E-Waste and Heavy Metals: Health Hazards and Environmental Impact

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Background

In recent decades, information technology and electronic devices have undergone significant developments that have remarkably improved our quality of life. Nevertheless, as these electronic devices - such as computer equipment, smartphones, and home appliances - are discarded, they contribute to the production of e-waste, harming our environment and, in turn, posing a danger to human health. With one out of every three people accessing a computer or mobile device worldwide and the increasing use of heavy metals in fields such as medicine, we are witnessing an ever-increasing amount of hazardous e-waste. One of the major toxic components of e-waste is heavy metals, including arsenic, cobalt, copper, lead, mercury, and nickel, which need to be handled carefully due to the risks of occupational or residential exposure and the effects on public health.

The absence of a discerning and public health-based approach to the disposal of e-waste and heavy metals has resulted in significant public health risks. Following human exposure, these metals generate bio-toxic chemicals that can permanently alter the structure of tissues and disrupt the biochemical and physiological mechanisms that keep living things functioning. When heavy metals disperse leaches into our environment, including our water supplies, the toxic pollutant is bio-magnified into the food chain and causes severe toxicity inside the organs of living things; this includes silicosis, cuts from cathode ray tube glass, mercury inhalation, acid contact with eyes, skin, and circulatory failure. Nevertheless, in many low- and middle-income countries, this waste is being managed by the informal sector, further compounding the problem.

Presently, the available disposal and treatment technologies and government policies for e-waste are inadequate and have a direct impact on human health and the environment. It is imperative to create public health policies and look for advanced and easily accessible remediators, as well as suitable disposal procedures and guidelines regarding e-waste heavy metal toxicity due to their public health and environmental impacts. The solution should be an environmentally friendly method, due to the increasing demand for new technologies and the equally rapid emergence of concerns related to e-waste and heavy metals.

This Research Topic welcomes public health-related research on e-waste and heavy metals concerning its effects on human health and the environment, including topics such as:
1. Electronic waste management and its leachates’ effects on human health and the environment.
2. The resale, salvage, recycling, or disposal of e-waste in different countries and its effects on human health and the environment.
3. Sources of e-waste from medical equipment and its impact on the environment and public health.
4. The occupational health effects of soaring e-waste on the persons involved in recycling activities.
5. Integrated phytobial heavy metals remediation strategies for a sustainable clean environment.
6. Bioremediation of heavy metal from soil and aquatic environments through a public health lens.

Keywords: Heavy metals, e-waste, environmental impact, environmental health, leachates, sustainability

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