A new Greenpeace report details the havoc that computers and other e-waste wreaks around the world, in this case, in Ghana.
E-waste in the scrap yards is dismantled, often by children, to get at recyclables, with disastrous health consequences. According to Greenpeace's Dr. Kevin Bridgen: "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. In Ghana, China and India, workers, many of them children, may be substantially exposed to these hazardous chemicals."
IT pros can try and make sure that whoever handles their e-waste disposes of it properly, but that's not always possible to do. So within the last few weeks, U.S. Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas), the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials, introduced a resolution that would ban exporting toxic e-waste to developing nations. For details, see this press release.
For the last year that the EPA has information available, 2005, there were 2.6 million tons of e-waste, the congressman notes. But only 13 percent of e-waste is being handled properly by state and local governments, manufacturers, retailers, and environmental groups, he says.
Here's one example where IT departments and enteprises on their own can't solve the problem. Passing the law would begin to tackle the e-waste problem. |
