Metals and Particulates Exposure from a Mobile E-Waste Shredding Truck: A Pilot Study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ceballos D ; Herrick R ; Zhou M
• Description:
  The US electronics recycling industry has introduced a novel mobile electronic waste (e-waste) shredding truck service to address increasing needs for secure data destruction of e-waste. These trucks can shred small electronics with data security concerns at remote locations for a wide variety of clients. Shredding jobs usually involve hand-feeding electronic waste (e-waste) for 4-10 h day-1, 1-5 days. Shredding of e-waste has been documented as a source of high metal exposures, especially lead and cadmium. However, no studies have been done to assess exposures on mobile e-waste shredding trucks. We conducted a pilot cross-sectional exposure assessment on a mobile e-waste shredding truck performing a 65-min shredding job (truck back door open and no local exhaust ventilation) in the Greater Boston area in 2019. We collected area air and surface wipe samples for metals along with real-time particulate measurements from different locations. The highest metal air concentrations (e.g. 2.9 ug-lead m-3) were found next and 1.8 m away from the shredder operator inside the semi-trailer. Metal surface contamination was highest near the shredder (e.g. 1190 ug-lead 100 cm-2) and extended to other parts of the truck. Near the shredder, the concentration of ultrafine particles was up to 250 000 particles cm-3 and particulate matter 2.5 mm or less in diameter (PM2.5) was up to 171 ug m-3, and neither returned to background levels after 40 min of inactivity. A diesel-electric generator was used to power the shredder and could have contributed to some of the particulate emissions. We found that mobile e-waste shredding trucks are a source of metals and particulates emissions. We recommend the industry adopts better controls for shredding inside trucks, such as local exhaust ventilation with proper filtration and use of personal protective equipment, to protect workers' health and the environment. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Dust Electrical Equipment And Supplies Metals Occupational Health Particulate Matter Personal Protective Equipment Safety Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Electronics Cross Sectional Studies Electronic Equipment Electronics Industry Exhaust Ventilation Exposure Assessment Heavy Metals Lead Metal Dusts New Technologies Particulates PPE Recycling Waste Disposal

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• ISSN:
  2398-7308
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  64
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20061180
• Citation:
  Ann Work Expo Health 2020 Oct; 64(8):890-896
• Contact Point Address:
  Diana Ceballos, Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
• Email:
  ceballos@bu.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Cadmium (CAS RN 7440-43-9) ; Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  Harvard School of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Annals of Work Exposures and Health
• End Date:
  20280630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:fa0e02a0a4b10eee7b2f2b30e1e7b68a056ce97277faa16c895e5753afe0721f350af2e92bda4ae17312d32764789d9a86dc532f5dc7e88d2bb7c7cd0bfa1192
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/224803/cdc_224803_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 552.41 KB ]