Video
Industry news
EPA, UNU TEAM UP TO TRACK E-SCRAP
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has partnered with the United Nations University to track shipments of end-of-life electronics to Africa and Asia.
With the goal of gaining more accurate information on the growing mounds of obsolete electronics generated in the U.S. each year, and the health and pollution problems associated with them, the EPA has awarded a five-year, $2.5 million grant the UNU's Institute for Sustainability and Peace to help authorities track shipments of electronics from North America. The grant will also provide assistance to countries in Africa and Asia dealing with e-waste imports.
There are five objectives under the agreement:
Determine the routes that electronics are leaving the country and assess the methodologies that may be used to quantify amounts.
Harmonize international efforts, including research, tracking, data collection, analysis and information sharing by working with port officials in West Africa and Asia.
Successfully demonstrate projects for electronics refurbishment and disposal.
Develop science-based pilot and demonstration projects for e-waste refurbishment and disposal.
Encourage international cooperation to ensure high recycling efficiency and appropriate treatment of critical components in e-scrap processed in developing countries.
http://resource-recycling.com/node/2217
Trial begins in UK's biggest ever WEEE export case
The trial has begun today (October 24) in relation to the Environment Agency's largest ever investigation into alleged illegal exports of waste electrical and electronic equipment from the UK to Nigeria.
Seven defendants - four individuals and three companies - are scheduled to appear at Basildon Crown Court in Essex in a case being heard by His Honour Judge Black. A further seven defendants - five individuals and two companies - are being tried separately in relation to the same investigation once the first trial has concluded.
Two court hearings have already been held in the lead-up to today's trial, during which it emerged that the defendants were facing charges relating to 11 containers of hazardous waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) being exported to Nigeria, containing a total of 158 tonnes of material.
Surrey hospital admits data security breach
A hospital in England's south-east has admitted to a serious breach in data security, which resulted in the confidential medical records of 800 patients being lost for good.
In its annual report, the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust outlined details of the September 2010 incident at East Surrey Hospital in Redhill.
Hospital bosses revealed how an unencrypted memory stick containing the private medical details went missing and was never seen again.
Michael Wilson, chief executive, said it was the trust's policy that all staff should use encrypted memory sticks when transferring important data.
"It is regrettable that this didn't happen on this occasion and since then we have put in place new measures that mean that now only encrypted memory sticks can be used with trust computers," he added.
The Information Commissioner's Office has warned that any repeat of the incident may result in formal regulatory action being taken.
Private sector data breaches up 58 percent
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has revealed that the number of data security breaches in the private sector has increased by 58 percent year-on-year.
Between 1 April and 30 September 2011, there were 136 breaches reported to the ICO, compared to 86 in the same period last year.
