e-waste quiz

12-What environmental and health problems are associated with e-Waste dumping and recycling in developing countries?

-the smoke from burning copper causes disease -ashes go in ponds and rivers where animals graze -heavy metals present in some devices are highly toxic even at low doses and have effects on the nervous system, kidneys and other organs - the effects of lead and mercury on the developing nervous systemic children -chemicals such as flame retardants can build up in our bodies by repeated exposure and cause effects on brain and hormone and immune system -many chemicals are environmentally resistant and can remain in the environment for long periods of time -pollute environment and harm peoples health that can lead to death

2A- What percentage of municipal solid waste is comprised of electronics in the United States and other developed countries?

2%

2C- What percentage of heavy metals in landfills is estimated to come from electronics?

70%

6c-What % of global coltan supply comes from the leading exporting country according to the videos below?

80%According to the CNN video about e-waste problems in Guiyu China, what toxic substance may beleaking into fields where food is being grown in close proximity to an area where electronic deviceshave been dumped?

What is Pollution Haven Hypothesis according to Robbins?

A theory that holds that some countries might voluntarily reduce environmental regulations in order to attract foreign direct investment

6A- What is coltan (Google it)? What is it used for? What country produces most global supply of it?

Coltan is a dull black metallic ore from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted. Coltan is used in many electronics today around the world due to its unique electrical properties. The two man products include cell phones and laptops, though it is found in other electronics as well. Democratic Republic of Congo

10-What is the Basel Convention and what does it do?

Formally known as the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, Basel is an international treaty that entered into force in 1992, and is designed to prevent wealthier countries from dumping hazardous waste on less developed countries prevents richer countries from exporting their hazardous wastes to poorer countries.

2E- Effects of heavy metals on the human body?

Nausea, headaches, and respiratory ailments are the immediate results high exposure is a carcinogen

13-What an 'externality" is with regard to e-waste and environmental pollution

The spillover of a cost or benefit, as where industrial activity at a plant leads to pollution off-site that must be paid for by someone else Waste, including hazardous and electronic waste, is often considered a negative externality of the production process.

How did the increase in the cost of disposing hazardous waste in the Global North (developed countries) in the 1970s and 1980s affect e-waste?

This led to a multi-biUion-doUar industry in the hazardous waste trade, including increasing amounts of e-waste. In environmental economics, it is argued that insufficient environmental policies in some countries could distort the market and make the international hazardous waste trade more harmful to the environment and to public health. This is commonly known as the pollution haven hypothesis.

9b-Together, how much (in US$) are these materials valued at?

Together these materials can be valued at 15,000 current USD

8b-What are the health and environmental effects of burning plastic coating and metals used inelectronics (see p. 301)

Toxic chemicals are released in the burning of plastic coatings and metals used in electronics. Nausea, headaches, and respiratory ailments are the immediate results, while high exposure to carcinogens poses longer-range health concerns. High levels of toxins remain in the soil and seep into the water supply in this former wetland.

1C- According to Robbins, which country produces most e-waste in the world?

US

8a-How much are middlemen paid ($) compared to those below the middlemen?

While middlemen who amass copper or aluminum collected by many individuals can earn up to US $6 per day, most workers receive only a very small fraction of that.

11-What is the Basel Action Network and what does it do?

a non-profit, nongovernmental charitable organization that developed in the wake of the Basel Convention. This organization is dedicated to confronting "global environmental injustice and economic inefficiency of toxic trade (toxic wastes, products and technologies) and its devastating impacts." The Network focuses on several areas of hazardous waste dumping, including the highly toxic shipbreaking industry

1B-How did this become an e-waste problem?

because it caused consumers in us and Europe to buy more computers and give them away at faster rates. A lot of theses labeled second hand things were put there even though they were broken for companies to get around anti-dumping regulations. this caused these unusable parts to overrun these poor countries.

2B- Why is this very low percentage of e-waste still of environmental concern?

because their impacts are disproportionate to their volume in landfills

6D-What is its negative impact on the people who mine it?

child labor, long term health issues, no safety equipment, drinking water to make sick, pregnancy issues, human rights, slave labor,

1A-How did the United States and Europe attempt to bridge the digital gap between Ghana and developed countries in the 1990s?

donation programs provided functional second-hand computers from the us and Europe to Ghanaians for 1/10th the price if new ones.

3-By what factor did the cost of disposal of hazardous waste by companies multiply in the 1970s and 1980s?

factor of 25

9a- According to StEP (a United Nations environmental Program group), what are the names of the various metals that are obtained from recycling a ton of mobile phones?

iron, aluminum, copper, gold, silver, platinum, palladium, indium, gallium, and rare earth metals.

9c-Environmentally, what is the argument in support of such recycling electronics according to Robbins?

it is easier and has less impact on the environment to reprocess e-waste than to mine for new materials. Another benefit of recycling e-waste is the potential for new jobs. In this case, it is estimated that 296 jobs each year are created for every 10,000 tons of material that are reprocessed rather than simply disposed of Externality The spillover of a cost or benefit, as where industrial activity at a plant leads to pollution off-site that must be paid for by someone else

8-From the chapter and videos, who is dismantling the electronics?

many informal settlements in China, India, and other parts of Africa, young men with no safety equipment perform risky labor, industriously turning wasted electronics into raw materials that can be sold for further production.

7-According to the CNN video about e-waste problems in Guiyu China, what toxic substance may be leaking into fields where food is being grown in close proximity to an area where electronic device shave been dumped?

mercury

2D-What are heavy metals?

metals used in electronics that are toxic to the body