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The Impacts of Electronic Waste

2 Pages 488 Words October 2016

The spectacle of discarded electronic or electrical waste has generated worldwide attention and concern as it is a global problem that is getting bigger by the day. This concern is justified due to the effects of environmental pollution and health conditions that e-waste causes. The Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Plague or Great Plague of the late 1340s, a cataclysmic plague in medieval Europe that shook them to its core, resembles today's e-waste which is visible. E-Waste causes detrimental effects from environmental issues to health conditions that cause fatal consequences to adults and children in developing countries like Africa, China, India, and others. With developed countries like Australia and the United States shipping electronic waste to them, people will salvage used parts to refurbish other components. Burning the e-waste that is not salvaged will generate raw materials creating income to survive. Hence, producing toxic chemicals and fumes that will be breathed in or consumed in the food.
In a documentary video by Giovana Vitola, she states that residents of Ghana Africa are getting infected with toxic chemicals that leaked into their water supply and airborne fumes inhaled from burning electronics (SBS Dateline, 2011). As the residents use the toxic water for growing vegetables, the contaminated water is introduced to the consumer goods. As with the burning, the thick black smoke consumes the town every day, and the toxic fumes are affecting the development of the children. This toxicity is due in part to toxins such as mercury, lead, cadmium and some other substances.
Health conditions of the residents continue to deteriorate on a daily basis. They complain of headaches, coughing, body pain and other symptoms. Mercury, for instance, has the side effects of muscle atrophy, changes in nerve responses, and emotional changes; being exposed to a higher amount of Mercury could lead to kidney failure, respiratory fai...

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