Informal e-waste recycling processes emit various air pollutants. While there are a number of pollutants of concern, little information exists on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) releases at e-waste sites. To assess occupational exposures and estimate health risks, we measured VOC levels at the Agbogbloshie e-waste site in Ghana, the largest e-waste site in Africa, by collecting both fixed-site and personal samples for analyzing a wide range of VOCs. A total of 54 VOCs were detected, dominated by aliphatic and aromatic compounds. Mean and median concentrations of the total target VOCs were 46 and 37 μg/m³ at the fixed sites, and 485 and 162 μg/m³ for the personal samples. Mean and median hazard ratios were 2.1 and 1.4, respectively, and cancer risks were 4.6 × 10^-4 and 1.5 × 10^-4. These risks were predominantly driven by naphthalene and benzene; chloroform and formaldehyde were also high in some samples. Based on the VOC composition, the major sources were industry, fuel evaporation and combustion. The concentration gradient across sites and the similarity of VOC profiles indicated that the e-waste site emissions reached neighboring communities. Our results suggest the need to protect e-waste workers from VOC exposure, and to limit emissions that can expose nearby populations.

非正式的电子废物回收过程会排放各种空气污染物。尽管存在许多令人担忧的污染物，但关于电子垃圾场挥发性有机化合物 (VOC) 释放的信息却很少。为了评估职业暴露和估计健康风险，我们测量了非洲最大电子垃圾场加纳 Agbogbloshie 电子垃圾场的 VOC 水平，方法是收集固定地点和个人样本以分析各种 VOC。共检测到 54 种 VOC，以脂肪族和芳香族化合物为主。固定地点的总目标 VOC 的平均浓度和中值浓度分别为 46 和 37 μg/m ³ ，个人样本的浓度分别为485 和 162 μg/m ^{3 。}平均风险比和中位数风险比分别为 2.1 和 1.4，癌症风险为 4.6 × 10 ^-4和 1.5 × 10 ^-4。这些风险主要由萘和苯驱动；一些样品中的氯仿和甲醛含量也很高。根据 VOC 成分，主要来源是工业、燃料蒸发和燃烧。站点间的浓度梯度和 VOC 配置文件的相似性表明电子垃圾站点的排放物到达了邻近社区。我们的结果表明需要保护电子垃圾工人免受 VOC 暴露，并限制可能暴露附近人群的排放。