WEEE Treatment in Developing Countries: Environmental Pollution and Health Consequences—An Overview

In the last few decades, the rapid technological evolution has led to a growing generation of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Not rarely, it has been exported from industrialized to developing countries, where it represents a secondary source of valuable materials such as gold, cop...

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Main Authors:	Mentore Vaccari, Giovanni Vinti, Alessandra Cesaro, Vincenzo Belgiorno, Stefan Salhofer, Maria Isabel Dias, Aleksander Jandric
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	MDPI AG 2019-05-01
Series:	International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Subjects:	environmental pollution enrichment factor e-waste health impact heavy metals informal treatment metalloids organic pollutants
Online Access:	https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/9/1595

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record_format	Article
spelling	doaj-f1ec528a4920463ea79c54ccc7ea71e82020-11-25T01:36:39ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health1660-46012019-05-01169159510.3390/ijerph16091595ijerph16091595WEEE Treatment in Developing Countries: Environmental Pollution and Health Consequences—An OverviewMentore Vaccari0Giovanni Vinti1Alessandra Cesaro2Vincenzo Belgiorno3Stefan Salhofer4Maria Isabel Dias5Aleksander Jandric6Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, ItalyDepartment of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering and Mathematics, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, ItalySanitary Environmental Engineering Division (SEED), Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, via Giovanni Paolo II, 84084 Fisciano (SA), ItalySanitary Environmental Engineering Division (SEED), Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, via Giovanni Paolo II, 84084 Fisciano (SA), ItalyWaste Management Institute, BOKU University, 1190 Vienna, AustriaCentro de Ciências e Tecnologias Nucleares—C2TN, Campus Tecnológico e Nuclear, Polo de Loures, Instituto Superior Técnico, Estrada Nacional 10, km 139.7, 2696-066 Loures, PortugalWaste Management Institute, BOKU University, 1190 Vienna, AustriaIn the last few decades, the rapid technological evolution has led to a growing generation of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Not rarely, it has been exported from industrialized to developing countries, where it represents a secondary source of valuable materials such as gold, copper, and silver. The recycling of WEEE is often carried out without any environmental and health protection. This paper reviews recent literature dealing with the informal treatment of WEEE in developing regions, gathering and analyzing data on concentration of both inorganic and organic pollutants in the environment. Open burning practices are revealed as most polluting ‘technology’, followed by mechanical treatment and leaching. Significant levels of pollutants have been detected in human bodies, both children and adults, working in or living in areas with informal WEEE treatment.https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/9/1595environmental pollutionenrichment factore-wastehealth impactheavy metalsinformal treatmentmetalloidsorganic pollutants
collection	DOAJ
language	English
format	Article
sources	DOAJ
author	Mentore Vaccari Giovanni Vinti Alessandra Cesaro Vincenzo Belgiorno Stefan Salhofer Maria Isabel Dias Aleksander Jandric
spellingShingle	Mentore Vaccari Giovanni Vinti Alessandra Cesaro Vincenzo Belgiorno Stefan Salhofer Maria Isabel Dias Aleksander Jandric WEEE Treatment in Developing Countries: Environmental Pollution and Health Consequences—An Overview International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health environmental pollution enrichment factor e-waste health impact heavy metals informal treatment metalloids organic pollutants
author_facet	Mentore Vaccari Giovanni Vinti Alessandra Cesaro Vincenzo Belgiorno Stefan Salhofer Maria Isabel Dias Aleksander Jandric
author_sort	Mentore Vaccari
title	WEEE Treatment in Developing Countries: Environmental Pollution and Health Consequences—An Overview
title_short	WEEE Treatment in Developing Countries: Environmental Pollution and Health Consequences—An Overview
title_full	WEEE Treatment in Developing Countries: Environmental Pollution and Health Consequences—An Overview
title_fullStr	WEEE Treatment in Developing Countries: Environmental Pollution and Health Consequences—An Overview
title_full_unstemmed	WEEE Treatment in Developing Countries: Environmental Pollution and Health Consequences—An Overview
title_sort	weee treatment in developing countries: environmental pollution and health consequences—an overview
publisher	MDPI AG
series	International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
issn	1660-4601
publishDate	2019-05-01
description	In the last few decades, the rapid technological evolution has led to a growing generation of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Not rarely, it has been exported from industrialized to developing countries, where it represents a secondary source of valuable materials such as gold, copper, and silver. The recycling of WEEE is often carried out without any environmental and health protection. This paper reviews recent literature dealing with the informal treatment of WEEE in developing regions, gathering and analyzing data on concentration of both inorganic and organic pollutants in the environment. Open burning practices are revealed as most polluting ‘technology’, followed by mechanical treatment and leaching. Significant levels of pollutants have been detected in human bodies, both children and adults, working in or living in areas with informal WEEE treatment.
topic	environmental pollution enrichment factor e-waste health impact heavy metals informal treatment metalloids organic pollutants
url	https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/9/1595
work_keys_str_mv	AT mentorevaccari weeetreatmentindevelopingcountriesenvironmentalpollutionandhealthconsequencesanoverview AT giovannivinti weeetreatmentindevelopingcountriesenvironmentalpollutionandhealthconsequencesanoverview AT alessandracesaro weeetreatmentindevelopingcountriesenvironmentalpollutionandhealthconsequencesanoverview AT vincenzobelgiorno weeetreatmentindevelopingcountriesenvironmentalpollutionandhealthconsequencesanoverview AT stefansalhofer weeetreatmentindevelopingcountriesenvironmentalpollutionandhealthconsequencesanoverview AT mariaisabeldias weeetreatmentindevelopingcountriesenvironmentalpollutionandhealthconsequencesanoverview AT aleksanderjandric weeetreatmentindevelopingcountriesenvironmentalpollutionandhealthconsequencesanoverview
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WEEE Treatment in Developing Countries: Environmental Pollution and Health Consequences—An Overview

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