By Reginald Larkin
Toxins from burning e-waste in the area cause birthing defects like this woman who's baby formed in her back
China is home to 1.3 billion people and is a nation that is on the cusp of becoming the world’s leading super power. Constantly developing and growing, China must find a means in which to support its vast populous and it appears that this budding nation may have found a means to and end. Electronic waste or "e-waste" as it is referred to with great disdain has been the cause of many health problems such as birth defects, miscarriages, and lowered IQ’s in children.
Recently I saw a video called Toxic Village that defined e-waste and also discussed it’s many health risks.
The villages of Nanyang and Guiyu are home to many migrant workers whose job it is to dismantle any electronics imported from America. After failing to sign the Basel Ban of 1994, America has continued to export electronics to villages in China. The streets on Nanyang are littered with stacks of dismembered electronics that are waiting to be burned or reused. For roughly twelve dollars a day the migrant workers are exposed to a number of poisons such as mercury and lead.
Prolonged exposure can cause a person to suffer a number of health afflictions such as learning disorders and cancer. It’s been stated that the air in these villages are foggy, dirty, and dusty, inducing headaches and respiratory issues for outsiders. the health defects may also be a bi-product of the fact that parts that cannot be "recycled" are burned in a local power plant. The Chinese government has made a point to keep the atrocious acts a secret from the rest of the world. People who carry video cameras are met with resistance on the part of the residents who appear protective of their communities.
The growing mass media in china has made it their mission to hold the Chinese government accountable for pollution they are pumping into these communities. The Chinese government has had little to no choice in the matter of cleaning of towns that piled to the brim with e waste. The news feed of Toxic Village was filmed in 2003 and as of 2005; the rate of which e-waste is being shipped to china is being regulated. The numbers of people with high lead blood problems in Nanyang and Guiyu has been reduced to 25 percent, however this is still higher than what normal people are living with. America should take heed from China’s efforts to reduces ewaste, after all America is the largest producers of ewaste yet fails to acknowledge the contribution. for more information and videos on this issue visit http://cnettv.cnet.com/60-minutes-walking-through-toxic-village/9742-1_53-50004404.html
