Tetrabromobisphenol A contamination and emission in printed circuit board production and implications for human exposure

The emission of and exposure to tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) during the production of printed circuit boards (PCBs) were evaluated in this study. TBBPA was determined in production wastes (fine solid waste, rinsing water, effluent and sludge) and environmental samples (dust and PM10) from a typical PCB plant. The TBBPA concentrations of the solid and liquid wastes were on the order of 102–104 ng/g and 101–102 ng/L, respectively. The highest emission to the environment was exhibited by the fine solid waste (187–1220 μg/kg-PCB), suggesting the need for strict control of its production and disposal. Regarding the environmental samples, the TBBPA contents of dust (125–9090 ng/g) and PM10 (12.3–1640 pg/m3) were higher than other values reported worldwide, indicating that PCB production was a non-negligible source of TBBPA for the occupational environment. TBBPA contamination mainly occurred in the form of sedimentary dust rather than suspended particulate matter. According to our estimation, worker exposures to TBBPA via dust ingestion, dust dermal absorption and PM10 inhalation varied widely by process, with the greatest exposures being 1930, 431 and 96.5 pg/kg-bw/day, respectively. The exposure via dust represented most of the overall exposure via the above three pathways in PCB workshops.