Normally, decommissioned WEEE, after being collected and transferred to the treatment platforms, undergo a series of transformation operations in order to obtain components or materials capable of reuse and correctly dispose of any dangerous components or substances.
Among these:
- safety or remediation, or removal of dangerous components
- disassembly of sub-assemblies and preliminary separation of materials
- mechanical processing for the recovery of materials.
Thanks to the treatment, recycling and recovery phases, it is possible, in fact, to obtain secondary raw materials that can be reused in the production cycle of other goods.
Fangxing Yang, a researcher at the University of Zehjiang, has decided to try to understand if the air surrounding Taizhou, one of the largest disposal plants in China, is harmful to health, and above all, to what extent. During the disposal processes, in fact, organic compounds and heavy metals are released into the atmosphere; breathing contaminated air, these pollutants can accumulate in the body leading to many health problems, including public ones. Yang therefore collected air samples around the plant, to then purify the pollutants present and then put them in contact with human lung cells, then analyzing the effects of the substances on the production of interleukin-8 (an inflammation mediator), on the formation of oxidative damage to cells and on the levels of the p53 gene, involved in the development of tumors.
The results were very clear: inflammation and oxidative stress increase as well as p53 levels due to all the pollutants examined. All of these factors can cause DNA damage, mutations, cancers and cardiovascular disease.
Absolutely prohibited, Yang explains, the outdoor disposal of such waste, and inadequate protection of workers in the treatment and disposal plants.
Therefore, traditional disposal and recovery systems could be dangerous for the health not only of operators but also of those who live or work near them.
