China not fighting off e-waste nightmare

When I saw this headline in the Yahoo Story Box it kinda caught my eye. When I clicked on it and read the whole article it definately had my attention. This is an amazing story about what happens to all those computers, moniters, cellphones, washers, and dryers we throw away every year. They don't all disappear into some deep hole or tall mountain or garage... they end up in China.

Here are a couple of intertesting quotes from the article itself.

GUIYU, China - The air smells acrid from the squat gas burners that sit outside homes, melting wires to recover copper and cooking computer motherboards to release gold. Migrant workers in filthy clothes smash picture tubes by hand to recover glass and electronic parts, releasing as much as 6.5 pounds of lead dust.

and then there's this...

"China now produces more than 1 million tons of e-waste each year", said Jamie Choi, a toxics campaigner with Greenpeace China in Beijing. "That adds up to roughly 5 million television sets, 4 million fridges, 5 million washing machines, 10 million mobile phones and 5 million personal computers..."

The article goes on to explain the problem and what little is being done to stop it or to help the workers involved. It is a fascinating look at an hidden problem.

If you read the article please hit the comment button and tell me what you think.

jim