Heavy metal and persistent organic compound contamination in soil from Wenling: An emerging e-waste recycling city in Taizhou area, China

The present study was conducted to investigate the levels and sources of heavy metals (Cu, Cr, Cd, Pb, Zn, Hg and As) and persistent organic compounds including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in soils taken from Wenling, an emerging e-waste recycling city in Taizhou, China. The results suggested that most heavy metals exceeded the respective Grade II value of soil quality standards from State Environmental Protection Administration of China and also exceeded the Dutch optimum values. Total PAHs in soil ranged from 371.8 to 1231.2 μg/kg, and relatively higher PAHs concentrations were found in soils taken from simple household workshops. PCBs were detectable in all samples with total concentrations ranging from 52.0 to 5789.5 μg/kg, which were 2.1-232.5 times higher than that from the reference site (24.9 μg/kg). Results of this study suggested soil in the Wenling e-waste recycling area were heavily contaminated by heavy metals, PAHs and PCBs. Furthermore, compared with large-scale plants, simple household workshops contributed more heavy metals, PAHs and PCBs pollution to the soil environment, indicating that soil contamination from e-waste recycling in simple household workshops should be given more attention.