Toxicity characterization of waste mobile phone plastics.

Waste plastic housing units (N=60) of mobile phones (of different models, and brands), were collected and analyzed for lead, cadmium, nickel and silver using atomic absorption spectrophotometry after acid digestion using a 1:1 mixture of H2SO4 and HNO3. The mean (+/-S.D.) and range of the results are 58.3+/-50.4mg/kg (5.0-340mg/kg) for Pb, 69.9+/-145mg/kg (4.6-1005mg/kg) for Cd, 432+/-1905mg/kg (5.0-11,000mg/kg) for Ni, and 403+/-1888mg/kg (5.0-12,500mg/kg) for Ag. Approximately 90% of the results for the various metals were < or =100mg/kg. Results greater than 300mg/kg were generally less than 7% for each metal and could be attributed to exogenous contamination of the samples. These results suggest that there may not be any immediate danger from end-of-life (EoL) mobile phone plastic housing if appropriately treated/managed. However, considering the large quantities generated and the present low-end management practices in most developing countries, such as open burning, there appears a genuine concern over the potential for environmental pollution and toxicity to man and the ecology.

[1]  Oladele Osibanjo,et al.  Material flows of mobile phones and accessories in Nigeria: Environmental implications and sound end-of-life management options , 2008 .

[2]  Oladele A Ogunseitan,et al.  Leaching assessments of hazardous materials in cellular telephones. , 2007, Environmental science & technology.

[3]  Lorenz M. Hilty,et al.  The end of life treatment of second generation mobile phone networks: Strategies to reduce the environmental impact , 2005 .

[4]  T. Yamawaki,et al.  Energy recovery in the sustainable recycling of plastics from end-of-life electrical and electronic products , 2005, Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment, 2005..

[5]  O Osibanjo,et al.  The challenge of electronic waste (e-waste) management in developing countries , 2007, Waste management & research : the journal of the International Solid Wastes and Public Cleansing Association, ISWA.

[6]  K. Oguma,et al.  Digestion of plastic materials for the determination of toxic metals with a microwave oven for household use. , 2006, Analytical sciences : the international journal of the Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry.

[7]  Eric Most,et al.  Calling All Cell Phones: Collection, Reuse, and Recycling Programs in the US , 2003 .

[8]  M. Fisher,et al.  Sustainable electrical and electronic plastics recycling , 2004, IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment, 2004. Conference Record. 2004.

[9]  Timothy G. Townsend.  RCRA Toxicity Characterization of Computer CPUs and Other Discarded Electronic Devices , 2004 .

[10]  T Matsuto,et al.  Material and heavy metal balance in a recycling facility for home electrical appliances. , 2004, Waste management.

[11]  B. Fishbein.  Waste in the Wireless World: The Challenge of Cell Phones , 2002 .

[12]  Wolfram Scharnhorst,et al.  Life cycle assessment in the telecommunication industry: A review , 2006 .

[13]  Carina Burkhard.  Cost Elements of Recycling and the Design of Mobile Phones in the Context of WEEE , 2002 .

[14]  Barry Dellinger,et al.  Origin and Health Impacts of Emissions of Toxic By-Products and Fine Particles from Combustion and Thermal Treatment of Hazardous Wastes and Materials , 2006, Environmental health perspectives.

[15]  P. S. Dillon.  Stakeholder Dialogues on recycling engineering thermoplastics: a collaborative effort to build a recycling infrastructure for plastics from electronics , 2001, Proceedings of the 2001 IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment. 2001 IEEE ISEE (Cat. No.01CH37190).

[16]  Dieter Drohmann,et al.  Waste electrical and electronic equipment plastics with brominated flame retardants – from legislation to separate treatment – thermal processes , 2005 .