E-Waste, POPs, Emissions and Microplastics Flashcards
What is an E-Waste
Electronic Waste the describes discarded electrical or electronic devices
How much E-waste is produce globally?
54 million tonnes globally (2019)
What is the business opportunity around E-waste
Around £9bn of precious metals are dumped each year (UN, 2019)
Business opportunity to retrieve and recycle these metal (platnium, vanadium etc)
What does EEE stand for
Electrical and Electronic equipment
What does WEEE stand for?
Waste electricial and electronic equipment
State the equation to work out the E-waste production (kg/year)
E = E-waste production (kg/year)
M = mass (kg)
N = number of units
L = life span (yrs)
Which are the top 3 countries for producing E-waste
1) China
2) Usa
3) India
How much total global E-waste is collected and recycled correctly
Only around 17%
Which contries have the highest E-waste recycling rates
(why is this a little deceptive?)
1) Estonia
2) Norway
3) Iceland
Because Estonia only produces a relatively small amount of E-waste to physically they are not recycling that much
What are the most common contaminats from E-Waste?
- Pesticides organic pollutants (flame retardants)
- CFC (cooling untis)
- Polycyclic armoatic hydrocarbons (PAH) + Dioxins (products of combustion)
- Cadmium, Lithium, Nickel (Batteries)
- Copper, Silver (wiring)
- Chromium (data tapes), Gallium (semiconductors), Lead (solder), Mercury (Fluorescent lamps)
What are the 4 possible outcomes for E-waste
- High-Tech recycling (cost money and not always in place)
- Export
- Burning or compaction
- Landfil
What will happen to E-waste once it is exported
- Low-tech recycling (burning, acid dissolution, reuse)
- Inappropriate disposal
What is the issue with Landfil of E-waste
Leaching resulting in contaminants entering the environment
(and possible resultant water and air contamination)
Which overall could have a human health risk
Burning which can also occur at landfil sites can cause serious environmental pollution
What are the issues with manual, low tech E-waste recycling
- The ways it is done (e.g. dipping motherboards into acids to extract metal) is by hand without any protect and can have huge health risks which comminities are not aware of
- And burning of the E-waste can cause heavy metals cause high levels in the atmosphere which can be transported (resultant levels can actually be higher within air plume due to wind that next to source)
What is the equation you would use to work out the source profile concenration of speces, i
where there must be simultaneous measurements of ambient and source
What is a big issue with Persustent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
POPs resist breakdown, store easily in fat and bioaccumulate through the food chain
(Example: they have been found in the tissues of polar bears which are 1000s of miles away from where emissions took place)
Global conventions have decreased the emissions of which type of Persistent Organic pollutants (POPs)
Organochlorine POPs
These have been accumulating in the Arctic for decades due to northward atmopsheric transport
Which Persistent Organic Pollutant is now more widely used
Chlorinted dioxins
(but these have also caused negative impacts)
And Perfluroalkyl and Polyfluroakyl substances (PFAS) (which huge amounts have been found in water in the UK)
Why are Persistent Organic Pollutants such an issue?
- They are persistent (long lifetimes, low reactivity)
- Some are highly toxic (have many reported associated health impacts)
- They bioaccumulate
What was occuring in Sweden in 2016 to cause a banning of specific organobromine POPs
Organochlorine POPs where found to be in high concentrations in Swedish human milk in the 1970s and resulted in bans for organochlorine POPs and conversion to organobromine POPs instead
However since 1970s BFR have been on the rise (found in Swedish human milk) and resulted in bans in 2016
What was happening to Gulls due to BFR (Brominated flame retardants)
Gulls feeding at landfil sites (near BFR waste) had much higher conentrations and thinner eggshells than gulls feeding elsewhere
What is one way the rise of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalky substance (PFAS) in water systems, have had impacts to human health
PFAS reduce the immune response of young children to vaccines (e.g. Diphtheria and tetanus)
What are some key benefits of Green Infrastructure?
1) Promotes Healthier living
2) Decreases impacts of climate change (e.g. reduces risk of severe weather events)
3) Improves air and water quality
4) Improves biodiversity and ecological resilience
What are the two key processes that explain how green infrastructure can protect people from air pollution
1) Deposition
2) Dispersion
The idea is not to reduce pollutants but control their distribution
How does Deposition protect people from air pollution
- Urban vegetation typically removes a few % of emissions
- Air pollutants land on the surface of leaves
- Useful for large scale vegetation areas (e.g. rural areas)
How does dispersion protect people from air pollution
- Changes the speed and distance of the pollution before they reach people
- Further the distance the more diluted the pollutants become
- Can be effected by vegetation barriers e.g. hedge
In the following equation
VOC + NOx + Sunlight → Ozone (+secondary pollutants)
where are the VOCs emitted from
The Volatile Organic Compound are emitted from vegetation
Different trees emit different VOCs (hence tree selection is importants for urban planning)
What is one important thing to consider when considering vegetation and VOC
Green infrastructure is responsible for a small fraction of total VOCs an has a small influence on air quality
Describe a Street Canyon
Street with buildings (with no gaps) on either side
(air is circulated between buildings)
Describe an Open Road
Buildings on one side, detached, widely spaced single-storey, buildings which are a distance from the road
(air is able to move)
What are the products of the reaction of NO with ozone
NO + O₃ → NO₂ + O₂
What is a vortex
An area where the air is circulated
Is a Street Canyon more or less polluted at street level
More polluted
How would exposure to pollutants be controlled in a street cayon
- A street Canyon is more polluted at street level
- A dense avenue of trees could trap pollution emitted from vehicles at street levels (decreased vertical air flow)
- Trees spaced more widely will have environmental+health benefits
What is one way a hedge an be used in a street canion to reduce dispersion
However what are the benefits of this dependent on
- A vegetation barrier (e.g. hedge) between the road and pedestrains will have health benefits
- Benefit depends on height to width ratio of street canyon. If height to width ratio >2, the not recommeneded
How was the dispersion of pollution stopped to inside a playground on a main road
Using a green ivy barrier in which NO₂ would deposit upon
How can you use trees within street canyons (with no cars) to reduce pollutant exposure
When a street canyon is less polluted at street level due to there being no cars, a dense avenue of trees can provide a barrier to downwards dispersion in a quiet road, reducing air pollutant exposure
(more polluted air at the top which is not circulated to street level due to trees)
What are the benefits of Green Roofs and walls?
1) Sustainable urban drainage
2) Mitigation of the urban heat island effect (cooling builidngs and reducing energy for a/c)
3) Increased biodiversity
What is a drawback of Green roofs and walls
There is little effect on reducing dispersion of air pollution - instead deposit
(focus is on air above exposure level)
Why is there greater dispersion in Open roads
Why are trees not benefical in this case?
- Open spaces allow pollutants to disperse
- Trees disturb the flow of air around
- Trees increase the mixing of the more polluted air at street level with the cleaner air above
How can you use hedges in open roads to reduce dispersion of pollution
- Hedges are effective barriers between cars and pedestrains
- Both person 1 and 2 will benefit due to the hedge, experiencing less pollution
- However the benefit for person 2 reduces with distance
Additional tall barriers are needed to protect people from a larger open roads when they are further away
How tall does the barrier height need to be
The barrier height, H meters, can protect a distance of up to (3H)-3 meters downwind
