Complex Mixtures of Brominated/Chlorinated Diphenyl Ethers and Dibenzofurans in Soils from the Agbogbloshie e-Waste Site (Ghana): Occurrence, Formation, and Exposure Implications

Nguyen Minh Tue, Takafumi Matsushita, Akitoshi Goto, Takaaki Itai, Kwadwo Ansong Asante, Samuel Obiri, Saada Mohammed, Shinsuke Tanabe, Tatsuya Kunisue*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The distribution and toxic equivalents (TEQs) of brominated and chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans (PBDD/Fs and PCDD/Fs) in soils from Agbogbloshie e-waste site (Ghana) were investigated. The composition of brominated/chlorinated dibenzofurans (PXDFs) and diphenyl ethers (PBDEs, PCDEs, and PXDEs) was examined using two-dimensional gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry to elucidate possible formation pathways of dioxins from e-waste recycling. The highest concentrations of PCDD/Fs and PBDD/Fs were found, respectively, in the open burning (1.3-380 ng/g dry weight) and dismantling areas (11-1000 ng/g dry weight) and were comparable to the highest reported for informal e-waste sites. PXDFs and PXDEs were detected at up to the range of hundreds of nanograms per gram. The homologue profiles suggest that PXDFs were formed mainly from PBDFs through successive Br-to-Cl exchange. However, monobromo-PCDFs were also derived from de-novo-generated PCDFs in open burning areas. PBDFs contributed similar or higher TEQs (7.9-5400 pg/g dry weight) compared with PCDD/Fs (6.8-5200 pg/g dry weight), whereas PXDFs were also substantial TEQ contributors in open burning areas. The high TEQs of PBDFs in the dismantling area (120-5200 pg/g dry weight) indicate the need to consider brominated dioxins besides chlorinated dioxins in future studies on health implications for e-waste workers and local residents.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3010-3017
Number of pages8
JournalEnvironmental Science and Technology
Volume53
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 19 Mar 2019
Externally publishedYes

Funding

We thank the e-waste workers at Agbogbloshie and the Environmental Chemistry Division staff of the CSIR Water Research Institute for their cooperation and assistance during the sampling campaign. This study was supported in part by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) through Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A: 25257403 and 16H01784), by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment through the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund (3K153001), and by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (MEXT) through a project on Joint Usage/Research Center  Leading Academia in Marine and Environment Pollution Research (LaMer).

FundersFunder number
Japanese Ministry of the Environment through the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund3K153001
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science19K21559, 16H01784, 25257403, JSPS
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

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