Abdallah, Mohamed Abou-Elwafa

Covaci, Adrian

Eulaers, Igor

Harrad, Stuart

Johnston, Paul

Labunska, Iryna

Santillo, David

Tao, Fang

Wang, Mengjiao

Abstract: This study reports concentrations and human dietary intake of hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) as well as selected "novel" brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) and organo-chlorine pesticides, in ten staple food categories. Samples were sourced from areas in Taizhou City, eastern China, where rudimentary recycling and disposal of e-waste is commonplace, as well as from nearby non-e-waste impacted control areas. In most instances, concentrations in foods from e-waste recycling areas exceeded those from control locations. Concentrations of 2-ethylhexyl-2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (EH-TBB) and bis-(2-ethylhexyl)-3,4,5,6-tetrabromophthalate (BEH-TBP) in samples from e-waste sites were 3.09-62.2 ng/g and 0.81-16.3 ng/g lipid weight (1w), respectively; exceeding consistently those in foods acquired from control sites by an order of magnitude in many cases. In contrast, while concentrations of HBCD in some foods from e-waste impacted areas exceed those from control locations; concentrations in pork, shrimp, and duck liver are higher in control samples. This highlights the potential significance of non-e-waste sources of HBCD (e.g. building insulation foam) in our study areas. While concentrations of DDT in all foods examined except pork were higher in e-waste impacted samples than controls; our exposure estimates were well below the provisional tolerable daily intake of 0.01 mg/kg bw/day derived by the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues. Concentrations of PCBs resulted in exposures (650 and 2340 ng/kg bw/day for adults and children respectively) that exceed substantially the Minimal Risk Levels (MRLs) for Sigma PCBs of 20 ng/kg bw/day derived by the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry. Moreover, when expressed in terms of dioxin-like toxicity equivalency based on the four dioxin-like PCBs monitored in this study (DL-PCBs) (PCB-105, 118, 156, and 167); concentrations in e-waste impacted foods exceed limits set by the European Union in 6 of the 8 food groups studied and result in dietary exposures for children (10.2 pg TEQ/kg bw/day) that exceed the WHO tolerable daily intake of 1-4 pg TEQ/kg bw/day. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

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Human dietary intake of organohalogen contaminants at e-waste recycling sites in Eastern China

Human dietary intake of organohalogen contaminants at e-waste recycling sites in Eastern China

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Institutional Repository Universiteit Antwerpen