Characterization of polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzo-furans (PBDDs/Fs) in environmental matrices from an intensive electronic waste recycling site, South China

Xiao, Xiao; Hu, Jianfang; Peng, Ping’an; Chen, Deyi; Bi, Xinhui

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2016.02.029

Cited by 30 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…A number of publications reported the release of BFRs in the environment via uncontrolled recycling processes [127][128][129][130][131][132][133][134][135]. Informal recycling of e-waste also appeared to affect the air quality of the neighbouring areas.…”

Section: Halogenated Compoundsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

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Abbasi

Bisschop

et al. 2020

Pure and Applied Chemistry

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The waste stream of obsolete electronic equipment grows exponentially, creating a worldwide pollution and resource problem. Electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) comprises a heterogeneous mix of glass, plastics (including flame retardants and other additives), metals (including rare Earth elements), and metalloids. The e-waste issue is complex and multi-faceted. In examining the different aspects of e-waste, informal recycling in developing countries has been identified as a primary concern, due to widespread illegal shipments; weak environmental, as well as health and safety, regulations; lack of technology; and inadequate waste treatment structure. For example, Nigeria, Ghana, India, Pakistan, and China have all been identified as hotspots for the disposal of e-waste. This article presents a critical examination on the chemical nature of e-waste and the resulting environmental impacts on, for example, microbial biodiversity, flora, and fauna in e-waste recycling sites around the world. It highlights the different types of risk assessment approaches required when evaluating the ecological impact of e-waste. Additionally, it presents examples of chemistry playing a role in potential solutions. The information presented here will be informative to relevant stakeholders seeking to devise integrated management strategies to tackle this global environmental concern.

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Section: Halogenated Compoundsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

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Abbasi

Bisschop

et al. 2020

Pure and Applied Chemistry

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“…There were substantially higher levels in metal recovery workshops with equal contribution of PCDDs and PCDFs than other e-waste related activities, indicating a potential risk of adverse health effects [89]. However, the implementation of stricter legislative framework that began in India in 2016 may lead to reduced levels and therefore future research is needed to assess the current situation [90]. The levels of dioxin-related compounds in dust were also investigated by Zhang et al [84] and Tue et al [95].…”

Section: Soil and Dustmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Special attention to PBDD/Fs has been paid by Xiao et al [90], who identified their concentrations in various matrices including soil, dust and sediment from one of the largest erecycling sites in China. Significantly higher concentrations were reported in the site compared to reference areas, indicating that improper e-recycling can lead to high PBDD/F contamination.…”

Section: Soil and Dustmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, the toxic equivalent quality of PBDD/Fs increased from dust to sediments, implying further critical effect on the adjacent area. Furthermore, the daily intake of eight PBDD/Fs via ingestion and dermal exposure was estimated by Xiao et al [90] for local residents, which were found to be higher than those induced by 17 PCDD/F congeners for the same set of samples, indicating increased health risk. Similar behaviour during transportation from one matrix (dust) to another (soil) was observed between PCDD/Fs and PBDD/Fs [92,93].…”

Section: Soil and Dustmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Thermal deconstruction, open burning and disposal of e-waste without pollution control: A systematic review of risks to occupational and public health

Cook¹,

Velis²,

Gerassimidou³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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The critical functionality provided by the informal e-waste recycling sector to the global circular economy is marred by the hazardous emissions from this practice when it is carried out under informal and unregulated conditions in the Global South. Here, we focus a systematic review (PRISMA) of evidence specifically on rudimentary thermal processing activities that are carried out to disassemble and recover metals bonded into the complex assemblies and composites of electrical and electronic products and items. We identified main combinations of hazard-pathway-receptor (H-P-R) associated with exposure to risk and ranked them to indicate severity and prioritise research needs and interventions. Two practices, open burning and heating/melting/roasting are highly efficient in comparison to mechanical disassembly of many components and materials, presenting a challenge for actors who want to discourage them. Yet, these activities result in significant and very serious potential health effects as evidenced by 48 references screened and critically assessed. Though a large body of research exists that report observations of potentially hazardous substances in environmental media and human bodies, there is an abject paucity of reliable or even indicative data to indicate the scale of the e-waste processing activity. Moreover, the concentrations measured in almost all studies suffer from a multiplicity of confounding activities, creating challenges regarding identifying the activity source. System level interventions should be designed to effectively mitigate the risk, whilst rapidly transitioning to low-risk processing with effective pollution abatement in place and safe systems of work.

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“…During the heating process, the organic materials, including board resin, plastics, brominated flame retardants (BFRs) contained in WPCB-ECs are degraded, and pollutants such as particulate matter (PM), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (An et al, 2014;Chen et al, 2016;He et al, 2015), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) are emitted to the environment, thus causing contamination in the workshop and environmental pollution of surrounding areas (Ortuño et al, 2014a). Emission characteristics of pollutants such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) (Die et al, 2019;Guo et al, 2015a, b), polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans (PBDD/Fs) (Xiao et al, 2016), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), released from thermal treatment of WPCB have been investigated extensively (Li et al, 2018;Cai et al, 2018a, b;Duan et al, 2011;Soler et al, 2017;Ortuño et al, 2014b). However, previous studies on pollutant emission during thermal treatment have focused on the base boards of WPCB, and rarely on the pollutant emission released from ECs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal degradation and pollutant emission from waste printed circuit boards mounted with electronic components

Guo

Luo

Tan

et al. 2020

Journal of Hazardous Materials

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Waste printed circuit boards mounted with electronic components (WPCB-ECs) are generated from electronic waste dismantling and recycling process. Airborne pollutants, including particulate matter (PM) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), can be released during thermal treatment of WPCB-CEs. In this study, organic substances from WPCB-ECs were pyrolyzed by both thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and in a quartz tube furnace. We discovered that board resin and solder coating were degraded in a one-stage process, whereas capacitor scarfskin and wire jacket had two degradation stages. Debromination of brominated flame retardants occurred, and HBr and phenol were the main products during TGA processing of board resin. Dehydrochlorination occurred, and HCl, benzene and toluene were detected during the pyrolysis of capacitor scarfskin. Benzene formation was found only in the first degradation stage (272-372°C), while toluene was formed both in the two degradation stages. PM with bimodal mass size distributions at diameters of 0.45-0.5 and 4-5 μm were emitted during heating WPCB-ECs. The PM number concentrations were highest in the size ranges

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Characterization of polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzo-furans (PBDDs/Fs) in environmental matrices from an intensive electronic waste recycling site, South China

Cited by 30 publications

References 36 publications

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

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

Thermal deconstruction, open burning and disposal of e-waste without pollution control: A systematic review of risks to occupational and public health

Thermal degradation and pollutant emission from waste printed circuit boards mounted with electronic components

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