Last week I came across the above paper
published in the Journal of Environmental Sciences in 2008 (login required). Within it
was an assessment of the toxicity potential (TP) of 24 metallic
elements contained within the average mobile phone using Lead (Pb) as
an experimental analogue.
China received and created an estimated
2.3 million tonnes of e-waste during 2011
(http://www.ipsnews.net/2011/07/e-waste-hits-china) and not all of
this waste is being handled correctly with large quantities heading
to landfill and incineration facilities across the country. With this
comes a high toxicity potential risk with hazardous materials such as
mercury, dioxines and arsenic accumulating within the biosphere.
The electronics industry has been
working to removes highly toxic heavy metals from consumer products
since the late 90's encouraged by industry regulation. The most toxic
of metal, lead (Pb), was used in component solder, circuit boards and
TV's to name a few up until 2003
(http://www.bis.gov.uk/nmo/enforcement)
where upon it was outlawed in Europe, USA and Asia. According to B.
Y. Wu et al. this makes Pb the perfect control to gauge the toxicity
potential of other elements found within electronic devices.
The paper breaks down two mobile
phones, one from 1998 and the other from 2003, first into materials
(plastic, metals, Ceramics, etc) then into elements by weight. The
report shows that, although Pb is no longer used in the later device,
the percentage weight of metallic elements are very similar between
the two models. This gives the report a basis for assessing the
environmental impact of both past and present mobile devices.
Out of the 12 highly hazardous elements
identified Cadmium, Mercury, Arsenic and Antimony are all well
documented as being highly toxic heavy metals and pose a significant
risk to the environment. However, the report also identifies
Beryllium, Nickel, Silver and Chromium as potentially hazardous if
concentrated in the environment. Beryllium can, if overexposed, cause
irreversible scaring to the lungs of both humans and animals. Nickel
has been classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a probable human carcinogen. Silver
poses a significant threat to water organisms while chromium can have
much the same effect in high enough concentrations. What is more
alarming is that many of these toxic elements are used in alloys as
Pb-free solder by manufacturers to get around the RoHS regulations.
While mobile phones, for example, have been getting smaller year on
year the percentage weight of toxic elements has remained much the
same. Therefore, unless the number of discarded devices is reduced
the danger to the environment remains serious. With the increasingly
short life cycle of mobile phones and the ever increasing number
being purchased it does not look likely that a reduction will be seen
anytime soon.
In upcoming posts I will look into the ways the media, both foreign and domestic, cover this potential threat to the environment and explore how you at home can guarantee your tech does not add to landfills in China.
