STOTEN-24339; No of Pages 9

Science of the Total Environment xxx (2017) xxx–xxx

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Science of the Total Environment

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Exposure assessment of heavy metals in an e-waste processing area in

northern Vietnam
Tomoko Oguri a,b,⁎, Go Suzuki a, Hidenori Matsukami a, Natsuyo Uchida a, Nguyen Minh Tue c,d, Le Huu Tuyen c,d,
Pham Hung Viet d, Shin Takahashi c,e, Shinsuke Tanabe c, Hidetaka Takigami a
a
Center for Material Cycles and Waste Management Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan
b
Center for Health and Environmental Risk Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan
c
Center for Marine Environmental Studies (CMES), Ehime University, Japan
d
Centre for Environmental Technology and Sustainable Development (CETASD), VNU University of Science, Viet Nam
e
Center of Advance Technology for the Environment, Faculty of Agriculture, Ehime University, Japan

H I G H L I G H T S G R A P H I C A L A B S T R A C T

• Daily heavy metal intake in a non-

intensive e-waste recycling area was
assessed.
• Bioaccessibilities of heavy metals in soil,
dust, and diet samples were deter-
mined.
• Potential noncancer risks due to Cd, Cu,
Mn, Sb, and Zn may be low.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In developing countries, inappropriate recycling of e-waste has resulted in the environmental release of toxi-
Received 17 August 2017 cants, including heavy metals, that may have deleterious health effects. In this study, we estimated daily metal
Received in revised form 11 October 2017 intakes in five households in a Vietnamese village located in an e-waste processing area and assessed the health
Accepted 12 October 2017
risk posed by exposure to the metals. Garden soil, floor dust, 24-h duplicate diet, and ambient air samples were
Available online xxxx
collected from five households in northern Vietnam in January 2014. All samples were acid-digested, and con-
Editor: F.M. Tack tents of Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, Sb, and Zn were measured by using ICP mass spectrometry and ICP atomic emission spec-
troscopy. In addition, the soil, dust, and diet samples were subjected to an bioaccessibility extraction test to
Keywords: determine bioaccessible metal concentrations. Hazard quotients were estimated from bioaccessible metal con-
Heavy metals centrations, provisional tolerable weekly intakes, and reference doses. Garden soil and floor dust were estimated
Exposure assessment to be mainly contributors to daily Pb intake, as indicated by calculations using bioaccessible metal concentrations
Bioaccessibility and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency soil plus dust ingestion rate. Diet was suggested to contribute sig-
E-waste nificantly to daily Cd, Cu, Mn, Sb, and Zn intake. Estimated metal exposures via inhalation were negligible, as in-
Health risk
dicated by calculations using International Atomic Energy Agency reference inhalation rates. The maximum
hazard quotients were calculated as 0.2 (Cd), 0.09 (Cu), 0.3 (Mn), 0.6 (Pb), 0.2 (Sb), and 0.5 (Zn), on the basis

⁎ Corresponding author at: Center for Health and Environmental Risk Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan.
E-mail address: oguri.tomoko@nies.go.jp (T. Oguri).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.10.115
0048-9697/© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: Oguri, T., et al., Exposure assessment of heavy metals in an e-waste processing area in northern Vietnam, Sci Total En-
viron (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.10.115
2 T. Oguri et al. / Science of the Total Environment xxx (2017) xxx–xxx
of bioaccessible metal concentrations. The contributions of Cd, Cu, Mn, Sb, and Zn except Pb to potential
noncancer risk for adult residents of the five households in the e-waste processing area may be low.
1. Introduction
Electronic waste (e-waste) has emerged as a critical environmental
health concern around the world. E-waste—that is, end-of-life electronic
products, including televisions, monitors, computers, audio equipment,
video cameras, cell phones, printers, and refrigerators—contains various
toxic metals and persistent organic pollutants, which have the potential
to become environmental contaminant sources if the waste is not ap-
propriately recycled. For example, in some developing countries, inap-
propriate recycling has resulted in the release of these toxicants into
the environment (Robinson, 2009). This situation is especially worri-
some in China (e.g., Guiyu and Taizhou), India (e.g., Delhi and Bengalu-
ru), and Africa (e.g., Accra and Lagos), which have become major
destinations for e-waste from around the world over the past two de-
cades (Chen et al., 2011). Most previous studies of inappropriate
recycling of e-waste have focused on hot spots for contaminants derived
from e-waste recycling activities such as open burning and smelting
process for retrieval of recyclable metals. These studies have reported
that such intensive e-waste recycling harms human health and the en-
vironment (Ha et al., 2009; Itai et al., 2014; Li et al., 2008;
Streicher-Porte et al., 2005; Tang et al., 2010). In contrast, little informa-
tion is available on non-intensive recycling activities, such as collection,
storage, and manual dismantling of e-waste, even though these activi-
ties may have serious impacts on human health (Suzuki et al., 2013). Al-
though several developing countries have enacted legislation focusing
on the environmental effects of e-waste disposal and processing, none
of the legislation to date effectively regulates e-waste processing
(Zhang et al., 2012).
Occurrence and behavior of lead (Pb) during e-waste processing is of
particular concern because Pb is one of the major toxicants in such
waste (Chen et al., 2011). Pb is a developmental neurotoxicant, and
blood Pb levels of ≥5 μg/dL in early childhood are recognized as having
adverse effects (CDC, 2012). Cadmium (Cd) is also an element of con-
cern, although the adverse neurodevelopmental effects of Cd in children
are less well characterized than those of Pb. The biological half-life of Cd
is long (~ 26 y), and this metal accumulates primarily in the kidneys
(Friberg, 1984), where it causes kidney damage (Noonan et al., 2002;
Satarug et al., 2005, 2010). In addition, manganese (Mn) has been
shown to be neurotoxic in adults and children (Aschner et al., 2005;
ATSDR, 2012; Lucchini et al., 2007). Some evidence suggests a link be-
tween Mn exposure and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, au-
tism, and other behavioral outcomes (Sanders et al., 2015).
Since January 2012, our research group has been investigating e-
waste processing activities in Bui Dau, a village in the My Hao district
of Hung Yen Province in northern Vietnam, to elucidate the current
levels of contaminants associated with non-intensive e-waste recycling
(Suzuki et al., 2013). Our research group have detected elevated levels
of Cd, Cu, Mn, Sb, Pb, and Zn in soil in the vicinity of e-waste recycling
workshops in the village (Uchida et al., submitted). This result suggests
that environmental contamination by metals may have public health ef-
fects in this area.
More data are necessary to comprehensively estimate daily metal
intakes by residents in e-waste processing areas and to realistically as-
sess the consequent health risks. Such an assessment requires evalua-
tion of the metal exposures, including their bioaccessible metal
fractions, which is defined as the fraction of a substance that is soluble
in the gastrointestinal environment and is available for absorption
(Ruby et al., 1999). Bioaccessible metal concentration gives a better ap-
proximation of actual health risks than total metal content, which can
Please cite this article as: Oguri, T., et al., Exposure assessment of heavy metals in an e-waste processing area in northern Vietnam, Sci Total En-
viron (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.10.115
© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
provide information about chemical behavior and potential fate of
metals but may result in overestimation of the health risks associated
with metal exposure.
Most of the previous studies of e-waste focused on estimating daily
intakes of metals from metal contents; few studies have considered bio-
accessible metal concentrations (Li et al., 2015; Tao et al., 2015). In ad-
dition, risk assessments reported to date have typically focused on a
single exposure source, such as soil, dust, or foodstuffs (Li et al., 2015;
Luo et al., 2011; Yekeen et al., 2016); few studies have evaluated expo-
sure due to all sources or have evaluated the relative contributions of
different exposure pathways to risk (Zheng et al., 2013).
The present study was measured the contents of six metals (Cd, Cu,
Mn, Sb, Pb, and Zn) in multiple environmental exposure sources
(i.e., garden soil, floor dust, diet, and ambient air) for residents of an e-
waste processing area in northern Vietnam. Specifically, the present
study was measured both metal contents and bioaccessible metal con-
centrations in environmental samples obtained from e-waste process-
ing areas with the goal of determining exposure pathways and
assessing potential noncancer risk to area residents. In addition, the
present study was used the bioaccessible metal concentrations to esti-
mate health risks to the residents in e-waste processing area.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Study area and sampling
Our research group collected samples from the village of Bui Dau,
which is located in an e-waste-processing area of Hung Yen Province
in northern Vietnam. Detailed information about this area is available
elsewhere (Matsukami et al., 2015; Suzuki et al., 2013; Tue et al.,
2010a). The total area of the village, including inhabited areas and culti-
vated fields, is approximately 4.2 km2. The population of the village was
approximately 3000 in 2015, according to a survey conducted in the
previous study (Suzuki et al., 2016). The villagers produce crops by tra-
ditional methods, and some households raise livestock or fish for con-
sumption by members of the household (Tue et al., 2010b).
E-waste processing in this village started in the early 2000s (Tue
et al., 2010a). In recent years, most households have been involved in
e-waste processing activities. Specifically, recycling operations such as
dismantling of power cables and circuit boards and sorting of metal
and plastic electrical parts are conducted by family-based units in the vi-
cinity of the family house. In the fields around the village, wires and ca-
bles are burned so that copper can be retrieved from them. Because
extremely dangerous e-waste processing activities, such as indiscrimi-
nate open dumping and recovery of precious metals by acid digestion,
are not carried out in the area, it is considered to be a non-intensive
recycling area (Suzuki et al., 2013).
Garden soil, floor dust, 24-h duplicate diet, and ambient air samples
were collected from five volunteer households in Bui Dau in January
2014. A representative from each household agreed to participate in
present the study after the purposes and procedures of the study had
been described. Each garden soil sample (which was collected to a few
centimeters in depth) consisted of five subsamples that were collected
in the work area near the volunteer's house, homogenized with a shov-
el, and stored in a sample bag. Floor dust samples were collected from
inside the house (from the floor of the bedroom, living room, or both)
with a clean broom and were sealed in the sample bag. The 24-h dupli-
cate diet samples, including drinking water and other beverages, were
collected on the diet sampling day at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and
 T. Oguri et al. / Science of the Total Environment xxx (2017) xxx–xxx
snack times from one individual representing each household. The
volunteers collected duplicate diet samples in 2-L polypropylene
bottles. Collected diet samples were stored in a cool box. On the sam-
pling day, the interviewer administered a questionnaire about phys-
ical, dietary, and lifestyle information (sex, age, body weight and
height, workplace, work activities, hours of work, frequency of
smoking, and the food menu for the duplicate diet sampling day).
Ambient air particle samples were collected for 24-h on
polytetrafluoroethylene filters (PF040, φ55 mm, pore size 4 μm,
Advantec Toyo Kaisha, Tokyo, Japan) with a low-volume air sampler
(pump, LV-40BW; multistage type sizing unit filter holder C type,
Shibata Scientific Technology, Saitama, Japan). A sampler was placed
at a height of 1 m from the floor in the main living area or bedroom of
each house. The sampling rate was approximately 22.5 L/min. At the
end of the sampling period, the filters were wrapped with aluminum
foil and stored in a cool box.
After collection, all samples were kept in a freezer in the Research
Centre for Environmental Technology and Sustainable Development
(CETASD), Hanoi University of Science, until they were transported to
Japan. Soil and food samples were transported with permission from
the plant and animal quarantine department of the Ministry of Agricul-
ture, Forestry, and Fisheries. All the imported samples were stored at
−20 °C until analysis.
2.2. Determination of metal contents
After arrival at our laboratory, garden soil and floor dust samples
were air-dried indoors for approximately 1 week and then sieved
through a 250-μm mesh for metal measurement. This mesh size was
chosen because soil and dust particles smaller than this size are consid-
ered to adhere to children's hands (Yamamoto et al., 2006). An aliquot
of each sample (300 mg for soil, 100 mg for dust) was digested with
HNO3/HF/HClO4 in a Teflon beaker on a hot plate. After digestion, acid
was evaporated to dryness, and the residue was redissolved in 50 g of
0.14 mol/L HNO3 and stored as a stock sample solution (Ishibashi
et al., 2008). The acids used for dust and soil digestion were of poisonous
metal analysis grade (Kanto Chemical Co., Tokyo, Japan).
The duplicate diet samples for each household were individually
weighed in our laboratory upon arrival. The sample was homogenized
in one lot in a food processor (Cuisinart, San-ei Co., Tokyo, Japan) to ob-
tain a homogeneous composite sample for each household. In a prelim-
inary experiment, we confirmed that there was no metal contamination
from the food processor. A portion (30 g) of each composite sample was
freeze-dried in a 100-mL polypropylene bottle. The weight loss after
freeze-drying was measured and regarded as moisture content of the
duplicated diet sample. A 100-mg aliquot of each freeze-dried diet sam-
ple was weighed into a perfluoroalkoxy alkane vial along with 1 mL of
HNO3 (AA-100, Tama Chemical Co., Kawasaki, Japan) and was digested
with a microwave digestion device (START D, Milestone General, Kawa-
saki, Japan) as described in the literature (Noël et al., 2003). The
digested sample was made up to 10 g by the addition of purified
water, and stored as the stock solution of diet digest. Purified water
(Elix UV 10, Merck, Darmastadt, Germany) was used throughout prep-
aration of all the samples.
The present study focused on six metals (Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, Sb, and Zn);
these metals were chosen because our research group has found that
their soil levels have increased near the e-waste processing area that
is the subject of the current study (Uchida et al., submitted). Metal con-
tents were determined by an inductively coupled plasma mass spec-
trometry (ICP-MS) (Agilent 7500cx, Agilent, Tokyo, Japan) and an
inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES)
(Vista Pro, SII Inc., Chiba, Japan).
The association between metal contents in garden soil and metal
contents in floor dust was assessed by Pearson correlation analysis
(JMP 13.0, SAS Institute Inc., North Carolina, US).
Please cite this article as: Oguri, T., et al., Exposure assessment of heavy metals in an e-waste processing area in northern Vietnam, Sci Total En-
viron (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.10.115
3
2.3. Determination of bioaccessible metal concentrations
The bioaccessible metal concentrations in the garden soil, floor
dust, and diet samples were determined to approximate the oral up-
take of metals by the human body. For this purpose, a simple bioac-
cessibility extraction test (SBET) developed by the Solubility/
Bioavailability Research Consortium of the United States (Kelley
et al., 2002; Ruby et al., 1999) was used in present study. For this
test, a sample is extracted with simulated gastric juice, and the per-
centage of the mass of extracted metal relative to the total mass of
metal in the sample is calculated (referred to as bioaccessibility
(%)) (Oomen et al., 2002).
Briefly, a 1-g aliquot of a soil, dust, or diet sample was added to
glycine solution (100 mL, 0.4 mol/L) that had been adjusted to
pH 1.5 with HCl. The mixture was rotated end-over-end at 30 rpm
for 1 h at 37 ± 2 °C by a tube rotator (TR-350, AS ONE Corporation,
Osaka, Japan) in an electric oven (Advantec FV-1000, Toyo Roshi
Kaisha, Tokyo, Japan). The mixture was filtered through a 0.45-μm
cellulose acetate disk filter (Sartorius Minisart, Sartrius, Göttingen,
Germany). After confirming that the pH of the filtrate was between
1.0 and 2.0 (Oomen et al., 2002), analysis of metal in bioaccessible
extracts for all the samples except air were performed using ICP-
MS and ICP-AES.
2.4. Exposure and risk assessment
The exposure pathways for adult residents of the e-waste processing
area were determined based on the daily intakes from each environ-
mental source. The likely sources of human exposure to metals were in-
gestion of metal-contaminated soil, dust, and diet and inhalation of
ambient air, and were considered each of these sources for adult resi-
dents of the e-waste processing area.
For each metal, the daily intake (Intake, μg/kg/day) was computed
by multiplying the ingestion of soil (mg/day), dust (mg/day), and food
(mg/day) and the inhalation of ambient air (m3/day) by the content
or bioaccessible concentration of each metal in the environmental ma-
trix (mg/kg or ng/m3), and was divided by the body weight (kg) of
each subject. The mg/kg refers to solids, the ng/m3 to air. The ingestion
rate was set at 100 mg/day total for soil plus dust based on the average
soil plus dust ingestion rate reported in the literature (U.S. EPA, 2011);
the soil/dust ratio was assumed to be 1 (Stanek and Calabrese, 1992).
The ingestion rate for diet was based on the measured weight of the
diet sample for each subject. The average inhalation rates for ambient
air were assumed to be 22.7 and 18.7 m3/day for Vietnamese adult
men and women, respectively reported by the International Atomic En-
ergy Agency (IAEA) (Lien, 1998). For each metal, concentrations below
the limit of detection (LOD) for that metal were assigned a value of one-
half the LOD for calculation of intake.
The noncancer risk estimates for adult residents of the e-waste
processing area were determined from bioaccessible metal concen-
trations because these concentrations give results that are much
closer to the actual intakes involved. Noncancer risks as the hazard
quotient (HQ) expressed were obtained by dividing the Intake
(μg/kg/day) by the tolerable daily intake (TDI). The following TDI
values (μg/kg/day) were used: 1 (Cd) (JECFA, 2006), 500 (Cu)
(JECFA, 1982), 140 (Mn) (U.S. EPA, 1995), 0.4 (Sb) (U.S. EPA, 1987),
and 300 (Zn) (U.S. EPA, 2005). Details of the TDI endpoints are pro-
vided in Table S1 of the Supplementary material. For Pb, a provisional
tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) value of 25 μg/kg/week was used;
this value was withdrawn at the 73rd meeting of the Joint FAO/
WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) (JECFA, 2011),
and a new PTWI has not been defined by an international risk assess-
ment authority. However, to evaluate the health risk for residents in
the e-waste-processing area, the HQ for Pb was calculated based on
the previous PTWI.
4 T. Oguri et al. / Science of the Total Environment xxx (2017) xxx–xxx

2.5. Quality control
Analytical quality assurance was assessed using the following certi-
fied reference materials (CRMs): NIST SRM 2709a (San Joaquin Soil),
NIST SRM 2711 (Montana Soil), NIST SRM 2583 (Trace Elements in In-
door Dust), NIES CRM No. 27 (Typical Japanese Diet), NIST SRM 1547
(Peach Leaves), BCR-185R (Bovine Livers), TORT-3 (Lobster Hepatopan-
creas), NIES CRM No. 10 (Rice Flour-Unpolished Medium), and NIES
CRM No. 28 (Urban Aerosols). The measured values were within
±10% of the certified values of the CRMs for all the target metals. NIST
SRM 2711 (Montana Soil) does not have certified values for bioaccessi-
ble Cd and Pb, so for these metals our results were compared (Cd 0.375
± 0.002; Pb 10.7 ± 0.7 mg/L, n = 3) with literature data for this CRM
(Cd 0.352–0.364; Pb 9.22–10.1 mg/L) (Aung et al., 2004; Kelley et al.,
2002). The present study found good agreement between our results
and the literature data.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Subjects
Five volunteer subjects were recruited for this study: one male and
four females (IDs 1–5). All five subjects engaged in collecting and dis-
mantling e-waste and worked near their houses (either inside the
house or in the front or back yard). One subject (ID 1) occasionally en-
gaged in farming and all subjects purchased foodstuffs at a local food
store in the village. Local food store had sold some locally sourced
foods (rice, chicken meat, chicken egg and mullet).
The ages of the male and female subjects were 44 and 50.8 ±
8.1 years (mean ± standard deviation); the body weights were 58
and 57.5 ± 10.8 kg, and the body mass indexes (BMIs) were 20.8 and
22.4 ± 3.0 kg/m2, respectively. These BMIs are comparable to values
previously reported for a Vietnamese rural population (n = 497; 21.0
± 2.7 for males and 20.9 ± 2.6 kg/m2 for females; Kim et al., 2010), in-
dicating that our subjects were neither underweight nor overweight. All
subjects were nonsmokers.
3.2. Metal contents in garden soil, floor dust, and ambient air
Table 1 shows the median metal contents in the garden soil, floor
dust, and ambient air samples. The Cu, Pb, and Zn contents in the soil
samples were up to 11, 5, and 4 times, respectively, the corresponding
Vietnamese residential soil guidelines specified by the Ministry of
Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam (2008).
As shown in Table 2, the mean metal contents in the soil samples
were slightly higher than the corresponding values for some e-waste
recycling areas in China and the Philippines (Fujimori et al., 2012;
Quan et al., 2015; Tang et al., 2010) but lower than the values reported
for an e-waste incineration site in China and some dismantling work-
shops in Thailand, where open burning of circuit boards and other
metal chips releases large volumes of toxicants (Damrongsiri et al.,
2016; Luo et al., 2011). In contrast, the recycling activities conducted
in the present study area were moderate-intensity activities, such as
fractionation of metal and plastic and sorting of electric parts. Metal
contamination in the soil presumably originated from e-waste scraps
that fell directly onto the soil surface. E-waste scraps tend to contain
many heavy metals because the sources of the scraps contain large
amounts of several heavy metals (Hino et al., 2009).
The Cu and Sb contents in garden soil were positively correlated
with the corresponding contents in floor dust (r = 0.974, p b 0.01; r
= 0.989, p b 0.01; Pearson's test). In contrast, the Cd, Mn, Pb, and Zn
contents in soil were not correlated with the corresponding contents
in dust. Xu et al. (2015) have reported that Pb, Sb, Cu, and Cd are emitted
during e-waste recycling activities. These results suggest that in our
study area, fragments containing Cu and Sb derived from e-waste may
have been carried from workshops to inside the houses.
In none of the ambient air samples did the metal concentrations ex-
ceed the ambient air guidelines for Cd and Pb (Ministry of Natural
Resources and Environment, Vietnam, 2009a, 2009b). Note that an am-
bient air sample was not available for one subject (ID 5); therefore, the
mean of the other four values was substituted for the missing value
(Table 1). Ambient air samples were collected from the bedroom or liv-
ing room in each subject's house. The processing activities near the
houses consisted mainly of dismantling and sorting, and our results sug-
gest that diffusion of metal-containing particles from these activities,
and from open burning of wires, to the living area was limited.
3.3. Dietary metal contents and daily dietary metal intake
The median metal contents in the duplicate diet samples are shown
in Table 1. Exposure to metals were evaluated based on daily dietary in-
takes. The mean daily dietary intakes calculated from the Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb,
Sb, and Zn contents were 6.1, 2670, 7840, 21.4, 1.05, and 19,700 μg/day
(Table 3). In Table 3, the daily dietary intakes were compared deter-
mined in the present study with previously reported intake values.
The present study found that the dietary intakes of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Sb
in present study area were similar to those in uncontaminated areas
(Marcussen et al., 2013; Teruya et al., 2006; Ysart et al., 1999); that is,

Table 1
Metal contents in garden soil, floor dust, diet, and ambient air samples.a

Unit Median Range Median Range Median Range

Cd Cu Mn
This study Soil mg/kg 1.70 b0.03–3.54 771 61.9–4890 550 328–837
This study Dust mg/kg 2.53 b0.05–4.25 475 220–2790 479 462–575
Standard level Soil mg/kg 5b 70 b
This study Diet mg/kg 0.00429 0.00247–0.0222 0.270 0.218–11.8 7.42 3.62–11.7
This study Air ng/m3 1.7 1.3–2.1 18 6.4–42 30 24–37
Standard level Air ng/m3 5c

Pb Sb Zn
This study Soil mg/kg 580 69.8–1980 16.9 2.43–157 860 109–1720
This study Dust mg/kg 556 252–968 19.9 15.1–106 1079 539–1540
Standard level Soil mg/kg 120b 200b
This study Diet mg/kg 0.0203 0.00816–0.0624 0.00074 0.00026–0.00258 20.8 9.27–26.6
This study Air ng/m3 36 34–48 8.5 6.9–11 120 97–140
Standard level Air ng/m3 500d
a
Metal concentrations are expressed on a dry weight basis for soil, dust, and ambient air samples and on a wet weight basis for diet samples. An ambient air sample was unavailable for
one subject; for this subject, the mean of the other four values was used.
b
Standard for residential soil (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam, 2008).
c
Standard for ambient air (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam, 2009a).
d
Standard for ambient air (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam, 2009b).

Please cite this article as: Oguri, T., et al., Exposure assessment of heavy metals in an e-waste processing area in northern Vietnam, Sci Total En-
viron (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.10.115
 T. Oguri et al. / Science of the Total Environment xxx (2017) xxx–xxx 5

Table 2
Comparison of mean metal contents (mg/kg) in soil and dust obtained in the present study with contents reported in previous studies.a

Location Land use Exposure Cd Cu Mn Pb Sb Zn Reference

source

Bui Dau, Vietnam Simple household e-waste Soil 1.28 ± 1.71 1520 ± 2010 509 ± 189 759 ± 741 46 ± 65 761 ± 682 This study
recycling workshops
Guangdong China Incineration site Soil 17.1 ± 12.5 11,140 ± 9000 4500 ± 3370 3700 ± 2700 Luo et al. (2011)
Wenling, China Large-scale e-waste recycling Soil 3.0 ± 2.0 180 ± 70 180 ± 144 343 ± 169 Tang et al. (2010)
plants (n = 7)
Wenling, China Large-scale gold recovering Soil 5.1 424 144 203 Tang et al. (2010)
plants (n = 2)
Wenling, China Simple household e-waste Soil 4.4 ± 3.4 327 ± 373 313 ± 560 299 ± 155 Tang et al. (2010)
recycling workshops (n = 3)
Guiyu, China Acid leaching area Soil 1.36 684.1 222.8 1706 572.8 Quan et al. (2015)
Philippines Formal site (Complied with Soil 0.3 350 800 53 140 Fujimori et al.
environmental regulations) (2012)
Philippines Informal site (Not complied with Soil 2.9 810 900 650 1000 Fujimori et al.
environmental regulations) (2012)
Thailand Simple household e-waste Soil 58–12,986 30–715 40–4556 158–4258 Damrongsiri et al.
dismantling workshops (2016)
Bui Dau, Vietnam Simple household e-waste Dust 2.41 ± 1.68 881 ± 1080 509 ± 52.9 549 ± 297 38 ± 39 1000 ± 416 This study
recycling workshops
Qingyuan, China Large-scale e-waste recycling Dust 59.0 1712 1467 2250 Zheng et al. (2013)
plants
China Simple household recycling Dust 10.2 6290 808 9520 67 1160 Xu et al. (2015)
workshops
Guiyu, China Large-scale e-waste recycling site Dust 1.94 589.74 Yekeen et al. (2016)
Philippines Formal site (Complied with Dust 2.9 23,000 9000 3000 Fujimori et al.
environmental regulations) (2012)
Philippines Informal site (Not complied Dust 3.0 6600 1400 2800 Fujimori et al.
with environmental (2012)
regulations)
a
Standard deviations are provided when available.

our results indicate that e-waste processing did not result in substantial
serious contamination to the surrounding crops. In contrast, the dietary
intakes of Mn and Zn tended to be 2–4 times the previously reported in-
takes (Marcussen et al., 2013; Teruya et al., 2006; Ysart et al., 1999). Luo
et al. (2011) have cited e-waste as the source of Zn contamination in ag-
ricultural soils and crops. The relative higher dietary Zn intake observed
in the present study may have been related to the e-waste processing
activity in the study area. However in present study based on duplicated
diet survey, it requires careful attention in that it cannot be distin-
guished whether the metal concentration in the crop increased, or the
metal concentration in diet sample increased for the cause of soil or
dust contamination in the cooking process.
3.4. Bioaccessibility
Fig. 1 shows mean bioaccessibility values for the six metals in the
garden soil, indoor dust, and diet samples for all five subjects. For all
the environmental exposure sources, the bioaccessibility values for Cd
(69–102%) and Pb (58–83%) were higher than those for the other
metals. However, the bioaccessibility values for Cu and Sb varied widely

Table 3
Comparison of mean daily dietary metal intakes (μg/day) based on metal contents obtained in the present study with intakes determined in previous studies.a

Location Land use Sampling Cd Cu Mn Pb Sb Zn Reference

method

Bui Dau, Vietnam Simple household e-waste Duplicate 6.1 ± 4.6b 2670 ± 5270b 7840 ± 3320b 21.4 ± 11.6b 1.05 ± 1.01b 19,700 ± 9310b This study
recycling workshops diet
Panlang, China E-waste disassembly site Market 14.6 167 Zhao et al. (2010)
basket
Tongshan, China E-waste disassembly site Market 16.9 160 Zhao et al. (2010)
basket
Xiazheng, China E-waste disassembly site Market 17.0 119 Zhao et al. (2010)
basket
Xinqiu, China E-waste disassembly site Market 22.9 127 Zhao et al. (2010)
basket
Yandang, China Reference site Market 13.6 82.4 Zhao et al. (2010)
basket
Catalonia, Spain Near waste incinerator Market 4.6 2229 39.9 Marti-Cid et al.
area basket (2009)
Tarragona, Spain Industrialized area Duplicate 49.5 1192 2717 19.8 38.0 6751 Domingo et al.
diet (2012)
Hanoi, Vietnam Urban area Market 34.1 3070 4185 26.7 1.68 9000 Marcussen et al.
basket (2013)
Whole Japan Market 38.0 1500 3240 20.8 9340 Teruya et al. (2006)
basket
Whole Market 14 1400 4500 23 3 11,000 Ysart et al. (1999)
UK basket
a
Standard deviations are provided when available.
b
Mean ± standard deviation.

Please cite this article as: Oguri, T., et al., Exposure assessment of heavy metals in an e-waste processing area in northern Vietnam, Sci Total En-
viron (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.10.115
6 T. Oguri et al. / Science of the Total Environment xxx (2017) xxx–xxx
Fig. 1. Bioaccessibilities (%, means ± standard deviations, n = 5) of metals in garden soil,
indoor dust, and diet samples.
with exposure source: the percentages for Cu and Sb were 63% and 13%
for soil, 56% and 11% for dust, and 19% and 90% for diet, respectively
(Fig. 1).
The bioaccessibility of a metal generally depends mainly on its
chemical and physical state (e.g., pH, particle size, chemical speciation,
and organic carbon content) in the environmental source (Ibanez
et al., 2010; Luo et al., 2012). The bioaccessibilities of the metals in the
present study decreased in the order Cd (100%) N Cu (58%) N Pb (56%)
N Zn (48%) N Mn (34%) N Sb (12%) for garden soil and in the order Pb
(78%) N Cd (71%) N Zn (57%) N Cu (51%) N Mn (37%) N Sb (10%) for
floor dust (Fig. 1). The order for soil was nearly the same as the order re-
ported for Chinese urban soil: Cd (92%) N Cu (53%) N Pb (48%) N Mn
(45%) N Zn (39%) (determined by the same SBET extractant; Luo et al.,
2012). However, our results were not consistent with those of Pascaud
et al. (2014), who reported the following bioaccessibilities for metals
in soccer field topsoils and mine tailings collected in France in the area
of an abandoned mine: Pb (7–41%) N Zn (2–29%) N As (2–11%) N Sb
(bLOD). In addition, Wang et al. (2016) reported the following order
for bioaccessibilities of metals in urban park dust from China: Pb
(36–83%) N Cd (30–95%) N Zn (32–79%) N Mn (32–81%) N Cu
(18–66%). The results of Wang et al. indicate that the bioaccessibilities
of Pb and Cd in dust tend to be high, which is consistent with our results.
Taken together, all of these results suggest that metal bioaccessibilities
in soil and dust are highly variable among different sites and contami-
nant sources.
The bioaccessibilities of metals in diet samples are affected by the
sample matrix and by cooking (Moreda-Piñeiro et al., 2011). In our
study, the median bioaccessibilities of metals in the diet samples de-
creased in the order Cd (100%) N Pb (99%) N Sb (83%) N Zn (24%)
N Mn (21%) N Cu (19%), which differs from the order for bioaccessible
fractions in shellfish (clams, mussels, scallops, etc.; Cu (70%) N Zn
(65%) N Cd (54%) N Pb (33%); Amiard et al., 2008). These results clearly
indicate that bioaccessibility depends on the diet matrix.
Fig. 2 shows the contribution rate of each exposure source to the
daily intakes of Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, Sb, and Zn. When daily metal intakes
were estimated from metal content (panel A), soil and dust were the
main exposure sources for Pb and Sb, and diet was the main source
for Cd, Cu, Mn, and Zn. When daily intakes were estimated on the
basis of bioaccessible metal concentrations, soil and dust were the
main exposure sources only for Pb (panel B). Note in particular that
soil and dust were the main exposure sources for Sb when intake was
based on metal content but not when it was based on bioaccessible
metal concentration. The reason for this result is that the
bioaccessibilities of Sb in soil and dust were low, 13% and 11%, respec-
tively (Fig. 1). Metals adsorbed on mineral particles or retained by ion
exchange reactions are known to be very soluble (Fedotov et al.,
2012). In contrast, metals in soil particles are less soluble, as are metals
Please cite this article as: Oguri, T., et al., Exposure assessment of heavy metals in an e-waste processing area in northern Vietnam, Sci Total En-
viron (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.10.115
Fig. 2. Median contribution rates (%, n = 5) of exposure sources to daily intakes of Cd, Cu,
Mn, Pb, Sb, and Zn: (A) metal contents and (B) bioaccessible metal concentrations.
in waste-derived fragments (b250 μm), depending on the material and
the additive composition of the metals. Because Sb has a low abundance
in the earth's crust, almost all the Sb present in the soil is of anthropo-
genic origin. Plastic materials derived from e-waste contain Sb in the
form of antimony trioxide, which is used as a flame retardant auxiliary
(De Boeck et al., 2003). Antimony trioxide in plastic materials is
known less water soluble (Onwudili and Williams, 2009). Consequent-
ly, it suggested that the bioaccessibility of Sb in soil or dust was low.
The contributions of metal exposure via inhalation to daily metal in-
take were negligible (Fig. 2), as indicated by calculations using IAEA ref-
erence inhalation rates.
3.5. Estimated noncancer risk
Our results show that health risks must be estimated on the basis of
the bioaccessible metal concentrations rather than the metal contents in
environmental exposure sources. Therefore, it was calculated HQs of the
measured bioaccessible metal concentrations to assess noncancer risk
in the e-waste processing area. The calculated maximum HQs for all
subjects were b0.1 for Cu; between 0.1 and 0.5 for Cd, Mn, and Sb;
and between 0.5 and 1 for Zn (Table 4). These HQ estimates suggest
that adverse health effects due to these metals are unlikely.
Assessing the risk due to Pb poses some problems. In 2011, the JECFA
reported that the previously established PTWI for Pb (25 μg/kg/week for
all age groups) is associated with decreased IQ in children and increased
blood pressure in adults; therefore, the committee withdrew the PTWI
but did not establish a new one (JECFA, 2011). Moreover, the threshold
for the health effects of Pb remains unclear (JECFA, 2011); health effects
may occur at Pb doses lower than 25 μg/kg/week, and a lower PTWI may
be set in the future. However, the Pb contents that the present study
was measured in soil and dust in this study exceeded the corresponding
environmental standards in Vietnam (Table 1), an indication that Pb
contamination levels in the e-waste processing area may pose some
 T. Oguri et al. / Science of the Total Environment xxx (2017) xxx–xxx 7

Table 4 measured metals. In the future, the present risk estimate should update
Daily intakes of bioaccessible metals and estimated hazard quotients (HQs). to reflect the latest scientific findings.
Element Intake Intake TDI HQ Most of the previous studies considered metal exposure only via soil
(μg/day) (μg/kg/day) (μg/kg/day)
and dust or food ingestion, and in many studies, the bioaccessibility of
the surveyed metals was not considered. In contrast, because the pres-
Cd
ent study was considered for bioaccessibility, our study provides valu-
Median 3.9 0.0676 1a 0.07
Range (2.9–9.9) (0.051–0.20) (0.05–0.2) able information that can be expected to be useful for estimating the
health risks to adult residents as a result of heavy metal exposure due
Cu
to e-waste processing activities in Bui Dau.
Median 330 5.9 500b 0.01
Range (230–2600) (3.2–44) (0.01–0.09) To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the only study to
assess human health risks on the basis of bioaccessible metal exposure
Mn
from multiple environmental sources in a non-intensive e-waste
Median 1800 31 140c 0.2
Range (1000–2400) (19–41) (0.1–0.3) recycling area. Since 2016, the collection, recovery, processing, and dis-
posal of waste products have been regulated in Vietnam, and a take-
Pb
back system was instituted in that same year (Yoshida et al., 2016). Ad-
Median 56 0.92
Range (21−130) (0.34–2.3) ditional studies of e-waste recycling activities in Vietnam, where e-
waste is a growing problem, are needed so that similar Pb and other
Sb
contaminants exposure scenarios can be prevented.
Median 0.78 0.015 0.4d 0.04
Range (0.54–4.4) (0.0088–0.076) (0.02–0.2) Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.10.115.
Zn
Median 3800 67 300e 0.2
Range (3100–8100) (46–170) (0.2–0.5) Abbreviations
a
JECFA (2006).
b
JECFA (1982). BMI body mass index
c
U.S. EPA (1995). HQ hazard quotient
d
U.S. EPA (1987).
e
U.S. EPA (2005).
IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency
ICP-AES inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy
ICP-MS inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
health risks to area residents. Therefore, despite the lack of a PTWI de-
JECFA Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives
fined by an international risk assessment authority, it was calculated
LOD limit of detection
HQs for Pb by using the previously established PTWI (JECFA, 2011).
PTWI provisional tolerable weekly intake
The calculated HQs for four of the subjects were b 0.5, and the value
SBET simple bioaccessibility extraction test
for the fifth subject was 0.6 (data not shown in Table 4). These results
TDI tolerable daily intake
that Pb exposure of the subjects were lower than the former PTWI,
did not conduce whether immediate risk management is necessary or
not. Pb has significant adverse effects on the neurobehavioral develop-
ment of children even at low levels (CDC, 2012), and a new, lower Acknowledgments
PTWI for Pb may be established in the coming years. Therefore, the ex-
posure to Pb via e-waste processing will continue to be an issue requir- This study was partly supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Re-
ing attention. search (A) (No. 16H01784) from Japan Society for the Promotion of Sci-
The results of our survey indicate that health risks due to exposure to ence (JSPS) and by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science
Cd, Cu, Mn, Sb, and Zn, but not Pb, appear to be negligible in this area and Technology, Japan (MEXT) to a project on Joint Usage/Research
where non-intensive e-waste processing is conducted. Center – Leading Academia in Marine and Environmental Research
The representativeness of the result in terms of metal exposure in (LaMer). Advice and comments received from K. Takata (National Insti-
this area may be less valid because the subjects is small number and tute for Environmental Studies) have been extremely helpful for
did not included children that may be at higher risk of exposure by analyses.
metals ingestion. The present estimate of metal exposure was based
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