5 Severe Impacts of E-waste on Health
Since the last two decades, we all have witnessed the rapid growth of E-Waste. The fastest-growing global technology market of ‘’Electrical and Electronic Equipment’’ (EEE) makes our lives more reliable and complex free. Meanwhile, with technological growth, the lifespan of electronic products becomes shorter and shorter day by day.
Therefore, the major challenge that the world is facing is the E-waste challenge. It is becoming a global concern with each passing day. As a result, the challenge of e-waste is gaining considerable attention worldwide. Additionally, many global leaders, governments and policymakers are coming forward to bring this concern to the table and develop effective ways to tackle this growing concern in today’s environment.
India’sIndia’s growing E-waste problems
As per the report of The United States, India is the 3rd largest E-waste generator in the world.
Over 3.23 million metric tons of e-waste are produced in India.
In the first quarter of the financial year 2021, Smartphones shipment grew by 23% and by the end of 2020, 8millions of laptops were shipped to India.
All the points above are not for the information only but to rethink it. More gadgets can only mean more E-Waste. Even, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has also released a report concerning the growing problems of e-waste. In 2020, India generated the highest ever e-waste that is 10,114,961.2 tons which increased by 31.6% from 2019. If this is not a matter of concern for Health, then what?
1. Impact of E-waste on Health:
Electronic waste or E-waste cannot be dumped like regular trash. It needs to be properly dismantled or recycled. Electronics today contain a lot of potential to spread hazardous emissions in the environment. For instance, a smartphone contains many heavy metals, and due to the presence of these materials, proper dismantling becomes more important. These items can turn into toxic dumps, which can raise many health and environmental issues. Like — E-trash poisoning our land, Water, Air and making people sick with their harmful radiations. Further in this article, we shall discuss the devastating effects of e-waste.
2. E-waste impact on Soil:
Firstly, electronic items contain heavy metals such as lithium, lead, mercury, barium etc., that can leak through the soil surface. When these toxic metals enter the Soil, it makes the Soil toxic and eventually, it enters the plants and trees that cause health related issues.
3. E-waste impact on Water:
Secondly, it further reaches groundwater through the soil surface and pollutes the Water with harmful toxic chemical emissions. Thus, toxins can make plants, animals and humans sick and imbalance the functioning of the ecosystem.
4. E-waste impact on Air:
Thirdly, the heavy metals of devices pollute Air, with its harmful radiations. Usually, dumped e-waste burns on sites, and during this process, it releases hydrocarbons in the atmosphere, further causing severe airborne diseases. Additionally, the toxic gasses and radiations contribute to the greenhouse gas effect, which leads to global warming.
5. E-waste Impact on Health:
Fourth and the most important point, how directly e-waste affects our health? As mentioned above, the electronic waste contains dangerous metals. Therefore, burning and burying them into the ground can negatively impact health, such as brain, heart, kidney and liver damages, skin disorder, hazardous smoke can cause lung failure, and many other diseases.
Conclusion
As you can see from all the points discussed above, the effects of e-waste can be extremely disastrous. These affect essential parts of human lives such as land, Water, Air, and the human body. These are all necessary things for survival and healthy life on the planet.
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