Health Concerns and Electronics Products

Presented to CleanMed – April 2004by Ted Smith

Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition/Computer TakeBack Campaign

http://svtc.orghttp://www.computertakeback.com/

www.hcwh.org/goinggreen

SVTC Mission Statement

Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition does research, advocacy, and organizing to address human health and environmental problems caused by the rapid growth of the high-tech electronics industry. Our goal is to advance environmental sustainability and clean production in the industry, as well as to improve health, promote justice, and ensure democratic decision-making for communities and workers affected by the high-tech revolution.

High Tech Impact on the Environment

• In the birthplace of high-tech, Silicon Valley, 24 of the 29 sites listed on the National Priorities List (Superfund Sites) for clean up of contaminated soil and water were caused by high-tech companies.

Source: “The 1.7 Kilogram Microchip:World Watch, 2003

A Semiconductor Wafer

One mirco chip weighs 2 grams and:

•Uses 72 grams of chemicals to make• 700 grams of elemental gases •32,000 grams of water •1200 grams of fossil fuels •total mass of materials used to produce the 2-gram chip is 630 times that of the final product •The amount of resoureces used to make a car is about 2X the weight

“Printed circuit boards contain heavy metals such as antimony, silver, chromium, zinc, lead, tin and copper. According to some estimated there is hardly any other product for which the sum of the environmental impacts of raw material, extraction, industrial, refining and production, use and disposal is so extensive as for printed circuit boards.”

-CARE conference, Vienna 1994

Health Concerns and Electronics Products

Materials of Concern (1)• chlorinated plastics in cable wiring • brominated flame retardants in PCBs• heavy metals (lead and cadmium) in

CRTs• mercury in Liquid Crystal Display

(LCD) or flat panel monitors.

Health Concerns and Electronics Products

Materials of Concern (2)• teratogenic = linked to birth defects• persistent = not easily excreted from

the body• bioaccumulative = magnifies up the

food chain• carcinogenic = cancer causing

Health Concerns and Electronics Products

• Materials of Concern (3)

• reproductive toxin = linked to birth defects

• endocrine disruptor = disrupts the hormonal system

• mutagenic = causes mutations in cells

Toxic Materials in the 300 Million Obsolete Computers by 2004

Plastic             4 billion lbs.Lead       1 billion lbs.Cadmium   2 million lbs.Chromium 1.2 million lbsMercury 400,000 lbs

Health Concerns and Electronics Products

It is estimated that 70% of the heavy metals found in landfills (including mercury and cadmium) come from discarded electronic products

Health Impacts

• Mercury - damages brain, kidneys, fetus; travels easily in the food chain– PBT - persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic

• Cadmium - damages kidneys (PBT)• Chromium VI - damages DNA• Toners - carbon black - respiratory

problems; may be carcinogenic

BFRs, Health and Computers

BFR Uses in Electronic Equipment

• PBDE used in ABS, PP and HIPS plastic, thermosets and printed circuit boards

• TBBPA used in printed circuit boards as a reactive flame retardant

• TBBPA used in ABS and PS as additive

Health Concerns

• Some brominated compounds share many properties with organochlorine compounds such as DDT or PCBs

• PBDEs are long-lived, fat - seeking and therefore bioaccumulate in animal tissue

• Possible endocrine disruptors

US Findings• Between 1989 and 1998 PBDE

concentrations in harbor seal tissue doubled every 1.8 years14

– A recent US study found San Francisco Bay Area women contained 3 times the concentration of PBDE in breast milk than in Sweden14

– US has the highest documented concentrations in the world

Rising Concentration in Swedish Breast Milk13

Findings in Recycling Workers

• • The levels of BFRs found at electronics

dismantling plant were several orders of magnitude higher than in other environments

• Recycling workers are being highly exposed to PBDE and TBBPA

• Some studies have also shown exposures to computer technicians and office workers– Analysis and toxicology of BFRs with emphasis on PBDEs, by Pettersson and Karlsson, Orebro University, Sweden

Reports

Presence of brominated flame retardants and organotin compounds in dusts collected from Parliament buildings from eight countries,

by David Santillo, Paul Johnston and Kevin Brigden, Greenpeace Research Laboratories, June 2001.

Health Concerns and Electronics Products

Mercury and Exposure During Disposal

• Lighting in flat panel displays is a source of mercury.  Mercury is a well-documented neurotoxin.  Mercury contamination occurs during the transfer, landfilling, and incineration of solid waste.

http://www.newmoa.org/NEWMOA/htdocs/prevention/mercury/landfillfactsheet.cfm

Health Concerns and Electronics Products

• Mercury emissions have been found at landfills on the working face and in gas extraction systems

• Landfills convert part of the mercury in products from the metallic form to the more toxic methyl form and the highly toxic dimethyl form and are a major source of these emissions

• Mercury from landfills can re-enter the environment when the leachate is treated either on-site or at wastewater treatment plants

• Mercury in solid waste is also released from waste storage containers and during waste collection, transfer and transportation

Europe Leads the Way with 2 new Directives

Waste Electrical Electronic

Equipment (WEEE)

Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous

Substances in electrical & electronic equipment (RoHS)

Prison labor is dangerous and undercuts

commercial high-end recycling

Health Care Procurement Guidelines

Developed by CTBC & Health Care Without Harm (1)End of Life Management

(2)Design for the Environment & Public

Health

(3)Energy Efficiency

For More Information:

www.svtc.orgwww.computertakeback.comwww.hcwh.org/goinggreen