The damage done by low-tech developing world electronics recycling is measurable. A 2010 study in Guiyu, China’s biggest and most notorious e-waste recycling zone, revealed that among a cohort of village children under the age of six, 81.8 percent were suffering from lead poisoning. The likely source of the poison was lead dust generated by the breaking of circuit boards and the melting of lead solder. A 2011 study staged in Guiyu showed that 25 percent of newborns had elevated levels of cadmium, a toxic substance that can cause kidney damage, reduction of bone density, and other debilitating
...more
