The global challenge of electronic waste management.

The growth in electronic equipment production and consumption has been exponential in the last two decades. About 20 to 50 million tonnes of electronic waste (“e-waste”) are generated worldwide every year. Much of this waste has been transported to the developing nations. The Customs Agency of Tianjin, China, has reported that more than 200 tonnes of smuggled e-wastes have been confiscated in the past 3 months (Fig. 1). Unlike many traditional wastes, the main environmental impacts of ewaste mainly arise due to inappropriate processing. Electronic devices contain a mix of materials, many of which are toxic and create serious problems if not handled properly (Chatterjee 2008). The processing of such ewastes could cause serious risks to human health and the environment in these countries (Li et al. 2008). We are not aware of any in-depth studies of its impacts on the environment and the health of recycling workers and surrounding communities. In the processing of e-wastes, there is a potential to release substantial quantities of toxic heavy metals and organic compounds to the workplace environment, surrounding soils, and drainage water (Shen et al. 2009; Yang et al. 2009; Zheng et al. 2008). However, both wastes and hazardous chemicals released during the processing are commonly handled with little regard for the health and safety of the workforce or the environment. Further research is necessary in order to identify and quantify the full impact to the e-waste-recycling industrial sector, including studies on the health of workers and of residents in adjacent areas. Moreover, follow-up studies on the growth and development of children in the exposure area should be performed. In the e-waste recycling regions, the improvement of disposal systems is the most cost-effective method to reach the objectives of solid-waste management (Brunner and Fellner 2007). In order to accelerate the rate at which proper processing and management methods are employed, timely regulatory and legislative policies and procedures are needed. From a policy perspective, further research into the applicability, effectiveness, and efficiency of various processes and equipment for managing e-waste are needed. Current technologies are not particularly cost-effective in many developing countries; and many aspects of recycling depend on manual operations (Ramesh Babu et al. 2007; Fig. 2). Public awareness of the health and environmental threat posed by e-waste is virtually nonexistent. If we continue to do nothing, these problems will become more serious. In our previous studies, cytogenetic damage effects have been found among the residents who live in the polluted area (Liu et al. 2008). In order to best protect public health and the environment without unfairly burdening the people of developing countries, policy makers of all developed and developing nations must be willing to fundamentally redesign the approach to e-waste management. Environ Sci Pollut Res (2009) 16:248–249 DOI 10.1007/s11356-009-0131-7