Health risk assessment of airborne Cd, Cu, Ni and Pb for electronic waste dismantling workers in Buriram Province, Thailand.

This study aimed to assess the risk levels of electronic waste dismantling workers in Buriram Province from exposure to cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni) and lead (Pb) via inhalation. The study area was Dang-Yai subdistrict, Baan Mai Chaiyapot district, Buriram province, Thailand. The sampling of particulate matter of less than 10 μm (PM10) was performed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day between 14th and 18th December 2015 inclusively. The PM10 was collected on a glass fiber filter using a nylon cyclone connected to a personal air pump with an air flow rate of 1.7 L/min. The samples were extracted by a microwave digester, and the metals were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. The average exposure concentrations of the workers to Cd, Cu, Ni and Pb were 0.0073 ± 0.0084, 0.2083 ± 0.6362, 0.3499 ± 0.3738 and 0.1297 ± 0.1746 μg/m3, respectively. The hazard quotients (HQs) of the non-carcinogenic effect of Cd, Cu and Ni, had 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of 0.067-0.167, 0.012-0.018 and 0.333-0.913, respectively. All HQs were less than 1, which indicated that there was no concern of increased non-carcinogenic health risks. The lifetime cancer risk (70 y) of the workers estimated for a 30-y exposure period showed 95% CIs of 7.55-18.6 × 10-5, 1.69-4.66 × 10-5 and 3.26-9.66 × 10-7 for Cd, Ni and Pb, respectively. Thus, the possible cancer risk levels from exposure to Cd and Ni for these workers were higher than the acceptable criterion of 10-6, which indicated that the workers have the potential to get cancer from electronic waste dismantling, due to cadmium and nickel exposure.