Toxic Substances in the Environment by Kaden Zahringer https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp By Kaden Zahringer and Ezequiel Mota Lagunas en-us 2021-11-30 01:22:06 UTC 2025-09-03 15:24:54 UTC hello@padlet.com Toxic Substances in E-Waste: kadenzahringer266 https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1919536083 E-Waste, or electronic waste, is a type of waste that contains toxic substances that can pollute the environment. This is significant because of the large quantities produced. 
  • The quantities of E-Waste created globally in the following years according to I.M.S.K Ilankoon et al. (2018) were:
    • 2014: 41.8 million tonnes
    • 2016: 44.7 million tonnes
    • Expected amount for 2021: 52.2 million tonnes
]]> 2021-11-30 04:01:26 UTC https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1919536083 Heavy Metals: kadenzahringer266 https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1919569572
  • Heavy Metals are a type of toxic substance found in E-Waste, with some examples being Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni, and Zn. 
  • In a study by Luo et al. (2011,) there were very high concentrations Cd, Cu, Zn, and Pb found in the soil of formal E-Waste handling areas in Guangdong, China, and contamination of surrounding areas including air, water, and river sediment. 
    • Example: Cd
      • Mean concentration of Cd in soil of E-Waste burning location: 17.1 mg kg-1.
      • Background value of soil in Guangdong with no E-Waste contamination: 0.06 mg kg-1
      • China's National Environmental Protection Agency's Standard for Cd: ≤0.3 mg kg -1


    • ]]>     2021-11-30 04:30:02 UTC https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1919569572     Toxic Subtances and their effect on Organisms https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1920498116 Toxic substances refer to the substances that are poisonous or those that can cause adverse health effects. 

    A study conducted by Center for Disease Control and Prevention across the USA found traces of 27 chemicals in all the sampled population (Yin et al., 2013).

    Ineffective disposal or emission of toxic substances to the environment is one of the major issues that are experienced in the modern community. The issue of the high rate of emission or disposal of toxic substances to the environment should be addressed to promote health and diversity.

    ]]>     2021-11-30 14:25:29 UTC https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1920498116     Included https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1920503332 Includes
    • Metals
    • Pesticides
    • Phthalates as well as tobacco by-products.
    ]]>     2021-11-30 14:27:22 UTC https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1920503332     Thesis combination https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1920513042 Even though there is increased awareness about the effects of toxic substances, emissions of these substances continue to rise hence affecting the health of human beings, damaging the biodiversity and harming other organisms in the ecosystem. One of the major sources of these toxic substances polluting the environment is Electronic Waste (E-Waste) that contains heavy metals and organic contaminants that can harm humans and the environment.

    ]]>     2021-11-30 14:30:44 UTC https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1920513042     Citations https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1920516940
    Ali, H., Khan, E., & Ilahi, I. (2019). Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology of Hazardous Heavy Metals: Environmental Persistence, Toxicity, and Bioaccumulation, Journal of Chemistry, vol. 2019: 1-14. 

    Boedeker, W., Watts, M., Clausing, P., and Marquez, E. (2020). The global distribution of acute unintentional pesticide poisoning: estimations based on a systematic review. BMC public health, 20(1), 1-19. 


    Cho, R. 2020. What can we do about the growing e-waste problem? https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2018/08/27/growing-e-waste-problem/ 


    Daum, K., Stoler, J. & Grant, R.J. 2017. Toward a more sustainable trajectory for E-waste Policy: A review of a decade of E-Waste research in Accra, Ghana. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14: 135.

    Febbraio, F. (2017). Biochemical strategies for the detection and detoxification of toxic chemicals in the environment. World journal of biological chemistry, 8:1-13 

    Geneva Environment Network. 2021. The growing environmental risks of e-waste. https://www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org/resources/updates/the-growing-environmental-risks-of-e-waste/ 

    Gross, L., & Birnbaum, L. S. (2017). Regulating toxic chemicals for public and environmental health, 17, 1-18

    He, C.-T., Zheng, X.-B., Yan, X., Zheng, J., Wang, M.-H., Tan, X., Qiao, L., Chen, S.-J., Yang, Z.-Y. & Mai, B.-X. (2017) Organic contaminants and heavy metals in indoor dust from e-waste recycling, rural, and urban areas in South China: Spatial characteristics and implications for human exposure. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 140: 109–115. 


    Ilankoon, I.M.S.K., Ghorbani, Y., Chong, M.N., Herath, G., Moyo, T. & Petersen, J. 2018. E-waste in the international context – a review of trade flows, regulations, hazards, waste management strategies and technologies for value recovery. Waste Management, 82: 258–275


    Luo, C., Liu, C., Wang, Y., Liu, X., Li, F., Zhang, G. & Li, X. 2011. Heavy metal contamination in soils and vegetables near an e-waste processing Site, south China. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 186: 481–490.


    Manisalidis, I., Stavropoulou, E., Stavropoulos, A., and Bezirtzoglou, E. (2020). Environmental and health impacts of air pollution: a review. Frontiers in public health, 8: 1-14. 

    Mascarelli, A. (2012). Environment: toxic effects. Nature, 483(7389), 363-365. 

    N. Perkins, D., M.-N. Brune Drisse, T. Nxele, and P. D. Sly. 2014. E-waste: A global hazard. Annals of Global Health 80: 286-295. 

    Rüdel, H Körner, W., Letzel, T., Neumann, M., Nödler, K., and Reemtsma, T. (2020).
    Persistent, mobile and toxic substances in the environment: a spotlight on current
    research and regulatory activities. Environmental Sciences Europe, 32: 1-11.

    Spurgeon, D., Lahive, E., Robinson, A., Short, S., and Kille, P. (2020). Species sensitivity to
    toxic substances: evolution, ecology and applications. Frontiers in Environmental
    Science, 8: 245-269

    Twitty, (2020). The Impact of Lead Water Pollution Toxicity on Aquatic Organisms. International
    journal of environmental research and public health, 17:, 2174-2204

    Wani, A. A., and Usmani, J. A. (2015). Lead toxicity: a review. Interdisciplinary toxicology, 8:
    1-55.

    Yin, L., Tang, H., Kim, K. H., Zheng, N., Song, Z., Gabrielson, N. P., ... and Cheng, J. (2013).
    "Light‐responsive helical polypeptides capable of reducing toxicity and unpacking DNA:
    toward nonviral gene delivery." Angewandte Chemie 125.35 (2013): 9352-9356.
    ]]>     2021-11-30 14:32:10 UTC https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1920516940     Toxic substances affect human beings and organisms such as aquatic organisms are through the accumulation of heavy metals in the environment. https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1920537322 According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the concern level of lead in water is 0.015 mg/l. For instance, in Flint, Michigan, there were excessive lead levels of 0.0252 mg/l of lead in 95% of water samples (Twitty, 2020). 

    Parents who are exposed to lead in their workplaces may bring lead dust to their homes thus increasing the chances of exposure to their children. For instance, in 2009, more than 2000 children were found to be poisoned with lead (Wani et al, 2015).  ]]>     2021-11-30 14:39:16 UTC https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1920537322     Heavy Metals https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1920547828 According to Ali et al. (2019), some of the main heavy metals that cause harm to human health and aquatic organisms
    Includes:
    • Lead 
    • Mercury 
    ]]>     2021-11-30 14:43:01 UTC https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1920547828     Human population https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1920556130 Today, more than 3 million workers in the US are potentially exposed to lead in their workplaces (Wani et al, 2015).]]> 2021-11-30 14:45:58 UTC https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1920556130 Health complications that may experience https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1920582422 Includes
    • Kidney dysfunctions
    • Nervous system disorders
    • Skin lesions 
    • Vascular damage.

    Ali et al. (2019) argue that the accumulation of heavy metals in the environment results in the contamination of aquatic and terrestrial systems. 
    As a result, the number of aquatic organisms such as fish decreases significantly since many of them die due to contamination of water bodies. 

    ]]>     2021-11-30 14:55:14 UTC https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1920582422     The effects of toxic substances on human beings depend on the duration of exposure and the type of chemical. https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1920618203 Individuals who get exposed to toxic chemical fumes may experience complications such as :

    • Shortness of breath
    • Cough
    • Upper chest pain
    • Throat irritation. 

    Human beings at times engage in activities that increase the rate of toxic substances in the environment. To avoid such health complications, it is important to come up with measures and strategies that are meant to reduce the rate of toxic substances emission in the environment (Manisalidis et al., 2020).

    Some of the human activities that lead to a high rate of toxic substances in the environment include
    • Inappropriate dumping
    • Sewage spills
    • Chemical discharges


    ]]>     2021-11-30 15:08:13 UTC https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1920618203     Organic Contaminants (OC's) kadenzahringer266 https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1921233142
  • Organic contaminants are a type of toxic substance in E-Waste that can contaminate the Environment, and includes POP's such as PBDE's, BFR's, and PCB's. 
  • To illustrate this pollution, In a study by He et al. (2017), the concentration of OC's in dust indoors were compared in China in a place where E-Waste recycling was happening to two other areas without E-Waste recycling, which were an urban and rural area.
    • It can be seen from the data how E-Waste significantly contaminated the environment due to the much higher concentrations in the E-Waste area.
    • ]]>     2021-11-30 19:18:12 UTC https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1921233142     Negative effects of Toxic Substances in E-Waste kadenzahringer266 https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1921441450
  • The toxic substances in E-Waste are a problem because they can cause health problems in humans and environmental pollution. Health issues are a problem for informal E-Waste workers, because of their high exposure and lack of protection against these substances. These workers are also more likely to be poor and of a low education level.
  • E-Waste can pollute the environment and water when toxic substances leach into the environment in landfills. According to Cho et al. (2018) there was only a 20% recycling rate of E-Waste in 2016.
  • Heavy Metals:
    • Some examples:
      • Cd:
        • Bioaccumulation
        • Highly toxic
        • Health problems affecting human kidneys and bones
      • Pb: 
        • Causes harm to:
          • Kidneys
          • Nervous system
          • Reproductive system
          • Children's development
  • OC's:
    • Health Issues:
      • Neurotoxicity
      • Damage to memory and learning
      • Thyroid and hormone issues
    • ]]>     2021-11-30 21:25:11 UTC https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1921441450     Exposure to hazardous substance https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1921517659 Exposure to such hazardous substances and chemicals makes individuals suffer from both short-term and long-term health complications (Gross & Birnbaum, 2017). Exposure to toxic substances also leads to the death of humans. ]]> 2021-11-30 22:31:47 UTC https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1921517659 How The Negative Effects of E-Waste Can be Reduced: kadenzahringer266 https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1921552022 Strategies to be Considered:
    • Companies:
      • Extended Producer Responsibility
        • Example: EcoATM
    • In developing countries:
      • Reusing parts from E-Waste to repair devices. 
      • Combining formal and informal industries.
    • Individual consumers :
      • Recycling at a certified E-Steward location.
      • Not buying more devices than needed. 

    ]]>     2021-11-30 23:07:33 UTC https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1921552022     Exposure to pesticides https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1921578264 According to Boedeker et al. (2020), an estimated 20,000 people from across the world die annually due to exposure to pesticides. Therefore, reducing harmful human activities can play a major role in promoting health and improving diversity in the community. 

    ]]>     2021-11-30 23:35:07 UTC https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1921578264     Pesticides https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1921643738
    Toxic substances that are released into the environment also have adverse effects on ecosystems. Some of the pesticide chemicals do not only cause potential harm to humans but also plants and wildlife animals.

    Functioning in an effective manner high levels of exposure to pesticides affects the ability of Human beings including:
    • Animals
    • Plants  


    Exposure to toxic substances, therefore, poses a great risk of reduction in the number of certain species within the ecosystem. Thus, various measures and strategies need to be put in place in order to ensure that all the species within the ecosystem are not exposed to high levels of toxic substances such as pesticide chemicals. 
    ]]>     2021-12-01 00:29:18 UTC https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1921643738     Health complications https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1922927088 One of the major health complications experienced by human beings as a result of exposure to toxic substances includes cardiovascular illnesses. Usually, exposure to toxic substances and chemicals leads to structural damage of the cardiovascular system (Manisalidis et al., 2020). 

    Very high levels of exposure to toxic substances and chemicals may lead to permanent heart damage.]]>     2021-12-01 14:37:21 UTC https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1922927088     Exposure to toxic substance https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1922957482 Toxic substances and chemicals are also known to cause certain birth defects. In case a pregnant woman is exposed to toxic pesticides and other organic solvents during the first trimester of the pregnancy, birth defects may be experienced (Mascarelli, 2012).


    Exposure to toxic substances and chemicals during pregnancy include :
    • Heart defects
    • Deafness
    In some cases, exposure to toxic substances and chemicals is also known to cause down syndrome in children. 

    ]]>     2021-12-01 14:47:59 UTC https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1922957482     Effects of Toxic Substances on Biodiversity https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1922995902
    Exposure to toxic chemicals such as pesticides may cause infertility in different ways
    (Rüdel et al., 2020). 

    Toxic substances usually cause endocrine disruption or damage. Some of the toxic chemicals that can lead to the damage of either male or female reproductive systems include:
    • Benzene 
    • Boric acids. 
    ]]>     2021-12-01 15:02:32 UTC https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1922995902     Toxic substances and chemicals involves the loss of biodiversity https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1923008092 Another negative effect associated with toxic substances and chemicals involves the loss of biodiversity. Certain chemicals such as pesticides cause water and soil pollution or contamination (Febbraio, 2017).


    However, following soil damage by toxic substances and chemicals, it becomes difficult for the insects to survive in such an environment. Like soil contamination, water contamination also results in the death of useful aquatic animals (Spurgeon et al., 2020). 

    Toxic substances affect the ecosystem and the biodiversity of the community by causing the death of aquatic animals as well as useful insects that live in the soil. 
    Therefore, a reduction in the number of aquatic animals due to water contamination reduces the food supply]]>     2021-12-01 15:07:18 UTC https://padlet.com/kadenzahringer266/3behvgtzd3zez2vp/wish/1923008092