Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Changes in levels of legacy and emerging organophosphorus flame retardants and plasticizers in indoor dust from a former e-waste recycling area in South China: 2013–2017

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

To assess the impacts of e-waste regulations on environmental pollution, the levels, compositions, and human exposure assessment of organophosphorus flame retardants (PFRs), emerging PFRs (ePFRs), phthalate esters (PAEs), and alternative plasticizers (APs) were investigated in indoor dust samples collected from homes in a former e-waste dismantling area in 2013 and in 2017, 4 years after the implementation of legislation and regulations governing e-waste dismantling activities in this area. The median concentrations of ΣPFRs, ΣePFRs, ΣPAEs, and ΣAPs in dust decreased from 5680, 1650, 167,200, and 140,600 ng/g in 2013 to 1210, 476, 95,000, and 45,300 ng/g in 2017, respectively, suggesting that the national and local regulations prohibiting primitive e-waste dismantling activities is effective in mitigating the pollution status for these chemicals. In the analyzed dust samples, tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCIPP), triphenyl phosphate (TPHP), resorcinol bis(diphenylphosphate) (RDP), and bisphenol A-bis(diphenyl phosphate) (BDP) were the major PFRs/ePFRs, contributing to 77% and 76% of the total PFRs/ePFRs in 2013 and 2017, respectively. Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), di-iso-nonyl phthalate (DINP), di-iso-decyl phthalate (DIDP), and di-n-butyl phthalate (DNBP) were the major PAEs/APs, with contributions of 89% and 95% for the total PAEs/APs in 2013 and 2017, respectively. The results of the human exposure assessment demonstrated that exposure to these levels of the target chemicals via dust ingestion and dermal contact was unlikely to cause health concerns for local residents.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abb M, Heinrich T, Sorkau E, Lorenz W (2009) Phthalates in house dust. Environ Int 35:965–970

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Abdallah MA, Covaci A (2014) Organophosphate flame retardants in indoor dust from Egypt: implications for human exposure. Environ Sci Technol 48:4782–4789

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ait Bamai Y, Shibata E, Saito I, Araki A, Kanazawa A, Morimoto K, Nakayama K, Tanaka M, Takigawa T, Yoshimura T, Chikara H, Saijo Y, Kishi R (2014) Exposure to house dust phthalates in relation to asthma and allergies in both children and adults. Sci Total Environ 485-486:153–163

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Albar HMSA, Ali N, Shahzad K, Ismail IMI, Rashid MI, Wang W, Ali LN, Eqani SAMAS (2017) Phthalate esters in settled dust of different indoor microenvironments; source of non-dietary human exposure. Microchem J 132:227–232

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ali N, Ali L, Mehdi T, Dirtu AC, Al-Shammari F, Neels H, Covaci A (2013) Levels and profiles of organochlorines and flame retardants in car and house dust from Kuwait and Pakistan: implication for human exposure via dust ingestion. Environ Int 55:62–70

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ballesteros-Gómez A, Brandsma SH, de Boer J, Leonards PEG (2014) Analysis of two alternative organophosphorus flame retardants in electronic and plastic consumer products: resorcinol bis-(diphenylphosphate) (PBDPP) and bisphenol A bis (diphenylphosphate) (BPA-BDPP). Chemosphere 116:10–14

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Araki A, Saito I, Kanazawa A, Morimoto K, Nakayama K, Shibata E, Tanaka M, Takigawa T, Yoshimura T, Chikara H, Saijo Y, Kishi R (2014) Phosphorus flame retardants in indoor dust and their relation to asthma and allergies of inhabitants. Indoor Air 24:3–15

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bergh C, Torgrip R, Emenius G, Ostman C (2011) Organophosphate and phthalate esters in air and settled dust-a multi-location indoor study. Indoor Air 21:67–76

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bi C, Maestre JP, Li H, Zhang G, Givehchi R, Mahdavi A, Kinney KA, Siegel J, Horner SD, Xu Y (2018) Phthalates and organophosphates in settled dust and HVAC filter dust of U.S. low-income homes: association with season, building characteristics, and childhood asthma. Environ Int 121:916–930

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bi X, Simoneit BRT, Wang Z, Wang X, Sheng G, Fu J (2010) The major components of particles emitted during recycling of waste printed circuit boards in a typical e-waste workshop of South China. Atmos Environ 44:4440–4445

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brandsma SH, de Boer J, van Velzen MJ, Leonards PE (2014) Organophosphorus flame retardants (PFRs) and plasticizers in house and car dust and the influence of electronic equipment. Chemosphere 116:3–9

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brommer S, Harrad S, Van den Eede N, Covaci A (2012) Concentrations of organophosphate esters and brominated flame retardants in German indoor dust samples. J Environ Monit 14:2482–2487

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bui TT, Giovanoulis G, Cousins AP, Magner J, Cousins IT, de Wit CA (2016) Human exposure, hazard and risk of alternative plasticizers to phthalate esters. Sci Total Environ 541:451–467

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Christia C, Poma G, Besis A, Samara C, Covaci A (2018) Legacy and emerging organophosphomicronrus flame retardants in car dust from Greece: implications for human exposure. Chemosphere 196:231–239

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Christia C, Poma G, Harrad S, de Wit CA, Sjostrom Y, Leonards P, Lamoree M, Covaci A (2019a) Occurrence of legacy and alternative plasticizers in indoor dust from various EU countries and implications for human exposure via dust ingestion and dermal absorption. Environ Res 171:204–212

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Christia C, Tang B, Yin SS, Luo XJ, Mai BX, Poma G, Covaci A (2019b) Simultaneous determination of legacy and emerging organophosphorus flame retardants and plasticizers in indoor dust using liquid and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry: method development, validation, and application. Anal Bioanal Chem 411:7015–7025

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dirtu AC, Ali N, Van den Eede N, Neels H, Covaci A (2012) Country specific comparison for profile of chlorinated, brominated and phosphate organic contaminants in indoor dust. Case study for Eastern Romania, 2010. Environ Int 49:1–8

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Du J, Li H, Xu S, Zhou Q, Jin M, Tang J (2019) A review of organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs): occurrence, bioaccumulation, toxicity, and organism exposure. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 26:22126–22136

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gevao B, Al-Ghadban AN, Bahloul M, Uddin S, Zafar J (2013) Phthalates in indoor dust in Kuwait: implications for non-dietary human exposure. Indoor Air 23:126–133

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hammel SC, Levasseur JL, Hoffman K, Phillips AL, Lorenzo AM, Calafat AM, Webster TF, Stapleton HM (2019) Children’s exposure to phthalates and non-phthalate plasticizers in the home: the TESIE study. Environ Int 132:105061

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • He CT, Zheng J, Qiao L, Chen SJ, Yang JZ, Yuan JG, Yang ZY, Mai BX (2015) Occurrence of organophosphorus flame retardants in indoor dust in multiple microenvironments of southern China and implications for human exposure. Chemosphere 133:47–52

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang CC, Zeng YH, Luo XJ, Tang B, Liu YE, Ren ZH, Mai BX (2018) Level changes and human dietary exposure assessment of halogenated flame retardant levels in free-range chicken eggs: a case study of a former e-waste recycling site, South China. Sci Total Environ 634:509–515

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • James RA, Hertz-Picciotto I, Willman E, Keller JA, Judith CM (2002) Determinants of serum polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides measured in women from the Child Health and Development Study cohort, 1963-1967. Environ Health Perspect 110(7):617–624

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kademoglou K, Xu F, Padilla-Sanchez JA, Haug LS, Covaci A, Collins CD (2017) Legacy and alternative flame retardants in Norwegian and UK indoor environment: implications of human exposure via dust ingestion. Environ Int 102:48–56

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lan Q, Cui K, Zeng F, Zhu F, Liu H, Chen H, Ma Y, Wen J, Luan T, Sun G, Zeng Z (2012) Characteristics and assessment of phthalate esters in urban dusts in Guangzhou city, China. Environ Monit Assess 184:4921–4929

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li J, Zhang Z, Ma L, Zhang Y, Niu Z (2018) Implementation of USEPA RfD and SFO for improved risk assessment of organophosphate esters (organophosphate flame retardants and plasticizers). Environ Int 114:21–26

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li W, Wang Y, Asimakopoulos AG, Covaci A, Gevao B, Johnson-Restrepo B, Kumosani TA, Malarvannan G, Moon HB, Nakata H, Sinha RK, Tran TM, Kannan K (2019) Organophosphate esters in indoor dust from 12 countries: concentrations, composition profiles, and human exposure. Environ Int 133:105178

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mercier F, Glorennec P, Thomas O, Le Bot B (2011) Organic contamination of settled house dust, a review for exposure assessment purposes. Environ Sci Technol 45:6716–6727

  • Muenhor D, Moon HB, Lee S, Goosey E (2018) Organophosphorus flame retardants (PFRs) and phthalates in floor and road dust from a manual e-waste dismantling facility and adjacent communities in Thailand. J Environ Sci Health A Tox Hazard Subst Environ Eng 53:79–90

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Poma G, Liu Y, Cuykx M, Tang B, Luo XJ, Covaci A (2019) Occurrence of organophosphorus flame retardants and plasticizers in wild insects from a former e-waste recycling site in the Guangdong province, South China. Sci Total Environ 650:709–712

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stapleton HM, Misenheimer J, Hoffman K, Webster TF (2014) Flame retardant associations between children’s handwipes and house dust. Chemosphere 116:54–60

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stapleton HM, Sharma S, Getzinger G, Ferguson PL, Gabriel M, Webster TF, Blum A (2012) Novel and high volume use flame retardants in US couches reflective of the 2005 PentaBDE phase out. Environ Sci Technol 46:13432–13439

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tajima S, Araki A, Kawai T, Tsuboi T, Ait Bamai Y, Yoshioka E, Kanazawa A, Cong S, Kishi R (2014) Detection and intake assessment of organophosphate flame retardants in house dust in Japanese dwellings. Sci Total Environ 478:190–199

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tan H, Chen D, Peng C, Liu X, Wu Y, Li X, Du R, Wang B, Guo Y, Zeng EY (2018) Novel and traditional organophosphate esters in house dust from South China: association with hand wipes and exposure estimation. Environ Sci Technol 52:11017–11026

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tang B, Christia C, Malarvannan G, Liu Y-E, Luo X-J, Covaci A, Mai B-X, Poma G (2020) Legacy and emerging organophosphorus flame retardants and plasticizers in indoor microenvironments from Guangzhou, South China. Environ Int 143:105972

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • The People’s Government of Qingyuan (2015) Environmental Protection Bureau of Qingcheng District crackdown 2358 illegal recycling facilities without a license in 2015.

  • Tran TM, Minh TB, Kumosani TA, Kannan K (2016) Occurrence of phthalate diesters (phthalates), p-hydroxybenzoic acid esters (parabens), bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) and their derivatives in indoor dust from Vietnam: implications for exposure. Chemosphere 144:1553–1559

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • USEPA. Risk Assessment - Regional Screening Levels (RSLs). 2017

  • Van den Eede N, Dirtu AC, Neels H, Covaci A (2011) Analytical developments and preliminary assessment of human exposure to organophosphate flame retardants from indoor dust. Environ Int 37:454–461

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • van der Veen I, de Boer J (2012) Phosphorus flame retardants: properties, production, environmental occurrence, toxicity and analysis. Chemosphere 88:1119–1153

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang J, Ma YJ, Chen SJ, Tian M, Luo XJ, Mai BX (2010) Brominated flame retardants in house dust from e-waste recycling and urban areas in South China: implications on human exposure. Environ Int 36:535–541

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang X, Tao W, Xu Y, Feng J, Wang F (2014) Indoor phthalate concentration and exposure in residential and office buildings in Xi’an, China. Atmos Environ 87:146–152

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wei GL, Li DQ, Zhuo MN, Liao YS, Xie ZY, Guo TL, Li JJ, Zhang SY, Liang ZQ (2015) Organophosphorus flame retardants and plasticizers: sources, occurrence, toxicity and human exposure. Environ Pollut 196:29–46

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu F, Giovanoulis G, van Waes S, Padilla-Sanchez JA, Papadopoulou E, Magner J, Haug LS, Neels H, Covaci A (2016) Comprehensive study of human external exposure to organophosphate flame retardants via air, dust, and hand wipes: the importance of sampling and assessment strategy. Environ Sci Technol 50:7752–7760

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng X, Xu F, Chen K, Zeng Y, Luo X, Chen S, Mai B, Covaci A (2015) Flame retardants and organochlorines in indoor dust from several e-waste recycling sites in South China: composition variations and implications for human exposure. Environ Int 78:1–7

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Funding

This work was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (Nos. 2020B1212060053 and 2019A1515110812), the Local Innovative and Research Teams Project of Guangdong Pearl River Talents Program (No. 2017BT01Z134), the University of Antwerp, the INTERWASTE project (grant agreement 734522) funded by the European Commission (Horizon 2020), and the Post-doctoral Research Funding of Huangpu District and Guangzhou Development District, Guangzhou City (PM-zx799-202003-107). BT acknowledges the research scholarship (No. 201704910738) provided by the China Scholarship Council for his research stay at the University of Antwerp. CC acknowledges a doctoral fellowship BOF DOCPRO 3 from the University of Antwerp. GP acknowledges a post-doctoral fellowship from the University of Antwerp. This is contribution No IS-3119 and SKLOG2020-4 from GIGCAS.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Resources Utilization and Protection, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, People’s Republic of China

    Bin Tang, Xiao-Jun Luo & Bi-Xian Mai

  2. Toxicological Centre, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk-Antwerp, Belgium

    Bin Tang, Christina Christia, Adrian Covaci & Giulia Poma

  3. State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Health Risk Assessment, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou, 510655, People’s Republic of China

    Bin Tang

  4. Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for Environmental Pollution and Control, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, People’s Republic of China

    Xiao-Jun Luo & Bi-Xian Mai

Authors
  1. Bin Tang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Christina Christia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Xiao-Jun Luo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Adrian Covaci
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Giulia Poma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Bi-Xian Mai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Conceptualization: Xiao-Jun Luo, Adrian Covaci, Bi-Xian Mai;

Methodology: Bin Tang, Christina Christia; Giulia Poma;

Formal analysis and investigation: Bin Tang, Giulia Poma;

Writing–original draft preparation: Bin Tang, Christina Christia, Giulia Poma;

Writing–review and editing: Xiao-Jun Luo, Adrian Covaci, Bi-Xian Mai;

Funding acquisition: Adrian Covaci, Bi-Xian Mai;

Resources: Adrian Covaci, Bi-Xian Mai;

Supervision: Xiao-Jun Luo, Adrian Covaci, Bi-Xian Mai;

Project administration: Xiao-Jun Luo, Adrian Covaci, Bi-Xian Mai.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Xiao-Jun Luo or Adrian Covaci.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Roland Peter Kallenborn

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 184 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tang, B., Christia, C., Luo, XJ. et al. Changes in levels of legacy and emerging organophosphorus flame retardants and plasticizers in indoor dust from a former e-waste recycling area in South China: 2013–2017. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 33295–33304 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-18447-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-18447-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation