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CALIFORNIA, February 25, 2002: Old computers are being dumped in Asia where they are releasing toxic materials into the environment says a new report. Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition A report, called “Exporting Harm: The Hi-Tech Trashing Of Asia,” details a group of villages in southeastern China where computers from America are picked apart and strewn along rivers and fields. The report says electronic waste is the most rapidly growing waste problem in the world, with toxic ingredients such as lead, mercury or cadmium being released into the environment. The report says that workers, with little or no protection against hazardous materials, burned plastics and circuit boards or poured acid on electronic parts to extract silver and gold. The effect was to fill the air with carcinogenic smoke and pollute the water. The campaigners said preliminary investigations in both Pakistan and India had revealed that these countries were also receiving and processing waste electronics from the West. The growing amount of computer waste is becoming an increasing problem, with millions of devices becoming obsolete each year. The report suggested that as much as 80% of America’s electronic waste collected to be recycled is shipped out of the country. By publishing their report, the campaigners hope it will increase the pressure on American companies and politicians to do more to recycle computer waste.

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