TOPIC:

Pollution due to electrical and electronic waste, their effects and

remedies, Recycling of these waste: Methods and all related details

GROUP MEMBERS:
NAME OF STUDENT
ANKUR

REGISTRATION NO.
20152028

ANKUR VERMA

20152077

ARCHIT SRIVASTAVA

20152032

ARPIT SRIVASTAVA

20156015

POLLUTION

DUE

ELECTRONIC WASTES

TO

ELECTRICAL

AND

ABSTRACT
Electronic waste or e-waste is one of the rapidly growing problems of the world. E-waste
comprises of a multitude of components, some containing toxic substances that can have an
adverse impact on human health and the environment if not handled properly. In India, e-waste
management assumes greater significance not only due to the generation of its own e-waste but
also because of the dumping of e-waste from developed countries. This is coupled with India's
lack of appropriate infrastructure and procedures for its disposal and recycling. The production
of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is one of the fastest growing global manufacturing
activities. Rapid economic growth, coupled with urbanization and a growing demand for
consumer goods, has increased both the consumption and the production of EEE. The Indian
information technology (IT) industry has been one of the major drivers of change in the economy
in the last decade and has contributed significantly to the digital revolution being experienced by
the world. New electronic gadgets and appliances have infiltrated every aspect of our daily lives,
providing our society with more comfort, health and security and with easy information
acquisition and exchange. The knowledge society however is creating its own toxic footprints.

INTRODUCTION
(Reference:

Y. Sitaramaiah, M. Kusuma Kumari, National Seminar on Impact of Toxic Metals, Minerals and
Solvents leading to Environmental Pollution, page 39, ISSN: 0974-2115, 3 October 2014)

E-Waste broadly covers waste from all electronic and electrical appliances and comprises
of items such as computers, mobile phones, digital music recorders/players, refrigerators,
washing machines, televisions and many other household consumer items. This includes used
electronics which are destined for reuse, resale, salvage, recycling, or disposal. Others are reusable (working and repairable electronics) and secondary scrap (copper, steel, plastic, etc.) to be
"commodities", and reserve the term "waste" for residue or material which is dumped by the
buyer rather than recycled, including residue from reuse and recycling operations. Electronic
waste is a name given to any piece of electronic equipment that is at the end of its useful life.
Some of these products can be resold, refurbished, or dismantled to rescue resalable goods.
Others, however, serve no useful purpose and are discarded.
E-Waste has been categorized into three main categories, i.e., Large Household
Appliances, IT and Telecom and Consumer Equipment. Refrigerator and washing machine
represent large household appliances; PC, monitor and laptop represent IT and Telecom, while
TV represents Consumer Equipment. Each of these e-waste items has been classified with
respect to 26 common components found in them. These components form the building blocks
of each item and therefore they are readily identifiable and removable.

PROBLEMS FACED
(Reference:
Y. Sitaramaiah, M. Kusuma Kumari, National Seminar on Impact of Toxic Metals, Minerals and
Solvents leading to Environmental Pollution, page 39 41, ISSN: 0974-2115, 3 October 2014)

E-waste and environmental pollution is a global problem. The United Nations suggests
that global e-waste is set to exceed 40 million tons per year. End of product life recycling is
highly polluting, non-cost effective and unregulated in many countries. The burden of e-waste
not only pollutes the land-fill it is having serious health implications due to chemical leaching
into the water table, eventually making its way to agricultural produce and into people.
According to a recent report by the BBC, e-waste pollution is causing severe health concerns for

millions of people around the world, mostly in the developing nations of Africa, Europe and
Asia. Approximately 23 percent of deaths in these nations are linked to pollution and other
environmental impacts. The report also concluded that more than 200 million people worldwide
are at risk of exposure to toxic waste.
With the usage of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) on the rise, the amount of
electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) produced each day is equally growing enormously
around the globe. Recycling of valuable elements contained in e-waste such as copper and gold
has become a source of income mostly in the informal sector of developing or emerging
industrialized countries. However, primitive recycling techniques such as burning cables for
retaining the inherent copper expose both adult and child workers as well as their families to a
range of hazardous substances. E-waste-connected health risks may result from direct contact
with harmful materials such as lead, cadmium, chromium, brominated flame retardants or
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), from inhalation of toxic fumes, as well as from accumulation
of chemicals in soil, water and food. In addition to its hazardous components, being processed, ewaste can give rise to a number of toxic by-products likely toaffect human health. Furthermore,
recycling activities such as dismantling of electrical equipment may potentially bear an increased
risk of injury.
Children are especially vulnerable to the health risks that may result from e-waste
exposure and, therefore, need more specific protection. As they are still growing, childrens
intake of air, water and food in proportion to their weight is significantly increased compared to
adults, - and with that, the risk of hazardous chemical absorption. Furthermore, their bodies
functional systems such as the central nervous, immune, reproductive and digestive system are
still developing and exposure to toxic substances, by hampering further development, may cause
irreversible damage. Many children are exposed to e-waste-derived chemicals in their daily life
due to unsafe recycling activities that are often conducted at their home- either by family
members or by the children themselves. Furthermore, children may be exposed through dump
sites located close to their homes, schools and play areas.

E-WASTE GENERATION IN INDIA

(References:

The Basel Action Network (BAN) and Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC), Exporting Harm:
The High-Tech Thrashing of Asia, February 25, 2002.

UNEP Press Release, 'Basel Conference addresses Electronic Wastes Challenge', 27 November
2006 http://www.unep.org/

Moushumi Basu, 'New e-waste management plan lucrative for states', The Pioneer, New Delhi,
18 May 2010.

Satish Sinha, 'Downside of the Digital Revolution, Toxics Link, 28 December 2007,
http://www.toxicslink.org

Comments and Suggestions made by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of
India on the draft backgrounder titled 'E-waste in India' prepared by the Research Unit of Rajya
Sabha Secretariat. O.M. No. 23-4/2011-HSMD, dated 19 April, 2011)

All over the world, the quantity of electrical and electronic waste generated each year, especially
computers

and

televisions,has

assumed

alarming

proportions.

In

2006,

the

InternationalAssociation of Electronics Recyclers (IAER) projected that3 billion electronic and

electrical appliances would become WEEEor e-waste by 2010. That would tantamount to an
averagee-waste generation rate of 400 million units a year till 2010.Globally, about 20-50 MT
(milliontonnes) of e-wastes are disposedoff each year, which accounts for 5% of all municipal
solid waste.

Although no definite official data exist on how much waste is generated in India

or how much is disposed of, there are estimations based on independent studies conducted by the
NGOs or government agencies. According to the Comptroller and Auditor- Generals (CAG)
report, over 7.2 MT of industrial hazardous waste, 4 lakh tonnes of electronic waste, 1.5 MT of
plastic waste, 1.7 MT of medical waste, 48 MT of municipal waste are generated in the country
annually. In 2005, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) estimated Indiase-waste at 1.47
lakh tonnes or 0.573 MT per day. A studyreleased by the Electronics Industry Association of
India(ELCINA) at the electronics industry expo ComponexNepcon2009 had estimated the
total e-waste generation in India at awhopping 4.34 lakh tonnes by end 2009. The CPCB
hasestimated that it will exceed the 8 lakh tonnes or 0.8 MT markby 2012.
There are 10 States that contribute to 70 per cent of the totale-waste generated in the
country, while 65 cities generate morethan 60 per cent of the total e-waste in India. Among the
10 largeste-waste generating States, Maharashtra ranks first followed byTamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi,Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab.

Among the topten cities generating e-waste, Mumbai ranks first followed by Delhi,Bengaluru,
Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Suratand Nagpur.
The main sources of electronic waste in India are the government,public and private
(industrial) sectors, which account for almost 70per cent of total waste generation. The
contribution of individualhouseholds is relatively small at about 15 per cent; the rest
beingcontributed by manufacturers. Though individual households arenot large contributors to
waste generated by computers, theyconsume large quantities of consumer durables and are,
therefore,potential creators of waste. An Indian market Research Bureau(IMRB) survey of Ewaste generation at Source in 2009 foundthat out of the total e-waste volume in India,
televisions and desktopsincluding servers comprised 68 per cent and 27 per cent
respectively.Imports and mobile phones comprised of 2 per cent and 1 per centrespectively.
As a large-scale organised e-waste recycling facility, the Attero Recycling Plant in
Roorkee opened in January 2010. Despite 23units currently registered with the Government of
India, Ministryof Environment and Forests/ Central Pollution Control Board, ase-waste
recyclers/reprocessors, having environmentally soundmanagement facilities, the entire recycling
process more or lessstill exists in the unorganised sector. The Cobalt-60 radiation tragedyat
Mayapuri in Delhi in which one person lost his life and six personswere admitted to hospital
served as a wakeup call drawing attentionto the mounting quantity of hazardous waste including
e-waste inthe country while revealing systemic problems on the issue of wastedisposal. The
Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) hasnotified the Hazardous Wastes (Management,
Handling andTransboundary Movement) Rules, 2008 for effective managementof hazardous
wastes, including e-waste in the country. But theserules do not apply to the radioactive wastes
such as Cobalt 60which are covered under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.

GROWTH OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC INDUSTERY IN INDIA

Computer and Computer Component Segment

(References:

MAIT: IT Industry Performance Annual Review: 2008-09, Press Conference, New Delhi: 14 July
2009

Press

Release,

Economic

recovery

drives

IT

hardware

market

in

Q3.

www.mait.com/admin/press_images/press22march10.htm)

The electronics industry is driven mainly by the computer andcomputer component

sectors with as much as a fifth of its revenuescoming from sales of Personal Computers. The
huge scale ofdemand in the market can be observed from the sale of the P.Cs. (desktops and
notebooks) in the period 20032009 as given in thetable below:

Total Computer Sale: 20032009

YEAR

UNITS

2003-04

3,124,22

2004-05

38,097,24

2005-06

50,465,58

2006-07

63,415,41

2007-08

73,443,06

2008-09

67,961,07

Personal computers sales have seen a major jump in the last few years from around units of 3.1
million in 2003-04 to 7.3 million in 2007-08 approximately. It dropped to 6.7 million units in
2008-09 during the recession but the industry once again picked up in 2009-10. The total sales of
personal computers for the quarter October - December 2009 were 2 million (20 lakh) units,
registering a growth of 42 per cent over the same period in the previous fiscal year. In the same
quarter, the sales of desktops stood at 1.35 million (13.5 lakh) units, while netbooks and
notebooks taken together recorded a consumption of 0.66 million (6.6 lakh) units growing 27 per

cent and 90 per cent respectively, on a year-on-year basis. Overall PC sales for 2009-10 are
expected to cross 7.3 million (73 lakh) units, registering a 7 per cent annual growth. A shift in
the governance systems with e-governance initiatives adopted by the Central and the State
Governments, the telecom, banking and education sectors, Small and Medium Enterprises
(SMEs) and IT enabled services have been a major factor leading to the vibrancy of consumption
in the information technology market. The third quarter of 2009-10 had also seen an increase in
consumption in households and smaller towns. Today, the small cities constitute close to 50 per
cent of the sales of personal computers. Region wise, the personal computers market has grown
in the easternand western regions indicating a progressive application of technologyin
governance and the common persons life.

The Consumer Electronics (Television) Segment

(References:

Debdatta Das, Flat colour TV sales surge by our 70%, The Hindu Business Line, 20 July, 2007.

Antone Gonsalves, LCD TV Sales Boom Foreseen in 2010, Information Week. The Business Value
of Technology, 31 December 2009, http://www.informationweek.com)

In the television segment, the advent of the Liquid Crystal Display(LCD) and plasma screens
have altered the concept of thetelevision for viewers. Better technology has meant improved
picturequality and a diminishing price difference between the traditionalCRT (Cathode Ray
Tube) television and the new flat screen LCDtelevision. It has resulted in the popularity of the
latter. Moreover,increasing disposable income and the price decline influenced byrobust demand
has been factoring the growth in this segment. Aphenomenal rise in the sale volume of the flat
panel colour televisionby 70.9 per cent in 2007 as against just over 33 per cent of theCRT colour
television demonstrates this new trend.Further, according to the retail market research agency
ORGGfKdata for the five-month period January to May 2007, the totalCTV (Colour Television)
sales touched the 42,54, 700-units mark in terms of volume and the 3,975.48 crore mark in
terms ofvalue. The flat panel CTV segment formed 64.3 per cent of theentire market, worth
2,545.81 crores with a total of 27,34,000units sold during the period. The conventional curve

CTV segmentstood at 33.5 per cent of the whole market, worth 813.28 crore(14, 26,600
units).According to a report on Indian Consumer Durables Industryby the Corporate Catalyst
India, the sales trend of televisionindicated that sales would go up from 8,867,000 units in 2005
to11,795,000 units in 2010. According to Display Search, a leadingglobal provider of consumer
and retail market research, globally,overall TV shipments were expected to rise from 205 million
unitsin 2008 to 218 million units by 2010.

The Telecommunication Segment

(References:

http://www.telecomindiaonline.com/india-telecom-growth-and-subscribers-2010.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_Statistics_in_ India

Electronics.ca Research Network, Optical Components Worldwide: Markets Reach $11.3 Billion by
2015, 29 September, 2009, http://www.electronics.ca/press center/)

The telecom industry in India has also witnessed an unprecedentedgrowth in recent times
owing to the subscription and developmentalpotential of its large population. The total telephone
(landline andwireless) subscriber base had reached 653.92 million by the end ofMay 2010.
Currently, there are an estimated 617.53 million mobilephone users compared to 36.39 million
fixed line subscribers inIndia. In April 2010 alone, 16.90 million subscribers were addedin the
wireless (cell phone) segment. It is estimated that India wouldovertake China to become the
worlds largest mobiletelecommunications market by the year 2013. It is predicted thatby then,
the tele-density would shoot up from 55.38 per cent inMay 2010 to 75 per cent and the total
mobile subscriber base wouldbe a staggering 1.159 billion!The cell phone or mobile users have
increased in number veryrapidly in India and this momentum will be maintained in the
comingyears. However, the waste generated by this product is physicallyless in volume due to
the nature of the product.In the telecommunications segment, due to the increasing use offibre
optic technology to replace copper for faster transmission ofdata and for expanding the
bandwidth of service networks, theoptical components markets are also expected to rise from a
marketworth at $3.8 billion in 2008 to $11.3 billion by 2015.

CONSUMPTION PATTERNS

(References:

Electronics.ca Research Network, Worldwide Electronic Manufacturing Services Will Return to

Steady, But Uneven Growth in 2010, 26 April 2010, www.electronics.ca/presscenter/

Satish Sinha, Dark shadows of digitization on Indian horizon in Rakesh Johri, E-waste:
Implications, regulations and management in India and current global best practices, TERI, New
Delhi, 2008, pg. 27)

The global recession in 2008-09 had resulted in the electronicmanufacturing services

industry diminishing by 11 per cent in 2009.But the resurgence of consumer spending in the
latter part of 2009led analysts to believe that the electronic industry is going to enjoya compound
annual growth rate of 8 per cent in the period 2010-2014. It is expected that India and other
emerging economies will present some of the best markets for consumer spending in 2010and
beyond. Such a prediction would imply that obsolescencewould be an ever-recurring factor in the
growth dynamics of theelectronic manufacturing industry. The generation of such
obsoleteelectronic items or e-waste is therefore, likely to increase manifoldin proportion to the
growth in the electronics industry.
Most of the IT products, especially computers and mobile phones,have a short lifespan.
The products are not designed for longevityand become obsolete in no time. The most commonly
used PC,which earlier had a lifespan of seven years, today has an averagelifespan of two to five
years. The shorter lifespan of products is amarketing strategy to maintain the pace of
consumption andproduction processes. Therefore, new technologies and upgradescome into the
market almost every 18 months influencingconsumption patterns.
Further, the availability of choices, changing pace of life, rapidurbanization, and
increased purchasing capacity of the middle classhave all contributed to the growth of the
electrical and consumerdurable industry. The increasing affordability and availability ofthese
products leads to a gradual penetration into smaller townswhich are now showing impressive
sales of consumer electronics.Some of the consumer products like refrigerators, televisions andso
on were once a lifetime purchase. But today consumers outgrowolder models as new products
come into the market and find that itis easier and cheaper to buy new electronic equipment than

repairan old product. Due to the extreme rate of obsolescence, theelectronic industry is
producing much higher volumes of waste.This has been compounded by the change in the
consumption patternin India which has also contributed to the large volumes of e-wastebeing
generated in the country.
Given below is the quantity of e-waste generated byIndian statesaccording to an
assessment study conducted by the InternationalResource Group Systems South Asia Pvt. Ltd
(IRGSSA) in 2005.The study is primarily based on the average national penetrationlevels of
computer in the population.
Quantity of WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment) generated in Indian States
(Reference:
Country level WEEE assessment study by the International Resource Group Systems South Asia Pvt. Ltd
(IRGSSA), (m/s IRG Systems South Asia Pvt. Ltd), 2005.)
STATE/UT

WEEE (tonnes)

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

92.2

Andhra Pradesh

12780.3

Arunachal Pradesh

131.7

Assam

2176.7

Bihar

3055.6

Chandigarh

359.7

Chhattisgarh

2149.9

Dadra and Nagar Haveli

29.4

Daman and Diu

40.8

Delhi

9729.2

Goa

427.4

Gujarat

8994.3

Haryana

4506.9

Himachal Pradesh

1595.1

Jammu and Kashmir

1521.5

Jharkhand

2021.6

Karnataka

9118.7

Kerala

6171.8

Lakshadweep

7.4

STATE/UT

WEEE (tonnes)

Madhya Pradesh

7800.6

Maharashtra

20270.6

Manipur

231.7

Meghalaya

211.6

Mizoram

79.3

Nagaland

145.1

Orissa

2937.8

Puducherry

284.2

Punjab

6958.5

Rajasthan

6326.9

Sikkim

78.1

Tamil Nadu

13486.2

Tripura

378.3

Uttar Pradesh

10381.1

Uttarakhand

1641.1

West Bengal

10059.4

TOTAL

146180.7

The State of Maharashtra tops the list generating 20,270 tonnesof e-waste annually. The
other States leading in the generation ofe-waste are Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh
andWest Bengal.

POLLUTANTS IN E-WASTE

Pollutants or toxins in e-waste are typically concentrated in circuitboards, batteries,

plastics, and LCDs (liquid crystal displays). Givenbelow is a table showing the major pollutants
occurring in wasteelectrical and electronic equipments:
Pollutants and their occurrence in waste electrical and
electronic equipment
(Reference:
Alexander Janz and Bernd Bilitewski, Hazardous substances in waste electricaland electronic
equipment in Rakesh Johri, E-waste: Implications, regulationsand management in India and current
global best practices, TERI, New Delhi,2008, p.93.)

POLLUTANT

OCCURENCE

Arsenic

Semiconductors, diodes, microwaves,LEDs (Light-emitting diodes), solar

cells

Barium

Electron tubes, filler for plastic andrubber, lubricant additives

Brominated

flame- Casing, circuit boards (plastic), cables and PVC cables

proofing agent
Cadmium

Batteries, pigments, solder, alloys, circuitboards, computer batteries,

monitorcathode ray tubes (CRTs)

Chrome

Dyes/pigments, switches, solar

Cobalt

Insulators

Copper

Conductor in cables, copper ribbons,coils, circuitry, pigments

Lead

Lead rechargeable batteries, solar,transistors, lithium batteries,

PVC(polyvinyl chloride) stabilizers, lasers,LEDs, thermoelectric elements,
circuitboards

Liquid crystal

Displays

Lithium

Mobile telephones, photographicequipment, video equipment (batteries)

Mercury

Components in copper machines andsteam irons; batteries in clocks

andpocket calculators, switches, LCDs

Nickel

Alloys, batteries, relays, semiconductors,pigments

PCBs (polychlorinated Transformers, capacitors, softeningagents for paint, glue, plastic

biphenyls)

Selenium

Photoelectric cells, pigments,photocopiers, fax machines

Silver

Capacitors, switches (contacts),batteries, resistors

Zinc

Steel, brass, alloys, disposable andrechargeable batteries, luminoussubstances

IMPACT OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES ON HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

(References:

Ibid n.7, p.9

Asha Krishna Kumar, Importing danger, Frontline, Vol. 20, Issue 25,06 19 December, 2003.

Ibid. n.47, p.91.)

The waste from electronic products include toxic substancessuch as cadmium and lead in
the circuit boards; lead oxide andcadmium in monitor cathode ray tubes (CRTs); mercury in
switchesand flat screen monitors; cadmium in computer batteries;polychlorinated biphenyls in
older capacitors and transformers; andbrominated flame retardants on printed circuit boards,
plasticcasings, cables and PVC cable insulation that releases highly toxicdioxins and furans
when burned to retrieve copper from the wires.Many of these substances are toxic and
carcinogenic. Thematerialsare complex and have been found to be difficult to recycle in
anenvironmentallysustainable manner even in developed countries.Listed in the table below are
the harmful elements in thecompositions of electrical and electronic appliances that can
behazardous to health andenvironment:
(Reference:
ITs underbelly, Down to Earth, vol.19, no.1, May16 - 31, 2010.)

METAL

DANGER

Lead

A neurotoxin that affects the kidneys and the reproductive system.High quantities
can befatal. It affects mental development inchildren. Mechanical breaking of
CRTs(cathode ray tubes) andremoving solder frommicrochips release lead as
powder and fumes.

Plastic

Found in circuit boards, cabinets and cables, they contain carcinogens.BFRs or

brominated flame retardants give out carcinogenicbrominated dioxins and furans.
Dioxins can harm reproductive andimmune systems. Burning PVC, a component
of plastics, alsoproduces dioxins. BFR can leach into landfills. Even the dust

oncomputer cabinets contains BFR.

Chromium

Used to protect metal housings and plates in a computer fromcorrosion. Inhaling

hexavalent chromium or chromium 6 can damageliver and kidneys and cause
bronchial maladies including asthmaticbronchitis and lung cancer.

Mercury

Affects the central nervous system, kidneys and immune system.It impairs foetus
growth and harms infants through mothers milk.It is released while breaking and
burning of circuit boards andswitches. Mercury in water bodies can form
methylated mercurythrough microbial activity. Methylated mercury is toxic and
canenter the human food chain through aquatic.

Beryllium

Found in switch boards and printed circuit boards. It is carcinogenicand causes

lung diseases.

Cadmium

A carcinogen. Long-term exposure causes Itai-itai disease, whichcauses severe

pain in the joints and spine. It affects the kidneys andsoftens bones. Cadmium is
released into the environment as powderwhile crushing and milling of plastics,
CRTs and circuit boards.Cadmium may be released with dust, entering surface
water andgroundwater.

Acid

Sulphuric and hydrochloric acids are used to separate metals fromcircuit boards.
Fumes contain chlorine and sulphur dioxide, whichcause respiratory problems.
They are corrosive to theeye and skin.

Most electronic goods contain significant quantities of toxicmetals and chemicals like
mercury, which is currently beingphased out in the developed countries. Mercury is mobile
andpoisonous in any form - inorganic, organic or elemental. Itsorganic compound methyl
mercury has been scientificallyproved to be a neuro-toxicant that damages the brain. It isgenotoxic too as it passesthrough the placental and the bloodbrainbarrier, putting the foetus at risk.
Mercury is known tocause severe and permanent damage to the central nervoussystem, lungs and
kidneys. It can trigger depression andsuicidal tendencies and cause paralysis, Alzheimers
disease, speechand vision impairment, allergies, hypospermia and impotence.Mercury bioaccumulates (builds up in organisms)and biomagnifies (moves up the food chain). According to
the UnitedNations Environment Programmes (UNEP) GlobalMercury Assessment Report, even
minuscule increases inmethyl mercury exposures can affect the cardiovascularsystem.
E-waste typically contains complex combinations ofmaterials and components down to
microscopic levels.The wastes are broken down in not just for recycling but for therecoverable

materials such as plastic, iron, aluminium,copper and gold. However, since e-waste also
containssignificant concentration of substances that are hazardous to humanhealth and the
environment, even a small amount ofe-waste entering the residual waste will introduce
relativelyhigh amount of heavy metals and halogenated substances.Such harmful substances
leach into the surrounding soil,water and air during waste treatment or when they aredumped in
landfills or left to lie around near it.Sooner or later they would adversely affect human health
andecology.

DEALING WITH E-WASTE

(References:

Ibid.

Comments and Suggestions made by Mr. Satish Sinha, Associate Director,Toxics Link, New Delhi by
email dated April 5, 2011 on the draft backgroundertitled E-waste in India prepared by the
ResearchUnit of Rajya SabhaSecretariat.)

Currently, around the world, the volume of obsoletecomputers and other e-wastes
temporarily stored for recyclingor disposal is growing at an alarming rate. The generation ofhuge
quantity of electronic waste presents an enormousenvironmental and health hazard to any
community. This is bestindicated by the table below which shows the amount of wastethat 500
million computers can create.
How much waste is in 500 billion computers?
(Reference: Ibid. n.7, p.6; one pound = 0.4536 kilograms.)

Plastic

6.32 Billion Pounds

Lead

1.58 Billion Pounds

Cadmium

3 Million Pounds

Chromium

1.9 Million Pounds

Mercury

632,000 Pounds

Reusing and recycling are the other ways of dealing withe-wastes. They have been preferable
because they increasethe lifespan of the products and therefore imply less wasteover time. Reuse constitutes direct second hand use, oruse after slight modifications are made to the
originalfunctioning equipment like memory upgrades, etc. However,they end up as waste
eventually as they have limited lifespan. The reuse of second-hand electronic goods in
thedeveloping world including India falls in this category,where the waste ends up locally and
where there is noadequate facility and competence to deal with themappropriately.
While recycling appears to be a safe method to utilizeor dispose e-wastes, it can be a
misleadingcharacterization of disparate practices-includingdismantling, shredding, burning,
exporting, etc. which aremostly unregulated and often create additional hazardsitself.
Recycling of hazardous wastes, even under the bestof circumstances, has little environment
benefit as itsimply moves the hazards into secondary products thateventually have to be disposed
of. One view says thatunless the goal is to redesign the product to use non-hazardous materials,
recycling may be a false solution.On the other hand, the Toxics Link, NGO based in Delhiholds
that recycling isnt just good for the environmentbut also good business practice. Recycling is
thereforean important solution, especially if we consider thate-waste contains many valuable and
rare materials.

INDIAN SCENARIO: E-WASTE QUANTUM

(Reference:
Report by IMRB International, April 2010, Section4, Page 26, 27, 28, http://www.wbpcb.gov.in)

The growth rate of discarded electronic waste is high in India as well. In the last few
years, India has emerged as an Information Technology giant. The consumer electronics
market has also grown at a significant rate in India. Increasing market penetration, large
replacement market and high obsolescence rates make e-waste one of the fastest growing waste
streams in India and many other developing countries.

Based on the findings of national level e-waste inventorization study for Gtz by IMRB,
India generated around 3,32,000 tonnes of e-waste in 2007. Products covered in this
inventorization study included Computers (both Desktops and Laptops), Televisions and Mobile

phones. It was found that around 50,000 tonnes of e-waste comes through imports besides
3,32,000 tonnes generated domestically. Due to factors like lack of proper collection systems,
extended storage and second hand use, only 1,44,000 tonnes, out of 3,82,000 tonnes, is available
for recycling.

Based on the estimates from individual e-waste streams, the total e-waste likely to be
generated in the next few years is summarized in the figure below.

FORECAST OF E-WASTE GENERATION IN INDIA: 2007-2011

(Reference: IMRB primary study of Businesses & homes on disposal methods, 2007)

POLLUTION DUE TO RECENT ADVANCES IN ELECTRICAL

AND ELECTRONIC MATERIALS
Lead Pollution from Halide Perovskite Photovoltaics

(Reference:

Douglas

Fabini,

The

Journal

of

Physical

Chemistry

Papers,

17

September

2015

http://pubs.acs.org/JPCL)

Hybrid organicinorganic lead halide perovskites with thegeneral formula APbX3

(where A= [CH3NH3]+ or[HC(NH2)2]+ and X = Cl, Br, or I) have attractedsubstantial
research attention of late because of the greatpromise they display in solution-processed
photovoltaic (PV)devices. PV devices employing these materials as the active component
currently display efficiencies in excess of 20%.Thepace at which these high efficiencies have
come about isremarkable given that the first report of these materials in thisapplication appeared
only in 2009.However, significanttechnological challenges remain in the realm of stability
andpotential lead toxicity. The presence of lead in these materialsraises substantial concerns
regarding widespread application. Life cycle analyses considering a broad range of material
andenergy inputs and environmental impacts are beginning toappear for these materials.A recent
report by Hailegnaw et al.in this journal investigates the mechanism and magnitude oflead loss
from CH3NH3PbI3 PV cells via exposure to water, asmay happen if a PV module degrades, and
considers theimplications for lead pollution.
On the basis of the crystal structure of CH3NH3PbI3, typicaldevice geometries, and
forward-looking assumptions about PV performance, a lead intensity (total lead content per unit
electricity produced) of 38 g/kWh is found, as detailed below. This corresponds to a total lead
content of 160 t/year for all U.S. electricity generation. Consequently, if 1% of PV modules were
to break while deployed, 1.6 t/year of lead could leech into the surrounding environment. Though
it is beyond the scope of the current work, lead pollution generated during PV module
manufacture and disposal or recycling must also be considered. Furthermore, lead pollution is
but one of many environmental and resource factors in evaluating the suitability of a new PV
technology, including other toxic pollutants, impacts on landuse and water resources, greenhouse
gas emissions, energypayback times, and abundance of material inputs.
A comparison with select lead pollution sources and lead containing products is
summarized in the figure below:

(Select U.S. lead emissions sources,lead content of coalwastesand electronic solder produced in the U.S.,and
hypothetical lead content of perovskite photovoltaics (PV) to supply the entire U.S. electricity sector.All quantities
are in metric tons per year.)

E
ffects And Remedies of Electrical And Electronic waste

Introduction
Globalization and information technology are being widely recognized as main drivers of the
human civilization in the later part of twentieth century and the 21st century. The Information
Technology (IT) has been the power house of the global economy particularly since early 1990s.
Software and hardware part of IT has touched most of the parts of social, technical, economic
and natural environment. Exponentially increasing production of computer hardware has posed
major challenges of proper disposal of the waste (e-waste) produced by this industry. Current
study focuses on the effect of usage, dumping and recycling of the electronic waste on the natural
environment.
Electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) is currently the largest growing waste stream.
It is hazardous, complex and expensive to treat in an environmentally sound manner,
and there is a general lack of legislation or enforcement surrounding it. Today, most
e-waste is being discarded in the general waste stream. Many toxic heavy metals such as lead,
mercury, cadmium and beryllium, as well as hazardous chemicals, such as brominated flame
retardants. Polluting PVC plastic is also frequently used. Electronic devices are a complex

mixture of several hundred materials. As much as 80% of electronic waste goes out with the
trash, the EPA estimates, while only about 20% is properly recycled. 300 million computers and
1 BILLION cel l phones are put into pro duction each year. This global mountain of waste is
expected to continue growing 8% per year.
International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science and Software Engineering
Reference(Research Paper.. issue on date 2 Feb 2014
website: www.ijarcsse.com

E-Waste: A New Environmental Challenge

Vijay N.Bhoi..Department of computer,Patel JBR Art,Patel AMR commerce & Patel JDKD
science challenge college,Borsad,Gujarat,India. Trupti shahP.D Lions college commerce &
Economices Mumbai India.)
Electronic waste usually called e-waste refers to any and all electric or electronic items
needing to be disposed of. This can include but certainly is not limited to old cell phones,
televisions, computer towers or inkjet printers. As technology has continued to advance, so has
the amount of e-waste being produced globally with nearly 41 million tons of electronics being
tossed each year. Along with the alarmingly large amount of this type of refuse is the problem
how its being dealt with.
A recent report from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) found nearly 90 percent
of e-waste is being illegally dumped and traded. Due to the relatively new issue of e-waste
disposal, many countries especially developing ones do not yet have protocols or laws on the
topic in place yet. A growing black market has thus emerged, with illegal traffickers posing as
legitimate disposal services and then dumping tons of e-waste in random spots across the
developing world. This has led to environmental risks from the internal components of discarded
electronics, specifically heavy metals. Informal processing of e-waste in developing countries
can lead to adverse human health effects and environmental pollution.

Electronics: The Growing Industry

Global electronic equipment production has grown from $225 billion in 1980 to almost $1
trillion in 2000, which equates to a compound average annual growth of 7.7 percent over the past
20 years. In 1980, half of all electronics systems were manufactured in North America, one
quarter in Europe and the balance split between Japan and the rest of Asia. The personal

computer was just emerging and the transition to digital telecommunications switching was in
full swing. A dramatic shift in production leadership occurred over the next ten years.
Several factors contributed to this rapid shift in global electronic equipment production. During
the 1980s, the Japanese economy was the envy of the world. GDP per capita had risen from
$5,000 in 1960 to $15,000 in 1980, and by 1990 had reached $22,000. Through the companies

Source:www.worldofteaching.com

like Sony, Panasonic etc. of Japan had become the clear leader in innovation of consumer
electronic products and high volume sophisticated electronic assembly. The combination of
growing indigenous demand, global consumer electronics product leadership, and many years of
investment in manufacturing technology and capacity certainly benefited worldwide electronics
producers during the 1980s.
The last ten years have spawned enormous change in the global economy and in the electronics
industry because of:
Democratization of Eastern Europe and the integration of the EU economies,
An increasingly pragmatic commercial orientation by China,
Rapidly increasing economic growth elsewhere in Asia,
The longest economic expansion in the USA,
Low cost production from Japan and
The bursting of the bubble economy

Asian production has continued to thrive, surpassing $200 billion in 2000 and accounts for more
than 20 percent of total production worldwide. Asian production of electronics is to a large extent
export-driven. But investment was focused to serve the personal computer industry, cellular
telephone production, as well as fulfillment of fast-growing domestic demand for consumer and
industrial electronics. This has encouraged the manufacturing base for continued expansion.
China India, Brazil and other developing countries are playing an increasing role in the IT
market. IT related industry is expected to grow 11% in 2006. In the last five years (1995-2000),
the Indian IT industry has recorded a CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) of more than
42.4 per cent, which is almost double the growth rate of IT industries in many of the developed
countries. Over the decade the industry has developed more than 150 major hardware players,
supported by over 800 ancillary units and small time vendors engaged in sub assemblies and
equipment manufacturing. All this has increased the installed base to more than 5 million PCs
and as on December 31, 2000, the penetration rate to more than 5 PCs per 1,000 people.

2.1 Effects of Electrical And Electronic wastes

2.1.1 Effects on Environment
The processes of dismantling and disposing of electronic waste in developing countries lead to
number of environmental impacts as illustrated in the graphic. Liquid and atmospheric releases
end up in bodies of water, groundwater, soil, and air and therefore in land and sea animals both
domesticated and wild, in crops eaten by both animals and human, and in drinking water.
Here are some of the main ways that different types of e-waste can negatively affect the planet
and its inhabitants.

Air Pollution
Many rudimentary e-waste processing plants are not ethically run or safe. For example, some
e-waste traffickers burn open computer wires in order to get to the copper inside a valuable
commodity. The open burning can release hydrocarbons into the air, while the chemical stripping
of gold-plated computer chips leads to emissions of brominated dioxins and heavy metals.
A recent study of the environmental effects of the largest e-waste landfill in the world in Guiyu,
China, found airborne dioxins to be 100 times more prevalent than previously measured.

Water Pollution
Cathode ray tubes, often found in older televisions, video cameras and computer monitors are
often broken apart, the yoke removed and the shell dumped. Contents in the shell, such as lead
and barium, could leach through the soil and into the ground water of local communities. This

endangers not just the people who drink and bathe with this water but also the different species
of wildlife that rely on the water to sustain.

Soil Polloution
Another study of the Guiyu landfill found wind patterns in Southeast China disperse toxic
particles across the Pearl River Delta Region. The area, which contains a population of 45
million, is at-risk due to the toxins entering the soil-crop-food pathway, which is one of the
most common ways that heavy metals enter the human body.

Information Polloution
In addition to being a risk to the environment, e-waste also poses a potential security threat to
both individuals and businesses. If a hard drive is not properly erased before its thrown away, it
can be opened, potentially putting sensitive information in the hands of the wrong people. Credit
card numbers, financial data and bank account information can all be obtained by those trained to
do so. There is a large organized crime ring in Ghana specifically dedicated to searching through
discarded computer drives for data.

Human Explotation
According to
HYPERLINK "http://borgenproject.org/10-statistics-on-slavery-today/"the
HYPERLINK "http://borgenproject.org/10-statistics-on-slavery-today/"Borgen HYPERLINK
"http://borgenproject.org/10-statistics-on-slavery-today/" Report, there are an estimated 29.8
million people living in slavery across the globe. There are even more people who submit
themselves to dangerous and grueling work for a demeaning wage, as it may be the only work
available. Since 90 percent of e-waste is illegally traded, there are many criminals worldwide
benefiting from the stripping and processing of e-waste by poorer laborers. These workers are
without rights, as they are exposed to hazardous materials on a daily basis. Some may also be

intimidated

into

working

long

hours,

putting

them

at

even

more

risk

Source: A stream polluted by e- waste in Guiyu, China (Basel Action, 2013).

Source:Wikipedia,World Health Oraganization(WHO)

2.1.2 Effect On Human Health

With the usage of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) on the rise, the amount of electrical
and electronic waste (e-waste) produced each day is equally growing enormously around the
globe. Recycling of valuable elements contained in e-waste such as copper and gold has become
a source of income mostly in the informal sector of developing or emerging industrialized
countries. However, primitive recycling techniques such as burning cables for retaining the
inherent copper expose both adult and child workers as well as their families to a range of
hazardous substances. E-waste-connected health risks may result from direct contact with
harmful materials such as lead, cadmium, chromium, brominated flame retardants or
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), from inhalation of toxic fumes, as well as from accumulation
of chemicals in soil, water and food. In addition to its hazardous components, being processed, ewaste can give rise to a number of toxic by-products likely to affect human health. Furthermore,
recycling activities such as dismantling of electrical equipment may potentially bear an increased
risk of injury.

During the last few years, various international calls for action have highlighted the need of
strategic interventions in the field of e-waste. These include the Libreville Declaration emanating
from the first Inter-Ministerial Conference on Health and Environment in Africa 2008, the Busan
Pledge for Action on Childrens Environmental Health of 2009 and the Strategic Approach to
Integrated Chemical Managements expanded Global Plan of Action issued at the International
Conference on Chemical Management ICCM3 in 2012. Currently, there are a number of
international initiatives that are addressing global e-waste management and trade concerns, as
well as issues with environmental pollution due to e-waste.
Together with its collaborating partners, WHO is working at identifying the main sources and
potential health risks of e-waste exposures and defining successful interventions. Initial support
is being provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), the United
States National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the German Federal
Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. WHO has recently
launched the E-Waste and Child Health Initiative aiming at protecting children and their families
from detrimental health consequences due to e-waste.
(Reference: Respose Waste Management and Research ,Hira Krishna, Rajaji Road, Cross Road
No 1, Ramnagar, Pvt Ltd Dombivli East, Maharashtra, India - 421201 Tel : 022-30921797
Email : info@resposeindia.com Website : http://www.resposeindia.com)
Electrical and Electronic equipment contains metallic and non metallic elements, alloys and
compounds such as Copper, Aluminium, Gold, Silver, Palladium, Platinum, Nickel, Tin, Lead,
Iron, Sulphur, Phosphorous, Arsenic etc. If discarded in the open, these metals can cause a severe
environmental and health hazard.
Table:1 E-wastes component and its hazards
S.No.

Metals

Antimony

Bismuth

Cadmium

Chromium

Toxic effect
Irritation of the eyes, Skin,
Lungs, Heart.
Inhalation problems, Skin
reactions,
Sleeplessness,
Depression,
Rheumatic
pain.
Damage the lungs. Bone
fracture, Damage to central
nervous system, Possibly
DNA damage, Cancer.
Allergic reactions, Lung
cancer
Nose
irritations
and
nosebleeds.

Cobalt

Gallium

Germanium

Molybdenum

Nickel

10

Selenium

11

Silver

12

Lead

13

Tin

Upset stomachs and ulcers,

Kidney and liver damage
Cause of Death.
Lung effects, Hair loss,
Vomiting
and
nausea,
Vision problems, Heart
problems, Thyroid damage,
cause of Asthma &
Pneumonia
Cause throat irritation,
Difficulty breathing, Chest
pain, Partial paralysis.
Harmful for Skin, Eyes &
Blood
Joint pains in the knees,
hands, feet
It is high toxic.
Lung cancer, Nose cancer,
Larynx cancer and Prostate
cancer, Heart disorders
Collection of fluid in the
lungs, Abdominal pain,
Fever, Heart and muscle
problems,
Bronchial
asthma,
Diarrhoea,
Enlarged liver, Burning,
Bronchitis, Sore throat,
Cause of death
Kidney, Eye, Lung, Liver,
Brain damage, Anaemia
Rise in blood pressure,
Kidney
damage,
Miscarriages and subtle
abortions, Brain damage,
Effects fertility of men
through sperm damage,
Diminished
learning
abilities of children
Eye and skin irritations,
Headaches, Stomachaches,
Sickness and dizziness,
Breathlessness, Urination

14
15

Iron
Yttrium

16

Zinc

problems
risk of lung cancer
Threat to the liver, Cause of
cancer
Decreased sense of taste
and smell,, Birth defects,
Vomiting, Skin irritations,
Stomach cramps

Reference: http://www.iop.org/news/11/may/page_51103.html

E-waste Pollution threat to human health

In addition to its damaging effect on the environment and its illegal smuggling into developing
countries, researchers have now linked e-waste to adverse effects on human health, such as
inflammation and oxidative stress precursors to cardiovascular disease, DNA damage and
possibly cancer. The results showed that the samples of pollutants caused significant increases in
both IL-8 and ROS levels indicators of an inflammatory response and oxidative stress
respectively.
(Reference: Universal Journal of Environmental Research and Technology
All Rights Reserved Euresian Publication 2013 eISSN 2249 0256
Available Online at: www.environmentaljournal.org
2013 Volume 3, Issue 5: 531-537)

Impact of products from e-waste in human health

There are chances of accidents like cuts and burns during the dismantling, shredding, acid baths
and incineration process,in addition, exposure to following chemicals have many long-term
effects. Phthalates such as DEHP in tis monomer form effects the development of testis,
Butylbenzyl phthalate (BBP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) also hazardous to reproduction
exposure to phthalates in pregnancy,reduces ano-genetal index in male child (distance between
anus and genitals) (Swan et al. 2005), DINP and DIDP (diisodecyl phthalate) effects liver and
kidneys. Chlorinated compounds includes Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), PCB accumulates
in fishes and other organisms and undergo bioaccumulation which result in high value in toplevel
carnivore such as humans, PCB also absorbable via skin and inhaled or ingested causing
neurotoxicity, liver damage, tumors,immunosuppression and behavioral changes, and
reproductive disorders, abnormal sperms (Allsopp et.al. 1999, Allsopp et al. 2001a).
Chlorobenzene causes acute and chronic effects in mammals, effects CNS (central nervous
system), liver and thyroid. Increasing degree of chlorination such as tetrachlorobenzenes also

affects kidneys. Hexachlorobenzene(HCB) are group 2B carcinogens it damages immune

system, liver, thyroid, CNS,kidney and nervoussystem (van Birgelen 1998). It is
also reported the bioaccumulation of HCB.Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) is an
environmentally persistent compound, which is also reported in bioaccumulation, it causes
abnormal brain development during the initial development of a fetus, it also associated with
impacts on learning, memory, behavior and thyroid, oestrogen hormone
systems and effecting the immune system (Legler & Brouwer 2003). When PBDEs are burnt
they produce brominated dioxins/furans which are similarly hazardous. Triphenyl phosphates
(TPP) are a contaminant in human blood (Jonsson et al. 2001),potent inhibitor of a key enzyme
(monocyte carboxyl esterase) in human blood cells (Amini & Crescenzi 2003).Heavy metals
such as lead may produce irreversible
effects; it affects nervous system, blood, reproductive system and kidneys, it affects brain
development in children (ATSDR 2007, Canfield etal., 2003). Cadmium is a toxicant which can
accumulates in tissues, exposure may affect kidneys
and bones (Elinder& Jarup 1996, WHO 1992), it disrupts calcium mechanism, causing
hypertension and heart diseases Cadmium oxide in fume affects the respiratory system (ATSDR
1999, Elinder & Jarup 1996, WHO 1992), in addition it is a carcinogen causing lung cancer
(DHSS 2005). Antimony is a toxic compound causing dermatitis, affecting skin cells
and respiratory tract and affects the immune mechanism (Kim et al., 1999). It is also stated as
possible carcinogen by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC 1989). Mercury
results in respiratory and skin disorders and causing chronic damage to brain. Chromium is a
known carcinogen it affects the DNA and causing asthmatic bronchitis.Barium causes damage to
heart, spleen and liver also causing muscle weakness, Beryllium is a carcinogen causing lung
cancer inhalation also causes chronic disease beryllicosis and resulting skin warts (Ramachandra
and Saira Varghese, 2004)
(Reference:United Nation Environment Program(UNEP)
Website:www.unep.com)

2.2 What Electronic/ Electrical waste is Hazardous?

In Guiyu, China, 82% of kids tested were found to have clinical lead poisoning. Dioxins are 500
times safe levels, all thanks to electronic wastes.
A 2011 BBC panorama investigation found that 100 000 tonnes of e-waste is leaked out of the
UK every year and 77% of e-waste from England and Wales ends up in Ghana and Nigeria. It is
estimated that there are over a billion personal computers in the world at present. In developed
countries these have an average life span of only 2 years.

CRT monitors and Television

Presence of Lead, Poly-chlorinated Biphenyls and Phosphor.

Lead is a heavy metal, causing long term damage to the human body. Lead is a heavy
Metal and is toxic to the Kidneys. It impairs mental development in Children and affects
the nervous system and reproductive system in adults.

Poly-chlorinated Biphenyls cause Cancer, damage the immune system and the endocrine
system. They are found in larger sized electrolytic capacitors in older electronics.

Brominated Flame Retardent is linked to Fetal Damage and thyroid problems.

TFT screen in monitors ,TVs and Laptop

Presence of Mercury Salts in the Backlights.
mercury is a heavy metal and in Salt form can be easily absorded into the Blood Stream.
It has an impact on the development of Foetuses and is passed onto new-born babies via
the mothers breast milk. It can cause brain damage and Kidney damage.

Laptop and Batteries

Presence of Cadmium, Lithium, Nickel and Zinc..

Cadmium is a heavy metal. It is also a carcinogen and Long term exposure is known to
lead to Bone and Kideny damages.

Lithium has a direct impact upon the Thyroid, resulting in depression, weight geain,
lethargy and memory problems.

Zinc is vital for human health but excessive doses result in damage to the pancreas.

Nickel is a known carcinogen.

Uninterruptable Power Supplies

Presence of Lead and Sulphuric Acid.

Lead is a heavy metal, causing long term damage to the human body. Lead is a heavy
Metal and is toxic to the Kidneys. It impairs mental development in Children and affects
the nervous system and reproductive system in adults.

Suplhuric Acid is a corrosive acid that can cause death if inhaled. Contact with the skin
will result in dermatisis.

Printed Circuit Board

Presence of Lead and Mercury.

Lead is a heavy metal, causing long term damage to the human body. Lead is a heavy
Metal and is toxic to the Kidneys. It impairs mental development in Children and affects
the nervous system and reproductive system in adults.

Mercury is a heavy metal and in Salt form can be easily absorded into the Blood Stream.
It has an impact on the development of Foetuses and is passed onto new-born babies via
the mothers breast milk. It can cause brain damage and Kidney damage.

Older Fridge and Freezers

Presence of CFCs and HCFCs.

Both CFCs and HCFCs have a direct impact on the ozone layer, depleting its ability to
absorb the harmful effects of Ultra Violet radiation from the Sun. This results in higher
rates of Skin Cancer and damage to Eyes.

(Reference:International Journal of Scientific Research in Knowledge, 2(10), pp. 470-479,

2014, Available online at ISSN: 2322-4541; 2014; Author(s) retain the copyright of this article
http://dx.doi.org/10.12983/ijsrk-2014-p0470-0479 ,http://www.ijsrpub.com/ijsrk)

2.3 Remedies of Electrical and Electronices wastes

E-waste is considered to be carcinogenic and more hazardous because of its composed materials
and its non-degradable characteristics. Moreover, most of E-waste is composed of Cu, Al and Fe,
attached to, covered with or mixed with various types of plastics and ceramics (Hoffmann,
1992). It helps to create all sorts of health and environmental risk. Proper management
approaches facilitate to environmental risk reduction and ensure environmental sustainability
(Rakib et al., 2014). In the categorical aspects of E-waste risk, its segregation is very important
according to composed materials, life time, damage function, degradability, abundance,
management capacity, place and its endurance. These characteristics contribute to make easiest
way to build up management strategy with the knowing damage functional approach. In the
study area, we did not found any precaution measure among the technical worker or technician.
They were informed about the harmful consequences of the E-waste and its derivatives.
Regarding with the respondents It is a device which is made of plastic and iron along with some
plates, why it is harmful for us? Actually they were not so well informed andconscious about
environmental and health impacts. It was frequently found among the whole respondents except
one who received higher education and some technical training. Most of the shops are
accumulated their debris and/or rejected materials in a one place. After a certain period of time
(after 3 to 4 days), it was disposed beside the market in an amalgamate way. It was not followed
by any rules, protocol and segregating method. The toxic and non-toxic materials were
accumulated beside the markets and it creates problem for the pedestrian, and making odor along
with drainage system blockage. It was observed that, the city corporation authority made some
efforts to solid and organic waste management in an aggregating way but it was not sufficient to
make environment friendly. On the way to observation, it was found some dumping site which is
located at the open place and also street site (Fig. 1). But it should be done so well, while it does
not make bore to local residents and environment. In addition, any different action was not
observed for the E-waste management and some initiatives to make awareness among the
technical worker on health and environmental impacts.
(Reference: Understanding public knowledge and awareness on e-waste in an urban setting in
India
A case study for Delhi
Swati Kwatra
Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India, and

Suneel Pandey and Sumit Sharma

Earth Science and Climate Change Division,
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi, India
Received 26 December 2013
Revised 24 February 2014,10 March 2014
6 April 2014
Accepted 13 May 2014
www.emeraldinsight.com/1477-7835)

Abstract
Purpose
Despite legislation in place, there is still a gap in knowledge and awareness of the communities
on the issues of e-waste handling and management. It is important to understand the knowledge
and awareness levels of the consumers of electronic products who ultimately become the
generators of e-waste in a community. The current study is based on a survey conducted in an
urban setting to understand peoples perception about the genesis of issues related to e-waste and
its management. The purpose of this paper is to study the findings that could help in designing
customized awareness programmes for addressing this concern more effectively.

Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted in Delhi to understand public knowledge and awareness related to ewaste management in the city and country. A limited random survey was conducted with a
sample size of 400 individuals in Delhi from middle class belonging to different educational
backgrounds and professions. Personal interview method was used to collect indepth information
related to the issues of e-waste and its management. A questionnaire was developed and pilot
tested before actual start of the survey. The questionnaire consisted of two sections first about
baseline information related to their age, family size, family income and educational background
and second on their knowledge and awareness regarding e-waste and its management. Also, the
practices they followed regarding e-waste at their household level were enquired. The
questionnaire consisted of both open-ended and close-ended questions. Most of the questions had
multiple-choice options, which made it easy for the respondents to answer them appropriately.
The open-ended question gave the respondents ample time and space to express their views. The
open-ended questions besides strengthening the close-ended questions provided a lot of
qualitative information and made the study interesting. Apart from just interviewing, informal
interactions were also used as a tool for data collection. During the course of the study, informal
interactions were done with respondents to familiarize them with the objectives of the present
study, their role and benefits to them from the study.

Findings
The present study aimed to gauge the awareness levels and practices of people regarding e-waste
management. The survey conducted in Delhi revealed that significant fraction of middle-class
population is still unaware of the issue; however, on getting the information they were able to
link the impacts of improper management of e-waste with detrimental health outcomes. For those
who knew about it, the main sources of information to them were found to be internet, and print
media. However, despite some awareness about the issue, most respondents were totally unaware

about correct ways of its recycling and management. An important finding of the study was that
12-26 per cent people
replace their major electronic goods like refrigerators, food processors, personal computers and
music systems within the first three years of purchase. Discarding products within their periods
of useful lives leads to enhanced generation of e-wastes. Along with e-waste generation, this also
puts additional The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at stress over the
resources used for manufacturing of these products. On management of e-waste, most of the
respondents opined of need of having efficient recycling units and effective mass awareness
programmes. The survey also revealed the willingness of users to pay extra cost for proper
management of e-waste provided that there is proper cost sharing between consumers and
producers. This also raises an important aspect of extended producer responsibility (EPR). EPR
puts additional responsibility and onus on the manufacturer of the product to not only produce
durable quality of products but also take back the obsolete products and manage the e-waste.
This also means that the manufacturers will have to use recyclable material in manufacturing of
new products for economic management of e-waste at the later stage. Although, in Indian context
it would be a challenge to implement the concept of EPR, especially with the active informal
sector. The respondents quite adequately put equal responsibilities on the government, consumers
and producers for effective e-waste management. The study clearly highlights the issues
perceived by the middle-class population of Delhi and can be replicated in other major cities for
re-authentication of the facts. The study could prove to be important in designing awareness
programme related to the issue. Originality/value This paper presents the results of a
questionnaire survey-based study that was employed to understand the perception of a sample of
respondents. Analysis of the data reveals that the knowledge on the issue of e-waste is minimal
and requires massive awareness drives for senitization.
Keywords Awareness, Recycling, Survey, India, E-waste, New Delhi
Paper type Case study
(Reference:
Universal Journal of Environmental Research and Technology
All Rights Reserved Euresian Publication 2013 eISSN 2249 0256
Available Online at: www.environmentaljournal.org
2013 Volume 3, Issue 5: 531-537)

Abstract:
Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is becoming major thread to the whole world.
Its toxic emissions mixed with virgin soil and air and causing harmful effects to the entire biota
either directly or indirectly. Direct impacts include release of acids, toxic compounds including
heavy metals, carcinogenic chemicals and indirect effects such as bio magnification of heavy
metals. Many private firms are involved in collecting, dismantling, separation and exporting ewastes for recyclers. However, strict regulations are currently being followed as on approval of
such firms such as e-steward certification by Basel action network in US, they also involved in
public awareness programs; this review is based on collected information from various journal
articles, websites including the technical note by Greenpeace international. Further, it analyzes
the current progress on e-waste management worldwide.

Keywords: E- waste, electronic waste, recycling, waste management

Safe methods for disposal of ewaste and managing authorities

Most safe method is recycling materials including metals and reusing them, which includes
industry wide system for the collection of e-wastes.Implementing proper rules to make following
as mandatory wearing protective masks and gloves and safety glass when dismantling and avoid
easy methods of extraction such as incineration which results harmful fumes, avoid dumping and
avoid using acid baths, and implementing strict rules against dumping e-wastes in landfills as it
could leach out towards ground water or may be released after long time. Implementing proper
storage system for collected and extracted e-wastes until it is reused as products, strengthen the
implementation of agreed legislations of Basel convention and implementing potent laws to
prevent political invasions or pressures. Take action against unapproved illegal e-waste collectors
and dismantlers, encourage research scientists in finding alternatives to hazardous chemicals and
carcinogens, banning the electronic products with ingredients, monitoring the transportation of ewastes within the state municipal limits as well as ports and harbors.Consulting with
manufactures e-waste processors, environmental groups such as NRDC, Basel Action
Network (BAN) have created a certification system for recycling, refining and refurbishing
companies known as e- Stewards. E-steward certification assures the recyclers keep up the
standards which allow the recycling process in a way that protects workers health and the
environment. BAN also maintains a list of companies which are permitted to act as subscribed estewards (NRDC 2012), in 2010 the first certified standard was announced. And NRDC, BAN
and other advocates are currently working on ensuring the strong implementation of the laws
against e-waste exporters (NRDC 2012). Moreover, In many states of US have implemented the
system to make electronic manufactures to take responsibility for their products, Thus, electronic
manufactures are given great responsibility to collecting the products after their use and
recycling them. It is also important to educate the public on handling and disposal of e-waste
through awareness program.
(Reference: Proposed Solution of e-Waste Management
Shagun, Ashwani Kush, and Anupam Arora
International Journal of Future Computer and Communication, Vol. 2, No. 5, October 2013)

Abstract
Electronic waste may be defined as discarded computers, office electronic equipment,
entertainment device electronics, mobile phones, television sets and refrigerators. This definition
includes used electronics which are destined for
reuse, resale, salvage, recycling, or disposal. Because loads of msurplus electronics are
frequently commingled (good, recyclable, and non-recyclable), several public policy advocates
apply the term "e-waste" broadly to all surplus electronics. Rapid changes in technology, changes
in media (tapes, software, MP3), falling prices, and planned obsolescence have resulted in a fastgrowing surplus of electronic waste around the globe. This paper presents an overview of the
problem and suggests someconcrete solutions to tackle the issue.
Index TermsE-waste, media, electronics, computer.

Solution of E- waste
The Key Players in e-waste are 1) Consumers as in (a) Office and (b) Domestic, 2) Scrap Dealers
and 3) Recyclers
Existing Laws are:
Trans boundary movement of e-waste covered under the Basel convention.
India ratified the convention in 1992.
Waste importers exploit such gaps as listed in the convention.
Allowed to import against a license.
Covered under the Hazardous Waste Amended Rules, 2003 in List A and B of Schedule 3. [6]
The Rule is inadequate to handle generation, transportation and disposal of this complex waste
Regulators unable to monitor and regulate the informal sector.

Proposed solutions can be:

Ban on total imports of e- waste.
Domestic legal framework to address these gaps in import of E Waste
Need to address safe disposal of domestic waste.
Tie recycling in with take-back product
The Framework should address the issue of E waste imports for reuse and recycling.
Attract investment in this sector
Link up activities of informal sector with formal sector
Provide for appropriate framework for processes
Promote adequate ESM technologies for recycling
Incorporate precautionary principles and polluter pays
Adopt Consultative process
Picked over Junk, Obsolete and burnt
Insist on domestic processing
Then make sure the company you select has capacity to handle either type of E-Scrap.
Promote recycling units to ease process and to encourage generators to have proper e-waste
disposal
Impart training to generators on e-waste handling
Awareness program on recycling
Fix duties and responsibilities to recyclers
Tax incentives for scrap dealers
Reward and reprimand schemes for performance and non-compliance of e-waste management
To make recycling business variable one
Should subsidize recyling and disposal industry
Government should encroach legal import of e-waste
Disposal fee from manufacturers and consumers
Some organizations already helping the cause are:

(Reference:www.mineralpolicy.org,www.USGS.gov,www.moles.org,www.copper.org,www.mpi.or
g.au,www.antigraymarket.org, other linkswww.retroworks.com)
Over 1,000 parts requests per day via internet parts
exchange www10.tradeloop.com

Contact
with
over
200
international
repair
shops
via
www.exporters.com.sg,www.alibaba.com,www.globalrecycle.net,
www.recycle.net,
etc.www.exporters.com/sg
Sales of parts and refurbishment on ebay.com ,www.ebay.com
Scrap copper, alum, plastic sold directly to end users www.globalrecycle.net Also some more
points that can be considered while buying electronic products are:
are made with fewer toxic constituents
use recycled content
are energy efficient
are designed for easy upgrading or disassembly
utilize minimal packaging
offer leasing or take back options
which have been certified by regulatory authorities.Customers should opt for upgrading their
computers or other electronic items.
(Reference:
Universal Journal of Environmental Research and Technology
All Rights Reserved Euresian Publication 2013 eISSN 2249 0256
Available Online at: www.environmentaljournal.org
2013 Volume 3, Issue 5: 531-537)
It is confirmed that the public awareness and cooperation of manufactures are essential for the
advancement of e-waste management system. And also it is the responsibility of governments to
allocate sufficient grants and protecting the
internationally agreed environmental legislations within their borders. Licensing of certification
like estewardship
may ensure the security to prevent illegal smugglers and handlers of e-waste. Basel Action
Network is now working at their best to stop or control trans boundary e-waste movements, they
also involved in conducting public awareness programs to enlighten the world community and
opening research areas to find better methods or alternatives. As e-wastes are the known major
source of heavy metals, hazardous chemicals and carcinogens, certainly diseases related to skin,
respiratory, intestinal, nervous systems including cancers can be prevented
by proper management and disposal of e-waste.
It is a privilege to offer my sincere thanks to Central Environmental Authority Srilanka for
giving me this opportunity to work as an Environmental officer at Environmental Impact
Assessment Unit (EIA unit),which encouraged me for this work.

Recycling Of Electrical And Electronic Waste

1.1 What is Recycling?
(Reference : www.Letsrecycle.com ; "PM's advisor hails recycling as climate change
action.". ; April 15, 2014. )
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into reusable objects to prevent waste
of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, energy usage, air
pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from landfilling) by decreasing the need for
"conventional" waste disposal and lowering greenhouse gas emissions compared to plastic
production.

1.2 Why Recycling?

(Reference : www.hardrawgathering.co.uk ; "Benefits of Recycling" ; 6 January 2015.)
Audiovisual components, televisions, VCRs, stereo equipment, mobile phones, other handheld
devices, and computer components contain valuable elements and substances suitable for
reclamation, including lead, copper, and gold.
( Reference :

www.zerowaste.sa.gov.au ; "What can be recycled from e-waste?" ;

29 February 2016. )
Recycling raw materials from end-of-life electronics is the most effective solution to the growing
e-waste problem. Most electronic devices contain a variety of materials, including metals that
can be recovered for future uses. By dismantling and providing reuse possibilities, intact natural
resources are conserved and air and water pollution caused by hazardous disposal is avoided.
Additionally, recycling reduces the amount of greenhouse gas emissions caused by the
manufacturing of new products.

Another benefit of recycling e-waste is that many of the materials can be recycled and re-used
again. Materials that can be recycled include "ferrous (iron-based) and non-ferrous metals, glass,
and various types of plastic." Non-ferrous metals, mainly aluminum and copper can all be resmelted and re-manufactured. Ferrous metals such as steel and iron can be also be re-used.
(Reference : www.sustainabilityworkshop.autodesk.com ; "How to Print 3D Parts Better"; 29
February 2016.)
Due to the recent surge in popularity in 3D printing, certain 3D printers have been designed
(FDM variety) to produce waste that can be easily recycled which decreases the amount of
harmful pollutants in the atmosphere.The excess plastic from these printers that comes out as a
byproduct can also be reused to create new 3D printed creations.

1.3 Methods to recycle e-waste

1.3.1 Environmentally sound E-waste treatment technologies
(Reference : www.iosrjournals.org ;
Journal And Confrence Paper On (Enviornment) E Waste Management
M.D. Jalal Uddin (Asst professor civil Dept)
IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSRJMCE)\
ISSN: 2278-1684 Volume 2, Issue 1 , PP 25-45(July-Aug 2012) )
Environmentally sound E-waste treatment technologies are used at three levels as described
below:
1. 1st level treatment
2. 2nd level treatment
3.3rd level treatment
Analysis:All the three levels of e-waste treatment are based on material flow. The material flows from 1st
level to 3rd evel treatment. Each level treatment consists of unit operations, where e-waste is
treated and out put of 1st level treatment serves as input to 2nd level treatment. After the third
level treatment, the residues are disposed of or incinerated.

1.3.1.1. 1st Level Treatment:

Input : e-waste items like TV, refrigerator and Personal Computers (PC)

Unit Operations : There are three units operations at first level of e-waste treatment

1. Decontamination : Removal of all liquids and Gases

2. Dismantling -manual/mechanized breaking
3. Segregation
All the three unit operations are dry processes, which do not require usage of water.
1. Decontamination
The first treatment step is to decontaminate e-waste and render it nonhazardous. This involves
removal of all types of liquids and gases (if any) under negative pressure, their recovery and
storage.
2. Dismantling
The decontaminated e-waste or the e-waste requiring no decontamination are dismantled to
remove the components from the used equipments. The dismantling process could be manual or
mechanized requiring adequate safety measures to be followed in the operations.
3. Segregation
After dismantling the components are segregated into hazardous and nonhazardous components
of e-waste fractions to be sent for 2nd level treatment.
Output:
1. Segregated hazardous wastes like CFC, Hg Switches, batteries and capacitors
2. Decontaminated e-waste consisting of segregated non-hazardous Ewaste like plastic, CRT,
circuit board and cables.
1.3.1.2. 2nd Level Treatment:Input: Decontaminated E-waste consisting segregated non hazardous e-waste like plastic, CRT,
circuit board and cables.
Unit Operations: There are three unit operations at second level of E-waste treatment
1. Hammering
2. Shredding

3. Special treatment Processes comprising of

(i) CRT treatment consisting of separation of funnels and screen glass.
(ii) Electromagnetic separation
(iii) Eddy current separation
(iv) Density separation using water
Process:The two major unit operations are hammering and shredding. The major objective of these two
unit operations is size reduction. The third unit operation consists of special treatment processes.
Electromagnetic and eddy current separation utilizes properties of different elements like
electrical conductivity, magnetic properties and density to separate ferrous, non ferrous metal and
precious metal fractions. Plastic fractions consisting of sorted plastic after 1st level treatment,
plastic mixture and plastic with flame retardants after second level treatment, glass and lead are
separated during this treatment. The efficiency of this treatment determines the recovery rate of
metal and segregated E-waste fractions for third level treatment.
The efficacy of the recycling system is dependent on the expected yields/output of the recycling
system. The expected yields/ output from the recycling system are dependent on the optimization
of separation parameters. These parameters are given below:

Particle size

Particle shape

Feeding rate/ RPM

Optimum operations

Figure shows the non- ferrous metal distribution (which forms the backbone of financial viability
of recycling system) as a function of size range for PC scrap. It can be seen that aluminum is
mainly distributed in the coarse fractions (+6.7 mm), but other metals are mainly distributed in
the fine fractions (5 mm)\
( Source : www.iosrjournals.org )

Scrap
Size properties are essential for choosing an effective separation technique. Therefore, eddy
current separator is best for granular nonferrous materials having size greater than 5mm. The
eddy current separation will ensure better separation of Al fraction in comparison to fraction
containing Cu, Ag and Au.
Particle shape is dependent on comminuting and separation. Since hammer mills and screens will
be used in the proposed technology, the variations are expected to be the same as that of Best
Available technology .
The feeding rate can be optimized based on the speed and width of the conveyor
CRT treatment technology:The salient features of CRT treatment technology are given below.
1. CRT is manually removed from plastic/ wooden casing.
2. Picture tube is split and the funnel section is then lifted off the screen section and the internal
metal mask can be lifted to facilitate internal phosphor coating.
3. Internal phosphor coating is removed by using an abrasive wire brush and a strong vacuum
system to clean the inside and recover the coating. The extracted air is cleaned through an air
filter system to collect the phosphordust.
Recycling Cathode Ray Tubes, most commonly found in computer monitors and old televisions,
is more complicated than recycling most electronic waste. This is because toxins found within

CRTs are among the most dangerous CRTs have lead in the glass which can seriously harm
the environment and our health if leaked into soil and water systems.
(References -> Google -> Search : General methods of electrical and electronics waste
recycling->http://www.ewaste.com.au/ewaste-articles/how-is-electronic-wastrecycled ->Topic:
Electronic Waste recycling laptops, computers and other electronic equipment-> 2
December 2015)

Separation of Monitor Body and Cathode Ray Tube firstly the front of the monitor is
removed so that the tube can be removed from within. The shell is then recycled along
with regular e-waste.

Size reduction process The tubes and screens are shredded down into small pieces. Any
glass dust created in this process is disposed of carefully, in an environmentally friendly
way.

Metal Removal the broken bits of glass are then passed under magnets, where iron and
steel is extracted from the glass material. The remaining material is then passed through
Eddy Currents, which removes any aluminium and copper. These materials are then
collected and reused as raw materials.

Washing Line The remaining glass is then cleared of oxides, phosphors and dust
extracts, leaving just clean glass to be sorted.

Glass Sorting Line the final stage of CRT recycling sorts the leaded glass from the
unleaded glass. These can then both be used in the creation of new screens, which is
called closed loop recycling.

(Reference : www.iosrjournals.org ;Journal And Confrence Paper On (Enviornment) E

Waste Management M.D. Jalal Uddin (Asst professor civil Dept) IOSR Journal of
Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSRJMCE) ISSN: 2278-1684 Volume 2, Issue 1 , PP 2545(July-Aug 2012) )
Different types of splitting technology used are given below.

Nichrome hot wire cutting:- A Nichrome wire or ribbon is wrapped round a CRT and
electrically heated for at least 30 seconds to causes a thermal differential across the
thickness of the glass. The area is then cooled (e.g. with a water-soaked sponge) to create
thermal stress which results in a crack. When this is lightly tapped, the screen separates
from the funnel section.

Thermal shock:- The CRT tube is subjected to localized heat followed by cold air. This
creates stress at the frit line where the leaded funnel glass is joined to the unleaded panel
glass and the tube comes apart.

Laser cutting:- A laser beam is focused inside and this heats up the glass. It is
immediately followed by a cold water spray that cools the surface of the glass and causes
it to crack along the cut line.

Diamond wire method:- In this method, a wire with a very small diameter, which is
embedded with industrial diamond is used to cut the glass as the CRT is passed through
the cutting plane.

Diamond saw separation:- Diamond saw separation uses either wet or dry process. Wet
saw separation involves rotating the CRT in an enclosure while one or more saw blades
cut through the CRT around its entire circumference. Coolant is sprayed on to the surface
of the saw blades as they cut. This is to control temperature and prevent warping.

Water-jet separation:- This technology uses a high-pressure spray of water containing

abrasive, directed at the surface to be cut. The water is focused through a single or double
nozzle-spraying configuration set at a specific distance.

3rd Level E-waste Treatment:The 3rd level E-waste treatment is carried out mainly to recover ferrous, nonferrous metals,
plastics and other items of economic value. The major recovery operations are focused on ferrous
and non ferrous metal recovery, which is either geographically carried out at different places or
at one place in an integrated facility. The following sections describe the processes involved in
recycling various materials of importance.for eg- Metals,Plastics,PCBs,etc.

1.4 Recycling process of various materials

(Reference :
THE FUTURE OF ELECTRONIC WASTE RECYCLING IN THE UNITED STATES:
Obstacles and Domestic Solutions By Jennifer Namias Advisor: Dr. Nickolas J. Themelis,
Columbia University Co-advisor: Dr. Phillip J. Mackey, P.J. Mackey Technology Inc.
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for M.S. degree in Earth Resources
Engineering
Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering
Columbia University
Pages : 32,35,36,37,38,39,44,45
July 2013 )

Electronics contain up to 60 different elements, many of which are valuable, such as precious
and special metals, and some of which are hazardous. Electronics consist of the
following elements:
Precious Metals: Gold (Au), Silver (Ag), Palladium (Pd)
Base and Special Metals: Copper (Cu), Aluminum (Al), Nickel (Ni), Zinc (Zn), Iron (Fe),etc.
Toxic/Hazardous Metals: Mercury (Hg), Beryllium (Be), Cadmium (Cd), etc.
Halogens: Bromine (Br), Chlorine (Cl), etc.
Organics, including plastics
Glass and ceramic
The major economic driver for recycling e-waste is from the recovery of precious metals due to
the value of precious metals in electronics; precious metals make up more than 70% of the value
of cell phones, calculators, and printed circuit board scraps, and 40% of TV boards and DVD
players. Precious metals are widely used in electronics due to their high chemical stability and
conducting properties, making them a valuable contact material. Platinum group members are
used in relays and switches or as sensors. Other metals which drive recycling include copper and
zinc.
The following materials can be ranked based on their relative value:
High Value: circuit boards from mainframes, mobile phones, capacitors
Medium Value: PC-boards, laptop-and handheld-computer circuit boards
Low Value: TV-boards, monitor boards, printer boards, cordless phones, calculators,
shredded bulk material after aluminum/iron separation

Metals Recycling:-

A broad classification of the metal recycling techniques gives us three waysPyrometallurgical Processing
Pyrometallurgical processing consists of melting electronic waste in a high temperature furnace,
and is the most common process used for metal recovery from WEEE. This process is called
smelting and is used to recover the copper content of electronic scrap plus any other noble
metals that on melting dissolve in copper, such as silver, gold, platinum, and palladium. Iron and
aluminum are not recovered in the copper smelting process, and instead are oxidized to slag.
Electronic waste can be processed in small furnaces. However, the most common industrial
process is to co-process them with copper sulphide concentrates in large copper smelting
furnaces, such as copper converters, anode copper furnaces, and copper smelting and converting
furnaces such as the Noranda Process.
General ProcessThe general process followed at the global smelters is as follows:
Sorting/Dismantling:
1. Removal of Hazardous Components. Hazardous components, such as batteries, cathode
ray tubes and mercury bulbs, are removed at designated sorting stations. At Xstratas Horne
smelter, cathode ray tubes are completely recycled; the plastic tube is sent to a smelter, the glass
is re-used at the facility as a fluxing agent, and the lead is recovered.
2.

Particle

Size

Reduction.

Once

the

electronics

have

been

removed

of

their

hazardouscomponents, they are shredded into scrap metals and fines. The shredded material is
thenfurther separated using vibratory conveyors, shaker tables, cross-belt magnets, eddy current
and sand flow units, among other density and/or magnetic separation methods. Dusts are
generated during pre-treatment processes and are collected in filter and baghouse systems. These
dusts can have high precious metals content but also contain significant amounts of pollutants
and high burn-loss components like plastics, paper and wood. The dusts can be sent to the
smelting process for recovery of precious metals. It is common for high-grade e-waste not to go
through mechanical shredding processes. At Umicore, shredding of mobile phones and computer
circuit boards is not performed and devices are instead sent directly to integrated smelters.
Shredding of high grade ewaste is not performed due to:
The creation of precious metal containing dust.
Significant losses of metals and components in side steams that cannot be

recovered (such as plastic, aluminum, and iron).

The economic value of precious metals far exceeds the value of base metals, such
as iron and aluminum. It is not worth losing precious metals to recover base
metals.
Savings in time and money spent on pre-treatment.
3. Sample Assay. E-scrap is sampled in order to assess copper and precious metals content.
Separated materials are then sent to the smelter. This general process was devised by comparing
processing methods at Xstrata Copper, Boliden, and Umicore Precious Metals Refining.
End-Processing:
1. Smelting Stage.
Shredded e-scrap is sent to an integrated smelter. A solution of copper and iron sulfide is
produced (matte) while iron and other oxides form a silicate solution called slag. The
precious metals are contained within the matte, which goes to the converting stage. The slag is
treated separately through the use of a lead blast furnace, lead refinery and special metals plant.
It is important to note that high grade e-waste can be sent directly to the convertor and does not
need to go through the smelting process.
2. Converting Stage.
The smelting stage is followed by a converting stage where matte is converted to impure
copper, called blister copper.
3. Anode Furnace. Liquid blister copper is then refined in the anode furnaces. The blistercopper
is cast into anodes that are then electrorefined to pure copper.
4. Electrorefining. During this process, copper anodes are refined to produce pure copper
cathodes and precious metals such as silver, gold, selenium and tellurium settle as precipitates at
the bottom of the electrorefining cell.
5. Precious Metals Refinery. The precious metal residue is then melted, casted and refined to
produce precious metal bullion. Plastic components of e-waste cannot easily be recycled due to
the mix of flame retardants, pigments and mixed types of plastics. However, smelting processes
are able to use the energy content of the plastics. Energy usage is reduced due to the combustion
of plastics and other flammable materials in the e-waste feed, which partially substitute the coke
needed as a reducing agent and energy source.

Although pyrometallurgical treatment is the most common method for recovering valuable
metals from e-waste, there are some disadvantages:
Smelting cannot recover certain product components, such as chips or bare fiberglass boards.
Smelting cannot recover aluminum and iron since they are oxidized and transferred in the slag.
Smelting flame retardants and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) present in e-waste leads to the
formation of dioxins, requiring special emission controls.
Pyrometallurgical processing cannot fully separate all metals, and therefore hydrometallurgical
processing methods must be used subsequently.
Hydrometallurgical Processing
Hydrometallurgy processing of e-waste has become more popular in the last two decades, due to
the fact that hydrometallurgical methods are more exact, predictable and more easily controlled
than pyrometallurgical methods. Hydrometallurgy can be broken down into three general areas;
leaching, solution concentration and purification, and metal recovery.
General processThe general process is as follows:
1. Mechanical Treatment. Prior to chemical treatment, mechanical processing is often necessary
in order to convert waste material into a granular form.
2. Leaching. E-waste goes through a series of acid or caustic leaches, which is a process whereby
a soluble component is extracted from a solid by means of a solvent. The most efficient leaching
agents are acids, due to their ability to leach both base and precious metals. Cyanide, halide,
thiourea and thiosulfate are the most popular leaching agents. The following agents are used to
leach specific metals:

3. Separation and Purification. The leachate solutions then go through separation and
purification processes in order to concentrate the valuable metals and separate impurities.
4. Precious Metals Recovery. Recovering precious metals from leachate can be done via
electrorefining processes, chemical reduction or crystallization.
Cyanide, aqua regia, thiourea and thiosulfate leaching solutions are corrosive and/or toxic
solutions and therefore require that special equipment be used to resist the highly caustic
conditions. While cyanide is the most economically feasible of common leaching methods, it is
also the highest in terms of toxicity. Once the leaching process is completed, the toxic
byproducts, including the spent leaching solution, must be properly treated and disposed of.
Spent aqua regia cannot be recycled; while cyanide can be recycled but it is extremely costly to
do so.
Previous studies focused on the optimal leaching parameters for recovering precious metals have
found that the effectiveness of hydrometallurgical processing is dependent on a number of
factors including pouring density, percentage of magnetic fraction, particle size distribution,
leachability rate, temperature, time, solid:liquid ratio, and mixing velocity.
Recent Case StudyOne study that will be mentioned was performed by Kamberovic et al. (2011) and supported by
the European project Innovative Hydrometallurgical Processes to recover Metals from WEEE
including lamp and batteries HydroWEEE, looked at the economic feasibility of investing in a
small, mobile hydrometallurgical processing pilot plant. The study found the following sulfuric
acid and thiourea leaching process to be economically beneficial for an amount of gold
exceeding 500 ppm:

(1) Copper is extracted from the granulated waste material using a leaching agent (sulfuric acid).
(2) Copper is treated via electrowinning in order to extract copper from the leaching solution.
(3) The solid residue from copper leaching is treated by thiourea in the presence of a ferric ion as
an oxidant in sulfuric acid solution, in order to extract gold. Results of the study also show that
the payback time is approximately seven years, depending on two different amounts of input
waste material. A notable finding of the study was that the most important factor in determining
economic feasibility was the quantity of gold present in the waste material. Studies have also
focused on other leaching agents besides cyanide and aqua regia, which are the two most
popular. A critical comparison of the economic feasibility and environmental impact of various
leaching methods found that leaching of gold by thiourea may be the most realistic substitute for
cyanide, and could achieve gold recovery of up to 99% . New developments in this field have
focused on the use of leaching solutions which do not contain acids or cyanide in order to
recover precious metals.
Biometallurgical Processing
Biometallurgy for the recovery of valuable components from e-waste has been gaining
popularity over the years. Biometallurgy is built on the concept that microbes interact and
depend on metals to carry out their cellular functions. Interactions between bacteria and metals
include sorption, reduction, oxidation, and sulfide precipitation. There are two main methods of
biometallurgy to remove metals: bioleaching and biosorption. Bioleaching has traditionally been
used in industrial applications in order to leach metal concentrate from ores, most notably gold
and copper. Currently, research and development are in progress for bioleaching of copper,
nickel, cobalt, zinc, gold and silver. However, the complete recovery of gold and silver has not
yet been achieved.
Biosorption uses algae, bacteria, yeasts and fungi to accumulate heavy and precious metals.
These microbes are used as adsorbents for precious metal biosorption, through a complex
process involving a physical or chemical adsorption of metals onto the cell walls or cell
associated materials. Suitable bacteria for biosorption have the following properties: high
specific surface area (100 m2/g), high affinity for metals, and metal speciation. Adsorption
capacities vary depending on the types of biomass, ranging from 0.003 to 40 mmol/gram.
Biosorption can be made further effective by the addition of metal-sorbing agents such as
chitosan. Current studies are focused on finding the most effective organisms for the bioleaching

process. Biometallurgical processing of e-waste has a number of benefits over traditional

methods, including low operating costs, minimization of the volume of chemical and/or
biological sludge to be handled and high efficiency in detoxifying effluents .
Lead Recovery:- Reverberatory furnace and blast furnace are used to recover lead from waste
fraction.
Process:1. A reverberatory furnace is charged with lead containing materials and reductants. In this
furnace, the reduction of lead compounds is carried out to produce lead bullion and slag. Lead
bullion is 99.9% while slag contains 60-70% wt. % lead and a soft (pure) lead product. The
following reactions occur in the reverberatory furnace.
PbO + CPb +CO
2Sb + 3PbO3Pb +Sb2O3
2As + 3PbO3Pb +As2O3
Sn + 2PbO2Pb + SnO2
2. Slag in reverberatory furnace is continuously tapped onto a slag caster. It consists of a thin,
fluid layer on top of the heavier lead layer in the furnace.
3. Lead bullion is tapped from the furnace when the metal level builds up to a height that only
small amounts of lead appear in the slag.
4. Lead is recovered from the slag by charging it in blast furnace along with other lead
containing materials and fluxing agents like iron and limestone.
5. Hard lead is recovered from the blast furnace, which contains 75-85 wt. % Pb and 15-25 wt. %
Sb. Slag contains 1-3% lead. Slag contains CaO, SiO2 and FeO.
6. Flue gas emissions from reverberatory furnace are collected by bag house and feedback into
the furnace to recover lead. Slag from blast furnace is disposed of in hazardous waste landfill
sites.

Plastic Recycling:There are three different types of plastic recycling options i.e. chemical recycling, mechanical
recycling and thermal recycling. All the three processes are shown in figure In chemical
recycling process, waste plastics are used as raw materials for petrochemical processes or as
reductant in a metal smelter. In mechanical recycling process, shredding and identification

process is used to make new plastic product. In thermal recycling process, plastics are used as
alternative fuel. The two major types of plastic resins, which are used in electronics, are
thermosets and thermoplastics. Thermosets are shredded and recycled because they cannot
be re-melted and formed into new products, while thermoplastics can be re-melted and formed
into new products. In thermal recycling process, plastics are used as fuel for energy recovery.
Since plastics have high calorific value, which is equivalent to or greater than coal, they can be
combusted to produce heat energy in cement kilns.
Chemical Recycling Process:- This process was developed by the Association of Plastic
Manufacturers in Europe (APME).
Process:1. Mixed plastic waste is first de-polymerized at about 350-400C and dehalogenated (Br and
Cl). This step also includes removal of metals.
2. In hydrogenation unit 1, the remaining polymer chains from depolymerised unit are cracked at
temperatures between 350-400 C and hydrogenated at pressure greater than 100 bar. After
hydrogenation, the liquid product is subjected to distillation and left over inert material is
collected in the bottom of distillation column as residue, hydrogenation bitumen.
3. In hydrogenation unit 2, high quality products like off gas and sync rude are obtained by
hydro-treatment, which are sent to petrochemical process.

Mechanical recycling processes

Reference : ( " Mechanical Recycling of Consumer Electronic Scrap" Jirang Cui
Division of Mineral Processing Department of Chemical Engineering and Geosciences
Lulea University of Technology, SE-971 87, Lulea, Sweden, Page-3,4,5,
May 2005 )

Magnetic separation
Magnetic separators, in particular, low-intensity drum separators are widely used for the
recovery of ferromagnetic metals from non-ferrous metals and other non-magnetic wastes. Over
the past decade, there have been many advances in the design and operation of high-intensity
magnetic separators, mainly as a result of the introduction of rare earth alloy permanent magnets
capable of providing very high field strengths and gradients.

Density-based separation

Several different methods are employed to separate heavier materials from lighter ones. The
difference in density of the components is the basis of separation. Gravity concentration
separates materials of different specific gravity by their relative movement in response to the
force of gravity and one or more other forces, the latter often being the resistance to motion
offered by a fluid, such as water or air. The motion of a particle in a fluid is dependent not only
on the particles density, but also on its size and shape, large particles being affected more than
smaller ones. In practice, close size control of feeds to gravity processes is required in order to
reduce the size effect and make the relative motion of the particle specific gravity dependent. The
use of air to separate materials of differing density has long been known and is typified by the
winnowing of grain using an air current to remove the chaff. Air tables have been used to
eliminate a host of small problems in the food industry and in applications such as separating
abrasive grains in the cleaning of foundry sand and removing metals from crushed slag. In recent
years, it also has been developed and implemented in a few electronic scrap recycling plants.

Electric conductivity-based separation

Electric conductivity-based separation separates materials of different electric conductivity (or
resistivity). There are three typical electric conductivity-based separation techniques: (1) eddy
current separation, (2) corona electrostatic separation, and (3) triboelectric separation. In the past
decade, one of the most significant developments in the recycling industry was the introduction
of eddy current separators whose operability is based on the use of rare earth permanent magnets.
When a conductive particle is exposed to an alternating magnetic field, eddy currents will be
induced in that object, generating a dmagnetic field to oppose the magnetic field. The
interactions between the magnetic field and the induced eddy currents lead to the appearance of
electrodynamic actions upon conductive non-ferrous particles and are responsible for the
separation process.
The separators were initially developed to recover non-ferrous metals from shredded automobile
scrap or for treatment of municipal solid waste but is now widely used for other purposes
including foundry casting sand, polyester polyethylene terephthalate (PET), electronic scrap,
glass cullet, shredder fluff, and spent potliner. Currently, eddy current separators are almost
exclusively used for waste reclamation where they are particularly suited to handling the
relatively coarse sized feeds. However, the number of waste streams containing fine metal

particles is foreseen to grow substantially in the near future. In recent years, there have been
some developments of eddy current separation processed designed to separate small particles.

Optical sorting process

With the fast development of Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) sensor, computing, and software
technology, optical sorting process has been developed in both recycling and mineral processing
industry. In addition, recording more and better data with sensors improves the separation
performance of automated sorting equipment. The measuring of particle properties like color,
texture, morphology, conductivity and others allows high quality sorting of mixed materials into
almost pure fractions. Multi-sensor systems by using two or more different sensors were of
concern in the past years. An automatic sorting device named CombiSense 1200 was
developed by Separation Systems Engineering (SSE), Wedel, Germany. This type of sorting is a
combined opto-electronical system which is operating with a belt width of 600 mm or 1200 mm.
It combines the special characteristics of an optical system incorporating a high speed camera
with a 1 billion colors recognition and a special conductivity sensor permitting the identification
of a variety of metals. The CombiSense can handle mass streams of up to 10 tons/h for instance
in the size classes 5-50 or 10-100 mm.

E-waste disposal to be environmentally friendly and create jobs

(Refrences -> https://www.empa.ch ->search: News related to electronic wastes ->
"https://www.empa.ch/web/s604/vertrag1?inheritRedirect=true-%3e News:Agreement between
Switzerland and Peru signed -> Date- 4 Sep 2009)
Switzerland plays a pioneering role in many areas of environmental protection, including the
disposal and recycling of electrical and electronic waste. The State Secretariat for Economic
Affairs, SECO, and Empa have together for several years been active in encouraging and
supporting the disposal of electronic and electrical waste in developing countries in an
environmentally friendly and resource-saving manner. On August 21st 2009 the Environment
Minister of Peru, Antonio Brack, and Switzerlands Finance Minister, Doris Leuthard, put their
signatures to an agreement to regulate cooperation between the two countries in this area.

In parallel with a similar scheme already in place in Columbia, SECO intends over the next two
and a half years to support various partners from both the private and public sectors in Peru in
establishing environmentally friendly systems for recycling electronic and electrical waste (ewaste). The project has been initiated within the framework of SECOs strategy of increasing
cooperation with Peru (which it has designated a country of major focus) to the tune of CHF 15
million annually in the medium term. The emphasis will fall in particular on encouraging
environmental technologies and supporting climate protection measures. The scheme will be led
by Empa, which has already established various projects in the environmental technology field in
Columbia and Peru.
One aim of the agreed cooperative work is to minimize the release of possible toxic substances
from batteries, insulating material or monitors found in the waste material due to inappropriate
handling, thus protecting the health of the workers involved and the local environment. In
addition, the process of recycling e-waste offers new business opportunities and creates valuable
jobs in the areas of the recovery and reuse of the valuable materials which it contains. The work
will be accompanied by various research projects to investigate specific local circumstances in
both countries and identify suitable recycling techniques (see the Factsheet). The agreement was
signed by Swiss Federal Councilor and Finance Minister Doris Leuthard and the Peruvian
Environment Minister Antonio Brack during the course of the latters recent visit to Switzerland.
Minister Brack also seized the opportunity to learn about Empas latest research and
development projects in the fields of efficient resource utilization and life cycle analysis, one
example being a current study to evaluate the potential of and conduct life cycles analyses on
Peruvian biofuels. What Empa is doing in the field of biofuels in Peru namely establishing a
scientific basis on which to make political decisions is of extreme importance to us, was
Bracks impressed comment.

Focus on recuperating valuable materials and reducing the ecological burden

The recuperation of valuable materials such as the precious metals used in the manufacture of
printed circuit boards offers the possibility of building up international business and trade
relationships. As is already the case in China, India and South Africa, the organizations
responsible for running the Swiss e-waste recycling system (primarily SWICO Recycling and

SENS but also including internationally active Swiss recycling firms) are also involved in the
project. That the measures taken in Peru will also strengthen worldwide technology transfer
efforts is guaranteed by Step Solving the e-Waste Problem, an international platform in
which various UN bodies, multinational concerns (such as HP, Dell, CISCO and Microsoft) and
research institutions and administrative offices participate. SECO and Empa, both founder
organizations of the platform, are of course also active in Step.

More and more electronic goods being sold in developing countries too
OECD statistics show that as long ago as 2004 the global trade in goods relating to the
information and communication technologies grew to 8% of the combined gross national
products of all the countries in the world. The market penetration of the most modern
technologies has of course also not simply stopped at the borders of the developing regions
either. It is estimated, for instance, that in Latin America, the volume of trade in these branches
will more than double within the next five years.
Despite international agreements such as the Basel Convention, which forbid the export of such
e-waste, it is not always possible for customs authorities to determine if electrical and electronic
devices are being imported as waste or for genuine reuse. Although on the one hand devices such
as computers are often repaired and reused effectively in developing countries (thereby helping
to provide disadvantaged population groups with access to international knowledge networks),
on the other hand they frequently end up as uncontrolled waste in backyards in large cities. In
addition, the reintegration of such devices into the added value chain through recycling and
repair is often undertaken by the informal, non-professional sector. This is generally an
inefficient process associated with the supplementary danger that the release of toxic substances
from the e-waste through incorrect handling frequently pollutes the local environment and
damages the health of the workers involved.