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EFFICIENT MONITORING OF HETEROGENEOUS MEDIA AND ELECTRONIC WASTES
Impact/Purpose:
The objective of this task is to further examine, and educate others in, how better decisions may be made from variable and uncertain monitoring data and models. The research and information developed can be used by project managers from all government agencies, academia, and private industry to help identify the technically best practices available to solve their research and program needs.
For electronic wastes, The objective of this task is hold a worshop/symposium aimed at identifying the current state-of-the-knowledge on electronic waste recycling, disposal, and reuse and idenifying the research gaps/needs in the area of electonic wastes.
Description:
The Agency's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) has recently issued improved guidance for the collection of "representative" samples from heterogeneous media. The Technology Innovation Office (TIO) has begun the development of a web-based handbook which advocates a "Triad" approach for more efficient characterization of hazardous waste sites. Systematic planning, dynamic work plans and field-based analytical methods form the basis for the triad. The guidance from OSWER and the Triad handbook represents a significant change in how heterogeneous wastes and hazardous waste sites should be characterized. This task will attempt to convey these new approaches to a larger audience through technical assistance and electronic-based publishing.
In the area of electronic waste, the federal government is the largest procurer of consumer electronics. With 1.8 million employees, the U.S. federal sector represents roughly 7% of total world market for computers. The annual federal budget for IT hardware & services now tops $50 billion.
The federal government's purchase, use, and disposition of electronics are not sustainable. The average life cycle of federally owned computers is three years, and new computers are often purchased without a management plan for dealing with the equipment that is being replaced. Approximately 10,000 federally owned computers could be deemed excess or surplus each week. This equipment contains components that can be recycled, reclaimed, and/or reused in the current marketplace. The improper storage, reuse, and disposal of electronics hold potential environmental liabilities that could be costly to the Federal government in the future. Electronics represent serious environmental costs and opportunities since they contain hazardous substances such as lead, mercury, chromium, cadmium, and precious metals such as gold, silver, and palladium.
The Office of Research and Development has been discussing with the Office of Solid Waste research needs related to electronic waste. Based on numerous discussions, EPA has determined that an assessment of research gaps/needs in this topic area was the first logical step. ORD has agreed to hold a series of panel sessions (two or three sessions) that will look at gaps in knowledge/research related to the electronic waste life-cycle including disposal and recycling, emerging technologies, and opportunities for improvement of products employing clean design techniques.
The purpose of the panel session is to bring together a diverse group of experts to consider the existing framework of the life-cycle of electronic devices and to make recommendations for future steps that are needed to ensure that there are no undesirable, unintended environmental and health consequences from the increased recycling or disposal of electronics. The goal, with all of the panelists and invitees, is to have people at the sessions who can speak to the issues that may come up throughout the life-cycle of electronic devices. A final product of the effort will be a report that summarizes the discussions and recommendations made during those panel sessions. The document will be reviewed by the session participants and select outside experts to ensure that it is accurate and fairly reflects the issues. Upon completion of the review process, the document will be published for widespread dissemination.