Human exposure to BTEX emitted from a typical e-waste recycling industrial park: External and internal exposure levels, sources, and probabilistic risk implications

Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) can be released during extensive activities associated with the disposal of electronic waste (e-waste), which might pose deleterious health effects on workers. In this study, pollution profiles of BTEX in air and their urinary excretive profiles in occupational workers were investigated in a typical e-waste recycling industrial park. The results showed that the workers in the park were generally exposed to high levels of BTEX. The median levels of urinary metabolites were approximately 6-orders of magnitude higher than those of unmetabolized BTEX, indicating that pollutants efficiently metabolize at those occupational levels. The analytes presented differential profiles in external and internal exposure. Among the metabolites, significant correlation (p < 0.05) was observed between N-acetyl-S-benzyl-L-cysteine (S-BMA) concentration and atmospheric individual BTEX derived from the e-waste recycling area, suggesting that S-BMA is a potential marker for BTEX exposure to e-waste occupational workers. Notably, 95.2 % of all the workers showed a cumulative carcinogenic risk induced by BTEX exposure via inhalation, with 99.9 % of the carcinogenic risk distribution based on concentration of benzene metabolite (N-acetyl-S-(phenyl)-L-cysteine) exceeding 1.0E-6. This study holds potential in providing valuable inferences for the development of remediation strategies focusing on BTEX exposure reduction to protect workers’ health at e-waste recycling industries.