E-Waste and Associated Environmental Contamination in the Asia/Pacific Region (Part 2): A Case Study of Dioxins and Furans in E-Waste Recycling/Dump Sites in India

Hazardous persistent organic pollutants including polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) associated with informal electronic waste (e-waste) recycling process is an emerging environmental problem in India. Hence we took the first attempt to measure the toxic equivalents (TEQ) of dioxins and furans in surface soil and passive air samples collected from informal e-waste recycling facilities and open dumpsites in India by using Chemically Activated Luciferase Expression (CALUX) bioassay. CALUX TEQs for PCDD/Fs was measured in the informal e-waste recycling sites engaged in crude process of extracting precious metals and compared with the CALUX TEQs from the open dumpsites from three major metropolitan cities of India viz., Chennai, New Delhi and Mumbai. Highest CALUX response of 658 pg CALUX TEQ/g in soil was observed in solid waste dumping ground in northern Chennai. A strong correlation of CALUX TEQs (R-2=0.83, p<0.05) between the soil and air from Chennai indicates common sources for PCDD/Fs. This dumpsite of Chennai was found with 20 folds higher TEQ than other open dumpsites of Chennai as well as other Indian cities. We suspect possibly leftovers from nearby informal recycling sites in addition to open burning of municipal waste might be the plausible reason for such high CALUX TEQ. Among e-waste sites in India, the crude e-waste recycling site in New Delhi, recorded maximum CALUX response for PCDD/Fs in both soil (453 pg CALUX TEQ/g) and air (3pg CALUX TEQ/m(3)).