Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations, compositions, sources, and associated carcinogenic risks to humans in farmland soils and riverine sediments from Guiyu, China

The concentrations of 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) were measured in 23 farmland soil samples and 10 riverine sediment samples from Guiyu, China, and the carcinogenic risks associated with PAHs in the samples were evaluated. Guiyu is the largest electronic waste(EW) dismantling area globally, and has been well known for the primitive and crude manner in which EWs are disposed, such as by open burning and roasting. The total PAH concentrations were 56–567 ng/g in the soils and 181–3034 ng/g in the sediments.The Shanglian and Huamei districts were found to be more contaminated with PAHs than the north of Guiyu. The soils were relatively weakly contaminated but the sediments were more contaminated, and sediments in some river sections might cause carcinogenic risks to the groundwater system. The PAHs in the soils were derived from combustion sources,but the PAHs in the sediments were derived from both combustion and petroleum sources.     

Evaluation of electronic components in life cycle assessment

Life cycle assessment (LCA), a quantitative method for evaluating the total environmental impact of a product, from the materials in its manufacture to its final disposal, is playing an increasingly important role in manufacturing. When the LCA method is applied to a product containing many kinds of electronic components, there is a need for life cycle inventory (LCI) data on the components. This paper provides an original calculation of the LCI data for each electronic components industry. These data show the amount of input energy and emissions into the atmosphere per yen of production yield. It is demonstrated that the magnitude of the LCI data for each industry is essentially equal to that of the other industries. Furthermore, we conclude that the LCI data for all electronic components are roughly equivalent, making it possible to calculate the LCI data of any electronic component by simply multiplying the LCI data for the industry by the price of the component. Furthermore, after comparing the materials production stages with the component manufacturing stage in the calculation, it became clear that for several component industries the materials production stage could not be omitted from the calculation. Received: April 10, 1998 / Accepted: February 8, 1999     

Electronic waste recycling: A review of U.S. infrastructure and technology options

The useful life of consumer electronic devices is relatively short, and decreasing as a result of rapid changes in equipment features and capabilities. This creates a large waste stream of obsolete electronic equipment, electronic waste (e-waste).Even though there are conventional disposal methods for e-waste, these methods have disadvantages from both the economic and environmental viewpoints. As a result, new e-waste management options need to be considered, for example, recycling. But electronic recycling has a short history, so there is not yet a solid infrastructure in place.In this paper, the first half describes trends in the amount of e-waste, existing recycling programs, and collection methods. The second half describes various methods available to recover materials from e-waste. In particular, various recycling technologies for the glass, plastics, and metals found in e-waste are discussed. For glass, glass-to-glass recycling and glass-to-lead recycling technologies are presented. For plastics, chemical (feedstock) recycling, mechanical recycling, and thermal recycling methods are analyzed. Recovery processes for copper, lead, and precious metals such as silver, gold, platinum, and palladium are reviewed. These processes are described and compared on the basis of available technologies, resources, and material input–output systems.     

废弃电池能否进入废弃电器电子产品处理目录(第二批)管理的筛选评估分析

2009年2月,国务院发布《废弃电器电子产品回收处理管理条例》,成为我国废弃电器电子产品回收处理的纲领性文件。在《废弃电器电子产品处理目录(第一批)》中,明确将电视机、电冰箱、洗衣机、房间空调器、微型计算机等5种产品纳入第一批目录。同时,为了为了能够及时、客观地与经济发展、技术进步以及电器电子产品行业的发展变化等相适应,《目录》管理委员会起草了《制订和调整废弃电器电子产品处理目录的若干规定》,明确随着经济发展变化及电子产品废弃形势调整电器电子产品处理目录的原则。废弃电池在近几年来在我国增长速度很大,将来的管理形势十分紧迫。本文在此分析我国几种废弃电池(铅酸电池、镍氢电池及锂电池)的产生量、再生处理处置情况及管理政策导向。并在目录一批筛选原则的基础上利用权重分析法,筛选评估废弃电池能否进入废弃电器电子产品处理目录(第二批)管理的可能,研究显示铅酸电池已具备进入管理目录的资质。     

电网建设项目环保管理信息系统的开发与应用

针对目前电网建设项目环境保护工作管理现状,利用可视化面向对象开发技术和图形化组态的概念构建出一个图形导航、树状导航相结合的环境保护工作管理信息系统软件。系统分为电网建设项目环境保护工作基础数据管理——项目管理、电网建设项目环境保护工作管理文件查询——项目环保文件查询和国家环境保护法律和法规等文件查询、常用文件管理四部分。应用结果证明,该系统基本满足了当前电网建设项目环境保护工作管理及信息化的要求,为电网建设项目环境保护工作管理提供了更加准确、便利的工具。     

A new intelligent electronic nose system for measuring and analysing livestock and poultry farm odours

This paper introduces a new portable intelligent electronic nose system developed especially for measuring and analysing livestock and poultry farm odours. It can be used in both laboratory and field. The sensor array of the proposed electronic nose consists of 14 gas sensors, a humidity sensor, and a temperature sensor. The gas sensors were especially selected for the main compounds from the livestock farm odours. An expert system called “Odour Expert” was developed to support researchers’ and farmers’ decision making on odour control strategies for livestock and poultry operations. “Odour Expert” utilises several advanced artificial intelligence technologies tailored to livestock and poultry farm odours. It can provide more advanced odour analysis than existing commercially available products. In addition, a rank of odour generation factors is provided, which refines the focus of odour control research. Field experiments were conducted downwind from the barns on 14 livestock and poultry farms. Experimental results show that the predicted odour strengths by the electronic nose yield higher consistency in comparison to the perceived odour intensity by human panel. The “Odour Expert” is a useful tool for assisting farmers’ odour management practises. Supported by Ontario Pork, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF) of Canada.     

Environmental impacts and use of brominated flame retardants in electrical and electronic equipment

Management of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) or e-waste is becoming a major issue as around 20–50 million tons of such waste is generated worldwide and increasing at a higher rate than other solid waste streams. Electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) contains over 1,000 materials of which brominated flame retardants (BFRs) such as polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been the target of the regulators forcing manufacturers to adopt halogen-free flame retardants. As far as these alternatives are concerned, key consideration should be its performance during the whole life cycle through design, use and end-of-life management. The global halogen-free flame retardant movement has reached a point of no return. The most important issue as far as the environment is concerned, for which the transformation to halogen-free retardants was initially targeted, is to make sure that life span of the EEE using the alternatives to BFRs is not shortened thereby resulting in unforeseen increases in e-waste to deal with. The aim of this article is to investigate the environmental issues and current developments related to the use of BFRs in EEE manufacture. It describes the sources, toxicity and human exposure of BFRs, EOL management such as recycling and thermal treatments, exposure of BFRs from e-waste processing facilities and the environment around them and examines the developments and feasibility of the alternatives to BFR in EEE manufacture.     

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.     

建设项目竣工环保验收监测中常见问题及应对措施

建设项目竣工环保验收监测中常常出现建设同环评和初步设计不相符、变更粉尘产污环节、环评文本遗漏重要敏感点评价、数据异常、工况条件不满足要求等问题,基于此提出了重新报批变更的工程内容,向环保主管部门说明变更情况,对遗漏部分进行补充评价并监测,对异常数据查明原因后科学剔除,以及按照实际工况进行监测等应对措施。     

电子废弃物中贵金属的回收技术

随着电子工业的迅速发展,作为生产原料之一的贵金属的消耗量越来越大。科学、合理、高效的回收利用电子废弃物中的贵金属,既可以节约资源能源,又能达到保护环境的目的。在此,阐述了电子废弃物中贵金属的回收处理技术,介绍了各种技术的基本原理和研究进展,并简要介绍了已经应用于工业生产的贵金属回收工艺流程。