Inorganic and organic pollution in agricultural soil from an emerging e-waste recycling town in Taizhou area, China

摘要

Purpose The emerging recycling of electronic and electric waste (e-waste) is causing critical levels of soil pollution in those relatively poor towns surrounding the central cities, which have been involved in recycling activities for quite some time. Agricultural soil is of great importance due to its direct impact on food and human health. The objective of this study was to provide a systematic investigation of the contamination in agricultural soil for a range of inorganic compounds (Cr, Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, and Ni) and organic compounds (PAHs and PCBs) in town A, an emerging e-waste recycling town in China. Materials and methods A total of 20 agricultural soil samples were collected from three sampling locations throughout town A. Levels of inorganic compounds (Cr, Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, and Ni) and organic compounds (PAHs and PCBs) were determined by AAS, GC/MS, and GC/electron capture detector, respectively. Data was processed with SPSS 13 and Arcview 3.3 GIS software.rnResults and discussion The findings demonstrate that agricultural soil was contaminated to various extents by inorganic and/or organic pollutants. Comparison among the three sampling areas indicated that the soil was highly contaminated in the agricultural area near e-waste recycling workshops. Moreover, the contaminants (Cu, Pb, PAHs, and PCBs) may be connected through a common source as found in the Pearson correlations and cluster analysis. Conclusions There exists a heightened sense of awareness concerning the hazardous implications of current emerging e-waste recycling issues in the agricultural soil of those areas close to the central city in Taizhou.