E-waste issues and measures in the Philippines

The continuous dependence on electronic equipment at home and in the workplace has given rise to a new environmental challenge: electronic waste. Electronic waste, or e-waste, refers to electronic products that no longer satisfy the needs of the initial purchaser. These can include a wide variety of goods, such as computers, cellular phones, TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, and video cameras. These pieces of equipment contain hazardous materials such as lead, beryllium, mercury, cadmium, and chromium that pose both an occupational and environmental health threat. Although electronic equipment is considered safe during use, the potential for release of the toxic constituents increases during storage or disposal. Because of the growing number of discarded electronic devices resulting from rapid product obsolescence, this type of waste is an emerging concern among developing countries. This study estimates the current and future quantity of e-waste in the Philippines, with a focus on televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, and radios. Data from the National Statistics Office (NSO) serve as the input to a simple end-of-life model for each type of electronic device. Mathematical equations are derived incorporating other factors, such as the number of electronic devices in use, current end-of-life management practices, serviceable years of the product, and disposal behavior of consumers. An accurate estimation of e-waste generation would be useful in policy making as well as in designing an effective management scheme to avoid the potential threats of health impacts or environmental pollution. Preliminary estimates show that at the end of 2005, approximately 2.7 million units became obsolete and about 1.8 million units required landfilling. Over a 10-year period from 1995 to 2005, approximately 25 million units became obsolete. An additional 14 million units are projected to become obsolete in the next 5 years.     

广东电子废物处理处置地区环境介质污染研究进展

广东省汕头市贵屿镇和清远市龙塘镇和石角镇是我国电子废物处理处置(EWT)典型地区,国内外学者对这些地区EWT活动造成的环境介质污染给予了相当的关注,尤其是近两、三年来开展了比较多的调查和研究.论文对相关调查研究的主要发现进行了系统的综述,内容包括广东EWT活动的主要特征、EWT活动可能释放的主要污染物、EWT活动产生的有机污染(多溴联苯醚、多氯联苯、多环芳烃和二噁英)、重金属污染(Cu、Pb、Zn、Ni、Cd、Cr)以及复合污染特征等,并讨论了未来的研究方向.     

Generation of copper rich metallic phases from waste printed circuit boards

The rapid consumption and obsolescence of electronics have resulted in e-waste being one of the fastest growing waste streams worldwide. Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are among the most complex e-waste, containing significant quantities of hazardous and toxic materials leading to high levels of pollution if landfilled or processed inappropriately. However, PCBs are also an important resource of metals including copper, tin, lead and precious metals; their recycling is appealing especially as the concentration of these metals in PCBs is considerably higher than in their ores. This article is focused on a novel approach to recover copper rich phases from waste PCBs. Crushed PCBs were heat treated at 1150 °C under argon gas flowing at 1 L/min into a horizontal tube furnace. Samples were placed into an alumina crucible and positioned in the cold zone of the furnace for 5 min to avoid thermal shock, and then pushed into the hot zone, with specimens exposed to high temperatures for 10 and 20 min. After treatment, residues were pulled back to the cold zone and kept there for 5 min to avoid thermal cracking and re-oxidation. This process resulted in the generation of a metallic phase in the form of droplets and a carbonaceous residue. The metallic phase was formed of copper-rich red droplets and tin-rich white droplets along with the presence of several precious metals. The carbonaceous residue was found to consist of slag and ～30% carbon. The process conditions led to the segregation of hazardous lead and tin clusters in the metallic phase. The heat treatment temperature was chosen to be above the melting point of copper; molten copper helped to concentrate metallic constituents and their separation from the carbonaceous residue and the slag. Inert atmosphere prevented the re-oxidation of metals and the loss of carbon in the gaseous fraction. Recycling e-waste is expected to lead to enhanced metal recovery, conserving natural resources and providing an environmentally sustainable solution to the management of waste products.     

瑞士电子废物生产者责任延伸制度

通过研究瑞士推行的生产者责任延伸制度原则下的各相关方的责任和组织形式,电子废物收集和再生利用的ARF资金系统和监督管理方式,总结出瑞士电子废物管理取得的成功经验,并提出我国电子废物回收管理的建议。     

广东清远电子垃圾处理地沉积物对伸展摇蚊的慢性毒性效应

电子垃圾拆解引起的环境污染和生态风险已成为全球关注的热点问题,不适当的电子垃圾拆解过程造成处理区水体沉积物受到多类有机化合物和重金属污染,直接威胁生活在沉积物中的底栖动物。在典型电子垃圾处理地广东清远采集沉积物,测定样品中以烃类为主的色谱难分离混合物(unresolved complex mixture,UCM)的含量,开展伸展摇蚊全生命周期慢性毒性测试。结果表明,清远沉积物中的UCM浓度(0.08±0.01)%接近于这类污染物对伸展摇蚊的慢性半致死性效应浓度(0.073±0.022)%。同时发现清远沉积物对以摇蚊为代表的底栖无脊椎动物具有显著慢性毒性效应,且可通过测定UCM含量初步估算。这为开展以电子垃圾处理地沉积物为代表的,受到以麻醉作用为主要致毒机制的混合物污染的沉积物的毒性评价提供了一种有效方法。     

生物样品中含PBDEs在内的复合污染组分的抗雌激素效应

为初步探讨电子废物拆解导致的多溴二苯醚(PBDEs)及其类似物构成的复合污染的潜在生态/健康风险,从电子废物拆解区的三黄鸡血液和肝脏样品中提取了包含PBDEs在内的复合污染组分,分别体外暴露乳腺癌MCF-7细胞和MDA-MB-231细胞6d,检测细胞增殖和雌激素靶基因pS2的mRNA表达.结果表明,包含多种PBDEs在内的复合污染组分在不产生细胞毒性的前提下,可显著抑制MCF-7细胞增殖和雌激素靶基因pS2的mRNA表达,表现出抗雌激素活性.此结果提示由电子废物拆解造成的复合污染对生物体和人体可能存在潜在的生态/健康风险.     

电子废弃物回收利用体系建设初探

电子废弃物是目前世界上增长最快的固体废弃物之一,其不合理处置会造成人体健康危害和环境污染,作为一种潜在可回收利用的二次资源,正日益引起人们的高度关注。概述了当前世界上一些发达国家电子废弃物回收利用体系现状,分析了我国目前的相关情况,提出了建设电子废弃物综合回收利用体系对于构建循环经济和和谐社会的必要性与重要性。     

我国电子废弃物回收处理体系比较与建议

根据目前我国电子废弃物回收处理体系的现实情况,从回收网络、处理情况和优缺点等方面,分析比较了我国五种电子废弃物回收处理体系：个体户回收处理体系、民间回收处理体系、供销社回收处理体系、生产商回收处理体系和电子废弃物专业拆解公司回收处理体系,并提出建立“个体户＋公司＋拆解基地”合作关系电子废弃物回收处理体系的建议。     

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in e-waste: Level and transfer in a typical e-waste recycling site in Shanghai,Eastern China

Very few data for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were available in the electronic waste (e-waste) as one of the most PBDEs emission source. This study reported concentrations of PBDEs in e-waste including printer, rice cooker, computer monitor, TV, electric iron and water dispenser, as well as dust from e-waste, e-waste dismantling workshop and surface soil from inside and outside of an e-waste recycling plant in Shanghai, Eastern China. The results showed that PBDEs were detected in the majority of e-waste, and the concentrations of ΣPBDEs ranged from not detected to 175 g/kg, with a mean value of 10.8 g/kg. PBDEs were found in TVs made in China after 1990. The mean concentrations of ΣPBDEs in e-waste made in Korea, Japan, Singapore and China were 1.84 g/kg, 20.5 g/kg, 0.91 g/kg, 4.48 g/kg, respectively. The levels of ΣPBDEs in e-waste made in Japan far exceed the threshold limit of RoHS (1.00 g/kg). BDE-209 dominated in e-waste, accounting for over 93%. The compositional patterns of PBDEs congeners resembled the profile of Saytex 102E, indicating the source of deca-BDE. Among the samples of dust and surface soil from a typical e-waste recycling site, the highest concentrations of Σ₁₈PBDEs and BDE-209 were found in dust in e-waste, ranging from 1960 to 340,710 ng/g and from 910 to 320,400 ng/g, which were 1–2 orders of magnitude higher than other samples. It suggested that PBDEs released from e-waste via dust, and then transferred to surrounding environment.     

State of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in China: an overview

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), extensively used as flame retardants, are ubiquitous environmental contaminants that are found in both abiotic and biotic environmental samples. Sufficient evidence shows that PBDEs have been rapidly accumulating in the environment of China, especially in the Southeast regions. This paper summarizes and critically reviews the published scientific data on PBDEs in China, including the levels of PBDEs in the air, soil, water, sediment, the terrestrial and marine organisms, and human samples in China. The data preliminarily reveal the state of PBDEs in China.