EFFECT OF E-WASTE ON

ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH

EFFECT OF E-WASTE ON
ENVIRONMENT
 What is E-waste
• E-waste or electronic waste is a term
used for those electronic equipment
that has reached its end of life in the
hand of its current user
 Introduction

 electrical and electronic devices is the fastest-

growing sector
 20 to 50 million tonnes e-waste are generated
world-wide
 It contain toxic material such as mercury, lead,
cadmium, chromium etc.
 What happens with it ...
• device are storage, re-use and recycling,
• Export to developing country as a charity
or illegally
• Reused in developing countries
E-waste recycling sites in Asia
E-waste type & E-waste
composition
 Didyouknow...?
• People discard computers every two to
four years on average
• Cell phones have a life-cycle of less than
two years 20% lead by weight.
• 36 chemical elements
• 500 million obsolete computer & 130
million cell phone discarded in USA
• 20-50 million tonnes E-waste
 Landfill-disposal
• materials that are placed within it.
• In landfills a certain amount of chemical
and metal leaching will occur
• PBDE and the cadmium may leach into
the soil and groundwater.
 Disposal methods
• landfills or incinerators
• in 2000 more than 4.6 million tonnes of e-
waste ended up in landfills nationally
• certain amount of chemical and metal
leakage will occur
• The vaporization of mercury in
Uncontrolled fires causes health and
environmental risks
 Incineration
• The vaporization of E-waste create risk.
• Incinerated ash contain hazardous
components.
• Disposed in a mono fill or landfill.
• Ash transporter exposed to health risk.
• In 1997,133 pounds of mercury releases
to the air
 E-toxic component in computer-
junk
• computer circuit boards containing heavy metals like
lead & cadmium
• computer batteries containing cadmium
• cathode ray tubes with lead oxide & barium
• Brominated flame-retardants used on printed circuit
boards, cables and plastic casing.
• Poly Vinyl Chloride 12(PVC) coated copper cables and
plastic computer casings that release highly toxic dioxins
& furans when burnt to recover valuable metals
• mercury switches
• mercury in flat screens
• Poly Chlorinated Biphenyl’s (PCB’s) present in older
capacitors & transformers
 E-waste and its effect on health
and the environment
Nickel (Ni)
• skin damages and asthma , lung damages,
carcinogen
• Enter environment through air.
Antimony (Sb)
• eye and skin irritation, hair loss, lung and
heart damages, and fertility problems.
• This element is better absorbed in soils
containing steel, magnesium or aluminum.
 Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers
(PBDE)
• Cause anemia, damages to the skin,
liver, stomach and thyroid
• Contamination of pregnant women is
very risky .
• Drip & contaminate water.
• Contaminate the chain of production of
some foods.
 Tetra Bromo Bisphenol-A (TBBPA)
mutations or carcinogen effects.
• toxic to aquatic organisms.
• damages to the endocrine.

Polybrominated Biphenyls (PBB)

• damage kidneys, liver and thyroids.
• passing along the food chain.
 Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers
(PBDE)
Thyroxin, damaging the endocrine system,
thyroid damages
Chlirofluorocarbons (CFC)
Destroy the ozone layer,
 Polyvinyl chloride (PVC
Damages animal kidney.
Soluble in water
Arsenic
carcinogen, Skin & lung cancer
 Barium
Gastrointestinal disorder &
muscle weakness change in heart
beat rate paralysis ,death ,eye&
Accumulate in aquatic organism
Beryllium
Inhalation cause pneumonia
respiratory inflammation, lung cancer
Not dissolve in water

Cadmium
Lung damage & death ,kidney damage,
carcinogenic
Absorbed by plants
 Lead
If incinerated it transmitted to air & soil
Anorexia, muscle pain & headache, weakness,
brain damage, & even death. Effect
reproductive system.
If incinerated it transmitted to air & soil
Mercury
More accessible in organic form
Lung damage, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea,
Eye & skin irritation, Damages to brain, kidneys
Etc.
More accessible in organic form
 Responsibility
• Easily recyclable
• Use required electronic devices
• Use it to its complete life period.