Environment International
Volume 87, 2016, Pages 33-41

Health risk assessment of migrant workers' exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls in air and dust in an e-waste recycling area in China: Indication for a new wealth gap in environmental rights (Article)

Wang Y. , Hu J. , Lin W. , Wang N. , Li C. , Luo P. , Hashmi M.Z. , Wang W. , Su X. , Chen C. , Liu Y. , Huang R. , Shen C.*
  • a Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
  • b Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
  • c Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
  • d Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China, Key Laboratory for Water Pollution Control and Environmental Safety of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310058, China
  • e Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China, Luqiao Environmental Protection Bureau, Taizhou, 318050, China
  • f Luqiao Environmental Protection Bureau, Taizhou, 318050, China
  • g Department of Meteorology, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan
  • h Luqiao Environmental Protection Bureau, Taizhou, 318050, China
  • i Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
  • j Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
  • k Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
  • l Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China, Key Laboratory for Water Pollution Control and Environmental Safety of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310058, China
  • m Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China, Key Laboratory for Water Pollution Control and Environmental Safety of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310058, China

Abstract

Migrant workers who work and live in polluted environment are a special vulnerable group in the accelerating pace of urbanization and industrialization in China. In the electronic waste (e-waste) recycling area, for example, migrant workers' exposure to pollutants, such as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), is the result of an informal e-waste recycling process. A village in an electronic waste recycling area where migrant workers gather was surveyed. The migrant workers' daily routines were simulated according to the three-space transition: work place-on the road-home. Indoor air and dust in the migrant workers' houses and workplaces and the ambient air on the roads were sampled. The PCB levels of the air and dust in the places corresponding to the migrant workers are higher than those for local residents. The migrant workers have health risks from PCBs that are 3.8 times greater than those of local residents. This is not only caused by the exposure at work but also by their activity patterns and the environmental conditions of their dwellings. These results revealed the reason for the health risk difference between the migrant workers and local residents, and it also indicated that lifestyle and economic status are important factors that are often ignored compared to occupational exposure. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd.

Author Keywords

Indoor air Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) Environmental rights Dust Health risk Migrant workers

Index Keywords

Migrant Workers Health risks China household analysis health risk human work environment risk assessment indoor air pollution ambient air Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) recycling PCB priority journal Polychlorinated Biphenyls Wastes Electronic waste recycling electronic waste Indoor air waste Environmental rights Electronic equipment Occupational risks Electronic waste (e waste) health environmental conditions polychlorinated biphenyl migrant worker Humans air pollution Organic pollutants environmental factor occupational exposure environmental exposure health status indicator Health Status Indicators Article migration Transients and Migrants health hazard dust
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84948124399&doi=10.1016%2fj.envint.2015.11.009&partnerID=40&md5=abc98bde516e783855b466c8137d64ff
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2015.11.009
ISSN: 01604120
Cited by: 38
Original Language: English