Gaseous elemental mercury emissions from informal E-Waste recycling facilities in Pakistan

Mureed Kazim; Jabir Hussain Syed; Perihan Binnur Kurt-Karakus; Merve Ozkaleli Akcetin; Sumaira Akram; Askin Birgul; Melik Kara; Yetkin Dumanoglu; Mustafa Odabasi; Zafeer Saqib; Jawad Nasir; Amanullah Mahar; Taimoor Shah; Mohsin Gulzar Burq; Kevin C Jones; Frank Wania

doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2023.09.014

Gaseous elemental mercury emissions from informal E-Waste recycling facilities in Pakistan

Waste Manag. 2023 Oct 1:170:261-269. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2023.09.014. Epub 2023 Sep 18.

Authors

Mureed Kazim¹, Jabir Hussain Syed², Perihan Binnur Kurt-Karakus³, Merve Ozkaleli Akcetin⁴, Sumaira Akram⁵, Askin Birgul⁴, Melik Kara⁶, Yetkin Dumanoglu⁶, Mustafa Odabasi⁶, Zafeer Saqib¹, Jawad Nasir⁷, Amanullah Mahar⁸, Taimoor Shah⁹, Mohsin Gulzar Burq¹⁰, Kevin C Jones¹¹, Frank Wania¹²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Sciences, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
² Department of Meteorology, COMSATS University Islamabad, Tarlai Kalan Park Road, 45550 Islamabad, Pakistan. Electronic address: jabir.syed@comsats.edu.pk.
³ Environmental Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Bursa Technical University, Bursa, Turkey. Electronic address: perihan.kurt@btu.edu.tr.
⁴ Environmental Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Bursa Technical University, Bursa, Turkey.
⁵ Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Bahria University Islmabad Campus, Pakistan; Department of Environmental Sciences, Forman Christian College University, Lahore, Pakistan.
⁶ Environmental Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Dokuz Eylul University, İzmir, Turkey.
⁷ Earth Sciences Directorate, Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARC), P.O. Box 8402, Karachi 75270, Pakistan.
⁸ Centre for Environmental Science, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan.
⁹ Department of Environmental Sciences, Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), Quetta, Pakistan.
¹⁰ Department of Microbiology, University of Central Punjab, Johar Town Lahore, Pakistan.
¹¹ Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom.
¹² Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada.

PMID: 37729843
DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2023.09.014

Abstract

Detrimental effects of mercury (Hg) on ecosystems and human health have been well-documented. Whereas emissions of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) from e-waste recycling have been reported in developed countries, much less is known about the situation in the Global South. Using a total of 132 passive air samplers, seasonally resolved concentrations of GEM in air were measured continuously at 32 informal e-waste recycling facilities and background location in Pakistan for a period of one year between September 2020 and December 2021. Annual average GEM concentrations at the studied locations ranged from 1.8 to 92 ng m^-3. Among the studied cities, higher concentrations were measured in Karachi (mean ± s.d: 17 ± 22, range: 4.2-92 ng m^-3), Lahore (16 ± 4.2, 8.2-22 ng m^-3) and Peshawar (15 ± 17, 4.9-80 ng m^-3), while lower levels were measured in Hyderabad (6.9 ± 6.2, 3.1-25 ng m^-3), consistent with a higher rate of informal recycling activities in metropolitan areas. Seasonally, higher GEM levels occurred during autumn (15 ± 16: 3.3-92 ng m^-3) and summer (13 ± 8.7: 1.8-80 ng m^-3) than in winter (12 ± 8.4: 2.5-49 ng m^-3) and spring (9.2 ± 7.3: 1.8-80 ng m^-3), possibly reflecting enhanced volatilization at higher temperatures and/or varying magnitude of recycling operations in different seasons. Policies and strict regulations related to e-waste management should be developed and implemented urgently in the country.

Keywords: E-waste; GEM; Informal recycling; Passive sampling; Spatio-temporal variations.