Human health risk associated with metal exposure at Agbogbloshie e-waste site and the surrounding neighbourhood in Accra, Ghana

• DOI: 10.1007/s10653-023-01503-0
• Publication Date: 2023-03-02T11:49:36Z
• Authors: Matt Dodd; Lydia Otoo Amponsah; Stephen Grundy; Godfred Darko
• Keywords: China; Challenges in Medical Waste Management during COVID-19 Pandemic; Solid Waste Management; Organic chemistry; Ghana; Risk Assessment; Biochemistry; Electronic Waste; Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering; Environmental science; 12. Responsible consumption; Soil; Contamination; Metals, Heavy; 11. Sustainability; Health Sciences; Soil water; Humans; Soil Pollutants; Biology; Soil science; Original Paper; Ecology; Metal; Ingestion; Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health; Human health; 15. Life on land; 6. Clean water; 3. Good health; medical waste; Chemistry; Environmental health; Lead; Heavy metals; 13. Climate action; FOS: Biological sciences; Environmental Science; Physical Sciences; Environmental chemistry; Global E-Waste Recycling and Management; Medicine; Health risk; Environmental Monitoring; Cadmium

Agbogbloshie in Accra, Ghana, was a center for informal e-waste recycling until it closed recently. This study investigated the potential health risks of toxic metals (including As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sb, and Zn) found surface soils based on their concentrations vitro bioaccessibility. Mean at burning sites were As: 218; Cd: 65; Cr: 182; Cu: 15,841; Ni: 145; Pb: 6,106; Sb: 552; Zn: 16,065 mg/kg while dismantling had mean 23; 38; 342; 3239; 96; 681; 104; 1658 mg/kg. The findings confirmed enrichment potentially sites, exceeding international environmental soil quality guidelines. Based total metal concentrations, bioaccessibility, calculated risk indices, associated with incidental ingestion soil-borne contaminants very high. Despite evidence higher communities near human significantly lower surrounding neighborhood.