Abstract: In recent years, great attention has being paid on the consequences of improper electric and electronic waste (e-waste) disposal. In this paper, soil and plant samples were collected from the e-waste recycling sites in Taizhou City of Zhejiang Province, China, with five kinds of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) analyzed. In the soil samples, the total PAEs concentration was 12.566-46.669 mg·kg^-1 soil, among which, di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), and diethyl phthalate (DEP) were the major phthalates, accounting for more than 94% of the total. In the plant samples,
the PAEs concentration was obviously higher in Vicia faba L. than in other plants. No significant correlations were observed in the PAEs concentration between soils and various plants (P>0.05). Comparing with the soil cleanup guidelines in USA, the soils at test sites were severely contaminated by PAEs.

Key words: phthalic acid esters, soil, plant, e-waste, cucumber seedling, suboptimal temperature, NO₃^- stress, magnesium.