In Guiyu, China's E-waste Capital, 90% Of Residents Have Skin, Nerve Or Respiratory Illnesses

[hatrack]

EDIT

According to a 2005 U.N. report, up to 50 million tonnes of e-waste is generated annually, as people upgrade laptops and PCs and throw out old models. The China Quality News estimates that about 72 percent of that e-waste ended up in China.

During the disposal process, workers, including women and sometimes children, are exposed to a toxic cocktail of chemicals. The many small businesses take few safety precautions to protect their workers.

State media estimated almost nine of out 10 of the people in Guiyu suffered from problems with their skin, nervous, respiratory or digestive systems. After the useful metals are taken out, leftover parts are often dumped in landfills or rivers or simply burnt. Piles of old computers even block the traffic in some parts of Guiyu.

"People use the least investment, the most simple equipment, the shortest time possible to get the most profit out of this business," said Nie Yongfeng, an environment professor at Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University. "That's all they care about."



EDIT

http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=12932

[NJCher]

1. I have a stack of computers, DVD players, etc.

In my living room, waiting for the proper waste disposal day. But now that I've read this story, I wonder--even if I dispose of them "properly"--where they will go.



Cher

[deadmessengers]

2. BS Alert!

problems with their skin, nervous, respiratory or digestive systems.

That 90% figure just made my BS detector go bananas. I mean, I get nasty dry itchy skin every winter - by their criteria, would that count as a problem with my skin? How about constipation and/or diarrhea? Clearly, that's a digestive problem.

[tom_paine]

3. Look closely at BushPutinist China...their present is our future

except without the staggering economic growth.