Air Quality Impacts at an E‐Waste Site in Ghana Using Flexible, Moderate‐Cost and Quality‐Assured Measurements

Abstract

Air quality information is scarce in low‐ and middle‐income countries. This study describes the application of moderate cost approaches that can provide spatial and temporal information on concentrations of particulate matter (PM) needed to assess community and occupational exposures. We evaluated PM levels at the Agbogbloshie e‐waste and scrap yard site in Accra, Ghana, and at upwind and downwind locations, obtaining both optical and gravimetric measurements, local meteorological data and satellite aerosol optical depth. Due to overload issues, the gravimetric 24‐hr samplers were modified for periodic sampling and some optical data were screened for quality assurance. Exceptionally high concentrations (e.g., 1‐hr average PM10 exceeding 2000 μg/m3) were sometimes encountered near combustion sources, including open fires at the e‐waste site and spoil piles. 24‐hr PM2.5 levels averaged 31, 88 and 57 μg/m3 at upwind, e‐waste and downwind sites, respectively, and PM10 averaged 145, 214 and 190 μg/m3, considerably exceeding air quality standards. Upwind levels likely reflected biomass burning that is prevalent in the surrounding informal settlements; levels at the e‐waste and downwind sites also reflected contributions from biomass combustion and traffic. The highest PM levels occurred in evenings, influenced by diurnal changes in emission rates, atmospheric dispersion and wind direction shifts. We demonstrate that moderate cost instrumentation, with some modifications, appropriate data cleaning protocols, and attention to understanding local sources and background levels, can be used to characterize spatial and temporal variation in PM levels in urban and industrial areas.

Opportunities and challenges in reducing personal inhalation exposure to air pollution among electronic waste recovery workers in Ghana

“…Optical measurements can be affected by particle characteristics, instrument response, inlet and sampling configurations, and humidity, and thus site‐specific correction factors are often recommended. On the basis of a related study at the Agbogbloshie site where both optical measurements (using the same instrument as in the present study) and gravimetric measurements were collected at fixed monitoring sites, optical PM 2.5 measurements were biased downwards by 21% from gravimetric measurements 32 . The backpack samplers, however, differed from the tested configuration in that the sampling inlet on the chest strap was connected to the instrument in the backpack using a length of tubing.…”

“…Higher personal PM concentrations during Wave I in comparison to II and III may be due to the higher number of burning activities performed by the participants; in Wave I, 50 burning events were recorded in comparison to 32 during Waves II and III combined. Furthermore, it is unlikely that Harmattan winds contributed to personal or background PM measurements; out of a total of 27 days during which possible Harmattan dust were identified using satellite data for the Dec 2017–Feb 2018 period, 32 only seven overlapped with days of personal sampling. Among the days of the week, Mondays are associated with the highest, and Thursdays and Fridays with the lowest, concentrations of PM 2.5 and PM 2.5–10 , although the confidence intervals are wide.…”

“…Hourly averages of PM 10 that exceeded 2,000 µg m −3 (<1%) were considered potentially biased due to coincidence error (i.e., when multiple small particles appear as larger particles resulting in an overestimate of large channel particles) and censored. This decision was made based on our experience with these instruments and a comparison between OPC and gravimetric filter‐based measurements collected at Agbogbloshie 32 . Area monitoring did not occur during Wave I (March 2017) due to problems establishing electricity service at the site.…”

“…The surrounding land‐use includes a four‐lane road with intermittent traffic, rubbish collection, and occasional biomass burning. As of mid‐October 2017, after the upwind monitoring site was established, changes in the surrounding land‐uses were made, including intermittent fires and smoldering of dredged materials placed immediately to the southeast and West of the monitoring site 32 …”

Micronutrient Status of Electronic Waste Recyclers at Agbogbloshie, Ghana

“…Several studies have investigated metals exposure among e-waste recyclers [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. However, no attention has been given to investigating the micronutrient status of e-waste recyclers, despite the fact that they are continuously exposed to toxic metals and other environmental contaminants believed to negatively affect nutritional status [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ].…”