Environmental Health Impacts of Informal Electronic Waste Recycling

Electronic waste, “E-waste”, is the fastest growing waste stream globally. Informal e-waste recycling lacks the policy and regulatory controls found in formal industry, creating health hazards for workers and communities, while potentially achieving higher recovery rates of raw materials and related reductions in impacts. This dissertation evaluated routes of exposure to metals, physical hazards faced by workers, material and economic flows, and environmental and human health damages, through the lens of Total Worker Health (TWH). The research described took place in informal e-waste recycling communities in Thailand and Chile, countries with different cultural contexts and recycling paradigms. Following the introduction in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 examined metal levels in a variety of environmental samples, surface dust, air, and human biomarkers. Concentrations of metals in environmental samples were elevated. Surface wipe samples from Thailand showed no significant difference in metal concentrations between surfaces used for food and work, while there was a difference in Chile. Despite having higher overall concentrations of metals in wipe samples, workers in Chile had lower concentrations of metal biomarkers than workers and non-workers in Thailand. Results from an application of the Method of Triads showed that surface wipes generally had the highest validity coefficients of the various measures evaluated. Chapter 3 evaluated the physical hazards of e-waste recycling. No workers were exposed above the recommended occupational limit for noise of 85 dBA. However, a portion of workers had audiograms indicative of noise-induced hearing loss. Sixty percent of workers in each country experienced at least 1 work injury in the previous 6 months. Analysis of injury risk factors using survey data and a novel semi-quantitative video analysis indicated high frequencies of ergonomic stressors and working near sharp objects in both countries. Logistic regressions in Thailand showed that odds of injury were greater among workers who reported more frequent noise and regular use of personal protective equipment. In Chile, buying/selling of e-waste was associated with lower odds of injury. Poisson regressions showed that older and more educated workers in Thailand had a lower injury incidence rate ratio (IRR). In Chile, older, more educated workers, report of a dangerous task, increased frequency in the use of cotton gloves, repetitive arm motion, and lifting of < 20 pounds had a higher IRR. Chapter 4 combined material flow analysis (MFA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) methods to analyze the quantitative flow of materials, economic benefits, and human and environmental impacts of informal e-waste recycling. Four e-waste products were selected for the MFA in a Thai community and then fed into a LCA to estimate net avoided emissions. One village processed ~40,000 kg of e-waste monthly, worth a net value added of 157,000 THB (~$5,000). Recycling in one village avoided 0.2 Disability-Adjusted Life Years, 60,000 kg of CO2 equivalents, and nearly 400,000 megajoules each month. Dismantling of e-waste by informal e-waste workers with downstream processes (e.g., recovery of dangerous, precious, and trace materials) completed by more formalized operations may be advantageous for both sectors. Finally, Chapter 5 provides overall conclusions and discussion. This dissertation yielded important information on how to protect informal e-waste worker and community health. Exposures to metals occurred during both work and non-work activities, and the participating workers experienced a high rate of injury, affecting health and economic well-being. Short-term economic benefits may be out-weighed by long-term ecosystem damages.