背景:电子废物是全球范围内快速增长的废物流,孟加拉国是电子垃圾处理中心。非正式的电子废物回收操作涉及粗略的拆卸方法,修复,排序,赤手空拳回收电子产品,没有个人健康保护。在非正式回收过程中,直接吸入或皮肤接触有毒物质是常见的。有证据表明,电子废物衍生的有毒物质污染了陆地生态系统,并与不利的健康影响有关。然而,在孟加拉国,尚未充分探索与电子废物回收有关的职业健康危害。
目的:我们的研究旨在扩大目前对电子垃圾暴露的理解。这项研究将测量生物和环境样品中的金属浓度,并评估重金属与电子废物工人的生化系统之间的关系。
方法:本研究采用横断面研究设计,包括暴露部位和非暴露对照部位。训练有素的团队收集了个人暴露的信息,详细的工作和病史,和生物样本(血液,尿液,和头发)来自每个主题。这项研究将测量重金属水平(铅,镉,和汞)和生化参数(血液学,荷尔蒙,肾,和其他)来自具有报告的身体功能的生物样品作为感兴趣的结果。此外,我们还从暴露和未暴露的控制地点收集了土壤和灰尘样本,以测量健康风险。将使用电感耦合等离子体质谱仪分析所有环境样品以确定金属浓度。我们还将进行定性调查,以更深入地了解孟加拉国的电子废物管理系统。
结果:该方案已获得国际腹泻病研究中心机构审查委员会的批准,孟加拉国,和昆士兰大学人类行为伦理委员会。获得所有参与者的知情书面同意。我们从电子废物现场招募了199名接触至少5年的工人,以及104名没有工业或电子废物接触的对照受试者。样品分析预计将于2022年完成。
结论:尽管许多研究已经确定了暴露于电子垃圾的潜在不良健康结果,孟加拉国缺乏已发表的流行病学研究。在当前电子废物趋势以及需要加深对暴露和结果的理解的背景下,该领域的研究尤其紧迫。
■DERR1-10.2196/38201。
BACKGROUND: e-Waste is a rapidly growing waste stream worldwide, and Bangladesh is a hub of e-waste handling. Informal e-waste recycling operations involve crude methods for dismantling, repairing, sorting, and recycling electronic goods with bare hands and without personal health protections. Direct inhalation or dermal exposure to toxicants during informal recycling is common. Evidence suggests that e-waste-derived toxicants pollute the terrestrial ecosystem and have been linked with adverse health effects. However, e-waste recycling-related occupational health hazards have not been adequately explored in the context of Bangladesh.
OBJECTIVE: Our
study aims to expand the current understanding of exposure to e-waste. This
study will measure the metal concentrations in biological and environmental samples and evaluate the relationship between heavy metals and the biochemical systems of the e-waste workers.
METHODS: The
study uses a cross-sectional
study design consisting of an exposed site and a nonexposed control site. The trained team collected information on individual exposures, detailed work and medical history, and biological samples (blood, urine, and hair) from each subject. This
study will measure heavy metal levels (lead, cadmium, and mercury) and biochemical parameters (hematological, hormonal, renal, and others) from the biological samples with reported physical function as outcomes of interest. In addition, we also collected soil and dust samples from both exposed and nonexposed control sites to measure the health risk. All the environmental samples will be analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer to determine metal concentrations. We will also conduct a qualitative investigation for a deeper understanding of the e-waste management system in Bangladesh.
RESULTS: The protocol has been approved by the Institutional Review Boards of the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, and The University of Queensland\'s Human Behavioral Ethics Committee. Informed written consent was obtained from all participants. We recruited 199 workers from the e-waste sites with at least 5 years of exposure and 104 control subjects with no industrial or e-waste exposure. Sample analysis is estimated to be completed in 2022.
CONCLUSIONS: Although many studies have identified potential adverse health outcomes from exposure to e-waste, there is a lack of published epidemiological research in Bangladesh. Research in this field is particularly pressing in the context of the current e-waste trend and the need to deepen the understanding of exposures and outcomes.
UNASSIGNED: DERR1-10.2196/38201.