The document discusses the environmental and health impacts of e-waste. It begins by introducing different types of pollution like indoor and outdoor air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, and food contamination. It then focuses on the health hazards caused by improper e-waste disposal, like reproductive, developmental and respiratory issues. Next, it discusses the environmental impact of e-waste recycling in developing countries, releasing heavy metals into soil, water and air. Finally, it outlines the human health effects on residents living near sites, children, and e-waste workers through occupational exposures.

1. E-Waste, Health &
Environment
Dr. Mahmoud M. Amr
Professor of Occupational & Environmental Medicine
Prime Founder, Ex-Director & Consultant of the
National Toxicology Center NECTR
Faculty of Medicine – Cairo University.
President of the National Toxicology Committee (NTC)
Academy of Scientific Research & Technology (ASRT)
Cairo, Egypt

2. Introduction
Environmental Protection
 Env. Medicine.
 Health Protection Agency.
 Outdoor air pollution.
 Indoor air Pollution.
 Water Pollution.
 Soil Pollution.
 Food contamination.
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Ecosystem
disturbances

3.  Env. Medicine:
Exposures Routes Inhalative
Ingestion
Dermal etc.
Quantification
Outcome
Control
Assessment & health impact
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4.  Health Protection Agency:
i.e. EEAA in Egypt and EPA in
USA.
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5.  Outdoor Pollution : (Air Pollution)
Particles autoexhoust
Industry
Power generation
Natural (i.e volcanoes)
Gases So2
NO2
Ozone (O3)
CO
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6. - Others: Carcinogen (i.e benzene)
Heavy metals lead
Mercury etc.
Health Effects
Mortality Asthma Lung
cancer mothers
"Long-term exposure"
Hospital admission Morbidity
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7.  Indoor air Pollution
- Tobacco smoke - NO2
- Allergens - CO
- Fumes - Ozone
- Dust - Kerosene
- Microorganisms - fuel combustion
- Endotoxins - volatile
substances
- Radon
Health Effects
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8. Health Effects
Respiratory Asthma
Symptoms
Lung cancer COPD
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9.  Water Pollution:
˗ Arsenic
˗ Fluoride
˗ Lead
˗ Organic chemicals
˗ Others Nitrates
Chlorine
Endocrine disruptors
* Drugs & hormones
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Pesticides
Solvents
POPs

10. Soil Pollution
- Soil Contaminants
Heavy Metals
Asbestos
Cyanide POP's
From e-waste incineration
Disposal of e-waste
liquids.
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11. Food Contamination:
from waste dumps
Agents: Cadmium, mercury,
lead and solvents.
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12. Health hazards caused by e-waste
disposal
Causes of E-waste generation
◦ Upgrade
◦ Lifestyle changes
◦ End of usage
Health hazards – improper e-waste disposal
effects
◦ Reproductive issues
◦ Developmental problems
◦ Damage to the immune system
◦ Interference with regulatory hormones
◦ Damage to the nervous system
◦ Kidney damage
◦ lung cancer
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◦ Chronic beryllium disease
◦ Skin diseases
◦ Cadmium accumulations on liver and
kidney
◦ Asthmatic bronchitis
◦ DNA damage
◦ Muscle weakness
◦ Endocrine system disruption

13. E-waste management – who’s
responsible?
1. The Government
2. Equipment Manufacturers
3. The Society
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14. Electronic waste
 Electronic waste or ̏ e-waste ̋ of electrical or electronic devices:
◦ Reuse
◦ Resale
◦ Recycling
◦ or disposal
 Informal processing of e-waste in developing countries can lead
to adverse human health effects and environmental pollution.
 E-waste contains potentially harmful materials such
as lead, cadmium, beryllium, etc...
 E-waste involve significant risk to health of workers and
communities
 Great care must be taken to avoid unsafe exposure in recycling
operations and leaking of materials such as heavy metals
from landfills and incinerator ashes.
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15. • E-waste Environmental impact
&
 Its Human health and safety effects
among:-
◦ Residents living near the recycling sites
◦ Prenatal exposure and neonates' health
◦ Children
◦ E-waste recycling workers
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16. AMR 2019 16

17. "Ghana E-Waste Country
Assessment", found that of
215,000 tons of electronics
imported to Ghana, 80% of the
imports into Ghana were being
burned in primitive conditions.
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18. Amount of electronic waste
worldwide
 In 2006, the United Nations estimated
the amount of worldwide electronic
waste discarded each year to be 50
million metric tons.
 The amount of e-waste could rise by
as much as 500 percent over the next
decade.
 Electrical waste contains hazardous
but also valuable and scarce
materials.
 In the United States, an estimated 70%
of heavy metals in landfills comes from
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19. Global trade issues
 Transfer of pollution-generating
activities, such as smelting of copper
wire & electronic waste is being sent
to developing countries for
processing, sometimes illegally. Many
laptops are routed to developing
nations as “dumping grounds for e-
waste”.
 BASEL Action Network estimates
that about 80% of the electronic waste
directed to recycling in the U.S. does
not get recycled there at all but in
developing countries.
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20.  Thousands of men, women, and
children are employed in reuse,
repair, and re-manufacturing.
 China:
Uncontrolled burning, disassembly, and
disposal has led to a number of
environmental problems such as
groundwater contamination,
atmospheric pollution, and water
pollution either by immediate discharge
or from surface runoff (especially near
coastal areas), as well as health
problems including occupational safety
and health effects among those directly
and indirectly involved, due to the
methods of processing the waste.
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21. Other informal e-waste recycling
sites:
India
Nigeria
Philippines
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22. Environmental impact
 The processes of disposing of electronic waste in
developing countries led to a number of
environmental impacts as liquid and atmospheric
releases end up in bodies of water, groundwater,
soil, and air and therefore in land and sea
animals, in crops eaten by both animals and
human, and in drinking water.
< ECOSYSTEM Changes >
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23.  Environmental effects:-
◦ Airborne dioxins.
◦ Levels of carcinogens in cadmium, copper,
nickel, and lead.
◦ Heavy metals ̋ lead ̏ over 300 times
Ghana found a presence of lead levels as high
as 18,125 ppm in the soil.
US EPA standard for lead in soil is
400 ppm -1200 ppm.
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24. The environmental impact of the processing of
different electronic waste components
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E-waste Component Potential Environmental Hazard
• Cathode ray tubes (used
in TVs)
Lead, barium and other heavy metals
leaching into the ground water and
release of toxic phosphor
• Board
Air emissions and discharge into rivers
of glass dust, tin, lead, brominated
dioxin, beryllium cadmium, and mercury
• Chips
PAHs, heavy metals, brominated flame
retardants discharged directly into rivers
acidifying fish and flora. Tin and lead
contamination of surface and groundwater. Air
emissions of brominated dioxins, heavy
metals, and PAHs
• Plastics Emissions of brominated dioxins, heavy
metals, and hydrocarbons
• Computer PAHs released into air, water, and soil.

25. E-waste Management
Recycling
 Recycling is an essential element of e-waste
management.
 The circuit boards contain such precious metals as gold,
silver, platinum and metals as copper, iron, aluminum, etc.
 Properly disposing of or reusing electronics can help
prevent health problems, reduce greenhouse-gas
emissions, and create jobs, offer a more environmentally
friendly and socially conscious alternative
to downcycling processes.AMR 2019 25

26. Consumer awareness efforts
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
encourages
electronic recyclers to become certified.
The Certified Electronics Recycler program for
electronic
recyclers is a comprehensive, integrated management
system standard that incorporates key operational and
continual improvement elements for quality,
environmental
and health and safety performance.
There have also been efforts to raise awareness of
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27. Benefits of recycling
1. Reuse of various materials “ferrous (iron-
based) and non-ferrous metals, glass, and
various types of plastic.”
2. Avoid Air and Water Pollution.
3. Reduce of Greenhouse gas emissions.
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28. Electronic waste substances
 Fiberglass, PCBs, PVC (polyvinyl
chlorides), thermosetting plastics, lead, tin,
copper, silicon, beryllium, carbon, iron, and
aluminum.
 Cadmium, mercury, and thallium.
 Americium, antimony, arsenic, barium, bismuth,
boron, cobalt, europium, gallium, germanium,
gold, indium, lithium, manganese, nickel, niobium,
palladium, platinum, rhodium, ruthenium,
selenium, silver, tantalum, terbium, thorium,
titanium, vanadium, and yttrium.
 Lead and tin (as solder) and copper (as wire
and printed circuit board tracks).AMR 2019 28
Hazardous
Non-Hazardous

29. Hazardous
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E-Waste Component Adverse Health Effects
Americium (The radioactive
source in smoke alarms)
Carcinogenic
Lead impaired cognitive function
behavioral disturbances
attention deficits
hyperactivity
conduct problems
and lower IQ
most damaging to children
Mercury sensory impairment
Dermatitis
memory loss
muscle weakness
fetal deficits in motor function
Attention
reduced fertility
slower growth and development.

30. Cadmium Severe damage to the lungs and is also
known to cause kidney damage.
Deficits in cognition, learning, behavior,
and neuromotor skills in children.
Hexavalent
chromium
Carcinogen
Cytotoxic and genotoxic effects
Inhibit cell proliferation
Sulphur liver damage
kidney damage
heart damage
eye and throat irritation
Brominated Flame
Retardants (BFRs)
impaired development of the nervous
system
thyroid problems
liver problem.
Environmental effects: similar effects as
in animals
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31. Perfluorooctanoic
acid (PFOA)
Hepatotoxicity
developmental toxicity
Immunotoxicity
hormonal and carcinogenic effects
abortion (miscarriage)
stillbirth.
low birth weight
Beryllium oxide lung cancer
beryllium sensitization
chronic beryllium disease
acute beryllium disease
Polyvinyl
chloride(PVC)
dioxins
pollutants in the air, water, and soil
reproductive and developmental health
effects.
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32. Generally non-hazardous
◦ Aluminiumn
◦ Copper
◦ Germanium
◦ Gold
◦ Lithium
◦ Nickel
◦ Silicon
◦ Tin
◦ Zinc
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33. Human health and safety
① Residents living near the recycling sites
o The environmental exposure due to the food, water,
and environmental contamination caused by e-waste,
because main exposure pathways: inhalation, ingestion,
and dermal contact.
o They have a higher daily intake of heavy metals and a
more serious body burden. Potential health risks include
mental health, impaired cognitive function, and general
physical health damage.
o DNA damage.
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34. ② Prenatal exposure and neonates'
health
o Increased umbilical cord blood lead
concentration of neonates
o Adverse birth outcomes (still birth, low
birth weight, etc.) and longterm effects
such as behavioral and learning
problems of the neonates in their future
life.
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35. ③ Children
 Children are especially sensitive to e-waste
exposure because of several reasons, size, higher
metabolism rate, larger surface area, and multiple
exposure pathways.
 Children's exposure to developmental neurotoxins
containing in e-waste such as lead, mercury,
cadmium, chromium and PBDEs can lead to a
higher risk of lower
 IQ, impaired cognitive function
 a decreased lung function of children
 impaired coagulation
 hearing loss
 decreased vaccine antibody tiltersAMR 2019 35

36. ④ E-waste recycling workers
Hazards of recycling workers:
 crushing hazards
 hazardous energy released
 toxic metals.
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37. Hazards applicable to recycling in general
 Slips, trips, and falls
 Crushing hazards
 Hazardous energy released
 Cuts and lacerations
 Noise
 Toxic chemicals
OSHA has also specified some chemical components of
electronics
that can potentially do harm to e-recycling workers' health,
such as
lead, mercury, PCBs, asbestos, refractory ceramic fibers
(RCFs), and
radioactive substances.AMR 2019 37

38. Occupational exposure limits (OELs) of some
hazardous chemicals
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Hazardous
chemicals
OELs (mg/m^3) Type of OELs
lead (Pb)
0.05 NIOSH recommended
exposure limits (REL), time
weighted average (TWA)
mercury (Hg)
0.05
NIOSH REL, TWA
cadmium (Cd)
0.005 OSHA permissible exposure
limit (PEL), TWA
hexavalent
chromium
0.005 OSHA PEL, TWA
sulfer dioxide
5
NIOSH REL, TWA

39. Hazard controls
For occupational health and safety of e-
waste
recycling workers, both employers and
workers should take actions.
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40. Safety Measures:
Hazards What should workers do
General
wear PPE (personal protective equipment)
report anything unsafe
Dust
clean the workplace
Shower before going home
test the blood lead
use respirator
Cuts and
lacerations
using special gloves and oversleeves.
Noise
Wear the hearing protection
Lifting injuries When handling e-waste, try to decrease the
load per time.
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41. AMR 2019
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