Benjamin Estabillo, Ian Hernandez, Jessica Ho, Omar Kawam,
Caroline Kranefuss, Connor Marti, Charlton Lu, Elizabeth
Menten, Alexa Ramlall, Lauren von Berg, Tiffany Yang
Team Leader: Dr. Ryan Hinrichs
Assistant: Kelsie Kolb
E-Waste is a Growing
Issue Worldwide
● 50% of waste shipped to developing countries
● Creates human health and environmental concerns
due to heavy metal contamination
● Lack of environmental justice
Developing Countries use
Crude Recycling Techniques
● Open Air Burning
● Lack of Safety
Precautions
● Unlined Dumpsites
● Acid Baths
Improper Recycling Processes
Lead to Heavy Metal
Contamination
● Leaching- The percolation of a substance
through a medium
Water
Air
Soil
Metals Leach into Aqueous
Solutions
● Metals dissociate in aqueous solutions
● Ionic metal species are more soluble
● Redox reactions cause metals to dissolve
Concrete Corrosion [Internet] [cited 2015 July 30]
Available from:
http://www.concretecorrosion.net/html_en/maitrise/corros.htm
Our Study Determines the
Extent of Heavy Metal
Leaching
● Components placed in various aqueous solutions
o DI water
Drinking Water
o TCLP
Acid Landfill Water
o Hydrometallurgical Byproduct
Acid Wash
Microwave Digestion Determines
which Heavy Metals are Present
● Concentrated acid combined with high
heat dissolves samples
● Resulting solution is then processed in
the ICP-OES
top kek
ICP-OES Used to Analyze
Heavy Metal Concentrations
● Preparation of standards
for ICP-OES Analysis
● Calibration curves used to
determine concentrations
Heavy Metal Concentrations in
Samples
Heavy Metal Concentrations
in DI Water
Calculating Risk:
Standards and Levels are Set
No Observed
Adverse Effect
Level
(NOAEL)
EPA
Reference
Dose
Drinking
Water
Standards
Calculating Risk:
Standards and Levels are Set
No Observed
Adverse Effect
Level
(NOAEL)
EPA
Reference
Dose
Drinking
Water
Standards
Calculating Risk:
Standards and Levels are Set
No Observed
Adverse Effect
Level
(NOAEL)
EPA
Reference
Dose
Drinking
Water
Standards
Maximum
Contaminant Levels
Toxicity as Compared to EPA Standards
Toxicity as Compared to EPA
Standards:
Deionized Water
Lead Concentrations Higher
than EPA Standards
Excess Lead Causes Dangerous
Health Effects
● Leaching into Drinking
water
o 82% of children in Guiyu,
China have lead poisoning
● Causes many adverse
health effects
o Cancer, nerve damage, vision impairment
o Disrupts brain development in children
Fu J et al. High levels of heavy metals in rice (Oryza sativa L.) from a typical e-waste recycling area in southeast China
and its potential risk to human health. 2006; [Internet] [cited 2015 July 28] Available from:
Arsenic Concentrations
Higher than EPA standards
Health and Environmental
Effects of Arsenic
● Environmental Effects:
o Disrupts
reproduction and
photosynthesis
Open Air Burning Simulations Not
Found to Increase Leachability
● The RAM chip of a laptop
was burned
● The concentrations of heavy
metals that leached out in DI
water were then calculated
o The concentrations were
smaller than the non-burnt RAM
Element
Arsenic Barium Nickel
Normal Chip 0.019
0.1
3.47
Burnt Chip
0.0
0.29
0.0094
Effects of Pond Water on
Leaching
● The CPU of a laptop was submerged in pond water
for 48 hours.
Element
Pond Water
(ppm)
De-ionized Water
(ppm)
As
BDL
BDL
Ba
0.0501
1.03
Cd
BDL
BDL
Cu
BDL
BDL
Ni
0.0806
BDL
Pb
0.8806
91.6
Sr
BDL
BDL
Zn
BDL
BDL
E-waste will Continue to Pose a
Threat Unless Current Policies
are Changed
● Heavy metal leaching is a substantial hazard
● It will continue to threaten human and
environmental health if recycling methods are not
improved
● What will the future bring?
o Environmental cleanup
o Legislative revision
o Environmentally safe recycling methods
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Images/?eocn=topnav&eoci=images
Acknowledgements
Dr. Ryan Hinrichs
Kelsie Kolb
Dr. Adam Cassano
Dr. Steve Surace
Board of Overseers, The New Jersey Governor’s School in
the Sciences
Drew University
Our sponsors: AT&T, Bayer Healthcare, Independent College
Fund of NJ, The Overdeck Family Foundation, NJGSS
Alumnae, Parents, and Corporate Matching Funds, The
State of NJ
Thank you for your generous support
throughout this process!