An assessment of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polychlorinated biphenyls in the indoor dust of e-waste recycling facilities in South Africa: implications for occupational exposure

Abstract

Workplace exposure to persistent organic pollutants is a concern for human health. This study examined the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the indoor dust from two major e-waste recycling sites and a university electronic equipment repair workshop in Durban, South Africa, in order to evaluate the implication of dust for occupational exposure. The mean ∑(n = 8)PBDEs and ∑(n = 3)PCBs were 20,094 and 235 ng g(-1), respectively. The levels of PBDEs and PCBs obtained in one of the recycling sites (123-27,530 and 161-593 ng g(-1)) were significantly higher than the levels obtained (91-7686 and <DL-42 ng g(-1), respectively) in the same site after site cleanup/maintenance. Occupational exposure was assessed for different exposure scenarios by using the 5th and 95th percentile, and the median and mean concentrations measured at the sites. By assuming a mean and a high dust intake rate, the average and 95th percentile daily exposure doses (∑DED/ng kg(-1) bw day(-1)) of PBDEs were 3.98, 8.52 and 7.58, 16.19, respectively, and of PCBs were 0.047, 0.094 and 0.089, 0.179, respectively. The ∑DEDs of PBDEs and PCBs were lower than the reference (RfD) values for BDE 47, BDE 99, BDE 153 and BDE 209, and Aroclor 1254 and 1016. Nevertheless, continual exposure to high levels of these pollutants is a concern; but as shown, the exposure can be significantly reduced if the e-waste facilities are cleaned thoroughly regularly.

Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls in soil and indoor dust associated with electricity generation facilities in Lagos, Nigeria

“…They also exceed those in other previous studies, (Tue et al, 2013;Tan et al, 2007;Ali et al, 2012) reported PCBs in Vietnamese homes around e-waste sites; Singaporean, Kuwaiti, and Pakistani homes respectively; but are lower than those reported by Abafe andMartincigh, 2015 andZheng et al, 2015 for South African offices and homes around e-waste handling sites respectively. Worthy of note is the similar congener profile in our report to the other two reports on PCBs in dust from African countries (Harrad et al, 2016;Abafe and Martincigh, 2015) (Table 2). This may imply that the PCB formulations used in Nigeria and South Africa are similarly dominated by higher chlorinated congeners (Harrad et al, 2009) such as Aroclor 1260.…”

“…To the best of our knowledge, there are only two reports of PCB concentrations in indoor dust in Africa. Firstly, Abafe et al, 2015 measured concentrations of three PCB congeners (PCB 28,153,and 180) in indoor dust samples from ten homes, eleven offices, and thirteen computer laboratories in Durban, South Africa. The second report measured six indicator PCBs in dust samples from three microenvironment categories (homes, cars and offices) in Nigeria (Harrad et al, 2016).…”

Global occurrence, chemical properties, and ecological impacts of e-wastes (IUPAC Technical Report)

“…Similarly, Isimekhai et al [93] reported high levels of metals at the e-waste recycling site in Nigeria; the levels of copper (329 to 7106 mg kg −1 ), lead (115 to 9623 mg kg −1 ), and zinc (508 to 8178 mg kg −1 ) were consistently Pakistan [27,39] Philippines [91,113] South Africa [114] Uruguay [115] Vietnam [113] Physical dismantling using bare hands and simple hand tools such as hammers, chisels screw drivers to separate different material *From a number of workshops; GM: geometric mean.…”

Global occurrence, chemical properties, and ecological impacts of e-wastes (IUPAC Technical Report)

“…Soil samples collected from the acid leaching area in an informal recycling site in Guiyu were also found to contain high levels of antimony, cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, tin, and zinc [88]. The detection Pakistan [27,39] Philippines [91,113] South Africa [114] Uruguay [115] Vietnam [113] Physical dismantling using bare hands and simple hand tools such as hammers, chisels screw drivers to separate different material of the less common contaminants (antimony and tin) at levels higher than the principal contaminants suggests the need to take into account other chemical constituents of EEE. Elevated levels of cadmium, lead, Mercury, and zinc are still being detected in soil in Ziya, northern China, where informal e-waste recycling ceased in 2011 [89], highlighting the legacy of non-biodegradable and persistent pollutants and the need for the clean-up of historical e-waste recycling sites.…”