E-Waste: Environmental and Human Health Impacts

Introduction: The Scale of the E-Waste Problem

The growth of electronic waste (e-waste) is expected to rise exponentially in the coming years. According to a report published in The Guardian in December 2013, the volume of electronic waste is estimated to increase at a rate of 33% in the near future (Hester & Harrison, 2009). The report, quoting the UN's StEP initiative, noted that the combined weight of all e-waste would equal that of eight of the Great Egyptian Pyramids (Vidal, 2013). Electronic waste is made up of various materials including lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and flame retardants — all of which are toxic in nature. For example, a cathode ray tube television set can contain up to three kilograms of lead (McCann & Wittmann, 2015).

Once such toxic waste enters landfills, it can seep through the soil and contaminate groundwater, land, or air. These toxic elements can mix with agricultural produce or be directly consumed unknowingly by people and animals, causing significant harm. In addition, the dismantling of e-waste is often carried out using primitive methods, with the potential to cause direct harm to workers (Hieronymi, Kahhat & Williams, 2013).

The Population Reference Bureau reports that, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), more than 40 million metric tons of electronic waste are produced across the globe every year. Yet only 13% of e-waste is actually recycled; the rest is dumped. UNEP also notes that these estimates are likely conservative, as accurate data on e-waste is not always readily available (Prb.org, 2015). These facts clearly demonstrate that the dumping of e-waste poses serious hazards to both the environment and to people involved in its dismantling for reuse. It is therefore argued that the export of e-waste should be curtailed for reasons of health and environmental safety (McCann & Wittmann, 2015).

The E-Waste Threat: Causes and Growth

In the last couple of decades, awareness of the growing threat posed by e-waste to the environment and human health has increased rapidly. This is driven by rising concerns about the steady, unrelenting growth of e-waste, which shows no signs of slowing despite posing significant environmental and public health hazards. According to current estimates, the annual growth in e-waste exceeds 5% globally.

According to a report published in Newsweek, more than 49 million metric tons of e-waste were generated in 2012 alone. This waste comprised electronic items such as last-generation cell phones, laptops, televisions, and washing machines. The United States has been identified as the largest contributor to e-waste, with the average American generating 66 pounds of e-waste per year — a figure projected to reach 65.4 million metric tons by 2017 according to a study by a United Nations partner organization. The report also clarifies that even as the amount of e-waste increases, solutions for recycling and preventing environmental damage have not been developed to a corresponding level (Walker, 2014).

The concept and culture of "make, consume, and dispose" is reinforced by the growth of e-waste. This is a predominant culture in developed nations and is gradually spreading to other economies. According to Foote and Mazzolini (2012), the characteristics of e-waste include elements that threaten both the environment and human health through the improper discarding of e-waste materials, as well as through the economic incentives that e-waste provides as an alternative means of livelihood (Hieronymi, Kahhat & Williams, 2013).

According to Chris Carroll of National Geographic, e-waste is defined as the accumulation of debris generated when consumer or business electronic equipment nears the end of its useful life cycle and is discarded by users who replace it with newer devices (Carroll, 2015). While e-waste is primarily associated with items such as computers, televisions, VCRs, stereos, copiers, mobile phones, and fax machines, experts are divided over whether kitchen appliances like microwaves should be included in the definition. Studies have identified several key causes of e-waste, primarily linked to the rapid growth of technological devices, increasing population, and changing human behavioral patterns regarding electronic product use (Malhotra, Smith & Linder, 2011).

There has been rapid and substantial growth in technology over the last few decades, resulting in the development of new electronic products at an unprecedented rate. According to N. Cohen (2011), new and improved devices are regularly brought to market and claimed to be superior to older versions. Consumers choose these technologically advanced devices over their existing ones, rendering the older versions obsolete. This drives people to discard old computers, mobile phones, and fax machines in favor of newer models. The average lifespan of a computer in both developing and developed economies is estimated at just over one year. As demand for electronic devices grows and more products flood the market, the average life cycle of electronic goods is expected to shorten further (Cohen, 2011).

Growth in world population over the last few decades, along with increases in average life expectancy, represents another contributing cause of e-waste. A larger population means more people participating in markets that consume electronic devices, and therefore more devices being manufactured. Compounding this is the constant upgrading of electronic devices, which accelerates the problem. More people using and discarding electronic devices — combined with regular product advancement — inevitably means greater e-waste production.

According to V. Goodship (n.d.), another significant reason for the rapid rise in e-waste volume is the change in how consumers view electronic items. For many, devices such as mobile phones, computers, and laptops are regarded not only as functional tools but as symbols of style and social status. The more technologically advanced or fashionable a device is, the more satisfied its owner tends to be — sometimes independently of the device's actual performance or reliability. This attitude, researchers argue, has led companies to release new and improved versions of electronic devices with increasing frequency, causing more consumers to abandon their older devices for new ones. This dynamic is not isolated to any single market but represents a global consumer trend (Goodship, n.d.).

By the dynamics of e-waste flows, e-waste tends to be exported from developed economies to developing and underdeveloped ones. One major characteristic of this export is that it offers the potential to recover valuable resources and materials by closing the loop of material flows, and also to generate revenue from the dismantling of discarded items. For many people in developing economies, e-waste constitutes a significant source of income. However, this also increases the health and safety risks faced by those engaged in recycling and handling the waste (United Nations University, 2015).

There are ample reasons to be concerned about e-waste. It comprises more than 1,000 different substances — many hazardous, though some are considered non-hazardous. While a major portion of e-waste is composed of ferrous and non-metallic materials such as plastics, it becomes hazardous when concentrations of dangerous materials exceed safe limits. Most e-waste contains hazardous materials including lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, selenium, hexavalent chromium, and brominated flame retardants (McCann & Wittmann, 2015). High concentrations of these substances make e-waste potentially harmful to the environment and to the health and safety of those who use, handle, or live near it.

Health and Environmental Impact of E-Waste

Many of the hundreds of tiny components that make up electronic products contain hazardous chemicals and metals. These chemicals have the potential to cause environmental contamination and endanger human health when present above specified safe limits. Electronic devices such as television sets, video monitors, and computer screens contain hazardous materials including lead, cadmium, mercury, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), brominated flame retardants (BFRs), chromium, and beryllium. These chemicals and non-ferrous metals are potentially very dangerous to humans.

For example, prolonged exposure to lead can damage the nervous system, kidneys, bones, and the reproductive and endocrine systems. Some of the chemicals and metals mentioned above are also carcinogenic (Griffith.edu.au, 2015). People tend to be affected by these hazardous substances while working on the dismantling and recycling of e-waste. Recycling and dismantling are undertaken to enable the reuse of electronic components, particularly in developing countries — the nations where most of this electronic waste is ultimately dumped. Because importing and reusing rejected electronic items from developed countries is economically advantageous for importers in developing nations, the volume of such imports continues to rise, as does the number of people employed in dismantling and recycling (McCann & Wittmann, 2015).

Apart from threats to human health, e-waste also has the potential to impact the environment in lasting ways. Improper disposal of e-waste can contaminate soil, water, and air. Toxic waste in electronic items seeps through improperly disposed materials into the soil and reaches underground water supplies. If waste is burned improperly, the air can also become polluted. Contaminated water, air, and soil may subsequently be used for agriculture or consumed by humans, posing serious hazards to human beings and other forms of life. Such unscientific disposal of e-waste can have severe repercussions for residents and natural habitats in direct proximity to e-waste recycling or burning sites.

According to the organization StEP (Solving the E-Waste Problem), an average of more than 40 million metric tons of e-waste are generated every year globally (Richter, 2014). This waste is generally exported to developing countries. The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that European countries alone generate approximately 9 million tonnes of e-waste per year, with North American countries generating nearly double that amount. StEP estimates that in 2012 alone, global e-waste generation exceeded 48.9 million metric tons (McCann & Wittmann, 2015).

Discarded electronic goods are generally segmented into three categories: white goods, which include household electrical appliances; brown goods, which comprise televisions, camcorders, and cameras; and grey goods, which include computers, printers, fax machines, and scanners (United Nations University, 2015).

Advocates against the unregulated export of e-waste to developing nations frequently cite the example of Guiyu, a city in southeastern China. Guiyu is considered to be the world's largest e-waste recycling region (Prb.org, 2015). Surveys conducted in Guiyu suggest that the primary threats to human health and the environment stem from informal working conditions, poverty, and poor sanitation. Residents of the city exhibit significant health problems affecting the digestive, neurological, respiratory, and skeletal systems. For example, surveys have shown that due to probable lead poisoning, 80% of children in Guiyu suffer from respiratory ailments (Prb.org, 2015).

But direct contamination of Guiyu's residents is not the only threat. Researchers anticipate that wind patterns in southeastern China have the potential to disperse harmful and toxic particles — released into the air from the burning of e-waste — to surrounding regions home to approximately 45 million people (United Nations University, 2015). In this way, toxic chemicals and metals enter the soil and consequently the food supply, exposing a very large population to the ill effects of these materials. The export and large-scale recycling of e-waste in Guiyu should therefore be curtailed until scientifically sound disposal methods are in place (Prb.org, 2015).

Conclusion

E-waste contains a large number of toxic chemicals, all of which can be potentially very harmful to humans. Lead impacts the central and peripheral nervous systems of the human body, as well as the hemopoietic system, the genitourinary system, and the reproductive systems of both males and females. Damage to the genitourinary system and to the developing fetus is caused by exposure to Mercury, which can also spread through the food chain after dispersing into water and transforming into methylated mercury. Prolonged exposure and accumulation of Cadmium in the human body causes kidney damage. The lungs, skin, and bladder are acutely affected by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, an essential component found in air conditioning units. It is therefore argued that e-waste is harmful not only to the people who directly handle the materials but also to the broader environment. E-waste can corrupt the food chain once it enters soil and water, polluting the immediate surroundings.

Studies have established a direct correlation between soil contamination and food produced on agricultural land surrounding e-waste sites. Contamination has also been detected in the tissues of people who reside, work, and consume food in areas close to e-waste facilities. Unscientific recycling and disposal of e-waste is identified as the primary cause of this contamination. The seeping of toxic heavy metals into soil and surrounding water sources, and the release of toxic substances into the air through the unscientific burning of e-waste, represent the main routes of contamination. E-waste volumes continue to rise and are expected to increase further in the coming years. By comparison, solutions for the adequate and safe disposal of e-waste have not been developed to the requisite extent, nor has public awareness of the issue reached sufficient levels.

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