The total amount of e-waste produced is exponentially increasing. Recycling techniques of e-waste, particularly in developing countries with unregulated recycling sites, have been linked to causing potentially toxic elements (PTE) to mobilize into surrounding soil. Humans are at risk if those elements enter the food chain. Using inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) the concentrations of some PTE including Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn were detected in soil samples taken from Lagos, Nigeria. The samples were also analyzed for their respective pH values. The concentrations of the PTE and pH values were then compared for any correlation. Sample site A, the closest in distance to the e-waste facility, was the most contaminated site with concentrations of PTE up to 18000 mg/kg and had the strongest correlation between pH and Cd concentration. Sample site F, the furthest in distance to the e-waste facility, had the strongest correlation between pH and Cu, Pb and Zn concentrations.

Influence of soil pH on potentially toxic eElement content near e-waste recycling facility in Lagos, Nigeria

2019 Spring National Meeting

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