What's in electronic devices?

The Beijing Organic Guide 2008 is out!

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A migrant child from Henan province holds up a piece of e-waste. It was once a Nokia computer screen, now dumped in China and dismantled by poor, unprotected, migrant workers.

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Electronic devices are a complex mixture of several hundred materials, many of which contain toxic heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium and beryllium and hazardous chemicals, such as brominated flame retardants. Polluting PVC plastic is also frequently used. A mobile phone, for example, contains 500 to 1000 components.

These dangerous substances cause serious pollution and put workers at risk of exposure when the products are produced or disposed of. Of particular concern is the exposure of children and pregnant women to lead and mercury. These metals are highly toxic and can harm children and developing foetuses even at low levels of exposure.