Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
pharmaceuticals. and. personal. care. products. (PPCPs),. except. antibiotics,.
which.are.mainly.derived.from.farming.and.aquaculture.
There.is.a.lack.of.information.on.the.harmful.effects.of.PPCPs,.except.some.
standard. acute. toxicity. data. reported. by. some. pharmaceuticals.. However,.
there.is.suficient.evidence.showing.the.adverse.health.effects.arising.from.
overuse. and. abuse. of. some. antibiotics,. especially. those. that. are. illegally.
used.(e.g.,.tetracycline).for.both.humans.and.animals.(in.farming.livestock.
and.ish).in.some.regions,.including.South.China.(Wei.et.al..2010)..It.is.also.
known.that.high.concentrations.of.certain.antibiotics.would.alter.microbial.
community.structure,.which.would.then.affect.components.of.higher.food.
web,.imposing.genotoxicity.(Richardson.et.al..2005).
Mixed Pollutants: Toxic Chemicals Emitted via Open Burning of E-Waste
E-waste. contains. valuable. products,. in. particular. precious. metals. such. as.
gold,.silver,.and.platinum,.with.a.relatively.high.market.value.once.isolated.
from. the. waste.. However,. it. also. contains. a. wide. range. of. chemicals. such.
as. lead,. chromium,. lame. retardants,. and. so. on,. which. are. extremely. haz-
ardous..Some.of.the.primitive.techniques.used.in.recycling.of.e-waste.will.
enhance. the. release. of. toxic. chemicals,. and. especially. in. more. toxic. forms.
(with.high.bioavailability),.to.living.organisms.inhabiting.the.e-waste.recy-
cling.site.(Wong.et.al..2007).
Among. different. primitive. techniques. used. in. recycling. e-waste,. open.
burning. of. materials. derived. from. e-waste. that. are. not. of. economic. value.
(plastics,. printed. circuit. boards,. etc.). and. cable. wires. to. extract. copper. is.
most.destructive.to.the.environment.and.human.health,.as.some.substances.
contained.in.e-waste.will.give.rise.to.incomplete.combustion..Printed.circuit.
boards.are.also.baked.on.open.ire.in.semienclosed.workshops.by.workers.
without.wearing.any.health.protection..The.toxic.fumes.such.as.dioxins.pro-
duced.from.burning.(especially.materials.that.contain.PVC).under.relatively.
low.temperature.would.be.a.major.health.concern.of.these.workers..In.addi-
tion,. acid. tripping. of. printed. circuit. boards. to. collect. precious. metals. also.
produce. waste. materials.and.efluents. with. high.acidity. and.heavy. metals.
(with. high. bioavailability. under. extremely. acidic. conditions). that. are. dis-
posed.along.river.banks.(Leung.et.al..2007).
Extremely. high. concentrations. of. brominated. lame. retardants. (PBDEs),.
dioxins/furans.(PCDD/Fs),.PAHs,.and.Pb.were.detected.in.different.ecologi-
cal. compartments,. that. is,. air,. soil/sediment,. water,. and. biota.. Health. risk.
assessments. based. on. bioassay. toxicity. tests. estimated. the. daily. intake. of.
contaminants.through.food.consumption.survey.and.food.basket.analysis,.
the. actual. body. loadings. (human. tissues. such. as. milk,. placenta,. and. hair).
of.workers.engaged.in.e-waste.recycling.and.local.residents,.and.the.epide-
miological.data.provided.by.the.local.hospital.(from.Taizhou,.one.of.the.two.
major.e-waste.recycling.sites.in.China),.all.of.which.indicated.the.detrimen-
tal.effects.of.uncontrolled.e-waste.recycling.(Wong.et.al..2007).
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