PBBs, PBDEs, and PCBs in foods collected from e-waste disassembly sites and daily intake by local residents

This study was conducted to estimate the total daily dietary intakes (TDIs) of three PHAHs subfamilies for residents living around the large e-waste disassembly sites in the Zhejiang province of China. A total of 191 food samples (including seven food groups and drinking water) were obtained from the disassembly sites and the control site in April, 2007. The levels of three PHAHs were measured by GC-MS. The estimated TDIs of PBBs (385.5 ng day − 1 ), PBDEs (195.9 ng day − 1 ), and PCBs (12,372.9 ng day − 1 ) in the disassembly sites were approximately 2–3 times higher than those in the control site, which suggested that these PHAHs from e-waste might have entered into the food chain. Rice appeared to be the food group showing the highest contribution to the individual dietary intakes of these PHAHs. The estimated TDIs were also compared with those results reported recently in the literature and their respective reference doses by WHO (or Health Canada). By and large, although the estimated TDIs for the PHAHs under study were lower than their respective reference doses, they were obviously higher than those observed in other places listed in the literature, thus suggesting that residents living around the disassembly sites have been exposed to higher levels of PHAHs than those places, and might thus be at greater health risk.