The World Health Organization (WHO) has released its report on e-waste and health, calling for more stringent and necessary measures to protect children.
According to new findings from the World Health Organization, millions of children, adolescents, and expectant mothers, are at risk from the unregulated processing of e-waste. The report, entitled Children and Digital Dumpsites, highlights the need for urgent action to protect the health of those affected. IT asset disposition services (ITAD), need to be utilized in developed countries to reduce the colossal amounts of electronic waste being dumped in impoverished nations. Astronomical amounts of electronic waste are left for poor countries to recycle in an unregulated manner- wreaking havoc on the environment and human health.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General comments, “with mounting volumes of production and disposal, the world faces what one recent international forum described as a mounting ‘tsunami of e-waste’, putting lives and health at risk.” He also states, “In the same way the world has rallied to protect the seas and their ecosystems from plastic and microplastic pollution, we need to rally to protect our most valuable resource –the health of our children – from the growing threat of e-waste.” There are more than 18 million children and adolescents around the world who are actively involved in the informal industrial sector, with many of them working in the sub-sector of waste processing.
Children are often recruited by parents or caregivers to help with e-waste recycling. This is because their hands are smaller and more capable of dissembling electronics. Children living near e-waste recycling centers may be exposed to high levels of toxic chemicals, which are highly dangerous. Exposure to e-waste can be especially harmful for young children due to their small size and less developed organs. Additionally, children absorb more pollutants and are less able to metabolize toxic substances compared to an adult.
E-waste Has a Significant Effect on Human Health
It is estimated that 12.9 million women are employed in this sector globally, endangering themselves and their unborn children. Workers in the e-waste industry are exposed to a variety of harmful substances on a daily basis. These substances include lead, mercury, nickel, brominated flame retardants and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Exposure to toxic e-waste affects the development of an unborn child especially. Potential adverse health effects include birth defects, premature births, low birth weight and length.
Marie-Noel Brune Drisse, the lead WHO author on the report shares that “a child who eats just one chicken egg from Agbogbloshie, a waste site in Ghana, will absorb 220 times the European Food Safety Authority daily limit for intake of chlorinated dioxins,” adding that “Improper e-waste management is the cause. This is a rising issue that many countries do not recognize yet as a health problem. If they do not act now, its impacts will have a devastating health effect on children and lay a heavy burden on the health sector in the years to come.”
Issues children are experiencing due to e-wase exposure includes respiratory problems, ADHD, temperament problems, sensory difficulties, low IQ scores, DNA damage, impaired thyroid function and an increased risk of chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.
A Quickly Growing Global Issue
E-waste is a rising problem worldwide. A small percentage is recycled, but the majority of electronic waste ends up in developing countries. Companies or unscrupulous “recycling” operations export large amounts of e-waste containing toxic materials to landfills in these nations, at the cost of hazardous conditions to their citizens. Exporters, importers, and governments must take effective and lawful action to ensure that e-waste is disposed of in an environmentally appropriate way.
As the use of computers, cell phones and other electronics expands, so does the volume of global e-waste. According to the Global Electronic Waste Statistics Partnership (GESP), world waste volumes grew by 21% in the five years up to 2019, when 53.6 million metric tons of electronic waste were generated. For perspective, last year’s electronic waste weighed as much as 350 cruise ships placed end to end to form a line 78 miles long. This growth is projected to continue as more and more people buy and use these devices at an ever-increasing rate.
The vast majority of electronic waste produced each year is illegally dumped in low- or middle-income countries, where it is then recycled by informal workers. According to the most recent estimates from the Global E-Waste Monitor, just 17.4% of e-waste produced in 2019 reached regulated management or recycling facilities.
A Cry for Help Involves ITAD
ITAD services must be part of lifecycle management for corporations in developed nations. Workers, families, and communities deserve to be protected from exposure to hazardous materials, ITAD services ensure this is standard practice.
The health community must also take action to reduce the adverse effects from e-waste exposure, by building capacity to diagnose, monitor, and prevent toxic exposure among children and women. Raising awareness of the benefits of responsible recycling, working with affected communities, and advocating for better data and health research. Proper e-waste disposal is essential for protecting the environment and guarding the health of all of earth’s inhabitants.
