Global Crisis and Threat Posed by E-Waste

In the past few decades, the use of technological devices and gadgets has skyrocketed and so is the production of such devices. Stores are fully equipped with all kinds of electrical devices ranging from the daily basis equipments to hi-tech modern gadgets.The usage of such electrical devices is a common practice nowadays in every sector and it keeps on increasing with the passage of time.

The proliferation of all these devices is one thing but the downside caused by the technology is drastic. There is a perpetual junk of electronic waste that needs to be taken care of. These days the quantity of electronic waste is in bulk. Devices like mobile phones, laptops, keyboards, tablets and TVs are crowding the landfills with all that toxic waste that they produce once buried or thrown away as trash. In this way, our streams, lakes, rivers and air get polluted and the healthy environment becomes hazardous for all of us.

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This issue has caused a global crisis which is also referred to as the e-waste crisis. Many countries are already working to overcome it but some countries still lag behind in taking an initiative to get rid of all this e-waste in an effective manner.

This crisis has made many people concerned about the environmental as well as sociological effects. This issue needs to be takenseriously because everyone nowadays is so much technology driven that it has become hard to survive without it. In this fast moving life all these gadgets have become a part of our daily routine.

Here are some facts about the current global crisis of electronic waste.

• The main problem with all the electronic waste is that the toxic content it contains is hazardous. The dangerous chemicals that these electronic devices contain are barium, phosphorous, lead and cadmium that causes land pollution once they are discarded or buried in the landfills. They release carcinogens that cause injurious effects to the soil, water and air supplies. This effectsthe healthy environment and surroundings.
• The impact of improper dumping of e-waste isn’t only environmental, but it also damages the health of a human being too. For instance, the toxic waste released from these devices when mixed into the air causes silicosis, bronchitis and asthma. Along with that when tin, cadmium or lead particles are inhaled, they affect the lungs, causing throat and breathing issues and the risks of cancer too.

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• When the devices containing nitric acid or hydrochloric acid are disposed and are exposed to a human being, they end up causing long term damage to the skin and eyes. Mostly such processes are done near water banks which increases the risk of polluting the water.
• It is also noticed that precious metals can also be extracted from these electronic waste devices like gold, platinum and silver. Along with that powerful magnets can also be created with all those high-end technical devices.Another issue with the e-waste is that it is being transported from the developed nations like the USA to countries like India, Kenya or China. This doesn’t only cause trouble to the economy of those nations but also affects the well-being of the citizens.
• Governments, businesses and research institutions are now looking for different positive and healthier ways to overcome the e-waste problems through recycling or disposingthe electronics. Also they are looking for innovative ideas that could help them design devices which will cause minimum e-waste crisis.

E-waste crisis is a global problem and all the countries need to work mutually to overcome the hazards that are caused by it so that they can be resolved at a larger scale without causing any environmental or sociological affect on others.