an untargeted metabolomics approach to characterize metabolic changes during E-waste recycling

Abstract

Funding Information: HBM4EU E-Waste Study Team: The HBM4EU e-waste study team consists of Kukka Aimonen l, Lasma Akulova m, Radia Bousoumah n, Argelia Casta\u00F1o o, Adam Clarke p, Adrian Covaci q, Maurice van Dael c, Marta Esteban L\u00F3pez o, Thomas G\u00F6eno c, Martien Graumans c, Ogier Hanser n, Beata Janasik r, Kate Jones p, Laura Komarovska m, Sirpa Laitinen l, Henriqueta Louro s, Carla Martins b, Linda Matisane m, Inese Martinsone m, Rodrigo Moreira u, Darren Musgrove p, Maria-Mirela Ani d, Maria Torres Toda f, Ana Nogueira s, Linda Paegle m, Herm\u00EDnia Pinhal s, Tiina Rantio l, S\u00EDlvia Reis Santos s, Edna Ribeiro t, Joanna R\u00F3g a, Anita Seile m, Marina Silva t, S\u00EDlvia Reis Santos s, Marjo V\u00E4nsk\u00E4 l, Riitta Velin l, C\u00E9lia Ventura j,u and Wojciech Wasowicz r., Affiliations of these authors can be found in Supplementary material S3. Funding Information: This work has received external funding from the European Union\u2019s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 733032 and received co-funding from the author\u2019s organizations and/or Ministries. In addition, the Finnish Work Environment fund provided funding (grant no. 200345). The publication was financed by the Science Development Fund of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences \u2013 SGGW. Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s)E-waste contains hazardous chemicals that may be a direct health risk for workers involved in recycling. We conducted an untargeted metabolomics analysis of urine samples collected from male e-waste processing workers to explore metabolic changes associated with chemical exposures in e-waste recycling in Belgium, Finland, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, and Portugal. Questionnaire data and urine samples were obtained from workers involved in the processing of e-waste (sorting, dismantling, shredding, pre-processing, metal, and non-metal processing), as well as from controls with no known occupational exposure. Pre- and post-shift urine samples were collected and analysed using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). A total of 32 endogenous urinary metabolites were annotated with a Variable Importance in Projection (VIP) above 2, indicating that e-waste recycling is mainly associated with changes in steroid hormone and neurotransmitter metabolism, energy metabolism, bile acid biosynthesis, and inflammation. The highest VIP was observed for dopamine-o-quinone, which is linked to Parkinson's disease. These and other changes in metabolism in workers employed in the processing of e-waste need further verification in targeted studies.publishersversionpublishe