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You Are Here: Home » Feature Articles, Lead Story » Ghana gets down to tackling e-waste problem
Discarded computer cases in Ghana
With assistance from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA) and funding from the Secretarial of the Basel Convention (SBC) and the European Union (EU), two consultants from Switzerland, Mathias Shluep and Esther Muller supported by Prof. Oladele Osibanjo, Director of the Basel Convention Regional Coordinating Centre for Africa for Training and Technology Transfer in Nigeria, a national project led by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been started in the country to thoroughly look at the situation and formulate appropriate policies to manage it.
As a starting point a forum was held Tuesday November 3, 2009 in Accra followed by a training session for a committee that would undertake an inventory of all obsolete electronics equipment in the country.
Sub-committees have also been formed to engage the Ghanaian public through education, information dissemination and other related issues. The committees would look at issues of finance, capacity building, policy and implementation and the media.
Non-governmental organizations, waste recycling companies, scrap dealers and scientists were all represented at the forum.
Ghana unfortunately has become a dumping ground for unusable electronics equipment such as fridges, sound systems, air conditioners, computers and mobile phones from the US and Europe. It is however, not known yet how much of the over 50 million tonnes of e-waste from the developed world ends up in Ghana as inventory is yet to be taken.
Investigations by some UK media have found out-of-use computers from the country’s National Health Service (NHS) and Universities which were handed to British recycling companies for proper disposal in Ghana. Other discarded computers meant for recycling by some recycling companies in the US also were found on the Agbogbloshie dump site in Accra.
Indeed, at the forum, the fact that some e-waste is generated from within Ghana was noted and it was also clear that there is limited knowledge about e-waste in Ghana, making the need for intense education on the subject very necessary.
One other important issue that came up at the forum was the definition of e-waste within the cultural or local context of the country. But without any doubt, that is a straight forward matter. Because old functioning electronics items can always be used elsewhere or even in Europe or America, but obsolete or items at their end of life or ones that are not functioning certainly, cannot serve much useful purpose.
Apart from the hazardous contents of e-waste, it also contains precious metals like gold, silver and copper. The technology, however for safely extracting precious metals from e-waste can only be found in the developed world.
The hazardous contents of e-waste
Plastics used to house computer equipment and cover wire cables to prevent flammability often contain polybrominated flame retardants, a class of dangerous chemicals. Studies have shown that ingesting these substances may increase the risk of cancer, liver damage, and immune system dysfunction.
Lead, mercury, cadmium, and polybrominated flame retardants are all persistent, bio-accumulative toxins (PBTs), that can create environmental and health risks when computers are manufactured, incinerated, landfilled or melted during recycling. PBTs, in particular are a dangerous class of chemicals that linger in the environment and accumulate in living tissues.
And because they increase in concentration as they move up the food chain, PBTs can reach dangerous levels in living organisms, even when released in minute quantities. PBTs are harmful to human health and the environment and have been associated with cancer, nerve damage and reproductive disorders.
Looked at individually, the chemicals contained in e-waste are a cocktail of dangerous pollutants that kill both the environment and humans slowly.
Lead, which negative effects were recognized and therefore banned from gasoline in the 1970s causes damage to the central and peripheral nervous systems, blood systems, kidney and the reproductive system in humans.
Effects of lead on the endocrine system have been observed, including the serious negative effects it has on children’s brain development. When it accumulates in the environment, it has high acute and chronic effects on plants, animals and micro-organisms.
Cadmium compounds are also toxic with a possible risk of irreversible effects on human health and accumulate in the human body, particularly the kidneys. Cadmium occurs in certain components such as SMD chip resistors, infra-red detectors, and semi-conductor chips.
Mercury on the other hand, can cause damage to various organs including the brain and kidneys as well as the fetus. More especially, the developing fetus is highly susceptible through maternal exposure to mercury.
These are only few of the chemicals used in the manufacture of electronics equipment. Other chemicals are Hexavalent Chromium which is used as a corrosion protection of untreated and galvanized steel plates and as a decorative or hardener for steel housings.
Plastics including, PVC are also used. Plastics constitute about 13.8 pounds of an average computer.
The largest volume of plastics, 26% used in electronics is PVC. When PVC is burned, dioxin can be formed because it contains chlorine compounds. Barium, is a soft silvery-white metal that is used in computers in the front panel of a CRT, to protect users from radiation.
Studies have shown that short-term exposure to barium has caused brain swelling, muscle weakness, damage to the liver, heart and spleen.
Considering the health hazards of e-waste, another ubiquitous computer peripheral scrap worth mentioning is toners. The main ingredient of the black toner is a pigment commonly called, carbon black – the general term used to describe the commercial powder form of carbon.
Inhalation is the primary means of exposure, and acute exposure may lead to respiratory tract irritation.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi
Email: edogbevi@hotmail.com
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It is absolutely refreshing and commendable to see concrete steps taken on the issue of e-waste management in Ghana. This is how capacity is developed to secure the future for generations to come. For some time now we have been concern about the non action by state institutions to adress this issue.
This step to address the problem is a welcome one. Thanks to the writer for his indept research and exposure of these issues in previous months.
this is how Africa can become a better place.