Ecological burden of e-waste in Bangladesh: participant’s characteristics and methods of cross-sectional assessment to measure the exposure to e-waste and associated health outcomes (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Electronic waste (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 recycle 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 employs a cross-sectional study design consisting of an exposed and a non-exposed control site. The trained team collected information on individual exposures, detailed work/medical history, and collected 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 biological samples with reported physical function as outcomes of interest. In addition, we also collected soil and dust samples from both exposed and non-exposed control sites to measure the health risk. All the environmental samples will be analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) to determine metal concentrations. RESULTS The protocol has been approved by the Institutional Review Boards of the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) and the University of Queensland’s (UQ) Human Behavioural 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 epidemiologic research in Bangladesh. Research in this field is particularly pressing in the context of the current e-waste trend and the need to deepen understanding of exposures and outcomes.