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EXPORTING HARM


source: www.ban.org/E-waste/
technotrashfinalcomp.pdf

guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/
0,3604,1309066,00.html

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exporting harm

Mountains of obsolete computers, monitors, and printers are dumped in developing countries with dire environmental, health and social consequences…
  • Up to 80of old US computers end up being exported to China and other Asian nations where children and peasants pick apart the toxic innards for US$1/day. Rudimental recovery operations are extremely harmful to both human health and the environment.


  • Britain is throwing out more than 1m tons/year of electronic ‘e-waste’ and government figures show that more than ever it is going abroad mainly to Africa and Asia. In 2003, such waste - sent to the poorest countries in the world - involved tens of thousands of old computers, 500,000 TV sets, 3m refrigerators, 160,000 tons of electrical equipment, and millions of discarded mobile phones.


  • In Guiyu (China), some 200 miles north-east of Hong, up to 100,000 migrant labourers break up and reprocess obsolete computers from around the world. Residents of the region have noted high levels of respiratory problems and the levels of lead, tin and chromium in the soil and water have been found significantly higher than the World Health Organisation recommended levels.
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