The E-Waste Problem and Our Work For Solutions

News

Flame Retardant PBDE Found in ALL US Coalstal Waters and Great Lakes

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, (NOAA) issues a "Report Calling Flame Retardants a Concern to U.S. Coastal Ecosystems" as below. Read LA Times story.

Map of findings in US.

Center for Environmental Health. CEH's Pollution Prevention Program works to leverage the buying power of large institutions in order to expand the market for "greener" electronic products that encourages the development of a sustainable, socially responsible production system in the electronics sector.

Clean Production Action. Clean Production Action’s mission is to design and deliver strategic solutions for green chemicals, sustainable materials and environmentally preferable products.

Green Science Policy Institute. The Institute promotes research into safer alternatives, advocatse for scientifically sound chemical policy, and works globally to reduce toxics in homes and the environment. They have been particularly active on the issue of flame retardants in electronics.

 

Hard to recycle: Not Designed for Recycling | Toxics in Electronics

The Problem With Electronics

Toxic Materials in Electronic Products

innards of CRT TVOver 1,000 materials, including chlorinated solvents, brominated flame retardants,PVC, heavy metals, plastics and gases, are used to make electronic products and their components—semiconductor chips, circuit boards, and disk drives.

A CRT monitor can contains between four and eight pounds of lead alone. Big screen TVs contain even more than that. Flat panel TVs and monitors contain less lead, but use mercury lamps. About 40% of the heavy metals, including lead, mercury and cadmium, in landfills come from electronic equipment discards.

These toxicants are released during the production, use and disposal of electronic products, with the greatest impact at end-of-life. Harmful chemicals released from incinerators and leached from landfills contaminate air and groundwater. The burning of plastics at the waste stage releases dioxins and furans, known developmental and reproductive toxins which persist in the environment and concentrate up the food-chain.

What Are The Health Risks?

Lead

The health effects of lead are well known; lead exposure causes brain damage in children and has already been banned from many consumer products.

Mercury

Mercury is toxic in very low doses, and causes brain and kidney damage. It can be passed on through breast milk; just 1/70th of a teaspoon of mercury can contaminate 20 acres of a lake, making the fish unfit to eat.

Cadmium

Cadmium accumulates in the human body and poisons the kidneys.

BFRs

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) may seriously affect hormonal functions critical for normal development. A recent study of dust on computers in workplaces and homes found BFRs in every sample taken. One group of BFRs, PBDEs, has been found in alarming rates in the breast milk of women in Sweden and the U.S.

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