamination in the paddy soil. Compared with previous studies, the reduced heavy metal concentrations in the surface soil imply that heavy metals were transported to the other areas, such as pond. Therefore, immediate remediation of the contaminated soil and water is necessary to prevent dissemination of heavy metals and potential ecological disaster.
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China; Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Qihang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, 5005 Australia. Electronic address: jonathan_0919@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Jonathan Y S
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors.forename: Xinhua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Geng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
authors.forename: Shejun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors.forename: Xuexia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors.forename: Haiyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors.forename: Zhuying
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors.forename: Libin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors.forename: Jiahao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors.forename: Yayin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D059029:Electronic Waste; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D059027:Recycling; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Abandoned site; E-waste; Ecological risk; Heavy metal; Soil; Water