e-Waste: There is a pandemic coming

KEN UGBECHIE

The earth is fragile. Governments across the globe vote billions of dollars to support efforts aimed at maintaining the even keel of the environment, or at the very least, mitigate the damage done to the environment. From bush burning to the emission of noxious fumes through gas flaring and the discharge of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere courtesy of industrialisation, the world had been in constant threat of an environmental implosion.But 21st Century world is facing an even more dastardly environmental threat: e-waste. This is short form for electronic waste which essentially consists of end-of-life electronic products such as televisions, computers, printers, general electronics, mobile phones and toys that comprise a mixture of plastics, metals, and other materials. They form the bulk of wastes generated by both small scale and mega-corporations, and even homes.
Ordinarily, one would ask, what’s the danger in disused electronics being junked and burnt at waste sites? A lot. Electronics are a steady and ready source of substantial quantities of lead, cadmium, chromium and flame-retardant plastics. Cathode ray tubes (CRTs), a key part of every TV set and components with high lead content are considered dangerous to health. Inhaling or handling such substances and being in contact with them on a regular basis can damage the brain, nervous system, lungs, kidneys and the reproductive system. Working in poorly-ventilated enclosed areas without masks and technical expertise results in exposure to dangerous and slow-poisoning chemicals. Due to lack of awareness, workers are risking their health and environment as well, writes the Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Year after year, millions of tonnes of these end-of-life electronics are junked from the offices and homes of the advanced West and shipped to Asia and Africa where they are deployed to further use. But Asian nations are waking up to the challenge by rejecting some of the e-wastes and recycling the rest that have become unusable. Advances in technology have helped countries like China and India to fight back. This limits the option of dump site to only Africa. In the past decade during which African nations have rallied to leapfrog to the future and leverage their economies with diverse electronic technologies, e-waste has become a prominent feature of major cities.
As more e-wastes are junked on the continent, public health becomes more vulnerable. Cable News Network (CNN) brought the reality to the fore last week when it showed footages of some Nigerian youths scavenging through several dumpsites and ferreting all sorts of e-wastes from a mass of debris. They wore no masks, no hand gloves and were barely clad. As they scavenged for more e-wastes which they intend to sell in the thriving junk market, the rest of the wastes are being burnt nearby.
The danger inherent in such practice is much. E-waste is a veritable source of heavy metals like cadmium and lead both of which have been scientifically proven to cause great damage to public health.
According to a study carried out in China between 2003 and 2007, the rate of premature delivery, foetus death and low birth weight in Guiyu ( a community with high e-waste concentration) was significantly higher than in other areas. The foetus death rate in Guiyu was around six times higher than in the control group, while premature delivery was around 62 per cent higher, reports Science and Development Network. Recently, a far more frightening dimension was added to the menu of e-waste fatality. According to Environmental Health News published by Environmental Health Services, Chinese factory workers who dismantle computers and e-wastes are chronically exposed to high levels of dangerous chemicals that damage their DNA and are known to cause a variety of diseases.
The study highlights the high exposures and health hazards associated with handling e-waste under less controlled conditions. Workers had more damaged DNA than non-factory workers, five-times more altered DNA after work than before and higher levels of some chemicals than reported among US workers. Dust samples from the factories, says the report, contained higher levels of chemicals than have been reported in other worldwide studies. Many adverse health effects have been linked to the pollutants and this type of DNA damage can lead to cancer and premature aging, the report said.
This is frightening. But it gets more disturbing when you consider that in Nigeria with a growing culture to get technology savvy, we virtually live with e-wastes. From the Computer Village and the streets of Lawanson, both in Lagos to other parts of the country, e-waste is the neighbour next door. Second-hand computers, laptops, TV sets and now phones are daily shipped into Nigeria, some in good condition, others in very poor state. They dot business and resource centres across the nation. That is not my worry. My fear is what Nigerians do with these gadgets when they are no longer usable. They simply junk them at the dump site or sell to the e-waste buyers who have no expertise whatsoever in e-waste recycling and disposal. And without knowing it they get exposed to all sorts of toxic metals. I am not aware of any study carried out in Nigeria on the level of risk of e-waste among traders in the e-waste markets, people living near the dump sites or those that directly dismantle e-wastes at dump sites.
But while such study tarries, the relevant environmental agencies should double efforts at public enlightenment. People ought to know that destroying a TV set by smashing the screen, the tube (CRT) and setting a computer ablaze near homes is a catalyst to early grave. Nigerians must learn to imbibe the three R’s of ‘Reduce, Re-use and Re-cycle’. To achieve ‘Reduce, does not require scientific know-how. It simply means smart acquisition: buying only those electronics you need, not just anything you find on the shelf. Re-use and Re-cycle require some know-how, but with proper enlightenment, people can be guided.