Environmental Impact of Processing Electronic Waste – Key Issues and Challenges

Extensive utilization of electric and electronic equipment in a wide range of applications has resulted in the generation of huge volumes of electronic waste (e-waste) globally. Highly complex e-waste can contain metals, polymers and ceramics along with several hazardous and toxic constituents. There are presently no standard approaches for han‐ dling, dismantling, and the processing of e-waste to recover valuable resources. Inappro‐ priate and unsafe practices produce additional hazardous compounds and highly toxic emissions as well. This chapter presents an overview of the environmental impact of proc‐ essing e-waste with specific focus on toxic elements present initially in a variety of e-waste as well as hazardous compounds generated during e-waste processing. Hazardous constit‐ uents/ and contaminants were classified in three categories: primary contaminants, secon‐ dary contaminants, and tertiary contaminants. Primary contaminants represent hazardous substances present initially within various types of e-waste; these include heavy metals such as lead, mercury, nickel and cadmium, flame retardants presents in polymers etc. Sec‐ ondary contaminants such as spent acids, volatile/toxic compounds, PAHs are the byproducts or waste residues produced after inappropriate processing of e-waste and the tertiary contaminants include leftover reagents or compounds used during processing. A detailed report is presented on the environmental impact of processing e-waste and the detrimental impact on soil contamination, vegetation degradation, water and air quality along with implications for human health. Challenges and opportunities associated with appropriate e-waste management are also discussed.

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