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By Phillipe Montrose
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The secret story behind
those sleek, fun,
fit-in-your-pocket,
go-anywhere gadgets is
anything but hip, hot,
and sexy. With
manufacturers mandating
obsolescence within 18
months, over 3 Trillion
tons of America's
electronic waste now
being shipped overseas
each year, and nearly as
much piling up in US
landfills, young people
around the world are
demanding change. Find
out how US prison labor,
unscrupulous business
practices and World
Trade Organization
loopholes are coming
together to form a toxic
legacy of text and tunes
around the globe.
The 'planned
obsolescence' of
electronics is
engineered by the
manufacturers and
service providers to be
18 months, however, we
are seeing an alarming
trend of shortening that
span to 12 months or
less. Special discounts
being offered by
telephone companies,
Internet service
carriers and
entertainment
electronics
manufacturers are
encouraging people to
get rid of their 'old'
technology and get with
the 'new' — supposedly
saving a bundle and
being more hip, sexy,
and smart in the
process.
Those short-term savings
are now beginning to add
up to long-term hidden
costs and devastating
illness. The electronics
industry and its
high-tech, high-fashion
gadgets, has one of the
heaviest environmental
burdens of any
commercial sector, and
its toxic by-products
are now in your drinking
water, the foods you
eat, the air you
breathe, and may be a
main factor in autism,
Alzheimer's, ADD/ADHD
and many mental, mood
and auto-immune
disorders.
Toxic Chemicals In Your
Favorite Electronics
Over 1,000 materials
including mercury,
cadmium, lead,
chlorinated solvents,
brominated flame
retardants, and PVC are
used to make electronic
products and their
components —
semiconductor chips,
circuit boards and disk
drives.
Every standard
television or CRT
monitor contains between
four and eight pounds of
lead alone. Big screen
TVs contain even more
than that. Flat screens
contain less lead, but
use dramatically more
mercury. Approximately
40% of the heavy metals
(including lead, mercury
and cadmium) found in
landfills come from
electronic waste.
Electronic waste
constituted 2.5% of US
municipal solid waste in
1997, with 3.2 Million
tons of e-waste in
landfills nationwide.
Since then the numbers
have exponentially
increased. In 2005, one
corporate computer
became obsolete for
every new one purchased.
In California alone,
10,000 computers per day
become obsolete and are
discarded, with only 11%
recycled. What this
means to your family's
health, because of air,
groundwater and soil
contamination, is hard
to grasp or believe
because of what we've
been taught about our
pocket-sized pals.
Silicon Valley holds the
image of being at the
forefront of the
high-tech revolution.
However, under the
dazzling and sleek
technology lives the
dirty, dark side of the
electronics industry.
The Silicon Valley is
home to 29 toxic EPA
Superfund sites — the
highest concentration in
the country. This
pollution came from the
original high-tech
manufacturing
facilities, which have
since been moved to
places around the globe
with weaker
environmental laws and
worker protections, such
as China and India.
But even though the
manufacturing of this
poisonous technology has
been moved by
American-based companies
across the ocean and
away from the United
States, we're continuing
to export our toxic
legacy to these same,
developing countries of
China, India and, most
recently, Africa.
Over 3 Trillion tons of
electronic waste {cellphones,
portable music players,
televisions, computers,
monitors, laptops,
keyboards, digital
cameras, etc.} are
exported from the United
States each year to
China, India and Africa
because United States
environmental protection
laws prohibit the
landfill or incineration
of these consumer items.
Much of this exported
toxic mass leaves the
United States under
false and illegal
documentation, heading
for example, to Africa
under the shipping
manifest, "Used Computer
Equipment For Donation".
Companies which purchase
discarded electronics,
regularly ship these
toxic goods under
exclusions in the World
Trade Organization's
treaties, allowing
richer nations to donate
non-current electronic
merchandise to
developing nations for
education purposes. Most
of the electronics
shipped under this
provision are worthless
garbage, already
stripped of their
valuable parts by US
prison labor.
These mountains of
electronic garbage
arrive from the United
States via barge and are
sorted dockside. Some of
it is taken to
processing companies who
distribute it to various
cities and towns to be
broken down. Using
hammers and chisels, and
their bare hands,
workers separate the
trash into aluminum,
steel, copper, plastic
and circuit boards.
Open burning of wires
and other components is
regularly done by
villagers to recover
metals such as steel and
copper. In the process,
deadly dioxans and
furans are released.
Other roadside
operations often find
mothers seated at
coal-fired grills
de-soldering circuit
boards to pluck off
chips. The boards are
then tossed to be burned
in open pits releasing
more valuable solder and
their deadly fumes into
the atmosphere.
Much of the electronic
waste from the United
States, however, is
simply taken from the
docks directly to
incineration facilities.
Located in Shanghai,
these high-powered
gadget crematoriums
operate 24 hours a day,
seven days a week.
What Goes Around Comes
Around
Over 95% of Americans
have no idea how toxic
their cellphones,
laptops, and portable
music players are, nor
how their constant
upgrades to newer and
'better' equipment is
exponentially
compounding the
contamination crisis.
What the major
electronics companies
have desperately tried
to keep a secret from
consumers, is now no
longer containable.
Over the last ten years,
scientists around the
world, including
geologists and
astrophysicists, have
made a 'remarkable'
discovery: the Earth is
alive and growing.
Through the use of
comparative Global
Positioning System (GPS)
measurements, scientists
have determined that the
circumference of the
Earth is expanding. From
textbooks to philosophy
and doctrine, this
discovery is remaking
our understanding of
science, the world and
human's place in it.
This understanding that
our planet is alive, is
also allowing scientists
to better understand the
inter-connected and
complex systems of the
planet itself. Like
every living thing, the
Earth, it now readily
appears, breathes and
has various circulatory
systems. From blood
circulation and
menstruation
(characterized by
subsurface magma/lava
streams and volcanic
eruptions), to
respiration and
processing of toxins
(made manifest through
upper air and underwater
ocean currents), Mother
Earth responds daily in
an effort to balance and
renew the equilibrium of
her self-contained and
closed system.
The Shanghai Plume
One of the Earth's most
powerful respiratory
systems is an upper-air
flow known as the
Shanghai Plume. This air
current circulates every
10 days from the China
Sea to the Western Coast
of the United States.
What makes the Shanghai
Plume so important to
humans is its ability to
transport aerosolized
and gaseous heavy metals
along these upper air
currents. Of particular
note, is its ability to
transport enormous
amounts of mercury as a
direct result of
electronic waste
incineration in Shanghai
and the burning of coal
throughout China as a
fuel source.
David Kirby, a noted
authority on toxic
mercury exposure and its
relevance to autism, has
tracked the Shanghai
Plume for many years.
His reports and findings
are irrefutable and he
has earned the respect
of the world's top
climatologists and
epidemiologists.
California Reported
Autism Cases
We know that
mercury-based vaccines
(those containing
thimerosol) are a root
cause of autism.
However, many childhood
vaccines containing
thimerosol were
discontinued in 2000 —
except for annual flu
shots and other vaccines
which still contain this
very dangerous
preservative. This would
mean, then, that the
cases of autism should
be dropping in the
United States.
Overall, cases of autism
are steadily increasing,
especially in the State
of California. Why? As
we can clearly see from
the air current flow
chart above, the
Shanghai Plume and its
deadly and regular
cargos of mercury,
deposit the heaviest
concentrations of this
heavy metal every 10
days in Orange, San
Diego and San Francisco
counties — the areas
where reported cases of
autism and various
learning disabilities
are highest.
You may never know what
results
come of your action,
but if you do nothing
there will be no result.
Mahatma Ghandi
Students Demanding
Change
Societal change in any
country — regardless of
the ideology where there
is a free and open
exchange of science and
information — is always
most dramatically
instigated and
incorporated into the
fabric of life by
university students. As
adults armed with the
latest knowledge and
understanding of
science, geo-political
and economic realities,
university students
represent the esprit de
corps.
In California, where
over 55% of the more
than 2.75 Million
students own a computer,
young people who
understand this emerging
crisis are demanding
immediate change.
Recently, the University
of California's
10-campus system passed
a new and far-reaching
“Environmental
Sustainability Policy”
that includes provisions
on energy, global
warming, waste, and
eco-friendly purchasing.
With this announcement,
UC has become the first
university in the nation
to adopt guidelines for
buying greener
electronics, disposal of
e-waste, and “takeback”
recycling. Given its
size and proximity to
the high-tech industry,
UC’s decision could
potentially have
enormous impacts on how
electronics are made and
recycled.
With over 200,000 UC
students, the University
purchases more than
10,000 computers each
month and disposes of
approximately 1 Million
pounds of e-waste
annually. Additionally,
UC students buy millions
of computers, cell
phones, MP3 players, and
other electronics every
year. The UC’s passage
of the Sustainability
Policy comes after the
year-long efforts of the
student-run Toxic Free
UC campaign sponsored by
the Silicon Valley
Toxics Coalition (SVTC).
The students have worked
to use their purchasing
leverage to reduce
harmful chemicals and
the negative impacts on
workers, communities,
and the environment
during electronics
manufacturing and
disposal.
“With this new policy,
UC and UC students can
use their purchasing
power to move
electronics companies to
make greener products
that are less toxic and
more easily recyclable.
The UC is truly taking
the lead toward a more
sustainable future.”
— Maureen Cane, Silicon
Valley Toxics
Coalition’s campus
organizer
Under its new
Sustainability Policy,
UC will only buy
products registered
under EPEAT (Electronic
Product Environmental
Assessment Tool).
Similar to “Energy
Star,” EPEAT measures
laptops, desktop
computers, and monitors
according to a set of
environmental standards
such as reduction in
harmful chemicals,
designs that are more
easily recycled, and
product longevity. UC
will also integrate
“takeback” recycling
into their purchasing
contracts, placing the
burden of disposing
e-waste on the
electronics
manufacturers. Finally,
the UC has outlined a
set of responsible
recycling criteria that
must be met by any
manufacturer or recycler
that handles UC e-waste,
including a ban on
export and prison labor.
“I want to know that the
electronics that I use
to do my school work are
not harming people and
the environment in
impoverished countries.
I am proud to say that
UC has taken a strong
stand against exporting
e-waste to other
countries or to
prisons.”
— Candice Carr Kelman, a
UC Irvine student part
of SVTC’s Toxic-Free UC
Campaign
What You Can Do
In addition to reading
this article and passing
it along to friends,
associates, colleagues,
teachers and others in
your community — and
reducing your
over-consumption of
electronics and
utilizing
environmentally-correct
e-waste disposal
patterns — please take
the time to review the
PDF documents which
appear at the end of
this article. These
excellently-prepared and
well-researched reports
give a more complete
picture of the rampant
over-consumption of
digital media and the
electronic waste
disposal challenge
facing all of us right
now.
Please use this
information responsibly
and take action properly
by:
— notifying the
manufacturers of the
digital media products
you use demanding
they become responsible
for the
'cradle-to-grave' or
'cradle-to-cradle'
lifecycle of their
products, becoming
physically and
financially responsible
for
the proper disposal of
their toxic products
— notifying your elected
officials about your
demands for tighter
regulatory
controls and financial
responsibility on the
part of manufacturers
for recycling
and the
environmentally-safe
disposal of electronic
waste, rather than
continuing to increase
taxes to handle
for-profit corporate
waste disposal debts
— stopping to invest in
and encourage others to
stop investing in
electronics
manufacturers and
service providers who
refuse to deviate from
the industry's
'planned obsolescence'
rule of 18 months or
less
— becoming more hip,
sexy and smart by
purchasing clothing and
accessories
that don't contribute to
toxicity, eat organic
foods and get plenty of
exercise,
and adopt a 'learning is
a lifestyle' attitude
— learning more and
contacting organizations
like
ComputerTakeBack.com
and the Silicon Valley
Toxics Coalition at
SVTC.org
Recommended Further
Research
PDF's:
The Digital Dump —
Exporting Re-Use and
Abuse To Africa
http://www.wellcorps.com/files/The
Digital Dump - Exporting
Re-Use and Abuse To
Africa.pdf
Export of Atmospheric
Mercury From Asia
http://www.wellcorps.com/files/Export
of Atmospheric Mercury
From Asia.pdf
Exporting Harm — The
High-Tech Trashing of
Asia
http://www.wellcorps.com/files/Exporting
Harm - The High-Tech
Trashing of Asia.pdf
Poison PCs and Toxic TVs
http://www.wellcorps.com/files/Poison
PCs and Toxic TVs.pdf
Prison Recycling
Strategies
http://www.wellcorps.com/files/Prison
Recycling Strategies.pdf
System Error — Student
Activities Environmental
Justice
http://www.wellcorps.com/files/System
Error Student Activities
Environmental
Justice.pdf
Toxic Dust Hazard —
Brominated Flame
Retardant Dust
http://www.wellcorps.com/files/Toxic
Dust Hazard - Brominated
Flame Retardant Dust.pdf
Toxic Sweatshops — How
UNICOR Prison Recycling
Harms Workers,
Communities, the
Environment and the
Recycling Industry
http://www.wellcorps.com/files/Toxic
Sweatshops.pdf
PowerPoint Presentation:
Kirby, David; "Evidence
Of Harm — Update On
Recent Developments in
the Mercury-Autism
Debate"; May 2007;
Chicago, Illinois.
http://www.wellcorps.com/files/David
Kirby Shanghai Plume
2007.ppt
Books:
Grossman, Elizabeth,
"High Tech Trash:
Digital Devices, Hidden
Toxics and Human
Health". Plaines, IL:
Inland Press; 2006.
Hawken, Paul, "Blessed
Unrest: How The Largest
Movement in the World
Came Into Being and Why
No One Saw It Coming".
New York NY: Viking
Press; 2007.
Slade, Giles, "Made To
Break: Technology and
Obsolescence in
America". Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University
Press; 2006.
Smith, Ted and
Hightower, Jim,
"Challenging The Chip:
Labor Rights and
Environmental Justice in
the Global Electronics
Industry". PHILADELPHIA,
PA: Temple University
Press; 2006
Web Sites:
Basel Action Network
http://www.ban.org/
The Computer TakeBack
Campaign
http://www.computertakeback.com/
The Ecologist Magazine
http://www.theecologist.org/
Haley, Boyd, M.D.,
Professor and Chair,
Department of Chemistry,
University of Kentucky;
"Mercury — What Is Its
Role In Autism And
Alzheimer's Disease?"
http://www.nomercury.org/media/haley/haley_files/default.htm
Silicon Valley Toxics
Coalition
http://svtc.org/
Union of Concerned
Scientists
http://ucsusa.org/
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