Children on the frontlines: The e-waste epidemic in Africa
By Karimeh Moukaddem, www.mongabay.com
9 September 2011
In Agbogbloshie, a slum outside the capital city of Accra, Ghana, tons of electronic waste lies smoldering in toxic piles. Children make their way through this dangerous environment, desperate to strip even a few ounces of copper, aluminum, brass, and zinc from worn-out electronics originating from the United States and Europe. “The smell alone will drive all but the most desperate away, but many are so desperate they persevere despite the obvious dangers. It is a very tough thing to witness,” explains Dr. Kwei Quartey, a Ghanaian author and physician, in a recent www.mongabay.com interview. Electronic waste (e-waste), or worn-out electrical equipment, includes television sets, computers, phones, personal electronic devices, and refrigerators. “I visited Agbogbloshie in June,” says Dr. Quartey, “I was born and raised in Accra before this ghetto became the de facto dumping ground for the west’s electronic waste. I decided to feature it in my latest novel, Children of the Street, because Agbogbloshie needs more attention— not less.” According to Deborah McGrath, a Biology professor at Sewanee: the University of the South with expertise in biogeochemistry, nearly three percent of e-waste is composed of toxins including lead, arsenic, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and mercury. Mercury and lead are particularly dangerous neurotoxins that bioaccumulate in children’s bodies over time. “I met many of these children in Accra during these walks, and hung out with some of them,” says Quartey, “kids with wisdom beyond their years. You can see it in their eyes. Yet they laugh like children all over the world. Their resilience is remarkable.” Yet these children are at grave risk. According to Professor McGrath, they may suffer from brain and kidney damage, respiratory illness, developmental and behavioral disorders, and eventually cancer. Acute or chronic exposure to toxic e-waste can be fatal. E-waste recyclers are chronically exposed to these neurotoxins and carcinogens directly through dermal contact and inhalation and indirectly through contaminated food and water. E-waste also pollutes the environment, causing further damage to communities near dumpsites, explains McGrath. Heavy metals, including chromium, cadmium, lead, zinc, and nickel, leach from waste sites and contaminate local water supplies. If burned, the discarded electronics release dioxins— and toxic particles in smoky ash are inhaled easily by children. […]
