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A review on management practices, environmental impacts, and human exposure risks related to electrical and electronic waste in Vietnam: findings from case studies in informal e-waste recycling areas

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Abstract

Electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) has become a global concern, especially in developing countries. In this review, we conducted a literature survey of e-waste management practices, processing activities, and adverse effects in Vietnam, an emerging country in Southeast Asia, by gathering data from peer-reviewed articles published between 2009 and 2021. This is the first review paper to comprehensively discuss management and research aspects regarding e-waste in an Asian developing country. Due to the lack of an effective management and recycling system, a certain portion of Vietnamese e-waste has been processed by informal sectors without appropriate recycling and pollution control technology, resulting in localized contamination and human exposure to toxic chemicals. Primitive processing activities, such as manual dismantling, open burning, and plastic recycling, have been identified as important contributors to the environmental emission and human exposure to toxic elements (notably As, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn) and organic pollutants like flame retardants, PAHs, PCBs, and dioxin-related compounds. Informal e-waste processing from these small-scale workshops can release pollutants at similar levels compared to large-scale facilities in developed countries. This fact suggests an urgent need to develop management best practices for e-waste in Vietnam as well as other emerging and developing countries, in order to increase recycling efficiency and minimize their adverse impacts on environmental and human health.

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Availability of data and materials

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.

Abbreviations

BFRs:

Brominated flame retardants

CALUX:

Chemically activated luciferase gene expression

CBzs:

Chlorobenzenes

DBDPE:

Decabromodiphenyl ethane

EEE:

Electrical and electronic equipment

DPs:

Dechlorane plus

DRCs:

Dioxin-related compounds

HFRs:

Halogenated flame retardants

HQs:

Hazard quotients

HMs:

Heavy metals

NBFRs:

Novel brominated flame retardants

OPEs:

Organophosphorus esters

PFCs:

Perfluorinated chemicals

POPs:

Persistent organic pollutants

PBDD/Fs:

Polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans

PBDEs:

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers

PCBs:

Polychlorinated biphenyls

PCDD/Fs:

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans

PAHs:

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

PTWI:

Provisional tolerable weekly intake

RfD:

Reference dose

TDI:

Tolerable daily intake

TEQ:

Toxic equivalency

US EPA:

US Environmental Protection Agency

WHO:

World Health Organization

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Funding

The Fund for the Promotion of Joint International Research (Fostering Joint International Research (B)) (No. 18KK0300) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science is acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Chemistry, University of Science, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, 19 Le Thanh Tong, Hanoi, 11000, Vietnam

    Anh Quoc Hoang & Minh Binh Tu

  2. Center for Marine Environmental Studies (CMES), Ehime University, 2-5 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama, 790-8577, Japan

    Nguyen Minh Tue & Tatsuya Kunisue

  3. Key Laboratory of Analytical Technology for Environmental Quality and Food Safety Control (KLATEFOS), University of Science, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, 334 Nguyen Trai, Hanoi, 11400, Vietnam

    Nguyen Minh Tue & Pham Hung Viet

  4. Center for Material Cycles and Waste Management Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), Tsukuba, 305-8506, Japan

    Go Suzuki & Hidenori Matsukami

  5. University of Science, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, 334 Nguyen Trai, Hanoi, 11400, Vietnam

    Le Huu Tuyen

  6. Advanced Science, Technology and Management Research Institute of KYOTO, Kyoto, 600-8813, Japan

    Shin-ichi Sakai

  7. Center of Advanced Technology for the Environment (CATE), Graduate School of Agriculture, Ehime University, 3-5-7 Tarumi, Matsuyama, 790-8566, Japan

    Shin Takahashi

Authors
  1. Anh Quoc Hoang
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  2. Nguyen Minh Tue
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  3. Minh Binh Tu
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  4. Go Suzuki
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  5. Hidenori Matsukami
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  6. Le Huu Tuyen
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  7. Pham Hung Viet
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  8. Tatsuya Kunisue
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  9. Shin-ichi Sakai
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  10. Shin Takahashi
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design, material preparation, data collection, and analysis. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Anh Quoc Hoang and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Anh Quoc Hoang.

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In this review paper, analytical data from human participants and animals were retrieved from previous original researches published in peer-reviewed journals. No experiments involving humans and animals were conducted in the present study.

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Hoang, A.Q., Tue, N.M., Tu, M.B. et al. A review on management practices, environmental impacts, and human exposure risks related to electrical and electronic waste in Vietnam: findings from case studies in informal e-waste recycling areas. Environ Geochem Health 45, 2705–2728 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-022-01408-4

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