Inorganic and organic pollution in agricultural soil from an emerging e-waste recycling town in Taizhou area, China

E-waste: a problem or an opportunity? Review of issues, challenges and solutions in Asian countries

“…PCBs were detected ranging from 16 to 2990 ng/g dw exceeding the Canadian freshwater sediment quality guideline of 34 ng/g dw by nearly 20-90 times. Further investigation into impact of PCBs near an e-waste recycling workshop in an unnamed town in China revealed mean PCB concentrations of 142.3 µg/kg significantly exceeding the PCB levels in Dalian, a rural town in China (1.34 µg/kg), Hong Kong (2.45 µg/kg) and global mean (5.4 µg/kg) (Tang et al, 2010a). Similar findings were noted for PAHs where levels ranged from 2820 to 7880 ng/g dw which is 8-22 times higher than other towns in China ).…”

“…Contaminants in sediments and study area Reference PCBs, PAHs and heavy metals of surface sediments of Nanguan River, Taizhou, East China Contamination in agricultural soil from range of metals, PAHs and PCBs in Taizhou, East China (Tang et al, 2010a) Contamination of sediments by heavy metals, PAHs and PCBs in the town Wenling, e-waste recycling city, Taizhou, China (Tang et al, 2010b) Heavy metal contamination in soils and vegetables near an ewaste processing site, Longtang, Guangdong province, China Heavy metal contamination of surface soil in an electronic waste dismantling area in Guiyu, Guangdong province, China Jinhui Li et al, 2011 Contamination by trace elements at e-waste recycling sites in Bangalore, India (Ha et al, 2009) Concentrations and profiles of PCDD/Fs in discarded electronic waste open burning site in China (Mingzhong et al, 2010) Levels and isomer profiles of Dechlorane Plus (DP) in the surface soils from e-waste recycling areas and industrial areas in South China PBDEs in soils and vegetations near an e-waste recycling site in South China (Wang et al, 2005), (Wang et al, 2011b) Major pollutants in soils of abandoned agricultural land contaminated by e-waste activities in Hong Kong (Lopez et al, 2011) PBDE concentrations near e-waste recycling site in China Cai and Jiang, 2006, Leung et al, 2006, Leung et al, 2007 Trace metal contamination of sediments in an e-waste processing village in China Table 7: Studies on impacts on humans near e-waste recycling sites Impacts on humans and study area Reference Heavy metals in hair from occupationally and nonoccupationally exposed populations in an e-waste recycling area in Longtang, South China Heave metals in placenta from China's Guiyu area (Guo et al, 2010) Urinary levels of heavy metals in people living around e-waste sites in Taizhou, Zhejiang province, Southeast China (Wang et al, 2011a) Changes of urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine levels and burden (Wang et al, of heavy metals around an e-waste dismantling site located in Taizhou 2010) Assessment of cadmium exposure for neonates in Guiyu e-waste pollution site Human exposure to PCBs, and BFRs such as PBDEs and HBCDs in Ghana (Asante et al, 2011) Exposure of Chinese residents to PBBs, PBDEs and PCBs in an e-waste recycling site in Zhejiang province (Zhao et al, 2008) Correlations of PCBs, Dioxin and PBDEs with thyroid stimulating hormorne (TSH) in children (Han et al, 2011) Distribution of PCDD/Fs, PCBs, PBDEs and organoch...…”

Spatial characteristics of cadmium in topsoils in a typical e-waste recycling area in southeast China and its potential threat to shallow groundwater

“…In southeast China, e-waste processing sites are usually located in fields adjacent to land used for agricultural purposes (Tang et al, 2010;Luo et al, 2011). The informal recycling process may cause serious agricultural soil contamination with HMs in the vicinity of e-waste processing sites (Wong et al, 2007;Shen et al, 2008;Zhang and Min, 2009).…”

“…There is a large body of literature on HM contamination in soils in the vicinity of e-waste processing site (e.g., Ha et al, 2009;Tang et al, 2010;Luo et al, 2011). However, few studies have been conducted on the threat of Cd in topsoils to shallow groundwater in the vicinity of e-waste processing sites.…”

Levels and ecological risk assessment of metals in soils from a typical e-waste recycling region in southeast China

“…It is not only a crisis of quantity but also a crisis of toxic components (Pant et al 2012;Xu et al 2012a). E-waste, a complex mixture, not only contains reusable precious metal resources, such as Au, Ag, Pd and Pt (Tang et al 2010a;Zhao et al 2009;Fu et al 2008;Bi et al 2007;Yu et al 2006) but also contains large quantities of metals (e.g., Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb) (Rath et al 2012;Cui and Zhang 2008;Li et al 2007b) and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) [e.g., polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethanes (DDTs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs)] (Deng et al 2006;Xing et al 2009;Wu et al 2012;Chan et al 2013;Man et al 2014;Xu et al 2013). Driven by profits, extensive illegal and unskilled e-waste processing activities in some coastal regions such as Guangdong (Guiyu and Longtang) and Zhejiang (Taizhou and Wenling), China, have been conducted over the last 20 years (Li et al 2007a;Shen et al 2007;Wong et al 2007a), resulting in serious metal contamination in air, dust, soil, river water and sediments in the e-waste recycling area (Deng et al 2006;Quan et al 2014;Zhang and Hang 2009).…”