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Environmental Effects of E-waste and Biomass
Pollution

Summary
This report discusses the importance of electronic waste and biomass pollution
...
The parts of the environment
contaminated by pollutants emitted from electronic waste and biomass pollution include the
hydrosphere, geosphere, and the atmosphere
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It will also give recommendations on which solutions are
the most important to implement
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2
Introduction
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5
Environmental Impacts
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6
Geosphere and Hydrosphere Contamination
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7
Health Risks of E-waste Pollution
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8
Solution
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11
Biomass Decomposition
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12
Biomass Combustion
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14
Conclusion
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15
Table of Figures
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17
3

Introduction
The Hydrosphere, Geosphere, and the Atmosphere are each individually affected by electronic
waste (e-waste) and biomass pollution differently
...

Electronic waste pollution is a growing problem in many cities across the world
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The electronic waste gets imported then
is burned to extract metals
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These chemicals have severe health
effects and environmental impacts
...

Furthermore, the use of biomass as a fuel source results in air pollution
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These pollutants include: carbon
monoxide, carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds, various nitrogen oxides, and
particulates
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This paper will discuss the negative effects of electronic waste and biomass pollution, and
identify possible solutions that will decrease the amount of pollution released to the environment
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Electronic Waste
Electronic waste pollution is becoming a large problem in foreign countries
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Electronic waste contributes 8% to the amount of municipal
waste according to (Widmer, Oswald-Krapf, Heidi, Sinha-Khetriwal, Deepali, Schnellmann,
Max, & Böni, Heinz, 2005/7//)
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TABLE 1: OBSOLETE ELECTRONICS IN 1994 AND 2004 (WIDMER ET AL
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TABLE 2: MATERIALS IN 500 MILLION PC'S (WIDMER ET AL
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After the e-waste is imported, people take the waste and it is accumulated on a large
area of land
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The metals that are extracted include: aluminium, copper, iron, gold,
and other metals which contribute 60% of the metals in the electronics
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7% of the waste
material is composed of toxic and non-toxic pollutants
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This will
cover the effects on the hydrosphere, geosphere, and the atmosphere
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They protect potentially
flammable organic material from combustion
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The environment into which they leach is the hydrosphere
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High concentrations of these PBDE’s are generally found in sediment,
sewage sludge, and biota of the particular region near a manufacturing plant
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PBDE’s are global contaminants
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Bio magnification rates of polybrominated diphenyl ethers are greater than
polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB’s) rates
...
Thyroxin hormone’s principal function is to stimulate oxygen intake
and thereby decreases an organism’s metabolism when there is a deficiency of the hormone
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Once the PBDE’s are in
the sediment and water, animals such as fish ingest the chemical
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This imposes on human health as we eat the fish that contain the
PBDE’s
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Air Pollution from E-waste

Combustion of materials such as e-waste creates air pollution
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Other
sources of mercury vapor release to the atmosphere include the burning of fossil fuels, the
incineration of municipal waste, and cement manufacturing industries
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7

Particulates from e-waste combustion are released into the air
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In addition, these contaminants were
also found to exceed 11,000 pg/m3 in aerial samples during the day in the city (Robinson, 2009)
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In addition to PBDE’s, high concentration levels of dioxins were found in human milk,
placentas, and hair, indicating that these contaminants are taken up by humans through contact
with air, water, or edible organisms
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Health Risks of E-waste Pollution

Since e-waste has many pollutants, there are many different health risks associated with its
pollution
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Mercury Poisoning

Mercury is found in many items, these include: thermometers, dental fillings, CFL light bulbs,
various chemicals, fish, sediment, the human body, and electronic waste
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Poisoning
can also include neurological symptoms which can be passed from mother to daughter as the
toxicity of mercury is amplified for the fetus
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These abnormalities are the basis for Minamata
disease
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8

FIGURE 1: CONSUMED MERCURY IS PASSED FROM MOTHER TO THE FETUS,
WHERE 70-80% OF THE MERCURY CONSUMED IS PRESENT IN THE HUMAN FETUS
(MANAHAN, 2010)
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Mercury is reactive with sulfur,
resulting in a higher concentration of mercury in the fetus than the mother
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This transfer is between the
sulfur groups of albumin (Alb-SH), cysteine (Cy-SH), and the mercury form monomethyl
mercury (CH3Hg+)
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Many of which are stable complexes
and chelate with organic ligands
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This results in the higher concentrations of mercury in the fetus
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TABLE 3: FORMS, TARGET ORGANS, AND TOXICITIES OF MERCURY (MANAHAN,
2010)

Hg – forms
Hg0

Solubility

(Elemental, Fat soluble

liquid)

Target organ (s)

Toxicity

Brain and fatty Relatively
tissues

Source (Typical)
non- Thermometer,

toxic if released dental

fillings,

within a few days
Hg+1

Water soluble

Pancreas, kidney,

electronics

Toxic

Mercury Chloride

spleen
Hg+2

Water soluble

Pancreas, kidney,

(HgCl)
Very toxic

spleen

Mercury Nitrate
(Hg(NO3)2),
Mercury II
Chloride (HgCl2),
Mercury Sulfate
(HgSO4)

CH3Hg(methyl

Soluble in both

mercury)

fat and water

Whole body

Most toxic

Fish, sediment,
and the human
body

10

In an attempt to reduce its mercury emissions, the government of Canada recently signed the
Minamata Convention on Mercury
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Solution

Since E-waste pollution is becoming a big concern, we need to look at ways we can decrease the
amount of contaminants the electronics release to the environment when they are being recycled
...

The valuable metals in the electronics pose as an incentive to recycle the items
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Biomass Pollution as Municipal Waste
Municipal waste is deposited into modern sanitary landfills; this is where the majority of biomass
pollution exists
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Since biomass in this situation undergoes degradation and is decomposed by microorganisms, large landfills pose as major sources of methane emissions
...

This process utilizes oxygen and biomass then produces carbon dioxide and water
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11

(CH2O) biomass + O2 ----> CO2 + H2O
FIGURE 3: DECOMPOSITION OF BIOMASS

Over a period of many decades decomposition of biomass in landfills can become anaerobic
decomposition
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Hydrogen sulfide is toxic and produces a foul smelling odour
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Hydrosphere and Geosphere Pollution from Biomass Decomposition

If water were to be introduced to the landfill, during the decomposition of biomass, materials can
be dissolved and run off as leachate
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This allows the possibility of heavy metals to be transported into
the ground and contaminate ground water
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12

Biomass Combustion
Biomass has been used as a fuel source for some years now
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Biomass + O2  CO2 + H2O + Ash

FIGURE 5: BIOMASS COMBUSTION

In the above figure, ash is particulate matter which contains inorganic components and salts
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When the conversion is at this temperature CO is the only significant
waste product of incomplete combustion
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Out of the three processes
for biomass utilization, combustion has the largest environmental impact
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13

According to a report on the environmental impact and energy production of biochar (Kung,
McCarl, & Chen, 2005); pyrolysis has been shown to improve agricultural productivity and the
environment in many ways with its by-product biochar
...
Therefore, pyrolysis can provide an
offset of greenhouse gas emissions compared to gasification and combustion (Kung, McCarl, &
Chen, 2005)
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The addition of a polymer liner will minimize leachate from contaminating the
environment
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This
will not only decrease the environmental costs of landfills but also allow a small amount of
income to be gained from biomass decomposition
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It has identified solutions to some of the environmental problems associated with ewaste and biomass pollution
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To reduce the amount of pollution
from the discussed sources, action must be taken
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14

RECOMMENDATIONS
To help minimize the emission of toxic substances into the atmosphere from e-waste and
biomass pollution, I propose the following recommendations
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These regulations should include a statement that
disallows electronic waste disposal to places other than certified recycling departments
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My other recommendation is to build sanitary landfills for the disposal of biomass and municipal
waste to be decrease the amount of water infiltration
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The leachate that is captured with the polymer linings can then be controlled and treated to
reduce pollution
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15

TABLE OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Consumed mercury is passed from mother to the fetus, where 70-80% of the mercury
consumed is present in the human fetus (Manahan, 2010)
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9
Figure 3: Decomposition of biomass
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12
Figure 5: Biomass combustion
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2005)
...
2005)
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10

16

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...
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The impact of large scale
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Matschullat, J
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svg

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