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United States Government Accountability Office

GAO

Report to the Chairman, Committee onForeign Affairs, House of Representatives

ELECTRONIC WASTEEPA Needs to BetterControl Harmful U.S.Exports throughStronger Enforcementand MoreComprehensiveRegulation

August 2008GAO-08-1044

What GAO Found

United States Government Accountability Office

Why GAO Did This Study

H

ighlights

Accountability Integrity Reliability

Au

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t 2008

ELECTRONIC WASTE

EPA Need

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to Better Control Harmful U.

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. Export

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throu

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S

tron

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er Enforcement and MoreComprehen

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ive Re

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ulation

Highlights ofGAO-08-1044, a report to theChairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,House of Representatives

Increasingly, U.S. consumers arerecycling their old electronics to prevent the environmental harmthat can come from disposal.Concerns have grown, however,that some U.S. companies areexporting these items to developingcountries, where unsafe recycling practices can cause health andenvironmental problems. Itemswith cathode-ray tubes (CRT) are particularly harmful because theycan contain 4 pounds of lead, aknown toxin. To prevent this practice, since January 2007 EPAbegan regulating the export of CRTs under its CRT rule, whichrequires companies to notify EPAbefore exporting CRTs.In this context, GAO examined (1)the fate of exported usedelectronics, (2) the effectiveness of regulatory controls over the exportof these devices, and (3) options tostrengthen federal regulation of exported used electronics. Amongother things, GAO reviewed wastemanagement surveys in developingcountries, monitored e-commerceWeb sites, and posed as foreignbuyers of broken CRTs.

What GAO Recommend

s

GAO recommends that EPA(1) develop a systematic plan toenforce the CRT rule and(2) develop options to broaden itsregulatory authority to address theexport of other potentially harmfulused electronics. In its comments,EPA expressed significantreservations with GAO’s findingsand recommendations. GAOmaintains, however, that they arefair and well supported.

Some exported used electronics are handled responsibly in countries witheffective regulatory controls and by companies with advanced technologies,but a substantial quantity ends up in countries where disposal practices areunsafe to workers and dangerous to the environment. Recent surveys made onbehalf of the United Nations found that used electronics exported from theUnited States to many Asian countries are dismantled under unsafeconditions, using methods like open-air incineration and acid baths to extractmetals such as copper and gold.

GAO observed thousands of requests forthese items on e-commerce Web sites during a 3-month period—mostly from Asian countries such as China and India but also from some in Africa. U.S. hazardous waste regulations have not deterred exports of potentiallyhazardous used electronics, primarily for the following reasons:

•

Existing EPA regulations focus only on CRTs.

Other exported usedelectronics flow virtually unrestricted—even to countries where they can bemismanaged—in large part because relevant U.S. hazardous wasteregulations assess only how products will react in unlined U.S. landfills.

•

Companies easily circumvent the CRT rule

. GAO posed as foreign buyersof broken CRTs in Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, and other countries, and 43U.S. companies expressed willingness to export these items. Some of thecompanies, including ones that publicly tout their exemplary environmental practices, were willing to export CRTs in apparent violation of the CRT rule.GAO provided EPA with the names of these companies at EPA’s request.

•

EPA’s enforcement is lacking.

Since the CRT rule took effect in January2007, Hong Kong officials intercepted and returned to U.S. ports 26containers of illegally exported CRTs. EPA has since penalized one violator,and then only long after the shipment had been identified by GAO. EPAofficials acknowledged compliance problems with its CRT rule but said thatgiven the rule’s relative newness, their focus was on educating the regulatedcommunity. This reasoning appears misplaced, however, given GAO’sobservation of exporters willing to engage in apparent violations of the CRTrule, including some who are aware of the rule. Finally, EPA has done littleto ascertain the extent of noncompliance, and EPA officials said they haveneither plans nor a timetable to develop an enforcement program.Beyond enforcing the CRT rule, EPA can take steps to ensure that the largeruniverse of potentially harmful electronic devices—such as computers, printers, and cell phones—are exported in a manner that does not harm healthor the environment. Among the options raised by GAO are (1) expandinghazardous waste regulations to cover other exported used electronics;(2) submitting a legislative package to Congress for ratifying the BaselConvention, an international regime governing the import and export of hazardous wastes; and (3) working with Customs and Border Protection andother agencies to improve identification and tracking of exported usedelectronics. Options such as these could help make U.S. export controls moreconsistent with those of other industrialized countries.

To view the full product, including the scopeand methodology, click onGAO-08-1044.For more information, contact JohnStephenson at (202) 512-3841 orstephensonj@gao.gov.

Contents

Letter

1Results in Brief 5Background 9 Used Electronics Are Exported Worldwide and Often Handled andDisposed of Unsafely 14U.S. Exports of Potentially Harmful Used Electronics Flow Virtually Unrestricted 21EPA Has Several Options That Would Strengthen the Federal Rolein Reducing Harmful Exports of Used Electronics 31Conclusions 39 Recommendations for Executive Action 40 Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 41

Appendix I Scope and Methodology

Appendix II Comments from the Environmental Protection Agency

Appendix III GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments

Figures

Figure 1: Toxic Substances Contained in a Central Processing Unitand CRT Monitor 12Figure 2: Developing Countries Requesting CRTs on Two InternetE-commerce Web Sites, February 2008 to May 2008 17Figure 3: Three Stages of Electronics Dismantling and Disposal inIndonesia 19 Figure 4: Open Dump Site for Electronic Waste in Cambodia 20Figure 5: Broken CRT Monitors from an Illegal Shipment of UsedCRTs 28

Page i GAO-08-1044 Electronic Waste Exports

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GAO Report on Electronic Waste--August 2008

GAO report on current US e-waste control efforts. Provides suggestions on how to improve the current framework to reduce the amount of e-waste the US exports to developing count... (More)

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Category:	Research
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Upload Date:	03/17/2009
Copyright:	Attribution Non-commercial
Tags:	gao EPA ewaste gao EPA ewaste (fewer)

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