Pollution Characteristics And Health Risk Of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers(PBDEs)and Polychlorinated Biphenyls(PCBs)in Atmospheric Particles Of E-Waste Dismantling Areas

In recent years,with the rapid development of economic growth and electronic information industry,the rapid change of electronic products has led to a sharp increase in the amount of electronic waste.Improper recycling and disassembling of electronic waste leads to the release of toxic and harmful substances,which will do harm to the ecological environment and human health.PBDEs（Polybrominated diphenyl ethers）and PCBs（Polychlorinated biphenyls）are widely used in electronic products because of good flame retardant.As two class of POPs,PBDEs and PCBs are semi-volatile compounds and can volatilize into the atmospheric environment in the form of steam from water,soil or sediment,adsorb on particles and transported through the atmosphere for long-distance migration.Indoor environment,as the most direct and frequently contacted environment,has a long-term,direct and far-reaching influence on human health.Guiyu Town,Shantou City,Guangdong Province,is an important e-waste disassembly area in China.In the past,it mainly used to be a small workshop type of extensive disassembly.Recent years,it is gradually turned to industrial park-style centralized recycle treatment through policy governance.However,PBDEs and PCBs discharged after treatment may still be continuously released through environmental media,and workers and residents near the e-waste dismantling site are likely to face continuous environmental pollution and health risks.In view of this,this study takes the e-waste dismantling area of Guiyu Town as the research area.The pollution levels and composition characteristics of PBDEs and PCBs in PM₁₀ in indoor and outdoor atmosphere were analyzed.The human health risk model was used to quantify the health risks of PBDEs and PCBs in PM₁₀ in different age groups and different genders through respiratory intake.The source indicator metal elements of e-waste were discussed by analyzing the correlation between heavy metal and target pollutants PBDEs and PCBs.1.Concentration level:The concentrations of∑₈PBDE in indoor and outdoor PM₁₀was 190.18pg/m³（24.44～527.62 pg/m³）and 95.53pg/m³（24.03～167.16 pg/m³）.The concentrations of ∑₉PCB in indoor and outdoor PM₁₀ was 7.41pg/m³（1.91～20.37pg/m³）and 0.73pg/m³（0.02～2.53pg/m³）.The concentrations of PBDEs and PCBs in PM₁₀ were both higher in indoors than outdoors.2.Compositional characteristics:For PBDEs,the proportion of Penta-BDEs in indoor PM₁₀ was the highest,the proportion of Deca-BDEs in outdoor PM₁₀ was the highest,and the main polluting monomer in indoor and outdoor were BDE209.For PCBs,the highest proportion of indoor and outdoor monomer is PCB28,and the highest proportion of homologs are Penta-PCBs and Tri-PCBs.3.Health risks:The non-carcinogenic risks of ∑₈PBDE and ∑₉PCB in indoor and outdoor PM₁₀ for all age groups are within the acceptable range.PBDEs in outdoor PM₁₀have a certain carcinogenic risk for 6-17 years old people,and a significant carcinogenic risk for over 18 years old people.PBDEs in the indoor PM₁₀showed a significant carcinogenic risk for all populations.The carcinogenic risks of PCB105 and PCB118 in outdoor PM₁₀are all within the acceptable range.The carcinogenic risk of PCB105 in indoor PM₁₀for female aged 6-17 years and 60-79 years old is within the acceptable range,and the carcinogenic risk for people in other age groups is between 10^-4 and 10^-6,with a certain degree of carcinogenic risk,and the risk for male is higher than that for female.4.Indicative elements:As and Sn in indoor PM₁₀ have strong correlation with most PBDEs monomers and can be used as indicative elements.Tl,Cd,Pb and Ni in outdoor PM₁₀ have strong correlation with PBDEs monomer and can be used as indicative elements.The correlation between heavy metal elements and PCBs monomer is weak or even negative,which may be related to the low concentrations level of PCBs.The results of this study can contribute to deepen the understanding of the health risks exposure on residents in the e-waste dismantling area,and provide a scientific basis for environmental governance and human health in E-waste areas,so as to promote sustainable economic and social development.