Health Impacts of E-Waste Pollution: The case of Nigeria
Previously, we discussed the various impacts that e-waste pollution can have on the environment—soil, air, and water. Naturally, this doesn’t just affect the environment around us; it also has significant consequences for us as human beings. In today’s post, we’ll be focusing on real-life case studies demonstrating the potential health risks that come with e-waste disposal in developing countries. Here’s a video by the UN Environment Programme that explains what dismantlers in Nigeria have to go through when handling e-waste that gets dumped in their country.
According to the video, Nigeria receives up to 70,000 tonnes of used electronics from developed countries every year. Imagine that!
The dangers of e-waste in Nigeria are compounded by the fact that the country only has crude and informal recycling methods, and are poorly equipped to handle the large amounts of e-waste dumped there (Manhart et al., 2011). Coupled by the fact that many dumpsites and electronic markets are situated within residential areas, human exposure to the hazards of e-waste has been increasing exponentially in the past decade.
Diagram on the effects of e-waste exposure in Nigeria (Alabi et al., 2020).
A study conducted on scavenging teenagers who frequent such dumpsites in Nigeria found that the toxic constituents of e-waste contributed to high blood heavy metal levels in the teenagers, and subsequently, lasting DNA damage. Other observed health effects also include body aches, migraine, nausea, spontaneous abortion, and cancer (Alabi & Bakare, 2015).
From this, it is evident that there is an urgent need to address the dumping of e-waste due to its extensive health risks, particularly in developing nations which receive the brunt of the issue.
References
Alabi, O. A., Adeoluwa, Y. M., & Bakare, A. A. (2020). Elevated serum pb, ni, cd, and cr levels and DNA damage in exfoliated buccal cells of teenage scavengers at a major electronic waste dumpsite in Lagos, Nigeria. Biological Trace Element Research, 194(1), 24-33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-019-01745-z.
Alabi, O. A. & Bakare, A. A. (2015). Perceived public health effects of occupational and residential exposure to electronic wastes in Lagos, Nigeria. Zoologist, 13(2015), 62-71.
Manhart, A., Osibanjo, O., Aderinto, A., & Prakash, S. (2011). Informal e-waste management in Lagos, Nigeria – socio-economic impacts and feasibility of international recycling co-operations. UNEP SBC E-Waste Africa Project, Lagos/Freiburg.