Multi-trace element levels and arsenic speciation in urine of e-waste recycling workers from Agbogbloshie, Accra in Ghana

Asante, Kwadwo Ansong; Agusa, Tetsuro; Biney, Charles A.; Agyekum, William A.; Bello, Mohammed; Otsuka, Masanari; Itai, Takaaki; Takahashi, Shin; Tanabe, Shinsuke

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.02.072

Cited by 190 publications

(102 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…E-waste recyclers are exposed to high levels of dust and fumes containing heavy metals and organic pollutants generated through the application of rudimentary techniques such as manual dismantling of appliances and open burning of circuit boards and cables to recover precious metals and other valuables. Studies in Ghana 21 and India 22 found significantly high levels of antimony, cadmium, copper, silver, lead, iron, and bismuth in urine and hair samples of e-waste recyclers. Another study conducted in Ghana 23 reported significantly high levels of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) among e-waste recyclers.…”

Section: Exposure Experiences Of Street Vendors and Associated Adversmentioning

confidence: 97%

Street vending and waste picking in developing countries: a long-standing hazardous occupational activity of the urban poor

Amegah

Jaakkola

2016

International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health

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Uncontrolled urbanization in developing countries has led to widespread urban poverty and increased susceptibility to environmental exposures owing to the hazardous occupational activities of the urban poor. Street vending and waste picking are the dominant works undertaken by the urban poor, and besides the physical hazards, it also exposes them to several pathogens and high levels of air pollutants present in the outdoor environment. The situation has severe consequences for the health of the workers. Eliminating these occupational activities from the urban landscape of developing countries should therefore receive urgent attention from the global health community and governments. In this article, we provide evidence to support this policy recommendation by documenting exposure experiences of the workers, the associated adverse health effects, whilst also outlining measures for addressing the problem sustainably. We conclude that with the adoption of the sustainable development goals (SDG), governments now have a commitment to address poverty and the associated occupational health hazards experienced by the poor through their choices to help achieve the health-related SDG target (3.9) of substantially reducing the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution and contamination by 2030.

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Section: Exposure Experiences Of Street Vendors and Associated Adversmentioning

confidence: 97%

Street vending and waste picking in developing countries: a long-standing hazardous occupational activity of the urban poor

Amegah

Jaakkola

2016

International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health

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“…The area is thus characteristic of a toxic waste site, and while a number of relevant human exposure pathways exist little is known about exposure of workers and community residents to these elements. A limited study by Asante et al (2012) of urine samples from 20 male workers from Agbogbloshie documented that some elemental exposures were elevated. However, a more in depth study is needed to better characterize elemental exposures, relate these exposures with key sociodemographic variables, and determine which e-waste activities pose the greatest exposure risks for workers at Agbogbloshie so as to help inform future actions.…”

Section: 0 Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple elemental exposures amongst workers at the Agbogbloshie electronic waste (e-waste) site in Ghana

et al. 2016

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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 ug/L median) and lead (6.4 ug/dl; 67% above U.S. CDC/NIOSH reference level), and urinary arsenic (38.3 ug/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.

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“…vs. 19 μg/l and 0.5±1.8 μg/l vs. 0.3 μg/g creat., respectively. Moreover, Asante et al [24] revealed higher than the obtained by us level of manganese: 1.6 vs. 0.9 (μg/g creat.). Iron and zinc were not determined in the two groups concerned.…”

Section: External Quality Assurancementioning

confidence: 66%

Multi-element analysis of urine using dynamic reaction cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-DRC-MS) — A practical application

Brodzka

Trzcinka-Ochocka

Janasik

2013

International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health

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Objectives:The method for the determination of As, Al, Cd, Ni, Pb (toxic elements) and Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn (essential elements) in human urine by the use of Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (quadrupole ICP-MS DRCe Elan, Perkin Elmer) with the dynamic reaction cell (DRC) was developed. Materials and Methods: The method has been applied for multi-element analysis of the urine of 16 non-exposed healthy volunteers and 27 workers employed in a copper smelter. The analysis was conducted after initial 10-fold dilution of the urine samples with 0,1% nitric acid. Rhodium was used as an internal standard. The method validation parameters such as detection limit, sensitivity, precision were described for all elements. Accuracy of the method was checked by the regular use of certified reference materials ClinCheck ® -Control Urine (Recipe) as well as by participation of the laboratory in the German External Quality Assessment Scheme (G-EQUAS). Results:The detection limits (D L 3s) of the applied method were 0.025, 0.007, 0.002, 0.004, 0.004, 0.086, 0.037, 0.009, 0.016, 0.008, 0.064 (μg/l) for Al, As, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn in urine, respectively. For each element linearity with correlation coefficient of at least 0.999 was determined. Spectral interferences from some of the ions were removed using DRC-e with addition of alternative gas: methane for cobalt, copper, cadmium, chromium, iron, manganese, nickel and rhodium, and oxygen for arsenic. Conclusions: The developed method allows to determine simultaneously eleven elements in the urine with low detection limits, high sensitivity and good accuracy. Moreover, the method is appropriate for the assessment of both environmental and occupational exposure.

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Multi-trace element levels and arsenic speciation in urine of e-waste recycling workers from Agbogbloshie, Accra in Ghana

Cited by 190 publications

References 46 publications

Street vending and waste picking in developing countries: a long-standing hazardous occupational activity of the urban poor

Street vending and waste picking in developing countries: a long-standing hazardous occupational activity of the urban poor

Multiple elemental exposures amongst workers at the Agbogbloshie electronic waste (e-waste) site in Ghana

Multi-element analysis of urine using dynamic reaction cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-DRC-MS) — A practical application

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