Unorganized Electronic Waste Disposal Poses Health Risks
The average person’s lifestyle has changed. We have embraced technology and gadgets to their fullest. What is the result? An ever-increasing pile of electronic waste that we have difficulty managing. Our habits were also affected by the digital revolution. How we spend and consume electronics has changed. What are we doing about electronic waste disposal and how does it affect us?
Many of us “upgrade” our smartphones at least twice a year. You have the urge to purchase another one (or a better one) just as you would buy one. All over the globe, EEE has been a serious concern due to its large production and rapid disposal. India is no exception. In a country with a variety of cultures, incomes, beliefs, and customs the problem of managing e-waste is one of few that seems to be uniform. It’s also too complicated to know the answer.
Our nation is facing a major problem in e-waste management. As if this wasn’t enough, e-waste management is a major problem. Around 95 percent of India’s electronic waste is processed in urban slums. These slums are home to untrained workers who practice unsafe practices that can be harmful to human health and the environment.
E-waste Generation: The Causes And The Consequences
Any of the following reasons can lead to e-waste:
- Technology innovation and upgrade
- Lifestyle changes
- End of the intended use
India’s lack of strict policies regarding e-waste management only exacerbates the problem. The informal sector continues using the basic methods of electronic waste disposal, recycling and composting. Openly burning the waste is what they do. They heat circuit boards and expose them to acid baths. Then, they dump it into landfills.
Workers in unorganized e-waste management spaces are exposed to dangerous consequences without any protection.
E-waste can contain hazardous metals that get mixed in soil and water, or they can become harmful emissions that are released into the atmosphere. These practices can have devastating consequences.
Health hazards: Improper Electronic Disposal Effects
E-waste can be harmful to the environment as well as humans if it is not properly managed. This waste is nothing more than a mixture of plastics and toxic chemicals, which are released into the environment. Dioxins, furans, and other pollutants such as lead, beryllium cadmium, cadmium, mercury, etc., can be released into the environment. These pollutants can enter our environment and pose the following health risks:
- Reproductive issues
- Problems with development
- Infected immune system
- Interference with regulatory hormonal hormones
- Nervous system damage
- Kidney damage
- Hamper’s brain development in children
- May increase the risk of developing lung cancer
- Chronic beryllium disease
- Skin ailments
- Cadmium deposits in the liver and kidneys
- Asthmatic bronchitis
- DNA damage
- Muscle weakness
- Disruption of the endocrine system
Exposure to harmful chemicals in e-waste can cause severe health problems and even death. Inhalation, skin absorption, or ingestion can all lead to toxins entering our bodies. Humans are at risk of developing any of these conditions.
It’s time to find sustainable and safe ways to dispose of electronic waste. Cerebra Integrated Technologies and other organizations are working to make the world safer and more sustainable. They have activities such as deploying collection vans and tying up schools and clubs to raise awareness.
E-waste Management: Who’s Responsible?
As a society, we are used to passing the responsibility for managing e-waste. It is common for the government to be criticized for failing to take adequate steps in order to transform the informal sector into an organized system. We see it as the responsibility of the government to run awareness programs that inform the public about what to do with appliances when they’re not in use.
The new E-Waste Management Rules 2016 require equipment manufacturers to recycle the products they make. We must also consider the possibility that we as a society might be responsible for our e-waste. India must find a balance between these three institutions, government, manufacturers, society, in order to better manage its e-waste.For electronic recycling in Tampa or Pinellas County electronics recycling be sure to contact us today!