Autor(es):
Leese, Elizabeth ; Verdonck, Jelle ; Porras, Simo P. ; Airaksinen, Jaakko ; Duca, Radu C. ; Galea, Karen S. ; Godderis, Lode ; Janasik, Beata ; Mahiout, Selma ; Martins, Carla ; Mārtiņsone, Inese ; Ani, Maria Mirela ; van Nieuwenhuyse, An ; Scheepers, Paul T.J. ; Silva, Maria João ; Viegas, Susana ; Santonen, Tiina ; HBM4EU E-waste Study Team
Data: 2025
Identificador Persistente: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.18/10606
Origem: Repositório Científico do Instituto Nacional de Saúde
Assunto(s): Electronic Waste; Occupational Health; Cross-Sectional Studies; Toxic Metals; Human Biomonitoring; Environmental Genotoxicity; Blood; Urine; Hair; Genotoxicidade Ambiental
Descrição
Processing of electronic waste (e-waste) causes the release of toxic substances which may lead to occupational exposure. The study aimed to gather information on potential occupational exposure during e-waste recycling, with a focus on biomonitoring of chromium, cadmium, mercury and lead. In eight European countries, 195 workers involved in the recycling of lead batteries, white goods, brown goods and metals and plastics were studied. These workers were compared to 73 controls with no direct involvement of e-waste recycling or other metal processing activities. The samples collected consisted of urine, blood and hair samples, along with personal air samples, hand wipes, settled dust samples and contextual information. Chromium, cadmium, mercury and lead was measured in urine, hair, air samples, hand wipes and settled dust; cadmium and lead in whole blood and chromium in red blood cells. Results showed that lead exposure is of concern, with workers from all five types of e-waste showing exposure, with elevated measurements in all matrices. Internal exposure markers were positively correlated with markers of external exposure, indicating workers are not adequately protected. Exposure to mercury and cadmium was also observed but to a much lesser extent with raised cadmium concentrations in urine and blood of all workers when compared to controls and raised mercury concentrations were found in brown goods workers when compared to controls. This study has highlighted exposure concerns when processing e-waste, particularly for lead across all waste categories studied, indicating a need for improved control measures in this sector.
Highlights: - New European exposure data for chromium, cadmium, mercury and lead in e-waste workers; - Lead is the predominant exposure risk in e-waste workers, and is of a concern; - High positive correlations were found between all internal and external lead markers; - Low level mercury exposure was determined in brown goods workers; - Low-level cadmium exposure was found in all workers.
