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Hazardous Substances that can Occur in Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WEEE)

September 24th, 2007 | Category: E-Waste

Hazardous Substances in WEEE

Name	Threshold	Usage	Substance Risk
Short Chain Chloro Paraffins, Alakenes, C 10-13	>= 0.5%	Amounts less than 1% by weight of SCCP are present in mid chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCP).	Very toxic to aquatic organisms. It may cause long term effects in the aquatic environment.
Antimony Trioxide	>= 0.005%	The major use is as a flame retardant synergist in plastics etc. It increasese the flame retardants effectiveness of halogenated flame retardant compounds thereby minimising their level.	Limited evidence of carcogenic effect.
Beryllium Metal	>= 0.005%	Chassis, rotating mirrors in laser printers; windows for X-ray generators & detectors for research & medical purposes. Benefits of use include: Low density; high stiffness; high specific heat & lightweight rigidity for precision instrumentation.	Beryllium component scrap is classified as non-hazardous in the OECD, Basel 7amp; EU Waste control systems. However, it is recommended that beryllium metal components should be segregated from equipment at end-of-life & returned to the supplier for recycling. Very toxic by inhalation. It may cause Cancer by inhalation.
Beryllium Oxide (Beryllia)	>= 0.005%	Used in heat sink electrical insulators for electrical & electronic systems & devices. It has the benefits of very high thermal conductivity; very high electrical resistivity; low dielectric constant; low loss factor high breakdown voltage and chemically inert. Beryllium Ceramic components should be separated from equipment at end-of-life & returned to the supplier for recycling. Beryllia components should not be passed through crushing & shredding operations without proper controls, due to the risk of dust generation. It is classified as non-hazardous in the OECD, Basel & EU Waste Control Systems.	Very toxic by inhalation and can cause Cancer.
Cadmium	>= 0.005%	Cadmium metal or powder may be used as part of the negative electrode material in nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries as an electrodeposited, vacuum deposited or mechanically deposited coating on iron, steel , aluminium- base materials, titanium-base alloys or other non-ferrous alloys, & as an alloying element in low-melting brazing soldering & other speciality alloys.	Very toxic. Inhalation may cause cancer. Harmful to aquatic organisms.
Cadmium Oxide	>= 0.005%	Cadmium oxide is utilized most often as part of the negative cadmium electrode in nickel-cadmium & some silv er-cadmium military batteries. Cadmium oxide is also part of silver-cadmium oxide (ag-CdO) electrical contact alloys.	May cause cancer by inhalation. Very toxic, if inhaled or swallowed. Danger of serious damage to health by prolonged exposure.
Cadmium Sulphide	>= 0.005%	Cadmium Sulphide serves as the basis compound for a series of pigments & semiconducting compounds with a wide range of uses. Apart from that, it is used in red, orange & yellow pigments for plastics, glasses, ceramics, enamels & artists colours, cadmium sulphide is also used for phosphors in x-ray fluroscent screens, cathode ray tubes & electronic devices; smoke alarm photoreceptors; photographic exposure meters & photovoltaic energy conversion systems.	Cadmium Sulphide serves as the basis compound for a series of pigments & semiconducting compounds with a wide range of uses. Apart from that, it is used in red, orange & yellow pigments for plastics, glasses, ceramics, enamels & artists colours, cadmium sulphide is also used for phosphors in x-ray fluroscent screens, cathode ray tubes & electronic devices; smoke alarm photoreceptors; photographic exposure meters & photovoltaic energy conversion systems.
Chromium VI	>= 0.005%	Used as colorant in pigments (eg. lead chromate) & as corrosion inhibitor (sodium dichromate) in circulating water systems eg. absorption heat pumps & (industrial) heat exchangers in freezers & refrigerators. Chromium (VI) has historically been used by the electroics industry as an anti-corrosion treatment as well as an electrical shielding material for certain sheet metals.	Extremely toxic, if swallowed or inhaled. It can cause heritable genetic damage and can also cause Cancer. It is very toxic to aquatic organisms & may cause long term effects in the aquatic environment.
Copper Beryllium Alloys	>= 0.005%	Used in electrical connector terminations; switch components; relay springs; electromagnetic radiation seals.	Components in end-of-life electrical equipment can be recycled as part of the general copper recycle stream. There is generally no need for component extraction prior to equipment recycling and is toxic, if inhaled.
Decabromodiphenylether	>= 0.005%	Used as a flame retardant in electrical & electronic plastics.	Potential for forming brominated dibenzodioxins or furans (PBDD/F) in uncontrolled thermal processes, & possibility that higher PBDEs could debrominate to for the tetra & penta BDEs found in marine environment food chain.
Lead	>= 0.5%	Used in batteries, solders, alloying element for machining metals, printed circuit boards, components, incandescent light bulbs & weighting.	Processing of metallic lead may give rise to lead compounds, which are all, classified as dangerous substances. The land filling of WEEE has given rise to lead compounds, which are all classified as dangerous substances. The land filling of WEEE has given rise to concerns over possible leaching of lead into the envrionment.
Lead Oxide	>= 0.5%	Occurs in leaded glass in cathode ray tubes, light bulbs & photocopier plastes. Lead oxide are also used in batteries.	Harmful if inhaled/swallowed. May cause harm to the unborm child.
Liquid Crystals: Commercially available liquid crystals (LC) are mixtures of 10 to 20 substances, which belong to th group of substituted phenycyclohexanes alkylbenzenes & cyclohexylbenzens. The chemical substances contain oxygen, fluorine, hydrogen & carbon. About 250 chemical substances are used for formulating more than thousand marketed liquid crystals.		Liquid crystal mixture are used as electroactive layer in liquid crystal display (LCD). Today LCDs are a widely used components in electric & electronic (E&E) products like mobile phones, notebooks, automative displays, electronic games, PC monitors etc.	Press articles claiming that LCDs contain carcinogenic azo-dyes. Toxicological studies on a large number of single liquid crystals have been performed accordinf to OECD guidelines & EU regulation. So far no indications of carcinogenic potential & actute oral toxicity have been found.
Mercury	>= 0.005%	It is estimated that 22% of the world yearly consumption of mercury is used in electrical & electronic equipment. It is basically used in thermostats, (position) sensors, relays & switches (eg. on printe circuit boards & in measuring equipment) & discharge lamps. It is used in data transmission, telecommunications, mobile phone batteries and certain lightsources.	Very toxic to aquatic organisms & may cause long term effects in the aquatic environment. It mainly affects the central nervous system (CNS ) as well as the kidney in humans and is thus, toxic, if inhaled.
Mineral Wool: (Man-made vitreous (silicate) fibers with random orientation with alkaline oxide & alkali earth oxide			It irritates skin. But ther is limited evidence of carcinogenic effect.
Octabromodiphenylether	>= 0.005%	Flame retardant in plastics used for electrical & electronic equipment.	Possible risk of harm to the unborn child.
Polychlorobiphenyls: The level of 50mg/Kg (0.005%) should be the defining threshold concentration for wastes containing PCBs & PCTs: above that concentration such waste shoulod be considered hazardous	>= 0.005%	PCBs were very extensively used in electrical equipment such as capacitors & transformers. Small capacitors include motor start capacitors and ballast capacitors. Motor start capacitors are used with single phase motors to provide starting torque; these capacitors can be found also in household electrical appliances including refrigerators, cookers, washing machines, air conditioners, dishwashers. Ballast capacitors are found within fluroscent, mercury & sodium lighting fixtures & neon lights.	Very toxic to aquatic organisms & may cause long term effects in the aquatic environment.
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)	>= 0.5%		As with any material containing chlorine, potential for forming dioxins & furans in case of uncontrolled buning is there. Liberation of HCL gas during combustion. Recent health/environmental concerns have been raised about some additives used in PVC processing i.e. . Heavy metals used as stabilizers . Phthalate plasticizers, although these have been used for more than 40 years without any measurable impact on health & environment.
Refractory Ceramic Fibers: [Man-made vitreous (silicate) fibers with random orientation with alkaline oxide & alkali earth oxide]			It causes irritation to the skin and may cause cancer, if inhaled.
Tetrabromobisphenol (TBBPA). It is the largest volume brominated flame retardant in production today. it is used as a reactive (primary use) or additive flame retardant in polymers, such as ABS, epoxy & poly-carbonate resins, high impact polystyrene (HIPS), phenolic resins, adhesives & others. Its main use in E & E equipmen is as a reactive flame retardant in printed writing boTetrabromobisphenol (TBBPA). It is the largest volume brominated flame retardant in production today. it is used as a reactive (primary use) or additive flame retardant in polymers, such as ABS, epoxy & poly-carbonate resins, high impact polystyrene (HIPS), phenolic resins, adhesives & others. Its main use in E & E equipmen is as a reactive flame retardant in printed writing boards.	>= 0.005%		Perception of potential to form brominated dioxins & furans in thermal processes. . Perception of potential for endocrine modulating effect (hormone disrupter). . The whole substance group of BFRs is listed in general on the Danish list of ‘unwanted substances’.