Hazardous metals emissions from e-waste-processing sites in a village in northern Vietnam

Inappropriate e-waste-processing operation is a serious issue in developing countries since the early 2000's.Field research was conducted to clarify its influences and diffuse toxic substances in the environment at e-waste-processing sites in a village in northern Vietnam from 2012 to 2014.We investigated surface soil samples collected from e-waste-processing sites,open burning sites,and rice paddy sites.Sediment samples and water samples were also collected from a river that runs through the village.The hazardous metal concentration in soil and river sediment samples indicated that 7 elements(Ca,Cu,Mo,Ni,Pb,Sn,and Zn)had high concentrations as a result of e-waste-processing.Most notably,Pb and Cu had high concentrations in soil samples(Pb:26e2200 mg/kg,Cu:22e3000 mg/kg).The results of a multivariate analysis indicated that these 7 elements were closely correlated with e-waste-processing.Concentrations of hazardous metals showed an upward trend where e-waste-processing occurred during the 3-year study period,although it was not significant statistically at present.Open burning activity had a great influence on Cu accumulation,and maximum Cu concentrations increased from 340 mg/kg in 2012e3000 mg/kg in 2014 in soil samples from open-burning sites.There were large differences in the dominant hazardous metal depending on the type of e-waste-processing workshop because hazardous metal composition was influenced by the types of e-waste and the processing procedures.It is necessary to avoid e-waste processing in open-air environment to control emissions of hazardous substances.Especially,open burning should be prohibited.

Organic Materials Could Improve the Phytoremediation Efficiency of Soil Potentially Hazardous Metal by Sedum alfredii Hance

Soil potentially hazardous metal(PHM)is continually attracting public attention worldwide,due to its highly toxic properties and potentially huge damage to human being through food chain.Phytoremediation is an effective and eco-friendly way in remediation technology.A pot experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of different organic materials(biogas residue(BR),mushroom residue(MR),and bamboo-shoot shell(BS))application on phytoremediation of two PHM-contaminated soils(Fuyang soil as‘heavily-polluted soil’and Wenzhou soil as‘moderately-polluted soil’,respectively)by Sedum alfrecdii Hance.The results indicated:1)for moderately-polluted soil,the 5%BR treatment had the strongest activation to Cu and Zn,for heavily-polluted soil,1%BS treatment had the highest activation effect for Cu,Zn,Pb and Cd.2)the above-ground biomass of Sedum alfredii Hance increased with the addition rate of organic materials.3)for Cd uptake of Sedum alfredii Hance in moderately-polluted soil,only 1%BS treatment had a better accumulation effect,compared to the control,for Zn element,MR treatments were weaker than the control,while other treatments were better than the control,of which 5%BR,1%BS and 5%BS accumulated more Zn element by 39.6%,32.6%and 23.8%,respectively;in heavily-polluted soil,the treatments of 5%BS,1%BR and 5%BR accumulated more Cd than the control by 12.9%,12.8%and 6.2%,respectively,the treatments with organic materials addition promoted Zn accumulation in shoots of Sedum alfredii Hance,and the best treatment was 5%BS.Therefore,an appropriate application rate of BS and BR could improve the remediation efficiency for Zn/Cd contaminated soils by Sedum alfredii Hance.