Legacy and Currently Used Organic Contaminants in Human Hair and Hand Wipes of Female E-Waste Dismantling Workers and Workplace Dust in South China.

Legacy organic contaminants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and several currently used organic contaminants, such as novel brominated retardants (NBFRs), organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs), and Dechlorane Plus (DPs), were measured in the segmented hair and hand wipes of e-waste dismantling workers and in the dust from their workplace in an e-waste recycling site in South China to assess the accumulation and sources of organic contaminants in the hair shaft. The median concentrations of DPs, PBDEs, NBFRs, PCBs and OPFRs in hair samples were 23.5, 154, 156, 349, and 371 ng/g, respectively. A linear increase in organic contaminant concentrations was found along the hair shaft, with significant differences among each segment, while the age-related patterns were similar among the 7 hair segments. A linear relationship was found between the accumulation rates and the log KOW, indicating that the accumulation rates of organic contaminants along the hair shaft decreased with increasing log KOW values. Enantiomer fraction (EF) values of PCB-132 in distal segments were close to those in dust and air, while EFs in proximal segments were close to those in serum. The contributions of PCBs from external sources to hair increased with the distance from the scalp of hair segments, from 67.8% in 0-3 cm segments to 95.9% in 18-21 cm segments.

[Elemental Characteristics and Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Atmospheric PM2.5 in a Suburb of Zhuhai City].

To investigate the characteristics, sources, and health risks of trace heavy metals in fine particles, PM2.5 samples were collected at a suburban site of Zhuhai in the Pearl River Delta Region. Fifteen elements in the PM2.5 were analyzed by an X-ray fluorescence method. The results showed that the total mass concentrations of crustal elements (Al, Si, Ca, Fe, and Ti) in a typical month during spring, summer, autumn, and winter were (708±213), (645±269), (1155±503), and (1466±492) ng·m-3, respectively, while the total mass concentrations of the rest of the trace elements (Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, V, and Zn) were (271±124), (163±87.6), (424±192), and (546±183) ng·m-3, respectively. The element concentrations decreased in the following order:Si > Al > Fe > Zn > Ca > Pb > Ba > Mn > Sb > Cu > Ti > V > Ni > Cr > Co. Enrichment factors (EFs) analysis showed that Sb, Zn, Pb, Cu, Ni, Ba, Ca, and Co were heavily enriched, with EFs values ranging from 172 to 2426. Principal component analysis further showed that regional transport, ship emissions, coal combustion, and the electronics industry were the major sources of heavy metals, contributing 53.4%, 13%, 7.6%, and 6.8% of the total, respectively. Health risk assessment results indicated that Mn may pose a non-carcinogenic risk to children, and Cr, Pb, and Co may pose cancer risks to humans.