E-Waste, Toxins and Cancer in Africa, any Clue?

Early this morning I listened to a technology podcast from PRI’s The World. Chris Carrol, a National Geographic writer, had been travelling around the world, looking at the way e-waste is managed. He wrote an article about it; an interview with him took a portion of the podcast. He first talked about how most e-waste is disposed in the US: A random recycler in the USA sell used computers to brokers who have connections in developing countries. These brokers load them in containers and send them to developing countries. He then went on to describe what he saw in Accra. He describes how he saw children smash up old computers and pull them apart in order to reveal the wirings. These wires are piled on top of old tires, set on fire and left to burn for about 15 or 20 minutes, with the boys standing close by the fire, in the smoke, making sure that all the covering on the wire is burned off. At the end of the burning session they pick up about 50 cents worth of copper wire from the burnt off wires. These are sold to metal buyers.

Headaches and Nausea
Those who grew up in Nigeria can probably remember the nauseous smell that comes off burning things this way. Chris said he had a headache and a general feeling of mild nausea for weeks after watching the children do this for only a couple of days. He also said that the kids said that when they first started they got sick everyday, vomited, had headaches, but after a few weeks or months their bodies got used to this. He said that a large percentage of the e-waste also end up in China. When asked whether there are reports that say whether people who are exposed to this kind of toxicity are facing health problems he replies that in a town in China, a test of the air and soil revealed that there are persistent toxins in the soil and the plants. They refused to comment on the effects on humans.

And Maybe Cancer Too
Listening to this story made me think about a discussion I recently had with Professor Francis Egbokhare of the Distance Learning Centre, University of Ibadan. We were talking about the rise in reported cases of cancer. He wondered about health problems in Nigeria, and about the possibility that this might be linked to the time of the World Bank/IMF sponsored Structural Adjustment Programme. During that period, people werenmaking their own soaps by mixing all sorts of chemicals together. Other household items were made locally and under unmonitored circumstances. He wondered about the possibility that there were carcinogenous agents in some of the chemicals used to make say toothpastes during the period. We also talked about the sachets of Pure Water and the problem that most of the ones on the streets today are not even approved by the National Foods and Drugs Administration and Control, NAFDAC.

The point of the Pure Water comes home closer when one considers Lagos. There was a time I used to joke that I would easily know that I am in Lagos by the horrible stench that meets me when the window of the car is wound down. Those who stay close to Ojota/Ketu must be very familiar with the smell that comes from the refuse dump along the road. The open incinerator burns everything, from decomposing food items to electronics. These kinds of garbage are also always burnt on almost every street in Lagos. If it can be found that soil and plant contain toxins it would be safe to assume that water from wells in these places also contain toxins. That is the kind of water that we often buy as Pure Water on the streets.

The Issues
There is a serious increase in cases of cancer diagnosed in China, and it is increasingly pressed to pay attention to it. At least tests are being carried out to find out the level of toxins in soils, plants and persons, even if the reports of the tests are never publicly available. I wonder whether our governments in Africa are paying attention to these issues. If anyone knows about any organisation or government agency – in any African country – that work on this they should please leave the name and address of such agency in a comment. And if there is nothing happening I wonder when we will, and how we can, start making the government pay attention to the issues. I am also interested in the position of African countries on e-waste management. I think it is time we started talking about things that may not appear now, but that might end up complicating our future and that of later generations.