Concentrations and Profiles of Polychlorinated Dioxins and Furans in a Discarded Electronic Waste Open Burning Site

The crude recycling of electronic waste (e-waste) in developing counties such as China has presented a significant environment pollution that affects both ecosystems and the people living within or near the main recycling areas in recent years. Although several studies have reported concentrations of trace metals and several typical toxic organic pollutants in various environmental compartments at e-waste recycling centers, as well as the estimated levels of human exposures to the interested contaminants, the potential environmental risk of discarded e-waste open burning sites scattered at villages is less concerned. In this study, polychlorinated dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) have been determined in 15 samples, including combusted residue, dust, soil and sediment collected from a discarded e-waste open burning site and its vicinage in Guangdong province. Concentrations of total PCDD/Fs were ranged from 4085.4to 1534922.4 pg/g dw for combusted residue, 8283.1 to 9314pg/g for dust, 1037.5 to 1542.4 pg/g dw for vicinage plant soils, and 995.1 to 6475.2 pg/g for sediment. And concentration of total PCDD/Fs for subsurface soils of the open burning site was 663155.81 pg/g dw. The present results of total PCDD/Fs in combusted residue and subsurface soil were highest compared with the previous studies. The future work will focus on the damage of ecosystems in this area and ways to control pollution in high-risk areas.