title: Multiple elemental exposures amongst workers at the Agbogbloshie electronic waste (e-waste) site in Ghana.
abstract: Electronic waste (e-waste) recycling is growing worldwide and raising a number of environmental health concerns. One of the largest e-waste sites is Agbogbloshie (Ghana). While several toxic elements have been reported in Agbogbloshie's environment, there is limited knowledge of human exposures there. The objectives of this study were to characterize exposures to several essential (copper, iron, manganese, selenium, zinc) and toxic (arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, mercury, nickel, lead) elements in the urine and blood of male workers (n = 58) at Agbogbloshie, as well as females (n = 11) working in activities that serve the site, and to relate these exposures to sociodemographic and occupational characteristics. The median number of years worked at the site was 5, and the average worker indicated being active in 6.8 tasks (of 9 key e-waste job categories). Additionally, we categorized four main e-waste activities (in brackets % of population self-reported main activity): dealing (22.4%), sorting (24.1%), dismantling (50%), and burning (3.4%) e-waste materials. Many blood and urinary elements (including essential ones) were within biomonitoring reference ranges. However, blood cadmium (1.2 μg/L median) and lead (6.4 μg/dl; 67% above U.S. CDC/NIOSH reference level), and urinary arsenic (38.3 μg/L; 39% above U.S. ATSDR value) levels were elevated compared to background populations elsewhere. Workers who burned e-waste tended to have the highest biomarker levels. The findings of this study contribute to a growing body of work at Agbogbloshie (and elsewhere) to document that individuals working within e-waste sites are exposed to a number of toxic elements, some at potentially concerning levels.
authors: Department of Biological, Environmental, and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana.
authors: Roland Kofi
authors: RK
authors: Srigboh
authors: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Electronic address: niladri.basu@mcgill.ca.
authors: Niladri
authors: N
authors: Basu
authors: Department of Biological, Environmental, and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana.
authors: Judith
authors: J
authors: Stephens
authors: Department of Biological, Environmental, and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana.
authors: Emmanuel
authors: E
authors: Asampong
authors: Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors: Marie
authors: M
authors: Perkins
authors: Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors: Richard L
authors: RL
authors: Neitzel
authors: Department of Biological, Environmental, and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana.
authors: Julius
authors: J
authors: Fobil
mesh_terms: D059029:Electronic Waste / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana; D064371:Hazardous Waste Sites; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D059027:Recycling
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy
keywords: Biomarkers; Elemental analyses; Exposure assessment; Metals; Occupational exposures; Workplace