Current status and research on E-waste issues in Asia

Rapid economic growth in Asia and the increasing transboundary movement of secondary resources will increasingly require both 3R endeavors (reduce, reuse, recycle) in each country and appropriate control of international material cycles. Recently, managing electrical and electronic waste (E-waste) has become an important target for domestic and international material cycles from the viewpoints of environmental preservation and resource utilization efficiency. To understand the current status of E-waste issues in the context of international material cycles and to discuss the future tasks related to achieving 3R in the region, we organized the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) E-waste Workshop in December 2004. This article reviews past studies on E-waste and briefly describes the topics presented and discussions held at the workshop. The topics at the workshop included E-waste generation, recycling systems, international trade, and environmental impacts. In addition, we discussed various issues such as terminology, current environmental concerns, and possible solutions. Transboundary shipments of E-waste should be conducted taking into consideration the concept of sustainable development. The direction of future research and possible collaborations are also discussed.     

An evaluation of legislative measures on electrical and electronic waste in the People's Republic of China

With the increasing number of recycling mishaps in connection with waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) in the People's Republic of China, it is imperative that the handling and recycling of WEEE be sufficiently regulated in China. Regulations covering three major issues, namely, take-back issues, controls on hazardous substances in WEEE and the assurance of good environmental management in WEEE plants, were promulgated between 2006 and 2008. The evaluation in this country report shows that few of these regulatory measures have performed satisfactorily in terms of enforcement, of public acceptance and of environmental concerns. In brief, the take-back requirements and the associated financial responsibilities are only vaguely defined; the control on hazardous substances and the so-called "environmental expiry date" requirements cannot be properly enforced, and the resources needed to ensure the satisfactory enforcement of the environmental abatement and pollution control requirements in WEEE plants are overwhelming. In addition, the use of a "multiple enforcement body" approach to the control of hazardous substances in WEEE is an indication that the Chinese government lacks the determination to properly enforce the relevant legal requirements.     

Pollution characterization and diurnal variation of PBDEs in the atmosphere of an E-waste dismantling region

Diurnal air samples were collected from the E-waste dismantling region Guiyu and the underwear industry region Chendian. This was the first report to present the diurnal variation of PBDEs in the atmosphere. The average concentrations of 11 PBDE congeners were 11,742 pg m⁻³ in the daytime, and 4830 pg m⁻³ at night in Guiyu, while the concentrations were lower in Chendian with 376 pg m⁻³ in the daytime, and 237 pg m⁻³ at night. BDE-209 accounted for 22% and 31.3% of the total PBDEs in Guiyu and Chendian, respectively. The diurnal variation trends of BDE-47, -99, -153, -183, and -209 were also analyzed in detail in the two regions.     

电子垃圾拆解回收VOCs排放特征与排放因子

电子垃圾拆解回收过程中的高温处理往往产生大量挥发性有机物(VOCs),对周边环境及人体健康产生不可忽视的影响.本研究选取某电子垃圾集中拆解回收场,对场区加热烤板车间、塑料制粒车间、湿法提取车间和火法冶炼车间废气处理设施排放口的VOCs浓度和组分进行监测,分析了不同生产工艺VOCs排放特征及其总VOCs排放因子.结果表明...     

典型电子垃圾拆解区二噁英污染特征、相分配及暴露风险

选取南方某典型电子垃圾拆解区不同作业区为研究对象,重点研究了拆解地大气中二噁英的污染特征、气相-颗粒相分配及呼吸暴露风险。通过对5个采样点（包括1个背景点）的研究发现,电子垃圾拆解作业区颗粒相ΣPCDD/Fs的质量浓度为：20.64-56.14 pg·m^-3,毒性当量为：I-TEQ 0.293-1.490 pg·m^-3;气相ΣPCDD/Fs的质量浓度为：3.861-19.29 pg·m^-3,毒性当量为：I-TEQ 0.384-2.150 pg·m^-3。背景点大气中二噁英浓度相对较低,颗粒相和气相样品中质量浓度值分别为：3.734 pg·m^-3和2.637 pg·m^-3,毒性当量仅为I-TEQ 0.176-0.267 pg·m^-3;要明显低于电子垃圾拆解区。基于污染物气相-颗粒相分配系数与蒸汽压的关系对二噁英的气-固分配行为研究显示,除了拆解混合作业区有较好的分配系数（-0.64）外,其它监测点位二噁英的气-固平衡状态较弱（-0.27--0.03）,更多的是以低分子量的单体化合物赋存于气相样品中。对拆解区二噁英呼吸暴露风险研究结果表明,儿童呼吸暴露风险要高于成年人;同时无论是儿童还是成年人,其二噁英的呼吸暴露量均要高于国内外城市报道的二噁英人体呼吸暴露量,说明本次监测的电子垃圾拆解区存在的潜在健康风险不容忽视。     

手性多氯联苯在电子垃圾拆解地鱼类体内的分布及累积规律

电子垃圾拆解活动已造成当地鱼类多氯联苯（Polychlorinated Biphenyls,简称PCBs）污染,但手性PCBs在鱼类体内的分布特征和选择性富集则较少有报道.本研究采集了广东省清远市龙塘镇某电子垃圾拆解区附近水塘的鱼类样品,研究鱼肉样品中手性PCBs污染水平、分布规律和对映体选择性.结果表明,在电子垃圾拆解区鱼肉样品中均检测到7种手性PCBs,总PCBs（ΣPCBs）含量为386.7~602.8 ng·g^-1（湿重）,证实当地鱼类已受到手性PCBs的污染.PCB45、PCB91、PCB95、PCB132、PCB136和PCB174在鱼类样品的对映体分数（EF值）与沉积物具有显著差异,表明这些手性PCBs在鱼类体内可能具有对映体选择性富集和代谢作用.不同种类的鱼肉样品中EF值不同,说明它们对PCBs的富集能力不同.鲮鱼、鲫鱼和乌鳢对PCBs的生物/沉积物富集因子（BSAF）分别为0.31~1.71、0.30~1.86和0.50~2.64.根据乌鳢/鲮鱼和乌鳢/鲫鱼食物关系计算的生物放大因子（BMF）范围分别为1.35~4.51和2.17~5.10,表明乌鳢对手性PCBs具有生物放大作用.     

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.     

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.