Occurrence of Volatile Halogenated Hydrocarbons in the Atmosphere Around e-Waste Sites in Lagos City, Nigeria

Informal electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) recycling in Nigeria is threatening the health of the people, through the release of toxic chemicals (dioxin, flame retardants, and volatile halogenated hydrocarbons) into the air. In this work, air samples were collected from four locations in Lagos, Nigeria between March and July 2019 using an active sampling method with a low volume sampling pump (Acuro, Drager, Lubeck, Germany). The tube contains Chromosorb 106 as an adsorbent. The air samples were collected at the height of 1.5 m from the ground surface so as to reflect the human breathing zone. After sampling, the halogenated hydrocarbons were desorbed using carbon disulphide prior to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses. The result showed that 15 volatile halogenated hydrocarbons (VHHs) were detected in the atmosphere of Lagos City; including four (4) chlorofluorocarbon, two (2) hydrochlorofluorocarbons, and six (6) halogenated alkanes, 1 chloroalkene, and two (2) Chlorinated benzenes. The average concentration of the total VHHs ranged from 25.79 to 38.50 µg/m3 with the lowest in the dry season month of March and the highest found in the wet season month of July. The occurrence of these chemicals in the atmosphere calls for monitoring due to their potentially damaging effects on human health.