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Cited by 92Recycling and Waste Management TechniquesToxic Organic Pollutants ImpactMunicipal Solid Waste Management

WEEE Treatment in Developing Countries: Environmental Pollution and Health Consequences—An Overview

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Vaccari, Mentore, Vinti, Giovanni, Cesaro, Alessandra, Belgiorno, Vincenzo, Salhofer, Stefan, Dias, Maria Isabel, Jandric, Aleksander·2019·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
DOI 10.3390/ijerph16091595PMC PMC6539380
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Abstract

In the last few decades, the rapid technological evolution has led to a growing generation of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Not rarely, it has been exported from industrialized to developing countries, where it represents a secondary source of valuable materials such as gold, copper, and silver. The recycling of WEEE is often carried out without any environmental and health protection. This paper reviews recent literature dealing with the informal treatment of WEEE in developing regions, gathering and analyzing data on concentration of both inorganic and organic pollutants in the environment. Open burning practices are revealed as most polluting ‘technology’, followed by mechanical treatment and leaching. Significant levels of pollutants have been detected in human bodies, both children and adults, working in or living in areas with informal WEEE treatment.

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  • In developing countries, the informal sector significantly contributes to WEEE collection and recycling through activities including door-to-door collection, manual dismantling, open burning, and melting.

    “In developing countries, the informal sector significantly contributes to WEEE collection and recycling through various activities, including door-to-door collection, manual dismantling, open burning, and melting.”

    From Unveiling Environmental Potential in Smartphone Repair Practices in Vientiane Capital, Laos (2025) · cites this paper as [2]

    The Introduction describes informal WEEE collection in developing regions and reports substantial informal recycling in China and India. The Introduction and Discussion identify manual disassembly or dismantling and open burning, but the passages found do not describe door-to-door collection or melting as informal-sector activities. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • These informal WEEE activities have considerable environmental and human health impacts.

    “These activities have considerable environmental and human health impacts [1,2].”

    From Unveiling Environmental Potential in Smartphone Repair Practices in Vientiane Capital, Laos (2025) · cites this paper as [2]

  • Informal recycling activities, due to their inadequate safety measures, result in extensive pollution of the air, water, and soil.

    “Informal recycling activities, due to their inadequate safety measures, result in extensive pollution of the air, water, and soil.”

    From Unveiling Environmental Potential in Smartphone Repair Practices in Vientiane Capital, Laos (2025) · cites this paper as [2]

  • This pollution has a negative impact on local ecosystems and has the potential to contaminate the human food chain.

    “This has a negative impact on local ecosystems and has the potential to contaminate the human food chain [2,37,39].”

    From Unveiling Environmental Potential in Smartphone Repair Practices in Vientiane Capital, Laos (2025) · cites this paper as [2]

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Vaccari, M., Vinti, G., Cesaro, A., Belgiorno, V., Salhofer, S., Dias, M. I., & Jandric, A.
Affiliations
  • University of Brescia (IT)
  • University of Salerno (IT)
  • BOKU University (AT)
  • Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias Nucleares—C2TN, Campus Tecnológico e Nuclear, Polo de Loures, Instituto Superior Técnico, Estrada Nacional 10, km 139.7, 2696-066 Loures, Portugal
Corresponding author
Vaccari, Mentore
ORCID
Venue
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2019-05-07
Volume
16
Issue
9
Pages
1595
ISSN
1660-4601 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/ijerph16091595
PMC
PMC6539380
OpenAlex
W2944172676
Cited by
92
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 3
FWCI
1.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Institutional Research Information System (Università degli Studi di Brescia) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Waste Management and Disposal › Recycling and Waste Management Techniques
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Waste Management and Disposal › Municipal Solid Waste Management
Keywords
electronic waste, e-waste recycling, informal recycling, developing countries, environmental pollution, human health effects, heavy metals, organic pollutants, open burning, leaching, occupational exposure, children's exposure, e-waste export
MeSH terms
Developing Countries, Environmental Pollution, Humans, Waste Management, Electronic Waste

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