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Characterisation and risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soils and plants around e-waste dismantling sites in southern China

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Abstract

Environmental pollution due to primitive e-waste dismantling activities has been intensively investigated over the last decade in the south-eastern coastal region of China. In the present study, we investigated the distribution and composition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soils and plants around e-waste recycling sites in Longtang, Guangdong province, South China. The results indicated that PAH concentrations in rhizosphere soil and non-rhizosphere soil were in the range of 133 to 626 ng/g and 60 to 816 ng/g, respectively, while PAH levels in plant tissue were 96 to 388 ng/g in shoots and 143 to 605 ng/g in roots. PAHs were enriched in rhizosphere soils in comparison with non-rhizosphere soils. The concentrations of PAHs in plant tissues varied greatly among plant cultivars, indicating that the uptake of PAHs by plants is species-dependent. Different profiles of PAHs in the soil and the corresponding plant tissue implied that PAH uptake and translocation by plants were selective.The total daily intakes of PAHs and carcinogenic PAHs through vegetables at the e-waste recycling site were estimated to be 99 and 22 ng/kg/day, respectively, suggesting that potential health risks associated with the consumption of contaminated vegetables should not be ignored.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41322008, 41673111, and 41603072), the Joint Funds of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (No. U15012345) and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2016M602552).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Yujie Wang & Jiexin He

  2. Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Shaorui Wang, Chunling Luo & Gan Zhang

  3. College of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Hua Yin

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  1. Yujie Wang
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  2. Jiexin He
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  3. Shaorui Wang
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  4. Chunling Luo
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  5. Hua Yin
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  6. Gan Zhang
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Correspondence to Shaorui Wang or Chunling Luo.

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Responsible editor: Zhihong Xu

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Wang, Y., He, J., Wang, S. et al. Characterisation and risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soils and plants around e-waste dismantling sites in southern China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 22173–22182 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9830-7

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