How Discarded Computers Are Poisoning Africa’s Kids

De Spiegel – According to the Bible, God rained down fire and brimstone to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. “Sodom and Gomorrah” is also what officials in Accra, Ghana, have come to call a part of their city plagued by toxins of a sort the residents of the Biblical cities couldn’t even have imagined. No one sets foot in this place unless they absolutely have to. Acrid, black smoke drifts over the huts of the slum. The river, too, is black and thick like used oil, as it carries empty computer cases toward the ocean. Fires are blazing on the bank across the way, fueled by foam and slivers of plastic. Their flames consume the plastic material from cables, plugs and motherboards, leaving behind only metal. The United Nations estimates that up to 50 million tons of electronic waste are thrown away globally each year. It costs about €3.50 ($5.30) to properly dispose of an old CRT monitor in Germany. But it costs only €1.50 to stick it on a container ship to Ghana. Read Article

Tags: Africa, children & maternity, nature of corporations, pollution & toxins