E-Waste Science &

Technology
E-Waste Effects on the
Environment and Humans

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Contents

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Objectives
Understand water cycle and how it can be
contaminated
Understand how E-Waste contributes to
contamination
Explain the major harmful components in
waste
Demonstrate contamination processes
Comprehend effects of toxics on humans

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Outline
Environmental Effects
 Explain Water Cycle
 How toxic substances get into the water
cycle
 Demonstrations and labs
Human effects
 Sources of hazards in E-Waste
 Effects on humans

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Purpose
The field of toxicology
Industrial sources
Environmental effects (water and air)
Human Effects
Water contamination experiments

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Waste Near Water

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Hydrologic (Water) Cycle

 
The water cycle
may be explained
by a circular
pattern, but water
moves randomly
among the states
in the diagram

              

                         
                         
Source:
   
http://www.groundwater.org/kc/gwwatercycle.html 9-15-05 The Groundwater Foundation
 Groundwater
Groundwater comes
from rain, snow, sleet,
and hail that soaks into
the ground.

Water in a lake can soak

down into the ground and
become groundwater.

An area that
Contaminated
holds a lot of
groundwater can
water which can
eventually make
be pumped up
its way to the
with a well is
water we drink
called an aquifer

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Hydrologic Cycle-Toxicity Unit

Sources
 Industrial waste
 Landfill
 Incineration

Infamous cases
 Love Canal
 Hexavalent Chromium
(“Erin Brokavich”)
 Perchlorate
(San Martin, CA)

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Recycling Hazards
Heavy metals (lead & cadmium in circuit boards)
Batteries containing cadmium
Cathode ray tubes with lead oxide & barium
Brominated flame-retardants on printed circuit
boards, cables and plastic casing.
Poly Vinyl Chloride(PVC)-coated copper cables and
plastic computer casings
Mercury switches and flat screens
Poly Chlorinated Biphenyl’s (PCB’s) in older
capacitors & transformers

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Hazards in Waste Streams
Hazards of throwing e-scrap into regular
waste streams
Sources and effects of major toxic materials
 Lead
 Cadmium
 Mercury
 Hexavalent Chromium
 Polyvinyl Chloride PVC
 Brominated Flame Retardants

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Landfill Hazards
Leakage
Leaching
Vaporization
Particle and gas emissions (Fires)

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Incineration Hazards
“Municipal incineration
is the largest point
source of dioxins into
the US and Canadian
environments and
among the largest
point source of heavy
metal contamination of
the atmosphere.”

Source: JUST SAY NO TO E-WASTE: BACKGROUND DOCUMENT ON HAZARDS AND WASTE FROM COMPUTERS
Contamination Mechanics
Leaching
The Plume Effect
Grinding
Incineration

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Toxocology-Human Effects
Under development

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