Nepal

August 2006

Sources, Fates, and Environmental and Health Effects of Persistent Toxic Substances from E-waste Recycling
MH Wong* Croucher Institute for Environmental Sciences, and Department of Biology Hong Kong Baptist University *mhwong@hkbu.edu.hk

Content
General Introduction Objectives of our Group Research Progress of the Project Main Findings Conclusion Future Work

What is E-Waste?
End-of-life electronic products (computers, printers, photocopy machines, TVs, mobile phones, etc.) US is a large producer of e-waste Between 1997-2004, over 315 M obsolete computers in US 1 Smaller amounts from Japan, Republic of Korea, Europe 80% of all e-waste are exported to Asia Of these, 90% are destined to China
11

National Safety Council, Washington DC, May 1999 Electronic Product Recovery and Recycling Baseline Report

Taizhou City

Guiyu Village

Map of China showing our sampling site

Primitive E-Waste Recycling Technologies

Guiyu, PR China: A Case Study
Since 1995, e-waste from US & elsewhere have been continuously transported to Guiyu & recycled by villagers Recycling operations - melting circuit boards over makeshift grills - acid stripping of printed circuit boards - burning wires to recover metals, etc. Works undertaken by men, women, and even children with little or no protection to health

Open Burning of E-Waste

PCDD/Fs PBDD/Fs PBDEs PAHs PCBs Heavy Metals

Photos by CIES, 2004

Circuit Board Recycling

Toxic lead-tin fumes Heavy metals Toxic respirable suspended particulates (RSP)

Photos by CIES, 2004

Acid Stripping of Chips & Printed Circuit Boards

HNO3 HCl Cl2 SO2

Photos by CIES, 2004

Daily Life in Guiyu

Photos by CIES, 2004

Taizhou City , Zhejiang Province

Recycling transformer oil from e-waste

River water contaminated by transformer oil (with PCB)

Burning of wire insulation to recover Cu

Open burning to extract valuable metals from e-waste

Status of Information on E-Waste

Data on the impacts of e-waste is limited Exposure pathways have not been clearly unidentified Long-term effects on environmental health and human health are still unknown Increased awareness and education are needed E-waste has evolved into a complex social and global problem with deep-rooted issues

Objectives
Conduct environmental contamination typical e-waste recycling sites evaluation of Study body loading of different toxic chemicals in human milk, placenta and hair samples collected from workers and local residents Assess toxic effects of different toxic chemicals generated during the e-waste recycling processes, by means of bioassay tests Assess fates of toxic chemicals, in different ecological compartments; and uptake & bioaccumulation in workers (& local residents) using different models

E-waste pollution sources

Wet and dry deposition

Irrigation Runoff

Dust

Air

Soil

Surface water Aquatic plants

Swimming (Dermal)

Sediment

(Inhalation) (Ingestion) (Dermal) (Inhalation)

Vegetables Ducks

Fish Ducks
Food (Ingestion)

(Ingestion) (Dermal) (Inhalation)

Groundwate r
Drinking (Ingestion) Food (Ingestion)

Plants

Bathing and washing clothes (Dermal)

Washing clothes (Dermal)

(Adult)
Milk (Ingestion)

Humans
(Infant)

(Child)

Exposure pathways from e-waste pollution sources to humans

Potential interactions among source,environmental media, exposure media, and exposure routes in a multimedia, multiple pathway exposure assessment

Source: Caltox, Department of Toxic Substances Control, California Environment Protection Agency,1993

Progress of Research
Determined level of pollution in environmental media and in biotia
POPs & heavy metals in soil, sediment, air (TSP & PM2.5), roadside dust & workshop dust Soil maps POPs and heavy metals in fish (environmental and dietary exposure Human samples to investigate body loading (breast milk, placenta, hair)

Toxicological assessments (will not be reported)

Distribution of E-waste Recycling Activities

Acid Leaching
Yaocouwei

Ximei

Nanyang

Computer Dismantling

Printed Circuit Boards Baking

Beilin

Nanyang River

Longgang Plastic Recycling

Open Burning

I. Soil Pollution
- Heavy metals - PAHs
- PCBs - PBDEs - PCDD/Fs

Distributions of Pb and Cu in Soil

Giyu Soil Survey

Heavy metals Comparison with regulatory standards (mg/kg)

Median
3.36 152 64.5 17.9 105 43.9

Mean
Cd Cr Cu Ni Pb Zn
1.66 186 653 45.2 348 224

GB 15618-1995
0.2 90 35 40 35 100

Dutch standard
1 400 400 200 500 500

0.6 300 100 50 300 250

background
0.8 100 36 35 85 140

action
12 380 190 210 530 720

Elevated trace metal concentrations in soils Some unsuitable for agricultural purposes Remedial actions required in some areas

Guiyu Soil Survey

Total PAHs in Guiyu Soils

Near open burning sites: average PAHs =
1400 g/kg (highest 3200 g/kg).

Near circuit board heating site: PAHs conc

were 1000 g/kg.

Reservoir & forests:

low levels of PAHs - no point sources of pollution.

Guiyu Soil Survey

Comparison with published data - PAHs

Location Total 16 PAHs concentration No. of (g/kg) References sample Lowest Highest Mean

Guangzhou, China Hangzhou, China Shantou, China Hong Kong, China North American (20 PAHs) South Korea Brazil Switzerland Guiyu, China

43 3 131 53 18 226 47 23 49

42 60 22 7 63 23.3 5 50 45

3077 616 1257 410 321 2834 347 619 3206

376 298 317 55 142 236 73 225 582

Chen et al, 2005 Chen et al, 2004 Hao et al, 2004 Zhang et al, in press Wilcke & Amelung, 2000 Nam et al, 2003 Wilcke et al, 2003 Bucheli et al, 2004 This study

PCDD/F in soil and open burn sites

Analyte Reservoir ND ND ND ND 0.059 0.037 0.039 0.135 0.041 0.033 0.354 0.079 0.076 0.067 ND 0.017 ND 0.000035 0.667 0.8 0.39-1.5 465 228-834 Rice field 1.51 ND 0.288 0.528 0.691 0.675 0.078 3.77 1.17 0.502 4.02 0.737 0.615 0.498 0.265 0.137 0.014 0.001 7.96 11.7 10-13 2730 2320-3130 Duck pond 3.58 ND 0.646 1.41 1.48 1.11 0.075 8.30 2.95 1.52 13.2 2.51 2.17 1.97 0.673 0.565 0.072 0.003 25.7 34 15-48 7360 3870-9700 Printer roller dump site ND ND 0.021 0.116 0.110 0.082 0.017 0.346 0.442 0.190 2.62 0.451 0.260 0.338 0.082 0.125 ND 0.001 4.51 4.86 2.1-8.2 546 508-609 Acid leaching 10.5 ND ND 3.24 ND 2.40 0.070 16.2 45.9 32.1 249 46.4 49.9 37.1 19.6 7.47 2.02 0.026 489 506 203-1096 39300 12500-89800 Open burning 652 1912 160 335 206 209 2.99 3478 569 505 5965 1180 1030 991 434 303 47.0 1.19 11000 14500 13600-15400 883000 788000-968000

P C D D

2,3,7,8-TCDD 1,2,3,7,8-PeCDD 1,2,3,4,7,8-HxCDD 1,2,3,6,7,8-HxCDD 1,2,3,7,8,9-HxCDD 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD OCDD Sum 2,3,7,8-TCDF 1,2,3,7,8-PeCDF 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF 1,2,3,4,7,8-HxCDF 1,2,3,6,7,8-HxCDF 2,3,4,6,7,8-HxCDF 1,2,3,7,8,9-HxCDF 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDF 1,2,3,4,7,8,9-HpCDF OCDF Sum Total PCDD/Fs Range (pg WHO-TEQ/g) Total PCDD/Fs Range (pg/g)

P C D F

Soil guidelines for PCDD/Fs

Country US Guideline/Standard Preliminary remediation goal (2000) Environmental quality guidelines (2003) Guideline interim value Sweden Environmental quality standard (2003) Residential 1000 pg-TEQ/g Agriculture ---

Canada New Zealand Sweden Japan

4 pg-TEQ/g

4 pg-TEQ/g

X X

1500 pg I-TEQ/g 10 pg I-TEQ/g 10 pg I-TEQ/g

10 pg I-TEQ/g

X
1000 pg WHO-TEQ/g

1000 pg WHOTEQ/g

Comparison of PCDD/Fs in soils from dump sites in Asian countries

16000 PCDD/F concentration (pg WHO-TEQ/g) 14000 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0
Guiyu Philippines Guiyu Cambodia Vietnam (Hanoi) India Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh)

28x higher than Philippines Open burn sites

Acid leaching site

Minh et al., 2003

PBDE Homologue Concentrations (ng/g, dry wt, n=3)

Soil PBDE Homologues Total Mono-BDE Total Di-BDE Total Tri-BDE Total Tetra-BDE Total Penta-BDE Total Hexa-BDE Total Hepta-BDE Total Octa-BDE Total Nona-BDE Total Deca-BDE Total PBDEs Reservoir ND 0.017 0.054 0.351 0.276 0.103 0.086 0.090 0.102 2.76 3.80 Rice field 0.116 0.367 0.769 1.31 0.665 1.01 2.62 1.93 2.05 37.3 48.2 Duck pond 0.115 0.417 1.00 3.99 2.82 6.35 20.1 17.0 18.8 328 398.0 Combusted residue Printer roller Acid Open Riverbank dump site leaching burning site 0.080 0.631 4.05 150 411 81.70 128 104 50.9 510 1440 23.1 71.8 167 263 426 378 357 332 283 1269 3570 88 251 598 1100 1111 809 1473 1010 1051 16160 23640 2.64 13.4 39.4 55.0 64.4 1507 3060 6359 3550 48633 63300

Penta BDE
USEPA standard in residential soil warranting preliminary remediation

18x BDE-209
610,000

Deca-BDE (BDE-209) was warranting preliminary remediation USEPA standard in industrial soil the most dominant homologue/congener accounting 1,200,000 6,200,000 for 35-82% of total PBDEs

120,000

Profiles of PBDE congeners in soil samples

90 80

70

% PBD E c ongener to total PBD Es

60

Reservoir Rice field D uck pond P rinter roller dum p site A cid leaching Open burning site Riverbank

50

40

30

20

10

0 BDE-47 BDE-49 BDE-66 BDE-99 BDE-100 BDE-153 BDE-154 BDE-183 BDE-197 BDE-203 BDE-207 BDE-209 PBDE c ongeners

Comparison with other PBDE soil studies

(ng/g, dry wt.)
Description Concentration Concentration Reference

Background (grassland/ woodland) Non e-waste site: near foam manufacturing plant E-waste storage site

UK

0.07 - 12 Guiyu: 2 - 6.2

Hassanin et al., 2004

USA

76 Guiyu: 56x

Hale et al., 2002

HK

274 - 32746 Guiyu: 34.7 - 97400

Greenpeace China, 2005

II. Air Pollution

- Suspended Particulates
- PCDD/Fs - Heavy metals

Mass Concentration in Air Samples Collected from Guiyu

(g/m3 ) TSP PM2.5 (Quartz) PM2.5 (Teflon) Guiyu 124.1 62.1 50.5 HK Site 1 80.1 49.9 44.9 HK Site 2 57.8 31.9 32.7 GZ Site 1 162 40.2 51.1 GZ Site 2 139 30.9 47.3 65 (USEPA) Guideline 260 (HK)

TSP: Guangzhou (GZ) > Guiyu > Hong Kong (HK) PM2.5: Guiyu > Guangzhou > Hong Kong

Dioxins Levels in Air Particulates from Guiyu Compared with Hong Kong & Guangzhou
0.7 Concentration of PCDD/Fs (pg WHO-TEQ/m3) 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 Beilin Guiyu Liwan China Tianhe Yuen Long Tsuen Wan Hok Tsui Hong Kong

0.65

Japan: 0.6 pg TEQ/m3

0.35 0.10

September 2004

0.23

0.14

Tianhe ~Hok Tsui Liwan > Yuen Long (1.3 times) Guiyu > Yuen Long (2.8 times) 0.07 Guiyu (conc of PCDD/Fs) above Japanese standard

Comparison of dioxins levels in S China with air quality standards

Concentration of 2,3,7,8-TCDD (fg/m3) 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Beilin Guiyu Liwan Tianhe Yuen Long Tsuen Wan Hok Tsui

54
September 2004
USA (Indiana, Kansas and Washington): 30 fg/m3

Tianhe

9.8 4.6

10.2 5.3

4.8

~ Hok Tsui ~Tsuen Wan Liwan ~ Yuen Long Guiyu >>HK Guiyu above USA guideline

China

Hong Kong

Pb in atmospheric particulates
Summer 2004
900 800 700 Pb concentrations (ng/m3) 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 TH LW BL YL TW HT

Inhalable particulates!

Guiyu

PM2.5 TSP

Guangzhou

Hong Kong

A large fraction of Pb in the form of PM2.5 a greater health risk!

III. Water Bodies

- Heavy metals
- PBDE - PCBs

Heavy metals in the sediments collected from Lianjiang River

mg/kg Mean Median Stand dev Min Max
CCME (PEL)*

Cd 4.09 3.94 3.92 n.d. 10.3 3.50

Cr 57.7 53.9 8.97 48.6 74.9 90.0

Cu 1068 512 1208 125 4535 197

Ni 181 165 156 26.0 543 N.A.

Pb 230 137 169 79.5 590 91.3

Zn 324 284 143 121 628 315

*Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines, Probable effect levels

Total Hg in Sediment of Guiyu

1.8 1.6 1.4 1.2

Open burn site Lianjiang River Nanyang River

Total Hg (ug/g)

1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Reservoir

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Sample number

Profiles of PBDE Congeners in Sediment Samples

90% 80% 70%

% of total PBDEs

NY0# 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% BDE-28 BDE-47 BDE-66 BDE-100 BDE-99 BDE-154 BDE-153 BDE-183 BDE-209 NY1# NY2# NY3# LJ(-2)# LJ(-1)# LJ0# LJ1# LJ2#

PBDE congeners

PBDE Congeners in Fish Samples

60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% LJ-Tilapia NY-Crucian NY-BH

BDE-28

BDE-47

BDE-66

BDE-100

BDE-99

BDE-154

BDE-153

BDE-183

ng/g w. w BDE-28 BDE-47 BDE-100 BDE-99 BDE-154 BDE-153 BDE-183 Total BDE

Bighead Carp-muscles
Medium 7.64 18.95 0.65 0.25 0.54 0.56 0.01 34.22 Largest 9.50 21.89 0.73 0.64 0.62 1.43 0.02 45.01 Lowest 5.35 12.97 0.48 0.07 0.49 0.14 0.00 24.49

Bighead Carp-abdomen
Medium 203.72 465.28 15.66 5.87 6.68 11.75 0.15 802 Largest 438.43 955.16 33.69 11.67 13.08 22.97 0.36 1628 Lowest 48.22 136.27 3.45 2.37 1.37 2.52 0.00 228 13.41 69.04 3.58 3.99 8.83 5.27 0.01 114

LianJiang-Tilapia
Medium Largest 22.62 110.40 5.40 8.33 21.05 10.38 0.08 196 Lowest 8.77 42.94 2.13 1.73 4.02 2.64 0.00 69.57

IV. Roadside and Workshop Dust

- Heavy metals

Intensive study (8 study sites)

1. Inside workshops

2. Street of workshops

3. Main trunk road

4. School

5. Outdoor food market 6. Longgang

7. Gurao

8. Shantou University

Pb in dust
Logarithmic scale
1000000 100000 Pb concentration (mg/kg)

110000

b de
632

Guiyu c d f

Exceedence of New Dutch List Action Value for Lead

Outside Guiyu

530

10000 1000 100 10 1

(n =1 6)

ef

>200x!
99x than Pb/Zn mine tailings Guangdong province 50x Korean abandoned mines

530

140 85

(n =1 6)

(n =8 )

(n =1 6)

n= 14 )

(n =4 )

=1 2)

=4 )

(n

ea rs ch oo l

ar ke t(

tr e et B21

Sc ho

PC

Fo od

tre

Lo n

New Dutch List Action Value (The Netherlands)

New Dutch List Optimum Value

Canadian Environmental Quality Guideline Residential/park

ha nt ou

ni ve rs ity

-2 -2

BR

et B

ol y

gg an

ur ao

ar

(n =1

(n

2)

Cu in dust
Logarithmic scale
100000

a
10000 Cu concentration (mg/kg)

b de de cd de c

1000

ALL exceeds New Dutch List Action Value for copper

e e

190 63 36

100

10

New Dutch List Action Value (The Netherlands)

(n =4 Ne ) ar sc ho ol (n Fo =4 od ) m ar ke t( n= 14 Lo ) ng ga ng (n =8 ) G ur Sh ao an (n to =1 u U 6) ni ve rs ity (n =1 2)

(n

(n =1 6)

(n =1 6) -2 -2

=1 2)

BR W

-2 -1

St re et

Sc ho ol y

tr e et B

PC

ar d

New Dutch List Optimum Value

CEQG Residential/park (Canada)

Heavy metals in dust: Estimation of non-cancer toxic risk (HI)

Scenario: Adult worker - printed circuit board workshop
Average daily dose (mg/kg/day) ADDingest ADDdermal ADDinhale Cd Co Cr Cu Mn Ni Pb Zn HI 4.58E-05 3.82E-05 1.40E-04 0.025 9.90E-04 0.0055 0.141 0.0070 3.65E-07 3.05E-07 1.12E-06 1.96E-04 7.90E-06 4.35E-05 1.13E-03 5.56E-05 1.35E-08 1.12E-08 4.13E-08 7.21E-06 2.91E-07 1.60E-06 4.15E-05 2.05E-06 Reference dose (mg/kg/day) RfDoral RfDdermal RfDinhale 0.001 0.02 0.003 0.04 0.046 0.02 0.0035 0.3 1.00E-05 0.016 6.00E-05 0.012 0.00184 0.0054 5.25E-04 0.06 5.71E-06 2.86E-05 1.43E-05 Hazard quotient HQingest 0.046 0.002 0.047 0.61 0.022 0.27 40.3 0.023 41.40 HQdermal 0.0365 1.910E-05 0.019 0.016 0.004 0.008 2.2 9.260E-04 2.23 HQinhale 1.350E-05 0.002 0.0014 1.800E-04 0.02 8.020E-05 0.012 6.830E-06 0.036 Hazard index HI 0.082 0.004 0.067 0.63 0.046 0.28 42.5 0.02 43.6

Pb: HQ (dust ingestion) exceeded the safe reference dose level by > 40x 92% of the total HI For child, exceeded safe level by 753x ! 19x than for adult scenario. Impaired mental & physical development Neurological Problems Autism IQ

IV. Foods and Human Body Loadings

- PCDD/Fs
- PBDE - PCBs - Heavy metals

PCDD/Fs in human milk and placenta

Human milk
50 pg WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ/g fat 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
H Z_ M _A ve ve M 5 M 33 M 27 M 28 M 17 M 21 M 22 M 31 M 23 M 50 TZ _M _A

E-waste recycling site (TZ) Control site (HZ)

3 pg WHO-TEQ/g fat

Permitted max value for milk = 3 pg WHOPCDD/F-TEQ/g fat No guideline for PCDD/Fs in placenta

Donor ID

a
60 pg W -PCDD HO /F-TEQ fat /g 50 40 30 20 10 0
TZ _P _A ve

Placenta

E-waste recycling site (TZ)

b
Control site (HZ)

PCDD/Fs in milk & placenta R2=0.55, p<0.001

P 23 H Z_ P _A ve

P 22

P 28

P 17

P 21

Donor ID

P 27

P 31

P 50

P 33

P 5

E -w as te re cy
10 15 20 25 0 5 p g W H O - P C D D /F- TE Q /g fa t

cl

in

E-waste recycling site

Comparison of PCDD/Fs in human milk

PCDD/Fs in human milk from 33 regions/countries during 1998 to 2005

R e g i o n /co u n try

Control site

ib er ia si te E Th gy (T e pt N ai z et h he o r l u) a B nds el gi um Lu K or xe m ea bo ur g G It a er ly m an S y p U ai n ka r S ine w C ed on tr Fi e n ol nl si an te d (H R u S l o an s s i va g a k zh R ou ep ) R ubl o m ic an C ze ia ch H R K ep ub I r l ic el a N nd or w Ta a y iw an N ew U S Z ea A l H an un d ga C ry ro B a ti ul a g A a ri us a tr al D ia S al i h e an P ny hi l i p a ng pi ne B s ra zi l Fi ji

PCDD/Fs in hair from Taizhou

Human hair
70 pg WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ/g dry wt 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
TZ _H _A ve H Z_ H _A ve H 5 H 17 H 21 H 22 H 23 H 50 H 27 H 28 H 31
E-waste recycling site (TZ)

b
Control site (HZ)

Hair

E-waste recycling site sig. higher than control site (t-test, P < 0.05, 2-tailed)

PBDEs in human specimen collected from Zhejiang

490,000 pg/g, dw
120000 100000 PBDEs (pg/g dw) 80000 60000 40000 20000 0 TZ_Ave #5 #17 #21 #22 #23 HZ_Ave #27 #28 #31 #33 #50 Samples

Human milk

Placenta

Hair

E-waste recycling site, i.e. Taizhou

Sig. correlation (Spearmans) between Human milk & placenta (P < 0.001) Human milk & hair (P < 0.001) Placenta & hair (P < 0.05)

PBDEs (ng/g lipid wt) 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0

Ta iz ho U u, SA C hi na C an ad a Ja Fa pa ro n e Is la nd
E-waste recycling site

BDE-47

PBDEs in human milk: Comparison with other studies (1998-2005)

Region/country

Control site

BDE-99 BDE-100 BDE-153

U Sw K ed en M al ay Ph si a il i pp in es K or e C am a bo di In H do a an n gz ho esi a u, C hi na Vi et na m R us si In a di (B a ur ya tia )

Comparison on concentration of PCBs in food samples from two e-waste sites

PCB concentrations(ng/g wet wt) PCB levels in fish and seafood 100 80 60 40 20 0

TZ

GY

Fish and seafood In general, TZ<GY Dioxin-like PCBs contributed to about 10% in Guiyus samples, while 15% in Taizhous samples. Vegetables: TZ>GY=0

uc loac ian h Ch Ca ine rp se sn cra ak b e blo hea y e od d llo cl w am cro a M k er u wh d s ite nai sh l rim Po p m fre t sp ira m l u Bi llet Cr g h uc ea ian d Ca rp Ti M lapia ud Gr ca as rp s Si car lv e p r B l C ar C o ac k p mm Ca on rp blo c ar od p cla m
Food items

Cr

PCB levels in human samples of Taizhou

PCB levels in human samples of Taizhou and Lin'an (control site)
450 P C B c o n c . (n g /g d ry w t) 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 H air P lacenta M ilk TZ LA

Comparison of total PCB levels in human milk with other countries

Comparison of total PCBs levels in human milk 400 PCBs(ng/g lipid) 350 300 250 200 150 100 50
New Zealand

0
Canada USA Dneprodzerzhinsk Netherlands Taizhou, China Korean Kyiv Italy

China Guangzhou

ShenyangChina

Canada

USA

Country/city

Taizhou women have the highest (363 ng/g lipid)

DalianChian

China Guiyu

HK

Relationship between different human samples (PCBs)

Relationship of PCB level in human milk and placenta of TZ Relationship of PCB levels in human milk and hair of TZ
140 140 Milk (ng/g dry wt) 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 0 5 10 15 R
2

120 Milk (ng/g dry wt) 100 80 60 40 20 0 -20 0 100

y = 0.2178x - 0.4094 R 2 = 0.9308

= 0.5329

200

300

400

500

Placenta (ng/g dry wt)

Hair (ng/g dry wt)

Good relationship between average pattern of different human samples However, total PCB Levels in different persons do not correlate well for tissues

Total Hg in hair and placenta (Guiyu)

Hair (g/g)
Guiyu (34) Korea Japan Hong Kong Malaysia Quebec Columbia Sweden Finland 0.132-1.47 Ave = 0.492 0.278 1.1-1.7 2.02-2.98 1.57-3.97 3.38 2.4-3.7 1.33-2.4 0.9 2.1

Placenta (g/g)
Guiyu (25) ND 0.0418 g/g Ave.= 0.0152 0.0093

Conclusions
e-waste is a hotspot for PBDEs, PCDDs, PAHs, especially at open burning sites & acid leaching sites PBDE and PCDD/Fs levels in Guiyu are one of the highest in the world One of first studies on PBDE in soil from e-waste site Dust at printed circuit board recycling district contains an excessive amount of heavy metals (especially Pb) Potential ingestion of dust would result in high risk of adverse health impacts i.e. High non-cancer risks for child and adult at workshops and street Other public areas in Beilin district (i.e. school yard, food market) would pose a moderate to minimal risks

Conclusions
PBDE and PCB concentrations in fish and PCDD/Fs in human milk suggest bioaccumulation and biomagnification Bioassay tests using human cell lines demonstrate cytotoxic effects due to Guiyu pollution The first detailed study on PTS and heavy metals and human health risk assessment of an e-waste site

Research Grant:
HKBU1/03, Group Research Central Allocation, Research Grants Council of Hong Kong

The Research Team:

Team Members:
Prof MH Wong, CIES/Biol Dept, HKBU (PI) Drs CKC Wong, KC Cheung MS Yang, Prof KKL Yung, RNS Wong, NK Mak, CIES/Biol Dept, HKBU Dr ZW Cai, Dioxins Lab, HKBU Dr CKM Leung (MD), In Vitro Fertilization Centre, HK Dr PKK Louie, Air Services Group, HKEPD Dr NS Duzgoren-Aydin, Dept Earth Sci, HKU Prof KWK Liu, Dept Anatomy, CUHK Prof TW Wong, Dept Community & Family Medicine, CUHK Prof J Fu, Guangzhou Inst Geochem, CAS, PRC

Research staff/students:
J Chan, WJ Deng, A Leung, Q Luo, XL Peng, F Wang, C Wong, SC Wu, GH Xing, XZ Yu

Thank You