The Emerging Environmental and Public Health Problem of Electronic Waste in India

Background. Monumental progress has been made in the area of information and communication technology, leading to a tremendous increase in use of electronic equipment, especially computers and mobile phones. The expansion of production and consumption of electronic equipment along with its shorter life span has led to the generation of tremendous amounts of electronic waste (e-waste). In addition, there is a high level of trans-boundary movement of these devices as second-hand electronic equipment from developed countries, in the name of bridging the digital gap. Objectives. This paper reviews e-waste produced in India, its sources, composition, current management practices and their environmental and health implications. Fixing responsibility for waste disposal on producers, establishment of formal recycling facilities, and strict enforcement of legislation on e-waste are some of the options to address this rapidly growing problem. Discussion. The exponential growth in production and consumption of electronic equipment has resulted in a surge of e-waste generation. Many electronic items contain hazardous substances including lead, mercury and cadmium. Informal recycling or disposing of such items pose serious threat to human health and the environment. Conclusions. Strict enforcement of waste disposal laws are needed along with the implementation of health assessment studies to mitigate inappropriate management of end-of-life electronic wastes in developing countries.

discarded refrigerators, mobile phones, computers, monitors, cathode ray tubes (CRTs), printed circuit board, compact discs, headphones, and white goods such as liquid crystal displays (LCD)/plasma televisions, etc. E-waste management poses a great challenge due to growing quantities of waste. E-waste is one of the most complex waste streams due to a wide variety of products including assembled or highly integrated systems. 3,4 Due to the great variety of product models, the recovery of resources from e-waste is very challenging. 5 The management of e-waste at the end, therefore, becomes a difficult task for existing solid waste and hazardous waste management structures, resulting in its handling by the informal sector employing very crude methods. In developing countries like India, e-waste units engage men, women and children for sorting and recovery of the materials without adopting protection and safeguards measures. This not only leads to contamination of the environment, but also poses a serious health threat to people engaged in this occupation as well as to the people living in the proximity of e-waste management sites. This paper reviews e-waste produced in India, its sources, composition, current management practices and their environmental and health implications. Fixing responsibility for waste disposal on producers, establishment of formal recycling

Sources and Composition of E-waste in India
Quantum of E-waste and Major Contributors Since the early 1990s, with the opening up of Indian markets to multinational companies due to globalization, the information technology industry has been witnessing a surge in the substitution of domestically produced hardware by imports. Consequently, e-waste generation in India is likely to increase nearly three-fold, making India the 5th largest producer of e-waste. 6 According to this study, the Indian e-waste stream consists of computer equipment (about 70%) followed by telecommunication equipment (12%), electrical equipment (8%), medical equipment (7%) and household sector waste (remaining percent). 6 According to an Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India c-Kinetics study, India generates 1.85 million tons of e-waste every year. It accounts for 4% of global e-waste and 2.5% of global gross domestic product. 7 India has emerged as the world's second largest mobile phone market with 1.03 billion subscribers. Nearly 25% of this ends up as e-waste annually. Generally, post-usage handling practices such as collection, separation, disassembling and recycling are performed manually in India. 8 Approximately 95% of generated e-waste is managed by the unorganized sector and scrap dealers who dismantle the discarded products instead of recycling them. 9 Only 5% of India's total e-waste finds its way to formal recycling units due to India's poor infrastructure and recycling framework. This leads to a waste of natural resources and damage to the environment and health of the people engaged in these activities. In India, about 400,000 to 500,000 child laborers between 10-15 years of age are involved in various e-waste activities. 6 According to one study, by the year 2020, the amount of e-waste from old computers and discarded mobile phones is expected to increase 18 times compared to the year 2007. 10 By sector, 71% of e-waste is generated by the government, public and private (industrial) sector, while individual households contribute about 16%. 11 As per reports, the amount of e-waste generated differs by state in India. Among the 10 largest e-waste generating states, Maharashtra tops the list followed by Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. 12 Similarly, there is a huge variation in e-waste generation in terms of cities, as only 65 cities of India generate more than 60% of total e-waste. Among the top ten cities generating e-waste, Mumbai ranks first, followed by Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Surat and Nagpur. 12

E-waste Composition
The e-waste stream consists of more than 1000 different substances that fall into "hazardous" and "non-hazardous" categories. Broadly, it consists of ferrous (50%) and non-ferrous metals (13%), plastics (21%) and miscellaneous wastes. 14 The hazardous elements category includes lead,

Current Status of E-waste Management E-waste Recycling Practices
The recycling of e-waste is a matter of huge concern. Only about 10% of e-waste is being recycled globally. 21 India's capital alone produces about 67,000 metric tons of e-waste per year. 22 The majority of this e-waste is being handled by untrained workers in slum areas without any personal protective equipment, posing a hazard to their health. 13 The absence and/or poor implementation of legislation in India regarding the safe disposal of e-waste results in its unorganized collection, material segregation and extraction. Workers are likely to be exposed to varied levels of harmful elements released during different recycling operations via skin contact, ingestion or inhalation. 23, 24 Dismantling and sorting of one computer piece in the unorganized sector results in a very small return for workers, and exposes them to toxic fumes and hazardous chemicals.
These "backyard recyclers" lack exhaust-waste gas and wastewater treatment facilities and personal health protection equipment or safety devices. Workers engaged in formal recycling units are at a lower risk compared to workers in informal recycling units where environmental and occupational safety are neglected. 23, 25 According to one study, approximately 2/3 of these workers in India experienced breathing difficulties such as cough and choking. 6 Higher concentrations of heavy metals like cobalt, chromium, lead and mercury have been reported in blood and urine samples of recycling workers engaged in formal recycling units as compared to the office workers in Sweden. 24 High levels of copper, molybdenum, silver, cadmium, indium, antimony, thallium, and lead were observed in hair of male workers from e-waste recycling sites as compared to the reference workers in mercury, arsenic, cadmium, selenium and hexavalent chromium and flame retardants. 14 Table 1 shows different electronic waste components and their potential environmental hazards.

Import of E-waste
The import of e-waste is one of the major sources of e-waste in India Populations are increasingly being exposed to hazardous chemicals. These hazardous chemicals are released during product manufacture and disposal. Some of these chemicals like heavy metals are toxic even in small amounts and can bioaccumulate in organisms. Some of these chemicals have the tendency of biomagnification,

Commentary
with their concentrations increasing at each trophic level along the food chain. Chemicals of high concern are known as persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic (PBTs) or persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that include organochlorine pesticides such as DDT (dichloro diphenyl trichloroethane), dioxins and furans. 44 Improper handling and disposal of e-waste release PBTs and POPs can reach people thousands of miles away. Even small amounts of these extremely dangerous toxins can adversely affect human health. Potential health risks may result from direct contact with hazardous substances such as cadmium, lead, chromium, PCBs, as well as from other contaminated sources like water and soil.
Children are more vulnerable to the health risks of e-waste exposure and, therefore, need more protection. As they are still growing, children's intake of air, water and food in proportion to their weight is considerably increased compared to adults, resulting in greater risk of hazardous chemical absorption. In addition, since children's functional systems such as the central nervous, immune, reproductive and digestive system are still developing, exposure to toxic substances may be more harmful. 45 Table 2 presents the harmful chemicals found in E-waste, their source and health effects on the human body.

Conclusions
India now joins the European Union, Japan, South Korea and some regions in the US and Canada who have all enacted legislation on extended producer responsibility to ensure that manufacturers are responsible for the re-use and recycling of their products at their end-of-life. This development clearly suggests a shift in e-waste flow from informal to formal recyclers and growth of a new clean e-waste management system in India. In addition, the government should further strengthen the following areas: I. Assessment of e-waste: Proper assessment of e-waste (along with the imports), its types and associated health hazards should be carried out.
II. Encourage product re-design by asking electronic manufacturers to: a) Commit to product eco-design and target hazardous chemicals: Product designers should design products in such a way that they use no/negligible hazardous chemicals and can be easily disassembled into parts that can be reused, recycled or composted.
b) Develop a corporate chemical policy: Policies should include the precautionary principle and an ongoing commitment to continually improve products with the safest chemicals and materials. c) Demand accountability throughout the supply chain: Requires suppliers to disclose the chemicals used in all components.
III. Carry out health risk assessment studies: Health risk assessment studies are required for understanding the consequences of inappropriate management of end-of-life electronic wastes in developing countries.
IV. Increase consumer awareness: Initiatives to make consumers aware of 'post-life' handling of obsolete devices including take-back policies implemented by authorities.