Barbara Karn, PhD US EPA iNEMI workshop The views presented here are those of the speaker and should not be taken to represent official EPA policy. Thoughts on EPA, Electronics, and Elemental Nanotechnology-An Emerging Sustainability Problem Wednesday, February 23, 2011 Chandler, AZ
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Barbara Karn, PhDUS EPA
iNEMI workshop
The views presented here are those of the speaker and should not be taken to represent official EPA policy.
Thoughts on EPA, Electronics, and Elemental Nanotechnology-An
Emerging Sustainability Problem
Wednesday, February 23, 2011 Chandler, AZ
About EPA with a little sustainability
Electronics programs in EPA, a bit elsewhere, and some areas of cooperation
Nanomaterials, electronics, elements of concern
Outline
To protect the environment and human health
EPA's Mission:
Goal 1: Taking Action on Climate Change and Improving Air Quality
Goal 2: Protecting America’s Waters
Goal 3: Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable
Development
Goal 4: Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and Preventing Pollution
Goal 5: Enforcing Environmental Laws
EPA’s Strategic Goals 2011-2015
Expanding the Conversation on Environmentalism
Working for Environmental Justice and Children’s Health
Advancing Science, Research, and Technological Innovation
Strengthening State, Tribal, and International Partnerships
Strengthening EPA’s Workforce and Capabilities
Science
Transparency,
Rule of Law
Cross-Cutting Fundamental Strategies
Core Values:
EPA Organizational Structure
Assistant Administrator for
Chemical Safety and Pollution
Prevention
ORD Locations
a
Cincinnati, OH
Narragansett, RI
Research TrianglePark, NC
Athens, GALas Vegas, NV
Duluth, MN
Washington, DC
Gulf Breeze, FLAda, OK
Corvallis, OR
Edison, NJ
Newport, OR
Grosse l le, MI
3 National Laboratories
2 National Centers
2 Offices
13 Locations
6
Extramural grants in all
research areas
National Risk Management
Research Lab
Preventing and reducing risks to
humans and the environment
National Center for
Environmental Research
National Center for
Environmental AssessmentHuman health and ecological
risk assessment
National Homeland Security
Research CenterResponses to attacks against buildings
and water treatment systems
National Exposure Research
Laboratory
Human and ecosystem
exposure to pollutants
National Center for
1. Computational ToxicologyMerging of computational and
molecular approaches
National Health and Environmental
Effects Research Lab
Effects of contaminants
on human health and ecosystems
ORD
ORD aligns its research programs into four integrated research areas and two targeted research areas:
1. Safer Products for a Sustainable World
2. Safe and Sustainable Water
3. Air/Climate/Energy
4. Sustainable Communities: Built and Natural
Environments
5. Human Health Risk Assessment
6. National Homeland Security Research Center
• “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs” *1+
• “The reconciliation of society’s developmental goals with the planet’s environmental limits over the long term” *2]
• “Meeting fundamental human needs while preserving the life-support systems of planet Earth” *3+
[1.] The Brundtland Report*2.+ NRC, “Our Common Future”[3.] Kates, RW, et. al., (2001) Science: 292 pp. 641-642.
Sustainability
ECONOMY
SOCIETY
ENVIRONMENT
DEPENDENCIES
ECONOMY
SOCIETY
Giddings et al, Sust. Dev.,2002
SUSTAINABILITY AS
Action Items for Sustainability Science
Accelerate current trends in fertility reduction.
Accommodate an expected doubling to tripling of the urban system
in a habitable, efficient, and environmentally friendly manner.
Reverse declining trends in agricultural production in Africa;
sustain historic trends elsewhere.
Accelerate improvements in the use of energy and materials.
Restore degraded ecosystems while conserving biodiversity elsewhere.
Take Note: Achievements in one sector do not imply
improvements in other sectors or in the situation
overall.
Our Common Journey, National Academy of Science 2000
NCER’s Science to Achieve Results program funds research grants,cooperative agreements, and fellowships in numerous environmental science and engineering disciplines.
Science to Achieve Results - STAR
* air toxics & health effects of particulate matter* drinking water & water quality* global change* ecosystem assessment & restoration* human health risk assessment* endocrine disrupting chemicals* pollution prevention & new technologies* children’s environmental health* economics & decision sciences* computational toxicology* nanotechnology* biomarkers
STAR RFAs have focused on:
EPA Programs in Electronics
13
Energy Star program EPA and DOE
IEEE Standard 1680
ENERGY STAR Version 5.0 Specification for ComputersFinalized November 14, 2008, effective July 2010
EPEAT registration: Desktops, laptops monitors that meet 23 required criteria
2008 goal to avoid 19.4 tonnes C equivalents
EPEAT
14
Life cycle impacts of Li Ion Batteries, including single walled CNT
Environmental and human health attributes of selected flame retardants used in printed circuit boards.
Lead-Free Solder
Printed Wiring Boards
Life Cycle Assessment of desktop computer displays
EPA’s Design for the Environment ProgramSample projects
15
Voluntary Responsible Recycling Practices for Electronics RecyclersR2 Standard
Accredited under ANSI board since 2009
Standard includes:
--using an environmental, health, and safety management system--minimizing exposures or emissions during recycling operations--promoting reuse and material recovery
16
E-Steward program – a waste processors pledge
Basel Action Network
The following electronic parts are considered hazardous under Basel definitions:
- Cathode ray tubes ( [CRTs]- the glass tubes in many monitors and TVs), leaded glass cullet from CRTs, and anything containing CRTs or leaded glass (due to lead content)
- Circuit boards, both high-value and low-value boards, and anything containing them (due to lead and beryllium content)
-Any components containing mercury and/or PCBs
-Any components or material containing beryllium
- Any battery containing lead, cadmium or mercury or a component containing such a battery.
Caution about plastics containing brominated flame retardants
17
Federal activities in Last congress
24 states with 65% of the population of the U.S. is now covered
www.electronicstakeback.com
States are doing their own thing
iNEMI 7 Categories for roadmap
Manufacturing Processes Systems Integration Energy Environment Materials & Reliability Design Information Management
Reduce energy and materials use from ―cradle to cradle.
What do we know about their health and environmental impacts?
21
Growth of Elements in Electronics
Elemental Composition of a Human
The Biosphere
Oxygen, 46.00%
Silicon, 27.00%
Aluminum, 8.10%
Iron, 6.30%
Calcium, 5.00%
Magnesium, 2.90% Sodium, 2.30%
Potassium, 1.50%
Titanium, 0.66%
Carbon, 0.18% Hydrogen, 0.15% Manganese, 0.11%
Phosphorus, 0.10%
Oxygen
Silicon
Aluminum
Iron
Calcium
Magnesium
Sodium
Potassium
Titanium
Carbon
Hydrogen
Manganese
Phosphorus
Elemental Composition of Lithosphere
Human % Crust %
oxygen 61.353 46.000
carbon 22.829 18.000
hydrogen 9.988 0.150
nitrogen 2.568 0.002
calcium 1.427 5.000
phosphorus 1.113 0.001
potassium 0.200 1.500
sulfur 0.200 0.042
rest 0.322 47.026
Elemental Content
Elements used in nanomaterials
Modified from Robichaud et al, 2009
ss
Life cycle of nanomaterials
DOE 2010
Use of Elements in Energy Applications
(DOE, 2010)
Critical Energy Elements
Focus on an Element
Indium’s abundance in the continental crust is estimated to be approximately 0.05 part per million. Trace amounts of indium occur in base metal sulfides—particularly chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and stannite—by ionic substitution. Indium is most commonly recovered from the zinc-sulfide ore mineral sphalerite. The average indium content of zinc deposits from which it is recovered ranges from less than 1 part per million to 100 parts per million. Although the geochemical properties of indium are such that it occurs with other base metals—copper, lead, and tin—and to a lesser extent with bismuth, cadmium, and silver, most deposits of these metals are subeconomic for indium.
Vein stockwork deposits of tin and tungsten host the highest known concentrations of indium. However, the indium from this type of deposit is usually difficult to process economically. Other major geologic hosts for indium mineralization include volcanic-hosted massive sulfide deposits, sediment-hosted exhalative massive sulfide deposits, polymetallic vein-type deposits, epithermal deposits, active magmatic systems, porphyry copper deposits, and skarndeposits.
Tolcin, U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2009
(tonnes)
Indium Stats
Primary Indium:
Supply vs. Demand
• 2004: 509mt
• 2005: 630mt
• 2006: 750mt
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
2003 2004 2005 2006
Demand Supply Capacity
X
O’Neill, 2004
Mining, mainly from Zinc mines as sphalerite
Australian Zn mine
Chinese Zn mine
Extracting Indium
--Leaching in H2SO4 or HCl; purifying leach solution using In strips to get sponge of crude In. Extracting with solvent of tributyl phosphate or bis(2-ethylhexyl)-phosphoric acid
--Precipitation of InPO4 from slightly acidic solution. Conversion of phosphate to oxide using NaOH. Reduction of oxide to In metal
--For Zn retort smelting, In distilled with Zn and concentrates in molten Zn-Pb metal at bottom during 1st stage evaporation and reflux purification of Zn. In is separated as high grade slag and recovered by leaching and sponging as above.
Sponge In (99 to 99.5% pure) refined via soluble-anode electrolysis.
Anthony John Downs, 1993
Australian Zinc Smelter
Refinery production (tonnes)2007 2008 est.
United States — —Belgium 30 30Canada 50 50China 320 330 France 10 —Japan 60 60Korea, Republic of 50 50Peru 6 6Russia 12 12Other countries 25 30World total (rounded) 563 568
Production
Tolcin, U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2009
US uses 28%
Flat panel display applications for
indium tin oxide: Liquid crystal
displays; Plasma display panels;
Electrochromic displays; Field
emission displays; LEDs
Uses Of Indium
Mobile telephones, Computer monitors, Televisions, Watches and calculators, Digital video and still cameras
Thin-film photovoltaics (Cu-In-Ga-Se : CIGS)—Flexible solar cells for roofing or other power applications
An LCD manufacturer has developed a process to reclaim indium directly from scrap LCD panels. The panels are crushed into millimeter-sized particles then soaked in an acid solution to dissolve the ITO, from which the indium is recovered. Indium recovery from tailings was thought to have been insignificant, as these wastes contain low amounts of the metal and can be difficult to process.
However, recent improvements to the process technology have made indium recovery from tailings viable when the price of indium is high.
End of life
Tolcin, U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2009
In Japan 470 t-In is used in ITO for transparent electrodes,
out of which 220 t-In (47%)is dissipated or potentially dissipated
NAKAJIMA et al, 2007
End of life
NF3 – Greenhouse gas with large potential impact
ITO - Main form of In for flat screens
Impactful Ingredients
Health considerations
“These results (40 men in indium plant) suggest that inhaled indium compounds can cause pulmonary disorders such as interstitial changes.”
Nogami et al 2008
Case of interstitial pneumonia from ITO
Homma 2003
Pulmonary and testicular toxicity to hamsters
Tanaka et al 2002
Omura et al 2002
…indium showed teratogenicity in rats (and rabbits, Ungvary,2000). Oral treatment with indium may be developmentally toxic at 300 mg In/kg
Nakajima, 1998
Indium caused tail malformations in rats
Nakajima, 2008
Kidney impairment ICSC:1293
Cummings, 2010
Worker death and pulmonary auto immune response in ITO facility
Food for thought
The lifecycle of uncommon elements used in nanomaterialsneeds attention.
We know little about their human health effectsand less about their environmental effects.
The end of life will likely be dissipative.
Their extraction/processing is environmentally costly.
Production and use impacts are unrecognized and/or unknown.
Bottom Line
There is a vast opportunity to be proactive and preventive by
Indium is most commonly recovered from ITO. Sputtering, the process in which ITO is deposited as a thin-film coating onto a substrate, is highly inefficient; approximately 30% of an ITO target is deposited onto the substrate. The remaining 70% consists of the spent ITO target, the grinding sludge, and the after-processing residue left on the walls of the sputtering chamber. It was estimated that 60% to 65% of the indium in a new ITO target will be recovered, and research was underway to improve this rate further.
A short recycling process time for used ITO targets is critical as a recycler may have millions of dollars worth of indium in the recycling loop at any one time, and a large increase in ITO scrap could be problematic owing to large capital costs, environmental restrictions, and limited storage space. It was reported that the ITO recycling loop—from collection of scrap to production of secondary materials—now takes less than 30 days. ITO recycling is concentrated in China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea—the countries where ITO production and sputtering take place.
End of life
Tolcin, U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2009