Human Exposure to Emerging Contaminants Associated with E-waste Dismantling: Environmental Processes, Human Exposure and Environmental Management

Dear Colleagues,

Emerging contaminants have gained considerable attention from environmental chemists and toxicologists because of their prevalence in the environment and potential adverse effects on health. Furthermore, e-waste can be defined as any “discarded electrical or electronic devices”; it continues to be generated at an alarming rate since the past decade. Although E-waste dismantling recovers valuable materials, hazardous contaminants originating from such processes also contaminate ecosystems, further cause high exposure levels, and lead to multiple adverse health outcomes to workers or residents living in the vicinity of disposal areas. Currently, driven by a series of laws and regulations of the e-waste recycling market, primitive dismantling of e-waste at disposal sites has declined significantly as a consequence. However, rapid innovation in the electronics industry has resulted in a fast-growing surge of emerging contaminants. Yet, there is still enough room for research in environmental risk assessment, management, and remediation actions of contaminants associated with e-waste, as well as the magnitude of human exposure.

This Special Issue of Toxics calls for submissions of innovative and original propositions for articles (including research and review articles) about current problems regarding emerging contaminants originated from e-waste dismantling activities. We are pleased to invite original works that may contribute to (1) methodology to characterize emerging contaminants; (2) environmental distribution, bioaccumulation, transfer, and ecological impacts; (3) human exposure, epidemiology, and toxicological impacts; and (4) strategy for their management.

Prof. Dr. Tao Zhang
Dr. Yanhong Zeng
Dr. Zhi-peng Cheng
Dr. Bo Zhang
Guest Editors

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