NIGERIA: World's broken electronics pile up in
Lagos, creating toxic dumps
[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
LAGOS, 27 October (IRIN) - Nigeria is becoming a digital dump, the recipient
of vast numbers of broken gadgets from the West that can leak dangerous
substances into water supplies and create cancer-causing particles when
burnt, a toxic waste watchdog said on Thursday.
Basel Action Network, a US-based lobby group that recently conducted an
investigation in
containers, packed with old computers, televisions and mobile phones, were
arriving every month at the main city and port,
These electronics are supposed to be for repair and re-use, but BAN
estimates that 75 percent of the items are neither repairable nor of any
economic value.
So they often end up being dumped at official landfill sites or offloaded
illegally by the side of the road or in swamps where they are either burnt
or simply left.
BAN says chemicals like lead can leak into the groundwater. And materials
used in circuit boards, although safe when the computer is on a desk, can
produce carcinogenic particles once set alight.
"Residents breathing in the fumes from the fires or drawing water from
contaminated areas are going to be taking in some seriously dangerous
substances," Jim Puckett, the BAN official who led the investigation, told
IRIN by phone from the group's headquarters in Seattle.
"Re-use is a good thing, bridging the digital divide is a good thing, but
exporting loads of techno-trash in the name of these lofty ideals and
seriously damaging the environment and health of poor communities in
developing countries is criminal," he said.
The organisation traces most of the items back to the
the Basel Convention governing the international movement of toxic waste.
fail to enforce the laws by not certifying that electronic items are fit for
re-use before they are shipped abroad.
When repairable products do arrive among the sea of junk, researchers noted
that
electronic equipment.
Oludayo Dada of the pollution control unit at the
Environment Ministry, says
that the flow of electronic waste arriving on Nigerian shores has caught the
authorities' attention.
"We are still trying to quantify the magnitude of the electronic waste we
have in
that the government would need to update its laws to criminalise
the import
of such products.
"We have regulations covering toxic products in general, but we need to
zero
in on electronic waste," Dada said.
BAN says another solution is for manufacturers to stop using toxic chemicals
in their products, such as brominated flame
retardants, beryllium alloys,
lead-based solders and mercury lamps.
"Things are completely out of control," said activist Puckett.
"It's time we
all get serious about what is now a tsunami of toxic techno-trash making its
way from rich to poorer countries."
[ENDS]
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