Metals and Particulates Exposure from a Mobile E-Waste Shredding Truck: A Pilot Study
Autor: | Robert F. Herrick, Diana M. Ceballos, Michael Zhou |
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Rok vydání: | 2020 |
Předmět: |
Truck
Short Communications 0211 other engineering and technologies Pilot Projects 02 engineering and technology 010501 environmental sciences 01 natural sciences Electronic waste Electronic Waste Occupational Exposure Ultrafine particle Humans Personal protective equipment 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Exposure assessment Air Pollutants 021103 operations research Waste management Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health Shredding (tree-pruning technique) Particulates Contamination Motor Vehicles Cross-Sectional Studies Environmental science Environmental Monitoring |
Zdroj: | Ann Work Expo Health |
ISSN: | 2398-7316 2398-7308 |
DOI: | 10.1093/annweh/wxaa058 |
Popis: | The US electronics recycling industry has introduced a novel mobile electronic waste (e-waste) shredding truck service to address increasing needs for secure data destruction of e-waste. These trucks can shred small electronics with data security concerns at remote locations for a wide variety of clients. Shredding jobs usually involve hand-feeding electronic waste (e-waste) for 4–10 h day−1, 1–5 days. Shredding of e-waste has been documented as a source of high metal exposures, especially lead and cadmium. However, no studies have been done to assess exposures on mobile e-waste shredding trucks. We conducted a pilot cross-sectional exposure assessment on a mobile e-waste shredding truck performing a 65-min shredding job (truck back door open and no local exhaust ventilation) in the Greater Boston area in 2019. We collected area air and surface wipe samples for metals along with real-time particulate measurements from different locations. The highest metal air concentrations (e.g. 2.9 µg-lead m−3) were found next and 1.8 m away from the shredder operator inside the semi-trailer. Metal surface contamination was highest near the shredder (e.g. 1190 µg-lead 100 cm−2) and extended to other parts of the truck. Near the shredder, the concentration of ultrafine particles was up to 250 000 particles cm−3 and particulate matter 2.5 mm or less in diameter (PM2.5) was up to 171 µg m−3, and neither returned to background levels after 40 min of inactivity. A diesel-electric generator was used to power the shredder and could have contributed to some of the particulate emissions. We found that mobile e-waste shredding trucks are a source of metals and particulates emissions. We recommend the industry adopts better controls for shredding inside trucks, such as local exhaust ventilation with proper filtration and use of personal protective equipment, to protect workers’ health and the environment. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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