Airborne PCDD/Fs in two e-waste recycling regions after stricter environmental regulations

• Published in: Journal of environmental sciences (China) Vol. 62; no. 12; pp. 3 - 10
• Main Authors: Zhang, Manwen, Feng, Guixian, Yin, Wenhua, Xie, Bing, Ren, Mingzhong, Xu, Zhencheng, Zhang, Sukun, Cai, Zongwei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.12.2017
• Subjects: Air Pollutants - analysis; Air Pollution - legislation & jurisprudence; Air Pollution - statistics & numerical data; China; Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated - analysis; E-waste recycling; Electronic Waste; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental Policy; Environmental regulation; Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans; Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins - analysis; Recycling; Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans; E-waste recycling; Environmental regulation; China
• ISSN: 1001-0742; 1878-7320
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2017.07.009

Since the 2010 s, the authorities of Guangdong province and local governments have enhanced law enforcement and environmental regulations to abolish open burning, acid washing, and other uncontrolled e-waste recycling activities. In this study, ambient air and indoor dust near different kinds of e-waste recycling processes were collected in Guiyu and Qingyuan to investigate the pollution status of particles and polychlorinated dibenzo-pdioxins and furans（PCDD/Fs） after stricter environmental regulations. PM_（2.5） and PCDD/Fs both showed significantly reduced levels in the two regions compared with the documented data. The congener distribution and principal component analysis results also confirmed the significant differences between the current PCDD/Fs pollution characterizations and the historical ones. The estimated total intake doses via air inhalation and dust ingestion of children in the recycling region of Guiyu ranged from 10 to 32 pg TEQ/（kg·day）, which far exceeded the tolerable daily intake（TDI） limit（1–4 pg TEQ/（kg·day）. Although the measurements showed a significant reduction of the release of PCDD/Fs, the pollution status was still considered severe in Guiyu town after stricter regulations were implemented.