Title: E-waste disposal in Mauritius – An assessment of its environmental impacts
and an evaluation of the risk potential.
Author & Paper Presenter: Nushreen Jeenally, University of Mauritius
Project Rationale:
In the past decade, rapid strides in technology and software have made the use
of computers and other electronic products nearly ubiquitous in most developed
countries and desires among consumers have heightened for newest and fastest
equipment In addition to producing better products, the improvements in technology
have created growing volumes of obsolete products to be managed as waste. E-waste
is a general category of electronic products including broken or obsolete televisions,
computer monitors, central processing units (CPU), cordless and cell phones, cash
registers, videocassette recorders, cell phones, copiers and printers, stereos and
speakers, and kitchen appliances. Rapid technological advances and lower product
prices for more powerful machines are contributing to shorter product life spans and
frequent replacement.
In Mauritius "e-waste" is a fairly novel concept about which very little is
known and there is currently no direct legislation monitoring e-waste's handling, and
disposal within the Mauritian society. Due to lack of information on e-waste, a
majority of individuals might just think of dumping them into their dustbin or store
them in some inconspicuous place for years, believing that they still have value, until
they ultimately get rid of the used electronics when there is a shortage of space.
Concerns have been raised that toxic chemicals will leach from these devices
when disposed (Yang, 1993; Lee et al., 2000; White et al., 2003). The toxic chemicals
commonly used in electronic devices include metals and metalloids (e.g., arsenic,
cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, and mercury) and organic chemicals such as
brominated flame retardants (BFRs).
Thus, the purpose of the study was to obtain a current snap-shot of the
quantities of electronic equipment owned by a selected sample of Mauritian
residential population and to develop a recovery and recycling scheme accordingly.
This project also compensates the dearth of information on e-waste in Mauritius,
thereby presenting policy-makers with an introduction to the multiple factors needed
when implementing a recovery and recycling scheme for the local context. The
project also aims at assessing the environmental impacts of e-waste disposal at the
Mare Chicose landfill and to evaluate the risk potential.
Methodology
Throughout this study, surveys have been carried out among households and
distributors of electronic devices to demonstrate the magnitude of e-waste problem in
Mauritius. The first survey (household electronic waste survey) had for target, 520
randomly selected households. Interviews were carried out to evaluate the ownership,
use and disposal practices of selected electronic devices, including television,
computer monitor, radio and video systems, cellular phones, refrigerators, washing
machines and common kitchen appliances. Samples were taken from urban and rural
regions across Mauritius so that a comparative study of electronic appliance
ownership and ultimate management of e-waste can be made. A second survey
(electronic waste survey) was designed to evaluate the management and volume of
electronic wastes produced by the domestic and electronics appliance industries
across Mauritius. Personal interviews were carried out among 7 distributors of
electronic appliances and among 10 major importers of mobile phones and computers.
Moreover, a groundwater risk analysis has also been conducted in the vicinity
of the Mare Chicose landfill in Mauritius. The main reason of conducting a
groundwater risk assessment being that the landfill is located in a region of high
rainfall and hence there is a potential for high leachate generation. Groundwater and
surface water samples were collected around the Mare Chicose landfill twice yearly
and heavy metals (Copper, Zinc, Lead, Cadmium, Chromium, Manganese, Nickel,
and Iron) have been tested in the samples using the Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy.
Since the site is located in a region of high rainfall, henceforth, there is a high
potential for high leachate generation. Thus, grab samples of leachate have been
collected in summer (intense rainfall) and winter seasons (low rainfall) for analysis of
heavy metals (Copper, Zinc, Lead, Cadmium, Chromium, Manganese, Nickel, and
Iron).
Leachate samples were also collected from the Leachate Pond and leachate
well for analysis of BFRs. BFRs have been analysed from raw leachate samples
using the extraction procedure, based on continuous liquid – liquid extraction. The
concentrated leachate samples were then run on gas chromatography/mass
spectrometry (GC/MS) operated in negative ion chemical ionization mode utilizing as
chromatography with the mass spectrometer operated as a bromine-specific detector.
PCB – 2,3,3/ - trichloro- 1,1/ Biphenyl, Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD),
Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) were
used as internal standard.
Plan for future work
Future works will be based on intense laboratory testing, further sample
collections around the perimeter of the landfill and analyses.
Leachate samples will be collected for BFR analysis. Other techniques will be
reviewed for the determination of BFRs at trace levels. For instance, the samples
could be analysed using Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LCMS), GCMS-MS or the Hollow Fiber Microporous membrane liquid-liquid extraction followed
by GC-MS. Moreover, alternative methods need to be reviewed for the clean-up of
the dirty leachate sample. Additional leachate and groundwater samples will be
collected for heavy metals analyses.
The simple water balance method will be used to predict moisture movement
within the landfill. The basic configuration that is assumed for the model is that the
landfill consists of an uncovered surface, a compacted waste compartment and a
single clay barrier as engineering barrier system. Results obtained from the water
balance method will be compared to past water balance figures to determine evolution
of moisture movement in the landfill. To carry out the water balance, meteorological
data pertaining to the landfill will be collected. This include rainfall, temperature,
relative humidity and average wind speed.
References:
o Lee, C., Chang, S., Wang, K., and Wen, L. J., 2000. Haz. Mater. 73: 209-220.
o White C., Masanet, E., Rosen, C., and Beckman, S., 2003. Jour. Cleaner
Production. 11: 445-458.
o Yang, G. C., 1993. J. Haz. Mater. 34 (2): 235-243.