A relative risk assessment of the open burning of WEEE

Abstract

Waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) represents a potential secondary source of valuable materials, whose recovery is a growing business activity worldwide. In low-income countries, recycling is carried out under poorly controlled conditions resulting in severe environmental pollution. High concentrations of both metallic and organic pollutants have been confirmed in air, soil, water, and sediments in countries with informal recycling areas. The release of these contaminants into the environment presents a risk to the health of the exposed population that has been widely acknowledged but still needs to be quantified. The aim of this work was to evaluate the relative risk from inhalation associated with the open burning of different kinds of WEEE. The shrinking core model was applied to estimate the concentration of the metals which would be released into the environment during the incineration of different types of WEEE. In addition, the potential generation of dioxins during the same informal practice was estimated, based on the plastic content of the WEEE. The results provided for the first time a comparative analysis of the risk posed from the open burning of WEEE components, proposing a methodology to address the absolute risk assessment to workers from the informal recycling of WEEE.

Opportunities and challenges in reducing personal inhalation exposure to air pollution among electronic waste recovery workers in Ghana

“…In air samples of TSP and PM 2.5 from the Guiyu e‐waste site in China, concentrations of PAHs, dioxins, flame retardants, and metals (e.g., Cr, Zn, Cu, Pb, and As) were higher when compared with urban and rural regions 19,25,45 . Cesaro et al 15 modeled the chemical reactions that occur during open e‐waste burning and found that the potential hazards from open burning of cables made of copper, thermoplastic elastomers, polyvinyl chloride, and polyethylene foils were higher than for computer and mobile printed circuit boards, and above the threshold limit values. This result was driven by the high content of chlorine‐containing plastics in cables that generate dioxin (specifically, 2,3,7,8‐tetrachlorodibenzo‐p‐dioxin) 15 .…”

“…Particulate and gas‐phase emissions from burning e‐waste can include dioxins, furans, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), carbon monoxide, carbon, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds including formaldehyde 14 . PM from e‐waste emissions may be of higher toxicity than PM from biomass fuel emissions and traffic‐related emissions due to the high concentrations of industrial chemicals and metals in e‐waste 15 …”

Thermal deconstruction, open burning and disposal of e-waste without pollution control: A systematic review of risks to occupational and public health

“…Levels of Cd also slightly elevated in once study [50].  Non-carcinogenic risk calculated by one author [13] [49,51,52].  Blood sample data indicated PTE levels slightly higher than exposed workers in some cases [70,129,130].…”

“…(1) Smelting/roasting/heating to liquefy mainly solder for both recovery and to un-bond other components of value [12]. (2) Combustion of hydrocarbons, mainly plastics, to remove them from the assemblies and composites, and free-up metals and components for reclamation [13][14][15].…”

Application of an Integrated Assessment Scheme for Sustainable Waste Management of Electrical and Electronic Equipment: The Case of Ghana

“…For example, various studies have suggested that quantities and costs of managing WEEE will rise in years to come [10], leading to significant environmental and social concerns [11]. These potential hazards therefore necessitate the need for urgent action in order to reduce the public health and environmental risks faced, particularly in developing countries [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. However, at the same time, WEEE also contains a number of valuable materials, including metals, plastics, and rare earth metals such as europium, terbium, yttrium, cerium, gadolinium and neodymium [23,24].…”