CAREER: Study of E-waste Environmental Hazards and Treatment

0238765 Li由废旧电脑、电视、打印机和手机等组成的电子废品流迅速增长，对环境保护提出了前所未有的挑战。电子垃圾已经占美国城市固体废物(MSW)的2%-5%，其数量的增长速度是MSW流量的三倍。电子废物流中的大部分成分都含有有毒物质，包括重金属和卤化有机物。目前，大部分电子垃圾要么储存在家中和办公室等待处理，要么未经适当处理被倾倒在堆填区。这对人类健康和环境构成了潜在的危害。本项目的目标是量化电子垃圾中常见成分中有毒物质的浸出潜力，并开发一种高压压实预处理方法来降低其浸出毒性。将包括广泛的实验研究、理论分析和建模。这个项目强调教育和研究活动的结合。这个项目的实施将产生大量关于电子垃圾潜在危害的新知识和数据。通过该项目开发的实验方法、模型和理论将对研究人员和立法者了解电子垃圾污染的机理和开发环境无害的电子垃圾管理系统具有价值。该项目将为从K-12到12岁的所有级别的学生提供一个极好的教育和培训机会，并将极大地加强美国最大的历史上最大的黑人学院和大学之一杰克逊州立大学(JSU)的工程教育。JSU也是美国国家科学基金会指定的EPSCoR机构。联合圣迭戈州立大学的大多数学生是非洲裔美国人，他们的代表性不足，特别是在工程教育和实践方面。苏黎世州立大学工程学院于2000年秋季成立，目前只有两个系。该项目将有助于加强佐治亚州立大学的新生工程项目，并吸引少数民族学生参与工程教育。新的环境实验室将得到加强，工程课程将通过将研究和教学相结合并将该项目的成果纳入教学大纲和讲座而得到丰富。这项计划的研究结果将提高公众的意识，并推广处理电子废物的环保意识，造福整个社会。

0238765 Li The rapidly growing electronic waste (E-waste) stream consisting of such items as obsolete computers, TVs, printers, and cell phones has raised an unprecedented challenge for environmental protection. E-waste already constitutes 2-5% of the municipal solid waste (MSW) in the U.S., and its volume is increasing three times faster than the MSW stream. Most components in the E-waste stream contain toxic substances including heavy metals and halogenated organics. Currently, the majority of E-waste is either stored in homes and offices waiting for disposal or dumped in landfills without proper treatment. This poses potential hazards to human health and the environment. The objectives of this project are to quantify the leaching potential of the toxicants from the popular components in the E-waste stream and to develop a high-pressure compaction pretreatment method for reducing their leaching toxicity. Extensive experimental study, theoretical analysis and modeling will be included. Integration of education and research activity is emphasized in this project.The implementation of this project will result in significant new knowledge and data on the potential hazards of E-waste. The experimental methods, models, and theories developed through this project will be valuable for researchers and legislators to understand the mechanism of E-waste pollution and to develop environmentally-sound E-waste management systems This project will provide an excellent education and training opportunity for students of all levels from K-12 to graduate and will greatly enhance the engineering education at one of the nation's largest historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) Jackson State University (JSU). JSU is also an EPSCoR institution designated by NSF. The majority of JSU students are African Americans who are underrepresented, especially in engineering education and practice. The School of Engineering at JSU was just launched in fall 2000 and currently has only two departments. This project will help strengthen the newborn engineering program at JSU and attract minority students to participate in engineering education. The new environmental labs will be enhanced and the engineering courses will be enriched by integrating the research and teaching and by incorporating the findings of this project in the syllabi and lectures. The dissemination of the findings of this project will raise the awareness of the public and promote environmentally conscious practices in handling E-waste to benefit society at large.