Evaluating Risks of Acquired Clinical Vulnerability Among Subjects Exposed to E-Waste - Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology - page 3

Table 2 Composition of selected appliance E-waste: absolute and percent
composition of various components

Refrigerators
and freezers Appliance type TV sets

Average weight (kg) 48 36.2

Iron (%) (used for casings and frames) 64.4 5.3

Non ferrous metal (%) (copper used
in cables and aluminum)

6 5.4

Glass (%) (used for screens) 1.4 62

Others (%) (rubber, wood, ceramic, etc.) 15.1 3.5

Source : Sahu and Agarwal ( 2008 )

of E-waste is, and will be, disposed of by all the three methods. Certainly, there is
value in recycling of E-waste. E-waste recycling revenues in India have the potential
to reach a value of US$ 350 million annually by the year 2012 (Tata Strategic
Management group 2010 ).
Workers in the E-waste disposal sector are poorly protected against the risks to
which they are exposed. These workers dismantle a multitude of different electronic
gadgets, often by hand, under appalling conditions. Approximately 25,000 workers
are employed at scrap-yards in Delhi alone. In these E-waste scrap-yards, 10,000-
20,000 tons of E-waste is handled every year, with computers accounting for 25% of
the total. Other E-waste scrap-yards exist in Meerut, Firozabad, Chennai, Bangalore,
and Mumbai (Pinto 2008 ). In addition to those who work in legitimate E-waste
scrap-yards, a large number of other people become exposed to contaminants related
to E-waste. Among these are subjects who reside in the areas adjacent to where
E-waste is either processed or disposed of, i.e., landills, incineration sites, and ille-
gal scrap processing units. It is dificult to estimate how many such sites actually
exist, because many are clandestine; however, they have pervaded nearly all major
cities in this country (Pinto 2008 ). In addition, E-waste disposal in India assumes
greater signiicance, not only because of the amounts of locally generated E-waste
but also from “dumping” of E-waste (particularly computer waste) from countries
that did not ratify the terms of the Basel Convention.

2.1 E-Waste Generation and Regulation

The E-waste trade is an emerging and increasingly prominent business that occurs
primarily in developing countries such as India, where goods recycling are widely
performed. Participants in the E-waste business generally constitute small opera-
tions that are informally organized and are not registered as legitimate enterprises.
These E-waste traders often collect the E-waste from impoverished scrap-collectors,
who carry their items on bicycles and utilize the cheapest way to recycle that they
can ind. This sector seldom follows safe or environment-friendly practices or
guidelines because such practices may add to their costs, and one of their primary