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    A World of Minerals in Your Mobile Device

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    George
    Ten minerals used in cell phones are listed: gold, lithium, aluminum, cobalt, copper, lead, nickel, tungsten, silver, and zinc. They are used in different components like the circuit board, battery, casing, and vibrator. The environmental hazards of improperly disposing of cell phones are explained. Toxic metals and minerals in phones can pollute soils and water sources if phones end up in landfills. This pollution poses health risks to humans and wildlife by entering the food chain. Proper recycling is important to avoid these environmental issues.

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    A World of Minerals in Your Mobile Device

    Uploaded by

    George
    22 views2 pages
    Ten minerals used in cell phones are listed: gold, lithium, aluminum, cobalt, copper, lead, nickel, tungsten, silver, and zinc. They are used in different components like the circuit board, battery, casing, and vibrator. The environmental hazards of improperly disposing of cell phones are explained. Toxic metals and minerals in phones can pollute soils and water sources if phones end up in landfills. This pollution poses health risks to humans and wildlife by entering the food chain. Proper recycling is important to avoid these environmental issues.

    Original Description:

    Geo115 Assignment 1

    Original Title

    HH.GEO115.A1

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    Ten minerals used in cell phones are listed: gold, lithium, aluminum, cobalt, copper, lead, nickel, tungsten, silver, and zinc. They are used in different components like the circuit board, battery, casing, and vibrator. The environmental hazards of improperly disposing of cell phones are explained. Toxic metals and minerals in phones can pollute soils and water sources if phones end up in landfills. This pollution poses health risks to humans and wildlife by entering the food chain. Proper recycling is important to avoid these environmental issues.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    22 views2 pages

    A World of Minerals in Your Mobile Device

    Uploaded by

    George
    Ten minerals used in cell phones are listed: gold, lithium, aluminum, cobalt, copper, lead, nickel, tungsten, silver, and zinc. They are used in different components like the circuit board, battery, casing, and vibrator. The environmental hazards of improperly disposing of cell phones are explained. Toxic metals and minerals in phones can pollute soils and water sources if phones end up in landfills. This pollution poses health risks to humans and wildlife by entering the food chain. Proper recycling is important to avoid these environmental issues.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 2

    Hayden Headrick

    A World of Minerals in Your Mobile Device


    A variety of minerals used in the manufacturing of cell phones. Examples:
     Magnesium compounds is used in phone casing
     Palladium is used in electrical circuitry
     Platinum is used in Electrical circuitry
    Answer the following questions (2-3 pages):
    1. List at least 10 minerals and explain how these are used in different parts of a cell
    phone.
    1. Gold: Used to conduct electricity. Small amounts of gold are used to make the
    mobile phone circuit board.
    2. Lithium: Used in the production of mobile-phone batteries.
    3. Aluminum: Used in outer phone casing and some inner components.
    4. Cobalt: Used to make the rechargeable batteries in mobile phones.
    5. Copper: An electrical conductor in the mobile-phone circuit board.
    6. Lead: Element used in the solder that joins the parts of our cell phones.
    7. Nickel: Used in mobile phone electrical connections, capacitors and batteries.
    8. Tungsten: In the component that helps cell phone vibrate.
    9. Silver: Used in mobile-phone circuit boards.
    10. Zinc: Also used in the mobile-phone circuit board.
    2. What are the Environmental Hazards of not properly recycling cell phones?
    Cell phones are made of components that are toxic to the environment. These toxic

    metals and minerals can lead to environmental issues if placed in landfills. This makes it

    important to understand why properly disposing mobile devices should be known by

    anyone who uses a mobile device, which is a vast majority of people in America. What

    has exacerbated the issue even further is the fact that cell phones have a short shelf life

    and are replaced on average every 2-3 years by users if not sooner. In an ideal world of

    environmental wellness, cell phones would be repaired rather than replaced, but that is
    not a realistic expectation in today's world. The issues with the build of cellphones begins

    with how their batteries are made with lithium. There are studies that show lithium

    batteries may be a substantial contributor to environmental pollution, with the mining of

    the mineral itself often leading to water pollution. When a pollution like this occurs, there

    is always the potential of it poisoning a local water supply that people rely on for clean

    water. In this case, it is clear to see how the improper disposal of cell phones can lead to

    damaging soils. Other toxic minerals like mercury, lead, and arsenic can build-up in the

    soil, which can enter the food chain, and in sufficient concentrations may cause health

    problems. In this case, the improper disposal of cell phones has repercussions that go

    beyond affecting humans, and eventually becomes a problem for wildlife and the

    environment as a whole.

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