asu in the news 02-06-08 to - ASU News - Arizona State University

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it — Safe recycling ofe waste is a priority This article is one in a se ries ofarticles contributed by Arizona State University s Global Institute ofSustain ability The institute catalyzes and advances interdisciplin ary research and education on environmen tal economic Hl|P| ¦ § I Finally puter with a V C 3Ghz proces Wllliams sor and a special for screaming Tfie Republic fast y fe0 card that will realistically render the digital sweat on virtual enemies in your favor ite video game Now what happens with your old computer Most likely it will end up with other electronics prod ucts heaped in landfills or exported to another country for recycling Either option raises concerns about the en vironmental impact of such electronic waste One issue is the possible health risk posed by toxic substances contained in com puters and other electronics For instance solder in circuit boards and glass in cathode ray tubes contain lead a well known neurotoxin The Arizona Republic Circulation: 382414 DMA: Phoenix, AZ Are toxic substances in electronics really a health threat Many environmental organizations believe so Greenpeace published a re port Missed Call Iphone s Hazardous Chemicals claim ing that the Iphone is a toxic and environmentally irre sponsible product The Greenpeace argument runs like this Substance A is toxic and Product B con tains substance A thus B is a toxic product This argu ment is appealing in its sim plicity But apply the same logic to other products and virtually everything around us is toxic including peanut butter which contains the carcino gen aflatoxin Understanding the real toxic risk of a product is more complex including characterizing how toxic sub stances move in the environ ment and end up inside us For some substances such as lead leakage out of land fills in the U S seems unlikely For many other substances the potential risk is unclear nor is it clear which products are leading to exposure There is a much more obvi ous environmental problem Old computers and other electronics are often exported to developing countries where they are reused or pro cessed to recover parts and valuable materials such as copper and gold That recy cling is often done by a backyard industry using primitive methods that dam age the environment For example to extract copper from electronics wires are pulled piled up and burned in the open to remove the plastic casings This burn ing generates toxic emissions including dioxins that are po tent carcinogens Here we face a recurring dilemma with managing envi ronmental issues in a global ized economy People in rich countries can purchase goods and services cheaply in part because they are produced at great environmental and or social cost to other countries So is that just somebody else s problem Not if you want a bona fide sustainable solution to dealing with e waste because a sustainable solution must be global solu tion So what is truly a green and sustainable com puter Some argue that a green computer is one with no toxic materials This is not the whole story partly because improper recycling generates toxic substances in addition to any originally contained in the computer Others argue for a blanket ban on exports This misses important sustainability is sues A sustainable product © Copyright 01/25/2008 The Arizona Republic Cision USA, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Unlicensed Reproduction, Sale or Republication Prohibited. City: Phoenix State: AZ system should address how to best meet environmental eco nomic and social objectives Many of the computers people are using in the devel oping world are purchased used Used markets provide inexpensive access to infor mation technology which is important for economic de velopment and education in developing countries The re use and recycling industry also provides jobs both abroad and domestically So are there ways to im prove health and safety in re cycling enabling reuse of old electronics and providing jobs while ensuring environmental safety Several engineering col leagues at ASU are working with me to look for answers One thing we know Sustaina ble solutions ones that pro tect the environment pro mote economic development and provide social benefits are the first priority Account: 2565G0 Date: 01/25/2008 Pub Num: AZD90 Section/Page: B3 Page Count: 1 / 1 Eric Williams is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in ASU s Ira A Fulton School ofEngineering and the School ofSustainability He along with several ASU colleagues recently won a grant from the National Science Foundation to study sustainable solutions for international reuse and recycling of computers RefNo: 336db7
ASU in the News Publication Name: Business Journal Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ Market Name: Phoenix, AZ Publication Date: 2007-12-28 00:00:00.000 Frequency: Weekly; Fri Circulation: 15270 Market Rank: 12 Title: ASU’s Liu comments on real estate market Byline: BY JAN BUCHHOLZ jbucholtz@bizjournals.com Favorability: Positive 29
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