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The WORLD BANK

Study of Mercury-containing lamp waste management in Sub-Saharan Africa

Final Report

First draft - September 2nd 2010Second draft November 16th 2010Third draft December 10th 2010Fourth and final draft July 20th 2011

Ernst & Young, in association with Fraunhofer IML

Study of Mercury-containing lamp waste management in Sub-Saharan Africa|17

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Contents

List of abbreviations5

Abstract6

Executive summary7

1Introduction16

1.1Mercury Lamp technologies16

1.2Promotion of energy efficient lighting18

1.3Objectives of the study19

2The CFL market20

2.1Current SSA CFL market20

2.2SSA CFL market projection22

3Health impacts of CFL waste27

3.1Fundamentals of mercury hazards27

3.2Mercury emissions from EoL FLs29

3.3Business as usual: Risk assessment for a worst-case scenario30

3.4Risk assessment summary37

4End-Of-Life MCL management options41

4.1Collection43

4.2Transport / transshipment49

4.3Treatment processes49

4.4Mitigation potential59

4.5Funding options and economics62

4.6Comparative assessment63

5The bigger picture66

5.1Other sources of mercury66

5.2Upstream measures68

5.3Additional best practices71

6Feasibility in SSA countries72

6.1MCL waste a drop in the ocean?72

6.2Some simple but highly effective measures73

6.3Country-by-country assessment75

Annexes76

Annex AMarket projection: table of data77

Annex BBenchmark79

Annex CCase studies100

Annex DBibliography107

List of abbreviations

AICD

African Infrastructure Country Diagnostic

AGLV

German joint working group of lamp producers and recyclers

BAU

Business as usual

CAGR

Compound Annual Growth Rate

CAPEX

Capital expenditure

CFL

Compact fluorescent lamp

DSW

Domestic Solid Waste

EoL

End of life

EPR

Extended Producer Responsibility

FL

Fluorescent lamp

FT

Fluorescent tube

HID

High-intensity discharge

IFI

International Financial Institutions

IL

Incandescent Lamp

INRS

French National Institute for Research and Safety

LED

Light-emitting diode

LFG

Landfil Gas

MAC

Maximum allowable concentration

MCL

Mercury-containing lamp

MSW

Municipal Solid Waste

O&M

Operations and maintenance

OPEX

Operational expenditure

SSA

Sub-Saharan Africa

TL

Tubular Lamps

UBA

German Environmental Protection Agency

UNEP

United Nations Environment Program

USAID

United States Agency for International Development

US EPA

United States Environmental Protection Agency

WB

World Bank

WDI

World Development Indicators

WEEE

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment

WHO

World Health Organisation

Abstract

One of the main objectives of this report is to provide policy-makers with the knowledge and tools they need when confronted with a potentially significant flow of EoL mercury containing lamps and the potential mercury pollution it could generate, either airborne or by seeping through the ground to water bodies.

The risks related to MCL waste are either low or easily controllable in the business-as-usual scenario with a domestic waste collection scheme and landfilling. The design of the landfill, which should be engineered, is essential to reduce human exposure, environmental impact and associated risks.

The most effective solutions to reduce overall mercury emissions, which are incineration with activated carbon filters and mercury extraction and which require a separate collection scheme, also result in the highest risk for the workers. This risk is manageable with very high technical capacities and enforcement of best security procedures, which may be difficult to ensure in most SSA countries.

Mercury extraction, which requires a technology specific to lamp recycling, may not be a financially feasible option in most SSA countries considering the size of the markets compared to the capacity of their equipment. But there may be an opportunity to overcome the market size barrier by combining it with an MCL production facility, which produces large quantities of waste.

Some alternative measures can be more effective and more sustainable; these require local involvement from the government to reinforce policies as well as broader involvement of lighting manufacturers at the international level. In particular, whereas the overall amount of mercury in the MCL market in SSA is low compared to other sources of mercury, it can be further reduced up-stream by improving lamp lifetime and mercury content. Another essential measure is to prepare the lighting market for a shift to other mercury-free lighting technologies. LED has been under the spotlight for several years now, but it will need further development before it becomes commercially viable, and even more so in SSA.

Executive summary

Study of Mercury-containing lamp waste management in Sub-Saharan Africa|19

Executive summaryMercury hazard in the End-Of-Life cycle of MCLs

Mercury (Hg) is a highly toxic element that is found both naturally and as an introduced contaminant in the environment. Mercury hazard depends on how contamination occurs and on the quantity and duration of human exposure. Mercury contained in an MCL is elemental (or metal mercury), which is highly volatile; it can be transformed by bacteria in water into organic mercury (or methylmercury), which is even more harmful, and bioaccumulate through the food chain. Contamination by elemental mercury mostly happens through inhalation, while contamination through organic mercury usually happens through ingestion of food. In both cases, mercury intoxication is either chronic or acute.

An MCL contains a small amount of mercury (usually 2 to 15 mg per lamp). Mercury is sealed into the glass bulb during its entire lifetime and is released progressively over time after the lamp breaks. Lamp breakage happens during usage or, which is more likely, after it enters the End-Of-Life stage (i.e. as waste). Once mercury is emitted, there are two levels of exposure that can be addressed separately. (1) Direct exposure is the contamination of the environment close to the source of emission. The risk associated with the characteristics of the surrounding area (settlements, soil quality, etc.) is concentrated around the source of emissions and can be measured in terms of air or water mercury concentration and frequency. (2) Indirect exposure is related to medium to long-term deposition, breakdown as local, regional, and global deposition, resulting in a diffuse risk. When mercury enters this broader cycle, it is not possible to monitor the geographical routes of deposition or to identify the resulting risks.

The following table shows the types of possible mercury emissions during potential stages of the End-Of-Life cycle and the associated modes of contamination.

Stage

Type of emission

Potential mode of contamination

Household

Airborne emissions due to one lamp breakage

Inhalation of mercury vapor by residents

Collection

Airborne emissions due to breakage during transportation in the truck first and then in the surrounding area

Inhalation of mercury vapor by operator

Transshipment

Airborne due to lamps broken during transportation or airborne through breakage during handling, usually in a closed area

Inhalation of mercury vapor by operator

Incineration

Airborne due to mercury vaporization in the furnaces, which can be filtered

Inhalation of mercury vapor by operators or site neighbors if low quality filters

Incineration

Generated waste (used filters, bottom ash and fly ash) may induce further emissions in landfills

Cf. Landfill

Recycling

Airborne emissions occurring during cutting or shredding of the lamp, usually in closed area

Inhalation of mercury vapor by operator

Recycling

Elution in case of wet washing

Bioaccumulation of washed out mercury and ingestion of contaminated fish

Landfill

Airborne emissions due to lamps broken before disposal or due to breakage in the landfill, mixed with other biogas

Inhalation of mercury vapor by operators, scavengers or site neighbors

Landfill

Elution via leachate of airborne mercury not previously emitted

Bioaccumulation of washed out mercury and ingestion of contaminated fish

Total

Airborne emissions from all stages carried by air and deposited at a varying distances from the emission point

Bioaccumulation of washed out mercury and ingestion of contaminated fish

Low and manageable risks to human health

In order to quantify the potential risk related to end-of-life CFL management, a worst-case-scenario has been studied based on 1 million lamps per year being sent to the same landfill, which would be equivalent to a high-end estimate for a Johannesburg landfill CFL feedstock in 2020. These conservative assumptions lead to a total emission of about 8 kg of elemental mercury in the air and the release of 4 kg of elemental mercury to the ground. From these results, compared with European and World Health Organization (WHO) o