Display omitted •PBDE concentrations followed by OPEs were highest in soils from the area.•FR levels were higher in the e-waste dismantling park than in the surrounding area.•Direct emission was the main contributor, both in and outside the industrial park.•Increasing the distance from emission source reduced concentrations except for OPEs.•There were no obvious non-carcinogenic risks from oral ingestion and dermal contact. Electronic waste (e-waste) dismantling is an important source of flame retardant emissions, and may have potentially adverse effects on surrounding area. This study investigated their influence on the surrounding area and the human health risks after an industrial park was built in 2015 and environmentally friendly technologies were introduced at an e-waste dismantling site in South China. The concentrations of flame retardants, including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polybromobenzenes (PBBzs), Dechlorane plus (DP), and organophosphate esters (OPEs), in the soils were measured. The results showed that soil contamination was greater in the industrial park than in the surrounding area. The PBDE concentrations were the highest with BDE209, a daca-BDE, being the dominant congener, followed by OPEs, where triphenyl phosphate levels were the highest. Furthermore, triphenyl phosphate can be used as an indicator of flame retardant emissions during e-waste dismantling in this region. The fanti value of DP was stable at around 0.75. The principal component analysis showed that direct emission was the major source of pollutants in the industrial park. The direct emission proportion decreased in the surrounding area, but migration and transformation increased. None of the chemicals posed a non-carcinogenic risks to children and adults via oral uptake or dermal contact when the absorption factors of the chemicals were included in the estimation. However, the total hazard quotients for children were close to a unit in the industrial park, of which, the PBDE and OPE proportions accounted for 84.2% and 15.8% of the total, respectively. However, the PBBz and DP percentages were negligible. Therefore, PBDEs and OPEs should be given more attention in the future.