Hadeel Al Tamimi (ELP 2022) | Head of Projects Planning, Hebron Municipality, Palestine
The volume of e-waste is growing around the world and is increasingly being disposed of by exporting it from developed to developing countries. In the current global scenario, electronic waste has undoubtedly caused enormous risks to the environment because many of its components are toxic and not easily biodegradable. E-waste contains several substances such as heavy metals, plastics, glass, and more that are potentially toxic and hazardous to the environment and to human health if not handled in an environmentally sound manner. Toxic chemicals and heavy metals can leach into soils in landfills, causing pollution to air and water supplies through improper or primitive recycling techniques often used by the non-formal sector.
The rapid accumulation of electronic waste across the occupied Palestinian territory has prompted an investigation concerning its implications on the environment. This report will highlight the situation in Idhna, Deir Samit and Beit Awwa, three towns in Hebron that receive vast quantities of e-waste, most of which is transferred from Israel. The informal sector's recycling practices, including collection, dismantling and illegal burning in the three villages, serve to magnify the environmental and health risks of local residents. In most modern countries, e-waste is processed on formal levels. Mandatory environmental and health safety regulations are applied, minimizing risks and hazards through proper methods of dismantling, recycling and dumping e-waste. There is often a formal legal structure governing the process. In Palestine, there is a lack of information about the effect of e-waste and its impact on the environment in the three villages of Beit Awwa, Idhna, and Deir Samit, a center of e-waste recycling and processing activities. There was a case control research study conducted in 2016 funded by the EU aimed to gain a better understanding of the effects of e-waste activities and burning on water and environment. The study highlights the effects of e-waste disposal on the environmental status of these three villages in terms of concentrations of heavy metals in water resources (ground water, springs and domestic wells), air pollution, soil pollution, and the effects of e-waste burning on agriculture.
The path of e-waste from Israel to West Bank village
Study Area
Studies were conducted at three villages: Idna, Deir Samit and Beit Awwa. As shown in the figure below, the three affected villages are located west of Hebron city . The figure also shows control areas of the study (Halhul, Seir). Idhna , Deir Samit and Beit Awwa are the heart of e-waste disposal in the West Bank, making this business the economic mainstay of the population in those areas.
Studies were conducted at three villages: Idna, Deir Samit and Beit Awwa. As shown in the figure below, the three affected villages are located west of Hebron city . The figure also shows control areas of the study (Halhul, Seir). Idhna , Deir Samit and Beit Awwa are the heart of e-waste disposal in the West Bank, making this business the economic mainstay of the population in those areas.
The combined total population of the three villages is 50,258. (Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 2022).
Population numbers in the targeted area by locality (PCBS, 2022)
Activities conducted during the project life span:
The activities of the project were conducted on ground at the three villages in 2015-2018 during my work with an environmental NGO. The project was funded by the EU. I was the project coordinator of the project and led the implementation of those activities. The activities conducted are as follows:
- Three studies for the project (environmental and health case control research studies and a feasibility study)
- Community outreach and engagement to change attitudes of e-waste workers and the community at large in homes, schools, and workshops
- Occupational safety and health training for workshop workers and owners
- Awareness campaigns addressing the consequences of burning
Results
The environmental study’s main results showed that the concentration of different heavy metals are high in the water springs of the three villages when compared to World Health Organization limits and to control. This study also showed that burning e-waste affected the quality of the soil and agriculture in the targeted villages and had an effect on the quality of the air.
The health study results showed that there are high concentrations of some heavy metals in the population’s blood in comparison to case and to WHO limits. In addition, consumption of respiratory inhalers in targeted villages was much higher than in control villages. These findings strongly indicate that e-waste has created negative consequences in affected villages. What’s more, E-waste dismantling generates dust, and burning of e-waste has a smell that directly affects the respiratory system.
Findings from the health study showed higher rates of spontaneous abortions in the exposed villages when compared to control villages. The results of those studies reflected a comprehensive understanding of e-waste processing and disposal and their health and environmental impacts.
These activities contributed in raising awareness to a certain extent among the different community target groups and raised awareness on health and environmental hazards of burning. In general, the initiatives and activities contributed in shifting e-waste processes to more environmentally friendly practices through decreasing the frequency of burning incidents.
The environmental study’s main results showed that the concentration of different heavy metals are high in the water springs of the three villages when compared to World Health Organization limits and to control. This study also showed that burning e-waste affected the quality of the soil and agriculture in the targeted villages and had an effect on the quality of the air.
The health study results showed that there are high concentrations of some heavy metals in the population’s blood in comparison to case and to WHO limits. In addition, consumption of respiratory inhalers in targeted villages was much higher than in control villages. These findings strongly indicate that e-waste has created negative consequences in affected villages. What’s more, E-waste dismantling generates dust, and burning of e-waste has a smell that directly affects the respiratory system.
Findings from the health study showed higher rates of spontaneous abortions in the exposed villages when compared to control villages. The results of those studies reflected a comprehensive understanding of e-waste processing and disposal and their health and environmental impacts.
These activities contributed in raising awareness to a certain extent among the different community target groups and raised awareness on health and environmental hazards of burning. In general, the initiatives and activities contributed in shifting e-waste processes to more environmentally friendly practices through decreasing the frequency of burning incidents.
Next Steps and Reccomendations
Some initiatives and projects were done at the villages and at the national level after the end of the life span of the project but the problem still exists. People are still suffering from the adverse environmental and health effects of e-waste. Below are some next steps:
- As the results of the environmental study shows, heavy metals can have detrimental effects on human health and the environment. Due to this, measures must be taken to create an environmentally sound recycling process for e-waste disposal in Idhna, Deir Samit, and Beit Awwa. It is the population's right to have clean water, fresh air, good health, and green lands. It is the responsibility of the municipalities together with NGO's to ensure the health and livelihood of the population and the environment in these villages.
- The Palestinian Authority should put more effort into the investigation and surveillance of burning activities in the three villages. These activities are a national health threat and an attack on the population's rights to a clean environment. The pollution caused by improper disposal of e-waste should be illegal, and its violators should be subject to punishment by law.
- The practice of burning must be eliminated particularly near springs and valleys where groundwater could be polluted by hazardous materials.
- A national campaign to overcome the environmental consequences of the burning sites through education and proper dumping of hazardous materials should be announced.
- The health effects of exposure to e-waste must become a priority of the international community. Informal e-waste recycling has long been accepted as a source of dangerous environmental pollution, but the health risks it poses to exposed populations are only beginning to be recognized. An international research agenda should be set by experts to increase the body of evidence of the health effects of e-waste exposure, especially in children and vulnerable populations. Simultaneously, the international health community, academia, policy experts and non-governmental organizations, in conjunction with national governments, should create policy solutions, educational programs and interventions to reduce e-waste exposure and its health effects.
- Large gaps exist in the physical health, mental health, educational, and behavioral outcomes of exposure to individual chemical compounds released during e-waste recycling.
- More understanding is needed of the potential synergistic and inhibitor effects of exposure to chemical mixtures, the effects of long-term exposure, and the outcomes of low-dose exposure.
- The unique risks to children and vulnerable populations have not been given enough consideration and should receive serious attention in the future.
- The environmental education center in Idhna needs to be developed and needs to have sustainable continuous management. There are a lot of opportunities through this center. Its work should be expanded, as there is a need to have a big collaboration with universities, schools , national and international NGOs.
- The environmental educational center is the first role model in the field in Palestine. But, as a recommendation and an idea that is inspired from this e-waste problem and this center, a centralized environmental educational center for research, awareness, training and capacity building as a project proposal could be developed.
- Regulate selective entry of e-waste from Israel to the West Bank: decision-makers and authorities should define a clear boundary between the types of equipment that are acceptable, and those types and qualities unacceptable for entering the West Bank. Besides reducing the volumes of imported hazardous waste, this measure is also considered to be a pre-requisite for the long-term success of recycling co-operations. Policy papers and agreements should be defined between Israeli and Palestinians through policy makers regarding this recommendation.
- Develop a regulatory framework, as environmentally sound e-waste recycling is dependent on a sound regulatory framework that includes the obligation to care for all e-waste fractions. Naturally, such a regulatory framework also requires stringent implementation and regular inspections.
- Exploring the opportunities of organizing the e waste dismantling process with proper safe environmentally friendly processes through national and international investor