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EVEN when India is emerging as a major technology powerhouse, the availability of cheap labour is making it an ideal place for the dumping or burning of electronic waste. This is proving to be a health hazard for hundreds of workers. E-waste, as it is commonly known, is one of the fastest growing waste streams around the world these days. It is fuelled by exponential growth of personal computers in the market and their rapid rate of obsolescence. During recycling the workers inhale noxious fumes of hazardous heavy metals which form the main component of the computer board. The re-usable computer parts and metals such as copper, silver and gold are highly prized. In the recycling shops, workers dip circuit boards and electric cables into plastic drums full of acid. When the acid is depleted, it is dumped into the open sewers. The chemicals cause devastating effects not only on the health of the workers but even on their mental ability. The heavy metals we found have a range of toxic effects. Metals like lead, mercury are particularly toxic to the nervous system, primarily on the developing nervous system in children. Heavy metals like cadmium are toxic to the kidneys, and the effects will accumulate over time with ongoing exposures. India’s low cost attracts e-waste from the US, Europe, East and South East Asia and West Asia. The recycling cost of a computer in the US is as much as $ 20, but in India it is only $ 2. Today, more than 50 per cent of the e-waste in India comes from abroad. Environmentalists say that the manufacturers are responsible for the harm caused as they are well aware of the hazardous chemicals they are using. "All the multinationals and the corporations have to phase out the chemicals from their products, so that we have cleaner products which are easy to recycle. And they should have a take-back policy, so that these discarded products don’t end up in the streets of Delhi," said Ramapati Kumar, Greenpeace Campaigner, India. It is possible to substitute the chemicals with safer alternatives. Multinationals corporations such as Sony, Samsung, Nokia, LG and Sony Ericsson have already decided to use less hazardous material in their products. The scientists in the UK have recently conducted a study on dust, soils, ashes and waste water in the workshops and its surrounding areas in India and China. Their scientific analysis shows that the collected samples contain high levels of hazardous chemicals. "We found high levels of contamination both on site, where the materials were being processed and the immediate environment around there. This consisted of a whole range of organic chemicals as well as many heavy metals. In fact, these were the most contaminated samples that have gone through our laboratories in the last few years," said Dr Kevin Brigdon, a scientist. — ANI |
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