Trashing e-waste can harm your health

By Carol Aloysius

It is relatively a new word that has entered our vocabulary, especially in Asian countries where modern technology has only been introduced a few decades ago. An acronym for Electronic waste, e-waste refers to all electronic appliances that have become old and non usable and need to be disposed of.

Discarded electronics contain hazardous materials. If disposed improperly, they pose a potential threat to human health and the environment. E-waste accounts for 40 percent of the lead and 75 percent of the heavy metals found in landfills. Although safe when used, once electronics are discarded in a landfill, the acidic conditions provide an environment in which lead and other heavy metals may leak out. If the landfill's liner fails, the groundwater supply may become contaminated.

Rapid advances in hi tech information in recent years has seen this country inundated by television sets, computers, laptops, cell phones,VCRs, stereos and other electronic products. While these electronic products on one hand, have spurred economic growth, changed information technology and improved people’s lives in many ways, our increasing dependence on them at home and at our workplaces, has led to a new hazard: electronic waste which has a negative impact on our health. For e-waste is toxic and if not disposed of safely and quickly, could be a potential danger to human health and to life on our planet by its negative impact on the environment, says an expert in the field.

Head of the Toxicology Unit at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka Dr Waruna Gunathilake discusses with the Sunday Observer what e-waste contains, its impacts on human health and the environment in general, and how we can dispose of it safely.

Excerpts…

Question: What is e-waste?

Answer: E-Waste or electronic waste is an informal term for all the electronic appliances which need to be disposed off due to their non-usability. Their non-usability could be attributed to number of reasons such as newer upgrade or damage beyond repair or incompatibility with other appliances. Computers, television sets, laptops, cell phones, VCRs, refrigerators, stereos are just few common electronic products that generate e-waste.

In recent years, advances in consumer electronics and personal computers have spurred economic growth, changed information technology and improved people lives in countless ways. However, our growing dependence on electronic products both at home and in the workplace has given rise to a new hazard: electronic waste. With the rapid growth of technology and shorter product life cycles of electronic products, e-waste is one of the fastest growing segments of our nation's trash.

Q: Since they range from household to workplace items, can you elaborate on the electronic items and accessories you would call e-waste?

A: They include the following:

Computer Accessories

• CD-Rom Drives
• Computer Keyboards
• Computer Mouse
• DVD Drives
• External Hard Drive
• Floppy-Disk Drives
• HD-DVD Drives
• Modems (Wired and

Wireless) Computers

• Computer Terminals
• Desktop Computers
• Mini Notebooks,

Computers Monitors

• All-in-One Computers
• Closed Circuit Monitors
• Dual Computer Monitors
• Monitors
• Professional Displays –

Up to 29” Image, Audio and Video

• Audio Cassette Players / Recorders
• CD Players / Recorders
• Digital Picture Frames
• Handheld Personal Computers
• Home Radios
• Portable Audio/ Video Players
• Portable DVD Players
• Portable MP3/Digital Audio

Players

• Portable Radios
• Projectors (Video, Audio, Image)
• Stereo Amplifiers
• Video Cameras
• DVD / VCR / Blu-Ray
• Webcams
• Televisions up to 29”,

Telephone Equipment

• Answering Machines
• Cordless Telephone
• Pagers
• Telephone (Rotary), Vehicle

Audio and Video

• Vehicle DVD / Blu-ray
• Radios, Audio Players
• Speakers, Printing Devices
• Camera Dock Printers
• Desktop Copiers
• Desktop Printers
• Fax Machines
• Handheld Printers
• Portable Photo Printers
• Typewriters (Electric),

Mobile Phone Equipments

• Mobile Phones
• Mobile Phone Batteries
• Chargers All Electronic

Surgical Items

Q. What exactly do they contain which makes them harmful to our health?

A. While e-waste contains both valuable materials such as gold, palladium, silver and copper, it also contains harmful substances like lead, cadmium and mercury. In the absence of suitable techniques and protective measures, recycling e-waste can result in toxic emissions to the air, water and soil and pose a serious health and environmental hazard.

Q. Where does this waste usually end up in Sri Lanka?

A. According to European standards, e-waste, accounted for over two million tons of hazardous waste in 2007. However, only 18 percent was actually recycled. The bulk of e-waste ended up in landfills. E-waste contains several highly toxic ingredients including lead, cadmium and mercury. In landfills, these toxins can leach into soils and possibly contaminate groundwater.

Q. What are the health impacts?

A. Cadmium exposure, for example, can cause kidney damage and cancer in humans. Lead exposure in children can cause brain damage. Possible Symptoms Associated with E-waste:

• Brain damage
• Decreased growth
• Hyperactivity
• Impaired hearing
• Disorders of the reproductive and nervous systems
• Blood and kidney disorders
• Symptoms of poisoning
• Physical weakness
• Strong allergic reactions
• Asthmatic bronchitis
• DNA damage
• Neuro-toxic effects in children
• Endocrine and hormone disorders
• Increased risk of digestive and lymph system cancers

Q. How can they be disposed of safely?

A. Disposal of household hazardous waste in the trash is potentially harmful. Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) contain small quantities of mercury. European standards require that you place broken bulbs in a plastic bag or sealed container for disposal. If disposed of improperly, mercury vapour can enter the air. Mercury poses the greatest risk to unborn children, causing neurological damage.

Q. Is it true that even when disposed of correctly, e-waste can still cause health hazards?

A. That depends on the way and methods used in their disposal. One common method of treating toxic waste is by incineration.

However, incineration can release contaminants into the air such as dioxins. Dioxins are by-products of herbicide production. Long-term exposure to these poisonous chemicals can cause nervous system disorders. Even short-term exposure carries risks including skin lesions and impaired liver function.

Q. How can these adverse health impacts be reduced?

A. One way to mitigate the health effects of toxic waste disposal is to recycle these materials. Recycling keeps these waste products from landfills and reduces the risk of environmental impacts.

Q. What is your message to the public on e-waste disposal?

A. It is our duty to properly dispose the e-waste. We must use the electronic products carefully so as to prolong the life of the equipment. Don’t upgrade an electronic gadget or buy new ones unless it is absolutely necessary to do so.

As responsible citizens, we must be fully informed on what happens to these items when we decide to dispose of them. Question your scrap dealers, because scrap dealers and second hand retailers have formed a vicious chain which results in e-waste being dumped unsafely.

Q. What are Persistent Organic Pollutant and Health Hazards. Are they also part of e-waste?

A. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes.[1] Because of this, they have been observed to persist in the environment, to be capable of long-range transport, bio-accumulation in human and animal tissue, bio-magnified in food chains,[1] and to have potential significant impacts on human health and the environment.

Many POPs are currently or were in the past used as pesticides. Others are used in industrial processes and in the production of a range of goods such as solvents, polyvinyl chloride, and pharmaceuticals.

POPs are created by humans in industrial processes, either intentionally or as by-products. Due to their chemical properties, many POPs are semi-volatile and insoluble. These compounds are therefore unable to transport directly through the environment.

The indirect routes include attachment to particulate matter, and through the food web. The chemicals’ semi-volatility allows them to travel long distances through the atmosphere before being deposited.

POP exposure can cause death and illnesses including disruption of the endocrine, reproductive, and immune systems; behavioural disorders; and cancers possibly including breast cancer.

Exposure to POPs can take place through diet, environmental exposure, or accidents. Knowledge of the bio-availability of the pollutant as well as the hazard and dose/response relationship is essential in performing a human health risk assessment.

POP link to diabetes

Q. Is there a link between POP’s and diabetes?

A. Scientific studies indicated a link between blood serum levels of POPs and diabetes. Individuals with elevated levels of persistent organic pollutants (DDT, dioxins, PCBs and Chlordane, among others) in their body were found to be up to 38 times more likely to be insulin resistant than individuals with low levels of these pollutants.

As most exposure to POPs is through consumption of animal fats, study participants with high levels of serum POPs are also very likely to be consumers of high amounts of animal fats, and thus the consumption of the fats themselves, or other associated factors may be responsible for the observed increase in insulin resistance. Another possibility is that insulin resistance causes increased accumulation of POPs.

Among study participants, obesity was associated with diabetes only in people who tested high for these pollutants.

These pollutants are accumulated in animal fats, so minimising consumption of animal fats may reduce the risk of diabetes.

Q. What about vegetables and fruits? Are they also at risk to e-waste contamination?

A. Heavy Metal Contamination of vegetables and fruits are becoming important as they contribute nutrients and fibres to human diet. Urbanisation and industrialisation have contributed heavy metals to agriculture soils and consequently in food chains.

Agricultural activities, pesticides and waste water irrigations, transportations and marketing practices, industrial and vehicular emissions have increased heavy metals in vegetable and fruits. Concentration of copper, Zink, cadmium and lead in locally grown vegetables (spinach, ladies fingers, tomato, radish, cabbage) is important in these aspects.

Q. So how can these risk be minimised? Your message?

A. Steps should be taken for efficient treatments of waste water and reduce the extent of heavy metal contamination in irrigation water, vegetables and fruits.

It is a well known fact that farmers use chemicals on vegetables and fruits to ripen them artificially, or preserve them and make them look fresh. It is also a well known fact that local farmers use more agrochemicals than the recommended amounts. Educating farmers on moderate use of chemicals is one way to reduce such pollution.

(For more information contact the Toxicology and Poisons Centre, National Hospital, Colombo. Hotline 2686143, or e-mail questions to: [email protected])

HIV testing in young adolescents

Having high knowledge about HIV and engaging in risky sexual activity do not make high-school-aged teens more likely to get tested for HIV. Those are the findings of a new study. The study of nearly 1,000 Bronx, NY teens found those most likely to be tested for HIV had strong partner communication about HIV and were in committed relationships. This is the first-ever study to understand the role that partners play in HIV testing behaviour of this patient population.

“Despite efforts to educate about the risks of HIV and AIDS in schools, it is clear that more is needed to prompt adolescents to speak up and take the next step of getting tested,” said Hina J. Talib, adolescent medicine physician. “Early identification of HIV in adolescents is associated with earlier treatment and better health outcomes, so it is especially important that these sexually active high-school-aged adolescents be tested.”

The computer-assisted survey was completed by 980 sexually active 14 to 17-year-olds living in the Bronx, an area with a high AIDS burden. More than half of those surveyed were female (56 percent) and Latino (55 percent), and 428 (44 percent) had been tested for HIV. In addition, 54 percent of those in a serious committed relationship had been tested for HIV, compared to 44 percent of all participants. Sixty percent of those who had high HIV-related partner communication got tested and 48 percent of those who reported high openness of communication and comfort discussing sex with their partners had been tested for HIV. Participants who had high HIV/AIDS-related partner communication were 3.7 times more likely to have been tested than those with low communication. High HIV knowledge includes understanding of transmission of HIV, protection from exposure and treatment.

“These findings highlight opportunities for healthcare providers to include a discussion of the partner's testing status when counselling adolescents about HIV testing,” said Dr. Talib. “We should include partner communication modules when designing high impact interventions to encourage HIV testing for these minority adolescents who need it most.”

- MNT

Combo of plant nutrients kills breast cancer cells

A study has found that a super cocktail of six natural compounds in vegetables, fruits, spices and plant roots killed 100 percent of sample breast cancer cells without toxic side effects on normal cells.

“One of the primary causes of both the recurrence of breast cancer and deaths is a small group of cancer stem cells that evade therapy,” says researcher Dr. M. Raj. “These often multi-drug-resistant cells have the ability to generate new tumours, so it is critically important to develop new approaches to more effective and safer treatment or prevention of breast cancer.”

The research team tested ten known protective chemical nutrients found in foods such as broccoli, grapes, apples, tofu, and turmeric root (a spice used in Indian curry) before settling upon six?” Curcumin known as tumeric, Isoflavone from soybeans, Indo-3-Carbinol from cruciferous plants, C-phycocyanin from spirulina, Reservatrol from grapes, and Quercetin, a flavonoid present in fruits, vegetables, and tea.

The researchers administered these six at bioavailable levels to both breast cancer and control cells. They tested the compounds individually and in combination.

They found that the compounds were ineffective individually. When combined, though, the super cocktail suppressed breast cancer cell growth by more than 80 percent, inhibited migration and invasion, caused cell cycle arrest, and triggered the process leading to cell death resulting in the death of 100 percent of the breast cancer cells in the sample.

- MNT

Obese women at higher risk of hearing loss

According to the World Health Organisation, 360 million people have disabling hearing loss a condition that is often considered to be an unavoidable side effect of ageing. New research finds that a higher body mass index (BMI) and larger waist circumference are each associated with higher risk of hearing loss, while a higher level of physical activity is associated with lower risk of hearing loss in women.

“We often think of hearing loss as an inevitable part of the ageing process, but these findings provide evidence that potentially modifiable risk factors, such as maintaining a healthy weight and staying physically active, may help in the prevention of hearing loss or delay its progression,” said Sharon Curhan, MD, a researcher in the Channing Division of Network Medicine at BWH.

Using data from 68,421 women in the Nurses’ Health Study II who were followed from 1989 to 2009, researchers analysed information on BMI, waist circumference, physical activity, and self-reported hearing loss. The baseline and updated information was obtained through validated biennial questionnaires.

Researchers found that women with a BMI of 30-34 had a relative risk for hearing loss that was 17 percent higher, and with a BMI of 40 or more had a relative risk that was 25 percent higher, when compared with those with a BMI of less than 25.

-medicalxpress