Health Risks of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) and Metals at Informal Electronic Waste Recycling Sites

Ohajinwa, Chimere May; Bodegom, Peter M. van; Osibanjo, Oladele; Xie, Qing; Chen, Jingwen; Vijver, Martina G.; Peijnenburg, Willie J.G.M.

doi:10.3390/ijerph16060906

Cited by 42 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Fang et al (2013) found high hazard index for workers in mechanical sorting and dismantling workshops caused by dust ingestion with Pb being the greatest contributor in both workshops (80% to 92% of hazard index). Ohajinwa et al (2019a) found negligible non-cancer risks around the e-recycling workshops, except for workers in the repair area where the hazard index was higher than one due to dust ingestion directly from e-waste.…”

Section: Non-carcinogenic Riskmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…When exposure to more than one substance is being assessed, the hazard quotients can be summed to calculate a hazard index, thus indicating the risk from multiple hazards (Ohajinwa et al, 2019a). As with the hazard quotients, if the hazard index is greater than one, the potential for non-cancer risk is significant, if it is less than one, then the non-cancer risk is considered non-significant (Cao et al, 2020).…”

Section: Non-carcinogenic Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Five studies calculated the hazard quotients as a result of soil and dust ingestion ( Table 12 and Table 13). The pathway for exposure to soil and dust is through deposition on food, hand-to-mouth activity and/or direct soil consumption, usually by children (Ohajinwa et al, 2019a). Two studies reported the non-cancer risk induced by soil ingestion for residents living in e-recycling sites indicating significant non-cancer risk for children and low risk for adults living near informal e-recycling areas (Ackah, 2019;Fujimori et al, 2012).…”

Section: Non-carcinogenic Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In) (Fujimori et al, 2012). In addition, Fang et al (2013) and Ohajinwa et al (2019a) determined the non-cancer risk for occupationally exposed receptors through dust ingestion in and around different e-recycling workshops related to dismantling. Fang et al (2013) found high hazard index for workers in mechanical sorting and dismantling workshops caused by dust ingestion with Pb being the greatest contributor in both workshops (80% to 92% of hazard index).…”

Section: Non-carcinogenic Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Substances present in soil and dust can adhere to exposed skin leading to dermal absorption and therefore dermal exposure to PTEs via soil and dust can occur (Ohajinwa et al, 2019a).…”

Section: Non-carcinogenic Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Physical processing, dismantling and hydrometallurgical treatment of e-waste: A systematic review of risks to occupational and public health

Cook¹,

Velis²,

Gerassimidou³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Across the Global South, electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) is recovered using rudimentary and often dangerous methods in informal and unregulated facilities. Although these activities provide a valuable contribution to the global circular economy, their uncontrolled nature results in a risk of potentially hazardous substance emission into the environment from where they may pose considerable risk to both occupational and public health. Here, we focus a systematic PRISMA review on two distinct groups of activities undertaken in e-waste management in low- and middle-income countries (LIMICs): (i) Physical deconstruction and reclamation, involving dismantling assemblies of items and materials to recover value; and, (ii) hydrometallurgical treatment, involving the dissolution and suspension of precious metals using solvents (cyanide) and acids (aqua regia). For comparison purposes, we consolidate information on (i) and (ii) according to the types of substances evidenced; and identify, critically assess and rank most prevalent hazard-pathway-receptor (H-P-R) risk combinations experienced by people working across the Global South. Despite the proliferation of publications, evidence to assess risk is comparatively limited. Still, we are confident to highlight the extremely hazardous nature of work undertaken, often by children, handling highly hazardous substances without protective equipment to reclaim gold and other precious metals using hydrometallurgical processes. Emissions of hazardous substances, particularly potentially toxic elements (PTEs) from physical dismantling also represent a serious risk to health. Numerous sources speculatively link concentrations in the environment (a significant risk to children who have a tendency to eat soil) to e-waste dismantling processed. However, many of the sources that identify elevated substance concentrations in environmental media face difficulties in unambiguously and convincingly linking emissions from specific activities to the environmental concentrations, i.e. establishing causality. This key limitation presents us with a challenge for designing and implementing interventions to target, control and replace such highly risky resource recovery methods. Yet, such insufficient information cannot be used as an excuse for inaction, especially as our generalized H-P-R inferences here provide for sufficient interlinkages.

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Section: Non-carcinogenic Riskmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Non-carcinogenic Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Non-carcinogenic Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Non-carcinogenic Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Substances present in soil and dust can adhere to exposed skin leading to dermal absorption and therefore dermal exposure to PTEs via soil and dust can occur (Ohajinwa et al, 2019a).…”

Section: Non-carcinogenic Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

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