Toxic Emissions From An Old Computer

Most people are not aware of just how toxic an old computer can be. That clean cut plastic box holds a whole load of toxins which are waiting to leak out into the environment, or worse still, into you if the container is broken. The vast majority of people never even think of opening their computer casing, let alone smashing it up but there are parts of the world where children are seriously at risk from this.

A recent study in India showed that children as young as three years old are still employed to 'recycle' metals from extinct computers. There has long been a ban in force in Europe which prevents large quantities of computers from being shipped to India for this dismantling process but according to the 'Times Newspaper' (UK), it still goes on.

Computers contain a whole range of toxic substances including arsenic, mercury and beryllium which leak into water and enter the food chain as well as directly passing into the body through skin and lungs. Cadmium and selenium can easily get into the body and inhibit and distort repair of the central nervous system.

By far the greatest risk comes from the flame retardants used on computer casings. When these are cracked, or broken, toxins are released into the air and inhalation of the particles is known to cause brain damage and slow down skeletal development and repair in animals including humans.

These risks are extremely high, especially when groups of children are working at it day in and day out. However, the rewards are colossal. A child can reclaim more gold from discarded computers and other electronic devices than it is possible to extract during a whole day mining it in the Kolar gold mines. Conditions are far better too.

A quick search on Ebay under 'computer scrap gold' brings up hundreds of listings and underlines the value of these computer parts. I wonder how many people put themselves at risk from the other toxins inside their computer to retrieve these parts.

The children involved in this work, which is no better than scavenging, earn a reasonable amount compared to what is available round about and for most it is not a matter of choice. Old computers give them a way to survive and stopping this practise would lead to starvation.

If you are discarding an old computer or laptop you might like to think about the potential environmental hazards to wildlife and humans before dumping it indiscriminately. There are purpose built recycling centres for electronic items in UK, US and Canada although these are too few to do the job efficiently. As new generations of games consoles, laptops, notebooks and computers are developed and we continue to throw away our old technology, there is a huge environmental time bomb ticking away out there .