PCDD/Fs and PBDD/Fs in sediments from the river encompassing Guiyu, a typical e-waste recycling zone of China

Mingyang Liu; Huiru Li; Pei Chen; Aimin Song; Ping’an Peng; Jianfang Hu; Guoying Sheng; Guangguo Ying

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety (Aug 2022)

PCDD/Fs and PBDD/Fs in sediments from the river encompassing Guiyu, a typical e-waste recycling zone of China

Mingyang Liu,
Huiru Li,
Pei Chen,
Aimin Song,
Ping’an Peng,
Jianfang Hu,
Guoying Sheng,
Guangguo Ying

Affiliations

Mingyang Liu: State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Huiru Li: State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China; School of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; Correspondence to: Science Building 3, 378 Waihuan West Road, Panyu District, Guangzhou 510006, China.
Pei Chen: State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China; Correspondence to: 511 Kehua Street, Wushan, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, GD 510640, China.
Aimin Song: State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Ping’an Peng: State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Deep Earth Science, Guangzhou 510640, China; Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for Environmental Pollution and Control, Guangzhou 510640, China
Jianfang Hu: State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Guoying Sheng: State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Guangguo Ying: SCNU Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; School of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 241
p. 113730

Abstract

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Severe pollution of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs) and their brominated analogues (PBDD/Fs) was frequently reported for the waters located near unregulated e-waste recycling areas. However, the migrations of these high-level dioxins via waterways and their potential threats to the lower reaches were seldom investigated. In this study, we analyzed PCDD/Fs and PBDD/Fs in 27 surficial sediments collected from the Lian River encompassing the Guiyu, China e-waste recycling zone, and investigated their distributions, sources, migration behaviors and risks. Both PCDD/Fs and PBDD/Fs in these sediments exhibited a spatial trend of Guiyu > Guiyu downriver > Guiyu upriver, illustrating that the Guiyu e-waste recycling activities were the uppermost dioxin contributors in this watershed. Sediments from different Guiyu villages demonstrated big gaps in PCDD/F concentrations and congener compositions, and the reason was attributed to the diverse e-waste recycling activities practiced in these villages. Sediments near the e-waste open-burning areas demonstrated extremely high PCDD/F concentrations and unique PCDD/F profiles featured by low-chlorinated PCDFs (tetra- to hexa-), which is quite different from the OCDD-dominant PCDD/F profile found in most of the Lian River sediments. The geographical distributions of PCDD/F concentrations and profiles illustrate that the substantial amount of PCDD/Fs in Guiyu sediments were mainly retained in local and vicinal water bodies. The principal component analysis (PCA) results further confirm that the high-level PCDD/Fs in Guiyu sediments exhibited quite limited translocations downstream and therefore exerted little influences on the lower reaches. Pentachlorophenol use in history, ceramic industry and vehicle exhaust were diagnosed as the major PCDD/F sources for most sediments of the Lian River. Total toxicity equivalent quantities (TEQs) of 70% of the Lian River sediments surpassed the high-risk limit specified for mammalian life by the U.S.EPA (25 pg TEQ g−1), and most of these sediments were from Guiyu and its near downstream, which merit continuous attention and necessary remediation measures.

Published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

ISSN: 0147-6513 (Print); 1090-2414 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Technology: Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering: Environmental pollution; Geography. Anthropology. Recreation: Environmental sciences
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecotoxicology-and-environmental-safety

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