A Greenpeace science team visiting two scrap yards in the capital city Accra and the city of Korforidua, Ghana, has confirmed that soil and sediment taken from two electronic waste (e-waste) scrap yards are severely contaminated with hazardous chemicals. This information was released on August 5th in a report entitled "Chemical contamination at e-waste recycling and disposal sites in Ghana" exposing the extent of environmental contamination caused by the recycling and disposal of e-waste.
Greenpeace researchers visited two scrap yards – one at Agbogbloshie market, in the capital city Accra, the main center for e-waste recycling in Ghana, and one in the city of Korforidua. Samples were taken from open-burning sites at both locations as well as from a shallow lagoon at the Agbogbloshie.Samples contained toxic metals including lead in quantities up to one hundred times above normal levels found in uncontaminated soil and sediment samples. Other chemicals such as phthalates which are known to interfere with sexual reproduction, were found in most of the test samples. One sample also contained a high level of chlorinated dioxins which are known to contribute to cancer."Many of the chemicals released are highly toxic, some may affect children's developing reproductive systems, while others can affect brain development and the nervous system," said Dr. Kevin Brigden of Greenpeace International. "In Ghana, China and India, workers, many of them children, may be exposed to substantial levels of these hazardous chemicals."Containers filled with old and often broken computers, monitors and TVs arrive in Ghana from Europe and the United States under the false label of "second-hand goods" or are simply dumped. The majority of the containers' contents end up in Ghana's scrap yards to be crushed and burned by workers, often children, sometimes using only their bare hands. This method not only pollutes the environment but also exposes workers to potentially toxic dust and fumes. This crude "recycling" is done in search of metal parts, mostly aluminum and copper
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We regularly see articles in the media, congratulating companies on their wonderful CSR programs which include donating their obsolete IT equipment to schools in Africa. The reality of what actually happens to obsolete electronic equipment, is set out in this and other articles.
I am not suggesting for a moment that companies who donate their obsolete IT equipment for reuse in this way are deliberately contributing to the problem. I suspect that it is more a case of not knowing what happens to the equipment, once it leaves their control.
It is also true to say that the schools do receive working IT equipment but, it is generally more than three years old and most likely to be over five years old. This equipment becomes obsolete very quickly and then it ends up being disposed of as described in the article.
There are organisations who provide this reuse service to companies but to my knowledge, none of them provide an end of life service, to dispose of the equipment correctly when it becomes obsolete.
Greenpeace are not the only organisation to highlight this problem. The Basel Action Network (www.ban.org) have also conducted studies into the disposal of electronic waste in Africa and Asia and come up with the same results.
Education is the greatest gift we can give these children, but should they really have to take our waste as part of the deal?
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