Field investigation of the quality of fresh and aged leachates from selected landfills receiving e-waste in an arid climate

The management of electronic waste (e-waste) is a serious problem worldwide and much of it is landfilled. A survey of four selected landfills in an arid region of South Australia was conducted to determine the proportion of e-waste in municipal waste and the properties of each landfill site. Leachate and groundwater samples were collected upgradient and downgradient of the landfills for analysis of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and 14 metals and metalloids, including Al, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Sb, V and Zn. Our data demonstrate that the selected landfills in South Australia continue to receive municipal waste containing in excess of 6%, or 25,000 tonnes per year, of e-waste. The leachates and groundwater collected from the landfills contained significantly elevated concentrations of Pb with the highest concentration in groundwater of 38 μg/l, almost four times higher than the Australian drinking water guideline of 10 μg/l. The presence of PBDEs was detected in both leachate and groundwater samples. Total PBDEs values of 2.13–59.75 ng/l in leachate samples were 10 times higher than in groundwater samples, which recorded a range of 0.41–6.53 ng/l at all sites. Moreover, the concentrations of metals and metalloids in sampled groundwater contained elevated levels of Al, As, Fe, Ni and Pb that exceeded Australian drinking water guideline values. For these reasons potential leaching of these contaminants is of concern and while difficult to attribute elevated contaminant levels to e-waste, we do not recommend continued disposal of e-waste in old landfills that were not originally designed to contain leachates. The survey also revealed temporal variation in the electrical conductivity and concentrations of As, Cd and Pb present in leachates of landfills in arid Mediterranean climates. These results are consistent with the marked variations in rainfall patterns observed for such climates. The solute concentration (EC and other ions including As, Cd and Pb) declines in the leachates during wet winter months (June to September), in contrast to tropical countries where such changes are observed during wet summer months.     

Accumulation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in breast milk of women from an e-waste recycling center in China

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers(PBDEs) can be transferred to infants through the ingestion of breast milk, resulting in potential health risk. In this study, PBDEs, hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers(OH-PBDEs) and 2,2′,4,4′,5,6′-hexachlorobiphenyl(CB-153)in human milk from women living adjacent to e-waste recycling sites of Wenling,China, were investigated. The median level of PBDEs in samples from residents living in the e-waste recycling environment 20 years(R_20group, 19.5 ng/g lipid weight(lw))was significantly higher than that for residents living in Wenling 3 years(R_3group,3.88 ng/g lw)(p 0.05), likely ascribable to specific exposure to PBDEs from e-waste recycling activities. In the R_20 group, most congeners(except for BDE-209) were correlated with each other(p 0.05). Moreover, CB-153 showed significant association with most PBDE congeners, rather than BDE-209. The relationship indicated that most BDE congeners other than BDE-209 shared common sources and/or pathways with CB-153, e.g., dietary ingestion. The correlations between BDE-209 and other congeners were different in the two groups, likely suggesting their different exposure sources and/or pathways for PBDEs.Although estimated dietary intake of PBDEs for infants via breast milk was lower than the minimum value affecting human health, the PBDE exposure of infants should be of great concern because of their potential effect on the development of neonates over long-term exposure. OH-PBDEs were not detected in the collected samples, which is in accordance with reports in published literature, likely indicating that they were not apt to be accumulated in human milk.     

Airborne PCDD/Fs in two e-waste recycling regions after stricter environmental regulations

Since the 2010 s, the authorities of Guangdong province and local governments have enhanced law enforcement and environmental regulations to abolish open burning, acid washing, and other uncontrolled e-waste recycling activities. In this study, ambient air and indoor dust near different kinds of e-waste recycling processes were collected in Guiyu and Qingyuan to investigate the pollution status of particles and polychlorinated dibenzo-pdioxins and furans(PCDD/Fs) after stricter environmental regulations. PM_(2.5) and PCDD/Fs both showed significantly reduced levels in the two regions compared with the documented data. The congener distribution and principal component analysis results also confirmed the significant differences between the current PCDD/Fs pollution characterizations and the historical ones. The estimated total intake doses via air inhalation and dust ingestion of children in the recycling region of Guiyu ranged from 10 to 32 pg TEQ/(kg·day), which far exceeded the tolerable daily intake(TDI) limit(1–4 pg TEQ/(kg·day). Although the measurements showed a significant reduction of the release of PCDD/Fs, the pollution status was still considered severe in Guiyu town after stricter regulations were implemented.     

中国废旧手机产生量时空分布研究

手机是人们生活中最为常见的电器电子产品,中国则是全球最大的手机生产地和消费国,相应的每年产生大量的废旧手机.废旧手机是一类典型的废弃电器电子产品,因其具有资源与污染的双重属性而受到了国际社会的广泛关注,如何构建高效的管理体系实现废旧手机的可持续管理是全球各界近年来面临的共同课题.产生量是废弃电器电子产品管理的重要基础信息.目前国内外有关废弃电器电子产品产生量的数据主要通过估算获得,估算结果的准确性尚有提升空间.本文基于权威数据,采用市场供给A模型、消费与使用模型、注册更新模型等3种不同的方法对中国的废旧手机产生量进行了估算.其中,基于注册更新模型的结果显示,1998年与2013年中国废旧手机产生量分别为28.00万部与7.99亿部.在此基础上针对中国废旧手机产生量空间区域分布的研究显示,经济发达的东部区域产生了接近半数的废旧手机.由于考虑"水货"和"山寨"手机对销售量进行了校正,本文的结果明显高于已有研究,更加符合实际,可以为中国的废旧手机管理工作提供科学依据.     

Enhancing e-waste estimates: Improving data quality by multivariate Input–Output Analysis

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (or e-waste) is one of the fastest growing waste streams, which encompasses a wide and increasing spectrum of products. Accurate estimation of e-waste generation is difficult, mainly due to lack of high quality data referred to market and socio-economic dynamics. This paper addresses how to enhance e-waste estimates by providing techniques to increase data quality. An advanced, flexible and multivariate Input–Output Analysis (IOA) method is proposed. It links all three pillars in IOA (product sales, stock and lifespan profiles) to construct mathematical relationships between various data points. By applying this method, the data consolidation steps can generate more accurate time-series datasets from available data pool. This can consequently increase the reliability of e-waste estimates compared to the approach without data processing. A case study in the Netherlands is used to apply the advanced IOA model. As a result, for the first time ever, complete datasets of all three variables for estimating all types of e-waste have been obtained. The result of this study also demonstrates significant disparity between various estimation models, arising from the use of data under different conditions. It shows the importance of applying multivariate approach and multiple sources to improve data quality for modelling, specifically using appropriate time-varying lifespan parameters. Following the case study, a roadmap with a procedural guideline is provided to enhance e-waste estimation studies.     

How much e-waste is there in US basements and attics? Results from a national survey

The fate of used electronic products (e-waste) is of increasing concern because of their toxicity and the growing volume of e-waste. Addressing these concerns requires developing the recycling infrastructure, but good estimates of the volume of e-waste stored by US households are still unavailable. In this context, we make two contributions based on a national random survey of 2136 US households. First, we explain how much e-waste is stored by US households using count models. Significant explanatory variables include age, marital and employment status, ethnicity, household size, previous e-waste recycling behavior, and to some extent education, home ownership, and understanding the consequences of recycling, but neither income nor knowledge of e-waste recycling laws. Second, we estimate that on average, each US household has 4.1 small (≤10 pounds) and 2.4 large e-waste items in storage. Although these numbers are likely lower bounds, they are higher than recent US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates (based on narrower product categories). This suggests that the backlog of e-waste in the US is likely larger than generally believed; it calls for developing the recycling infrastructure but also for targeted recycling campaigns.     

Environmental contamination from electronic waste recycling at Guiyu, southeast China

The disposal, recycling, and part salvaging of discarded electronic devices such as computers, printers, televisions, and toys are now creating a new set of waste problems. This study is aimed at identifying the sources and quantifying the pollution levels generated from electronic waste (e-waste) activities at Guiyu, Guangdong Province, China, and their potential impacts on the environment and human health. The preliminary results indicate that total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil obtained from a printer roller dump site was 593 μg/kg dry weight (dry wt.) and in sediment from a duck pond, the PAH concentration was 514 μg/kg (dry wt.). Sediment from the Lianjiang River was found to be contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyls (743 μg/kg) at a level approaching three times the Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines probable effect level of 277 μg/kg. Total mono- to hepta-brominated diphenyl ether homologue concentrations (1140 and 1169 μg/kg dry wt.) in soils near dumping sites were approximately 10–60 times those reported for other polybrominated diphenyl ether-contaminated locations in the world. In-house study on the open burning of cable wires showed extremely high levels of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans resulting in 12419 ng toxic equivalents (TEQ)/kg of waste input and 15 610 ng TEQ/kg for two separate tests, respectively, which were about three orders of magnitude higher than those for the open burning of household waste. High levels of Cu (712, 528, and 496 mg/kg), exceeding the new Dutch list action value, were determined for soil near the printer roller dumping area, sediment from Lianjiang River, and soil from a plastic burn site, respectively. A more thorough study is underway to elucidate the extent of contamination of toxic pollutants in different ecological compartments to establish whether these pollutants are bioaccumulated and biomagnified through food chains. Assessments of human health impacts from oral intake, inhalation, and dermal contact will be subsequently investigated. An erratum to this article is available at.     

电子废弃物拆解场多氯联苯含量及健康风险评价

选择我国典型的电子废弃物拆解场为研究对象,以拆解场各环境介质中PCBs浓度全面调查为基础,采用美国环境保护署(US EPA)人体健康评价模型,结合问卷调查和实际测量修正暴露参数,对浙江台州拆解区人群(成人)进行健康风险评价.结果表明:拆解场大气和土壤中PCBs各同系物的浓度显著高于其他介质,经调查表明可能与拆解场直接焚烧、湿法酸洗工艺有关.多种暴露途径所导致拆解场成人PCBs污染总致癌风险为2.80×10-3,总非致癌风险为1.64×10-3,均超过了US EPA、ICRP等推荐的可接受的风险水平,其中经口暴露的致癌、非致癌风险最大,其次是呼吸暴露.进行敏感性分析表明:无论何种暴露途径,体重(BW)、呼吸速率(IR)、实测参数食物摄食(IR)、皮肤接触表面积(SA)和污染物实测浓度的致癌风险、非致癌风险绝对敏感性都较大.在健康风险评价时,需要对研究区人群暴露参数进行实地调查实测,以降低评价结果的不确定性.     

Sustainability of metal recovery from E-waste

The issue of E-waste disposal is concerning all the stakeholders, from policymakers to the end users which have accelerated the research and development on environmentally sound disposal of E-waste. The recovery of metals (gold, tantalum, copper, iron etc.) from E-waste has become an important focus. The mechanical recycling, thermo-chemical processes like pyrolysis, pyro-, hydro- and biometallurgical processes can play important roles in the Metal Recovery from E-waste (MREW) technology. For the industrial application of the MREW technology, it is important to analyze the sustainability. In this paper, two case studies have been presented on E-waste recycling industries in India and China. Based on the literature data, an attempt has been made to assess qualitatively the overall sustainability of MREW technology considering the three pillars, i.e., environmental, economic and social. Two conceptual frameworks with (Option-2) and without (Option-1) pyrolysis for integrated MREW units have been developed and the generalized energy and environmental impact analysis has been made using the principles of LCA. The impacts of two options have been compared. Option 2 has been found to be more efficient and sustainable. It has been realized that climate change, fossil fuel depletion, water depletion, eutrophication, acidification, fresh and marine water ecotoxicity are possible impact categories. The recommendations based on the generalized assessment are in good agreement with the findings of previous researchers on individual steps of MREW unit. The findings of this paper are expected to be beneficial to researchers and stakeholders for research directions and decision making on MREW.

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浙江台州典型电子废弃物无序拆解区土壤多环芳烃污染风险评估

电子废弃物的无序拆解会导致其中多环芳烃(polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs)的无规律释放,进而对周边生态环境和人体健康构成威胁。为了量化电子废弃物无序拆解区土壤中PAHs的含量及其对人体健康的风险,本研究从浙江省台州市路桥区某典型电子废弃物无序拆解区采集了3个作坊式电子废弃物拆解点、3个作坊式塑料或金属加工点和1个电子废弃物拆解尾渣倾倒点的土壤样品,以气相色谱-质谱联用法和美国环保署规定的暴露量化及风险表征方法为分析手段开展PAHs含量分析及其风险评估。结果发现:上述7个土壤样品PAHs的总量范围为32.62～1053.71μg/kg,平均为414.05μg/kg,其中一个作坊式电子废弃物拆解点的PAHs含量属于重污染级别,土壤存在强烈的环境风险,单体菲(Phe)、蒽(Ant)、荧蒽(Fla)和芘(Pyr)对环境风险的贡献率最大。此外,PAHs通过不同途径对人体造成的健康风险程度为呼吸途径﹥皮肤接触﹥经口途径。结果表明,电子废弃物无序拆解区土壤PAHs污染急需建立相关环境管理措施及污染控制标准,逐步规范电子废弃物无序拆解活动。