The instrument used in this study, to determine the level of Br, in computers and TVs was the handheld hazardous substances analyzer Genius 3000 X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer (Skyray Company). It is small, easy to carry, and supports handheld field online analysis during raw materials inspection, process control and finished product inspection. It can measure the level of Br directly by placing the measurement window close to the sample to be analyzed.

Different Governmental Institutions were selected due to the availability of stores of obsolete computers and large number of computers still in use. Therefore, the data for old and new computers was collected from diverse sites including University of Asmara, Asmara Technical School, Governmental Property Disposal Store, Eritrea Institute of Technology (EIT), Asha-Golgol, College of Marine Science and Technology, Authority of Port of Massawa, Ministry of Marine Resource Massawa, and Hamelmalo College of Agriculture. Moreover, in this study older and newly imported TVs were selected from various repairing shops and vocational training centers in Asmara. During the sample analysis different types of TVs, which have long range of life were selected. A typical electronic product is made up of hundreds of individual components. Complete testing of each product was usually impractical due to time and sample preparation constraints. This challenge was mainly addressed by focusing on the samples of known “high concern” materials like CRT casings (TVs and computer monitors) and printed circuit boards.

From the 173 sampled computers of a wide range of manufacturers, a total of around 4 kilogram of Br was determined in both the old and lately imported products. The level and range of the concentration of Br analysed in the samples of computers found in different governmental sectors are also displayed in Table 1 and Figure 1 respectively. The level of Br was varying from the lowest detectable amount (0.3689 ppm) up to the highest (87,821 ppm). Generally, from the examined computers, 24 (15%) were in the range of 1000 - 10,000, 49 (29%) had Br concentration between 10,000 and 20,000 ppm, 29 (17%) in the range of 20,000 to 30,000 ppm, 21 (12%) were between 30,000 to 50,000 ppm and 24 (14%) computers had greater than 50,000 ppm. The overall tally of computers with high level (above the defined limit) of Br was about 147 (85%); this clearly indicates that the examined samples had high levels of brominated flame retardants. However, the level of Br was not detectable only in 7 (4%) computers, and the level of Br in 19 (11%) samples was below the limit (<1000 ppm). Various concentrations of Br were detected in the different samples and there was no uniform pattern in the levels of Br relative to the type and age of the electronic products. Relatively, large percentage of the computers had Br concentration in the range of 10,000-20,000 ppm and as shown in Figure 1, there was no uniform pattern in the increment of the range of Br concentration.

Most importantly, screening of the obsolete computers found in the Ministry of Marine Resource displayed relatively low Br concentration, with maximum value of 16,921 ppm, as compared to the other results. This could be due to the hot weather in Massawa; there is high possibility of volatilizing the brominated organic materials because the old computers are found in an open area. Therefore, these toxic substances can critically affect the health of community living in the vicinity of the open store by entering their body through respiratory tracts and marine foods. According to U.S Environmental Protection Agency (2006) [24] , direct exposure to commercial PBDE mixtures is assumed to be the main source of PBDE uptake/accumulation in biota; it is plausible that PBDE mixtures may contribute to the loading of persistent PBDEs in marine food webs.

Samples of the screened obsolete computers of different brands and models manufactured at different times are displayed in Table 2. However, the concentration of bromine didn’t show any consistency with the manufacturing time or type of the product. For example, the levels of Br (in ppm) in the screened IBM

NB: UoA (University of Asmara); ATS (Asmara Technical School); GPDS (Governmental Property Disposal Store); AG (ASha-Golgol); EIT (Eritrea Institute of Technology); MC (Marine College); PoM (Port of Massawa); MMR (Ministry of Marine Resource); ZA (Zoba Anseba).

manufactured at different times was 425 (1981), 22052 (1995), 0.4006 (1996), 56,032 (2001), and 67,845 (2002). The same case was observed in DELL and the results were 28,314 (obtilex 1994), 10472 (dimension 1996), 26,463 (1997), 32,501 (2002), 15,786 (2003), and 0 (2004). Some possible reasons for the variation of Br could be due to the manufacturer’s use of different levels of BFRs or the use of other types of flame retardants. Moreover, the temperature and time to which the products manufactured, the nature of the stores used, and the difference in the sample parts analysed could be additional reasons.

Based on the preliminary survey, the quantity of obsolete computers and other e-wastes temporarily stored in ordinary stores is growing at an alarming rate. Mostly, those wastes are mixed with other materials or wastes and are sometimes placed in an open area. This could be due to lack of storage facilities and

NB: # manufacturing time was not found.

inadequate infrastructure for WEEE management, and very low awareness of the users. In this study, the levels of bromine in samples of computers still functioning were also screened. As shown in Table 3, the quantity of bromine was found mainly above the level (i.e. 1000 ppm or <0.1 % by weight) of EU Directive (2017/2102) [25] in EEEs implemented in 2006. However, some lately manufactured products showed low levels of Br (ppm); Lenovo 2015 (134 ppm) and Dell 2013 (44 ppm) and these satisfied the RoHS directive. The analysis indicates that there is still possibility of finding computers in the market with high level of BRFs. Therefore, there should be a mechanism to scrutinize and thus monitor the importation of electronic equipments. Moreover, the Ministry in charge should implement national legislation framework related to the assembly and importation of new electrical equipment.

The XRF screening results displayed in Table 4 was obtained from the unassembled computer parts found in Asha-Golgol. The level of Br, from different manufacturers was much higher than the RoHS directive maximum concentration value. The result indicated that, there is a possibility to get computers having high level of Br even in new casings and thus purchasers should be aware of this matter. Besides, this result clearly indicated that BFRs are still used in some computer parts.

The samples of televisions assessed were from private sectors such as repairing shops and vocational training centers. Most of the repairing shops are situated

NB: “#” manufacturing time was not found; “mb” motherboard.

along with other business and residential areas. The workshops are congested and thus different TV parts are kept together without proper storage conditions. Besides, the technicians are usually working without adequate personal protective equipment and others do the repairing in their living houses; thus exposing themselves, their families, local residents and the environment to the dangerous pollutants especially via dust ingestion. In this study, 50 TV samples including old and lately imported products were screened. As indicated in Table 5 and Figure 2, a total of around 1.2 kilogram of Br was measured varying from lowest detectable amount (1.5793 ppm) to the highest (80,916 ppm). Due to the storage problems in the repairing shops, any material which doesn’t function is usually discarded away and this increases the WEEE. E-wastes contain multiple toxic substances that are hazardous to human health and the environment; therefore even a small amount of e-waste entering the residual wastes will add up relatively high amount toxic substances.

Generally, from the screened samples, 4 TVs (8%) were found below the detection limit, and 8 (16%) had Br concentration below 1000 ppm. Majority of the samples, 22 (44%) were found with Br level between 10,000 to 30,000 ppm. Moreover, 7 (14%) TVs had concentration of 30,000 up to 50,000 ppm and 9 (18%) were found with much higher Br concentration (>50,000 ppm). Similar to the analysis of computers, the highest level of bromine in TVs was observed in

the range of 10,000 - 20,000 ppm. Relatively, the trend shows that there were large percentage of TVS with extreme level (>50,000 ppm) of Bromine and thus large portion of the highly toxic polybrominated flame retardants. According to Korcz, et al. (2014) [26] , heating the electrical devices during operation as well as UV irradiation are the main factors to the release of PBDEs from TVs. A 5˚C rise in temperature has been shown to increase the emission of PBDEs from television casings to the environment from 40% to 70%. From this it can be suggested that every user is exposed to those chemicals even at low amounts; children and individuals in which their daily life are related to repairing and indoor activities are highly exposed. The results of the XRF screening (Table 6) clearly indicates that BFRs are highly employed in different brands of TVs including the lately manufacture products. However, like the case of computers, the amount of Br didn’t show any consistency regarding to either product type or manufacturing time. For example, the amount of Br (inppm) was found to be 30,143 in Sony wega, 35,582 in Sony tritron (both CRTs), and 68,591 in Sony (LCD). Similar results were obtained in Sharp 2004 (12,809), Zenith 1995 (65,397), Samsung 2011 (35,326), Samsung 2013 (19,981), and LG 2012 (16,683).

NB: * CRT TVs, # manufacturing time was not found.