scholarly journals Overview of the WEEE Directive and Its Implementation in the Nordic Countries: National Realisations and Best Practices

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenni Ylä-Mella ◽  
Kari Poikela ◽  
Ulla Lehtinen ◽  
Pia Tanskanen ◽  
Elisabeth Román ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Electronic Devices ◽  
Nordic Countries ◽  
Electronic Equipment ◽  
Hazardous Substances ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Material Recovery ◽  
History Of ◽  
Environmentally Sound

Electronic devices and mobile applications have become a part of everyday life. Fast technological progress and rapid product obsolescence have led to the rapid growth of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Due to hazardous substances and also substantial amounts of valuable materials contained in electrical and electronic equipment, the European Union has implemented Directives related to WEEE, in order to reduce negative environmental and health impacts and to improve material recovery of valuable substances from WEEE. This paper provides an overview of the WEEE Directive and its implementation to national legislations in Finland, Sweden, and Norway and, further, describes how the nationwide WEEE recovery infrastructures in the Nordic countries have been built. The Nordic WEEE management systems are evaluated from the point of resource efficiency and best practices. Evidently, the WEEE management systems as established in the Nordic countries have advantages because the WEEE collection rates in 2012 were 12 kg/inhab./year, in Finland, 16 kg/inhab./year, in Sweden, and 27 kg/ inhab./year, in Norway, despite their sparsely populated nature. The Swedish and Norwegian experiences, especially, with long history of WEEE recovery indicate that increasing consumer awareness leads to more environmentally sound behaviour and improves recovery efficiency.

scholarly journals Environmental decay and the illegal market in e-waste from a European perspective: current problems and future directions

10.17345/1086 ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Giada Dalla Gasperina
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Waste ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Waste Recycling ◽  
Electronic Equipment ◽  
Hazardous Substances ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Local Environments ◽  
The Eu

In the last decade, the growth in electronics production and consumption has been coupled with an increase in the illegal export of electrical and electronic waste (or “e-waste”) beyond the borders of the European Union (EU). Shipped to illegal recycling facilities in less industrialized countries, e-waste is a severe threat to the integrity of local environments and a potential source of ecosystem and biodiversity loss. Although the extent of the damage caused by e-waste pollution is unknown, scientific studies have warned of the perils of hazardous substances, which are released during primitive e-waste recycling activities in countries such as China, Ghana and Nigeria.  Drawing insights from the scientific literature, this paper illustrates how the problem of e-waste pollution is intrinsically linked to the issue of biodiversity and ecosystem degradation. In particular, it argues that much greater attention should be paid to the EU Directives on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) and to the proposals to recast the two Directives because of their potential to enhance environmental protection globally. Nonetheless, underpinning this scrutiny is the contention that shortcomings in the EU legal framework on e-waste could ultimately affect the environment and biodiversity of less industrialized states. 

From Ledgers to ERP

2011 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Ricardo Salim ◽  
Carlos Ferran
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Human Resources ◽  
Resource Planning ◽  
Cost Accounting ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Global Organizations ◽  
Or Management ◽  
History Of ◽  
Double Entry ◽  
Current Systems

The chapter narrates the history of the accounting needs of individuals and organizations and explains their successive technological solutions, up to today’s ERPs. The ledger, double-entry accounting, cost accounting, departmental accounting, material requisitions systems for production, human resources systems, and finally the enterprise-wide resource planning or management systems are analyzed in terms of how IT has?and has not?been able to “computerize” and integrate them. The main functionalities of ERPs are explained: the enterprise resource functionality and the planning functionality, as well as to what extent organizations need these functionalities and should pay its high prices. The expectations that have not yet been sufficiently satisfied by current systems, such as the ERP for SMEs, the transfer of “best practices,” the interconnection of supply chains via ERP, and the ERP for global organizations, are discussed.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Dermal Toxicity of InZnP Quantum Dots Before and After Accelerated Weathering: Toward a Safer-By-Design Strategy

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fanny Dussert ◽  
Karl David Wegner ◽  
Christine Moriscot ◽  
Benoit Gallet ◽  
Pierre-Henri Jouneau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Dots ◽  
Degradation Products ◽  
Semiconductor Nanocrystals ◽  
Design Strategy ◽  
Electronic Equipment ◽  
Zinc Homeostasis ◽  
Hazardous Substances ◽  
Accelerated Weathering ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Before And After

Quantum dots (QDs) are colloidal fluorescent semiconductor nanocrystals with exceptional optical properties. Their widespread use, particularly in light-emitting diodes (LEDs), displays, and photovoltaics, is questioning their potential toxicity. The most widely used QDs are CdSe and CdTe QDs, but due to the toxicity of cadmium (Cd), their use in electrical and electronic equipment is now restricted in the European Union through the Restriction of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS) directive. This has prompted the development of safer alternatives to Cd-based QDs; among them, InP QDs are the most promising ones. We recently developed RoHS-compliant QDs with an alloyed core composed of InZnP coated with a Zn(Se,S) gradient shell, which was further coated with an additional ZnS shell to protect the QDs from oxidative surface degradation. In this study, the toxicity of single-shelled InZnP/Zn(Se,S) core/gradient shell and of double-shelled InZnP/Zn(Se,S)/ZnS core/shell/shell QDs was evaluated both in their pristine form and after aging in a climatic chamber, mimicking a realistic environmental weathering. We show that both pristine and aged QDs, whatever their composition, accumulate in the cytoplasm of human primary keratinocytes where they form agglomerates at the vicinity of the nucleus. Pristine QDs do not show overt toxicity to cells, while aged QDs show cytotoxicity and genotoxicity and significantly modulate the mRNA expression of proteins involved in zinc homeostasis, cell redox response, and inflammation. While the three aged QDs show similar toxicity, the toxicity of pristine gradient-shell QD is higher than that of pristine double-shell QD, confirming that adding a second shell is a promising safer-by-design strategy. Taken together, these results suggest that end-of-life degradation products from InP-based QDs are detrimental to skin cells in case of accidental exposure and that the mechanisms driving this effect are oxidative stress, inflammation, and disturbance of cell metal homeostasis, particularly Zn homeostasis. Further efforts to promote safer-by-design formulations of QDs, for instance by reducing the In and Zn content and/or implementing a more robust outer shell, are therefore warranted.

Domestic Industrial Environmental Cost and Strategic Choice in Developing Countries

2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 48-67
Author(s):  
Dechun Huang ◽  
Zhibiao Liu ◽  
Andrew Thompson ◽  
Jie Chen
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Environmental Policies ◽  
Electronic Equipment ◽  
Environmental Cost ◽  
Hazardous Substances ◽  
Market Model ◽  
Environmental Constraints ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Vertical Market

This paper examines competitive issues related to environmental policies like the European Union directives on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment and Restriction on Hazardous Substances implemented in 2006. In order to examine strategic environmental choice implications related to these directives, a vertical market model developed by Stephen F. Hamilton in analyzing competitive choice amongst domestic and foreign, downstream and upstream companies in the presence of environmental constraints was adopted. The main conclusion is that industrial and environmental policies in developing countries should be refocused so as to realize the integration of the environmental cost by internalizing the externalities.

scholarly journals Environmental decay and the illegal market in e-waste from a European perspective: current problems and future directions

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Giada Dalla Gasperina
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Waste ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Waste Recycling ◽  
Electronic Equipment ◽  
Hazardous Substances ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Local Environments ◽  
The Eu

In the last decade, the growth in electronics production and consumption has been coupled with an increase in the illegal export of electrical and electronic waste (or “e-waste”) beyond the borders of the European Union (EU). Shipped to illegal recycling facilities in less industrialized countries, e-waste is a severe threat to the integrity of local environments and a potential source of ecosystem and biodiversity loss. Although the extent of the damage caused by e-waste pollution is unknown, scientific studies have warned of the perils of hazardous substances, which are released during primitive e-waste recycling activities in countries such as China, Ghana and Nigeria.  Drawing insights from the scientific literature, this paper illustrates how the problem of e-waste pollution is intrinsically linked to the issue of biodiversity and ecosystem degradation. In particular, it argues that much greater attention should be paid to the EU Directives on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) and to the proposals to recast the two Directives because of their potential to enhance environmental protection globally. Nonetheless, underpinning this scrutiny is the contention that shortcomings in the EU legal framework on e-waste could ultimately affect the environment and biodiversity of less industrialized states. 

Quality management in medical laboratories

2010 ◽  
Vol 30 (02) ◽  
pp. 55-62
Author(s):  
M. Fritzer-Szekeres
Keyword(s):  
Quality Management ◽  
Medical Laboratory ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Quality Management Systems ◽  
Iso 17025 ◽  
Iso 15189 ◽  
Medical Laboratories ◽  
Systems Quality ◽  
Standard Iso 15189

SummaryDuring the 20th century understanding for quality has changed and international and national requirements for quality have been published. Therefore also medical branches started to establish quality management systems. Quality assurance has always been important for medical laboratories. Certification according to the standard ISO 9001 and accreditation according to the standard ISO 17025 have been the proof of fulfilling quality requirements. The relatively new standard ISO 15189 is the first standard for medical laboratories. This standard includes technical and management requirements for the medical laboratory. The main focus is the proof of competence within the personnel. As this standard is accepted throughout the European Union an increase in accreditations of medical laboratories is predictable.

The European Charter of Local Self-Government

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Himsworth
Keyword(s):  
Critical Study ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Future Prospects ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
Additional Protocol ◽  
Domestic Courts ◽  
The Status ◽  
History Of ◽  
Regional Authorities

The first critical study of the 1985 international treaty that guarantees the status of local self-government (local autonomy). Chris Himsworth analyses the text of the 1985 European Charter of Local Self-Government and its Additional Protocol; traces the Charter’s historical emergence; and explains how it has been applied and interpreted, especially in a process of monitoring/treaty enforcement by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities but also in domestic courts, throughout Europe. Locating the Charter’s own history within the broader recent history of the Council of Europe and the European Union, the book closes with an assessment of the Charter’s future prospects.

European Integration

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johann P. Arnason
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
History Of ◽  
External Conditions ◽  
Eastern European Countries ◽  
Totalitarian Regimes ◽  
The Eu

Different understandings of European integration, its background and present problems are represented in this book, but they share an emphasis on historical processes, geopolitical dynamics and regional diversity. The introduction surveys approaches to the question of European continuities and discontinuities, before going on to an overview of chapters. The following three contributions deal with long-term perspectives, including the question of Europe as a civilisational entity, the civilisational crisis of the twentieth century, marked by wars and totalitarian regimes, and a comparison of the European Union with the Habsburg Empire, with particular emphasis on similar crisis symptoms. The next three chapters discuss various aspects and contexts of the present crisis. Reflections on the Brexit controversy throw light on a longer history of intra-Union rivalry, enduring disputes and changing external conditions. An analysis of efforts to strengthen the EU’s legal and constitutional framework, and of resistances to them, highlights the unfinished agenda of integration. A closer look at the much-disputed Islamic presence in Europe suggests that an interdependent radicalization of Islamism and the European extreme right is a major factor in current political developments. Three concluding chapters adopt specific regional perspectives. Central and Eastern European countries, especially Poland, are following a path that leads to conflicts with dominant orientations of the EU, but this also raises questions about Europe’s future. The record of Scandinavian policies in relation to Europe exemplifies more general problems faced by peripheral regions. Finally, growing dissonances and divergences within the EU may strengthen the case for Eurasian perspectives.

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