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By Lorna Martin, The Herald GLASGOW, 27 February 2002 -- OLD computers built with toxic materials are being dumped in the developing world, creating a "cyber age nightmare", according to a new report. Campaigners have expressed concern about the growing trade in electronic waste, or e-waste, claiming that it poses serious health and environmental hazards. The report, Exporting Harm: The Hi-Tech Trashing of Asia, revealed that thousands of labourers - men, women and children - in southern Asia were scavenging for precious metals inside the discarded waste, exposing themselves and their surroundings to toxic hazards. The investigation singled out evidence gathered in the town of Guiyu, in southern China's Guangdong province, where they found a cluster of villages where computers still bearing the labels of their one-time owners, including US government departments, were ripped apart and strewn along rivers and fields. The authors of the US-based report said: "The export of e-waste remains a dirty little secret of the hi-tech revolution." FAIR USE NOTICE. This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The Basel Action Network is making this article available in our efforts to advance understanding of ecological sustainability and environmental justice issues. We believe that this constitutes a `fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond `fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. More News |