Environ Sci Pollut Res (2012) 19:2460–2462
DOI 10.1007/s11356-012-0923-z
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Environmental and health challenges of the global growth
of electronic waste
Qiang Liu & Shu Juan Shi & Li Qing Du & Yan Wang &
Jia Cao & Chang Xu & Fei Yue Fan & John P. Giesy &
Markus Hecker
Received: 15 March 2012 / Accepted: 9 April 2012 / Published online: 26 April 2012
# Springer-Verlag 2012
Electronic waste (e-waste) is the fastest growing type of
solid waste because of the continual improvement of electrical and electronic equipment. The e-waste recycling
business is a large and rapidly consolidating business
in all areas of the developed world (US Environmental
Protection Agency 2011). The recovery of precious metals, such as copper, gold, silver, and palladium, is the
incentive for erwaste recycling. The threats to health and the
environment posed by e-waste must also be considered. The
Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues
Qiang Liu and Shu Juan Shi contributed equally to this study and share
first authorship.
Q. Liu : L. Q. Du : Y. Wang : J. Cao : C. Xu : F. Y. Fan (*)
Institute of Radiation Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical
Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin Key
Laboratory of Molecular Nuclear Medicine, 238 Baidi Road,
300192 Tianjin,
People’s Republic of China
e-mail: faithyfan@yahoo.cn
S. J. Shi
Basic Medical College of Tianjin Medical University,
22 Qixiangtai Road,
300070 Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
J. P. Giesy
Toxicology Centre,
Department Of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences,
University of Saskatchewan, 44 Campus Drive,
Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B3, Canada
M. Hecker
School of the Environment and Sustainability,
University of Saskatchewan, 44 Campus Drive,
Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B3, Canada
management of e-waste has become a global challenge to the
environment.
By 2020, e-waste from old computers will have increased
by 200 % to 400 % from 2007 levels in South Africa and
China and by 500 % in India. By 2020, e-waste from
discarded mobile phones will be approximately 7 and 18
times higher than 2007 levels in China and India, respectively
(United Nations Environment Programme 2012). Despite
China’s ban on e-waste imports, the country remains a major
e-waste dumping ground for developed countries. Moreover,
most e-waste in China is handled improperly, with much of
this waste incinerated by backyard recyclers to recover valuable metals such as gold.
India’s e-waste recycling industry is dominated by the socalled informal sector, where tens of thousands of people are
estimated to make their living from material recovery. Many
facilities where e-waste is processed and materials are recovered for recycling are small, independent workshops.
There are often few or no real controls over the materials
processed in these facilities or their emissions and discharges. A wide variety of organic chemicals and high
concentrations of heavy metals have been found in samples
of e-waste burning residues collected in China and India. In
addition to the effect of the ongoing input to the environment from the open burning of e-waste, workers at a site in
Ibrahimpur, New Delhi, India reported that food was often
cooked over burning e-waste. There is clear potential for
food to become contaminated with the hazardous chemicals
identified in the ash from such sites (Brigden et al. 2005;
United Nations Environment Programme 2009).
In 2009, approximately 171,000 tons of e-waste from
consumers, repair shops, and communal collection reached
the informal recycling sector in Ghana. Assuming linear
growth, the import of e-waste will double by the year
2020. The current situation has led to an important informal
Environ Sci Pollut Res (2012) 19:2460–2462
industry in Ghana that recycles or reprocesses e-waste,
similar to these industries in other developing countries, to
take advantage of the valuable metals that can be extracted
and sold. Unfortunately, proper recycling facilities, management systems, and industry standards do not exist. No clear
and specific national regulations have been established to
define, restrict, or prohibit hazardous e-waste recycling
(Amoyaw-Osei et al. 2011).
These practices release steady plumes of far-reaching
toxic pollution and yield very low metal recovery rates.
The occurrence of toxic chemicals in e-waste can pose a
risk to human and environmental health if improperly managed (Chen et al. 2011; Townsend 2011). Several attempts
in India to define a legal framework have been unsuccessful.
Unless action is accelerated to properly collect and recycle
materials, many developing countries face the specter of
mountains of hazardous e-waste, with serious consequences
for the environment and public health (United Nations Environment Programme 2009). The following suggestions
may be helpful for directing further action:
1. Pay attention to the hereditary effect: For the first time, we
have reported cytogenetic damage in populations exposed
to e-waste. These data may complement knowledge of the
health stresses related to the processing of e-waste (Liu et
al. 2009). Long-term hereditary effects are a crucial issue
within the context of health risks in e-waste recycling
areas. Most of these recycling sites have operated for
more than 10 years, with long-term exposure to e-waste
toxicants. The cumulative effect may be present both in
the local environment and in humans.
2. Evaluation of environmental pollution: The biological
effects and the mechanisms of e-waste are highly complex. To enhance the protection of the exposed population, a detailed assessment of environmental exposure is
necessary, including the assessment of environmental
samples and biological samples and an assessment of
the transportation of toxicants from the environment to
organisms. This letter recommends that countries establish e-waste evaluation and management centers of excellence, building on existing organizations working in
the areas of recycling and waste management.
3. Prevention: Because e-waste exposure has become a
global environmental problem, global collaborative solutions are required. For the manufacture of electronic products, new, environmentally friendly materials are needed
to replace ordinary materials. Reasonable policies should
be established in both developing and developed nations
to improve the management of e-waste, including the
recycling process, exports, and imports. Further research
on the applicability, effectiveness, and efficiency of various processes and equipment for the management of
e-waste is needed. The Swiss e-waste recovery model
2461
can be imitated in any country. With items collected
separately, the preprocessing and end processing of the
existing Swiss e-waste collection and recovery systems
has resulted in significantly lower environmental impacts
per ton of e-waste (Wäger et al. 2011).
4. New actions: An initiative project on solving the e-waste
problem (StEP), titled “Best of 2 Worlds” (Bo2W), has
conducted eco-efficiency calculations of the recycling of
e-waste in China since 2007. The results show that deeplevel dismantling has a lower system cost, produces
higher material revenue, and has a lower environmental
impact compared with the scenario of implementing
shredding in China. Based on the concepts identified
in the Bo2W project, the Integrated Waste Management in Western Africa (IWWA) project was established. IWWA aims to promote integrated solid waste
management systems in Western African countries by
empowering all stakeholders to participate in the waste
management chain through the reinforcement of institutional and legal frameworks and the open transfer of
knowledge and technology (Solving the e-waste problem
2010). Similar to many Western African countries, the
E-Waste Africa Programme was launched in Benin,
Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Nigeria. The program was implemented within the framework of the Basel
Convention and lasted from November 2008 to March
2012. The E-Waste Africa Programme was a comprehensive program that aimed to enhance the environmental
governance of e-waste and to create favorable social and
economic conditions for partnerships and small businesses in the recycling sector in Africa (Secretariat of
the Basel convention 2011).
In conclusion, this letter is expected to give new
urgency to the establishment of ambitious formal and
regulated processes for collecting and managing e-waste via
the establishment of large, efficient facilities in China and
other developing nations.
Acknowledgments This study was supported by the National
Natural Science Foundation of China (31170804), the technology
support project of Tianjin (10JCZDJC16900, 11ZCGYSY02400,
12JCYBJC15300), the Science Research Foundation for Doctor–Subject
of High School of the National Education Department (20101106110046)
and the Development Foundation of the Institute of Radiation
Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union
Medical College (SF1101, SF1102).
Conflict of interest None
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