Phthalates in residential and agricultural soils from an electronic waste-polluted region in South China: distribution, compositional profile and sources

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 26; no. 12; pp. 12227 - 12236
• Main Authors: Zhang, Shao-hui, Guo, Ai-jing, Fan, Tong-tong, Zhang, Rong, Niu, Yu-jie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.04.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agricultural land; Agricultural wastes; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Chains; Contamination; Correlation analysis; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Electronic equipment; Electronic waste; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Molecular weight; Organic matter; Organic soils; pH effects; Phthalate esters; Phthalates; Pollutants; Pollution sources; Polyvinyl chloride; Principal components analysis; Recycling; Research Article; Residential areas; Sediment pollution; Soil contamination; Soil organic matter; Soil pollution; Soil surfaces; Soils; Waste disposal; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; China; Soil; Electronic waste; Phthalate; Concentration; Profile; Source
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-019-04669-2

Electronic waste (e-waste) recycling has proven to be a significant source of phthalate (PAE) contamination in the environment. A detailed investigation was conducted to understand the concentration, distribution, profile and possible source of PAEs in residential and agricultural soils from Guiyu, Shantou, China, the largest e-waste processing and recycling areas in the world. Sixteen PAEs were analysed in 46 surface soil samples from three different sampling areas in terms of individual and total concentrations, together with pH and soil organic matter. High concentrations of the total PAEs were found in residential area A (more than 20,000 ng g −1 ), revealing a clear urban pulse, whereas in residential area B and agricultural areas, concentrations were lower than 10,000 ng g −1 . The dominant PAEs were bis (2-nbutoxyethyl) phthalate, bis (4-methyl-2-pentyl) phthalate and dicyclohexyl phthalate. These PAEs were high-molecular weight PAEs (alkyl chains ≥ 6 carbons) and mainly derived from polyvinyl chloride commonly used in electrical and electronic equipment, indicating a distinctive composition in relation to the e-waste area. Three individual and the total PAEs exhibited significant positive correlations with pH. Principal component analysis indicated that PAEs were mainly distributed in three groups according to the alkyl chain length and potential source. This study showed that the informal e-waste recycling has already introduced PAEs into surrounding areas as a pollutant which should draw more attention and regulatory control.