Estimation of Children’s Soil and Dust Ingestion Rates and Health Risk at E-Waste Dismantling Area

Yan Yang, Mengdi Zhang, Haojia Chen, Zenghua Qi, Chengcheng Liu, Qiang Chen and Tao Long
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Yan Yang: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
Mengdi Zhang: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
Haojia Chen: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
Zenghua Qi: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
Chengcheng Liu: Synergy Innovation Institute of GDUT, Shantou 515041, China
Qiang Chen: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Management and Pollution Control, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, Nanjing 210042, China
Tao Long: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Management and Pollution Control, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, Nanjing 210042, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 12, 1-13

Abstract: Due to environmental health concerns, exposure to heavy metals and related adverse effects in electronic waste (e-waste) dismantling areas have attracted considerable interest in the recent years. However, little information is available about the Soil/Dust Ingestion Rates (SIR) of heavy metals for children living in such sites. This study estimated the soil ingestion of 66 children from e-waste disassembly areas by collecting and analyzing selected tracer elements in matched samples of their consumed food, feces, and urine, as well as soil samples from their play areas. The concentrations of tracer elements (including Al, Ba, Ce, Mn, Sc, Ti, Y, and V) in these samples were analyzed. The SIR was estimated to be 148.3 mg/day (median) and 383.3 mg/day (95th percentile) based on the Best Tracer Method (BTM). These values are somewhat higher than those observed in America, Canada, and other parts of China. Health risk assessments showed that Cr presented the greatest carcinogenic risk, at more than 10 −6 in this typical polluted area, while As was second. These findings provide important insights into the exposure risks of heavy metals in e-waste dismantling sites and emphasize the health risk caused by Cr and As.

Keywords: e-waste; heavy metal pollution; children; soil and dust ingestion rates; health risk assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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