So continuing on from last weeks media
review on the Wenling Province of China I found a paper in the
Journal of Hazardous Materials on a similar subject. The focus of the
paper is on soil contamination within the province and relating this
data to density of both household workshops and large scale recycling
facilities.
The study investigated the levels of
heavy metals
and polychlorinated
biphenyl (PCB) compounds found within paddy soil compared to a
reference site. The paper shows that levels of Hg and Zn as well as
PCB's exceeded the Grade 2 “safe” level as set out by the State
Environmental Protection Administration of China by up to 300%.
Probably the most disturbing aspect of this discovery is that the
contamination is greatest within the water logged soil of paddy
farms. The products of which are being eaten by individuals
throughout the province. The effects are only likely to be seen
within the next decade.
Another
interesting observation of the report is that comparatively, small
household recycling facilities produce far more toxic and harmful
waste than larger more regulated factories. This is, in part, due to
the lack environmental regulations and laws of Wenling which
encouraged people to start e-waste businesses in the first place.
From
what I have read and watched, the problem facing Wenling as a centre
for electronic waste disposal is one of regulation. The province must
first work to educate those in homespun industries in order to reduce
the amount of pollution before regulating the sector. To initiate
this change in policy it is down to the consumer, namely the USA,
Japan and Australia, to take responsibility for where it chooses to
off load its e-waste. There is, after all, money to be made from the
responsible recycling of electronics and this could be Wenling's
golden ticket for the future. But lets hope it is not at the expense
of the people of the environment.
