Report slams export of \"e-waste\" to Asia<\/p>\n
Reuters
\nHong Kong<\/p>\n
Waste from disused electronic components sent to developing
\ncountries such as China and India for recycling and disposal
\nposes dangerous health and environmental consequences, according
\nto a report scheduled to be released on Monday by watchdog
\ngroups.<\/p>\n
The report, prepared by the Basel Action Network and the
\nSilicon Valley Toxics Coalition, cited evidence gathered in the
\ntown of Guiyu, in southern China's Guangdong province, where so-
\ncalled \"e-waste\" including computer monitors and printers is
\ndismantled at hundreds of sites.<\/p>\n
Workers in Guiyu use often-rudimentary tools to extract
\nprimary elements from scrapped components: computer circuit
\nboards, lead and tin-based solder for resale, aluminum from
\nprinter parts and the copper-heavy yokes of cathode-ray tubes.<\/p>\n
\"A tremendous amount of imported e-waste material and process
\nresidues is not recycled but is simply dumped in open fields,
\nalong riverbanks, ponds, wetlands, in rivers and in irrigation
\nditches,\" the report said.<\/p>\n
Materials dumped in Guiyu included lead-laden glass from
\ncathode-ray tubes, burned or acid-reduced circuit boards, and
\nprinter toner cartridges.<\/p>\n
The report said sediment and water samples taken from the area
\nindicated the presence of high levels of heavy metals of the kind
\nfound in computers and other electronic components,<\/p>\n
\"Vast amounts of e-waste material, both hazardous and simply
\ntrash, is burned or dumped in the rice fields, irrigation canals
\nand along waterways,\" the report said.<\/p>\n
According to unnamed recycling industry resources cited in the
\nreport, between 50 and 80 percent of e-waste collected for
\nrecycling in the western United States ends up on ships headed
\nfor places such as China, where environmental oversight is less
\nstringent.<\/p>\n
The report said much of the waste seen in Guiyu had markings
\nof North American origin.<\/p>\n
Titled \"Exporting Harm: The Techno Trashing of Asia\", the
\nreport included contributions from Toxics Link India, SCOPE
\n(Pakistan), and Greenpeace China.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/report-slams-export-of-e-waste-to-asia-1447899208",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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